Lost: The Constant

Desmond: "Eight years from now, I need to call you. And I can't call you if I don't have your number."

Okay, Sherman. Set the Wayback Machine to 2.342, and oscillate at eleven hertz.

So. Now we know. The "side effects" of the Island combined with the Hatch explosion made Desmond bounce back and forth in time like Billy Pilgrim alternating between Dresden and Tralfamador. It wasn't actual, physical travel because only his consciousness took the trip. Desmond remembered the present while in the past, but had amnesia in the present. I'm sooo confused. And what on earth does Daniel Faraday's pink hairdryer in 1996 have to do with the Island?

I do like Desmond and his beloved Penny, our Island-crossed lovers, and that final scene on the phone really got to me. I was mildly disappointed that Desmond wasn't "special," that anyone could basically get unstuck in time... but I must admit that Daniel Faraday telling Desmond to go find him at Oxford in 1996 was pretty freaking cool. And I think I like Faraday now. I get the feeling he's not evil, that he means well. (I think Frank's okay, too. Not so sure about Charlotte, though.) And I really want to find out what happened to Faraday. Why was he crying when they found the wreckage of 815? If he was jumping back and forth, he must have known the wreckage was a setup, right?

The big news for me was the three month calendar in the communications room: October, November and December, 2004. Every day until December 24 had been crossed out, and George Minkowski said they had been waiting there, bored to death. What would be on the previous page? Did they happen to arrive around September 22, for instance? I'd think the calendar was a lie, except that Penny told Desmond she'd been searching for him for three years, too. So much for my handy time distortion theory that explained "taller ghost Walt." Although it didn't really explain why the helicopter took off at dusk and landed in the middle of the day.

My favorite little crossover flashback cool moment was Charles Widmore bidding on a journal written by the first mate of the Black Rock. She set sail from Portsmouth, England on a trading mission to the kingdom of Siam and was lost at sea, we know where. The journal was owned by the family of Tovard Hanso. Was that how the Dharma Initiative found the Island in the first place? Widmore won the journal in the auction. He is up to his ears in all this, somehow.

One big question about that men's room scene. Why did Widmore leave the water on, and carefully not touch the faucet handles? It made absolutely no sense, but it was so deliberate that it had to mean something. And I mean, more than a Howard Hughes phobia sort of thing, because Widmore did flush the john.

Character bits:

This episode's Desmond flashbacks must have taken place before the season two finale. Desmond's unauthorized trip to Oxford didn't explain how he ended up in prison. He was a private here, but a corporal in the other flashback. And he wasn't AWOL; he had two days leave, so this wasn't how he ended up in jail for "not following orders."

Speaking of ranks, Desmond is obviously a major commitment phobe. He joined a monastery to get out of marrying Ruth, and he joined the army to avoid Penny. Desmond, Desmond, Desmond. At least he regretted it this time.

Sayid was a good friend to Desmond. And he hasn't known him long.

"If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be my constant." That means something definitely went wrong for Daniel Faraday. But we knew that already.

We finally met time-tripping George Minkowski, and now he's dead. There were several other characters: Ray the nasty doctor, the guy with the tatts who said he was from Vegas, and Omar from Florida. We didn't see Regina. And who left the sick bay door open? Their "friend on the boat"? Again, I'm thinking Michael. Although I wouldn't call him a friend.

Bits and pieces:

— No eye scene at the beginning, but we sort of got one in the middle. When Ray the nasty doctor checked Desmond's eyes, we got a close-up of Desmond's left eye, then the right. And then Desmond immediately went back to eight years ago. Later, Desmond tried to use the light in his eyes to make himself go back. Was this a hint about what the "eye" scenes actually mean?

— No whooshing sound when Desmond went back and forth. Probably because it wasn't a flashback.

— Daniel said it was a random effect, sometimes hours, sometimes years. That explained Desmond's Charlie-visions.

— There were a huge number of, well, numbers. I'm sure I didn't catch them all because I never do, but here we go.

Frank's heading was 40 miles north at 305 degrees, 7 K (knots?) east.
Five minutes in Desmond's present took 75 minutes in the past.
The Black Rock set sail March 22, 1845.
The journal was lot number 2342, same as the device setting.
Widmore's bidder number was 755.
The journal sold for 380,000 pounds.
The date was December 24, 2004.
Penny's address was 423 Cheyne Walk.
Her phone number was 79460893.

— I'm glad we didn't spend all that much time with the army stuff, because I have to say I wasn't all that interested in the Private Benjamin, Officer and a Gentleman pushups in the rain.

— Was Henry Ian Cusick wearing a wig in the present or the past? That military haircut was convincing, but it wasn't quite as short as some of the other soldiers. Interestingly, in 1996, Desmond had no hair, but Daniel Faraday had a ton.

Quotes:

Desmond: "What's that for?"
Daniel: "Radiation."
Desmond: "Do I get one?"
Daniel: "You don't need one. It's for prolonged exposure. I do this twenty times a day."
Desmond: "So what do you put on your head?"
Does that explain what happened to Daniel?

Desmond: "You believe me? You still care about me?"
Penny: "I've been looking for you for the past three years. I know about the Island. I've been researching..." At this point, an entire phrase was garbled. Argh.

Four out of four polar bears,

Billie
---
Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

• Next episode
  
• Lost season 4
  
• Lost home