LOST EXPLAINED PART 27 - DESMOND

#LostExplained #LeaveNoQuestionUnanswered
The twenty-seventh chapter in a series of LOST EXPLAINED videos that investigate the mythology and mysteries from the seminal television series LOST. These definitive explanations are based on multiple viewings of the show over the years and careful studying of the details, clues, inconsistencies and contradictions that make up the complex tapestry of what is the greatest television show from the 2000s.
Chapter Twenty-Seven circles back to an earlier chapter -- The Time Loop -- and drills down into an often asked question about Desmond: could he change the past? How was he "uniquely special", as Daniel Faraday put it? What happened during the events of 'Flashes Before Your Eyes'? Was it really happening or simply an island vision? Did Desmond change anything? Could he change anything? Let's find out...
ABC owns all copyright. The footage and music used in this video are for educational purposes only and fall under fair use.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

*ATTENTION! For viewers who take issue with the text-to-speech voice* All of these older videos have been entirely revoiced and remade in better quality (and feature A LOT more detail). They have been combined together as part of a six part video series called The Theory of Everything, which you can watch here: kzbin.info/aero/PL5iTj9psbPrNovFOg4pJJIyxiLAv2WAKB Namaste! 🙏

[@kuhzzy1798]

Desmond by far has the best character arc in the series.

[@Rowandgs]

Jin tho

[@User_1795]

Locke too.

[@bryanphillips341]

They are all so good. It's hard to say for me.

[@benzink8510]

All time

[@LFCfan94]

Sawyer

[@notoriousbmc1]

Becoming a monk made solitude seem like second nature to him. Preparing him for the hatch. It seems so obvious, but I had never even thought about it. All these years later, and still learning more about this great show. Love these series of videos!

[@buckdancer8916]

Desmonds stories very personal to me, my "constant" just took her own life, I can't stop watching "flashes before your eyes" and "the constant" because the thought of having another chance to see her again is stuck on my mind.. she was also a huge Lost fan and would often quote "see ya in another life brother" to me.

[@Aaaaaaaa-ix4rp]

I wish you the best.

[@New-cc5zo]

Suicide is ... sad.

[@FitzyyLives]

Sorry for your loss brother

[@maxpower_815]

Don't give up

[@JGogszzzread]

In Desmond's introduction in season 2, the explosion of the hatch causes his record to skip. This video made me think that it could have been foreshadowing the swan station fail safe moment where Desmond's consciousness skips to the past. Great video as always!

[@qaiwani]

Desmond deserves more research and another episode. Thanks for another great video.

[@reatores]

Man... about 2004 Desmond being in fully control when his conversation with Eloise took place... I never thought of that, but it makes 100% sense now why he doesn't remember it! Thanks!

[@danielpeters2501]

❤️❤️

[@JacobDean88]

I like that concept of time travel the best. The fact you can't change anything because whatever you do was meant to be to begin with. And it always happens. Awesome video!!

[@oilersaints]

awesome episode again! Desmonds story was the most intriguing to me for sure.

[@Erikthedood]

Thank you so much for your remarkable work on this series! You’ve explained so much about the show’s plot that I always felt I understood but didn’t know how to put it into words! When I run into another person that claims lost “made no sense as it went along,” I will show them this video series. You perfectly explain everything and make it digestible for the uninitiated! Can’t wait to see the full thing and the super compilation with all the parts together! From a huge fan from the beginning since 2004; thank you! Namaste!

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Thank you for such a lovely response.

[@jamesglandon3737]

Thank you for blessing us with another well crafted video, we bow in awe of your creation sir.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I am humbled by any and all views my friend :)

[@Oldschoolrap91]

Unbelievably amazing video. Thank you so much again for your work on Lost material. I’m on my 8th rewatch now and Des is such a great character and the dots you helped me to connect with this video is mindblowing for me. Please keep up this great work.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Thank you for watching and supporting :)

[@Ytnzy250]

Have you tried sampling different tv shows other than Lost? Sopranos. Breaking Bad, Game Of Thrones, Dexter & The Wire, to name a few.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

@@Ytnzy250 My specialty is LOST and I feel like the USP of this channel is that I have a perspective and knowledge of the show that maybe goes beyond the norm. I don't have the same insights into the shows you mention. I could talk about them from a critical standpoint but not from an "Explained" standpoint. It's hard to replicate what I do with this show on anything else really.

[@ginnydare13]

I named my son Desmond due to this character, I love this guy 🤎

[@jjbjjb273]

Lost season 2 opening is one of the best of the series

[@majipoorcat]

Thought provoking as always. I would love an episode on Benjamin Linus. What does losing his innocence mean? Did it leave him more vulnerable to mib or bring him closer to Jacob? Also I would like your thoughts on Sayid and his seemingly rise from the dead. People think that is the mib but I. Don’t think it makes much sense.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

You might just get your wish in a couple of weeks ;)

[@raeliamrussi2679]

Great as usual! I never thought about how Desmond's experiences before the Island were preparing him for the Hatch. Will you be doing an analysis of Daniel Faraday as well?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Thanks :) I won't be doing a specific video on Daniel Faraday for this particular series as I feel his story is fairly self-explanatory, and much of the mythological points about a character's entanglement with the time loop and destiny was already covered in previous chapters on "The Time Loop", "Charles Widmore and Eloise Hawking", "John Locke's Test", and now "Desmond". But if I end up doing a series based around character arcs/profiles I will definitely explore Faraday in more detail.

[@calebwoods7816]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 I was wondering if you might do a video about Juliet? I would say her story is integral to not only "The Incident," but the time loop, pregnancy issues, and the overall theme of "we are the causes of our own suffering."

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

@@calebwoods7816 As with Faraday, I feel that I have covered the crucial part of Juliet's arc in terms of her relevance to the mythology and any lingering mysteries. If I make a character guide on the channel that focuses on exploring each main character's arc in detail then Juliet will certainly be on that list. But the specific character chapters you will find in this current series of videos tends to be based around lingering questions/confusions people have about a character's story or relation to the mysteries, such as Walt, Mr. Eko, Widmore/Eloise, Mother, and Desmond.

[@AJFisherDesign]

Impeccable analysis. Subscribed! I never watched Lost but I read stuff online. As an aspiring writer I have spent what feels like ages trying to structure my manuscript with interconnected “puzzle pieces” that fall into place over time and ultimately reveal a larger picture. From watching your video I am deeply impressed with the structuring and all the planning that Lost must have required before any of the actual writing takes place. Not to mention all those varying characters and their arcs. Thank you for the share.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Thank you! A lot of these older videos have been remade and updated in better quality. I made a six-part series that covers the entire mythology in depth, which I recommend you check out here: kzbin.info/aero/PL5iTj9psbPrNovFOg4pJJIyxiLAv2WAKB

[@alexnetherton3245]

Desmond saying the first thing he noticed about the monk was the rope tied around his waist. Makes you think of Jack rescuing Desmond from the caves housing the source.

[@esotericintrovert1669]

That is bloody brilliant.

[@danialhughes830]

I absolutely love Lost. And I love your explanations. Just makes me love and appreciate Lost even more.

[@ffallenaangel]

his caracther was so amazing, and amazing acting. "i love you penny"!

[@marinabassi3767]

Every single one of your analysis digs so deep and brings so much... I had to watch this one 4 times so my poor brain could emerge with its pride more or less intact 😂, thanks!

[@Rocky2418]

Very interesting! I never thought about those 3 times of his life as being a kind of training for his time on the island. Whether the creators intended that to be the idea or not, it makes a lot of sense to me.

[@travisc7722]

Love this video. Hope to see more videos!!

[@octavioribeiro3394]

Dude, u just the best. I’m mesmerized at your Chanel. Thanks so much

[@willianlopez787]

You’re videos are so good. It’d be interesting to know some of your best scenes, characters, moments of the show. Maybe you could do those after this series of lost explained videos.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

That sounds like a good idea for some future videos!

[@AutomaticSnake]

I can't believe Desmond never heard Locke and Boone banging on the hatch for days and days. Lol...

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Lol, fair point! Maybe he was sleeping during the trebuchet attempt and woke up after the bang.

[@slylataupe4272]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108he had to be awake at least every 108 minutes, remember? 😉

[@sashimi879]

​@@slylataupe4272 so he never slept??

[@matjennifer]

I always had the theory that Desmond was incarcerated due to the things that were happening to him during the Constant episode. He was acting erratic and did leave to find Faraday this could have been an unauthorized leave and along with his behavior a justified reason for him to be kicked out of “her majesty’s army”

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I also used to have the same theory! However, Desmond is going through the mind travel stuff in 1996. He is presumably released from prison around the year 2000 or 2001 (at least several months before he ends up in the boat race and shipwrecking on The Island). Which would mean Desmond paid a very steep price for going A.W.O.L from the army in 1996. Almost four years in prison for that seems extreme. It is unlikely he was incarcerated and dishonourably discharged for that. We are never told what his crime was or why it warranted jailtime, but judging from his past behaviours (no pun intended) I assumed it was for desertion. Desmond ran away from his problems a lot.

[@matjennifer]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 oh man that’s right, that’s why your channel and videos (and of course you as well) are essential to understanding Lost. Thanks for sharing that info

[@verinonrenthar9176]

Damn, I thought the same thing. Glad we have you here to clear things up!

[@viggowiin]

In The Constant Desmond was a Private but he was discharged with the rank of Lance corporal. So he must have done some more military service.

[@drewc.4061]

Hi again. I've gradually come around to your way of thinking on Desmond. Yes, he can be influenced in moments by his future consciousness, which could theoretically "change" his course of action, but he's not reliving those moments and doing things differently, he's simply "living" them for the one and only time, so changing nothing. The "marina" photograph still bothers me though. It quite clearly remains in Desmond's possession after the split in "FBYE", yet we see it at Penny's bedside after Desmond turns the failsafe key and the Island is briefly revealed. That can definitely imply two "almost but not quite identical" timelines that reconverge, but ultimately I think you've called it right.

[@2QAYL1138]

I can't explain the photograph, and frankly never realized that as a plothole, but it's plausible to me that Penny went back to the photographer at some point & got a copy of the photo for herself. I mean, with her resources she found Desmond, how hard is tracking down a photograph in comparison. Anyway, I think Desmond's experience isn't solely due to destiny. He has freedom of choice, but he's affected by what he feels is right for him to do, for better or worse. The story's stance is an interesting mix of destiny & choice being the reason for everything that happens. I think it kind of lands on that choices determine destiny, and our perception of destiny determines our choices. Your comment made me think a lot of thoughts, so thank you.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

My in-universe explanation for the marina photo is simply that Desmond sent Penny a copy of it before he left on his boat race as a way of asking her to not marry someone else. He sent it to her (presumably with a letter) as a reminder to wait for his return because he still loves her and didn't realise how much until he heard she was getting married. And it works. Remember, he had her address and was trying to send her letters whilst in prison, which Widmore stopped from getting through. So, once out of prison I have no doubt that he messaged her again, this time successfully. And this is why she turns up at the stadium to see him again.

[@RedStingBlogs]

Such a good video analysis!

[@2QAYL1138]

I gotta give credit where it's due, even though I still don't agree with you about the Mother. I think you nailed this one, and thank goodness, because it's really integral to understanding the whole show and its rules.

[@loosegoose2466]

Great job as always

[@emsleywyatt3400]

I never realized that Desmond experiences prepared him for his stay in the hatch.

[@kevinbowman3592]

Your explanations are brilliant and so well thought through. Can you explain how when everyone was time jumping on the island they travelled different than say Desmond because his mind shifted, (much like Eloise the mouse) however the island group physically moved. Be interested to hear what you think?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Thank you :) I explain the differences between physical and mind time travel in more detail in Chapter Three on "The Time Loop". Check it out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIrYk4p8eMp1aLc

[@danielpeters2501]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 u

[@Dice-Gamble]

Another amazing episode.... Thank you!!.. Could you PLEASE do an episode on Eloise - and how she is able to know SO MUCH

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

You're in luck my friend! That episode already exists. It explores both Charles Widmore and Eloise Hawking in depth. You can watch it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKS4ZGqQmdaJZrc

[@Dice-Gamble]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 OMG.... doing that RIGHT NOW>... Thank you Brother!!!

[@Dice-Gamble]

Not sure how I missed it.. I thought I had watched every episode on your channel

[@2QAYL1138]

In short, Eloise has had Daniel's journal since 1977.

[@JHallenbeck]

@@2QAYL1138 I think some of her knowledge came from the journal. But other stuff is almost certainly the result of precognition, like the man in the red shoes. I agree with this channel's theory on Eloise having her own flashes, or some kind of psychic guidance from the island.

[@Пятница-ю7ц]

Him and Daniel Faraday are the best characters for me

[@Spencerb2222]

Same! I love a lot of other characters too but those were maybe my two favorite

[@alejoescobar]

Desmond is the heart of Lost

[@alexanderkuhn2298]

Holy crap I just noticed Eloise in the photo on the monks desk!

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Always new details to discover!

[@sandal_thong]

I'd seen that before. But here it looks photo-shopped, like the two aren't really together in a specific place or event. Sloppy.

[@Diddy2680]

Oh no not a Desmond time travelling video, hopefully my 3 brain cells can work together and interpret your interpretation. Not to worry, your content is so good I watch everything twice anyway.

[@giallosubmarine5223]

Thank you, Lost Explained. It was enough.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Nice reference to 'The Constant' there ;)

[@lamb7780]

Never noticed that picture before of Eloise and Brother Campbell together on brother Campbell's desk when Desmond hands back his robes

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I actually elaborate on the photo in Chapter Nine, and what the connection between Eloise and Brother Campbell likely was: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKS4ZGqQmdaJZrc

[@lamb7780]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 must have missed that. Thanks

[@elicameron6854]

Yep, whatever happened happened. The Novikov self-consistency principle applies here and when they go back to Dharma. There is only one time through time.

[@johnarnold6623]

Well, I’m glad you cleared that up.😳

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

You’re welcome ✊

[@jackdavinci]

The ad that played had the phrase “close the loophole” and freaked me out a little lol

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

😆 KZbin knows!

[@animeguardianxx]

Notion: if we take Desmond as the Light’s Plan B for dealing with the smoke monster (Plan A being Jacob and the candidates)…do we think that someone with his ability to be unstuck in time always exists, or was he created due to being needed? If we consider his roll as Plan B, it might make sense to always have someone like him in existence, just in case.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I think, in terms of The Island, there is only really ever Plan A. Jacob, the candidates, and the smoke monster, and their power plays and conflicts, are all essential in the grand scheme so that the world continues to turn. No smoke monster means no time travel. No time travel means no incident prevention. No incident prevention means the end of the world. I often talk about the events of LOST as being a large, woven tapestry. Like the one on Jacob's wall. Every thread helps to make up the big picture. Take one thread out and the whole tapestry unravels. Desmond's unstuck consciousness becomes a key thread of this tapestry. Like the smoke monster, he is needed in order to fulfil certain events. Yes, his role is essentially "created" by The Island. His consciousness becomes unstuck from linear time in 2004, but LOST shows us that consciousness is a continuum that exists independent of the body. So, technically Desmond is simply tapping into what consciousness is really like without the constraints of linear space-time.

[@PaulaCypressPark]

What if Eloise is the reincarnation of Mother? It would explain her awareness and fear (of losing her son Daniel if he wakes up) in the real world and in the flash sideways world. Also, because her son killed her in her past life as Mother, karma "allows" her to kill her son Daniel as a necessary measure to save the world and she is allowed to do this without incurring further karmic debt upon herself. Hence, her presence in the flashsideways world as an aware soul (saved, if you will) who knows how the cycle of life really operates. Also, it explains her mission to get the Oceanic 6 survivors and Desmond back to the Island for the final time so they can finish this once and for all and everyone can enter the flashsideways and have a chance to wake up and move on. Mother knows best and has been working out all this as soon as she died on the island all those years ago and finally reincarnated as Eloise in this life.

[@michaszkot4419]

Great video, as always, cannot wait till next Sunday. A question about a Desmond-related topic, but not central to today's video: What was behind the concrete wall in the Swan? I've heard a theory that Juliet didn't detonate the Jughead core in 1977 and after that DHARMA built a fail-safe system connected to said core - that would explain Sayid's Chernobyl comment in 2x04 and station's name - taken from Jughead's detonating system, which is called a swan device (yes, I know that Swan logo appeared as early as 1973 and Stu had already named his tomb like that in 1977, as we learn in 5x09). I'd very much like to know your opinion and keep up the good work.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I discuss what was behind the concrete wall in The Swan in Chapter Fourteen on "The DHARMA Initiative". There is no question that Jughead detonated in 1977. We hear it explode as Juliet hits it, and the blast propels our Losties forward in time. They could return to the present because they completed their purpose in the past in this moment. The whole reason for Jack and company being back in 1977 was to save the world. The detonation caused an implosion and plugged the leak of electromagnetic energy long enough for The Swan to be built. Without Jughead, the leak would have kept on building and pulling everything into the hole until it reached critical mass. DHARMA would not have been able to fill the area with concrete had that been the case. The reason why Sayid mentions Chernobyl is because that is what The Incident was an equivalent to -- a catastrophic meltdown involving electromagnetic energy and radiation leakage. The computer is an 80s build, which means the button was not implemented for another several years. The orientation video for The Swan is also dated 1980. Which means the leak came back slowly over time, forcing DHARMA to alter the purpose of The Swan from a research station to a world-saving barrier. They installed a reactor capable of absorbing the electromagnetic build-up so it could be discharged safely. And that is what is hidden behind the sealed wall up top. For whatever reason, that room was abandoned some time between 1980 and 2001, perhaps due to an almost-incident in which the button wasn't pushed in time. We can only speculate as to why they walled off that room, but it was most likely to avoid another meltdown. When Desmond turns the fail-safe key, he is essentially detonating this reactor and blowing up the pocket of energy. My chapter on DHARMA features a non-canon depiction of what probably laid beyond that wall. I recommend giving it a whirl for more clarification.

[@michaszkot4419]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 Much thanks for clarifying the issue. It seems I read too many fan theories. I didn't pay much attention to the stuff from Via Domus, it being a bland and disappointing game. Until the next Sunday and I'm off to re-watch chapter 14.

[@finegentleman7820]

Penny, I love you Brotha! 😊❤️

[@laineofspain]

I love your videos. One thing I’ve noticed is that the audio recording of your voice is very unique- almost like your voice is being run through a filter to make it sound like you’re on a telephone or radio. Something. I can’t quite put my finger on it. Is this a deliberate choice? I like it. Just curious. Thanks for your awesome videos!

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

It's an AI generated voice. When I began flirting with the idea of making explanation videos I knew it would come down to whether or not I could find the right "voice". Something that could help me to stay anonymous but also sound authoritative and clear. I did some research and found this one, which I think is the best I've ever heard. It sounds close to real; it's only the cadence and intonation on certain words that throw it off.

[@laineofspain]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 Wow! It crossed my mind that it could be an a.i. voice but I thought it sounded too real. Well, it definitely fits the tone of the videos. It’s like the computer in the hatch is speaking to us about the history of the island or something. 😆 I love it.

[@cirjaonisim1113]

What about the scene from Greatest Hits where Charlie saves Nadia? Just Before that he is shown playing the same song like the one he played in Flashes Before Your Eyes and it even rains. So is that scene the same from Flashed Before Your Eyes but this tike without Desmond? Or is it a different day in which he plays the same song and it starts to rain in the same way it rained in Flashes Before Your Eyes?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Yes, it's a different day. In 'Flashes Before Your Eyes', Desmond's consciousness travels back in time from 2004 to 1995 after he turns the fail-safe key. It is here he sees Charlie busking on the street outside of Widmore's office building. They get caught in the rain. In the episode 'Greatest Hits', we see a flashback of Charlie busking in the street playing the same song again. Again, he gets caught in the rain. He then happens upon Nadia being mugged in an alleyway and rescues her. It is a very similar scene to the one with Desmond from earlier, but it is set in a totally different location in London (compare the surroundings of where he is busking) and is taking place on a different day (judging by Charlie's entirely different wardrobe). Buskers tend to sing the same songs over and over, and it rains in England a lot :-D

[@cirjaonisim1113]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 Thanks. Excellent clarification!👌🏻

[@ammo7204]

Did Desmond get off the island in the finale or not? I don't remember

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

It is implied that he does, although we never see it. I explore the possibilities of what happened after 'The End' in this video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pqeaq6J3eM91kKM

[@ammo7204]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 aaah that's good.

[@drewc.4061]

Hi again friend. One very small question somewhat related to this video. I may be failing to comprehend something very basic. How was Eloise (the rat) able to consciousness time-jump into the future and learn the maze when she ended up dying in the present and therefore never having a future where she learned the maze? That's always puzzled me!

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Well, the sequence of events goes like this: Faraday zaps Eloise the rat with a concentrated burst of radiation from the machine, gets her to run the maze, then tells Desmond that he is not going to teach her to run it until "an hour from now." There is further discussion between the men, then Desmond blacks out (his consciousness travels to the future on the freighter). When his consciousness returns to the basement, Faraday says that he has been out for "75 minutes". Which means, in that missing time for Desmond, Faraday made good on his promise and directed Eloise on which route to follow in the maze in order to complete it in the past. Then she died. Which is kind of a microcosmic view on the nature of how the time loop in S5 will function, especially for John Locke.

[@drewc.4061]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 ah, okay. So we just have to assume that Faraday went ahead and taught Eloise although we don't see it, otherwise we run into a paradox? That's very straightforward. I overthought it and suspected something a little more tricky. Thanks again. Hope your next release is imminent!

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

@@drewc.4061 Yes, the assumption is that during that missing 75 minutes, Faraday made good on his intent to show Eloise the way through. The next release has turned out to be more work that I had expected, so it may some way off yet. But hopefully it will be worth it when it lands! It's intended to get everyone talking/discussing some of the open ended answers the show leaves us with.

[@spikepsych]

there are some really great points in this video although I am still wondering why does Eloise seem so genuinely surprised when Desmond wants to buy the ring before she tells him what is supposed to happen? edit: is it simply bc she didn't realize until afterwards that it was yet again one of those cases where what to her seems like something different is happening from what she knew to happen was what actually made it happen in the first place? edit2: I removed something that didn't make sense and I was just wondering about your explanation with desmond not remembering his interaction with Eloise because 2004 desmond was in the drivers seat, but how would desmond not remember faraday outside the hatch door until many years later when his consciousness wasn't time travelling there and he simply saw faraday disappear before his eyes?

[@Mrs.Currie]

I find Desmond extremely attractive.

[@sashimi879]

Me too and i aint even gay

[@danithomes4664]

Can u explain Christian Shepard and his significance? Thank you!!

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

What is it about Christian that you would like clarity on? His appearances on The Island? Or just his character in general?

[@JurassicCube]

Don’t lie you’re a writer aren’t you? 😂

[@Choekaas]

Interesting way to look at Desmond's mind travel. I am curious what you think happened with 1996-Desmond during this episode. As it's now it seems like it is 1996-Desmond up until he bangs his head while painting -> 2004 Desmond takes over. He's still in his 1996 body, but his mind from post-failsafe is back in time. A couple of days of this until Jimmy Lennon hits him -> 1996-Desmond jumps back in and takes over and the rest goes as normal until the events at Camp Millar. What do you make of 1996-Desmond's memories? I can imagine him getting up being the result of heavy drinking. I think something similar happens with his encounter with Daniel outside the hatch door. Him going back, bangs his head and loses memory of this encounter (temporarily). Hence why Desmond tells Kelvin that he has never been outside the station, although he obviously had since he talked to Daniel in the HAZMAT suit but 1996-Desmond would only remember all the way up to him painting the flat. How can he recall things like the job interview, that "he thre down the tie and it started to rain", the Des/Penny photograph or their breakup? And wouldn't he wake up in the bar and the people there tell him that Jimmy Lennon hit him, so why would he recall this event as Jimmy Lennon hitting the bartender? I've been flip-floping myself on how I perceive the whole event. I've always liked the idea that Desmond is erasing the alreday existing timeline. That there is only one timeline and his actions are writing over it with new events. OR, the second idea, which I think I like more is that when 1996-Desmond wakes up in the bar he has a phantom memory of the previous days. As if 1996-Desmond didn't go anywhere from the painting incident to this event, it was just in the back while 2004-Desmond took over the mind. So because Desmond said "then I lost my tie and Penny said where was it", it always happened. There was always a man on the street near Charlie saying those things, so something had to have happened to Desmond so he would "recall these things". So it's similarly to when Desmond sits on the beach in "Catch-22" and sees an entire event with Hurley and Charlie talking about Flash and Superman and Charlie getting an arrow in the neck. It never happened. Desmond jumps in and the arrow hits the guitar, so in a way, when Desmond wakes up in the bar he has false memories that really look like the event that happened (Charlie and Hurley did talk about Flash and Superman), but in this case he vividly remembers job interview->tie->rain->goes to ring shop but doesn't buy the ring->Graybridge football match with Mama Cass music in the background->Jimmy Lennon hits bartender.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

After turning the fail-safe, Desmond's consciousness becomes unstuck from linear time, which means it can move along the river of time when circumstances require it, i.e. The Island needs him. 2004-Desmond is a passenger of sorts in 'Flashes Before Your Eyes'. His consciousness is going back to re-live those events more than overwrite or change them. 1996-Desmond is still mostly in control of everything and things are playing out as they always did. His concussions on either side of this period in his life keep him in a strange fog of Déjà vu. We see that 2004-Desmond isn't properly in control of the choices otherwise he would be behaving like he does outside Widmore's office from the very start. "This all happened before! I'm time traveling, brutha!" Basically, the majority of 'Flashes Before Your Eyes' is his 1996 self dealing with "flashes" of the future. However, 2004-Desmond emerges from this fog properly in a couple of key moments: the scene with Charlie on the street and the scene with Eloise in the shop. It is Desmond's unstuck consciousness that is having these interactions. 2004-Des is driving the car now and 1996-Des is the passenger. But 1996-Desmond's consciousness (as a continuum going forward) simply won't remember these moments until *after* he turns the key and gets exposed to the light 8 years later. The pre-fail safe Desmond would only recall breaking up with Penny by The Thames after being belittled by her father and drowning his sorrows down the pub. He would not remember the Charlie and Eloise parts of it, and how that influenced things. This is why he gets struck in the head by the cricket bat at the end. It allows for a plausible deniability of sorts on the story's behalf. This no doubt gave him a concussion and a confused remembrance of that day. This is why it is established before the Charlie and Eloise sequences that he is already having doubts about himself and his relationship with Penny. 1996-Desmond already had cold feet. Nothing is changed by the emergent unstuck consciousness from 2004 other than gaining a new insight into what really happened between those knocks to the head. This is my reading of the episode's events in light of the time travel rules established later on in the show. I think when the episode was first developed, the idea was that the past could be changed but The Island (aka fate) course corrects. But this idea was later recalibrated to be "whatever happened, happened". They get Daniel to say that Desmond is uniquely special in that the rules of time travel don't apply to him, therefore he can make small changes in the grand tapestry. However, those small changes are actually essential to the tapestry, which means they always needed to happen the way that they did. Like with Charlie's death. Only Charlie could have turned off the jammer, which means his destiny was always to die down in the Looking Glass and Desmond's flashes were simply preparing him for this moment rather than showing an unchangeable pre-written future. So, the question becomes: was Desmond really making any structural changes to the timeline or was he simply fulfilling the timeline? As in: his post fail-safe consciousness was unstuck and could travel between different points in his life to learn information from his "blackout" points, or to create necessary causality that will lead to future events. It wasn't the timeline that was malleable, it was Desmond himself who was malleable. He was moulded by The Island and the tapestry of time to fit where it needed him.

[@Choekaas]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 > 2004-Des is driving the car now and 1996-Des is the passenger. I love this analogy! Thanks for the response

[@ffallenaangel]

so he became electromagneticly special whenm he turned the key? and then he could go down the source and not get kiled? wuau, i thoguht he was born special

[@blogking477]

Great video it been real brother lol

[@Michael-eq8th]

It seems like the island directly brings Desmond instead of Jacob. Even the second time, Jacob goes through Charles instead of bringing Desmond himself. Also Desmond is alive and plays a key role in saving the island, but seems like he was not included as a candidate on purpose. The rest of the people that help kill the MiB were candidates. The exception seems notable, but I haven’t nailed down meaning for it.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

You could argue that The Island brings everyone anyway. Jacob selects candidates, but I have made the argument that Jacob doesn't really have an objective choice in who he chooses due to the causality loop. These people are predestined to come there. But even if we discount the determinism behind the candidates, all of those thousands of other people who came to The Island over the centuries -- who were not candidates nor touched by Jacob -- never arrive by true accident. There is always a purpose for them to serve. In terms of what literally brought Desmond to The Island both times, Widmore was the key factor. The first time was because Desmond was sailing in Widmore's race around the world, and the second time was because Widmore kidnapped him. Desmond's role was unique because he is unstuck in time, that's what gave him his specialness. He didn't need to be a candidate for Jacob's endgame because his role was specifically tailored for another purpose. I also doubt Jacob would have made Des a candidate knowing how much he still wanted to be with Penny back in the world. Des would never have accepted the job.

[@Michael-eq8th]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 I think there is something special about Desmond’s interaction with the source that reveals something about how the source’s plan works. The source wants people to make their own decisions. It lets people make whatever mistakes the chose to. It gives people guidance, but it doesn’t directly intervene except with Desmond. It speaks to him through flashes and conscious time travel in a way that it doesn’t with anyone else. It forces him to do thing he doesn’t want to do over and over. The first time he does do something voluntarily is in season 6. Contrast that with how the source allows all the mistakes of mother, Jacob, Jack and presumably Hugo. Why not give Jack the premonition to shoot fake lock after the cork is unplugged? I argue it’s because the source wants people to do things their way. I’d say everyone was allowed to make choices. Sure it knows what choices they’ll make. Desmond is not allowed to make decisions. You could say the source manipulates people, but it practically batters Desmond until he is resistant to forces that should kill him and can’t distinguish between the after life and the real world. I wrote that in pieces and I have to work now, so hopefully it isn’t a total mess. I hope you at least find it interesting if not true. Looking forward to the next theory of everything video. Have a nice day.

[@cornsyrupp]

Perhaps this is a dumb question, but when desmond is “brought to the past” while on the helicopter/freighter, he sees past charlie performing. He then goes and talks to him and i believe even mentions the island. Later there is a flashback to that same time from charlie’s perspective where desmond does not crazily rant to him. What is the explanation for this?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

It's not a dumb question at all. But you have conflated several different scenes and episodes together. In S3 ep 'Flashes Before Your Eyes', Desmond's consciousness travels back in time from 2004 to 1995 after he turns the fail-safe key. It is here he sees Charlie busking on the street outside of Widmore's office building. Desmond's 2004 consciousness starts to emerge and he rants to an oblivious Charlie about the island. It rains and everybody dashes off, leaving Desmond alone and confused. Later in S3, in the episode 'Greatest Hits', we see a flashback of Charlie busking in the street playing the same song again. Again, he gets caught in the rain. He then happens upon Nadia being mugged in an alleyway and rescues her. It is a very similar scene to the one with Desmond from earlier, but it is set in a totally different location in London and is taking place on a different day (judging by Charlie's entirely different wardrobe). In S4, when Desmond is on the helicopter leaving the island, it is his 1996 consciousness traveling forward into 2004 to experience the future (a reversal of what happened in 'Flashes Before Your Eyes'). During this episode, Desmond does not meet Charlie in the past. The episode sees him in the army and seeking out Penny and her phone number.

[@cornsyrupp]

I must not have been paying careful enough attention when I was watching them then. Thanks for responding and clearing things up!

[@danielpeters2501]

Thank you so much for this But please I have a question You didn't explain why Desmond didn't remember Daniel Faraday or why Daniel Faraday didn't remember Desmond when he came to the island and saw him since they met way back in 1996 I mean someone who would tell me they were from the future and told me how I'm supposed to get my experiment going(Eloise experiment) I should remember that But neither one of them remember each other Why??

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Here is a response I wrote to another poster on the same subject. I hope it covers your question: It's a tricky part of the time travel to explain. I regret simplifying what was happening by saying that 1996 Desmond experiences the future because it is way more involved than that when breaking down the episode. The catalyst for the mind travel happens in 2004 when the helicopter crosses the time dilation barrier. Ergo, the trigger point for the time travel happens in 2004 rather than 1996. Desmond's consciousness from 2004 essentially resets to 1996 and effectively erases the past 8 years of his experiences. It's like a form of amnesia in which he now thinks his present is 1996 rather than 2004. His *amnesiac consciousness* is in 1996 but subjectively experiencing the future without the proceeding 8 years of context. When Des finally finds his constant (Penny), there is a moment where the 1996 and 2004 consciousnesses merge and he exists simultaneously in both places at once (when he smiles). 2004 Des regains his past 8 years in this moment, finally leaving behind his 1996 body in London. This moment grounds both consciousnesses back in their respective timelines, with Desmond finally able to differentiate between past and present. However, his 1996 consciousness will not remember these interactions until after that phone call with Penny 8 years in the future because he wasn't really in the driver's seat for those experiences at the time. Hence why he doesn't remember Daniel. Whereas Daniel doesn't remember Desmond because he was performing those experiments on himself. The radiation he absorbed from those experiments caused him to suffer from memory loss, which he explains to Charles Widmore when he comes to recruit him. Daniel is in professional care at that point. When he gets to the island, the energy starts to heal his fractured mind and he begins to remember Desmond after reading the journal entry again.

[@danielpeters2501]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 I'm really confused as to why he lost his consciousness to remember Daniel in the first place You said Desmond didn't remember the meeting with Daniel why is that?.... it's literally just a memory like any other thing

[@danielpeters2501]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 I'm asking because before Desmond got on that helicopter that made him have his Amnesiac consciousness stuff He saw Daniel earlier why didn't he remember him?? Hence my question of why did Desmond forget about Daniel in the first place?

[@jameshenderson4668]

We need an episode about post jughead Dharma

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I technically cover the post-Jughead DHARMA years in Chapter Fourteen on "The DHARMA Initiative". It's in the latter half of that video.

[@NeoRipshaft]

Wait... I thought we did find out why he was in jail... or at least it was strongly implied. Been many many years since I last watched the show and I just randomly skipped through this one but I could have sworn he deserted during one of the skips, where he clearly was still with the army and clearly just left.... but again - memory is not much to go on.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I also used to have the same theory! However, Desmond is going through the mind travel stuff in 1996. He is presumably released from prison around the year 2000 or 2001 (at least several months before he ends up in the boat race and shipwrecking on The Island). Which would mean Desmond paid a very steep price for going A.W.O.L from the army in 1996. Almost four years in prison for that seems extreme. It is unlikely he was incarcerated and dishonourably discharged for that. We are never told what his crime was or why it warranted jailtime, but judging from his past behaviours (no pun intended) I assumed it was for desertion during an actual mission/engagement. Widmore implies as much outside the prison when he calls Desmond a coward. And we know Des ran away from his problems a lot.

[@NeoRipshaft]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 🤔😩going to have to rewatch at some point soon, will try to keep this in mind haha

[@MisanthropicPrime]

I get why he remembers things wrong. The only part of this destiny is set and can't be changed that I don't understand is where the visions of Charlie dying came from. Dreams or something from the Source is all I can come up with, because with this theory, Charlie never got struck by lightning the first time and Desmond never experienced it but somehow saw it.

[@2QAYL1138]

Everything can be attributed to the Source, right? I've wondered about his visions too. I think it's curious that they're all about Charlie. I see those visions as side effects of his turning the key just like his time-jumping, but instead of seeing different parts of his own life, he's seeing Charlie's. I think it's the Source directing Desmond to make the most of a bad situation that will end in Charlie's death, because it leads Desmond home so he can do what he needs to there to get ready to return & save the world again.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I explain the Charlie visions in Chapter Three on "The Time Loop". They are visions intended to set off a very specific series of events. You can read them as alternate futures for sure, but the deaths never actually happen because of Desmond's interaction with them, which renders them inert. The truth is, Charlie could not have died until the moment he does in the Looking Glass since he was the only one who could crack the musical code to unjam the signal. It was fated to be him. Watch Chapter Three here for the full explanation: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIrYk4p8eMp1aLc

[@JHallenbeck]

Yeah, it's an interesting chicken or egg situation. Do the visions of Charlie suggest that an alternate future is possible, which means Desmond can change things? Or do the visions of Charlie simply ensure that Desmond will react a certain way and cause specific outcomes? Outcomes that could not be achieved without the visions of Charlie's deaths. It's interesting how after Charlie dies for real that the flashes stop. Why were they so intrinsically linked to him? Why have they stopped? Is it because the outcomes the island needed have been achieved? I think the visions of Charlie were a means to an end. To get him to the Looking Glass.

[@geektoys370]

how charlie didnt remember him?

[@specialagentweener1073]

I still don't understand how Eloise would know everything that she needed to know? Cause we don't ever see her finding out the future stuff desmond needs to do or how she knew desmond was the one who pushed the button?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I cover Eloise Hawking (and Charles Widmore) in their own chapter, in which I explain Eloise's knowledge of future events. Check it out here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKS4ZGqQmdaJZrc

[@specialagentweener1073]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 so basically... the only reason Charles sent the boat out to "kill ben" was to make sure the right stuff happened in the timeline... so that the past them would know what was written in that faraday journal during the time on the island so that they could predict the future...

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

@@specialagentweener1073 Well, Widmore's motivations were complicated. Like Eloise, he was a slave to the timeline. He had to fulfil certain causal events, such as driving both Desmond and his own son Daniel to The Island. But he also never got over Ben's usurping of his leadership back in the day, and used the freighter as an opportunity to settle an old score at the same time. It was a mix of Widmore serving The Island and Widmore serving himself.

[@buddystewart2020]

Mental Time jumping of Desmond(The Constant). Why doesn't Desmond remember when he first arrives on the Island that he jumped back to 1969 and talked to Dan etc. If he's simply jumping back in his mind to 1969, and he can't really inform himself about what's happened in the future, how is it that he can inform Dan? Stuff should have already happened for Dan as well, yet somehow, Dan is able to take that knowledge and move forward with it for his experiments, and so much so, that he's got a whole book of equations and notes about time and how it works. How is it that Dan can make use of it, but Desmond can't?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Desmond never jumps back to 1969. When Desmond’s consciousness travels back in time to talk to Faraday at Oxford in ‘The Constant’ the year is 1996. Is that what you meant?

[@buddystewart2020]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 ... Ok sorry, I transposed the date, yes, when he's on the helo, and his mind travels back to 1996.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Okay, I've got you now. So, the catalyst for the mind travel happens in 2004 when the helicopter crosses the time dilation barrier. Which means the trigger point for the time travel happens in 2004 rather than 1996. Desmond's consciousness in 2004 essentially resets to 1996 and effectively erases the past 8 years of his experiences. It's like a form of amnesia in which 2004-Desmond now thinks his present is 1996. Anyway, when Desmond finally finds his constant (Penny), 2004-Desmond regains those missing 8 years because he has found a way to ground his consciousness and tell the difference between time periods. However, 1996-Desmond will not remember any of these interactions until after that phone call with Penny 8 years in the future because he wasn't really in the driver's seat for those experiences at the time, it was amnesiac 2004-Desmond. Which is why he doesn't remember Daniel. Whereas Daniel doesn't remember Desmond because he was performing those time experiments on himself. The radiation he absorbed from his machine caused him to suffer from memory loss, which he explains to Charles Widmore when Widmore comes to recruit him. Daniel is in professional care at that point. When he gets to the island, the energy starts to heal his fractured mind and he begins to remember Desmond after reading the journal entry again. Does that answer your question? I wasn't sure if this is what you were specifically asking. I appreciate that these events are very complicated to untangle!

[@buddystewart2020]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 ... I think so. So, could Desmond have made notes in 1996 and used them moving forward in time? Or would they have meant nothing to him, even if he had been able to write it down while his mind was visiting the past? I mean, Dan did make notes about it, and they moved forward in time with him. It seems like a paradoxical loop that I'm having trouble wrapping my head around. Maybe Desmond could have and he simply didn't. Is there even a 'first time' through this loop of time? lol, I'm confusing the hell out of my self.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Desmond didn't make any notes in 1996, not that we see anyway. So, he has no written record of what happened. He would only remember having blackouts. Even if had made notes, you are correct in saying that they would have meant nothing to him. Faraday made notes about all kinds of things in the same journal he kept with him for ten years. When writing those notes he would have had full knowledge of their meaning, but at some point after the events in 1996 at Oxford, Faraday began to suffer from memory loss as a result of his experiments and therefore forgot what many of those journal notes meant until The Island healed his fractured mind in 2004.

[@duenben]

One thing I do not get: if he can not change the future, how did he stop Charlie from drowning? I mean, his conciousness travelled in time and he remembered that so he changed the future. But he saved him several times. How did he know all of the times? Different versions of Desmond with different numbers of tries to save Charlie travelled back to the 1996? Conciousness of Desmond so that he know? So for example when he explained Charlie the situation he is Version number 4(f.e.) because he tried 3 times to save him but he died either way. I hope this makes sense. But it’s a change of future in a way. But it would make much more sens if there is only one original path. But then there would be no versions of Desmond

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

I explain the "Charlie Death" visions and how Desmond interacts with them in Chapter Three on "The Time Loop". Check it out here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIrYk4p8eMp1aLc

[@duenben]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 thanks so much. This channel is awesome

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Thank you for watching and engaging! :)

[@thegamingdutchman2280]

The whispers would be a good episode

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

You're in luck! I have already explored The Whispers. Watch it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z56tYZ-alqtqabs If you have a look at the video page on this channel you will find most of the key subjects have been covered.

[@thegamingdutchman2280]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 awesome, totally looked past it

[@לירוןאקסלרוד-כ2ד]

A little late to the party, but here's a question - how come Desmond doesn't remember his trip to 2004? I mean, I can understand that the blow to the head made him forget his weird day with Eloise, but what made him forget that back in 1996 he spent a couple of days bouncing between 1996 and 2004?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

It's a tricky part of the time travel to explain. I regret simplifying what was happening by saying that 1996 Desmond experiences the future because it is way more involved than that when breaking down the episode. The catalyst for the mind travel happens in 2004 when the helicopter crosses the time dilation barrier. Ergo, the trigger point for the time travel happens in 2004 rather than 1996. Desmond's consciousness from 2004 essentially resets to 1996 and effectively erases the past 8 years of his experiences. It's like a form of amnesia in which he now thinks his present is 1996 rather than 2004. His amnesiac consciousness is in 1996 but subjectively experiencing the future without the proceeding 8 years of context. When Des finally finds his constant (Penny), there is a moment where the 1996 and 2004 consciousnesses merge and he exists simultaneously in both places at once (when he smiles). 2004 Des regains his past 8 years in this moment, finally leaving behind his 1996 body in London. This moment grounds both consciousnesses back in their respective timelines, with Desmond finally able to differentiate between past and present. However, his 1996 consciousness will not remember these interactions until after that phone call with Penny 8 years in the future because he wasn't really in the driver's seat for those experiences at the time. I hope this makes sense. It's very hard to articulate lol.

[@danielpeters2501]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 First...does that mean the interaction between Desmond and Daniel happened?? If so...why did Daniel not remember Desmond when he first saw him? Secondly if Daniel didn't remember Desmond as we saw in the show how come he wrote in his book "If anything goes wrong Desmond will be my constant"??? You said Desmond didn't remember the meeting with Daniel why is that?.... it's literally just a memory like any other thing...lol

[@Porkleaker]

This was three years ago? ...See you in another life, brother.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Our lives are flashing before our eyes, brutha!

[@Porkleaker]

@@LOSTEXPLAINED108 see you in another life alternate desmond!

[@Brellowcrop]

Yeahhh boi

[@charansingh4747]

Bro why did Desmond not remember Daniel or Charlie not remember Desmond in 2004 ?

[@JHallenbeck]

Bro, he literally explains this in the video. And also in an older video about the time loop. Desmond remembers stuff in a nonlinear order because his consciousness is unstuck in time.

[@charansingh4747]

@@JHallenbeck I dint saw the video but what about Charlie not remembering Desmond ?

[@danielpeters2501]

@@JHallenbeck he didn't actually There's no explanation as to why both of them especially Daniel didn't remember Desmond ...but conveniently wrote in his book "if anything happens Desmond will be my constant" ??????

[@JHallenbeck]

@@danielpeters2501 He did actually. In great detail. The video on Desmond gets into it. Desmond doesn't remember his interactions with Daniel from 1996 because the mind travel had an amnesiac effect on Desmond. Whereas Daniel messed up his mind from all the radiation experiments, hence why Widmore told him "The island will heal your mind."

[@seeemsee]

I'LL SEE YOU IN ANOTHER LIFE, BROTHER.

[@peterdoering5496]

I just finished watching Lost for the first time and I have a question regarding Desmond Hume. We know that Desmond has been in the Hatch pressing the button every 108 minutes for three years and that his failure to press the button on 9/22/2004 is what causes Oceanic flight 815 to crash on the island. However, in the first episode of Season 16, LAX Part 1, we see that Desmond is actually on Oceanic flight 815 when he sits down next to Jack. So my question is… How can Desmond be in two places at the same time - sitting next to Jack on Oceanic flight 815 AND in the Hatch failing to press the button? Thank you.

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

Watch my chapter on the flash sideways. It’s not an alternate parallel reality. It’s the gateway to the afterlife where all souls must pass through in order to move on to the next plane of existence. It looks and feels like the real world until you are awoken and have dealt with your death and made peace with your life. It’s a place where we all go after we die to experience a version of our lives in which The Island did not course correct our destinies to revolve around it.

[@peterdoering5496]

Thank you for getting back to me, I have watched your Flash Sideways episode and I think I do understand the concept of the gateway to the afterlife (which is why I have become obsessed with the series - I have binge-watched it three times). Being a science person I guess my question is more technical in nature than a philosophical one. Desmond is perhaps the most important character in the series because he is the one who actually causes Oceanic flight 815 to crash (and all of the ensuing events) when he fails to press the button. Had he continued pressing the button the entire Lost TV series would never have taken place. So my question is in the timing of the events, specifically when Desmond stops pressing the button. Going back to the airplane scene and LAX Part 1, I’m assuming that when they experience the turbulence that that is the point at which Desmond stopped pressing the button. Now if Desmond sat with Jack AFTER the turbulence then I would have no problem because all of the events on the island DURING the turbulence would have already taken place including the detonation of the hydrogen bomb which initiated the Flash Sideways. However, the scene where Desmond sits with Jack appears BEFORE the turbulence which prompted my original question - how could Desmond simultaneously be on Oceanic flight 815 AND also in the hatch? Perhaps the editors of the series made a mistake and should’ve put the Desmond/Jack scene after the turbulence scene. What do you think?

[@LOSTEXPLAINED108]

The hydrogen bomb did not create the flash sideways. It stopped the incident from destroying the world. The flash sideways is unrelated to the original timeline. It isn’t part of the original timeline at all. It is occurring after everyone has died. Desmond can be on the plane because it is the afterlife. A construct. Everything in the sideways is like a collective dream made up of memories and experiences and possibilities. The turbulence they experience on the plane in the sideways is just a reminder of what happened to them in their actual lives when they crashed. Remember that the island is underwater in the sideways reality because there is no need for it to exist in the land of the dead. You have to divorce the sideways from the logic and events of what happened in the real living world. It is not the same chronology. There are differences, such as Jack and Juliet being married. Hurley having “good luck”. Locke being happy with Helen. Desmond not being in the hatch and working for Widmore. Watch my other chapter on Destiny to understand how fate works in the show. That might help to clarify how and why things happen. The Island guides all events and people to certain causal outcomes, including Desmond failing to push the button in 2004.

[@peterdoering5496]

To be honest I don’t see how you can conclude that the Flash Sideways was not part of the original timeline but rather took place within the Source after everyone died. The way I see it is the Flash Sideways was the actual life the characters would have led had the Island been destroyed by the hydrogen bomb in 1977 (which is why it was at the bottom of the ocean in season 6) and they safely landed in Los Angeles. I think there are probably many explanations/interpretations of Lost depending on your point of view - some philosophical, some religious and some science-based. Are you familiar with the Catholic doctrine of “Purgatory” (which has absolutely no biblical basis by the way)? Here is a definition… (in Roman Catholic doctrine) a place or state of suffering inhabited by the souls of sinners who are expiating their sins before going to heaven. One could argue that Lost was about a group of flawed and broken people who made some bad choices in life but who were also good people at their core. And the horrendous things they experienced on the Island (being attacked by a smoke monster, terrorized by the Others, hunted down by commandos from the freighter) was a way to “expiate them from their sins” and reconcile themselves to the people they wronged before they entered heaven, i.e. the Light. If you were a Catholic (which I am not) you would say that Lost was the perfect metaphor for Purgatory. Another very simple explanation could be the following… If you recall in the very first scene of the very first episode Jack is lying on his back in the bamboo forest where he opens his eyes to find that he’s a survivor of a plane crash. And in the very last scene of the very last episode Jack is lying on his back in the bamboo forest where he closes his eyes and dies after saving the world. We also know that it is in the last episode when Jack talks with his father that he learns for the first time that he’s dead (as are all of the other passengers of Oceanic flight 815). So one could argue that everything that happened between Jack opening his eyes in the first scene and Jack closing his eyes in the last scene never actually happened at all (because they all died in the initial plane crash). Instead, the entire Lost series was just a “collective dream” experienced by the passengers of Oceanic flight 815 as they watched their lives “flash before their eyes” before entering the Light. So I’m sure there are many explanations for Lost all of which have their merits. The bottom line is that for me Lost was by far the most thought-provoking, brilliantly written, powerful and just plain fun to watch thing I’ve ever seen on television and I look forward to watching it again.

[@peterdoering5496]

Hello again, I just finished watching episode 11 of season 6 entitled “Happily Ever After” and I’m sorry to say but I think this episode pretty much disproves your theory that the Flash Sideways takes place in the Source after everyone is dead. In this episode Charles Whitmore kidnaps Desmond and takes him back to the Island where he is placed in an “EM field generator” where he experiences the Flash Sideways for the first time. In it Desmond is Whitmore’s fixer assigned to babysit Charlie Pace who crashes Desmond‘s car into the water where Desmond experiences “the Flash” when he sees the writing on Charlie’s hand. He experiences the Flash a second time when he is placed in an MRI machine and he sees Penny for the first time. He then goes to meet Eloise Whitmore a.k.a. Eloise Hawking to tell her that Driveshaft will not be able to perform at the concert. It is clear that Eloise recognizes Desmond from the jewelry store where Desmond tried to buy an engagement ring for Penny which happened prior to the Flash Sideways. Furthermore, Daniel Whitmore a.k.a. Daniel Faraday, who is a musician, meets Desmond and tells him that after meeting the girl of his dreams he wakes up and writes down these advanced quantum mechanics equations pertaining to time travel. He then states that he may have altered the course of history by detonating a “massive amount of energy” sometime in the past. After all of this happens Whitmore turns off the EM field generator and Desmond is back on the Island ready to do whatever Whitmore asks. So it is pretty clear that the events that take place on the Island and the events that take place in the Flash Sideways are two separate timelines taking place concurrently. Desmond is very much alive in the Flash Sideways which was caused when Daniel (Juliet actually) detonated the hydrogen bomb back in 1977. So you may want to watch Happily Ever After one more time.