Happily Ever After

I remember way back when Desmond first arrived on the scene and I crazily hypothesized that he was a modern day Jesus. While he hasn’t quite achieved messiah status he certainly has turned out to be the most important character in LOST.

Alternaverse – Desmond Hume, Swinging Bachelor

Thanks to a massive EMP aimed directly at him Desmond finds himself staring at an Oceanic arrivals board in the alternaverse. He runs into Hurley and Claire before he’s picked up by everyone’s favorite Short Circuit star, Fisher Stevens. More LOST related Fisher Stevens was also George Minkowski, radio operator for the Freighter who succumbed to time jumping sickness cause he couldn’t find a constant. George is a limo operator now rather than a radio jockey and he can take Desmond anywhere he wants to go. First stop? Widmore Industries!

At Widmore Industries Desmond is treated to a warm welcome by former arch nemesis Charles Widmore. Alterna-Desmond is his right hand man and fixer. A man so trusted that Widmore shares some of his prized McCutchen scotch with him. A drink, you’ll remember, Widmore declined to share while he was busy telling Desmond he wasn’t worthy of his daughter. It seems Desmond has achieved that which he wanted in the original timeline – the approval of one Charles Widmore.

Widmore charges Desmond with a seemingly simple task – pick up the freshly bailed Charlie Pace so he and Drive Shaft can perform with his artistic musician son at some charity benefit. Not so fast Charlie says – I had a near death experience where I saw Claire and loved her and now I want you to have the same thing! Next thing you know they’re both sinking to the bottom of the ocean in Desmond’s car in a scene purposefully similar to when Charlie died on the Island. Desmond gets a flash of “Not Penny’s Boat” and then he’s in the hospital. The MRI machines electromagnetic play further havoc with Desmond’s brain banana and he gets flashes of his other life with Penny. This causes him to try and track down Charlie again. After a brief talk with Jack (what are the chances that 3 of us Oceanic folks would be in the same place at the same time Jack wonders…) and a chase Desmond catches up with Charlie who has some sage words for him, “I wouldn’t be looking for me, I’d be looking for Penny”.

Desmond heads off to confront Mrs. Widmore and her fabled temper and she surprisingly takes the news of no Drive Shaft really well. Up until Desmond hears “Penny Milton” (I wonder if her mother is somebody we know??) and asks her about it. At that point Mrs. Widmore goes into full Mrs. Hawking mode and tells him that he shouldn’t be looking for her. Why is it that Eloise, regardless of timeline, always seems to know more about what’s going on that anyone else? Is it because of Daniel’s notebook?

Speaking of Dan – he shows up and tells Desmond about his brief encounter with Charlotte and how it was love at first sight. Yes, it seems the original timeline is bleeding into the alternaverse for many people. Dan gives Desmond the location of his half sister – one Penelope Milton. Desmond meets up with her at the very same place he originally met up with Jack (Hawaii’s Pro Bowl Stadium). Is Penny there doing the same thing Desmond was – training for a race around the world? They talk and Desmond proves that I was on to something by fainting whenever I talked to a girl in high school – he secures a date!

On Island – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Sayid

Desmond wakes up and finds he’s been kidnapped by his best bud, Charles Widmore. Desmond shares his IV bag with Charles. Several times. Across the face. After that Charles tells Desmond that he hopes that everything he suspects about him is right and that he’s going to ask him to sacrifice something. He then unleases like a billion electromagnetons on him (I think the technical term is gausses?) in a little box that looks suspiciously like Jacob’s Cabin. This zapping causes Desmond to shift conscious to the alternaverse where he spends a good couple hours running after Charlie before he shakes Penny’s hand and is transported back. Only those hours in the alternaverse were only seconds in Island time.

Desmond wakes up with a serenity that comes from knowing what he has to do. He calmly tells Widmore he’s ready to do what needs to be done and Widmore sends him off with a bunch of cronies. In the jungle ninja Sayid shows up and kills everyone except Zoe, who he allows to run off, and Desmond who he tells to come with him. “Sure, brutha”.

Alternaverse – How Easy Is It To Get A Passenger Manifest?

Back in the Alternaverse Desmond tells George to get him his flight’s manifest (more Fisher Stevens? Yes, thank you!). He’s got to find everyone on the Island in the Alternaverse and make them see something just like Charlie made him see. End game has begun. LOST!

Theoryland

-We’ve been focusing so much on the good versus evil battle on the Island that we’ve been missing another of LOST’s central themes: love. So many couples – Penny/Desmond, Sun/Jin, Sawyer/Juliet, Charlie/Claire, Hurley/Libby, Sayid/Nadia, Jack/Kate (Boo Kate!). Will the re-pairing of these couples in the Alternaverse repair what’s going on On Island (re-pair/repair, hilarious Mike!).

-Still on the subject of the Alternaverse – does the alternaverse represent a place where you get your deepest desire? Desmond wanted Widmores’ approval, he got it. Daniel wanted to play the piano, done. Hurley wanted his bad luck reversed – blammo! Sawyer wanted a legal way to take out the real Sawyer – booya! Claire wanted to raise Aaron – schblammy! Kate wanted…well who the f#@k cares what Kate wanted! Is it sort of like the cursed monkey paw where you get your wish but it has horrible consequences? In the end will the Losties be given the choice to go on living their idyllic lives in the alternaverse but allowing Evil Locke to escape the Island in Island Time?

-Desmond’s mission is to bring all the Oceanic passengers together and make them see Island universe. Somehow this will lead to our end game. Will both universes survive? Will one be destroyed? Will they bend together in some sort of crazy bi-universe milkshake?

-Why is Desmond so damn calm and serene now? Is it because he knows exactly what he has to do? He’s almost as zombielike as Sayid is. Why did he go so willingly with him? Cause he knows that what he has to do doesn’t happen On Island but in the alternaverse?