(Episode:
Happily Ever After. Spoilers ahead.)
In the normal timeline, Widmore has brought Desmond Hume to the island because for some undisclosed purpose. He needs someone who can survive an intense electromagnetic field normally lethal to humans. Hume had survived such an event before - the Swan Hatch implosion.
Widmore tests his theory without telling Desmond what's going on. Unfortunately a technician gets fried when the generator assembly is turned on prematurely. Des is strapped to a chair, the generator is turned on, he loses unconsciousness momentarily, and all of a sudden he's cooperative with Widmore.
Zoe and a Widmore flunky escort him through the jungle afterward, where Sayid, armed with pistol, knocks out the flunky, tells Zoe to run, and tells Desmond to follow him. Desmond clamly and cheerfully complies.
What happened?
The alternate 2004 timeline folks are sensing the present-day timeline. Jack seemed to be showing signs of deja vu on Flight 815 at the beginning of the season. Sawyer might have gotten a whiff when he saw Kate after the flight and after her escape from her Fed escort Agent Mars.
Alternate Desmond works for Widmore, who is based in LA, married to Eloise, and happy to share his prized MacCutcheon scotch whiskey with Des. George Minkowski, who we know as the communications officer of Widmore's freighter, is Des' limo driver.
Des is tasked with babysitting a self-destructive rock musician, Charlie Pace, whose band is scheduled to perform at an event hosted by the Widmores. They chat in a bar, where Charlie tells of his near-death experience in the plane (he had swallowed his stash of heroin to prevent its discovery, only to have it lodge in his windpipe when the plane hit turbulence). Charlie caught a glimpse of a blonde woman who he had loved dearly - the real-timeline Claire, evidently.
They leave the bar in Desmond's sports car, with Des driving. Charlie grabs the wheel and forces the car into the marina. Des gets glimpses of Penny and the "Not Penny's Boat" message that the regular-timeline Charlie had written on his hand when they were at the underwater DHARMA hatch. At the hospital, Des prepares for an MRI. The visions return, more vividly. He tries to get answers from Charlie, who will only say that he needs to find Penny.
Des goes to Eloise Widmore and tells her Driveshaft won't be able to make the gig. She takes rock band recklessness for granted and is quite unperturbed. But Des overhears some of her servants mention a Penny who's on the guest list. He asks about Penny, and Eloise is quite mad. She tells him he's not ready - this Eloise knows something.
And so does her son Daniel - who in this timeline carries his birthname Widmore and not the alias (or stepdad's name?) Faraday. Overhearing the confrontation, Daniel privately approaches Des and confides a couple of things. First, Penny's identity. Second...after experiencing a deja vu moment over a cute redhead (Charlotte Lewis, obviously), Daniel had subconsciously drawn up a bunch of equations in his journal. This Daniel is a musician, not a scientist. He had shown a college friend the notes; friend says that they're the product of someone who'd devoted a lifetime to quantum physics. Daniel says that a nuclear explosion has altered the reality that everyone is experiencing, and is somehow aware that he set it off.
On a tip from Daniel, Des goes to meet Penny - she's jogging at night at a stadium. They meet, shake hands, and Des passes out. He asks her out for coffee. They agree to meet in an hour. He goes to his limo, tells about the coffee destination, and requests George to acquire the Flight 815 manifest.
There seems to be a connection between the electromagnetic experiment and Alternate Desmond's passing out at the stadium. Did the two Desmonds make contact?
Labels: Lost, Television