LostEpisode 405The ConstantEveryone once in a while, the writers of Lost hand out to it’s viewers a healthy dose of humility. You know, we – as fans – sometimes like to think we know what’s going on. Even worse, sometimes we think that the writers don’t know what’s going on – that they’re just winging it. It’s almost like the writers are giving us the finger - and telling us that they Have A Plan.
The beauty of this show is that you never know what to expect. I’ll be honest here and admit that at times I’ve wondered if at the end of season 6, we will be left with more unanswered questions than we have answers. I think that I have been reassured. The writers
know what they are doing!!!
In this wonderfully written episode, Lost addresses Desmond’s ability to “time travel”. While it doesn’t answer all questions (and let’s face it – have we ever gotten a straight answer as yet?), it goes a long way to reassure us that Desmond’s visions were not just something drummed up at the last moment, but it is something that has been carefully thought about and will probably be linked to the larger answers (when we eventually get them) relating to the island’s secrets.
I don’t even know how to start summarizing this one.
As Frank, Sayid and Desmond attempt to get to the boat offshore, they travel through what seems to be a storm cloud, and Desmond ‘flashes’ between his life in 1996 and 2004. The problem is that his 2004 self does not remember - or know - what he is doing on a helicopter with people he’s never seen before. Desmond, as far as he is concerned, is still in 1996 and still in the army.
On the boat, Desmond is separated from Sayid and taken to a sick bay, where he meets the former radio guy – George Minkowski. Minkowski, it transpires, suffers from the same kind of “flashes” too. He informs Desmond that he was not the only one, and that his colleague Brandon eventually perished from this.
Frank, meanwhile, helps Sayid call Jack, who is extremely relieved to hear from them. When Sayid informs them of Desmond’s weird behaviour, Daniel asks to speak to him. Frank assists Sayid again by getting him to Desmond. Daniel tells Desmond that when he next jumps, he needs to go to Oxford University and find the 1996 version of Daniel Faraday.
Using information given to him by the 2004 version of Daniel, Desmond is able to find Daniel at Oxford and convince him that the future version of Daniel sent him. Daniel concludes that Desmond’s consciousness is jumping between his 1996 and 2004 bodies. The only way to stop it is to find a constant in both worlds – something to essentially tie him down to both worlds.
Desmond realizes that Penny is his constant. The last 10 or 15 minutes of this episode were extremely tense as Desmond in the past and present race against time and death to contact Penny. In an incredibly emotional climax, present day Desmond makes contact with present day Penny. They pledge their undying love. I had misty eyes at this point. Fantastic!
And of course, it doesn’t end there. Zoom in on the island, where Daniel is busy browsing his notes, and comes across a page in his notebook where he’s written “If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be MY constant”.
Wow. How awesome was this episode!! I think this has got to rate as one of my favourite episodes of Lost thus far.
The most important thing, of course, is Desmond’s jumping/flashing… whatever you want to call it. Daniel asks Des if he’s encountered a large amount of radiation or electromagnetic pulse recently. Well, of course he has... Des turned the fail-safe key and turned the sky purple after all.
Ok, large electromagnetic pulse plus something equals to Desmond’s jumping. This goes a long way in explaining Desmond’s visions of Charlie’s death. When he turned the key and turned the sky purple, he started jumping. But it couldn’t have been as bad as these jumps were because I doubt he remembers jumping and they were, by all accounts, just slivers. Was it because in Des’s previous jumps, Charlie was his constant?? Interesting. I wonder if it’s going to happen again.
Also as interesting is Daniel’s scribble in his book – about Des being his constant. Daniel’s jumping between consciousnesses could explain his poor memory and the fact that he apparently needs a keeper/care-giver when he’s not on dangerous boat missions to unlocatable islands. Is he really jumping or is this just a failsafe?
And wouldn’t present day Daniel remember past Desmond?? Does this mean that Daniel has somehow intentionally set up this whole past and future meeting?
Ok, key points from this episode
• Desmond’s time jumping.
• We meet four new characters on the boat. The first is someone called something like Kimmy, and he’s from Alaska. Next is a guy called Omar, and he’s from Florida. Ok, I don’t really remember where they are from. I’m not sure if its important where they hail from or not. Third is Ray, apparently a doctor. And finally, the elusive George Minkowski who – by the end of the episode – is either dead or unconscious (but on his way to being dead anyway)
• Someone helps Sayid and Desmond escape from the locked room they were being detained in. Who? Frank?? Benry’s man on the boat??
• George Minkowski is also suffering from these jumps. Unfortunately for him, he is so far unable to find himself a constant. Before he dies/passes out he helps Des and Sayid get to the radio room. He also informs them that his colleague Brandon also had these jumping episodes and eventually died because of it.
• It doesn’t appear that the crew apart from Naomi, Daniel, Charlotte, Miles and possibly Frank know of their mission on the island. Minkowski tells Sayid that they just wanted to look at the island (him and the deceased Brandon).
• Charles Widmore purchases the diary of the Captain of a ship that set sail in 1845 – the Black Rock. It was previously owned by a man named Hanso.
• Daniel tells Jackass that his perception of time on the island is not exactly correct. This ties in with the fact that Sayid says they left the island at dusk but land on the boat in bright sunshine. Hmm. The storm clouds could be the link??
I’m sure I’ve missed out quite a bit. I cannot wait for the next episode. I know I say that every week, but it’s true!!!
What we have learnt this week• Des’s consciousness traveled between 1996 and 2004
• Des in 2004 makes contact with Penny in 2004
• Daniel is obviously experimenting in time travel/jumping
• Charles Widmore buys a diary belonging to the captain of the Black Rock
New Questions• What exactly caused Desmond to jump between 1996 and 2004?
• Is Daniel currently experiencing jumps as well?
• Do the boaties work for Charles Widmore?
• How did the diary of the Captain of the Black Rock make it off the island? (I know this one is probably not important, but I want to know)
Interesting Trivia (from
this site)
• In physics and chemistry, the
Faraday constant is the amount of electric charge per mole of electrons. The Faraday constant was named after British scientist Michael Faraday, and is widely used in calculations in electrochemistry.
F = 96 485.3383(83) coulomb/mole
• The owner and seller of the Black Rock ledger was named Tovard Hanso, who possessed the same last name as both Magnus and Alvar.
• The number that Daniel tells Desmond to tell him in the past for the machine frequency is 2.342 . The betting number for the book Mr. Widmore buys is 2-3-4-2 . Penny's apartment number is 4 23 .
• We found out that the Black Rock ship, which was found on the island, set sail from Portsmouth, England, on March 22, 1845. The ship was on a trading mission to the Kingdom of Siam and later was tragically lost at sea.
• As seen near the landing pad, the name of the freighter is "Kahana".
• Clues from Season 4 bonus material «Find 815 ARG»:
Penny's number '(020)7946 0893';
Penny's address '423 Cheyne Walk';
'Queen's College, Department of Physics and Southfield', where Daniel teaches;
'Camp Millar', where Desmond did his military time.
Also, Oscar Talbot refers to the journal being auctioned in Chapter 5 of the Find 815 ARG.
Interesting Screen Captures (All screencaps used in this blog are from
this site.)
Daniel and Eloise, his lab rat
2004 Penny receiving a call from 2004 Desmond
A tearful Des talking to Penny.
Doctor Ray
Since I don't have any Sawyer pics this week, I'll put up one of Desmond.
Nice arms!!!!!