will miss your recap ;(
have a great vacation!

Well, well…..it seems our intrepid host is waist-deep in powder snow this week, have fun! Does Oceanic fly into Wyoming?
*cue Twighlight Zone music *

Before the episode recap, I want to say it was a wonderful episode…
The tragic, noble Desmond is the favorite Lost character in my household (wife and daughter love him) Let’s face it we all love him. He’s perhaps the only character who never compromises his values and integrity for an ulterior gain. The grand, sweeping love and estrangement with Penny is one of the most compelling story lines on Lost.
The episode was taught and well-written AND it actually ended without loose ends…sweet. Bravo to the writers
I thoroughly enjoyed all the time-traveling. It’s a fantastic addition to the story line.
RECAP:

“The Constant”
Season 4, Episode 5
We pick up with Desmond and Sayid in the chopper heading out to the freighter. Desmond holds the photo of him and Penny. Sayid asks what he expects when he gets to the freighter? Desmond says answers. Sayid notices a handwritten “cheat sheet” on the controls and asks Lapidus if he knows where the freighter is. Lapidus doesn’t appreciate the question and says he knows where it is. It gets dark as they fly directly into a storm, and the turbulence increases. Suddenly, they hear a loud noise and see a quick blast of violet light, and BZAAM.

Desmond is back in basic training at his military base with a sergeant yelling at him to get on his feet. Desmond’s disoriented, doesn’t know what’s going on. The sergeant orders everyone in the yard double time. As they’re doing sit ups, Desmond tries to explain to his friend how vivid the dream was, like he was there. But he’s caught by the sergeant, and in the middle of the sergeant yelling at him BZAAM.

Desmond is back on the chopper, but Desmond is panicked and confused. He tries to undo his harness. He’s afraid and confused. Sayid asks him what he’s doing, but Desmond says, “Who are you? How do you know my name?”

At the beach camp, Jack asks Charlotte if the chopper took off a day ago, why haven’t they heard from them? Charlotte doesn’t know but doesn’t seem worried about it. Faraday tells Jack and Juliet that their perception of how long they’ve been gone is not necessarily how long they’ve actually been gone. As long as Lapidus flew on the bearing Faraday gave him and stayed on it, then everything should be okay. If he didn’t, there might be side effects.

The chopper lands on the ship. Desmond freaks out, says he doesn’t know anyone. Two big, tough looking guys, Omar and Keamy, come out and ask Lapidus why he came back with two crash survivors. Lapidus tells them Desmond was okay coming out but they hit some weather… Keamy cuts him off and says they’ll take him to sick bay and let the doctor check him out. Desmond says he doesn’t know those guys, that he’s not supposed to be BZAAM.

Desmond is back at the military base with his sergeant yelling at him, exactly where he left off. Desmond is shocked and speechless. The sergeant orders everyone to run, and Desmond gets dirty looks from the squad. Later, as they load a truck in the rain, he tries to explain it to his friend. Desmond says he left. He was on a boat with an Arab who seemed to know him, and then he realizes he also had a photo of Penny. He races off to a pay phone when BZAAM.

Desmond is back on the freighter being led to the sick bay. Keamy and Omar introduce themselves and say they last ported in Fiji so they know they’re still in the Pacific. They lock him in sick bay, and someone behind him shouts out. Desmond turns around to find a man strapped down to one of the beds. The man asks if it’s happening to him, too. But then the man goes catatonic. Desmond yells at him trying to bring him around. Then, almost like someone flipped a switch, the guy is back. He says he was just on a Ferris wheel.

On the freighter deck, Sayid talks to Lapidus and asks what’s happening to Desmond. If they took off at dusk, how did they land on the ship during the day? Lapidus doesn’t have any answers. Sayid asks to use the phone to call Jack. Lapidus warns him the phones only call each other, so don’t bother trying to reach Baghdad. Sayid calls Jack, and tells him something happened to Desmond during the flight. Faraday tells them they don’t know why but coming to and from the island causes people to become a little confused if they don’t do it just right. He asks if Desmond has been recently exposed to high levels of radiation or electromagnetism. Jack and Juliet exchange a look. They know he definitely has. Juliet asks if it’s amnesia, but Faraday says no, it’s not.

Down in sick bay, the doctor enters. The man strapped down says it’s happening to Desmond, too. It’s gonna happen to all of them once they start heading to the island again. Ray, the doctor, gives the man a sedative and the man goes to sleep. Ray pulls out a penlight and checks Desmond’s eyes. Ray asks what was the last thing he remem BZAAM.

Desmond is back at the military base at the pay phone, a minute after he was last there. He calls Penny and tells her he’s confused. He needs to see her. She asks why she would still care about him after he broke up with her? Penny tells him not to bother her and not to come to her flat because she’s moved. Desmond asks where, he needs BZAAM.

He’s back on the freighter, completing his sentence not to Penny but to the doctor. Ray asks if Desmond just experienced something. Lapidus enters with Sayid, says Faraday wants to talk to Desmond. Ray doesn’t want them down there, but Sayid slams him against the wall and orders Lapidus to give Desmond the phone. Ray reaches over and hits an alarm. Sayid yells to give Desmond the phone. Now! Faraday asks Desmond what year he thinks it is. Desmond tells him it’s 1996. Okay… Then Faraday asks where he is in 1996. Desmond says Camp Millar, Royal Scots regiment north of Glasgow. Faraday tells him to go to Oxford University, Queen’s College physics department. He wants Desmond to find him there.

Back on the beach, Faraday frantically looks for his journal. Jack wants to know why Desmond thinks it’s 1996. Faraday says it’s a random, unpredictable effect. The displacement is sometimes only a couple hours, other times it’s years. He finds the journal and gets back on the phone with Desmond. Faraday says when Desmond finds him, tell him to set the device to 2.342 oscillating at eleven hertz. If he needs convincing, Desmond should tell him he knows about Eloise and BZAAM.

Desmond is back at Camp Millar at the pay phone. He gets up and heads for Oxford. He finds Faraday, who is one of the instructors at Oxford. Desmond tells him he’s just been to the future and spoke to Faraday there. Faraday doesn’t believe him, so Desmond gives him the numbers: 2.342 oscillating at eleven hertz. Faraday wants to know who told him those numbers. It’s clear Faraday doesn’t believe him, so Desmond says he knows about Eloise.

Faraday brings Desmond to his lab. There he has a maze set up with a device mounted on a boom-arm. Faraday sets the dials to the numbers Desmond gave him and brings out Eloise, a large white rat. Faraday explains that if the numbers Desmond gave him are correct, his device will unstick Eloise in time. He flips a switch and BZZTT! A blast of purple light washes over the rat. The rat just sits there. Still. Desmond starts to ask what happened but Faraday shushes him. He said Eloise isn’t back yet. Then the rat becomes alert and takes off, running the maze perfectly. It worked! Faraday explains he only finished the maze that morning and he won’t teach Eloise to run it until an hour from now. Desmond asks if he sent her to the future, and Faraday says just her consciousness. Her mind. Desmond asks how that helps him, but Faraday is confused. He’s supposed to help Desmond? He thought Desmond came to help him. Desmond only knows that Faraday ends up on an island. But why would BZAAM.

Back in sick bay, Keamy rips the phone out of Desmond’s hand. Lapidus is ordered to go see the captain. They slam the door and lock Desmond and Sayid inside. Desmond says he has to go back, that Faraday said he’d help. When the man strapped on the bed hears Sayid call Desmond by his name, he speaks up and tells them he’s George Minkowski, the communications officer. All calls went through him in the radio room. Every so often he would get an incoming call he was not supposed to answer. Those calls were from Desmond’s girlfriend, Penelope Widmore. BZAAM.

Desmond comes to in Faraday’s lab. Faraday says he was out for 75 minutes. How long was he in the future? Desmond says about five minutes. Faraday guesses that the progression is exponential. Each time his consciousness jumps, it gets harder and harder to jump back. Then Desmond notices that Eloise is dead, and the implication that the same thing could happen to him is disturbing. Faraday guesses it was a brain aneurysm, that maybe the rat’s brain short-circuited. Eloise couldn’t tell the difference between the present and the future because she had no anchor, no constant: something familiar in both times to provide stability. Desmond has nothing familiar in the future, no constant. If he wants it to stop, he has to find something there, something he really cares about, that also exists here. Desmond asks if it can be a person. Faraday says maybe, as long as he can make contact. Desmond races out but BZAAM.

He’s back on the freighter. Desmond tells Minkowski he needs to call Penny. Minkowski tells him someone sabotaged all the equipment two days ago. They lost all communications with the mainland. He could’ve fixed the radio but then he went nuts. Desmond asks if there’s a way out, and Minkowski points to the door, it’s unlocked and open. They obviously have a friend onboard. Desmond notices Minkowski’s nose is bleeding. Sayid says the corridors are clear BZAAM.

Desmond comes to in a stairwell. He races off to an auction house in London where Charles Widmore is bidding on the ship’s journal from the Black Rock. Widmore wins the bid, and Desmond asks to speak with him. Widmore says okay and goes inside a bathroom, fully expecting Desmond to follow. Desmond tells Widmore he needs to get in touch with Penny. Widmore berates Desmond, and Desmond asks why Widmore hates him so much. Widmore laughs, says it’s not him who hates Desmond, and gives him Penny’s new address. BZAAM.

Desmond is back on the freighter. Minkowski understands. It’s getting harder to come back and it starts happening faster. As they make their way up to the radio room, Minkowski explains that he and Brandon decided to take the ship’s tender out to see the island. Brandon started acting crazy so they had to turn around. Desmond asks where’s Brandon now. Minkowski says in a body bag.

They reach the radio room, and Sayid starts fixing the phone. Suddenly, Minkowski falls limp on the table. Sayid says after Desmond makes the call, someone needs to tell him precisely what is going on. Desmond sees a calendar and realizes it 2004. Minkowski’s body begins to twitch, and he cries out he can’t get back. Then he goes slack. He’s dead, and Desmond knows the same thing is going to happen to him, too. BZAAM.

In 1996 London, Desmond races to Penny’s new address and knocks. When she sees it’s him, she wants nothing to do with him. Desmond asks for her new number. He says he made a huge mistake and that he never should have broken up with her. Penny tells him his apologies don’t matter. Desmond explains that eight years from then, in 2004, he’s going to call her on Christmas Eve. She reluctantly gives it to him and he begs her not to change it. She kicks him out and BZAAM.

Desmond is back on the freighter. Desmond quickly repeats Penny’s number to Sayid, and the call goes through. Desmond waits as it rings, hoping it goes through. Then, “Hello?” Penny picks up. Desmond can’t believe she answered, and Penny can’t believe he called. She asks where he is, and he explains he’s been on an island. He asks if she still cares about him, and she says yes. She’s been searching for him for three years. She knows about the island, she’s been doing research on it. A burst of static drowns her out. She comes back in and says when she talked to Charlie, she knew he was still alive. Desmond tells Penny he loves her and always will. Penny says no matter what, she’ll find him. She loves him and then the phone goes dead. The battery died, but it was enough. Desmond recognizes Sayid and is all right now.
At the beach camp, Faraday flips through his journal and sees an entry that reads, “If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be my constant.”

OOH! I really enjoyed last nights episode. It definitely helps shed light on some of the mysteries of the island. But seeing that I have flashbacks to when Jack and Ben first met. Jack wanted off the island and Ben explained to him that life carried on while they had been gone. Ben showed jack highlights of the Red Socks winning the World Series.

If their perception of time is not what it seems then I’m confused by that past scene.

So someone please clarify the boat that was found on the island and the boat from last night. Also.. what journal was Mr. Widmore bidding on?

I like LOOKING at her….

A few other things -

This show is so f-ing great because there can be so many story lines.

Ok now here are a few things…

I forget who it was last night but someone said if you try to go back to the island the crazy things start to happen. So is it when you leave and come back that you go nuts? In that case will everyone have a constant??
Why is Desmond Daniels constant….is it because the journal he kept is from 1994 and he did meet desmond? Im so confused on that.

As for Charlotte her flash back saw her on a desert digging up a polar bear? Is she on the island in the future there or is it a flashback of her digging it up?

Maybe Ben knows he can leave via the submarine and avoid the crazy sh@t that happens to people. I really have to start keeping notes during episodes cause i thought of a lot more stuff….oh well enjoy the ride i guess….

Excellent episode !! Quite moving at the end when Desmond makes contact with Penny! She looked so pretty and happy!
I am now more positive that Michael is Ben’s man on the boat! It makes more sense than someone of the 4 that landed on the island. Plus, his name is on the cast of characters at the beginning.
I think Daniel Faraday is an important character on this season and will play a significant role.
Penny has something to do with the Dharma Initiative I am sure (at the end she says “I know about the Island!” “I’ve been looking for you for the past 3 years!” ) so maybe his father is also involved and that black rock journal has some important information that he needs, i dont know what that could be but the fact is that the black roat ship did land in the island! And, why did penny’s father give the adress to Desmond so easily? I have the record that he doesnt want his daughter to be approached by Desmond… And and and, did he leave the water running on purpose ? sort of a hint for desmond to calculate how much time he was gone? … curious facts….

love the episode, best so far. Desmond´s a great character!
Penny and her father probably will be a great part of the mistery.
why would that guy from the boat have specific orders not to answer
penny´s calls?
Mr Windmore can be Elsa´s boss, the guy who´s looking for Ben
(he´s a powerful man which also reminds me of Sus´s father)
The jounal from the black rock probably contains some sort of information about the island.
loved Adam´s theory that in real life the crash happend just a few days or weeks ago but I
still can work a timeline in my mind…

PS: you noticed that they kept talking about the captain of the boat? I
think is going to be Michael.

I believe time elapses at the same speed on the island as the rest of the planet….coming and going…now that’s a different story. There is some time/space disruption surrounding the island.

I loved it when Daniel Faraday asked Desmond…”Have you been exposed to any electromagnetic energy?”
D”UH…like more than anyone in the history of the world!

HERE’S A QUESTION FOR ALL OF YOU:
Wouldn’t Desmond had remembered he had one crazy day back in 1996 when he kept blanking out and hallucinated about being on a ship and visiting some time-traveling zany professor at Oxford with a rat named Eloise?

I also didn´t understand Daniel´s statement that the future can´t be altered…

My first though was that it was your basic “back to the future´s time and space continuum”.
I assumed Desmond didn´s remenber the day in 1996 because it hasn´t happened yet.
Once he got out the island something happened that took him to the past. Then his
past was altered and therefore he´s future (as well as Daniel´s).
I though Daniel´s jounal was altered like Marty Mcfly´s family photograph…

But probably Daniel´s statment is a way that the writers found to tell us that´s not that, right?

I found the comment that Desmond is Daniel’s constant very intriguing - if you remember from Season 4, Ep.1/2, (not sure which) when Daniel F. is watching TV, he is crying when he find the news that Oceanic crashed… but why? Perhaps what happened to Desmond happened to Farraday at one point or another and Dan knew this would happen.

Hi people
Does anyone remember if the bearing followed by Lapidus to the freighter (305) is the same like the one given to Michael by Ben when he was ‘released’ from the island?

Vassilis
The bearing given to Micheal was 325 not 305, not sure why it is different though.

About the not being able to alter the future thing, I was thinking that they did mention something about a course correction. I take this as you can’t alter the future because things will happen to correct themselves.

Oh dear - think I’m even more confused after reading all of these comments.

I didnt pick up on the fact that Penny’s Dad was bidding on the journal from the BlackRock ship. If that was in 1996 then how was the journal found but the ship appeared on the island.

The “flashbacks” that Des is having - are they really things that happened in 1996 or are they happening now and they are changing the past so that it fits in with the future? Does that make sense? If these things really happened in 1996 then why does Desmond not recognise Faraday.

AND why does Desmond not remember meeting Jack - surely he would even think that Jack looked familiar and comment on it.

PS Scott - hope you have had a good holiday.

Hi

did anyone note whether the number(co-ordinates) on the book in the auction which pennys dad brought were the same numbers farraday gave desmond to tell him at oxford for the experiment??

BLACK ROCK THEORY….. Lost writters slipped this in ever so eloquently then let its significance get outweighed by the rest of the storyline which delt with the island relationship to time. Eitherway I could not help but focus on the significance of the Black Rock painting and the log book. Is it me, or does anyone else out there feel the “hostiles” (the word first brought up at the end of season 2 but addressed in season 3) are actually survivors of the Black Rock?

Great posts, there are so many different ideas, here are my thoughts on some of them:

1. adam: That’s a good theory about how time on the island passes much quicker than real life. How will the survivors explain Aaron though? The list of passengers won’t have him on it, but when they get off, he will be, what, a year old or something?

2. Karen: I noticed Michael’s real name on the opening credits too. if the writers want to keep stuff secret, they really shouldn’t do that! Also, Penny’s father sooooooooo has something to do with Dharma. And your thought about him leaving the water running was GENIUS!

3. Todd/Karen: I thought it was odd how in 1996 Desmond had no contact with Penny until he had to. Then he said he would contact her in 8 years. So when was it that he tried going for a job with Penny’s dad, got turned down and decided to go on the boat race to prove himself to Penny’s dad? I thought that would have been closer to 2004, like in 2000. So it’s as if he said to her: “I’ll contact you in 8 years”, then got back together with her, then broke up with her to go on the boat race? Will someone please correct me if I’m getting this wrong?!

4. Niall: I totally forgot there was two islands! Is that where the Others have disappeared to?!

5. Jason: Are the hostiles another name for the Others?

6. Sandy: the father of Claire’s baby was her ex-boyfriend, you know, that slacker back in Australia who dumped her when she got pregnant.
Having said that, if it turns out that the real father of her baby is someone on the island by some bizarre mix up that she doesn’t know about……I’m not watching it anymore.

jason… No problem! I picked up on it the first time they mentioned his last name. I have used Faraday cages for projects at work and couldn’t help but put it together.

One other thing I thought of after my last post is that in “The Constant”, Desmond is sent to meet with Daniel at Oxford university, where he is conducting time travel tests, back in 1996. In real life Michael Faraday was awarded an honorary degree from Oxford. Do you think that Daniel Faraday is supposed to be Michael Faradays great grandson or something?

Amy - I have found this out for you:
Numbers: 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 . (edit) The auction number of the Black Rock diary is 2342. 23 and 42 are two of the numbers.

Another interesting fact:
Ben has a drawer full of various currencies from around the world yet he clearly hasn’t been to England in a while. The twenty pound note shown is from the “D” series of banknotes featuring a portrait of Michael Faraday.
This note was withdrawn from use in February 2001, almost four years before this episode is set and was replaced by a new design featuring Edward Elgar. It has since been replaced again.

I got this information from this website - quite interesting to use this for quotes and trivia:
http://www.tv.com/lost/the-constant/episode/1154866/summary.html

Adding more fuel to the fire that Penny’s Father, Charles Widmore, know’s something about the island. On Henry Gale’s ballon (Ben Claimed to be Henry upon being captured the first time by the crash survivors, but when they went to check out the ballon they found the dead body with identifcation of the real Henry buried) it says “Widmore Labs”
Also the Pregnancy tests used on the island by Sun & Kate were made by “Widmore Labs”

The links to the picture can be found here:
http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Image:Henry_gale%27s_balloon.gif
http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Image:Widmore_preg_test.jpg

Yeup… The “Others” are the “Hostiles”. The ones that took out the Dharma Initiative. What’s also interesting is Clancy Brown “Joe” (the guy in the hatch with Desmond when he first crashed onto the island) mentioned the “Hostiles” to Desmond. Now here is a little something just to get one thinking…. I have heard hypothesis that Ben was aware all along of what was going on in the Swan hatch and that he actually got captured on purpose to master mind its destruction by Locke. (Interesting theory…but I don’t agree with it) If so…. I think he would have been aware of Desmond’s sail boat. Wow….that was going further back then what I wanted.

Kilby!!!!! You amaze me again with your keen awareness(Faraday) on the money!!! YOU took it to a whole other level for me THANK YOU AGAIN!!!

LOVED THIS WEEKS EP OF LOST, SHED ALOT OF LIGHT, BUT ALSO CREATED ALOT MORE QUESTIONS!
I ALSO BELIEVE THAT TIME IS ONLY AFFECTED WHEN TRAVELING TO AND FROM THE ISLAND BECAUSE THE CHOPPER WAS ONLY IN FLIGHT FOR 20 MINS YET IT WAS OVER A DAY ON THE ISLAND. THERE ARE 72 LOTS OF 20 MINS IN A DAY MEANING 1 DAY OFF THE ISLAND WOULD = 72 DAYS ON THE ISLAND WHICH DOESNT MAKE SENCE CAUSE PENNY HAS BEEN LOOKING FOR DESMOND FOR 3 YEARS.
THE BEARING DANIEL GAVE FRANK IS THE SAME BEARING REVEALED TO LOCKE ON EKO’S JESUS STICK “BY THE LIGHT” AND NOT THE SAME BEN GAVE MICHAEL. SO DOES BEN KNOW AN EASIER WAY OFF OR DID HE LEAD MICHAEL SOMEWHERE ELSE?
LOTS OF NUMBERS THIS WEEK. DESMOND KEPT TRAVLING FORM 1996 - 2004, 8 YEARS, HE JUMPED THROUGH TIME 8 TIMES AND SAID HE WOULD CONTACT PENNY IN 8 YEARS. THE SETTING DANIEL GAVE DESMOND WAS 2342, TWO OF THE FAMOUS NUMBERS ALSO THE LOT NUMBER OF THE BLACK ROCK LEDGER (THE SHIP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ISLAND). THE LEADGER HAS ONLY PREVIOUSLY BEEN OWNED BY THE HANSO FAMILY, ALSO OWNERS OF THE BLACK ROCK AS WELL AS THE HANSO FOUNDATION.
I THINK DANIELS MEMORY IS STUFFED BECAUSE OF ALL THE TESTING, HE HAD NO MEMORY OF MEETING DESMOND IN 96 OR IS THAT BECAUSE YOU CANT ALTER THE FUTURE, WHICH IM NOT SURE IS TRUE. DANIEL WROTE HIMSELF A MESSAGE TO FIND HIS CONSTANT AND DESMOND WENT BACK TO THE TIME WHEN CHARLIE WAS LEARNING TO SWIM AND I BELIEVE INFLUENCED THAT TOO. DESMOND ALSO REMEMBERED PENNY’S NUMBER FROM THE PAST ONCE SHE TOLD HIM SO WHY DOESNT DANIEL REMEMBER DESMOND. I THINK ITS HIS MEMORY AND NOW THAT HE HAS FOUND HIS CONSTANT WILL HIS MEMORY RETURN?
ELECTROMAGNETISM CAN SUPPLY A WORMHOLE WITH ENOUGH ENERGY TO STAY OPEN AND I BELIEVE THAT WHAT THEY FLEW INTO NOT A STORM.
THE FIRST WE HEARD OF THE NUMBERS WAS FROM LEONARD IN THE INSITUTION WITH HURLEY, WHAT IF YOU WERE IN A TIME LOOP FOR SUCH A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME YOUR ONLY MEMORY WAS 4,8,15,16,23 & 42.
CLEARLY DANIEL IS REALLY IMPORTANT, I KNEW IT WHEN I SEEN HIS LAST NAME FARADAY (AFTER THE INVENTER). THE CARDS HE WAS LOOKING AT LAST WEEK, ONE OF THEM WAS SEEN IN LITTLE AARON’S FUTURE BEDROOM, SO MAYBE FARADAY HAS BEEN THERE TOO!
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
WHAT IF THE PEOPLE ON THE ISLAND THAT WERE NEAR THE HATCH WHEN IT EXPLODED WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO LEAVE BECAUSE OF RADIATION EXPOSURE. JACK ,KATE, HURLEY WERE TIED UP ON THE OTHER SIDE AND SAYID WAS LOOKING FOR THEIR FIRE SIGNAL SO THEY WERE ALL SAFE, WHO ELSE WAS? DESMOND WAS CLOSE TO IT AND MAYBE THATS WHY HE WENT CRAZY WHEN HE LEFT, BUT NOW HE HAS FOUND HIS CONSTANT IS HE OK?
WELL THATS WHAT I THINK, FOR THIS WEEK ANYWAY!

This whole question of “Why can’t Desmond and Daniel remember their encounter in 1996″ seems pretty simple to me. They didn’t remember it because it never happened before they all landed on the island! When 1996 actually existed, Desmond never made the trip from Scotland to Oxford, and never met Daniel. But now that it has happened in 2004, Daniel should probably remember something. At least when he saw the note in his book about Desmond being the constant, he should surely remember writing it? We were never given any indication at the end of the episode that he didn’t remember it. Sure, he didn’t remember it when he was giving instructions to Desmond, but that’s because it hadn’t happened yet!

Also, can someone PLEASE answer my previous question about the discrepancies in Desmond/Penny’s relationship? I was positive when he started that boat race, he had only recently broken up with her!

To Kat about your point about Penny and Desmond. Remember that the both of them got separated before Desmond joined the army. HOw many years was he in the army, we dont know. The last time Penny & Desmond were together was when Desmond asked Penny’s father his daughter’s hand and he refused, saying that one sip of the very expensive scotch was last a month of D’s salary and that made him not worth for his daughter. Desmond got really upset about this and found Penny, got their picture taken and then broke up with her.

The boat race thing happens afterwards. Desmond gets out of the army (prison he says, its just an irony i guess) and Penny’s father is waiting for him. He tries to buy Desmond, telling him that he pays him X amount of money (he shows him) and that D can never contact Penny again. why? because he’s a coward. Remember that it has been a long time since Penny is already with another man and about to get married! Because P’s father is hosting the boat race, he decides to participate and win it, to prove widmore he is NOT a coward. and this is when Penny locates Desmond at the stadium, i believe the last time they saw each other.

So if you think about it, in ep.5 he is still in the army. maybe he had a break day or stg and went visit penny. but it is absolutely possible that it happened in 96, desmond gets out of the army around end of 2000 and then he’s lost in the island until present (remember, he’d been there 3 years before the losties arrive)

I agree….its really confusing!!! hahaha
I dont have anything as far as the timeline because some of the things that people are picking up on I’m totally missing when watching the episode. I guess I need to DVR/TIVO it and watch it again.

The biggest characters on the show right now are Desmond, Ben, and Daniel.
I think the person on the boat could be Ben himself. It could also be Michael based on the preview that we are going ot see a character we never thought we’d see again. which could also be charlie….we never actually see him die.
I think there also could be two Bens. One in real time and one on the island. This is how he knows everything about everyone and can manipulate them so easily.

I didn’t pick up on the whidmore labs thing but I did see the numbers all over the place. And I’m getting annoyed because as of now 3 1/2 seasons in there is not even a hint as of what they have to do with anything!! ANNOYED.

Anyway what if whidmore labs was in direct competition with Hanso foundation for the island but hanso found it first. Now he wants to know what goes on at the island and is doing whatever he can to find out….buying the book, hosting a race (to hopefully find the island), maybe even manipulating his daughter to get close to des cuz he knows he is on the island or has knowledge of it. WHy would he be so nice to him at the auction but hate him when he asks toi marry penny!!!!!

CONFUSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sorry for the three posts in a row but i have a quick question…..is the game helpful….i really dont want to get anymore involved in this show than I already am….as it borders on insanity but i’m wondering if its useful?

Karen:

Desmond met Daniel when Daniel landed on the island, and they had never met before, so they didn’t recognise each other. When Sayid tells Daniel that Desmond is starting to go a bit nuts, Daniel recognises that he is experiencing the time travel that Daniel has been researching so gives him instructions to go see him. He didn’t know before then that Desmond was his constant.

Although I can see how the note in the book would be confusing. I’m thinking of it in a “Back to the Future” kind of way, in that I think the note didn’t exist in his book before he met Desmond, but appeared after he gave instructions to Desmond.

Did you notice that there were two helicopter landing pads on the freighter! I think it looks like the boat is not originally equiped with pads and that they are put there for the series. This could mean that there is a second helicopter somewhere on the island.