Episode Title: "Flashes Before Your Eyes"
Character: Desmond
Holy crap.
After last night’s episode aired, after I got over the thought of “What the hell did I just see?”, I thought, “Now how do I write a recap about an episode that I hardly understood?” So this recap is gonna follow a slightly different pattern than usual. I found myself running through a list of movies, all leading to different theories about what last night’s episode meant. So I’m gonna do my best to interpret those thoughts as well as some others. Here goes nothin.
“The Terminator” The biggest question about last night’s episode seems to be “Was it a flashback? Or did he actually go back in time?” Being that Desmond woke up completely naked, it draws an interesting parallel to “The Terminator”. When a terminator travels back in time, it arrives in the nude. And while Desmond wasn’t surrounded by an electrical orb as Arnold was, it is still an interesting connection.
“The Butterfly Effect” Through reading journals that he wrote as a young boy, Evan (played by Ashton Kutcher) was able to relocate himself into his past. Doing this allowed him to change his past, thus changing the present. Now, let’s assume that this is the case, and Desmond did travel back in time. We know that he changed the course of events because he is the one that got hit with the cricket bat, instead of the bartender. Could that have led to changes in all of the characters’ lives? Is that what we’re seeing in the flashbacks? Are we seeing all things that have changed because of that event? Or am I just blowing smoke out of my rear?
“Final Destination” The entire “Final Destination” series centers around the idea that death is imminent, and inescapable. The jeweler (or should I say “oracle”) told Desmond that the man with the red shoes was going to die, no matter what she did. The end of the episode last night had Desmond relaying that same message to Charlie. All of Desmond’s recent efforts have been to save Charlie’s life (not Claire’s, as suspected). He tells Charlie that he is going to die, no matter what. The big question here is, though, “Can Desmond change Charlie’s destiny?” This movie is even referenced with the reoccurrence of “Make Your Own Kind of Music” playing in the background, similar to the way that one song (sorry… can’t remember the details) kept playing in “Final Destination” whenever someone was going to die.
On a side note, now that Desmond’s flashback reminded him that he ran into Charlie on the streets, will he confront Charlie and tell him about it? I’d be interested to see if the island is causing Desmond to have this memory/hallucination, it’d be really cool to see other losties have these same visions. Then maybe they could realize how intertwined their stories are.
“Back To The Future” Obviously, this episode deals mainly with the idea of time. When Desmond was trying to buy the ring, the jeweler (again, “oracle”) has a wall of clocks behind her, just as found in Dr. Emmitt Brown’s house. I also found it really interesting that Desmond’s best friend was a 60-year-old scientist who drove a DeLorean. And if you looked carefully in the background, you could see Penelope riding around on a Pit-Bull brand hover-board. That’s when Desmond turned to Charlie and said “Nobody calls me chicken!” J
In all seriousness, though, on the subject of the “oracle”, I wonder if she actually existed in Desmond’s past. And, in true LOST fashion, I am positive that we’ll see her again, crossed in the flashbacks of other characters.
“Donnie Darko” I really hate to do this to you, but just watch the movie, and you’ll see what I’m saying. Actually, watch the movie, and then look it up online so that you can understand the movie. Then, you’ll see what I’m talking about. I could get into it in detail, but not only would it take way too long to explain, but it would also ruin a great movie if I spoiled it for you.
My Thoughts: To be honest, I really don’t know what to say. This episode had a lot of little easter eggs, including several appearances from the numbers, a paint bucket that said “future” on it, billboard signs in the soccer stadium that advertised for nearly all LOST-oriented companies (The Hanso Foundation, Oceanic Airlines, Mr. Clucks, Apollo Candy, Gannon Car Rentals which we also saw on “Heroes”), just to name a few. So what does this mean? Were these actually there? I tend to believe that he was having a dream, and half of what he saw was real and half was not. It is going to be hard to try and dissect this episode to try and determine what was real and what wasn’t. Any thoughts?
Next Week: The episode next week is called “Stranger in a Strange Land”, and will be a Jack-centric flashback. I try to avoid all spoilers, so I can’t tell you much on the episode. I can say, though, that the producers have confirmed (via the Official Lost Podcast) that we will be turning our focus back to the main island very shortly. I’m really looking forward to getting some answers about the others, but even more than that, I’m looking forward to just getting back to seeing what some Lost-fans refer to as the “meat and potatoes” (that being the original cast: Sayid, Locke, Jin, Sun, Claire, Charlie, Hurley, etc).
I apologize if this recap isn’t nearly as good as the past ones. That, in no way, is reflective of the quality of last night’s episode. In my opinion, “Flashes Before Your Eyes” was one of the best episodes ever. What made it great was how much it stood out from all of the other episodes and how much of an impact it will have on the overall show. It doesn’t seem like it now, but I guarantee you that this episode will pay off in the long-run. It wasn’t just a pointless dream sequence. I promise.
Am I the only one that is just LOVING season 3?
I’d love to get some feedback from you all to hear your thoughts on the episode. It is definitely one that requires conversation.
-drew.
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