I feel like I’m always called upon to cover the shows when our normal recapper has to go schmooze with celebs at the Tribeca Film Fest, or some such similar debauchery. This would normally be OK, but add on top of that the convoluted storyline of Lost and I’m befuddled before it all begins. This week saw the return of everyone’s favorite new twitchy scientist Daniel Faraday. He’s taken the lead as my favorite side character on the show, only slightly overshadowing Miles Straume. It’s ironic how the creative team could have gotten new characters so absurdly wrong one season and then throw all of these new guys at us and have it be fantastic.
I think I’ve got a firm grip on the time situation on Lost, especially since Daniel’s explanation that “what happens, happens.” But heck, let’s get to the loopiness. We start off with Eloise Hawking, Faraday’s mum, showing up at the hospital as Desmond is rushed into surgery. She tells Penny that she’s sorry because her son is responsible for the shooting. Anyone else get the feeling this is going to be a bookend story point?
Let’s move back to 1977 on the island where Daniel is getting out of the sub. Dr. Twitchy meets up with the Dead Whisperer (Miles doesn't have the ample bosom to be a ghost whisperer) and starts rambling that he came back because of a photo of Jack, Kate, and Hurley on the island and needs to know how they got here. He gets to Jack’s home in Future Otherville and rambles about how his mother got them all to come back. Something about her being wrong, it’s not their destiny to be there. Perhaps it’s their density instead…huh, McFly?
Since the show decided to do so, I’ll also take a break and talk about the flashes to Daniel’s young life. No reason to go over all the details as it amounts to the same thing repeatedly. Eloise pushes her son away from the arts to use his mind for science. There are hints that she has premonitions or visions, or just a super intuitiveness. In any case it’s she who pushes Daniel to pursue science, accept Charles Widmore’s research grant, and later Widmore’s offer to go to the island. That’s an important point: His mother insists that he go to the island. Plus some sort of experiment he did on himself back in college has made him the frazzle brain we know and love. It would seem the island has cured Daniel of the memory loss issue, but not the unfocused scatterbrain aspect.
Back to the meat of our tale. Faraday just can’t seem to sit still, constantly on the move and saying there’s no time to explain. The man just has to go, go, go, GO! So Miles drives him to the Orchid where we see the opening scene of this season replayed, thus explaining that Daniel is definitely not from the past come to our present. Daniel goes after Dr. Chang and tells him the island must be evacuated because a catastrophic event will occur in 6 hours. I’m proud of myself for seeing such an obvious event before Daniel spells it out at the end of the episode. The crisis at the Swan that leads to the button pushing from season one is about to happen. Faraday tries to convince Dr. Chang of the urgency by telling him he’s from the future and that Miles is his son. Miles denies this, and Dr. Chang leaves. Perhaps Dr. Chang is really just an actor, because I would imagine any high level scientist on the island would give serious credence to what Daniel is saying.
Did you guys know that Sawyer and his merry band of misfits are in this episode too? Yeah, they’re all sitting around with Phil still locked away in the closet trying to figure out their next move. Sawyer presents a choice: hijack the submarine and go “home;” or head to the beach and start from “square one.” This whole important decision making process is cut off when Daniel and Miles return – how the hell does that man get around so fast? Faraday wants to know where to find the hostiles because his mother is one of them. Everyone remain completely unshocked. Oh, and let’s just remain unshocked that Charles Widmore is Daniel’s dad…mainly because it was easy to figure out during the flashback when Daniel tells his mom of the Widmore grant.
Sawyer doesn’t want to show Daniel to the Hostiles, but puts it to a vote. Then he makes his biggest mistake by calling Kate “Freckles.” Juliet gives the most awesome glance of the year and then breaks the tie by telling everyone the code to shut down the fences. As Jack and Kate get a Jeep ready to go Daniel walks over to a little red headed girl on a swing. “I’m not allowed to have chocolate before dinner,” she says. And millions of Lost fans the world around have their heart broken by that precious little girl’s comment, which will eventually be her last as she lay dying in Daniel’s arms some 30 years later. He tries to tell the young Charlotte that she has to leave the island when Dr. Chang orders the evacuation. His voice and demeanor is desperate as he does whatever he can to save the woman he loves. This man of science is turning to faith that he can change the past.
Using his keys as a janitor Jack opens the gun locker just as Radzinsky shows up with his goons. A shootout occurs, Faraday is grazed by a bullet on the neck, Jack uses his obvious video game knowledge to shoot some exploding barrels and the trio is on their way. Jack confronts Daniel, wanting to know what’s going on. And now we get a bit convoluted, but if you’ve watched the show since season one it should be easy to follow:
The crew at the Swan will hit some sort of energy that will start a catastrophic event.
This even will cause the creation of the Hatch and the button that will have to be pushed every 108 minutes.
Desmond will arrive on the island and eventually not push the button, releasing the energy that crashes Oceanic 815 on the island.
Charles Widmore will send a freightr to the island, and Charlotte will be on that freighter.
Because of what happens that afternoon in 1977 Charlotte will die.
Of course this would necessitate changing the past, something that Daniel himself has explained can’t be done. But then he mentions the variable: people. People can think, they have free will. The group from the future isn’t supposed to be there, therefore theoretically they can change everything. This sounds vaguely plausible, but not all that possible. Especially when Faraday tells Jack and Kate he’s going to use the Hydrogen bomb to destroy the energy.
Back with Sawyer, Hurley, Juliet and Miles we see Radzinsky come in talking about the shootout. He hears someone pounding in the closet and finds Phil there all tied up. Uh oh. Hands up and on the floor go our heroes.
The three arrive at the Hostile’s camp and Daniel enters. He then points a gun at Richard Alpert asking to see Eloise Hawking. Richard tells him the woman is not there, but then Daniel is shot. Like really shot. Through the back and out the chest type of being shot. Of course it’s his own mother who did the deed. And as he lay dying he looks at her, “You knew what would happen and you still sent me.” Wow, what a cranky old coot his mother becomes to send her son to the island when she knows he’ll be shot by her. My head hurts just thinking of the craziness. And unlike Ben I think Daniel might be done for. It was a such a Lost twist that I wasn’t at all surprised, but that doesn’t take away from it being one of the great moments in the show’s history.
Happy 100th episode Lost!
