ABC’s sci-fi drama ‘Lost’ is once again from the point of view of everyone’s favorite Scotsman, Desmond. What did he see this time, and is Penny’s knowledge of the island revealed?
We open with Desmond, Hurley, Charlie and Jin walking through the rainy island. Full disclosure: my local ABC affiliate has decided to have the sound go wonky, so everything sounds like gargling. So, not too great. Anyway, as Charlie complains about going through the rain, he triggers a booby trap, and an arrow flies out and gets his neck! Desmond does what he can, but it looks like Charlie’s dead. Or not; in fact, it’s just one of Desmond’s visions of Charlie dying. Charlie’s still alive, and Desmond’s fishing. Desmond runs up to Hurley, and wants to know where the cable in the sand is, because as Desmond says, “Someone’s coming.”
In the flashbacks, and this time, they look real unlike Desmond’s first, Desmond is in a monastery, completing a vow of silence, assumably because of his breakup with Penny. Unfortunately for me, the sound decided to get back to normal here, and as such, cut out about half of the flashbacks. Apologies.
Back on the island, Desmond and Hurley walk over to Jack and ask for a first aid kit. Hurley’s wary and almost gives things away to Jack about Desmond’s abilities. Hurley demands an explanation about what’s going on, and Desmond explained that he saw some events that didn’t make sense but will once he figures them out: the first is Hurley grabbing the cable, way back when. Hurley’s surprised, because he realizes that Desmond wants these events to happen, mostly because part of the puzzle includes Penny.
Elsewhere, Sawyer visits Kate, to find her getting dressed. Though he’s momentarily dumbfounded, he wants to know if she told Jack about the two of them. Kate tells him that Jack knows thanks to the surveillance cameras. Sawyer, pleased that it’s out of the way, wants some “afternoon delight,” but she pushes him away, almost smiling about it.
Desmond and Hurley walk towards Jin, who’s fishing. Desmond explains that he must come with them, or the events may not happen as they should. Hurley manages to convince Jin to come, by saying that they’re camping. Desmond leaves to convince Charlie to come with him. Charlie figures the real reason is because he may die, but Desmond only says that someone will come to the island, only if Charlie comes. Desmond lies and says that Charlie won’t die in these events, even though we know he probably will. Charlie’s convinced, as long as he can bring his guitar.
Desmond, Hurley, Charlie and Jin make their way towards the cable, whistling the theme to “The Bridge on the River Kwai.” Hurley stops and realizes they’re at the spot of the island with the cable. Hurley mentions that he was beset upon by Rousseau’s booby traps by following the cable, and Desmond says they’re going to camp on the island that night.
In the flashbacks, Desmond has managed to end his vow of silence (or perhaps he did in the last one, but again, I don’t know). He and the monk from the first scene talk about tests and such, and then Desmond has a visitor, who punches him in the nose and then apologizes and leaves. Desmond looks at the monk he was talking to and apologizes.
That night, Kate and Jack rendezvous in the makeshift kitchen, and they flirt a bit, but nothing big happens, aside from Jack pointing out that something’s likely to go wrong soon to end the peace. Jack walks over to Juliet and gets cozy, and so Kate does the only logical thing: has sex with Sawyer, while she’s crying! That’s healthy.
At the camp, Jin tells a ghost story in Korean, and even manages to scare Charlie and Hurley. Desmond’s off by himself, and Charlie gives him some food. Charlie inquires about the picture of Desmond and Penny, and wonders how he could have left Penny. Desmond says he’s a coward, even if she tracked him down. He even wonders if she could have found him on the island. And then, they hear what sounds like a helicopter. The sound continues to be less and less like a helicopter, and then something splashes in the nearby ocean. It’s too dark to see what it is, though, but Hurley wants to go out to the ocean. Jin points up to the sky, and they see a red flashing light.
Now, the four wonder what happened and if anyone’s actually jumped out of the helicopter. Hurley believes someone’s there, and Desmond demands that the four of them go into the jungle. Charlie’s unsure, but Desmond says it’s supposed to happen that way, but Charlie declines to go. After a few seconds, Desmond decides to leave at first light, but he’s not thrilled.
In the flashback, Desmond arrives at the house of the man who punched him, Derek. Derek wants him to leave, but Ruth, his sister, lets Desmond in. Over tea, Desmond says he owes her an explanation. Ruth won’t understand, since he disappeared a week before the wedding; he says he had a calling, but she doubts it since, in the six years they dated (okay…), he wasn’t religious. Desmond says he wondered in a pub if he was doing the right thing, and the next thing he knew, he was lying in the street. A strange man helped him up, and it was a monk. He explains that he just knew it was what he was supposed to do. Ruth isn’t having it, and says he should have just manned up and told her the truth.
On the main island, Jack and Juliet flirt a bit when Sawyer arrives, ready to compete with Jack…at ping-pong. They play pretty hard, and then the topic of Kate comes up. Sawyer finds out that Jack and Juliet ate dinner last night, and so he wonders about Kate’s intentions.
In the jungle, Charlie wants to know what’s next, but a pissed-off Desmond says there’s no next, and reminds him that he’s saved Charlie three times from death, so he should be more trusting. As they walk more, Hurley complains that he’s going to get sick, and then Charlie finds, of all things, a hula doll. Desmond climbs up a tree and finds a backpack, with a satellite phone, unfortunately dead. There’s also a copy of the book Catch-22, with the picture of Desmond and Penny inside.
On the main island, Sawyer gives Kate the mix tape he promised her earlier, a collection of Phil Collins songs, from Bernard (remember him?). He asks Kate why she jumped him, wondering out loud if it was her seeing Jack and Juliet, and reminds her that she doesn’t have to have such a reason to get down with him.
In the jungle, Charlie wonders if Penny’s behind the person from the helicopter, whoever it is. He wants to know why Desmond didn’t tell him about what happened, and Desmond simply says that he didn’t want anything to change. As Charlie shrugs about this, it starts to rain heavily, just like in Desmond’s vision.
In the flashback, Desmond’s up late in the monastery, singing and getting very drunk. His monk friend reminds him that he took a vow of charity, and that he may not be monk material. To that point, he’s basically fired from being a monk, which is pretty damn low. Desmond wonders what’s next for him, as he leaves the monastery.
Back in the jungle, the four castaways make their way through the rain, as Hurley explains the significance of Penny to Jin. Charlie and Hurley start to argue about who’s faster: Superman or the Flash. As he does this, Desmond realizes that his vision is becoming reality, and Charlie’s about to step on the booby trap that will kill him. Desmond sees it in enough time to push Charlie onto the ground, right next to the arrow. Suffice to say, Charlie’s not thrilled.
The four castaways continue to look for the person from the helicopter, and Hurley suggest they split up. Charlie goes with Desmond, and Hurley goes with Jin. Charlie knows that Desmond knew about the arrow, and Desmond explains that he couldn’t tell Charlie about the arrow because of the visions. But, since he saved Charlie’s life, the visions won’t come true, and he wonders if letting Charlie die would be a test of some kind. Then, they hear Jin call out for them, and run to meet Hurley and Jin, where they have found a person in a parachute in the trees. Hurley says that the person, a woman, isn’t moving.
In the final flashback, Desmond enters the monastery once more to talk to his monk friend, to return his clothes. The monk, who has a picture with the mysterious woman from Desmond’s first episode, offers to have Desmond help put some of the cases of wine they’ve been bottling into a van. It’s there that he meets, for the first time, Penny, who smiles playfully at him. They flirt a bit, and are obviously falling for each other, and she invites him to come along with her to unload the crates.
Meanwhile, in the present, Desmond cuts the parachute and the woman inside it down onto the ground. It turns out the woman’s alive, and Desmond rushes over to open up her helmet, thinking it’s Penny. It’s not, though…it’s a black woman, who knows who Desmond is. Hopefully, we’ll find out who she is next week on ‘Lost.’
