Lost ReWatch: Flashes Before Your Eyes
Season 3, Episode 8
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Hero of the episode: Desmond Zero of the episode: Charles Widmore
Quote(s) of the episode: “He’d want us to ransack his tent and take his stash? Yeah, that sounds exactly like Sawyer.”—Hurley to Charlie | “The island killed him.”—John about Eko | “I’ll tell you how he knew. That guy sees the future, dude.”—Hurley on Desmond | “You think because you turn some key that makes you a hero? You’re no hero, brother. I don’t know how you’re doing what is you’re doing. But I know a coward when I see one.”—Charlie to Desmond | “We’re not supposed to be together.”—Desmond to Penny
Music vibes: rushing strings while Desmond saves Claire
Little things: Charlie raiding Sawyer’s stash; Claire at a loss for words for how to thank Desmond for saving her life; Desmond shopping for an engagement ring
Episode notebook:
Desmond-focused episode. His life with Penny.
Locke and Sayid tell Charlie and Hurley that Eko is dead. They hold back on the details.
Desmond saves Claire from drowning. Charlie is suspicious; Hurley is in awe.
Charlie gets Desmond drunk and starts asking questions.
Flashes to Desmond on and off the island. Is it a dream or a flashback? There are callbacks to life on the island. The microwave sounds like the counter in the hatch.
Penny has just moved in with Desmond. They’re talking about the future. Desmond wants her father’s approval of their romance.
Charles Widmore doesn’t think Desmond is worthy of Penny.
Desmond sees Charlie on the street and insists they know each other. They were once on an island together.
Desmond hears the music he played in the hatch. Is he experiencing déjà vu? Is it time travel?
A mystery woman tells Desmond he needs to get back on his path, but he wants a life with Penny.
Episode recap: Desmond has been a bit of an enigma ever since the hatch imploded. From wandering the jungle naked to eerily predicting Locke’s speech about rescuing their friends, to preventing Claire’s tent from being struck by lightning, his strange behavior has left everyone guessing. In this episode, another act of heroism is met with suspicion.
While Locke and Sayid tell Hurley and Charlie of Eko’s death, Desmond looks distracted. Like he needs to be somewhere else. Suddenly he bolts through the jungle, like a man on a mission, back to the beach and plunges into the ocean. What was so important? Claire was drowning and saved by Desmond again at the right moment. How did he know? Hurley is certain that Desmond can see the future. Charlie doesn’t want to believe that, sensing a darker reasoning behind it. Charlie wants answers. Thanks to Sawyer’s stash, Charlie and Hurley get Desmond drunk on whiskey. Maybe with his guard down, Desmond will reveal the truth behind his premonitions. But even in a drunken state, Desmond can see what Charlie’s after when laughter and singing turn to questions and accusations.
Whatever happened after the hatch imploded was too much for Desmond, he breaks when Charlie accuses him of being a coward. As Desmond attacks Charlie, we see flashes—glimpses of the past. The sight of Desmond lying on the floor in a puddle of red paint made me think he was dreaming. Penny comes rushing to his aid. Maybe it’s not a dream but just a regular flashback as we’ve seen in most of the episodes. Penny has just moved into Desmond’s apartment. They’re thinking about their long-term future, if only Desmond can get the approval of Penny’s formidable father, Charles.
Approval is not forthcoming as Charles Widmore deems Desmond unworthy of his daughter. A frustrated Desmond leaves Widmore’s office only to get more upset. Throughout the day, he’s been encountering things that eerily echo his time on the island. A delivery man coming to Widmore’s building with a packager for someone in room 815—as in Oceanic flight 815. Flashes of the island pop up in his mind. On the street, a young man is singing for donations. Desmond recognizes the young man as Charlie and insists they know each other from their time on an island. Charlie brushes him off, thinking he’s delusional. Suddenly the title of this episode “Flashes Before Your Eyes” makes sense. This isn’t a regular flashback, it’s what Desmond experienced after the hatch imploded. His life literally flashed before his eyes. He relived key moments in his life, but no one believed Desmond—almost no one.
Despite Mr. Widmore’s disapproval, Desmond wants to marry Penny. While shopping for an engagement ring, the store owner angers and confuses Desmond. She recommended a ring, and he wants to purchase it, but she refuses to sell it because that’s not Desmond’s path. He’s supposed to get cold feet about the ring, break up with Penny, and eventually make his way to the island, so he can save the world. Desmond wants to defy his destiny, but this long flash of his life is his subconscious telling him that he can’t change things. He’s meant to push a button not to be with Penny, altering that could upset the balance of the entire world. No pressure, Desmond!
Though he dreads a life without Penny, Desmond knows his fate lies on the island. Charlie’s accusation of cowardice cuts deep, especially when everything Desmond has done on the island has been about saving others. But try as he might, Desmond is tired of being the hero. He won’t always be around to help. After calming down, Desmond reveals who he’s really been trying to save since the hatch implosion—and it isn’t Claire. Both times it looked as if Desmond was saving Claire, but he was actually saving Charlie. He prevented lightning from hitting Claire’s tent to avoid Charlie being electrocuted. Desmond jumped into the ocean for Claire to prevent Charlie from drowning trying to save her. Charlie is in danger and Desmond is beginning to feel powerless trying to keep him alive. Eventually, the island will get what the island wants even if it's Charlie’s life. Please come back next week for recaps of episodes nine and ten.
Upcoming posts
Monday: The Elusive Art of the DNF
Thursday: Lost ReWatch Season 3 Episodes nine and ten
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