Broken Frontier

Desmond is back, brother! Last week’s episode ended with the revelation that Desmond Hume has been brought back on the Island by his estranged father-in-law, Charles Widmore. Already into the final half season, Lost is really starting to pick up as the end approaches. “Happily Ever After” reveals a lot of insights into the true nature of the flash-parallels, and because of this, is one of the most interesting episodes so far this season.

The episode opens with Zoe waking up Desmond from his drugged state. Widmore arrives and tells Desmond that he is back on the island, and Des responds by trying to bash in Charles’ skull with his IV pole. Widmore gets his team of scientists to expose Desmond to massive amounts of electromagnetic energy as some kind of test. As the energy engulfs Desmond, he falls to the floor and we jump to... Desmond’s flash-parallel. Pretty weird, and that is just how the episode starts.

In the flash, Desmond is Widmore’s right hand man. Desmond’s job is to basically do all of the dirty work that his employer needs. What Widmore needs Desmond to do now is babysit the rambunctious rockstar Charlie Pace, although Des gets a little more than he bargained from the Drive Shaft bassist. When we last saw parallel Charlie, he had just been arrested after nearly dying midflight on Oceanic 815. Charlie’s near death experience has made him certain that the world they are living in is a lie, and through a few insane actions he tries to pass on this truth to Des. Desmond starts to suspect something is amiss, and he begins to have visions of Penny, who he doesn't even know exists in this timeline.

In his search, Des encounters Daniel Widmore (Faraday) who is a musician in the parallel universe, which is looking more and more like you-get-what-you-want-but-not-what-you-need land. Daniel tells him that he also suspects that their lives in this universe are false. He reveals that Penny is his half-sister and he knows where Desmond can find her: in the same stadium where Desmond first met Jack in a second season flashback. When Des and Penny touch for the first time, Desmond faints and we cut back to the island where Desmond awakes after the electromagnetic experiment.

Combative just a few minutes earlier, Desmond has had a miraculous change of heart and now wants to help Widmore in whatever way he can. It is unclear if Desmond actually experienced his flash-parallel, or something else, especially since there is one more flash where Des decides to find out the names of all the other passengers on Oceanic 815. The final twist on the island happens when Desmond is suddenly captured by the deadly Sayid, who he goes with willingly.

Lost has really gone off into the deep end with this episode, easily one of the top episodes of the season. “Happily Ever After” marks a turning point in the final season where the picture is really starting to come together and be recognizable. From here on out things are going to head towards a resolution at warp speed, with Desmond as a sort of go-between for the two universes. It’s going to become harder and harder to wait a week between episodes, but if this is a sign of things to come, it will be well worth the wait.