With that said this past Desmond-centric episode was another great episode. The new twist on a typical Flash Back was terrific and was a great way to learn not only more about Desmond but also the mysterious Daniel Faraday. I know I’ve said this before but its amazing how every time Lost gives us some answers as to what’s going on this season, like with Desmond’s time jumps, we instantaneously get new questions we need answered right away. Faraday’s past self figuring out the need for a constant shows his great understanding of what’s going on on the island, probably more so than any of the survivors of Oceanic flight 815 ever could.
The main question I have is about Penelope’s conversation with Desmond on the phone at the end of the episode concerning him calling exactly 8 years later from their final meeting in this week’s Flash Back to 1996. It seems weird she is still thinking about that particular night since we know Penny and Desmond are together again between these two event in the episode “Live Together, Die Alone” (Season 2’s final episode). TV Squad reports that in this week’s Lost Podcast that Damon Lindelof advises “fans to listen to Mrs. Hawkings’s explanation of course correction in ‘Flashes Before Your Eyes.’” (link) So I guess I need to break out my Lost dvds and see if I can figure out the timeline of Penny and Desmond’s relationship and how Desmond's unique mental Flash Backs have led to Penny searching for both him and the mysterious island of Lost. Sooner or later the show will have to explain how Penny found out about Desmond being on the island.
The final lingering question seems to be what is Charles Widmore’s connection to all this? We saw him purchasing at auction a painting of the famed Black Rock pirate ship and a ship ledger by the first mate. While everyone on the outside world thinks the ship was lost at sea, we know the ship actually crash landed on the island and is where the Losties acquired the dynamite they’ve used on multiple occasions. Does this mean there is more to Charles Widmore than we know? I assume if Penny knows about the island then her dear old dad knows as much, if not more, about the mysterious island. Is he the the reason Desmond ended up there? He was nice enough to give Desmond Penny’s address in this episode but we know from previous encounters he was none too thrilled about the prospect of Desmond marrying Penelope. I can’t wait to see where this goes and if Widmore is somehow connected to the Freighter and its crew. Why else would the ship’s communication officer be instructed not to pick up Penny's calls?
Speaking of the Freighter's communications officer, was anyone else surprised Fisher Stevens’ character George Minkowski died after only one on-screen appearance. After noticing his name in the credits in the first episode of this season and hearing his voice in subsequent episodes, I expected his character to have a much larger role than he did. Maybe his casting was a red herring or maybe his role, while short, was important to the story of finding out what has been happening to Desmond and why the island has such a sever effect on some people going to or coming from the island. Hopefully we’ll see more of George Minkowski in future Flash Backs, like we have with the notorious Ethan Rom.