What's up with Desmond? Is he the key to saving everyone?

[yoyoj06]

from the most revent episode "flashes before your eyes", we learn alot about desmond's past. is he the key to saving everyone? at the bar, when desmond got hit in the head, did that do anything? who was that lady that gave desmond the ring?
what is up with him!?

[Homer Noodleman]

No, the kids are.

[artemisia14]

Well, often Desmond resembles another saviour type.

His long hair, tunic-like outfits, poses often remind me of Christ imagery.

[MrSocko]

I dont even know, man.


Its possible that none of this "flashback" (forwardback? who knows what it should be called.) That it actually all took place within Desmond's mind while he was lying on the grass next to the hatch, as a result of whatever happened after the failsafe was turned. If that is the case, getting smacked in the head could have just been the internal slap that broke the trance and woke him up.

Or, he could have traveled back in time. I dont know what sounds stranger

[yoyoj06]

there is too much specalation about it and to many theories can be developed from this episode

[zetaprime]

I dont even know, man.


Its possible that none of this "flashback" (forwardback? who knows what it should be called.) That it actually all took place within Desmond's mind while he was lying on the grass next to the hatch, as a result of whatever happened after the failsafe was turned. If that is the case, getting smacked in the head could have just been the internal slap that broke the trance and woke him up.

Or, he could have traveled back in time. I dont know what sounds stranger

I think what happened is that Desmond saw his entire life 'flash before his eyes'..which means not only his past but his future as well. His entire life must be a closed time loop. He told Charlie that he had already seen Charlie die twice (drowning and lightning) which means that at the point of the telling he's gone around the loop twice already. Evidently it's not like Butterfly Effect because you can change things in small ways but the big picture is fixed. So he figures that Charlie is meant to die and things will keep trying to happen to him until he does. It's sort of like in quantum mechanics there is a lot of room for alternatives on the small scale but it all evens out on the larger scale so that small scale disturbances have no effect on the 'big picture'.

My biggest question about the episode is who/what is the woman at the jewelery shop? She seems to know way too much.

[Bender]

I guess he is, in a way, the key to saving everyone. He turned the failsafe key which was noticed by people working for his girlfriend. So if they find the island and take everyone home, then yeah I guess Desmond is/was the key.

[SimonO]

I don't think he's the key. I think his dream sequence is key to letting fans know where the show is going (and where it's not), they are definitely using his character superbly.

I agree that many theories can come from this episode, but like every other episode, it's because people are looking for validation for their original theories (nothing wrong with that, mindst you). Great episode, answered many questions for me, including whether or not the "Far out" theory of time travel (or quirks) could really be in the show. Thankfully, I don't they think will be.

[MagneticLocke]

The lady in the ring shop was an agent of fate and Desmond is one of their most important soldiers in a battle against the others, who are trying to manipulate time and fate. At least that's my theory.

Hence, the others being "The Good Guys..."

The agents of fate are, in their mind, "The bad guys"

[Dagolu]

I'm thinking that he travelled back and relived that point in his life... and ring lady lied to him as to weather people can be saved or not. he'll give up saving charlie but will (with locke's help) save charlie (remember boone saying that locke would save charlie during the paste smoke-hut trip?)

[seymour.w]

A point, and a question:

I think that at some point in desmond's most recent time loop he eventually did tell penny his memories. This is why she was clued in to look for the magnetic anomoly. Desmond could have told her that the anomoly will strike twice: once when the plane craashes (which he knew the date of) and again when Locke has his metdown. He could have thought this could be his way out of the time loop, to have her find the island this way. She might have thought he was crazy, but followed it up anyways. This would explain why she had the guys at the arctic station.

my question is though, why isn't this time loop closed? Shouldn't Desmond start over every time he turns the key? Shouldn't everything start over? Why is he walking around on the beach? Furthermore, how does he see the harm coming to Charlie if these events are presumably outside the loop?

[klh]

A point, and a question:

I think that at some point in desmond's most recent time loop he eventually did tell penny his memories. This is why she was clued in to look for the magnetic anomoly. Desmond could have told her that the anomoly will strike twice: once when the plane craashes (which he knew the date of) and again when Locke has his metdown. He could have thought this could be his way out of the time loop,
That's a good thought. Maybe it's a way they figured out for them to be together while still allowing him to do what he has to do on the island.


my question is though, why isn't this time loop closed? Shouldn't Desmond start over every time he turns the key? Shouldn't everything start over? Why is he walking around on the beach? Furthermore, how does he see the harm coming to Charlie if these events are presumably outside the loop?
And why did he only seem to know about future events after the key turn?

[JohWell]

First off, great episode!!

my question is though, why isn't this time loop closed? Shouldn't Desmond start over every time he turns the key? Shouldn't everything start over? Why is he walking around on the beach? Furthermore, how does he see the harm coming to Charlie if these events are presumably outside the loop?

As far as I can tell his current loop is only on the beach, his own personal "ground hog day" where he gets to save Charlie over and over. But how does this one end with no key to turn ?. Charlie dies, then what....

Nothing on the Island has changed(as far as we know) so I haveto assume hes not gotten a chance to play all those years over again. The bat-to-the-head incident ended that loop it would seem.

So the question becomes, how can he solve his current loop. Did they haveto pick Charlie, the drug addict with no self control :banghead:. There has to be a million ways of him getting killed on the Island.

Did i mention i LOVED this episode. Desmond is gonna kick times ass! :groupwave:

[ScRuffY_DiMpLeS]

who was that lady that gave desmond the ring?



well, that part could be answered (somewhat) next week since she was in the preview.

as for everything else... there are dozens of scenarios, and each one as possible, or as probable, as the next. :crazy1:

all i know is i'm lovin it!
this episode was amazingly confusing, and i already cant wait for the next desmon centric show. =D

[drabauer]

Fionnula Flanigan was not in the preview. That was Diana Scarwid. It has already been speculated, however, that she and Fionnula have been made up similarly, in keeping with the oft-noticed "twinning" of various characters on Lost.

[ScRuffY_DiMpLeS]

Fionnula Flanigan was not in the preview. That was Diana Scarwid. It has already been speculated, however, that she and Fionnula have been made up similarly, in keeping with the oft-noticed "twinning" of various characters on Lost.

oh. the woman talking to jack wasnt the same one who talked to des?
wow, they looked alot alike.



sorry for the mis-information. :o

[clayseason1]

The lady in the ring shop was an agent of fate and Desmond is one of their most important soldiers in a battle against the others, who are trying to manipulate time and fate. At least that's my theory.

Hence, the others being "The Good Guys..."

The agents of fate are, in their mind, "The bad guys"
Very interesting - It certainly plays into Juliet's remarks about free will and the "others" stressing choice.

[NeillT006]

Originally Posted by MagneticLocke
The lady in the ring shop was an agent of fate and Desmond is one of their most important soldiers in a battle against the others, who are trying to manipulate time and fate. At least that's my theory.

Hence, the others being "The Good Guys..."

The agents of fate are, in their mind, "The bad guys"

And the "corrective agency" against which the proponents of change battle would be the security system, Smokey.

N.

[lostchild]

When Dessy turn the key, Why did Dessy jump back to that particular moment in his life when he fell off the ladder? Why that moment in his life?

[kenpuke]

The lady in the ring shop was an agent of fate and Desmond is one of their most important soldiers in a battle against the others, who are trying to manipulate time and fate. At least that's my theory.

Hence, the others being "The Good Guys..."

The agents of fate are, in their mind, "The bad guys"

yeah, she is definitely an agent of something, sent to deal with desmond... reminds me of the ending of "12 monkeys" where bruce willis's character dies but one of the scientists ends up showing up as "insurance"...

[Khan]

They threw in a lot of clues but they also made sure we knew he had a concussion. That leaves enough room for doubt about rather he remembered everything exactly as it happened. Some of it could be figment of his imagination or past experiences confusingly mingled.

[Raytonium]

I think that Penny goes looking for Desmond/island because he really did travel back in time to that point in his life shown in the episode--and since he never told her about the island etc., I believe his physicist friend will tell her after Desmond goes missing.

[avon]

Here's one way to explain the Oracle... err... the old lady from the jewelery shop.

She might have re-lived this portion of her life several times. Similar to Desmond but many more times. Every time they re-live it, they "remember" bits and pieces from the previous iteration. Those memories accumulate and, over time, form a complete mosaic of what is going to happen.

Desmond only re-lived this a couple of times and, hence, his memories are sporadic. She, on the other hand, has been through this many times and has gained a fairly complete understanding of what and when is going to happen.

-avon-

[yoyoj06]

is it possible that desmond does have the power to change the future, just the ring lady didnt want him to and convinced him otherwise

[gduya896]

I think that Penny goes looking for Desmond/island because he really did travel back in time to that point in his life shown in the episode--and since he never told her about the island etc., I believe his physicist friend will tell her after Desmond goes missing.

I agree with this. Also, I can't wait to see more of Penny!


is it possible that desmond does have the power to change the future, just the ring lady didnt want him to and convinced him otherwise

I thought this too, but like the ring lady said, if she told the guy with red shoes that the scaffold would fall on him, he'd prolly just get hit by a bus another day.

[killbuckner]

Have we seen that Desmond was actually able to "change history"? To me all of last night was just a vision from the island, basically letting him literally relive one of his flashbacks in his mind but not actually going back in time. Basically just to introduce the idea that "the universe corrects itself" in the Final Destination sense. I think they will give Desmond Deja Vu to have him know that a catastrophe is coming that the survivors need to help avert.

[stinkytojo]

Well, first off. Ever since the precog thing showed up with Desmond, I've thought that whatever happened to him when he turned the key was temporal in nature. In which case, he should be able to get 'flashes' from any part of time since time is not linear, even though that is how we percieve it. As far as being the key to saving everyone goes, I don't know about that. But the first thing that popped into my head once the 'flashback' got going is that Desmond may very well be the 'connection' that we've all been talking about from the beginning. The one person who connects all the others. His presence in the past with pre-knowledge of the island could have been the 'butterfly' that caused all the rest to end up on our island. Just a thought.

[dragongrrl]

when desmond was laying naked in the grass after being hit in the head / turning the key, it reminded me the Terminator.

when people travel through time, they travel naked.

also, Desmond *did* change the past subtly. he took the bat to the head instead of the bartender.

[killbuckner]

dragongrrl- we know that in his flashback that he got hit in the head- we have absolutely way of knowing whether the bartender in the real world thinks back on that moment and remembers himself getting hit or Desmond getting hit. Personally I don't think he actually changed anything- it was all just a vision.

[wednesday lover]

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[QUOTE]When Dessy turn the key, Why did Dessy jump back to that particular moment in his life when he fell off the ladder? Why that moment in his life?[QUOTE]

He had experienced a blow to the head falling off the ladder, at the point which he was "brought back", and a similar blow to the head when he got hit in the pub, which "sent him back" to the island. Maybe coming out of a state of unconciousness changes his perspective?

[dragongrrl]

dragongrrl- we know that in his flashback that he got hit in the head- we have absolutely way of knowing whether the bartender in the real world thinks back on that moment and remembers himself getting hit or Desmond getting hit. Personally I don't think he actually changed anything- it was all just a vision.

yeah, i think it must have been some kind of vision/dream. otherwise how would so much of the "present" have leaked into the past? it was much more than just "if i knew then what i know now...". there was the hatch beep, the repeated appearances of 108 and other numbers, etc. not to mention the jewelery store lady - heh.

occam's razor -- the simpler explanation is the most likely one.

but a vision still doesn't explain how desmond knows the future. but neither does a time loop. *shrug*

[lostinfredneck]

Where does the McCutcheon whiskey fit it and how did such an expensive bottle find its way onto the plane - or did it? It was amongst a lot of other Dharma products when Charlie found it.

[killbuckner]

Maybe the visions were just the island trying to manipulate Desmond into doing something. The island needs Charlie alive for some reason so Desmond is given the information he needs to protect him. If Desmond were given the vision of something bad enough he could probably be counted on to do just about anything at this point.

[killbuckner]

I have always thought that the Dharma food was just temptation from the island. That the more you ate it the more you gave yourself over to it. And the island just chose the item that would tempt desmond the most.