I had my fears about this episode, fears that seem silly in the wake of what is now one of my favorite hours of Lost ever.
I'm relatively spoiler-free at this point, but I do check upcoming episode titles and their receptions with the spoiler community, and "Happily Ever After", for whatever reason, wasn't well-received. This shocked me, since I had assumed it was going to be a Desmond episode. For a Desmond episode to be disappointing seemed anathema to me.
Well, I don't know what the early raters' problem was, because not only did "Happily Ever After" amaze me, it actually left me feeling significantly more confident that the end of Lost will be satisfying after all.
And when I say "satisfying", I mean "satisfying to me". For those of you who support the ATL as an epilogue, you and I are ideologically opposed, and we will soon see who wins the day. Personally, I think this episode shows that the ATL is a what-if aberration, one that will need to be destroyed in order for the true timeline - the one that we have always known and loved - to win out. I'll more fully explain why I feel this way later in the recap.
Desmond has been brought back to the island to make a sacrifice, one that will save Penny (and pretty much everybody). But before he learns what that sacrifice is, he must survive a test. Without further explanation, he is thrust into a strange Dharma generator chamber. Even before he's put inside, Zoe's team screws up and accidentally kills one of their own people with the generator. Zoe's side kick (you know, what's his name) tells a rabbit locked up in a cage, "You're next, Angstrom." More time-traveling bunnies!
The generator fires electromagnetic energy at Desmond, causing him to blackout and, presumably, sends his consciousness to the ATL.
I wrote last week that Desmond's unique connection to electromagnetism would ultimately be important, so I was delighted to see this aspect figure in so heavily already. We know that Desmond was permanently, irrevocably altered by turning the failsafe key atop the pocket of energy at the Swan hatch (which we now know was the mother of all energy pockets). The effect on Desmond has been profound, giving him temporary future-seeing abilities, sending his consciousness into other time periods in his life, and possibly giving him the ability to "change things" relating to the timeline that otherwise wouldn't have been possible.
It should be quite apparent, then, that the end game of Lost will involve Desmond undergoing a huge electromagnetic event to achieve the show's aims, be they slaying the Man in Black or reconciling the divergent timelines.
But as the episode continues, Desmond becomes more and more aware that something is off in this reality, where Charles Widmore is his business partner and close personal friend and he's never met Penny. I'm sure the parallels - sharing a glass of MacCutcheon whiskey, for example - weren't lost on any fans, so I won't go into them.
One thing I will point out, though, is the painting of the scales in Widmore's office.
Note the black and white rocks, just like the scales from the caves. Also, my girlfriend pointed out to me that the astrological symbol for Libra is a set of scales. Libra is the seventh sign of the Zodiac, and it begins on September 23 - the day after the crash of Oceanic 815.
Desmond is sent to keep an eye on Charlie Pace, who's been going through an existential crisis ever since his near-death experience on the flight. The turbulence and the asphyxiation brought him to a place in his mind where he was in love with a beautiful girl. In other words, Claire in the MTL.
This is, of course, a huge development. So far, the characters have paused and appeared confused when they looked in mirrors, and shown signs of vague recognition when they run into each other. But Charlie is the first character to admit to these "flashes". And then, during one of the most satisfyingly revelatory scenes in I don't even know how long, he shows Desmond what he means.
Desmond remembers Penny. He remembers Charlie drowning at the Looking Glass station. We see it on screen. Just like that, it's finally, unequivocally clear that these characters are subconsciously aware of the true reality.
It's probably also true that the realities are affecting each other. On-island Sun's loss of her ability to speak English last week was probably a result of her ATL self being placed in a situation where the inability to speak English was particularly troubling. In moments of extreme stress, danger or excitement, the two realities clash.
This becomes even more clear during Desmond's MRI. The procedure gives him even more lucid flashes. It's interesting to note that "flashes" are now part of the plot. They aren't just something for the viewer to watch and learn about a character's history or future. The characters are experiencing them, now, as we experience them, or similarly.
Daniel Faraday is aware of it, too. He explains to Desmond that he wrote complex physics equations even though he doesn't know anything about physics. He is somewhat aware that he set off a nuclear bomb and brought about this reality in the first place. Daniel's admission here is especially key, because he is really the architect of this entire reality. It was his idea to set off the bomb. But now, he thinks he made a mistake. The language is the language that so many others have used, perhaps most notably, John Locke. He tells Desmond that they are in a reality that "wasn't supposed to happen".
The ATL isn't an epilogue, my friends. Nor is it a meaningless, inconsequential separate "what-if" reality. The ATL is the incorrect reality, dare I say, the enemy reality. It is the one that wasn't supposed to happen, just like the Oceanic 6 were never supposed to leave, the freighter was never supposed to reach the island, the survivors were never supposed to change the past.
This incorrect reality only exists because of the actions of the one person capable of "changing things" - Desmond. It all starts at the Swan hatch when Desmond turns the failsafe key, subjecting himself to an unfathomable amount of electromagnetic energy. This makes him special: "the rules don't apply" to him, as Faraday claims. He gains the ability to see the future - to see Charlie dying, specifically. And because of his uniqueness, he is able to prevent Charlie dying long enough in order for Charlie to disable the Looking Glass. Remember, the lock was musical, and Charlie is probably the only person among the crash survivors who could have disabled it. If Desmond hadn't intervened and saved Charlie, the freighter never would have reached the island.
The rest, of course is history. Because Keamy's team attacks, Ben moves the island, sending many of the crash survivors back in time and, eventually, the Incident transpires at the Swan construction site in 1977, launching the alternate reality. It was a reality that only occurred because of Desmond's electromagnetic powers, which is why it will be up to Desmond - perhaps in both realities - to solve the equation and ensure that the true intended reality wins out.
And make no mistake, it is the main reality - the island reality - that is supposed to win. Lost is a show about free will, yes, but it's about destiny, too. The island has brought with it plenty of tragedy, but it's fundamentally a special place, a place where miracles happen, a place where people get a second chance. In the end, the show will not condemn this island, but celebrate it. It will do that by proving that the alternate reality - though interesting, sentimental, and seemingly good - is wrong. Our characters destinies reside on the island.
We have a good understanding now of what the rest of the season might focus on during flashes. Desmond asks Minkowski for the 815 flight manifest - what could he want with it? I can only assume that he wants to track down the people who were on the plane, get them together, trigger some electromagnetic event, and that will be the end of the ATL. It wouldn't surprise me if Desmond has the ability to close his eyes, randomly circle names on the manifest, and ends up circling Jack, Kate, John, Sawyer, Sayid, Hurley, Jin and Sun, or something. He "just needs to show them something". He needs to show them that their lives aren't real.
She tells him that what he's doing is a "violation". Clearly, Eloise knows something about this reality and the other one. I wonder if she somehow has contact with her MTL self. It might make a lot of sense if she's been able to compare notes between the two realities. I think Eloise would most likely conclude that her life is better in the MTL, where Daniel isn't dead, her and Charles are still in love, etc. It might be her goal to perpetuate the wrong reality. If Desmond's ATL quest is to reunite the passengers of Oceanic 816, Eloise might be his main adversary.
Then again, I find it a little strange that she would have wanted Charlie to come to the concert. Charlie has never met her or Daniel, but he knows the name Widmore and may have recognized Penny. Seems like this would have led to more trouble for her. So maybe Eloise is on the same side as Desmond after all, she just has a different way of accomplishing things.
Desmond meets Penny in the same stadium where he encountered Jack in the flashback of "Man of Science, Man of Faith". She has the sense of recognition of him that many of the characters seem to be having toward each other. He has already seen her in his flashes, and when they touch, he faints, returning to the generator on the Hydra. Later, the episode flashes back to this moment, and they decide to go get coffee.
Interestingly, love seems to be the best medicine for making the characters realize what's going on. Charlie's vision of Claire, Daniel's encounter with Charlotte, Desmond's meeting with Penny - it's love that leads the way. Charlie and Claire, and Daniel and Charlotte can't be together in the main reality, though, due to character deaths. I wonder if they would still push Desmond to pursue the truth if they knew this.
So Desmond is earnest to help Charles save the main reality. Desmond could be necessary for Charles's plans for a couple reasons:
1) Desmond is the ATL character with the highest level of comprehension that there are two realities. He may be able to will his consciousness from one reality to the other, setting events into motion that will restore balance to the timeline, such as uniting the 815 passengers in the ATL.
2) Desmond is the only character capable of surviving another cataclysmic electromagnetic event. He will have to climb into the Orchid wheel chamber, or revisit the Swan pocket, or something, in order to harmonize the timelines.
3) Flocke is actually made of electromagnetic energy, and Desmond is the only one who can kill him.
The only reason I like the third answer is because Desmond is so willing to go with Sayid. What if Desmond had an unseen conversation with Charles where he was told to go to Flocke's camp? This seems to make his lack of hesitance more likely. It also would explain why the Dharma pylons are able to keep out the Smoke Monster, if said monster is a cloud of energy.
Then again, it's also quite possible that Desmond went with Sayid for another reason: destiny. I think Desmond finally understands that he is special, he has to do something, and whatever it is, it's going to present itself. Until then, he's going to go with the flow.
In any case, the fact that the ATL exists will figure in heavily to the resolution of Lost, even on the island. And I don't think it's going to be an epilogue.
Terrific episode. I can't wait for next week, even though the weeks where we can look forward to new hours of Lost are suddenly so few.
As always, thanks for reading,
Sean's Random Thoughts - Lost Recap - "Happily Ever After"
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Labels: Happily Ever After, Recaps, Sean Furfaro
This week's Lost recap is a day late (but hopefully not a dollar short), since I've just returned from vacation. For those of you that are new readers here from DarkUFO, I offer a hearty welcome, and I hope that you'll enjoy what you read here, Lost-related or otherwise. If you want to find previous recaps (and other posts) on Lost, simply click 'Lost' on the sidebar for the relevant posts.
If you are a fan of Erika Olsen and Long Live Locke, you will appreciate that my photos also have captions hidden underneath...simply mouse over the picture to see them. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I offer my captions as an homage to my favourite Lost recapper. (As a matter of fact, she actually taught me how to do it!) You won't find the same in-depth theories and analysis as you do in some other recaps, but I hope that you'll enjoy it all the same. My recaps will generally be up the night of the show, hopefully within an hour of the end of the 9 pm ET broadcast.
Now with that all said, let's get on to "Happily Ever After", since nothing makes me happier than a Desmond-centric episode...
I was surprised to see no "previously on Lost" segment, but I was more than happy to dive right into the episode, and see Zoe explaining to Desmond that he had been unconscious for 3 days and uder IV sedation. Can we assume that he drank the same OJ cocktail that Richard gave Juliet prior to her submarine trip? I'm still waiting to find out how Charles found the Island after searching for so long.
The conversation between Zoe and Desmond (and Charles) confirmed for us viewers that Desmond was taken from the hospital after being shot by Ben at the marina. As we watched him try to familiarize himself with his surroundings, I said to my girlfriend, "He's going to SNAP when he finds out he's back on the Island." And...sure enough, once he did, he beat Charles about the head with an IV stand. How good do you think that felt? Although the joy of beating Widmore would be short-lived, as Charles declared to Desmond "The Island isn't done with you yet."
When Jin asked Charles what Desmond was doing on the Island again, Charles responded by saying "It would be easier for me to show you than to tell you, Mr. Kwon." Although when asked again later, Widmore responded by telling Jin "That man is the only person I am aware of, in the world, who has survived a catatstrophic electromagnetic event." I need to know that he can do it again." Remind me not to hire him for my next negotiation. He caves when asked a second time.
Chip from Kate and Allie is still as whiny as he was as a kid back on that show in the 80s. When Zoe came in and told him that the test had been moved up based on Widmores orders, it looked like he was going to cry and throw a teddy bear.
Poor Simmons. All he was asked to do was check out the circuits on the solenoids, and he ended up a barbecued mess. I have to say that it was an awkward scene watching him get fried. I mean, some lackey figures out that it was a "bad breaker on the genny", and then just fires up the power again as Liz Lemon and Chip yell "Nooooo!"
Seriously? This is the finely oiled machine that Widmore has assembled for this project that presumably is intended to save the world somehow? This is the same man who hired Keamy and that team of mercenaries on the freighter, and now he's got this bumbling herd of Keystone Kops? I almost expected circus music to be playing.
And why did Simmons head out without a gun, while the group that chased out to try and save his sizzling carcass all carried weapons? Sorry, just didn't make sense to me.
Charles explained to Desmond that he was going to be asked to make a sacrifice, which then led to a conversation about the concept of sacrifice between the two of them. Desmond obviously sacrificed a life with Penny when he was trapped on the Island, and willingly sacrificed a potential life with her prior to that when he set off on his sailboat race to try and win the favour of her father. Charles, meanwhile, also pointed out that his own son (Daniel) died for the sake of the Island, Penny now hates him, and he's never met his own grandson (little Charlie Hume).
As Charles was explaining the stakes to Desmond, he told him that if they failed, Penny and Charlie would be "gone forever." I found this choice of words to be very interesting. In a previous episode, we heard that if Flocke/Smokey got off of the Island, everyone would "cease to be." Is this just a coincidental choice of words, or does the use of phrases like "cease to be" and "gone forever" without explicitly using the word die or dead give us some sort of hint? Is it a way of telling us that one existence may just disappear...or is it just a phrase that I'm reading too much into?
As we moved to the Flash Sideways (FS) world, we see Desmond at the airport looking at an Oceanic Airlines board, and as Hurley rounds the corner and direct our favourite Scotsman to Carousel 4, he asks him what all of us have been asking since the first ten minutes of the season premier, "You were on the Sydney flight, right?" Desmond confirmed that he was, so there goes the 'Jack-was-imagining-him' theory.
I'm not sure what the relevance was for the scene between Desmond and Claire at the airport. Was it a way for Desmond to let us know that he's "not a big fan of surprises", or a way for us to see him predict that Claire would be having a boy? Or was it simply a way for us to see Desmond and Claire together to remind us of their respective relationships to Charlie, who we would see shortly.
So nice to see Fisher Stevens back as Minkowksi...although in this episode, he was simply "George." It was a different touch for Lost fans to see him without a bloody nose and losing his mind. As Desmond walked with him at the airport and explained that he was in Sydney "closing a deal for the boss", I realized that we were about to see a FS world where Des worked for Widmore.
George gave a nod to the fans, asking directly what we have been wondering since L.A.X", that he wasn't wearing a wedding band. We all wanted to know whether he was married to Penny or not in the FS world, and we got the direct answer when Des said "I'm not looking for any companionship. I'm here to work."
In Widmore's office, we see Desmond peering longingly into a sailboat on the wall (nice touch), as Widmore screams into the phone to get someone (Charlie) out of jail. We then learn that Widmore's son is a musician, and we fans all cumulatively remembered back to young Daniel's piano lessons, didn't we? Apparently, he had a crazy idea to mix classical music with modern rock. Daniel Faraday...mashup artist. (Debut album title: Return of the Skinny Tie.)
Desmond and Charles had a drink, to celebrate Desmond's indispensibility", and isn't that an appropriate word to describe Des, in both worlds? As Charles poured the 60-year-old MacCutcheon (smirk), he said "You really do have the life, son. No family. No commitments. Ah, to be free of attachments." Desmond responded that he was "a blessed man". What do you think that the word "blessed" means here?
Ladies and Gentlemen, the band is back together...it's Desmond and Charlie, one more time! As they sat in the bar, Charlie explained his first experience with "spectacular, consciousness-altering love"...on the plane. As he started to tell the story, he first mentioned the woman in handcuffs, which I'm sure was a knowing nod to the off-screen relationship between Evangeline Lilly and Dominic Monaghan, before talking about the vision he experienced as he was choking to death on his bag of heroin. His vision was obviously Claire, and he apparently got a glimpse of her as he was dying.
Desmond offered him a choice, to stay in the bar and keep drinking, and risk the "extermination of his musical career", or to come with him, get a nice hotel on the harbourfront, and have Charles Widmore owe him a favour.
Charlie: "Doesn't really seem like a choice."
Desmond: "There's always a choice, brutha."
There's always a choice. Is Desmond channeling Jacob? Is he connected to Jacob? Or is he just echoing the theme we've been talking about for so long?
Charlie offered Desmond a choice as well, in the car after they left the bar. Since Desmond wasn't buying what our Little Lost Hobbit was selling, Charlie said that he could show him what he was talking about, or Desmond could get out of the car. My brow furrowed with confusion along with Desmond as I tried to comprehend what that meant.
What I most certainly did NOT expect, was for Charlie to grab the wheel and plunge the car into the water.
I have to say that the shot from the inside of the car as it went into the water was mind-blowingly fantastic. And as the car sunk down into the depths, emotions stirred up and returned from the scene where Charlie died.
Now, let me take a moment to say, for those of you that didn't know this...I was never a big Charlie fan. I don't know if it was the fact that I can't get past him being a Hobbit in my eyes, or maybe I was resentful of the aforementioned off-screen relationship with Evangeline Lilly, or maybe it was the fact that for the first few seasons, I just didn't like the character. But whatever the reason, I didn't like Charlie.
However, the scene in the Looking Glass station, when Charlie drowned after saving the day, was one of the most powerful scenes I have ever seen on the show. The look on Charlie's face, and the knowing nod he gave Desmond, as if to say "Please tell me you understand", was simply heartbreaking and heroic all at once. And as the car sunk down, I knew we were about to see some sort of callback to that scene.
As Desmond fought to get to Charlie, with a closed door and a pane of glass separating them, just like in the Looking Glass Station, we saw Charlie open his eyes and raise his hand to the glass...and then it happened.
Desmond flashed to the moment when Charlie held up his hand that said "Not Penny's Boat", and as we saw the look of acknowledgement on his face, it was our first essential confirmation that these two worlds (Flash Sideways and Island) were indeed connected somehow. Desmond had a "flash" of something, as we've seen before, in "Flashes Before Your Eyes", another Desmond-centric episode. Just as I speculated in my recap for 'The Package" last week, I think the connections are coming to light, like Sun's ability to only speak Korean last week.
At the hospital, Desmond was being funneled into the MRI machine when he had another series of flashes, but this time about his life with Penny. The look on Desmond's eyes as he saw these flashes said so much...this was the life he wanted, what he craved...but never knew. He pressed the panic button to get out of the machine and find Charlie. Topic of discussion for the Comments section: Discuss Desmond being commissioned with the responsibility of 'pushing the button' once again.
After finding Charlie and being told that he needed to start a search for Penny, Desmond then found himself on his way to meet Mrs. Widmore. We all knew that this was going to be Eloise, but between watching her berate her staff over butter knife placement and flower arrangement centering, I had to note that she was rocking the best female silver afro I have ever seen.
But septagenarian hairstyles aside, Eloise "met" Desmond, who explained that Drive Shaft would be unable to attend the event. Expecting Mrs. Widmore to be upset, Desmond was shocked to hear her say it was fine, because "whatever happened, happened."
Last season, we were told explicitly "Dead is Dead", in an episode title. But we all believed that John Locke was still alive. Now, we are being told "Whatever Happened, Happened", also an episode title from Season 5. Will we believe it now? Should we believe that this isn't just another option, but that it all indeed happened, and nothing can change that. I say yes.
Desmond happened to hear the name Penny, and asked about it, but was cut off by Eloise who dragged him aside, and after making it clear that she was very familiar with who he is, and that their "first meeting" earlier was a ruse on her part, declared angrily, "You're not ready yet, Desmond!" I submit that this is our first hard-core proof of a relation between the two worlds.
Now, did you notice that Penny's last name on the list was Milton? Is this just another historical/philosophical/literary reference in a last name (Locke, Hume, Hawking, Faraday, Bentham, Rousseau), or a hint to who Penny's mother is?
Desmond left the meeting with Eloise and ended up in the limo, only to have a rap on his window...and the re-appearance of Daniel Faraday....I mean, Daniel Widmore. He explained to Desmond that he was a musician, but after seeing Charlotte (never mentioned by name), he believed that it was love at first sight. He said "the second I saw her, it was like I already loved her." He then gave us the reveal that Penny was indeed his half sister, and he gave Desmond instructions on how to find her.
This makes me wonder if there needs to be a trigger to activate the flashes that provide the link to the other world. For Daniel it was Charlotte. For Desmond it was Charlie, or perhaps the name "Penny". For Charlie it was Claire. Is it the same concept of The Constant?
Daniel: "What if this wasn't supposed to be our life? What if we had some other life, and for some reason, we changed things?" Daniel is onto something...
Desmond heads to the stadium, the same stadium where he first met Jack. Only this time Penny is the one running instead of him. As soon as Des looked at her, you could see it in his eyes...he might as well have spoken Daniel's words, "the second I saw her, it was like I already loved her."
And as he touched her hand, we were transported back to the Island, as Desmond awoke from his Electromagnetic Fry Test. As he sat up, he looked at his hand, proving that he was cognizant of where he just was (with Penny). He then told Charles that he was ready to help, and that he understands, which I took to mean that he understands the relationship between the two realities he is experiencing, that they are connected/related, and that he is now willing to help Widmore. As he said to Zoe, "A lot can happen in 20 minutes."
And then out of nowhere, the return of Bad-Ass Sayid finds Widmore's hapless crew either running off into the jungle or with a broken neck. (Damn, it's been way too long since we've seen Sayid snap some sucker's neck, hasn't it?) Sayid tells Desmond to come with him...and Des follows. He has no reason not to trust Sayid. After all, Sayid is the one who linked up the phone call in "The Constant" to save Desmond's life, and they are connected through the Oceanic 6 experience.
As he awakens in the FS to see Penny, she asks "have we met before?" Weren't you just begging for Desmond to say yes? I know I was. After they make a coffee date, Desmond returns once again to the limo and asks George to get him the manifest from the Oceanic 815 flight. When asked why, Desmond responds, "I just need to show them something."
But who is he talking about? Charlie? Daniel? Jack? Charles? Charles in the Island World? I don't know...can't wait to find out.