I was looking forward to this episode, thinking that we were going to get some revelations about Desmond being brought back to the Island, his "uniqueness," etc. Though there were some interesting mini-revelations, I was a bit disappointed being that the majority of the episode was Desmond's alt-life. Though it was interesting to see and connect the similarities to the on-Island lives of the Losties, there's so much ground to cover on the Island and with the pre-existing mysteries, that the ALT needs to start coming to a close. Honestly, I thought they would do that earlier on this season, but that's beside the point. On to "Happily Ever After"...
Desmond wakes up to the face of Charles Widmore, obviously shocked, and it is revealed that he's been brought back to the Island (dun, dun DUN). Is he infuriated? Well, does attacking someone with an IV pole count? I'd go for 'yeah.'
Widmore goes on to tell Desmond that, “the island isn’t done with you yet,” while Jin is outside of the room (revealed to be on the Hydra Island). After taking instructions from Widmore, Zoe takes Jin down their “experiment,” where a large industrial-looking crate is, with some sort of electrical equipment is housed.
Starting the experiment early, a man is pushed into the locked crate area and a large circular electrical apparatus is shown, emitting a bright light. Soon, the light engulfs the man and as the machine is turned off, he is shown lying on the floor dead.
After a quick glance at the dead man, Widmore orders Desmond inside the chamber, wanting to know if he can survive another electromagnetic event (and other undisclosed information). Before the experiment begins, he states that Desmond will be asked to make a large sacrifice, but it is not revealed what Widmore meant by that, either metaphorically or literally.
Inside the chamber still, Widmore adds that if Desmond won't help, it will all be for nothing, everyone vanishing forever. With that lingering, Widmore leaves Desmond, locks the room, and starts the electricity inside, the intense light engulfing him.
(For the most part, I'm not going to elaborate on the FS, as it was basically "The Adventures of Desmond in Sideways-Land." There were, however, some parts worth mentioning, which is what I'll do)
The FS pretty much follows Desmond as he goes about his day (wow, that sounds quaint, doesn't it?), coincidentally, working for Charles Widmore, who emphatically expresses Desmond's indispensability.
Throughout the FS portion of the episode, Desmond seems to have "flashes" of his 2007Island self, much like many of the other Losties (i.e. Jack and Kate, Sun, etc.), providing us with frightening similarities between both realities: Desmond pushing the Swan Station button vs. Desmond pushing the MRI button, Desmond running in the stadium vs. Penny running in the stadium, and Charlie's "Not Penny's Boat" hand vs. Charlie's hand underwater in the car, just to name a few cool ones.
With this alongside with Desmond's "uniqueness" where the rules don't apply to him, could it be said that Desmond has a much stronger relation with his alt-self than the other Losties, or maybe it means that there is no alt-Desmond, and 2007 Desmond flashed to the ALT, or maybe none of the above. Regardless of the reason, it can certainly be said that Desmond (in 2007 OR the ALT) know what's going on. In future episodes, it will be very interesting to see how this plays out and how his knowledge relates to Widmore's plan and the entire Lost scheme.
Quite possibly one the most intriguing portions of the episode was "ALT" Desmond interacting with Daniel Fara--uh, I mean Widmore and Eloise Widmore (Hawking). Much like her 2007 self, she seems to know an awful lot about the mysteries of the world(s). How she knows, on the other hand, is hopefully a mystery that will not be left out in the remaining episodes.
Desmond also meets up with ALT-Daniel who is ironically a musician and not a physicist. However, he says that one day he woke to find he had written complex equations in his journal in relation to time and space. Later he attempts suggest to Desmond that maybe their life wasn’t meant to be their true and them changing things in another life caused their current existence, mirroring the hydrogen bomb explosion on the Island.
Somehow, Daniel’s existence seems to have merged with his 2007-knowledge to inform him of the existence of both realities. Though, like Ms. Hawking/Widmore, how does he have this insight, aside from the journal equations? Is the fabric of the universe wearing thin, realities bleeding into each other caused by some yet-to-be-revealed event?
Desmond is found alive in the chamber and while only a few seconds have passed, Desmond feels as if it’s been hours. Widmore explains that his talent is vital to the mission and Desmond immediately interrupts, stating that he understands and is ready to assist Widmore, the ALT apparently having some awakening affect on him.
Soon after, Desmond is brought back to Widmore’s base, escorted by Zoe who is going to show him something. Interrupting, (a very infected) Sayid immerges from the bushes and points a gun at Zoe, strongly suggesting that she run away. She does.
Sayid alone with Desmond says that "these people are extremely dangerous" and that they need to go now. Desmond looks oddly calm and answers, "Of course; lead the way."
Well, I guess Desmond's line, "See you in another life, brother" has taken on a whole new meaning.
Until next time...
Namaste
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