Desmond's "Crime"?

[PandoraX]

I was a little confused about this subplot, even after I watched the episode twice.

I got the impression that Desmond was falsely incarcerated for a crime he didn't commit, with Widmore's great influence, to keep him away from his daughter. As a result, he was discharged from the Royal Armed Forces. Did I miss the details about what happened?

[roswellian]

I thought maybe he ran away. Mr. Widmore implied he was a coward, so he was too scared to fight in the Queen's army or something.

[PandoraX]

Interesting, so you think he was incarcerated for going AWOL?

Also, someone please explain how the solo trip around the world would help him regain his honor. I know it was sponsored by Widmore, and that he was supposed to be a coward... but there are other ways of running away than participating in an elaborate sailing race. How would winning Widmore's race help his plan?

[spooky]

It wasn't really spelled out I don't think. There was something about him being a coward and having to get his honor back; and Kelvin said something about him not following orders. It seems like he did something wrong (or at least perceived as wrong), rather than just being set-up by Widmore. But it's not very clear what it could be.

[DreaminLost]

These are good questions.

Interesting parallel between Pen's unopened letters that Mr. Widmore kept in a box, and Michael's unopened letters that Susan kept.

[PandoraX]

Thank you spooky. Can't wait to see the transcripts on this one, thanks always for your sharp ears.

Dreamin: Nice catch!

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Funny, Pandora. I didn't get the impression that Desmond was falsely accused at all. I'm sure we'll find out all about his own personal 'incident' in scrumptious detail in future episodes.

Someone (Widmore?) said to him that he failed to follow orders. I imagine him not being able to kill someone or go on a covert mission against a friendly country. It's something juicy, I'm sure.

I love the story they created for Desmond. He was a nobody character (unworthy of all the board's attention, IMO) until they brought him to life last night.

[interplanetjanet]

He was in military prison; it's implied for a crime involving not following orders. I think he really did do the crime--the whole thing with Pen should have been far more fraught if they thought her father set him up. (The letter in the book implies contact before he enters prison, after he knows he will do so.)
I think the sailing race was something he seized on to show he wasn't a loser: he would succeed at something, he would succeed at Widmore's own race. Then he isn't initiating contact with Pen, but with her father, in a sense. A dare.

[Lost_InBloom]

Interesting, so you think he was incarcerated for going AWOL?

Also, someone please explain how the solo trip around the world would help him regain his honor. I know it was sponsored by Widmore, and that he was supposed to be a coward... but there are other ways of running away than participating in an elaborate sailing race. How would winning Widmore's race help his plan?

I didn't quite get his motives either. Especially when Penny was what was most important to him and she showed up at the stadium, why he would choose the race over being with her, when she is actually what his ultimate goal was. His leaving just gave her the time to get married, which is the opposite of what he wanted. And if anything, participating in "Daddy's game" is more like being his puppet, and doing what Daddy wanted (staying away from Penny), than gaining any honor. It's a little backwards.

The only thing I can think of is that whatever he was discharged for, which Kelvin seemed to indicate had to do with "not obeying orders" and had to do with being a coward, my guess was that he didn't obey an order to participate in something dangerous (a battle, a war ?) and therefore doing the race was showing that he had the guts to do something dangerous.

And this is a little off the topic but isn't it strange that Penny's two men (not sure what their ethnicity is) seemed to be looking for something regarding electromagnatism, but she was also looking for Desmond. So somehow Penny does know that Desmond is associated with this electromagnetic "thing". I wonder if she knows there's an island, but just not where it is. Or maybe she just knows enough to look for the high levels of elctromagnetism, but either way, she knows it's related to Desmond. Right?

So if Penny knows this much, and the race was under her father's company, then basically I'd have to say that Daddy had something to do with Desmond being there. So Desmond made a really poor choice to do the race :P

[Hodgepodge]

Lets move this thread to the Redshirts and Recurring Characters forum. Please continue the discussion there.

[PandoraX]

All great points, Lost in Bloom.


So if Penny knows this much, and the race was under her father's company, then basically I'd have to say that Daddy had something to do with Desmond being there. So Desmond made a really poor choice to do the race :P

Do you think his father planned it so that he specifically would race? I guess again, I just don't know where anyone would get the motivation to join something like this... especially since CHarles Widmore seemed to already make it clear that the world would be a better place if he never had to see Desmond again.

But I appreciate people's comments here... because I feel sometimes like maybe I missed something; the finale was complex.

[CatWoman]

Interesting, so you think he was incarcerated for going AWOL?

Also, someone please explain how the solo trip around the world would help him regain his honor. I know it was sponsored by Widmore, and that he was supposed to be a coward... but there are other ways of running away than participating in an elaborate sailing race. How would winning Widmore's race help his plan?

I think it had more to do with the fact that he did not take Widmore's money to stay away from Penny - so if he won Widmore's race, Widmore would "owe" him the prize money and would prove to all that he was not a coward by sailing around the world.

[PandoraX]

I think it had more to do with the fact that he did not take Widmore's money to stay away from Penny - so if he won Widmore's race, Widmore would "owe" him the prize money and would prove to all that he was not a coward by sailing around the world.

Ahh, as I'm reading this more and more, it's making more sense, thanks for your take on it.

Before, I was watching the show as if he was set up by Widmore to go to prison, so the whole "I need to win back my honor" thing didn't make much sense to me. If he truly did something which earned him a trip to jail, I guess I could buy the honor aspect of it more.

[Santa'sLittleHelper]

I'm guessing that the order he didn't follow was to kill someone, and this caused a major problem for a lot of people --kind of like if someone told you to kill Hitler but you couldn't do it and let him get away. Isn't the refusal to follow an order in the armed forces a crime in itself?

[Andrew23]

Widmore called him a coward. This makes the most obvious crime that he could commit Desertion. But we still don't know enough to make a clear cut choice.

Still, Desmond is a coward for doing something....we just might not know it yet with just 1 flashback.

[ISLANDLEA]

^^^ hi, from spooky's transcripts: ..........................lea
MASTER SERGEANT: Nice idea, as long as you know when you're going to die. [He stamps "discharged" on some papers] Lance Corporal Desmond David Hume your sentence is hereby complete and you are now and forever dishonorably discharged from the Royal Scotts Regiment of Her Majesty's Armed Forces. Long live the queen. Enjoy your sodding book.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source sod2 (sd) Pronunciation Key Chiefly British Vulgar Slan.
n.
A sodomite.
A person regarded as obnoxious or contemptible.

WordNet - Cite This Source
sodding
adj : without qualification; used informally as (often pejorative) intensifiers; "an arrant fool"; "a complete coward"; "a consummate fool"; "a double-dyed villain"; "gross negligence"; "a perfect idiot"; "pure folly"; "what a sodding mess"; "stark staring mad"; "a thoroughgoing villain"; "utter nonsense"

[clayseason1]

The only thing I can think of is that whatever he was discharged for, which Kelvin seemed to indicate had to do with "not obeying orders" and had to do with being a coward, my guess was that he didn't obey an order to participate in something dangerous (a battle, a war ?) and therefore doing the race was showing that he had the guts to do something dangerous.
Desmond is pragmatic. I think he probably refused to go on some kind of suicide mission (or what he thought was a suicide mission). Such an action could be construed as cowardly and of course, he would not have been following orders.

[Lost_RuNNeR]

The only thing I can think of is that whatever he was discharged for, which Kelvin seemed to indicate had to do with "not obeying orders" and had to do with being a coward, my guess was that he didn't obey an order to participate in something dangerous (a battle, a war ?) and therefore doing the race was showing that he had the guts to do something dangerous.

Or he refused to engage in Sayid's kinda tactics (torture)...