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Twitter'Lost': This is London
So Lost finally got back to the island on Wednesday. Or an island, anyway -- in the show's longest flashback (or deja vu, or whatever you want to call it) ever, we spent most of our time with Desmond in England.
Did Desmond's final line, which admittedly was pretty cool and which we'll discuss a bit farther down so people who don't want to be spoiled can turn away (ahem, people who don't want to be spoiled), justify spending a good 80 percent of the episode with him? I'm not sure about that, especially given the little bit of misdirection the show played with us at the start of the hour.
The beginning of the episode -- with screen time for Desmond, Charlie, Hurley, Locke, Sayid and Claire all in the first 10 minutes -- seemed to be saying, "Yes, folks, the show you knew is back. See? See all these people you haven't seen for three months?" There was even a semi-relevant piece of information dropped in there, with Sayid noting that he and Locke had buried Eko the previous day (which means, based on the timeline of that episode, tonight's story occurred as Jack was playing chicken with the Others and Kate and Sawyer were escaping. I think).
But instead of seeing the camp mourn Eko's death, or begin to organize to get Jack, Kate and Sawyer back, writers Damon Lindelof and Drew Goddard instead had us see Desmond's life flash before his eyes, with a few minor alterations. I get what Lindelof and Goddard were going for here (even setting aside that final line), but given the way the episode's beginning unfolded and the fact that we've been away from these characters for so long, the extra-large flashback felt a little unnecessary.
Lost's best flashback threads -- think the revelation of Locke in the wheelchair, Jack's daddy issues in the season opener this year -- have been models of efficient storytelling. And given that we already knew, more or less, that Desmond broke Penny's heart because Daddy Widmore didn't approve of him, I'm not sure I needed the whole thing acted out at the expense of seeing any other activity on the island.
So, about that last line: "You're gonna die, Charlie." It was a doozy, huh?
It turns out that Desmond's pre-cog efforts -- the lightning rod and his dash to the beach to save Claire from drowning -- were, in fact, intended to save Charlie. But as we've learned thrice over in the Final Destination movies, and as Finnoula Flanagan reiterated to us tonight, death will not be denied. I guess the question now is whether Charlie, armed with this knowledge, goes and finds his double-secret heroin stash or gets really reckless in going after the Others, or just sits in his shelter and refuses to budge.
On a bigger scale, Desmond's story does dovetail rather nicely into the show's Big Idea themes of destiny and free will. I suspect he'd find a like mind in Locke if he ever decides to discuss the fact that he's "supposed" to be on the island. And the little deja vu touches in the flashback -- the clock reading 1:08, the microwave beeping just like the hatch clock, "Play Your Own Kind of Music" on the pub jukebox -- were nice too.
As well-constructed as the episode was, though, my patience wears ever thinner the longer we don't get substantive stories for some of the original cast. Next week's show looks to be Jack-centric, meaning still more time on Alcatraz, and does anybody really believe Promo Voiceover Man when he says that three of the show's biggest questions will be answered? Yeah, didn't think so.
Were you OK with the super-sized flashback? Is three "dudes" from Hurley enough for you? Let us know what you think of this week's Lost.
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Zap2it Twitter Talk 
I think your dead wrong on actually...everything. I liked the extra long flashbacks because for one of the first times, we were getting some sort of idea as to what is going on. Though in the end I am more confused than ever. But the thing I love about this show and what I love about this episode is that it had me thinking the entire time and I am still thinking about what happened to Desmond. Personally for myself, I dont need stories from Hurley or Charlie, because though Im sure their backstories are very important, Hurley to me always seems to act to lighten up the mood of the show. Jack, Sawyer, Kate, and Locke are the main characters. They have always been the main characters of the show, which means they will be the subject for a lot of the time. If i am mad about anything, it is the lack of Locke.
In the end, I think it was critical that they show Desmond's backstory, and they did a very good job with it. Now I am just waiting for the next one, or whenever we can link Desmond, penny, and the people doing all that monitoring at the end of season 2. Yes I do think they will reveal secrets in the next episode. I have read that the producers will be revealing many things in the upcoming episodes. Not to mention that from what we have heard, this show wont be on for a long time to come. Their are a lot of secrets that need to come out and Im sure some of them will come out soon, followed by new secrets.
All in all, I was very pleased with this episode, as have I been with the return so far. I think it will only get better.
I liked the episode as well. The twist at the end being great, but the twist halfway amazing as well (the lady saying he cant buy the ring.) A little Matrix-y perhaps, with an older lady explaining the rules of the world we're in, but still thought it was cool.
I don't mind a long flashback if its with a character we're still getting to know. As opposed to the 100th Jack flashback.
I can't believe that anyone could not love this episode. How could you so casually compare Desmond's flashback with any other? This wasn't just a flashback it was a freaking time travel experience!! That multiplies the interestingness of Desmond's character by about 10,000, and you would trade that for more island drama like chasing polar bears and smoke monsters around in circles?
Desmond is a psychic time traveler for god's sake! That adds a new dimension to Lost which you aren't seeming to comprehend.
I was on the fence about this episode until Creepy Ring Lady started explaining everything. To me, that made it one of the better episodes this season. Frankly, I was so glad to get away from the Jack/Kate/Sawyer Just-Have-A-Three-Way-Already-A-Thon that anything would suffice. But this was a well crafted episode that really gave Desmond more depth as a character. I was hoping they would tie up the monitoring station at the end of S2, but alas, they didn't. But they never explain why Penny's dad was such a jerk. Is he just overprotective of his daughter or is there some kind of underlying motive for his hatred of Des?
As far as the three questions next week, I'll believe it when I see it. Something tells me the three biggest questions that WE (the fans) want answered differ from the three biggest questions that THEY (the creators) feel like answering.
Good Episode. But I totally agree, the original cast needs some strong development. They've got so many stories to tell..they need to balance them better. I want to see more of our original cast and less of Jack and The Others....for now.
I can't believe you didn't love this show either! This is by far the best episode of the season so far! Desmond goes back in time and actually changes his whole timeline! Who knows what he affected? I think that the end where Penny is still looking for him no longer happened because in the original timeline, Desmond clearly never broke it off with her like that. Her father interfered and kept them apart after he got thrown in jail. I also think that Des probably went and joined the army originally and didn't just keep walking by the poster. The possibilities are endless and they finally setup a story where we might actually give a crap about Charlie again because now we no he's living on borrowed time! This is Lost at its best!
I loved the episode and thought the Desmond backstory was extremely interesting but I have never been this confused in my life!! Like some people I just want the show to center on the original island with the original cast. I want answers and just for the Others to disspaear and continue our journey.
One of the Better episodes this season. I hope that Charlie will embrace his destiny and sacrifice himself for the good of Clair or someone else on the Island. And, a note on last weeks episode. I have it on pretty good authority that Juliette's Sister's baby is in fact one of the characters already on Lost.
I think you're looking for things to pick apart. This episode was mind-blowing! Absolutely the best of this season. The fact that it was not about the core characters and turned out the way it did is a testament to the writers. If they came up with this for Desmond, imagine what they'll do for Sayid. Be a little more patient.
I absolutely loved this episode of Lost. It should have been the first episode of season 1, as it provided the explanations for why desmond turned the key. A blog I like discusse this a lot more at Lost Spoilers Blog. Whe Desmond tells you that it is useless to escape, think about it, he knows your destiny. It also explains the Penny Widmore story a lot. I agree, I'd like to learn more about Locke and Sayid too.