“It’s like I already loved her. And that’s when things got weird.”
Leave it to Daniel Widmore (nee Faraday) to help make sense of everything. While the idea of the castaways having an awareness of their Earth-2 counterparts isn’t exactly a new concept, tonight’s episode more than confirmed it. It certainly made sense that Desmond would be the conduit for such a reveal, since he’s been known to time travel through his own consciousness on occasion. That’s likely what Widmore was banking on when he decided to bring him back to the island, and although Desmond wasn’t happy about it at first (and how could you after seeing that poor guy fry in the generator room?), he changed his mind after getting a sneak peak at his life in the mirror universe. It may have only lasted mere seconds, but Desmond is officially on board with Widmore’s plan. Too bad Sayid had to break up the party with some ninja-like stealth.
So what exactly did Desmond see while he was passed out in the generator room? A lot. In fact, just like Richard Alpert’s story a few weeks ago, tonight’s Desmond-centric episode was surprisingly straightforward in that it didn’t jump back and forth between the two realities. Instead, a majority of the action took place on Earth-2, where we learned that Desmond isn’t just on good terms with Charles Widmore – he’s his right-hand man. In fact, Widmore loves the guy so much that he’s willing to crack open a 60-year-old bottle of scotch just to celebrate his return. Now that he’s back in L.A., however, Widmore already has another assignment for him. It appears Mama Widmore is throwing a big charity bash where their musician son, Daniel, plans to mix classical music with rock ‘n roll by playing alongside Driveshaft. The only problem is that the band’s bassist has just been arrested for heroin possession, and in order to get him to the gig in one piece, Desmond is sent over to babysit.
Ah, Desmond and Charlie back together again. It’s no secret that these are two of my favorite characters on the show, so you have to love any plot device that puts them in the same room, especially when there’s actually a purpose to it. Though it’s hard to say whether Charlie had anything to do with Desmond’s flashes (would he have still seen those Earth-1 memories if Charlie hadn’t put his hand up against the glass?), his story about seeing Claire on the plane and instantly feeling like they were meant to be together had to have some kind of effect on him. At the very least, that underwater sequence proved to be a little eerie, if only because I worried that Charlie’s fate wouldn’t end be any different on Earth-2. Luckily, Desmond was able to save him this time around, but not without accruing some injuries of his own.
If Charlie was the catalyst for Desmond’s merging consciousness, then the CAT scan proved to be the electromagnetic force that amplified it. And after seeing Penny’s face during his latest flash, all bets were off. You just knew he was going to try and track her down, but who would have thought that Eloise Widmore (nee Hawking) would be the one to stand in his way? Though the writers were obviously having a little fun with her response to Desmond’s confession that Driveshaft would not be appearing at the event (“Whatever happened, happened”), her plea for him to stop looking for Penny was a major WTF moment. Not only does she appear to be privy to Desmond’s special ability, but she warns him that what he’s doing is a violation. But just what is it a violation of? The laws of science, or the rules of the island?
Anyone familiar with Desmond’s past exploits knows that he never gives up that easy, and he finally managed to track Penny down at the same stadium where he first met Jack. The tip was courtesy of her half-brother, Daniel, who had his own tale of déjà vu to share with Desmond about a certain redhead named Charlotte. Unlike the other Losties, Daniel actually has a theory behind the phenomenon – namely, that by setting off a nuclear bomb on Earth-1, their lives may have branched off into an alternate reality. It’s exactly the explanation that Desmond needed to help him on his mission, and after his meet-cute with Penny, he asks his driver (Fischer Stevens, in one of the episode’s many awesome cameos) to get the manifest listing the passengers on Oceanic 815 so that he can let them in on his little secret. If that final line didn’t send chills down your back at the prospect of these last six episodes, I don’t know what will.
