With the major theme of lost at first sight -- not only Desmond, but Charlie Pace and Daniel Faraday (or Widmore?) -- characters in 2004 Los Angeles are seeing not only their soulmates but the threads that bind them to the 2007 Island time track. And with the increasing frequency of characters crossing paths and popping up as supporting players, we are very soon going to have a case of When Worlds Collide, of the two time tracks merging. Objects -- such as a certain leather journal or a brand of fine scotch -- as well as situations and locations that are familiar to fans, are appearing in 2004 with breakneck speed now.
The episode opens with the Lost Patented Eyeball Closeup® -- it is Desmond's. In 2007, as he gets a shot from Jungle Liz Lemon (or Zoe) to counteract the sedatives he's been under while on the sub, we learn that it has been two days since Ben shot him him at the marina, and he attacked the Others leader. He is in a room in the Hydra Island infirmary, when he demands to see Penny.
Charles Widmore enters and tells him it is not possible, but Penny and Charlie are "perfectly safe." He adds that Desmond has been brought back to the Island under sedation, because there was no other way to do it.
As Widmore tries to explain, Desmond explodes and begins to whack him with an IV pole, yelling, "Take me back! Take me back!"
As the guards pull Desmond off Widmore, he says, "I can't take you back. The Island isn't done with you yet."
Jin asks Widmore why Desmond has been brought back. "It's easier to show you than to tell you, Mr. Kwon," the leader says.
Widmore orders Zoe to move up the electromagnetic testing. Zoe is surprised, as she notes that the generator has not been run for 20 years. Seamus seems to be in charge of the control room.
Desmond is to be moved immediately to a structure outside the control building that resembles a wooden shack (shades of Jacob's cabin?) with two huge electromagnetic coils on either end.
In seeing photos of the coils, I thought of three things -- Lifesaver candies, doughnuts and a cervix. Maybe that third one sounds gross, but the idea of the womb, of birth and rebirth, of second chances and redemption, have been repeatedly given through the Island's trials and demands. From Widmore's claims, Desmond is also the Lifesaver for the Island, and perhaps the world, from Smokey's ambitions to leave. Doughnuts, though? I don't know how that fits in.
As the EM generator starts up, it immediately breaks down. Seamus turns to a cage containing an animal seen repeatedly on Lost -- a white rabbit -- and says, "Guess what, Angstrom. You're going in there next." (An angstrom is a metric unit equivalent to 0.1 nanometer and is named after Anders Jonas Angstrom [1814-1874], Swedish physicist and a founder of the science of spectroscopy.)
A red shirt from Team Widmore is running a Geiger counter over one of the big doughnut coils in the shack. (In publicity photos for the episode, this technician is actually bathed in a red glow!) At the same time, another tech in the control room says he found a bad breaker. He turns on the generator without permission, and a great light blazes out of the shack. Zoe yells to shut the thing off. Later and the red shirt is found dead and severely toasted.
Desmond is muscled into the shack and tied to a chair. Widmore asks him to make a sacrifice, to which Desmond asks, "What the bloody hell do you know about sacrifice?"
"My son died here for the sake of this Island," Widmore says, and he gave up Penny to Desmond for the Island. He adds that if Desmond won't help, Penny, Charlie, and everyone else will be gone forever. Widmore seems to be consistent here -- he also warned Jin that everything they knew would cease to exist forever if Smokey leaves the Island.
Widmore says Desmond is the only person he knows who survived an electromagnetic event. Leaving Desmond in the shack, he orders the generator turned to full power, while an insanely enraged Desmond rants and smashes apart the chair to which he was tied. The EM readings go off the dial, and...
...Sideways Los Angeles, 2004. Desmond is standing in a section of the LAX terminal. Strange, as Desmond was on the jet in "LA X" and talked to Jack, but then he mysteriously disappeared. Now he is back, probably due to the EM generator in 2007, and his own powers to bridge time.
A voice says, "Carousel four." It's Hurley, who recognizes Desmond from the jet. (And there was one of the Numbers thrown out there.) Just after that, he sees a pregnant Claire struggling with her bag and helps her get it off the carousel. He offers her a ride, but she says she is set. He looks at her and says that her baby will be a boy. Being Desmond, he definitely knows that.
Desmond meets his chauffeur, and a more fitting driver could not be found, considering the time shifts and anomalies here. Fisher Stevens returns as George Minkowski, the communications officer from Widmore's freighter in Season 4 who lost his mind due the Island's magnetism and found his mind drifting through time. George says he can get Desmond anything he needs -- reservations at a fine restaurant, "lovely ladies," etc.
George takes him to his employer -- who is Charles Widmore. He is on the phone with someone from the L.A. prosecutor's office or police department and is demanding a fast arraignment and release for Charlie.
Widmore welcomes Desmond very warmly and gives him a big embrace. Desmond is unattached, with no family or other obligations, and is, as a familiar character will say later, Widmore's "main fixit man." They enjoy a toast of MacCutcheon scotch, a reference to back to "Flashes Before Your Eyes," when their talk over the same liquor was tense and confrontational, and Desmond had gone directly to Charles to ask for Penny in marriage. Where Desmond was not even worth one glass of the scotch in the Island timeline, here in 2004 L.A. he is one of Widmore's greatest assets.
Widmore tells Desmond that his wife has planned a huge charity event and decided to mix classical music and "modern rock." Desmond's assignment is to pick up the bass player of Drive Shaft from the police department and bring him to the charity event.
Desmond gets Charlie, who casually strolls away from him, across a street of busy cars without regard to life and limb, and straight to a stool inside a bar. Desmond also joins him in the tavern. Charlie wants to know if Desmond is happy, to which he says yes -- the pay is great, and he gets to travel the world.
"Ever been in love?" Charlie says.
"Thousands of times."
"That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about spectacular, consciousness altering love. You know what that looks like?"
"I wasn't aware that love looked like anything."
Charlie recounts his decision to go into the jet bathroom and swallow the bag of heroin, after he saw Marshal Mars with Kate and thought the cop had figured out he had drugs. As the bag got caught in his throat, Charlie says he saw a vision of a "rapturously beautiful" blonde woman -- Claire Littleton! -- and they were together. Charlie was about to be engulfed by an amazing feeling of love, but a "sodding idiot" -- Jack -- revived him and asked if he was okay.
Desmond offers him a choice -- either keep on drinking or go on with him to the benefit, give a 20-minute performance and get a stay in a five star hotel, courtesy one of the most powerful men in town. Or he can stay at the bar and face the "extermination of your musical career."
"Doesn't seem like a choice," says Charlie.
"There's always a choice, brother."
Desmond is driving Charlie to the benefit while Drive Shaft's first single, "You All Everybody," plays on CD. It is Charlie's turn to give a choice -- either he can show Desmond what he's talking about (the vision of overwhelming love), or Desmond can get out of the car. When Desmond says he doesn't know what he's talking about, Charlie suddenly grabs for the wheel of the Mercedes sedan. A struggle ensues, and the car goes speeding out of control, right off a landing in a marina and down into the water.
Desmond tries to rouse Charlie, who has been knocked unconscious, but he doesn't respond. He swims to the surface, gets another breath and goes down, and Charlie is now awake and rather casually staring out the car window at him, his left hand against the glass. Desmond gets a flash of another Charlie in another time at the Looking Glass station ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 2"), his hand against the glass, and NOT PENNY'S BOAT written on his palm. Desmond flashes back to 2004 L.A. and pulls Charlie to the surface as the emergency vehicles arrive.
At the hospital Desmond undergoes a checkup but is more concerned with finding Charlie. The doctor insists on sending Desmond for an MRI. Just as a Widmore worker asked him if he had anything metal on or inside of him just before the EM generator was turned on, the MRI tech goes through the same kind of questions. While inside the MRI chamber and enduring its loud noises, Desmond sees flashes of Penny, baby Charlie's hand, Penny kissing him, and the couple with their son. He pushes the panic button to get out.
Desmond tries to get information on Charlie, but a nurse won't help him, citing confidentiality. He sees a familiar face -- Jack -- and asks for his help to locate him. (The hospital is of course is St. Sebastian. Somewhere Juliet and Ethan are also probably making rounds.) Suddenly the very errant rocker he seeks appears, fleeing down the hallway in a hospital gown. Desmond chases him down a stairwell and into another floor, where Desmond finally corners him.
Charlie says he wasn't trying to kill him but was "trying to show you something." Desmond demands to see Charlie's hand, which is blank.
Desmond wants to know who Penny is. Charlie says he doesn't know but adds, "Ah, You felt it, didn't you?"
"I didn't feel anything."
"Then why are you accosting a man in a dressing gown?"
Desmond tries to take him with him. Charlie pulls away and says, "You think I can play a rock concert after all this? Nothing matters. This doesn't matter. All that matters is that we felt it."
He dares Desmond to stop him, and Charlie again rebuffs Desmond's attempt to take him with him. "Stop worrying about me and start looking for Penny."
Desmond is back with Widmore, complaining about the "junkie" who forced his car into the ocean. Widmore is upset, reminding him that when he gives Desmond a job, he expects it done. He tells Desmond he must now go to Mrs. Widmore himself with the news.
Naturally Mrs. Charles Widmore is Eloise, who is lecturing a catering employee on proper silverware placement when Desmond arrives. (The first establishing shot of the catering tent, a man can be seen sitting at a grand piano and playing. Guess who?) She is not upset at all when Desmond tells her Charlie has bailed out. With resignation she says a familiar line: "What happened, happened."
After their brief conversation, Desmond thinks he hears the name "Penny Milton" mentioned by two employees who are going over the guest list. The staff won't let Desmond see the list, and soon Eloise is involved. She tells him to stop, because someone has affected the way he sees things. "Whatever you're looking for, you need to stop looking for it."
Desmond wants to know why he can't look at the list, and Eloise says simply that he is not ready yet to look at it. The man who was playing the piano is observing all of this.
Desmond goes back to the limo for some scotch and some cool-down time. A man confronts Desmond as he sips some more MacCutcheon in the back seat. It's Daniel, dressed much as he was in Season 4, with the skinny dark tie and light shirt, with a snappy little hat added. "We need to talk," Daniel says.
Faraday asks Desmond if he ever experienced love at first sight. He recalls walking in a museum and seeing a woman with bright blue eyes and red hair -- Charlotte Staples! -- and falling instantly in love. Later that same night, he woke up and wrote in his journal. He shows Desmond the same leather journal he had in the Island timeline (it was a birthday gift from Eloise).
There are complex math formulas and diagrams on a page. Daniel says he doesn't understand them, he is a musician, not a scientist, but he himself wrote them down. Daniel showed the equations to a friend who was a Cal Tech math whiz, who told him they represented quantum physics, and were so advanced, that only someone who had spent his entire life studying physics was capable of producing them. Basically they stated that in order to prevent a terrible event, a catastrophe, a great amount of energy must be expended, such as a nuclear bomb blast.
Daniel gets existential, wondering what if these were not the lives they were to be leading, and instead were supposed to have others, in which they must change things. He does not want to set off a nuke, but he feels as if he already did. He asks Desmond why he asked Eloise about Penny.
"It happened to you too, didn't it?" Daniel says. "You felt it."
"I don't know what I felt."
"Yes, you do. You felt love."
"That's impossible, because I don't know anything about this woman. I don't know where she is. I don't even know if she exists. She's ... an idea."
"No, Mr. Hume, she is my half sister. And I can tell you exactly where and when you can find her."
Late that night, Desmond is at a stadium, the same one where he and Jack met while the doctor was running up and down the rows of seats (Season 2, "Man of Science, Man of Faith"). Now it is Penny who is doing the endless training up and down the rows. He stops her and offers his hand in introduction...
...And back to the Island in 2007, Desmond is lying on the floor of the EM shack, staring at his hand. He asks Widmore how long he has been unconscious, and it has been only a few seconds. Widmore apologizes for subjecting him to the generator, but surprisingly Desmond rises and tells Widmore he understands that he was brought back to the Island for a reason. "When do we start?" he asks Charles.
Zoe and a couple guards are escorting Desmond. She demands to know what happened -- only 20 minutes earlier he was beating the crap out of Widmore, and now he's "Mr. Cooperative."
"A lot can happen in 20 minutes."
And a lot can happen in seconds, as Sayid suddenly shows up and takes out the red shirt guards. He levels a handgun and Zoe and tells her simply to "run," which she wisely and immediately does. Sayid tells Desmond that there's no time to explain, except Team Widmore is a bunch of "very dangerous people," and they must leave at once.
"Why, of course," Desmond says. "Lead the way."
Desmond flashes back to the stadium. Penny asks him if he is okay, as he fainted once she took his hand. She also wants to know if they have met before, and he says he would remember if they did. They arrange to meet in one hour -- Penny has to get cleaned up -- for coffee at a shop at Melrose and Sweetzer, a Los Angeles intersection (any significance here?)
Back at the limo, Desmond asks George to get him the manifest for Oceanic Flight 815, more specifically the names of the passengers. When George asks why Desmond needs that, he says, "I want to show them something."
Boom. Fade to black.
Next week the sideways world will shift to Hurley, and I suspect the two time tracks/universes will continue even more to intersect and affect each other.
Notes and thoughts:
--Viewers are not the only ones who will have deja vu with the Sideways world -- Desmond asks Penny if he's met her before. Characters keep feeling this deja vu with each other.
--Desmond is the only main character in the Sideways world not to look into a mirror in an episode, unless you count him looking into the window of his submerged car as he looks at Charlie.
--In check other fan posts, mention was made a painting in Widmore's office, showing a balance scale with black and white stones on it, and a model of a sailing ship. Back in "Flashes Before Your Eyes," Widmore's office had a large painting of a polar bear on the wall. Other mention was made of Eloise's pendant, which I could not see well on my little TV. Her double pins on her jacket looked like lines with stars upon them. Stars represent navigation, which was one of her concerns in 2007 while working at the Lamppost Station in the church.
--The bunny was named Angstrom, which is a measuring unit, but also is the last name of John Updike's Rabbit character in multiple novels, as noted by other recappers. Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, a star basketball player in high school, struggles through the books to be more than just husband, father and businessman, while stuck in the small Pennsylvania town of his youth. There are also incidents of drowning and near drowning in the books.
No comments:
Post a Comment