Happily Ever After

Happily Ever After is a stock phrase used in Fairy Tales to denote that the story has a happy ending. LOST is, in a way, a modern fairy tale. It’s a fable of sort in that it has enchantments or magical elements in the story. It is a work of fiction but it also contains some seeds of truth as well as fact. Will our fairy tale have a happy ending? I think that is still up in the air. Happily Ever After is the shortened version of “And they lived happily ever after.” but even that sentence is a shortened version of the original Arabic line that Happily Ever After is based on. The original line reads: “and they lived happily until there came for them the One Who Destroys all Happiness”. That’s death, which trumps everything else.





A happy ending makes the difference between whether our story is to be a melodrama or a tragedy. The problem lies in that not everyone agrees to what makes a happy ending. An ending can be happy if the story ends at the proper point in time. After the happy ending there can still be more tragedy and pain waiting for any character. Cuse and Lindeloff, The Powers That Be, (TPTB) say that LOST will end as it was supposed to end, whatever that means. One thing is for sure it won’t be a happy ending for all of our characters, I don’t think it can. We can always make believe though, that’s what fairy tales ask us to do anyway.




This weeks installment of our fairy tale begins as many other episodes have, with an eye opening. This time the eye belongs to Desmond Hume. Zoe begins to explain things to Desmond. Widmore finishes explaining and Desmond doesn’t like the idea of being back on the island. Widmore tells Des the same thing Eloise Hawking said to him back at the Lighthouse station that the island isn’t done with him yet. Widmore tells Zoe to begin the practice run of their experiment. Seamus is running the experiment and doesn't seem to be doing a very good job of it. He sends “Simmons” down to check on some loose contacts on the generator or some such nonsense. That translates into someone should get Simmons a red shirt to put on before he goes. The bunny named Angstrom is a reference to Harold C. "Rabbit" Angstrom who is the main character in five of John Updike’s novels. Rabbit, Run; Rabbit Redux; Rabbit is Rich; Rabbit at Rest; Rabbit Remembered. The novels follow the theme of life, death, and rebirth. Inside of the chamber, Simmons finds the problem and fixes it which really turns on the juice to the big copper looking donuts. Simmons gets fried and Desmond arrives with Widmore just in time to see the smoke still coming off of the dead body.




Widmore apologizes and tells Des that he hates to do this to him. Yeah right. After it is all over Widmore tells Des that he will ask him to make a small sacrifice. Desmond, obviously angry with Widmore, asks him what he knows about sacrifice. Widmore tells Des that his son died there for the sake of the island. He adds that Penny hates him and he has never seen his grandson. He tells Des the same thing he told Jin about everyone that they care about being gone. They lock Desmond inside of the world’s biggest MRI machine and turn it on. Widmore explains that Des was able to survive a catastrophic electromagnetic event (Swan hatch implosion) and he will need him to be able to do it again or they all will die. Seamus pauses when it is time to put the power to full so Widmore does it for him. The power from the toroidal coils (big copper donuts) engulfs Desmond and we get a little more of an idea of what really happened to Desmond when he turned the fail safe key. Looked painful. It seemed to me he was being broken down into molecules or something like that. And then a flash to white.



As we were floating through the clouds I thought Desmond was going to be a new smoke monster. That would have been super cool but he wasn’t. We see ATL Desmond standing in LAX with his mirrored reflection in an Oceanic flight board. Hurley tells Des that the luggage will be on carousel 4 (but then he is shown getting his luggage from carousel 2, how silly are the continuity cops on this show). Desmond meets Claire as he gets his bags. He helps her with her bags and offers her a ride. She thanks him but says she is meeting someone. As the two part ways Desmond tells her she will have a boy. Don’t read too much into this, Des doesn’t know know he is just guessing after all he has a 50-50 chance people. Outside of the airport, George Minkowski is waiting for Desmond. We remember him as the communications guy on the freighter who was time jumping during The Constant. Desmond tells George, the limo driver in this reality, to take him to the office. Desmond isn’t married and he is all business. He turns down George’s offer of some female companionship. George refers to Des as “the bosses right hand man”.




At the office, Des sees his boss who is Charles Widmore. The two embrace and are happy to see each other. A very different relationship between these two than we are used to. Desmond admires a sail boat that resembles the one he took to the island in the main time line while Widmore argues with someone over the phone. Did you spot the painting on the wall with the scales? It looks just like the scales in the cave that has the names on the ceiling. Widmore mentions his son is a musician and tells Des he is going to perform with a rock group named Drive Shaft at a charity event. He tells Des about Charlie being arrested and tells him that if he doesn’t get Drive Shaft to the party his wife will destroy him. Des agrees to “baby sit” for Charles. Widmore makes a point of telling Desmond that he is a blessed man to not have any attachments. Almost seems like Widmore is trying to convince Desmond of this. Could Widmore be aware of the different realities? Widmore pours two glasses of MacCutcheon’s whiskey and this time Desmond is worthy of the 60 year old scotch. Widmore says that nothing is too good for him.




We see another mirrored reflection in the flash sideways as Desmond sees himself in the glass of the airport police station door. Charlie seems to have a death wish (or knows he can’t die, or wouldn’t care if he did) as he crosses the street in front of traffic and makes his way to a bar. Desmond joins him and I like the sign above the bar that read “Exceptional Island Colors”. Charlie asks Des if he is happy. Des says he is but Charlie disagrees. Des says that he has a great life. Charlie asks him if he has ever been in love. Desmond says he has been in love 1000’s of time. Charlie says that Des has never really been in love or at least not the kind of love he means. Charlie says that he saw what love looks like on the plane back from Sydney. Des says that they were on the same plane so maybe he saw her too. Charlie says that he didn’t and goes on to explain about how he ended up in the bathroom of flight 815 choking on a baggie of heroin. As he neared death he saw a beautiful blond woman. He seems to describe Claire and says that he knows her and they were together, they were always together Charlie says. A feeling of love came over him but it was ended when Jack revived him. Charlie says that he saw “the truth”. Desmond disagrees and says that that wasn’t the truth. The truth, Des says, is that Charlie has a choice. Charlie can continue drinking and destroy his musical career or he can go with him to the charity event. He tells Charlie that if he goes to the party Charlie will be owed a favor by Charles Widmore who is one of the most powerful men in all of LA. Charlie says that it isn’t really much of a choice. This sounds similar to what UnLocke says to his people when he offers them the choice to join him.




The two drive through LA as we hear “You All Everybody” play on the radio. Charlie tells Des he feels sorry for him. Des acts like he is happy and think he has it all but Des really doesn’t Charlie says. Desmond asks “Why, because none of this exists?”. Now Charlie offers Desmond a choice. He can either see what Charlie has been talking about or he can get out of the car. Before Desmond can make a choice Charlie turns the wheel sharply to the right. The car crashes into the water. Desmond tries to free Charlie from the car but has to go up for some air. He returns and as he is trying to open Charlies door, Charlie wakes up and raises his left hand to the window and Des flashes. He sees Not Penny’s Boat written on the palm of Charlies hand from the OTL (I have since changed to calling it the original time line now not the main time line). Des sees the moment of Charlies death in the Looking Glass station. This time it is different however as Des is able to save Charlie from drowning as the two make it to safety.




After Desmond gets patched up at the hospital the doctor lady asks him if he has had any hallucinations. Desmond says that he might have had some. She says his CAT scan was inconclusive so he will be getting an MRI. Desmond wants to find Charlie. The doctor tells him he isn’t going anywhere until they find out what is going on inside of Desmond’s brain. The attendant in the MRI room asks Desmond the same questions about metal and keys and such as they did in the OTL before turning on the coils. Desmond puts Widmore down as an emergency contact as he again says he has no family or friends. The attendant mentions “the button” which is also a key element in Desmond episode. This time it is a panic button and unlike when Des was on the island the attendant doesn’t want Desmond to push the button this time. When the MRI machine is turned on Desmond sees scenes from his life with Penny from the OTL. He also sees the birth of their son. Desmond pushes the button and gets out of the MRI. He says he needs to find the man he came into the hospital with.



Desmond goes to a nurses’ station and asks about Charlies whereabouts. The nurse says that she cannot give out any information. Jack comes by to retrieve a chart and Desmond sees him. Desmond says that he knows Jack from flight 815 and Jack says he remembers Desmond also. So I guess Desmond was really there on 815 back in “LA X”. Des asks Jack for help finding Charlie. Why was Jack surprised to hear that someone from their plane was now in the same hospital Jack was working in? That seemed like an odd question to me. Charlie comes out of a room and runs down the hallway. He shoves a cart into Jack as Desmond gives chase. Desmond catches up to Charlie and asks him why he is running and why he tried to kill him. Charlie says there is nobody in the hospital that can help him and he isn’t trying to kill Desmond. He is trying to show Desmond something. Desmond says he wants to see Charlies hands which of course do not have the writing on them. Charlie knows Desmond has seen something as Desmond asks him who Penny is. Charlie tells Desmond he isn’t going to go to the party because “none of this matters”. As Charlie leaves, he tells Desmond to stop worrying about him and to try and find Penny.



Desmond tells Widmore that Charlie got away and that the concert is off. Widmore says that Desmond will be the one to tell Mrs. Widmore that it is “only a bloody concert”. George wishes Desmond good luck as he goes off to meet Mrs. Widmore who is Eloise Hawking in the OTL. Desmond introduces himself and she recognizes him immediately it seems. She tries very hard to make Desmond think they haven’t met before. Desmond doesn’t remember meeting Eloise in the past and maybe I should add “yet” at the end of that sentence. It’s a little tongue in cheek when she says “it’s about time” that they meet. Des tells her that Drive Shaft won’t be making it to the concert and she blows it off by saying "whatever happened, happened". There is that line again! Des thanks Eloise and as he is leaving he hears mention of a Penny Milton who will be attending the event “solo”. Desmond asks to see the list but Eloise is now there and says he may not see the list. Just an observation, but doesn’t Eloise’s brooch look a little like the mark that the Others tattooed onto Juliette’s back? Desmond tells her he just wants to see one name on the list. Eloise tells him to come with her as the two go to a more private area. She clears the room and tells Desmond that she wants him to stop. She says that someone has changed his way of thinking and it is wrong. She calls it a “serious violation”. She says that whatever he is looking for he needs to stop looking for it. Des asks her if she knows what he is looking for. She tells him she doesn’t know why he is looking for anything because he has the perfect life. She says Des has attained what he wanted more than anything - Charles Widmore's approval. Desmond asks again why he can’t see the list. Eloise tells him that he isn’t ready to see the list.




Desmond goes back to the limo and asks George if there is alcohol inside. George says “That bad, huh?” but says that there is whatever he needs inside of the limo. George seems to be the new Matthew Abbadon as I think George is in the loop now. Since George died in the OTL he knows stuff in the ATL. That’s how it seems to work at least. But it would also seem that just being in close proximity to people you knew in the OTL can be enough to set off memories. Des tells George to just drive after he asks Des “Where to?”. Before they pull away someone knocks on the window. We see the reflection of Daniel before Desmond lowers the window. We know by now that mirrors reflect the truth just like we know unconsciousness allows for messages to pass through the different realities. Seeing as how a lot of this happens when it’s raining or when people are under water, than water acts as a catalyst for some of this as well. Daniel introduces himself (with Widmore for a last name not Faraday) and tells Desmond they have to talk.




Desmond apologizes for not being able to get Drive Shaft to play at the concert. Daniel asks Desmond if he believes in love at first sight. Daniel tells Desmond that he saw a girl in a museum. She was eating a chocolate bar and we know he is describing Charlotte when he mentions the blue eyes and the red hair. He says that as soon as he saw her he knew he already loved her. That was when things got weird. He says that after he saw her he woke up and wrote in his notebook. Daniel in the OTL always wanted to be a musician but was forced to be a physicist he actually gets his wish this time. Seeing Charlotte though, has awoken the physicist buried somewhere deep inside of Daniel. So much so that he has done some nocturnal note taking. He wrote about “real space” and “imaginary time”. Desmond asks what it means and Daniel tells him he has no idea since he is a musician. His friend, who is a math wiz, told Daniel that it is quantum mechanics. The equations are so advance that they had to be written by someone who had been studying physics their entire life. Daniel continues by saying to imagine that something catastrophic is about to happen and the only way to stop it was by releasing a huge amount of energy. Sort of like setting off an nuclear bomb. Where does he get these ideas? At least he is consistent. Daniel asks Des what if this wasn’t meant to be their lives. They could all have had other lives but for some reason they changed things. Desmond asks Daniel if he wants to set off a nuclear bomb. Daniel says he doesn’t because he thinks he might already have. Desmond says it doesn’t have anything to do with him. Daniel asks him why he was asking his mother about someone named Penny. Daniel says Desmond has felt it and that it has happened to him too. Desmond says he doesn’t know what he felt. Daniel says he felt love. Desmond says he doesn’t know who Penny is, where she is, or if she even exists. Desmond says she is an idea. Daniel says Penny is his half sister and he knows exactly where and when he can find her.




Desmond arrives at the stadium and sees Penny running a tour de stade like he saw Jack doing in the OTL. I almost expected to see Penny trip and twist her ankle. In the ATL, Penny’s last name is Milton which could be a reference to John Milton who is the author of Paradise Lost which is a 17th Century poem that deals with themes of the Fall of Man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. It further touches on fate and predestination. Back to our story; Penny greets Desmond and he asks her if she is Penny. Desmond introduces himself and says “hi”. Penny laughs and also says “hi” as the two shake hands.





This causes Desmond to wake up back in the OTL. He made it through the experiment just fine. Desmond asks how long he was out. Widmore says it was just a few second. Widmore helps him back to his feet and says that Desmond’s talent is vital. Desmond cuts him off saying he understands. He asks Widmore about doing whatever it is he is supposed to do that is so important. Desmond asks Charles when do they start.



Zoe asks Desmond what happened to him remarking that he was beating Widmore up twenty minutes ago and now he is working with him. Desmond says a lot can happen in twenty minutes. Zoe comments that the machine has fried his brain. Desmond just smiles at her as he asks; “Did it?”. Sayid drops in on the group which is good because I feared he might have been getting a little rusty, it's been awhile since we have seen Sayid snap a neck or two. But maybe he's getting a little soft because I can only say for sure that he killed one of the guys. I think Seamus will be okay and he lets Zoe go. Sayid tells Desmond that those people are very dangerous. Sayid says they need to go and he doesn’t have time to explain. Desmond is very agreeable and tells Sayid to lead the way. Sayid seems surprised at just how agreeable Desmond is. Sayid can’t believe just how easy Desmond is going to make this job.




Desmond wakes up back in the ATL with Penny. He fainted as the two shook hands. Another example of one version of a character regaining consciousness as another version looses it. Penny laughs and comments that she must have had quite an effect on Desmond. Desmond laughs in agreement. She asks if they have met before but Desmond says that if they had they would have remembered it. Desmond asks her out for coffee. Penny says she is a sweaty mess and Des reminds her that he just passed out in front of her. She agrees to meet him for coffee in an hour.




Desmond goes back to the limo and George asks him if he found what he was looking for. Desmond says he did. They are heading to the corner of Melrose and Sweetzer streets. On that corner, it is interesting to note, that there isn’t a coffee shop but rather an antique store. An antique store was where Desmond first met Eloise. By the way, the name of the antique store that is on the corner of Melrose and Sweetzer in our reality is “Thanks For The Memories”. Nice coincidence. George asks if there is anything else he needs him to do for him (almost like he knows there is). Desmond asks George to get him the flight manifest from Oceanic 815 he needs to know who the passengers are because he wants to show them something.





So what is the violation that Eloise speaks of? I think Charlie causes the violation when he doesn’t allow Desmond to make a decision. He turns the steering wheel before Desmond can make a choice. Eloise says that someone has changed the way Desmond sees things. It’s obvious he has. Let’s look at this reality a little differently. This universe was created by whatever created it with whatever the people in the universe that was being created wanted. Or at least what they thought they wanted. Whoever or whatever created this alternate reality thought Desmond wanted Widmore’s approval over anything else. What he really wanted was Penny. He only wanted Widmore’s approval because he loved Penny. Penny was always his ultimate goal. Perhaps love is a wild card. Earlier I said death trumps everything but maybe love does. If this is true and it is the MIB that created this alternate reality maybe this is what the scanning and reading was all for. This could mean that Smokey does have a flaw but we already thought that. MIB wanted to create a utopia for our characters from the OTL. In the ATL he gave them what he thinks they want. All the while he has not allowed them glimpses of their island time lines and has used happiness to cover up their past memories. Love was never put into the equation. Now, thanks to drug addict Charlie Pace, it's in there.




Daniel squashes the idea that the ATL is the real one but he seems to reference that the OTL might not be exactly right either. Daniel says that they all had another life but something changed it. The bomb changed it or was it changed before that? Dan knows he existed in another time-line that shouldn’t be. He even knows he set off a bomb in that time-line which he didn’t but he did put Jack onto the path that led to it. Maybe there is another time-line where Dan actually did set of the bomb himself. And maybe it wasn’t the bomb that changed things, what if it was the fail-safe key being turned?




So what does this point to? It could mean that the ATL in the “LA X” reality is the right time line. Or will be eventually. Desmond might be taking steps to make it so. He has already found Penny and is looking for the other passengers of flight 815. He wants to gather them together so he can show them something. That something will be their alternate selves and I think I'm starting to figure out what the whispers are in the OTL. It's our characters commenting on what they are seeing in the OTL from the ATL. Desmond has his memories of the ATL intact with him in the OTL now. Somehow Desmond knows that weather it be in this life or another things will eventually turn out alright. But what is the sacrifice he will have to make? Guess that is the monkey wrench in the plan or the fly in the ointment, if you will. Happily ever after? Maybe, even if it has to be in another life, brotha.