"The New Man in Charge"

Let's talk about LOST!  The New Man in Charge.

Here are my notes  about the long awaited 12 minute epilogue; which I will write up in the vein of the Missing Pieces Mobisodes. Remember to click the pics because they're posted here for a reason.

Epilogue "The New Man in Charge"

Orote Peninsula, Guam: Dharma Logistics Warehouse
                                                      THE PRESENT   {uh, as in "gift"}

Two Dharma men {Provisions} are working in the warehouse.   We get a shot of the printing press label maker with  its "backwards/mirror image" plate.

Glen- "How soon do you get those peas labeled?"
Hector-"I don't know. Couple hours."    {He hand cranks and hand cuts the labels.}
Glen- "Hurry it up, man. I already got the rest of the palette loaded."
Hector- "I don't know why you're always in such a hurry, man."  {The fucking White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland!}
Glen- "That's why. We're gonna miss our launch window. I don't wanna be up half a night loading damn boxes."

Ben- "Excuse me."   {Ben wears an Island shirt under his blazer.}
Glen- "Who the hell are you? How'd you get in here?"
Ben- "My name is Benjamin Linus. I'm from the Home Office."
Hector- "Nobody from the Home Office has ever come out here."
Ben- "There's a new man in charge, he sent me."
Glen- "Sent you to do what?"
Ben- "Tie up a few loose ends. Your services are no longer required, gentlemen. Closing this place down. So, you're free to go."
Hector- "But we've been loading the palettes under the drones for like...20 years now."
Glen- "What are we supposed to do?"
Ben- "This is your severance pay. I'd say you can do pretty much anything you want." {Ben hands them envelopes of American cash in hundreds}
Glen- "So, work with the Dharma Initiative?"
Ben- "The Dharma Initiative hasn't existed in almost 20 years."
Hector- "That's not true. We still get a teletype before every drop."
Ben- "It's automated. Comes from the Lamppost station in L.A.. There hasn't been a person posted there since you two started. That's why the man in charge has me going around closing up shop."
Glen- "Lamppost station?"
Ben- "I've already said more than I should've. Before you leave, please lock the doors, turn out the lights."
Hector- "Wait. You can't just walk out of here. We deserve answers!"
Ben- "All right. Before I go I'll let you each ask a question. But just one. So, make it count."
Glen - "Where have we been sending these palettes? Where are they dropped?"
Ben- "An Island."
Glen- "How's that possible? The coordinates are different every time."
Ben- "The Island moves."
Glen- "How does the Island..."
Ben- "Uh-uh! One question. Your turn." {Technically Glen got to ask three.}
Hector- "We're on Guam. So this Island is somewhere in the tropics, right? So explain this. Polar bear biscuits. How is there a polar bear on a tropical island?"
Ben- "Polar bears, actually. Plural. You guys have a DVD player?"

Ben- "So we watch it together and then we all leave. Is that a deal?"
Hector- "Deal."
Glen- "Deal."
Ben- "Sorry about the quality. It's a transfer from an old Betamax." {Ben pockets a Dharma granola bar and eats a Dharma granola bar}

The film/dvd begins...{Be warned! This video is riddled with skips, warps, glitches, and missing bits.}
1 of 6

Dr. Pierre Chang {Wearing a Swan station logo medical/lab white jacket}-  
"Hello, I am Dr. Pierre Chang. And this is the orientation video for station one of the Dharma Initiative, the Hydra.  For purposes of security, please do not divulge my name to any outside parties. I wouldn't want to have to resort to using an alias in the future.   The chief purpose of this station is to conduct biological and behavioral research on various animal, bird and marine subjects. {6 caged rabbits}  Here are some of the duties you may be asked to perform... {A crazy voice says "Hurley. Hurley"} ...Genetic alteration.  These fascinating hybrids, or "hy-birds" as we call them, will be released and monitored to see how they adapt to the unique properties of the island... successful advanced studies in larger mammals.  Ursus maritimus, or polar bears, possess a keen sense of memory and adaptability.  These traits make them ideal candidates for electromagnetic studies that will be conducted at a secondary site where their comfort in cold temp... It's important when dealing with the bears that you do not show affection or become attached in any way.  Also, do not underestimate their intelligence and cunning. These rules must always be followed. I repeat, the bears are not your friends.  Rewarding the bear with a fish biscuit, once it has successfully performed a complex puzzle. After the training is completed, you will tranquilize the bear. Affix this tracking device around the subject's neck.  At which point it will be transported to the Orchid station for the next phase of research.  Remember, be sure to confirm that the female bears have not been impregnated before transport, as the electromagnetic levels at the Orchid have an extremely harmful effect on early term gestation.   As you've already learned, we do animal research here at Hydra.  Unfortunately, one must consider the most dangerous animal of all... humans.  And so, there is another more secluded test site, where we are conducting significantly more sensitive work. The island's indigenous population, some of you may have heard them referred to as "Hostiles", are acquired on the main island, sedated and brought here, to Room 23. {A "dummy/mannequin" is shown strapped in, in place of a person.}   Because the subjects are unwilling participants, security personnel should always be present during these sessions. Under no circumstances are you to engage subjects in conversation.  The purpose of these interrogations is to better understand the Hostiles' way of life, their origins, and particularly their worship of an island deity they refer to as "Jacob".    After the research team has concluded their tests, inject this into the back of the subject's neck.   Then place these goggles over his or her eyes. Hitting this switch will commence the visualization while the drugs take effect.  {The lights turn off, loud techno music plays while the video shows images and quotes} The dream-like quality of the film combined with the cutting edge pharmaceuticals will create an amnesia of sorts.  Any memory of his or her interrogation will be effectively wiped clean.   While these interrogative measures may seem extreme, rest assured, they are vital...to temporary truce with the Hostiles is not violated.  This concludes your orientation of the Hydra station. Good luck and remember do not discuss the nature of these experiments with other members of the Initiative.  
Enjoy your time here on Hydra Island. Namaste and good l..." 

The two men are stunned.

Hector- "I think we're gonna need to see that again."
Ben-"Sorry, we're out of time." {Ben collects his DVD}
Hector- "What did they do to those bears? And what the hell's a 'Hostile?"
Ben-"Goodbye, gentlemen. I have another call to make. Namaste."  {There is an obvious buzzing of a fly/bug}

SANTA ROSA MENTAL HEALTH INSTITUTE

Ben is wearing the same clothes as he wore to the warehouse in "Guam".
Ben- "Hello, I'm here to see Keith Johnson."
Nurse Susie Lazenby- "Are you on his visitor's list?"
Ben- "No. But I'm sure if you give him this note, he'll want to see me."


Walt, a kid in a grownup mental institute,  plays Connect Four solo in the game/rec room.
{The same familiar artwork and colorful cutouts decorate the room}
Ben- "Hello, Walt." {He doesn't call him Keith}
Walt-" What are you doing here?"
Ben- "Like my note said, a friend of yours sent me."
Walt- "I don't have any friends."
Ben- "We all have friends. Even me."
Walt- "You here to kidnap me again?"
Ben- "I'm genuinely sorry about that. But what's done is done. I can't change the past. I can only take responsibility for it. Walt, I understand what you've had to go through. I know the difficulties you've had pretending to be someone you're not.   {Walt takes off the legs of the Connect Four grid} Walt, I'm here to help you."
Walt- "Why?"
Ben- "Because you're special. And I bet nobody's told you that in a very long time."
Walt- "What good does that do me?"
Ben- "We need you. You have work to do. Starting with helping your father."
Walt- "My father's dead."
Ben- "Doesn't mean you can't help him. Will you go with us, Walt?"    {Ben places a wrapped DI granola bar on top of the red game pieces. Walt picks it up.}

Outside the building at night, Ben is encouraging cautious and unsure Walt as they walk through the picnic area and get into a blue Dharma van.
Ben-"Come on, it's OK. You ride shotgun."
Hurley-"Dude."
Walt- "Hurley."
Hurley- "It's great to see you, Walt."  {Jacob music plays}
Walt- "I kept hoping one day somebody would come back for me. They said I was crazy."
Hurley-"You're not crazy, dude. Not even close. You just need to get back to the island, that's all. It's where you belong. It's where you've always belonged."
Walt- "Why?"
Hurley- "I wanna talk to you about a job. All right, Ben, let's get out of here. It's time for us all to go home."
Ben starts the van and they drive away.

Things to Note...Questions to ask...
* Everything blurs together!  "This Place"-the "Island"-Guam-Santa Rosa-On "Island and off "Island", etc.
* Ben and Hurley travel to and from the "Island".   If you have to be sedated to "transport" to the "Island" then who sedates and wakes the other?!! lol
* The {"Hy"- "high"} bird is in a covered darkened cage...SLEEPING!  Drugs! Altered State of Consciousness!
* Confined. Alone. Solitary. Shutoff. Shutdown
* The Hydra Station is number 1; the Orchid Station is next step of the research.
* Computers, Programs, Drones, Machines. {"acting" on behalf of a human.}
* Drugs-High (hy), Hallucinogens, Sedatives, Tranquilize, Injections, Hypnosis, Brainwashing.
* Mind games, manipulation.
* GAME. Rules.
* Dream.  Dreamlike
* Mental health. Feeling alone. Lost. Santa Rosa.
* Tabula Rasa
* The Lamppost station is automated; hasn't had a person there in 20 years and The Hydra video shows a dummy/mannequin in place of a human
* What is real and what is not real?
* The "date" on the printout is not a real date.
* The "Island" is a place of learning.  An Institute is also known as a place of learning.
* Faraday's rat maze
* Tests. Experiments.
* Challenges
* Walt's name is Keith Johnson.
* Walt is presented with a "job".
* Walt is not 20 years old and we just learned the DI hasn't existed in almost 20 years.
* What does "dead" really mean?
* Walt is wearing a zip up hoodie like Michael and Hugo wore in Everybody Loves Hugo
* You need to consume a Dharma food product to be "transported" to the "Island".  The use of sedative and/or hallucinogen is what brings you to the "Island"
* The Island moves...is the "Island" really a ship?
* The handle on the door to Room 23 is like one that is on a refrigerated room or meat locker.
* Candle, Halliwax, Wickmund all represent "light".
* The Lamppost's "church" ends up being the place where Jack, Christian and friends are embraced by the warm bright "light".  The "light" lives in all of our hearts and the heart of the "Island".  Ah, lovely metaphors at work.
* The Dharma Initiative info from the film/dvd brings us back to the information we learned in the first ARG "The LOST Experience". 
 - I also want to provide you with The Psychology test video from The LOST Experience from back in June of 2006.

Vocabulary and Research...
* Logistics-word comes from "Pertaining to logic"

* Hydra- Also means a persistent or many-sided problem that presents new obstacles as soon as one aspect is solved.

* Drone-
   1). A Bee, a male wasp, a male ant.  (BUG)
   2). An abbreviation referring to one of two psychoactive drugs (Mephedrone "Methoxymethcathinone"), commonly known as methedrone

* Hostile-  opposed in feeling, action, or character.
   2). characterized by antagonism
   3). angry, aggressive, not warm, unfriendly or hospitable
   4). enemy
   5). alien

* Bear- carry, convey, transport, ferry, fetch, move,pack, take, transfer
  - Mental state, Endure,
  -Refuse to throw away,
  -Give birth.
  -Bare- To uncover, reveal or expose.

* Peas are contained in a pod.
* Indigenous-inherent; feelings indigenous to human beings.



What the "hex" going on?!  Well, people, things and places are not what you think...Ha, imagine that.

First...For those of you who feel disappointed that we didn't get a look at life on the "Island" under its new management...We did!!  Because it's all "the Island". 
They are NEVER out of the confines of the "ISLAND" or whatever the "Island" really is. We've all been down the rabbit hole which just happens to be over the rainbow in OZ.

It is obvious (and not all in my head) events and places we've seen in the six years happened within the "confines" of the "Island" adventure.  It was shown all over this 12 minute epilogue.
This also connects my Wizard of Oz-Alice in Wonderland idea...what we saw happened in a sleep state and/or altered state of consciousness where things are blurred together. 

This Zen Buddhism based journey involves altered states of consciousness and levels of consciousness (sleep state), and states of existence/being along the path.  The "Island's" role in this may also be aided with the addition of mediation, sedation, drugs, hypnosis, and/or even a computerized merged reality experience...the matrix.

If everything is really occurring and blurred within the confines of a specific space, one with distinct boundaries, then we still need to wonder...where this place is.   Is it all completely in the mind, consciousness/subconscious {with the use of drugs and or meditation aided by machine/computer}
or is it literally on an island or in a building or a prison, or are they on a ship in confined pods?  Is it possible that this adventure can happen all while you're in the comforts of your own home?

Let's look at the first part of what we're shown:
The "cutting edge" out of existence Dharma Initiative has only two clueless dudes in "Guam", hand cranking labels and packing pallets on autopilot (Automated) for 20 years! They don't even know about the Lamppost station. Really?!   These people are literally "trapped in a fucking box"!
Not only are we being shown the DI surviving under an auto-piloted front, but we're also seeing more people who are metaphorically "stuck" and oblivious that there is a whole entire world out there that they could and should be living in.  These two men are living in a redundant cycle with no comprehension of how to do it any other way.
Interestingly Ben, who just turned Glen and Hector's lives upside down,  limits the men's questions and is obviously restricting them from learning more even though they are curious.  Ben's entire demeanor is very mysterious and cunning and kind of suspicious.
Walt, a child who is residing at a mental institution for adults {I've only ever seen adults there}, is called upon by Ben via Hurley.    Hurley, Jacob-like, wants to talk to Walt about a "job" but also refers to Walt belonging on the island and also feeling positively that it's time to get out of there and that it's time for all of them to go home.  Is it just Walt's turn to watch the "Island" or is he "indigenous/hostiles" to the "Island"  {Ahem, as Candle mentions "there are"} and is he just being returned?   And I must ask what Walt's "special" role on the "Island is; although now we see he must become the new man in charge.  Is his role to take the place of the Jacob or MIB identity?   {John was "special" and connected with Smokey.}   Hurley states it's time for "all" of them to go home, so if the "Island" and the outside world are not really of the same space is Hurley gathering up all the natives to return them to the "Island" as well, or are they just all ready to go home?  Where is home?   It must be somewhere over the rainbow.

Are we still the victims of a Long Con?   Well, there continues to be a game element and the story still reeks of "Smoke and Mirrors", magic, illusion and lots of razzle freakin' dazzle.

The still seemingly vague and inconclusive {glitchy} information we received from the Hydra orientation film connects many things we learned in the first ARG, The LOST Experience.  Do I disregard any of that valuable time consuming researched shit load of information I learned with playing that game?  Nope.  Because we know and accept this story is multi layered.  Nevertheless, I found this Hydra Orientation film to be filled with a plethora of insight and answers.

We have been fed hints to breeding and "using" the natives of the "Island" all of these years along with the path to enlightenment part of the story.   Keep in mind the story is a wonderfully huge metaphor being narrated via all the puzzling problems and imagery we see on and with the "Island".    So the information Candle gives us can be perceived as him talking about Jack, John and the rest of the  people on the "Island" and not "bears" and "birds". 

But who knows, maybe Walt is a hybrid {or really  a "hy" bird, as in they're all "high", again as Candle outright states},  maybe they all are.   Or they're all Hostiles, native to the "Island" and they're the ones being broken down and reprogrammed. 

Marvin Candle's drivel about the viewer not telling anyone his name lest he be reduced to needing an alias is total nonsense, but his statement, "The Hostiles are acquired on the main island, sedated and brought here" is not.
Think about it...Are we really talking about "hostiles", as in natives to an actual island or are we really talking metaphorically about angry and lost people?  Have we witnessed the literal kidnapping of natives to an island and their being used as test subjects by the Dharma Initiative or about is it about a lost person who can't bear his burden any longer and is in need of a life changing journey to put him in the right light so he can live the life he is meant to live.  That may be a form of therapy or rehabilitation.   It very well may be that it is a combination of some of these clues.
We can watch the orientation footage literally, accepting the information Candle is telling the viewer as facts regarding the D.I. and their "programs".   And you can watch it understanding the subliminal and metaphoric connections to Jack, John, Hurley and the rest of the Castaways while ignoring the bits about the DI and their programs.  Of course you can also watch it while mastering how all of those factors fit and work together.

The visual of the white rabbits in the orientation video again for  me, correlates to a trip down the rabbit hole and not to some gobbledygook Marvin Candle's video is trying to distract us with. 

Hurley, the new man in charge, seems to be literally moving stuck people forward; liberating them.
Bah! Maybe he's just pushing the clueless people out.

"This Place"...the "Island" is a place of learning.  It doesn't matter if  you think it's run by a bunch of crackpot scientists, doctors, inventors, the military, actors, gamers or it's a real island that you can go on a journey to find yourself,  you're purpose there is not only to be challenged and tested, but you will learn, heal and be free and reborn.   It is part of the journey to enlightenment.

I do want to reflect on a moment we spent with Hurley and his adventure on the "Island" with his being confused on whether "Island" events are real or part of his subconscious.  We're given so much important information from his friend, Dave.  Dave hints to things being faked.   But more importantly is the dialogue Dave has about the "need to wake up" Hugo.
Dave tries to get Hurley to fall back off the cliff, not so he can kill himself but so it will "wake" him up.   Hugo perceives the going over the cliff as an act of physical death but what it really represents is a metaphoric "death", an ending and a means to bring you back to life.  It is very Zen.

So with this "Big Finale" it's time for us all to go home.   After all, Home is where your Heart is.  
It is also where you end up after you run all the bases on the field, or you work your way all the way around the game board indicating the completion of the game...back to home.

Now, if you're ready and only if and when you're really ready...
Come on, do it, I know you want to...Close your eyes, tap your heels together three times and think to yourself...There's no place like...Home.
...And now you can wake up.
At least until your next adventure, that is.

Love to all who are "LOST"™

Happily Ever After

Let's talk about LOST!   Happily Ever After.

Desmond's eye opens.
Zoe is adjusting his IV.   Desmond's vision is very blurry and then clears.
Zoe-"I know you're disoriented, you've been unconscious for the last three days. But you're off the IV sedation now, and I've just given you a shot to help you wake up ."
Desmond-"Are you a nurse?"
Des is told he's not in a hospital anymore; he had to be moved.
Desmond wants to find his wife, "I want to see Penny!"
Widmore appears and tells him that's not going to be possible.   Desmond looks up, sees Widmore and says what Desmond always says when he realizes someone is familiar, "You."

Desmond is groggy and confused. He asks Widmore what happened to him, "Where am I?"
Widmore- "You were shot...By Benjamin Linus. Do you remember that?"
Yes, Desmond remembers.    He wants to talk to Penny and calls out for her.
Widmore- "She's not here. But I assure you both she and your son are perfectly safe. I'm really sorry for taking you away from them but I didn't have a chance to explain, and if I had you never would have come with me. "  
Desmond wonders, "Come with you where?"
Widmore reveals he brought him back to the island.
Desmond is furious; he actually twitches with emotion. Widmore confesses he can't imagine how Des must be feeling.
Desmond freaks and starts to beat Widmore with the IV pole. Two of Widmore's bodyguards restrain Des and Widmore warns them not to hurt him.
Desmond-"You take me back! You take me back right now, you hear!"
Widmore sternly replies that he can't take him back,"The island isn't done with you yet."
Desmond cries out apparently in pain.
Widmore tends to his injured head.

Jin asks Widmore what Desmond is doing there.
Rather than explain, Widmore feels it will be easier to show him.  Widmore instructs Zoe to take Jin to the generator room and then he'll be along for the test.    Concerned Zoe mentions that test isn't scheduled until tomorrow and Widmore is aware of that.  He demands they get them ready now.   Zoe looks troubled.

Zoe escorts Jin past an area where there is a huge white box with large wires and power cables running to it.   As Jin stops to get a closer look, Zoe hurries him along as there is no time for sightseeing.

Inside the "control room" Zoe informs Seamus that they're bringing Hume down now. {The room is filled with lots of electronics, computers, generators, gages, coils, transformers. etc.}
Their time frame isn't good and the generator probably hasn't been run in 20 years.   {Uh, then how the hell is everything else getting power?  Oh yeah, two "rats" on a big wheel!} 
Jin inquires what they are doing there.   Zoe reveals they are running a "little test".
Seamus calls out to the team, "All right, let's see where we are? Can we get a functioning  EM field going, people? Let's try a power test. Generator on full, please."

Seamus-"Here we go. On my count... three...two...one...and power on."
He pulls a lever and the equipment attempts to start up but fails.
Frustrated Seamus feels there's a  faulty contact somewhere.  He has Simmons go down and check the circuits on the solenoids, and warns Angstrom {The White Rabbit!} that he's going in next.

Simmons checks the huge coil with his trusty yellow meter.  Zoe watches via computer screen/monitors.

The tech in the control room found the bad breaker on the jenny and brings it back online.
Zoe freaks, No!"
He flips the switch and the solenoids ignite; the room is filled with intense bright white light.
Seamus yells for them to turn it off.
Zoe, Seamus and Jin hurry to check things out and find Simmons smoking burned body.
Widmore arrives asking Zoe if "Are we ready?"   He is unaffected by Simmons sacrifice to get the machine running.
Desmond is dragged into the room and can't help but see the body that was in there before him. As the body is being removed Widmore stops them, uncovers it, seems to 'take a moment'.
Desmond is dragged into the room and strapped into the waiting chair. {Mind you Des is supposedly still coming out of a three day sedation and a gunshot wound!}
Widmore-"I know how this looks, Desmond. But if everything I've been told about you is true, you'll be perfectly fine."
One team member confirms Desmond doesn't have any "metal, keys or change" on him. {Important Desmond words!}
Motivated Widmore states,"Course he doesn't, you idiot. I hate to resort to forcing this upon you, Desmond. But once it's over I'm going to ask you to make a sacrifice. And I hope for all our sakes you'll help me."
Desmond-"Sacrifice? What the bloody hell do you know about sacrifice?"
Widmore-"My son died here. For the sake of this island. Your wife, my own daughter hates me. And I've never even met my grandson. But if you won't help me, Desmond, all of it will be for nothing. Penny, your son, and everyone else, will be gone forever."
Widmore and the team exit and close the door.
Desmond starts yelling and fighting his way out of the chair. He friggin Hulks out and literally breaks out of the chair.
In the control room Widmore instructs them to "turn it on."
Jin-"No! If you want me to help you with whatever you're doing here, you need to explain to me..."
Widmore-"That man is the only person I'm aware of in the world, who has survived a catastrophic electromagnetic event. I need to know that he can do it again.... or we all die. Turn it on!"
The machine starts up and Widmore asks if they have full power.
Seamus is hesitant to throw the three levers. {1 red, 2 black)} Impatient Widmore uses his forearm and pulls the three levers
Desmond is yelling for the bastards to, "Let me out!"
The coils start up and the room gets bright with the white light; Des physically reacts to the effects of the machine, then....

...Desmond is at LA  X staring at the flight information board. {The board flashes Oceanic 815 ARRIVAL, meanwhile its passengers are already walking around. A sign shows F-2}
Hurley passes by and informs Desmond,"It's carousel four."
Desmond-"Sorry?"
Hurley-"You were on the Sydney flight, right?"
Desmond-"Yeah."
Hurley-"Our bags on carousel four, I double checked it with the dude at the counter." {Double checked}
Although Desmond didn't ask him for the update he politely thanks him anyway.
Claire struggles to pull her bags off the carousel.  Desmond tells her to "Hang on..." lends her a hand and asks if she has anymore bags. She does not.
Desmond-"Boy or a girl?"   He didn't mean to pry.
Claire-"Oh no it's fine, I just umm, I don't know what it is."
Desmond-"All right. Well you're braver than I. I'm not a big fan of surprises. Oh excuse me, that's mine."
He takes grabs his bags from the carousel while Claire is looking around for someone.
Des notices this-"So, have you got someone meeting you?"
Claire-"Uh yeah, uh maybe they got the flights messed up or something."
Desmond-"Because I've got a car picking me up. You now, if you need a ride I'd be more than happy to give you a lift."
Claire declines because there are cabs. The enjoyed meeting each other.
Desmond declares the baby to be a boy.
Claire-" What?"
Desmond-"Bet it's a boy."

Whistling RayBan sunglass wearing George Minkowski is the driver waiting to pick up "Hume".
Desmond sees his sign,  "Looks like I'm with you."
Friendly George takes Desmond's bags and asks "Take you back to your hotel?"
Desmond is checking his cell replies, "The office."

As George directs him to the limo he makes small talk. "So uh, you flew in from Sydney huh?"
Desmond-"That's right."
George-"And what, what were you doing uh down under?"
Desmond-"I was closing a deal for the boss."
George-"Oh good for you, congratulations. Hey listen, if you need anything at all while you're in town, I know everyone. You need a reservation? You just pick a restaurant."
Des feels the room service at the hotel is excellent.
George-"You uhh, you looking uh for some company? I noticed that you weren't wearing a wedding band. And there are a lot of lovely ladies offering their uh companionship."
Focused Desmond tells him he's not looking for any companionship, "I'm here to work."
George-"Guess that's why you're the boss's right-hand man, and I am the driver. Okay. Got it."

Desmond arrives at Widmore's office and is sent right in by the receptionist who inquires about his flight.

He enters the office and is greeted by a happy Charles Widmore, who welcomes his friend to L.A.. {The receptionist knew Desmond, this couldn't be his first time in LA then...could it?}  The two happy friends hug.

Desmond is looking at Widmore's replica of a sailing ship. {The office is filled with black and white and things seem to not be in the same place}

Widmore is on the phone, "I don't give a bloody damn what he did, or how much it's going to cost. Just get him arraigned and get him out of there."
Widmore-"Sorry Desmond. Looks like our celebration of the Australian deal is going to have to be cut short. You are aware that my son is a musician?" 
Desmond-"Yes. I've heard he's quite talented." 
Widmore-"Yeah he is, quite. {Watch how he says that!}  Anyway, my wife is putting together one of her charity events and uh, the boy had a crazy idea to combine classical music with modern rock. You heard of a band called Driveshaft?"
Desmond hasn't heard of them.
Widmore-"Their bass guitarist overdosed and uh a, got himself arrested. And now, if I don't get this junkie to my wife's event she will, simply put... destroy me."
Desmond-"So you want me to babysit him?"
Widmore-"I know it's beneath you, but I need someone I can trust to do the job right."
Desmond-"Say no more Charles, it's done."
Widmore-"Huh. You really do have the life, son.  No family, no commitments. Ahh to be free of attachments."
Desmond feels he's a blessed man. Yet Widmore claims  he is blessed to have Desmond in his employ.
He toasts Desmond, "A drink, to celebrate your indispensability."
He pours two glasses of MacCutcheon whiskey.
This surprises Desmond, "That's your sixty-year-old Scotch, Charles."
Widmore feels nothing is too good for Desmond.
Desmond toasts-"Sláinte."

Desmond arrives at the AIRPORT COURTHOUSE; Superior courthouse, as junkie Charlie is exiting with a female lawyer. {Des' reflection in the door.} She checks her cell.
The lawyer walks directly to Desmond and correct inquires/assumes/knows it's Mr. Hume.
Desmond-"That's right."
She informs Des that bail's all been taken care of. "Remember he's not allowed to leave the state."
Charlie is going through the plastic bag that contains his personal effects.  Desmond introduces himself to Mr. Pace, conveying that Charles Widmore sent him.
Charlie defies authority, dumps the bag on the ground and walks away.
Desmond-"Hey! Where you going?"
The lawyer tells Des, "He's all yours."
Charlie purposely crosses the street walking directly in the path of oncoming cars.
A driver yells out, "What's wrong with you?! Idiot!"
Charlie heads directly into JAX bar. {Jack's Bar}

Desmond looks at his watch and seems a bit annoyed. He follows Charlie into the bar. {The following conversation is very important}
He'll have whatever Charlie's having.  "One drink, then we go."
Charlie-"So what's your job then, to babysit me? What are you, Mr Widmore's chief lackey?  Henchman?" {Shinny DS ring}
Desmond-"No title. Plenty of perks though."   He gets to meet charming people.
Charlie-"Well, cheers then. Tell me perky, are you happy?"
Desmond-"Quite."
Charlie-"No you're not."
Desmond-"Well I've got a great job, lots of money, get to travel the world. Why wouldn't I be happy?
Charlie-"Have you ever been in love?"
Desmond-"Thousands of times."
Charlie- "That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about spectacular consciousness altering love.  Do you know what that looks like?"
Desmond-"I wasn't aware that love looked like anything."
Charlie-"I've seen it, mate. On the plane back from Sydney."
Desmond-"Is that so? Well we were on the same flight, so...maybe I saw it too."
Charlie-"Trust me, you didn't."
Desmond- "Oh? Enlighten me."
Charlie-"There was this woman, two rows in front of me, in handcuffs, sitting with a cop.  He looked at me, knew I was holding. If I didn't take action I'd be caught. So I got up, went to the lav, proceeded to eliminate the evidence by swallowing my stash. And at that exact moment we hit turbulence. I choked. The entire bag of heroin is stuck in my throat. It's over, everything starts to go dark, I'm slipping into the abyss and then I see her."
Desmond- "Her?"
Charlie- "A woman. Blond, rapturously beautiful, and I know her...we're together. It's like we've always been and always will be.  {He's euphoric for a moment} This feeling, this love... and just as I'm about to be engulfed by...I open my eyes and this sodding idiot is standing there asking me if I'm okay. But I saw it, just for a moment I saw what it looked like."
{Like when Locke looked into the eye of the Island and what he saw was...beautiful?!}
Desmond-"Well that's just...poetry, brother. You know you should, you should write a song about that."
Charlie-"Yeah yeah, I know what you're saying, poor suicidal rock star. But I've seen something real, I've seen the truth."

Desmond- "No that's not the truth. You want to know the real truth, Pace?  Right now you have a choice... you can keep on drinking, or you can come with me.  Now before you make your choice, realize that if you stay here, it will very likely result in the extermination of your musical career."
Charlie-"And if I go with you?"
Desmond- "In twenty minutes you'll be luxuriating in a five star hotel, right on the harbor front, and Charles Widmore - one of the most powerful men in this town will owe you a favor."
Charlie- "Doesn't really seem like a choice."
Desmond-"There's always a choice, brother."

Desmond and Charlie ride in the car and "You All Everybody" plays on the radio.  Charlie's band Drive Shaft's first single; fondly claims that to be "The beginning of everything great. You like it?"
Desmond-"Sure, for what it is."
{It's looks like they drive right by the backdrop used in the photo Des and Penny used in their infamous photo.}
Charlie feels sorry for him "You think you're happy. You think you've got it all, this...your life. But, you don't."
Desmond- "Why, because none of it's real?"
Charlie-"All right, Mr. Hume. How about I offer you a choice?"   He can either show Des what he's talking about, or Des can get out of the car. Desmond scoffs at this.
Desmond-"Why in God's name would I want to get out of the car?"
Charlie pulls the wheel purposely driving the car into the water.
Underwater.
Desmond gets out of his seatbelt and tries to rescue unconscious Charlie. 
Desmond actually yells-"Charlie! Charlie! Come on" while submerged under the water. {Muffled sound}
Desmond swims out of the driver's window; the sun roof/moon roof is open.   He takes a deep breath and dives down to get Charlie.  Desmond can't open the passenger door even though the lock is open.
Charlie nonchalantly opens his eyes and  holds up his left hand to the window. Desmond immediately "Flashes" to the moment Charlie informs Desmond it's "NOT PENNY'S BOAT".
Charlie stares then closes his eyes, seemingly becoming unconscious again. Desmond miraculously gets his door open, unstraps the seatbelt, and pulls unconscious Charlie to safety.  Des calls out for help.

In the hospital Desmond is being examined and questioned by the female doctor.  She shines her pen light into his eyes to check pupil dilation.   He is stitched up on the right side of his forehead.  
Dr.- "You sustained a pretty bad bump in your accident. Any nausea?"
Desmond- "Nope."
Dr.- "Double vision?"
Desmond-"No. Listen, I need to find the man I was brought in here with."
Dr.- "How about hallucinations?"
Desmond-"What do you mean?"  {He doesn't know what hallucinations mean?!}
Dr.-"Hallucinations. Seeing things that aren't there."
Confused Des isn't sure.  The Dr. informs him the C.A.T. Scan was inconclusive and she's sending him downstairs for an MRI.
Desmond tells her he doesn't have time for this and needs to find the man he came in here with.
Dr.-"I'm afraid you're not finding anyone until we know what's going on inside your brain."

The MRI tech asks Desmond if he's wearing  any metal, carrying keys or change. "Any metal inside your body, pacemakers, pins, bullets, steel plate inside of your head?"
Desmond-"No. Nothing."
The tech notes Desmond didn't list an emergency contact, no friends or family. He just put down his employer, Charles Widmore.
The tech explains this machine is super loud. "You're gonna want these. {gives him ear plugs and straps him to table.}  And you need the button."
Desmond-"The button?"
Tech-"The panic button. You need to stop, press it. Try not to 'cause we'll have to start all over again from the beginning. I'll be in that booth over there. You'll be able to hear me. Thirty minutes, okay?"
Desmond is sent into the machine.

 The machine starts along with its {familiar} noises.  With his eyes open Desmond "sees" images, as if movie clips are being displayed above him in the bright light:  Charlie drowning, Penny smiling, kissing Penny,the birth of Charlie, toddler Charlie, kissing Penny. He hears Penny's voice whisper...  "Desmond."
Des freaks out, "Hey! Let me out of here!"
He pushes the panic button!  The overhead light in the machine is off.
The tech pulls him out, "What happened, man? Are you all right?"
Panicked Desmond needs to find the man he came in there with.  He takes out ear plugs.

Desmond is at the nurse's station  talking to an uninterested nurse. "His name is Charlie Pace. He came in an hour ago. Just give me his room number."
The nurse informs him if he's not a relative that's confidential information.
Desmond-"Look, we were in an accident together. I need to see him!"
There's nothing she can do.   Just then Dr. Jack Shephard happens by.
Desmond-"Hey. Excuse me. Um., were you on the same Oceanic flight from, umm, Sydney."
Jack-"Yeah, yeah, you were sitting next to me. Desmond, right?"
Desmond-"Yeah, that's right. Listen. I wonder if you can help me, brother. I need to find someone. He was on our plane. He's somewhere in the hospital."
Jack-"Hold on. He was on our plane and now he's here in the hospital?"
{Yeah, Jack the same dude you saved on the damn plane!}
On cue Charlie Pace is running away from a nurse and yelling "None of this matters!", right past Desmond and Jack.
Desmond takes up the chase after Charlie.   Charlie runs down the stairs and exits on the 2nd floor. {Wearing his black and white vans.}
With Charlie finally cornered, Desmond asks him, "Why you runnin'?"
Blue eyed Charlie-"Cause nobody here can help me. Now let me go."
Desmond-"Why’d you try an kill me?  Charlie insists he didn’t try to kill him, he was trying to show him something.  Desmond wants Charlie to show him his hand. {What is this...Poker?!}
Desmond-"Your hands. Show me your bloody hands now."
Charlie is intrigued and wonders,"You saw something, didn’t you? In the water. What was it?"
Desmond grabs Charlie’s hands
Charlie-"What are you looking for, mate?"
Desmond-"Who’s Penny?"
Charlie-"I don’t know. Ah. You felt it, didn’t you?"
Desmond-"I didn’t’ feel anything."
Charlie-"Then, why are you accosting a man in a dressing gown?"
Desmond-"All right. Come on. We’re leaving."
Charlie-"Whoa! You think I’m going to play a rock concert after this? This doesn’t matter. None of this matters. All that matters is that we felt it. You wanna try and stop me, good luck."
Desmond-"Hey, where you going?"
Charlie-"If I were you I’d stop worrying about me and start looking for Penny."   He walks away.

Widmore is on the phone with Desmond being told that Charlie is gone.
Desmond-"He escaped.  He knocked over a doctor with a bloody crash cart and then ran out of the hospital.
Widmore-"And you let him go?
Desmond-"He’s a junkie who drove my car into the ocean, Charles. I’m fine, by the way. Thanks for asking."
Widmore is thrilled Desmond survived but when he gives Desmond a job to do he expected him to do it.
Desmond fluffs it off as "just a bloody concert."
Widmore-"I tell you what, Desmond, if you can’t deliver Pace, why don’t you tell Mrs. Widmore, it’s just a bloody concert."   He hangs up on Des. {Des pushes the elevator button-he's on the 3rd floor!}

George opens the limousine door for Mr. Hume and remarks about him never having met the boss’ wife; and wishes him luck with that.

Snooty and annoyed Eloise is directing workers {young man dressed in Black and White.} in preparation of her event. "Please, tell me, how someone in your line of work is not aware that the butter knife is placed handle to the right, blade facing left? Just so."  {Daniel is playing classical music on the piano.}
Desmond introduces himself to Eloise. "My name is Desmond Hume. I work for your husband."    {She knows this is Desmond and is shocked to see him}
Eloise-"Of course, Mr. Hume. Charles has told me so much about you. It’s a travesty we haven’t met before. Well, it’s about time."
Desmond-"Well, the feeling is mutual, Mrs. Widmore."
Eloise-"Oh, please. It’s Eloise."
She wonders what crisis forced Charles to send his best fix-it man into the bowels of charity balls.
Desmond is deeply sorry and informs her that Drive Shaft won’t be able to perform alongside her son. "And, uh, I take full responsibility…"
Eloise- "Don’t worry about it."
Desmond is confused by her accepting attitude. "Excuse me?"
Eloise-"Oh, my son will understand. I suppose if one employs certain so-called, rock stars, certain unpredictability comes with the territory."
Desmond-"Yeah. You’re not angry?"
Eloise-"Oh, not at all dear. What happened, happened. Thank you so much, Mr. Hume, for coming and telling me in person. A pleasure meeting you."
Desmond-"And you."
Eloise corrects a worker to center the flower arrangement.   Desmond wishes her a good evening.
A man is going over the guest list and is heard mentioning: Leifer, Stefanie, plus two. Markey, Mary, plus one. Milton, Penny solo. Pepper, Nicholas, plus one.
The name Penny catches Desmond's attention and he asks the man about it.
Man-"And who are you?"
Desmond-"Um, I work for Mr. Widmore, may I see the list?" {He takes it.}
Eloise grabs the list, "You absolutely may not. That list is confidential.'
Desmond begs her pardon, but he's entrusted with confidential items every day.
Eloise-"Are you questioning me?"
Desmond- "No, I just want to look at one name on that list.  And, if for some reason, that’s a problem…"
Annoyed Eloise-"Come with me."
She demands the cooking staff to get out.  Desmond apologizes if he's overstepped his bounds.
Eloise-"Stop talking, Hume. I’ve heard what you’ve had to say. Now, you listen to me. I want you to stop."
Desmond-"Stop? Stop what?"
Eloise-"Someone has clearly affected the way you see things. This is a serious problem. It is, in fact, a violation. So, whatever you’re doing, whatever it is you think you’re looking for….You need to stop looking for it."
Desmond- "Do you, do you know what I’m looking for, Mrs. Widmore?"
Eloise-"I don’t know why you’re looking for anything?   You have the perfect life. On top of it, you’ve managed to attain the thing you wanted more than anything, my husband’s approval."
Desmond-"How do you know what I want?"
Eloise-"Because I bloody do."
Desmond-"I need to see that list…or you need to tell me why I can’t."
Eloise-"You can’t because you’re not ready yet, Desmond."  She walks away from him.
Desmond-"Ready? Ready, for what?"
Confused Desmond walks back to the limo.
George assumes things went badly. Desmond asks if there's any alcohol in the car. Of course there is, as a matter of fact he's told "Whatever you need. So, uh, where to, Mr. Hume?" {Of course, what ever they need, the "Island" gives them.}
Desmond-"Just drive, George."    There's a knock on Desmond's window.
Daniel-"My name is Daniel, Daniel Widmore. We need to talk." {Why is Daniel dressed very "dated"?}
Desmond-"Look, uh, Mr. Widmore, um…"
Daniel-"Dan, please. Call me, Dan. Mr. Widmore is my father."
Desmond-"Dan, if this is about Charlie Pace not being able to perform with you, I’m, I’m very sorry."
Daniel-"Do you believe in love at first sight, Mr. Hume?"
Desmond-"Excuse me?"
Daniel-"The first time I saw her I was walking through this museum, a few weeks ago. She, she works here.  She was on her lunch break. She was eating a chocolate bar. She has these incredible blue, blue eyes, red hair. And, as soon as I saw her, right, right in that moment, it was like, it was like I already loved her. And that’s when things got weird. {he takes a notebook from his bag.} That same night after I saw that woman, I woke up and I wrote this."

Desmond-"So what is it?"
Daniel- "I’m a musician. I have no idea. So I took it to a friend of mine at Cal tech. He’s a math whiz. He said this is quantum mechanics. He said these equations are so advanced that only someone who’d been studying physics their entire life could have come up with them."
Desmond-"So what do they mean?"
Daniel-"Okay. Imagine,  imagine something terrible is about to happen. Something catastrophic, and the only way to stop it from happening is by releasing a huge amount of energy.  Like setting off a nuclear bomb."
Desmond-"You wanna set off a nuclear bomb?"
Daniel-"Just listen. What if, this, all this, what if this wasn’t supposed to be our life?   What if we had some other life and for some reason, we changed things? I don’t want to set off a nuclear bomb, Mr. Hume. I think I already did."
Desmond-"Listen, mate, um. I don’t know what any of this has to do with me, so…"
Daniel-"Why did you ask my mother about a woman named Penny? It happened to you, too, didn’t it? You felt it." 
Confused Desmond doesn't know; he doesn't know what he felt. Daniel says he does, "You felt love."
Des feels that's impossible because he doesn't know anything about this woman, "I don’t know where she is. I don’t even know if she exists. She’s an idea."
Daniel-"No, Mr. Hume. She’s my half-sister. And I can tell you exactly where and when you can find her."
{That's one hell of a coincidence Desmond's love is Dan's half sister.}
Guess where he can find her? At the stadium, running a Tour DeStade.
Desmond walks right up to her and asks "Are you Penny?"
It is.
Desmond smiles, "Hello. I’m Desmond."
Penny shakes his hand and says hi.

Desmond opens his eyes; he is inside the huge white box.  He looks at his right hand.
Seamus sees Desmond and seems surprised, "He’s okay."
Widmore is pleased,"How are you, Desmond?"  {Desmond's eyes are checked with the pen light.}
Desmond- "Fine. How long was I unconscious for?"
Widmore-"Well, No more than a few seconds."
Desmond seems peaceful-"Will you help me up, please."
Widmore-"I’m really sorry we had to do this to you, Desmond. But as I told you, your talent is vital to our mission. So, if you just let me explain...."
Desmond-"It’s all right. I understand."
Widmore-"What?"
Desmond-"I said, I understand You told me, you brought me here to the Island to do something very important."
Widmore confirms that.
Desmond-"When do we start?"
The group is walking back and  Zoe asks Desmond what happened to him.
Desmond-"What do you mean?"
Zoe-"What I mean is, twenty minutes ago you were beating the crap out of Widmore with an I.V. stand and now you’re Mr. Cooperative."
Desmond-"A lot can happen in twenty minutes."
Zoe agrees, "That thing fried your brain."   {That thing! The smoke monster has recently been referenced as "that thing"}
Desmond smirks, "Did it?"
Zoe-"Whatever, doesn’t change the fact that you’re gonna...."
Armed Sayid attacks a couple of the workers and tells Zoe to run.
He tells Desmond he doesn't have time to explain, but these people are extremely dangerous. "We need to go, now."
Desmond-"Aye, of course. Lead the way."  {Ah, there's my pirate! lol}
{Air plane engine/sounds-rumble}
Penny-"Hello?! You okay?"
They are at the stadium. Apparently when Penny shook his hand he fainted. She must have quite an effect on him.
Desmond must look familiar to her because she wonders if they've met before.
Des thinks "we’d remembered it if we had."
Penny makes sure he's all right.
Desmond- "Yeah, I’m fine. Hey, listen, um, would you like to go for a coffee?"
Penny- "What, now? I’m a sweaty mess."   {Doesn't she have a charity ball to be at?}
Desmond-"I just fainted in front of you. I’d say we’re even."
Penny tells him of a coffee shop on the corner of Sweetzer and Melrose; she'll meet you there in an hour. They both are smitten!
Happy Desmond heads back to the limo where George asks, "So, did you find what you were looking for?"
Desmond-"Yes, George, I did. Corner of Melrose and Sweetzer, please."
George-"You got it. And if there is anything else I can do for you, Mr. Hume, you just name it."
Desmond-"Actually, there is one thing, George. Can you get me the manifest from our fight from Sydney, Oceanic 815? Just the names of the passengers."
George-"Sure I can. Do you mind if I ask you what you need it for?"
Desmond-"I just need to show them something."



Happily Ever After is a GREAT episode!!
All I can say is...you were given a shot to help you wake up. This was a "wake up call" for all "Island" residents and at home viewers!   I think it's pretty obvious that the "LA  X" bits aren't what you thought they were.
It's interesting to see that Widmore took Desmond by force; he didn't give Desmond a choice.  Locke gives his people a choice.
In this version we see that Desmond's will to have Widmore's respect won out over love, but his life was incomplete.  Also interesting is that Widmore adored Desmond until he couldn't "watch" Charlie.
With the difference of  things we've been seeing brings me back to the possibility of  each person having their own individual journey or is it simply that we're just seeing the different "go-arounds" tested/done until  it is done right. {Run the test 10 times and see what the outcomes are.}  After all, a lot can happen in twenty minutes!

How believable was the huge white box with the two coils that supposedly produces energy, radiation, electromagnetism and such? It  isn't even a completely enclosed room providing safety from exposure of all that shit!  Plus I hate how they throw the word catastrophic around.

Things to Note...Questions to ask...
* Recycle.  The same places, people, names, dialogue, props, etc.. {Reuse-rebirth}
* Head-consciousness.   What's going on inside your brain and  inside of your head.  It doesn't get any fucking clearer than that!
* Because none of it's real. 
* Ear. Earplugs. Loud. Hear.
* Eyes. Eye color.  Look. See. 
* White Rabbit.  Alice in Wonderland.  Through the Looking Glass. Down the rabbit hole.
* Penny Milton. Half sister.
* Disoriented. Groggy. Sedated.
* Remember. Forget. Deja vu. Familiar.
* Manifest. Idea. Imagine. Wish. Believe.
* Machines. Generator. Power. Radio.
* Wires. Cables. Monitors. Attachments. Driver. Button. Computes. Online.
* Test.  Power test.
* C.A.T. Scan.  MRI.  Magnet.
* Game. Stadium. Bet. Sacrifice. Rules. Violations. Start. Stop. Start over from the beginning.
* Hospital. Jail.
* JAX bar. Jack and Christian.
* Tour DeStade, bar, pen, alcohol/liquor, hospital=Jack
* Mental health. Crazy. Addiction. MacCutcheon whiskey. Junkie.
* Maybe they need to learn how to contain their own anger or learn what to do with their own stored up energy/emotions.
* Playing roles. Changing roles.
* Perform. Solo. Rock star. Musician. Concert. Song. Poetry. Write/wrote.
* Drive Shaft's first "come back" show in L.A. was {Originally}supposed to be with Meatcoat.
* Enlightenment. Free of attachments.
* "There's always a choice."
* Desmond on the plane had a wedding band on, yet this Desmond is not married. That is NOT a continuity error! We're seeing proof of different versions of things.
* Why was Daniel's last name fucking Faraday? Why is it Widmore?
* Half sister. Combine two forms of "music/something" to make a new "one".
* Why is Jin privy to the big white box?
* Desmond is Charlie's babysitter. {Guard}
* Widmore and Desmond have a head injury.
* We had no Flash Whoosh and only once at the end scene did we get an Air plane engine/sounds-rumble to signify the change in "scene" for Desmond.
* "It happened to you, ".   George says a similar line to Desmond aboard the freighter.
* Heart.
* Which version (if any) is the real current run through?   Did Widmore send Desmond over just to babysit Charlie?
* Piano players on the "Island:  Daniel, Jack, Ben, Charlie and Sun.  Although we must mention that we've seen Sun and Daniel have a disconnect from the music.

Vocabulary and Research...
* Idea: an idea is just whatever is before the mind when one thinks.
I encourage you to read more on "Idea" as is connects to the LOST story and the philosophy of it's character's namesakes.
* Sláinte is commonly used as a drinking toast in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, literally translating as "health".
* Carousel. Merry go round. Ferris Wheel. Loop. Circle.
* White Rabbit: a character in Lewis Carroll's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
- In The Looking Glass Wars,  the White Rabbit is re-imagined as Bibwit Harte, an albino tutor with super-sensitive hearing.
- Jefferson Airplane recorded a song called "White Rabbit", with references  to this character and the Wonderland saga in general as metaphors for drug-induced experiences.
- Neo is told to follow the White Rabbit in the Matrix 
-A synchronized set of strobing lights on the approach end of an airport runway Approaching Lighting System.




Over the past five years I have given countless examples of things happening in their heads, minds, consciousness, sleeping, the hum of the magnet {a piece of medical equipment}, machine, wires, cables, computers, drugs, hallucinations, dreams, manipulated imagery, ship, test, learning, different versions, two, two sides, underwater, mental health, jail, game, journey, perception and enlightenment etc.. This episode outright spelled it out for you all, and this episode did indeed tie it up with a pretty little bow.

Here are the links to my previous notes for Flashes Before Your Eyes, Catch 22, The Constant, The Variable
Other important notes: The Beginning of the End,  Deus Ex Machina, Man of Science Man of Faith.

Desmond has "Flashes" much like we've seen in his other centric episodes.  Is he time traveling?  No.  Again I'll state... he just may be "remembering"  other "go-arounds" on  this little "Island" (testing) adventurous journey.

The truth got literally SHOVED in Desmond's face by someone (Charlie) who is off the "grid".
Desmond must be playing this game waaaay tooooooo long to keep on missing the point, so Charlie "PUSHED".  But we did also see Desmond give his enlightened statement to Charlie of "There's always a choice".   Who is pushing whom?  Either way, someone is affecting the way Desmond is seeing things.  In fact it's a violation.  A violation by which side?  Hmmm.

The only way to get out of this level is to get to see, feel, hear and know truth.
We  have seen "players" in the adventure/journey assume roles of guides, guardians and keepers of the path.  The "lost" person must face challenges and the truth about themselves/someone/something and when they find what they are looking for, {themselves/something/someone; to forgive, trust, love, see truth, etc.} then they can move on.  And for some, if they are getting to close to the "truth" about the "Island" itself or close to unseating the leader, then they are removed from the playing field/game board. 

Just for a moment forget about the sideways stuff, the stupid time travel, hieroglyphics, quantum physics, bizarre gizmos and gadgets, other universes, smoke monsters and all the other illusions, magic and distractions and look at what the story is really about...
Try to see the "truth" or my favorite word...enlightenment. The answers are indeed right in front of our eyes as they have always been.

If there are people out there who still think they're watching a show only about a plane crash, another universe complete with time travel, alternate time lines due to blowing up a hydrogen bomb and such, and have not learned that in addition to those fantastical things that this story is a very human story...then I am sorry, I don't think my notes will show you anything to help you find your way.

Keep in mind the phrase "Happily Ever After" is traditionally a closing sentiment at the end of a "fairy tale"

Love to all who are "LOST"™

Charlie literally reaches out to his fellow "Island" friends in need!
Happily Ever After, Through the Looking Glass, The Beginning of the End.

Disclaimer: I never claim to know everything about the show and my thoughts by no means make me right! The things I share here are my views and/or opinions. I don't claim to catch every single detail either! You all know I hate spoilers and I stand clear of reading certain sites as to not take me off my own course of research. The one thing I don't need to do here is rehash all of the obvious clues from an episode, we all know what they are. Understood? Good! Let the fun begin! I'll only note things that I know come up as clues later, but need to be noted when they first show up and things I find that will be of importance. It will get very exciting as we progress into the story.

The Package

Let's talk about LOST!   The Package.

Locke's camp is being watched and heard via night vision goggles.   Sawyer offers a borderline catatonic Kate some pretend cocoa.  Locke {twirling a stick} asks Jin about his injured left leg and suggests he leave the bandage off so the air can do it some good. {That's good advice}
Cautious Jin, whose leg still hurts, says he'll try that.
Locke-"You mind if I sit down? {Jin nods OK} I know you and I haven't had time to talk, but I was wondering if James had filled you in on what I showed him at the cliffs." {Do you notice that Locke likes to sit Indian style/lotus}
Jin-"You mean the cave? The one with the names on the wall?"
Locke explains most of the names have been crossed off now. There are just a few left; Kwon is one of them. Jin wonders if that means him or Sun.  Locke isn't sure but feels what it does mean is that the only way they can leave the Island is if all the names that haven't been crossed off go together.
Jin is concerned because Sun is not there.  Locke confidently tells Jin to just take care of that leg, "I'm workin' on it."
Claire has been eavesdropping on the two men.

{Air plane engine/sounds-rumble}
Jin and Sun are at the airport.  The customs officer is explaining to Jin in English that although he's returning him his suitcase and watch he is sorry but "Federal law says we have to confiscate the $25,000."
Jin, who doesn't understand English asks, "Confiscate?"
The officer tells him it means that if he wants it back he's gonna have to fill out the necessary paperwork. Jin is frustrated and mumbles in Korean; he wants the money.
The officer-"You can exit right over there, Sir."
Jin and Sun walk as frustrated Jin tells her he's already missed the meeting at the restaurant.
Sun asks Jin in Korean what the money was for.
Jin doesn't know,"Your father gave it to me right before we left. He told me to deliver it with the watch. I don't ask your father questions. I do what he tells me."

Jin and Sun are at the check in counter of the hotel. Sun hands the man some papers.
Sun-"Paik."
There is a reservation for Paik; a beautiful ocean view room for them on the eighth floor.
Jin understands him and says "Two room. Two! No marry. Kwon. Jin-Soo Kwon."
The man apologizes and after checking the computer he sees there is a separate room reservation for Kwon. Room 842. He welcomes them to Los Angeles.
{Air plane engine/sounds-rumble}
Locke walks over to Sayid who is sitting on a log as he is chopping wood, to inform him he's leaving for a little while because he has an errand to run and will be back in the morning. He wants Sayid to keep an eye on the camp while he's gone.
Lethargic Sayid states, "I don't feel anything."
Locke-"Excuse me?"
Sayid- "Anger. Happiness. Pain. I don't feel it anymore."
Locke feels that maybe that's best because it'll help him get through what's coming.
Jin was keeping an eye on Locke and once Locke walks into the jungle Jin quickly gathers his things to leave. Sawyer asks "Hoss" what he's doing.
Jin-"I'm getting out of here before that thing comes back."
Sawyer-"What thing?"
Jin-"Locke. And you're just sitting around here listening to whatever he tells you..."
Sawyer-"I ain't listenin' to nobody! I already told you I have a deal with Widmore, so if you just..."
Jin-"It doesn't matter who you have a deal with! I've waited long enough. I'm going to find my wife."
Sawyer-"Find her where?!"
Jin-"Go back to the temple. And if she's not there I'll try the beach. But I will find Sun so stop trying to..."
Jin is hit in the chest with a tranquilizer dart!
Armed Sawyer and the rest of the camp are all put to sleep via the dart ambush.

The camp is swarmed with armed people sporting their night vision goggles. Seamus asks Zoe if this is the guy, referring to sleeping Jin, and it is so they take him.

Miles and Frank are playing cards on the beach.
Miles-"Play your card, captain."
Antsy Ben watches Ilana clean her rifle on the beach kitchen table and asks her "Now what?"  Ilana says now they wait for Richard to come back.
Ben-"You'll forgive my skepticism, but... the last thing Richard said before he went stomping off into the jungle was that we were all in hell and he had no idea what we were supposed to do next! In fact, I would bet money we never see him again!"
Purple shirt wearing Ilana feels Hugo will find him; he will track him down and bring him back.
Miles thinks that unless Alpert's covered in bacon grease, he's not sure Hurley can track anything.
Frank-"Hey, don't talk about bacon." {Hmm...Bacon from a boar. Can Frank transform or Hurley or...?}
Concerned Ilana shares that Jacob has never lied to her before. "If he said Richard knows what to do, then Richard knows what to do. He'll come back. And until then, we wait."
Frustrated Sun throws a piece of fruit, angrily stabs a knife into the table and she storms off. Jack watches her.
Sun is pulling up her garden. Jack shows up asking how the tomatoes are.
Sun-"Dead."
Jack remembers when she first planted this here. "Feels like a hundred years ago...You don't believe Alpert's coming back, do you?"
Sun doesn't care if he comes back. Jack wonders her thoughts on them being candidates.
Jack-"Hurley took me to a lighthouse. To Jacob's lighthouse. And there was a mirror. And all around it there were... there were hundreds of names written down."
Sun doesn't care about Alpert or about being a candidate.
Jack-"Sun... there was a reason why we were..."
Sun-"I don't want to hear about how this was our purpose or destiny! I just want you to go away and leave me alone!"
Jack leaves. Sun cries
{Air plane engine/sounds-rumble}
Jin knocks on the door of Sun's hotel room. {He looks around as if he's being watched} He is carrying the watch from her father that her father sent him halfway around the world to deliver. He's going to the restaurant.
Sun-"Will you come inside? I don't want to have this conversation here."
She mentions it's 11:30 and no one is going to be at the restaurant.   Jin feels he should still try.  Sun reminds him "this man" works for her father so it's not going to be a problem.  Jin wonders why she should care, he feels she's there for a shopping trip.
Sun seductively unbuttons the top button of her sweater, "Maybe you should tell me to button it... like you did on the plane?"
Jin-"It was a crowded flight... I didn't know who might be watching us.
Sun-"No one is watching us. So... do you want me to button it?"
Jin-"No."
This playful seduction continues on, button by button.
{Air plane engine/sounds-rumble}
Sun is pulling the weeds in her garden and she cuts her right pinky. {On what?}
Locke appears, startling her.
He is there to inform her he found her husband. "I promised I would reunite you two... took me a little longer than I thought it would... but he's with my people, back at my camp across the island.  I can take you to him right now."
Sun doesn't believe him; he killed those people at the temple.
Locke-"Those people were confused. They were lied to. I didn't want to hurt them. Anyone of them could have chosen to come with me. And I'm giving you that choice, Sun... right now. I would never make you do anything against your will. I'm asking you. Please. Come with me. Jin's waiting."

He holds out his hand for her to take but Sun runs away. Locke runs after her "Sun, wait!"
Sun runs head on into a tree! {WTF?! She ran right into it!}
{Air plane engine/sounds-rumble}
Sun wakes in bed next to starring Jin. {He is in the sunlight side of the bed and she is in the shaded side}
She shares her idea that they should "run away".
{Oh really?! There's a perfect example of the on "Island" and off "Island" events blurring together.}

Sun tells Jin about her account and how she had this planned all along.  Jin seems troubled and feels it's forbidden.  Sun wonders if he's angry. He is not. They do want to be together, they love each other. As Sun is about to share something that Jin needs to know there is a knock at the door. It startles them.
Jin-"Who is that?"
Sun-"I don't know. I put out the sign..."
Jin-"Tell them you're sleeping."  {If she's sleeping how can she tell them that?!}
Jin hides in the bathroom while Sun checks herself out in the mirror.

It's Martin Keamy, a friend of her father's. Sun doesn't speak to him.
Keamy-"Mind if I come in?  I believe you've got something for me." He walks right in.
{Air plane engine/sounds-rumble}
Sun is unconscious in the jungle.  Ben happens by and tries to wake her up. "Sun? Sun, can you hear me?"
Sun wakes up, her head hurts and but can only speak in Korean.  She is asking Ben "Where is he?...He was chasing me... he was here... I saw him. He was..."
Ben-"Slow down. Tell me what happened in English. Who did this to you?"
Sun-"Locke."

Locke returns to his camp {white smoke hovers around the site} and finds everyone is sound asleep/unconscious.  He removes a dart from Sayid and shakes his head to wake him up. He asks what happened. Groggy Sayid says they were attacked and he doesn't know by whom.
Locke is upset and asks where Jin is.

Jin wakes up in Room 23.  The room is appears almost rusty and wires are exposed. He is locked in. He flips a switch and the brainwashing video plays, he covers his ears from the sound/volume and quickly turns it off. {Wires, speakers, video, subliminal messages, flashing.}

Zoe is standing inside the room with him and remarks how that was weird.
Jin-"Where am I?"
Zoe-"It's called Room 23.  The Dharma Initiative was doing experiments on subliminal messaging in here.  But you know all about the Dharma Initiative... don't you, Mr. Kwon?"
in-"Why did you bring me here?"
Zoe-"Relax. You're safe."
Jin-"I'm leaving."
Apparently he's not because Zoe zaps him with a taser.
Zoe-"Sorry, but we went to a lot of trouble getting you here off of the other island. And I can't let you leave."
Jin-"What do you want from me?"
Zoe shows him a map. "These are grid maps that the Dharma people used to identify pockets of electromagnetism. Whoever signed these could really help me out. I know... I know the writing's difficult to read but... but it sure looks like it says Jin Soo-Kwon. So, is it you or isn't it?"

Jin-"You want answers to your questions? Then get me your boss. I want to talk to Charles Widmore."
Zoe tells him he's in luck because he'd like to talk to him too.

Locke asks Sayid if he's a good swimmer.  Sayid feels he's good enough.  That's works for Locke so he gives Sayid a gun, tells him to wrap it in plastic as to not get it wet.  They're taking the outrigger.
Locke notices Claire watching him and asks if something is wrong.
Claire-"Um... what you said to Jin... about the names on the wall? Told him you needed them all to get off the island."
She wonders if her name was on the wall and Locke informs her it wasn't.
Claire-"Then... it doesn't matter if I get on that plane then. You don't need me."
Locke-"No. That's not true, Claire. I need you. {he touches her} And there's plenty of room on that plane for all of us."
Claire-"When we go home, Aaron's not going to know me. Stranger to my own son. He thinks Kate's his mother. Was her name on the wall?"
Locke-"No, Claire... it isn't. Not anymore. But I need Kate."
Claire-"Why?
Locke-" Because I'm three people shy of getting off this island and Kate can help me get those people on the plane. But... once she does...whatever happens, happens." {Watch Claire take that in.}

Sawyer asks Locke what he and Sayid are doing with the guns,"You two goin' somewhere?"
Locke shares they're taking a boat ride over to the other island.
Sarcastic Sawyer asks, "What do you need a boat for? Can't you just turn into smoke and fly your ass over the water?"
Locke-"Do you think if I could do that I would still be on this island?"
Sawyer-"No, 'cause that would be ridiculous.What the hell are you goin' over there for anyway? Thought you were tryin' to avoid Charlie Widmore."
Locke-"They took one of our people, James. So I'm going to get him back."
{Sawyer looks as if something fishy is going on.}

Keamy looks at the really nice watch and wonders,"Your bodyguard is supposed to give me some money. Where's Mr. Kwon?"  
Sun-"No English."
There is a knock on the door. It's Omar. He checked Jin's room and he's not there.
Keamy has Omar check the bathroom when he realizes there are two champagne glasses on the nightstand. Jin has indeed been hiding in the bathroom.
Keamy thanks him for the watch but inquires {using hand gestures} about the envelope with the $25,000.
Jin communicates with Sun in Korean.  He asks "What can we do?"    Sun suggests they pay him some of their money.
Keamy is frustrated by the duo chatting in another language and tells them to "Stop it. Feel like I'm in a damn Godzilla movie. What's that guy's name, the Russian guy, speaks like nine different languages...Uh uh uh... Danny's friend?"   {Danny Pickett?}
Omar-"Mikhail."
Apparently Mikhail {The "Island" communication specialist} can communicate in Korean. {How fucking convenient.}
Keamy sends for Mikhail and demands Sun put her damn clothes on.

Mikhail sits with Sun and translates.
Sun-"The money was confiscated at customs. But I have money."
Mikhail-"She says the money her father gave them was taken at customs."
Of course this isn't Keamy's problem.
Sun suggests he let them go to the bank and they'll give it to him.
Keamy has Mikhail take Sun to the bank while he takes Casanova to the restaurant, then they'll meet there.
Jin begs Keamy in Korean to promise not to tell Mr. Paik about them.
Keamy-"What's he whining about?"    {Wine!}
Mikhail-"He wants you to promise that you won't tell her father that they are involved."
Keamy seems sincere and assures Jin, "Oh. Hey, don't worry about that. Okay, your secret, it's safe with me. Okay? Just bring me the money and then we could all live happily ever after, right?"
{Air plane engine/sounds-rumble}
Jack is checking out Sun's head injury. Ilana looks suspiciously at Ben.
Ben-"What? Oh, for the fourth time, I was gathering mangoes and she was already unconscious when I found her. Why won't you believe me?"
Ilana-"Because you're speaking."
Jack-"You gotta a pretty descent size bump, {What? Baby bump?! lol} it might be a slight concussion. You can understand what I'm saying? (Sun nods) But, you can only speak Korean."
Miles-"She hits her head and forgets English? Are we supposed to buy that?"  {Nope. We're not}
Frank-"Asks the man who communes with the dead."    {Should we ask Hurley?!}
Jack-"It might be Aphasia. It's um, a condition that's caused by trauma and it affects the language center of your brain. It's usually temporary. Sun, you're gonna be okay."
Miles wonders what Ilana is smiling about. Richard is walking over with Hurley. Richard instructs them to pack their bags because "we're leaving".

Locke gets out of the outrigger and walks toward the portable pylons.
Widmore's men jump out of the bushes and fire at Locke. {He's not bothered by it.}

"Down low!... Let me see your hands!"
Locke shows his hands,"Easy, friend, I come in peace." {Gonna smoke-em peace pipe too?! lol}

Widmore stands on the opposite side of the fence and asks Locke "Do you know who I am?"
Locke-"Charles Widmore. Do you know who I am?"
Widmore-"Obviously you're not John Locke. Everything else I know is a combination of myth, ghost stories, and jungle noises in the night."
Locke-"I think you know more than that judging by these pylons."
Widmore-"Why did you come here?"
Locke-"You took one of my people, Jin Kwon."
Widmore claims to have no idea what he's talking about.
Locke-"A wise man once said that war was coming to this island, I think it just got here."
{War is coming to Hydra Island or the main island? Both?}

Jack asks Richard where exactly are we going. {Richard is packing stuff.}
Richard asks where Locke is. "You said he came to recruit you. Where did he say he'd be?"
Ben-"Hydra Island".
Richard is in control and asks Frank, "This is exactly where you landed the plane to get back here, right?"
Frank-"That's right."
Richard-"This man wants to leave the island, that plane's the only way he could do it. You wanna know where we're going, we're gonna stop him."
Miles asks Hurley "This is your fault isn't it?"
Hurley-"Sorta."    {What exactly did Hurley do here? hmmm}
Richard informs them the only way to stop them from getting on the plane is to destroy it.
Sun freaks out and yells at Richard in Korean. "What? You want to destroy the plane? How are we supposed to get off the island?"
Jack shares with Richard that she isn't speaking English because she was hit on the head when she was running away from Locke. Why isn't she speaking English?
Richard seems surprised. "He came back here?  What, what did he want? What did he say to you? Do you understand me?"
Sun continues her fit..."Yes, I understand, you idiot!  But if you think I'm gonna help you destroy our only way off this island, you're insane!  I came here, to find my husband so I could bring him home, not so I could save the damn world!   She says I'm important. (points to Ilana) If that's true, you need me!  So, understand this! I'm not going anywhere."
Hurley-"I don't think she wants to come."
{Air plane engine/sounds-rumble}
Sun and her translator Mikhail sit at the desk with the bank rep. The rep checks the computer and informs them that Sun's account was closed. The balance is zero.
Sun feels that can't be right, "No one knows it exists but me."
The account was closed by her father, Mr. Paik, who had access. The funds were transferred to their main branch in Seoul. Sun wonders why dad would do that.
Mikhail- "Why do you think?"

Omar leads Jin {hands taped behind his back} to the kitchen refrigerator. Omar bumps Jin's head on the door on the way in. {Sign says Kitchen Safety. lol}  This concerns Keamy.  Keamy tends to Jin's head with a wet blue cloth and takes over the tape securing of the prisoner.  Keamy sends Omar to get the Arab guy. Omar seems bothered by the Arab remark.
Keamy tends to the head injury over his left eye and apologizes, "Omar's loyal but he lacks attention to detail."
He confirms with Jin that he can't understand a word he's saying.  Jin doesn't react.
Apparently he needs more tape to secure Jin so Keamy tells him to hold still,
"I'm going to strap you in here, just in case you figure out what's about to happen at the Island. I can't have you freaking out." {Yes, that is what I heard.}
"I don't think you realize....how unhappy Mr. Paik was when he found out that you were doing his little girl. You know the twenty five grand... you were supposed to deliver...that was my fee...for popping you!  From what I hear you know anyone who works for Paik knows the cardinal rule... hands off the boss' daughter. But you couldn't resist her, could you? The heart wants what the heart wants."
{He touches Jin's chest}
Jin must misunderstand him because he kindly says, "Thank you" to Keamy.
Keamy-"I'm sorry. Some people just aren't meant to be together" and covers Jin's mouth with the electrical tape. He closes Jin in the refrigerator.

Widmore asks Zoe what the hell she was thinking; this wasn't supposed to happen for days, "We had a time table".
Zoe knows they panicked and apologizes. Widmore says they should have let Jin leave the "camp" and taken him in the jungle.
Zoe-"Well maybe you should put a mercenary in charge instead of a geophysicist."
Widmore turns and sees Jin is standing there watching them.
Widmore-"What's done is done. I need you to get the package from the submarine and take it to the infirmary. Can you do that for me please, Zoe?"
She will.
Widmore walks over to Mr. Kwon and gives his deepest apology for what has been done to him. Jin knows this is Charles Widmore. Widmore shares that they searched the Ajira plane, found Sun's luggage and found a digital camera inside. He thought Jin would like to have it. "Go ahead. Turn it on."

Jin turns the digital camera on and "Plays back" the images of Ji Yeon, Sun and a dog.  Widmore narrates "Her name is Ji Yeon, your daughter" and knows Jin has never seen her.  Jin smiles and gets emotional as he looks at the images.
{Birthday party sign BIRTH is prominent. Candles.}

Widmore explains he has a daughter and knows what it's like to be kept apart.  He understands the one thing Jin wants is to be reunited with his wife and daughter, but it would be short lived if that "thing" masquerading as John Locke ever got off this island.  "You wife, your daughter, my daughter, everyone we know and love would simply cease to be. I came here to make sure that doesn't happen."
Jin-"How?"
Widmore-"Come with me. I think it's time for you see the package."
Jin-"What package?"
Widmore-"It's not a what... it's a who."
Widmore seems pleased.

Jin sits in the refrigerator and hears the muffled voices in the kitchen.{Sayid-"Did you put my brother in the hospital?" Keamy's voice too.}
Three shots are fired and Jin kicks on the door for attention. Jin notes a box cutter/utility knife on the shelf nearby.}
 Armed Sayid enters and pulls the tape off of Jin's mouth, where Jin communicates with Sayid in Korean. "Please don't kill me. Please let me go!"
Sayid {in a deadpan manor asks}-"Who are you?"
Jin-"No English."
Sayid doesn't know why he's there and he doesn't really care. He starts to walk away from Jin and Jin stops him.
Jin-"Free! {gestures to the box cutter}Free! Free."
Sayid happens to have time {After shooting three people} to place the box cutter into Jin's taped hands and wishes him "Good luck".  Sayid leaves. {Just like Locke gives tied up Boone the knife to cut himself free.}
Mikhail returns to the kitchen with Sun and sees the four bodies on the ground.   Jin pretends to be dead.

Armed Mikhail asks the still alive Martin who did this to him.
Keamy -"Look behind you, you idiot."
Jin holds the gun against the back of Mikhail neck and in Korean tells him to drop the gun. Mikhail wants him to take it easy. Jin tells Sun to move away.
Jin to Mikhail-"Did you hear me?! Drop it or I'm going to kill you!"
Mikhail realizes Jin isn't the person who killed the people on the floor and goes after Jin. There's a fight; shots are fired. Mikhail arms himself with a knife but Jin fires two shots into Mikhail's head; taking out his right eye.
Unfortunately Sun is shot in the stomach. Jin carries her to get her help.
Sun reveals, "I'm pregnant."
{Air plane engine/sounds-rumble}
At night Sun sits alone on the beach looking out to the ocean.    Jack brings her a couple of things
Jack-"I was thinking about a patient that I had during my residency.  Car crash, banged his head, when he woke up he couldn't talk.  The guy was frustrated, I mean... who wouldn't be.  Then one of the nurses said  just because he can't speak doesn't mean that he couldn't write."
He hands her a notepad and sharpie pen, asks her if she wants to give it a try.   
Sun writes down "YES", instead of just nodding her damn 'yes'.
Jack-"It'll take a little longer to get your point across but at least you have your voice back. Went back out to your garden to see if he was there, he wasn't.  But I found this... {a ripe red tomato}   That's one stubborn tomato.   Guess no one told it it was supposed to die."  
Sun writes- SORRY w/smiley face.
Jack-"Don't worry about it. You're not the first person to tell me to leave em alone."    They both smile.
Jack-"Locke....what did he say to you?"
Sun writes- He said he had Jin.
Jack-"Why didn't you go with him?"
Sun writes-I don't trust him.
Jack looks troubled-"Do you trust me?"
Sun nods yes.
Jack-"Sun, Come with us and I'll help you find Jin.  I'll help you find him and I'll get you both on that plane and as far away from this island as you can get .  I promise."
Jack holds out his hand and Sun takes it.

Quiet Kate sits starring; cuts up fruit.
Sawyer-"Where'd you go?"
Kate-"What?"
Sawyer-"Like your brain took a little stroll."
Kate wonders why James isn't worried, but he confesses that he is worried. He just really good at pretending he isn't.
Sawyer-"But I got a feeling this is almost over. Cause if Locke rode over there on the boat with Sayid, then Charlie Widmore blew him right out of the water."
Kate-"And what if he didn't?"
Sawyer-"Then we're screwed six ways from sun."
Locke returns to the camp, alone; this disappoints Sawyer.  Sawyer asks Locke about going over there to find Jin.
Locke share they said they didn't have him and he doesn't believe that.  He also shares that when James went over there that Widmore had someone guarding a room on the submarine guarding something that he didn't want James to see... "I don't like secrets."

Sayid swims stealth-like through the water toward the sub dock.  He witnesses Widmore's people pulling someone out of the hatch.   They drop the man at the edge of the dock where he can see Sayid trying to stay unnoticed in the water.  The man who can hardly stand is Desmond.   Extremely groggy Desmond looks at Sayid with a sense of familiarity and/or confusion.   Zoe, who is not a nurse,  can be heard mentioning that she gave Desmond too much sedative for the trip.
Wet Sayid watches the duo carry Desmond off.





The Package is a great episode.  It's all coming together nicely all that was missing was the pretty bow.  Jin and Sun must be showing us part of the whole truth.

I know I must sound like a broken record about a few things over the years but the one about events happening on "Island" and off "Island" are indeed blended/blurred together.   It was right here for all to see.
A bunch of other continuing clue lines that showed themselves again in this episode is: Altered state of consciousness; everybody is in some state of sleep, things happening in their heads/minds/consciousness, wires/wired, technology, perception, game, and constant hints to mental health, being crazy, being lost and having to find something and/or someone.   Every episode has had reference to crazy, insane or some sort of mental and mind issues.

After all an illusion is a false perception of a detectable stimulus.  I have included some researched info on mental health, psychology and such at the very end of my notes, for those who don't want to have to read through all of it.

Things to note...Questions to ask...
* Crazy. Insane. Mental health.
* Sleep. Unconscious. Knocked out. Drugged up. Sedation, AND SO ON and SO ON and SO ON!!!
* Room 23. Brain washing. Speakers. Wires. Electrical tape. Switch. Grid. Map. Video. Digital Camera. Electric. Sonar. Magnetic.
* Sayid feels nothing-emptiness. This is a stage of enlightenment.
* Seoul-Soul
* Heart
* Head trauma. Brain. Wired.
* Muffled hearing. 
* SLEEPING. WAKE UP. "BIRTH".   FREE! {Yeah, Enlightenment}
* Pretend. Masquerading.
* In The Whole Truth we learn Sun and Jin are having fertility issues and can't conceive.  In that episode Sun asks Jin "Why do you care so much about a baby you wouldn't even see?"   And where Jin experiences backward dialogue spoken by Sawyer and Bernard about Jin's impending fatherhood.
* Room 842. In  Recon James' clock stayed on 8:42.
* Sun knocks herself out!
* Both Sun and Jin get bumped on the head.
* WTF is with the airport customs officer not involving a translator to explain to Jin why he's not getting his money back? Oh, oh, oh! Because it's not real!
* Languages. Linguistics. Communication. Mis-communication. Translation. Write. Read.  Korean. Russian.  Mikhail, Miss Klugh, Ilana and Jacob all speak Russian.
* Button. (Desmond)
* Game. Play. Gamble. Bet.
* Wealthy men.
* Pairs.
* Purple. Black, White, Red.
* Destroy the plane...the sub...the Swan hatch...the computer...
* Desmond was given so much of the sedative for the sub trip that he couldn't even stand up on his own yet was doubled locked in a room on the sub. Was he being kept in or was someone being kept from getting to him?
* The package-the watch-money-Desmond-Ji Yeon-(a pregnancy)
* Is Jin one of the creators of the "map"?    What part is Hurley involved in?
* Jin is Sun's bodyguard.  Protector.
* I find it very interesting that Sawyer seems the most disconnected about certain things that happen on the "Island".   Like there seems to be times he's not privy to who someone is, i.e. Nikki, Paulo, Ben, etc. or he's unaware that something has happened, and of course he's not fazed by Locke being the smoke thing.
* Hearts and Minds.
* "I'm going to strap you in here, just in case you figure out what's about to happen at the island. I can't have you freaking out."    Yes, that is what I heard. I don't care what is written in the script or the closed caption, I only care about how that scene came out of post/editing and I heard, "I'm going to strap you in here, just in case you figure out what's about to happen at the island. I can't have you freaking out."   So I call fucking shenanigans!
* "Then one of the nurses said  just because he can't speak doesn't mean that he couldn't write."   Yeah,  like Locke in Further Instructions.  Things seem to always connect back to Jack and Johnny Locke.

Vocabulary and Research...
* The Package: Thirteenth Step by the band A Perfect Circle. The album is a concept album with all of the songs dealing with the problem of addiction from a different perspective.
* Godzilla combo of Japanese words meaning gorilla and a whale. A giant Japanese monster created by nuclear explosions; radiation.
*Concussion: Latin ("to shake violently")or concussus ("action of striking together"),is the most common type of traumatic brain injury.

* Flight: a series of steps between one floor or landing of a building and the next.
* Aphasia is a loss of the ability to produce and/or comprehend spoken or written language. Traditionally, aphasia suggests the total impairment of language ability, and dysphasia a degree of impairment less than total. Aphasia has come to mean both partial and total language impairment in common use. Depending on the area and extent of brain damage, someone suffering from aphasia may be able to speak but not write, or vice versa, or display any of a wide variety of other deficiencies in language comprehension and production, such as being able to sing but not speak.  One treatment for this is: Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT) is a therapeutic process used by music therapists and speech pathologists to help patients with communication disorders caused by brain damage. This method uses melodic intonation to stimulate activity in the right hemisphere of the brain.
* Giacomo Girolamo Casanova de Seingalt was a Venetian adventurer and author. His main book Histoire de ma vie (Story of My Life), part autobiography and part memoir, is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of the customs and norms of European social life during the 18th century. He was so famous as a womanizer that his name remains synonymous with the art of seduction. He was arrested, imprisoned; solitary confinement, sentenced to five years in an "un-escapable” prison", escaped and spent many years on the run.
* Emptiness is usually the description of Enlightenment.  To the western mind this description is often difficult to comprehend, leading to the idea that it is "nothing,".  This is the final step before nirvana.



We can see that Locke and Jack  have promised things to their followers, they both have held out their hands (here it's Locke-right, Jack-left) in a gesture of hope.  It's when these types of parallels are shown  that the metaphor of the story kicks in for me, making me want to feel that we are seeing "two halves of a whole" again, or the opposition.     I've never forgotten a clue we got back in the very beginning of our story.  Take a look at Hurley's comic book.  We know that comic tells the story of alien X that was hidden away when it gets cancer, a dome covering a city, polar bear, etc.. But the cover also shows us the part of the story where the Flash and the Green Lantern combine with their new halves, creating a new being.   Two halves of a whole.

Here's a great quote from Charlie Pace in   Further Instructions.  "What's that? You're not taking drugs, are you John? I only ask because of the strict zero tolerance policy you've enacted.  And I wouldn't want you to have start punching yourself in the face." 

Is Sun in the "Island" adventure to bring her husband home and not to save the world, not to play the game?
Maybe Jin and Sun are a package deal.

Love to all who are LOST" ™


Is it all in my head?!  Maybe I'm in an altered state of consciousness.
We have seen all of the following examples directly connected to the castaways since the very beginning. How deep is the mental health and some things happening in their "head" issues playing into the journey?
Examples:  Head injuries, headaches, vision/eye problems, fever, delusions, hallucinations, hypnosis, catonic, coma, brainwashing, behavior modification, coercive persuasion, programming/deprogramming, hypnosis, self hypnosis,cognitive biases, amnesia, insomnia, memory, consciousness, decision making, natural language, learning, motor coordination, sensory perception, planning,  problem solving, thought, depression, fear, abandonment, anger, guilt, hate, phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder,  post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, substance abuse, violence, sleep disorders, problems with trust, confidentiality and engagement, etc.
Use of drugs: sedatives, hypnotics, heroin, tranquilizer, sleeping pills, Clonozapam, mandrake, cannibis, coffee, cholorform, alcohol, Locke's funky paste, etc.
And the mention of: clinical assessment by a psychiatrist, social worker, clinical psychologist, shrinks, or other mental health professional.  We've seen Locke in group therapy and of course Hurley in Santa Rosa.


We all know what my take is on the metaphor of the "Island" journey; the journey and path to enlightenment, but here are some researched items to further explain some additional "possibilities":

* Non-physical or abstract locations and/or spatial graphics were employed as memory 'places'. Perhaps the most famous example of such an abstract system of 'places' is the memory system of Metrodorus of Scepsis,
* Headache symptoms include dizziness, vomiting, nausea, lack of motor coordination, difficulty balancing, or other problems with movement or sensation. Visual symptoms include light sensitivity, seeing bright lights, blurred vision, and double vision. Tinnitus, or a ringing in the ears, is also commonly reported.
* Cognitive symptoms include confusion, disorientation, and difficulty focusing attention. Loss of consciousness may occur but is not necessarily correlated with the severity of the concussion if it is brief. Post traumatic amnesia, in which the person cannot remember events leading up to the injury or after it, or both, is a hallmark of concussion. Confusion, another concussion hallmark, may be present immediately or may develop over several minutes. Patient may be slow to respond to questions or directions, have a vacant stare, or have slurred or incoherent speech. Other MTBI symptoms include changes in sleeping patterns and difficulty with reasoning, concentrating, and performing everyday activities.
* Tinnitus can be perceived in one or both ears or in the head. It is usually described as a ringing noise, but in some patients it takes the form of a high pitched whining, buzzing, hissing, humming, or whistling sound, or as ticking, clicking, roaring, "crickets" or "tree frogs" or "locusts", tunes, songs, or beeping. Causes include ear infections, foreign objects or wax in the ear, nose allergies that prevent (or induce) fluid drain and cause wax build-up, and injury from loud noises. Can also come from Psychedelic drugs:
Mental health-
Madness. Bi polar. Obsession. Depression. Substance abuse. Other proposed disorders include: Self-defeating personality disorder, Sadistic personality disorder, Passive-aggressive personality disorder Kleptomania (stealing) or Pyromania (fire-setting). Sleep disorders; Insomnia.
* Abreaction is an emotional release or discharge following recall of a painful experience. Used sometimes by police, forensics after administering armobarbital.
Affect illusion: Illusions (Misperceptions) associated with and/or based on changes with mood for example at midnight a person may take a shadow as a ghost, but in the early part of night this may not be the case.
* Schizophrenia: It most commonly manifests as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking with significant social or occupational dysfunction. Onset of symptoms typically occurs in young adulthood.
Despite the etymology of the term from the Greek roots skhizein (to split) and phrēn, phren-(mind), schizophrenia does not imply a "split mind" and it is not the same as dissociative identity disorder (previously known as multiple personality disorder or split personality), a condition with which it is often confused in public perception.  The disorder is thought to mainly affect cognition, but it also usually contributes to chronic problems with behavior and emotion. People with schizophrenia are likely to have additional conditions, including major depression and anxiety disorders; the lifetime occurrence of substance abuse long-term unemployment, poverty and homelessness, are common. increased physical health problems and a higher suicide rate
Depending on the individual, a person diagnosed with schizophrenia may experience hallucinations (especially hearing voices), delusions (especially ones that seem "bizarre"), and disorganized thinking and speech. The latter may range from loss of train of thought, to sentences only loosely connected in meaning, to incoherence known as word salad in severe cases. There is often an observable pattern of emotional difficulty, for example lack of responsiveness or motivation. Impairment in social cognition is associated with schizophrenia, as are symptoms of paranoia, and social isolation commonly occurs. In one uncommon subtype, the person may be largely mute, remain motionless in bizarre postures, or exhibit purposeless agitation; these are signs of catatonia.
*Aphemia is the alternate term for mutism. Mutism is absence of speech with apparently normal level of consciousness. Mutism can be dissociative (hysterical) in which an individual (commonly a child or adolescent) stops speaking at once without involvement of any neurological or physical contributing factor; or it can be elective (selective) in which a child does not speak at all in certain situations (such as in school) but speaks well in other conditions (like at home or at play). A rare cause of mutism is a kinetic mutism which results due to a lesion around 3rd ventricle of brain.
* Automatic obedience is an exaggerated co-operation with an examiner's request, as if the patient were an “automaton” robotically obeying a command. It is usually a sign of catatonia.
* Confabulation is the confusion of imagination with memory, and/or the confusion of true memories with false memories.
* In Capgras syndrome, the patient feels that a person familiar to him, usually a family member has been replaced by a double i.e. an identical looking imposter. Capgras Syndrome and Fregoli syndrome along with some other conditions are classified as delusional misidentification syndrome.
* Defenestration Literally jumping out of window. Usually used in context of attempted or completed suicide.
* Déjà vu:  In Déjà vu, a person feels undue familiarity to an event or a person. For example, he feels that the same thing has happened before or he or she has met this person before, etc.
* Déjà pensé : In Déjà pensé, a completely new thought sounds familiar to the person and he feels as he has thought the same thing before at some time.
* In écho de la pensée, meaning "thought echo" in French, thoughts seem to be spoken aloud just after being produced. The patient hears the 'echo' of his thoughts in the form of a voice after he has made the thought.
* Fantasy is imagining that expresses desires and aims.
- Folie à deux: Also called induced psychosis, folie à deux is a delusional disorder shared by two or more people who are closely related emotionally. One has real psychosis while the symptoms of psychosis are induced in the other or others due to close attachment to the one with psychosis. Separation usually results in symptomatic improvement in the one who is not psychotic.
Folie communiquée, folie imposée, folie induite, and folie simultanée are the four subtypes of folie à deux.
* Multiple personality disorder:  a condition in which a person displays multiple distinct identities or personalities (known as alter egos or alters), each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment.
* Tabula Rasa is also featured in Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis. Freud depicted personality traits as being formed by family dynamics. Freud's theories show that one can downplay genetic and congenital influences on human personality without advocating free will. In psychoanalysis, one is largely determined by one's upbringing.
* In Alice in Wonderland experience/Syndrome subjects perceive objects (including animals and other humans, or parts of humans, animals, or objects) as appearing substantially smaller than in reality.  Generally, the object appears far away or extremely close at the same time. Alternate term for this is somaesthetic aura.



 Disclaimer: I never claim to know everything about the show and my thoughts by no means make me right! The things I share here are my views and/or opinions. I don't claim to catch every single detail either! You all know I hate spoilers and I stand clear of reading certain sites as to not take me off my own course of research. The one thing I don't need to do here is rehash all of the obvious clues from an episode, we all know what they are. Understood? Good! Let the fun begin! I'll only note things that I know come up as clues later, but need to be noted when they first show up and things I find that will be of importance. It will get very exciting as we progress into the story.