Everybody Loves Hugo/Theories

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Theories about Everybody Loves Hugo

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Stated as questions or possibilities (avoid question marks, "Maybe", "I think", etc). More appropriate for another article. Illogical or previously disproven. Proven by canon source, and moved to main article. Speculative and lacking any evidence to support arguments. Responding to another theory (use discussion page instead). This does not include responses that can stand alone as its own theory. Usage of an indented bullet does not imply the statement is a response. See the Lostpedia theory policy for more details.

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Why Desmond Hit Locke

Deja Vu Flash

Desmond needs Locke to have a near-death experience like himself and Charlie to show him the existence of the original timeline. Support:

1. "[He] just need[s] to show them something."
2. He's matching Charlie's dangerous stunt.
3. Desmond wants Locke to regain his ability to walk by getting him to a hospital where spinal super surgeon Jack can work his magic. This will open his eyes à la Desmond, Charlie, Hurley, Faraday, etc.
4. Locke regained his ability to walk in the first season: it was the impact from falling off the plane. A similar impact will take him back to that moment.

(Lost is presenting us with another dichotomy or yin/yang scenario. There are two ways for the FST Oceanics to connect to their OT timelines:

Love

Pain, brutality, near death experience)

To Kill Him

1. Since Desmond's mind is aware of two time-lines and he thought Man in Black was the real Locke, he wanted to take revenge on Locke for throwing him into the well in OT.

He did not appear angry or distressed when he ran down Locke. He seemed to have a very good reason for doing it.

1. He hit Locke with the car because he believed it was MiB.
2. Fake Locke comes to the island in the form of real Locke. Thus Desmond killing real Locke would prevent Fake Locke from making the transition. Fake Locke realizes this so he tries to kill Desmond by tossing him down the well.
3. In the island reality, MIB IS John Locke; Everyone on the island has an alternate self in the alternate universe; So, in order to trap the MIB (John Locke) on the island, Desmond has to remove John Locke from the alternate universe to keep MIB from being able to exist there;
4. Killing Locke in the FST is also necessary to reconcile with the OT where Locke is dead.

Assisting MiB's Plans

The FST takes place in 2004. fLocke is trying to leave the island in 2007. In order for the Ajira plane to carry fLocke to freedom, everybody from the OT who is accompanying him must also be on the FST Ajira flight 316 in three years time. One plane will survive and the other will fade out of existence as the universe course-corrects. By awakening the others, Desmond is serving the MiB, because their desire to discover the truth about their island memories will lead them to board Ajira flight 316, since many of them remember that particular flight as the way back to the island.

Fake Locke Cannot Leave the Island

• Fake Locke will never be allowed to leave the island. With Michael's appearance we learned that the 'Voices' are those trapped on the Island for wrongdoing.
• Flocke's "evil" is why he is imprisoned on the Island - it is his prison.
• MIB won't be able to leave the island while Jacob or a Jacob replacement exists, so he needs to get everyone killed - not by his own hands off course - to proceed with his plan.

Whispers

Michael is lying about the whispers.

1. The first 3 instances of whispers are followed by a sighting of never-been-dead Walt and his backward words of warning. Appearances after whispers are manipulations toward certain actions and outcomes. (An opposing force caused Walt's messages to translate backwards and uninterpreted--'don't push the button, the button's bad' and 'they're coming and they're close'.) #In Season 2, whispers are heard: a) right before Cindy is secretly taken by the Others. (The Other 48 Days); b) right before Jack, Kate, Michael, Hurley, Sawyer (darted) are surprised by the Others (Live Together, Die Alone, Part 2).
2. Whispers are a distraction preceding manipulative words. That's why Ben told Rousseau: "if you want your child to live, every time you hear whispers, you run the other way." (Season 5, Dead Is Dead) Rousseau survived the Others for many years following this advice.
3. The whispers are those who have not "moved on."

Alert: This theory revives the discredited "island as purgatory" theory. See, e.g., Purgatory (debunked theory).

Hurley's Visitors

• Hurley can only talk to people who have not "moved on". People such as Michael, Charlie, etc. have not "moved on" due to their killing. Richard's wife may have failed to "move on" for another reason.
• A reason for spirits not moving on is the Island is not done with them.

Dead People who Reappear Are MiB

• Dave was actually MIB trying to get Hurley to commit suicide because he knows how important Hurley is to Jacob.
• Jacob and Isabella are incarnations of MiB. MiB is capable of assuming the forms of dead people. He assumed the form of Ben's island adopted dead daughter to manipulate Ben into following MiB. He assumed the form of Jack's dead father to manipulate Locke and Ben into moving the island and establishing the conditions which would make his pan work. And he assumed the form of dead Jacob to manipulate Hurley into doing things which served MiB's interests. And the most impressive incarnation is assuming the form of Michael to convince Hurley to stop Ilana from destroying the plane and then to lead all of the remaining candidates to MiB's camp.

(However Ilana said that MIB can no longer change his face. So Hurley's visions must be actual visions of the dead.)

FST Conciousness to the rescue!

• Desmond is trying and eventually will force Locke's FST consciousness into the OT. That way Flocke become Locke again but merged with the original consciousness of the MIB so that he is the MIB but with consciousness of Locke.

Evidence: Jack said "Yeah, I know Locke, and I wouldn't give up on him yet" line during the Season 5 finale. This way, Jack will become the new Jacob, and Locke is the new MIB, but instead of warring with each other, they will peacefully coexist. Black and White. Yin and Yang.

Desmond's Master Conundrum

Desmond is proved to be invincible and unable to be defeated. He has incited fear in John Locke, and poses a danger to Flocke's plan to leave the island. Flocke is unable to survive higher levels of energy. The young child smiles because Jacob is winning. Winning the war of course. If one is able to actively leave the island, then that person takes on the role of Jacob. Jacob shared the island with others while MIB wants to prevent that.

The Mysterious Boy

The Mysterious Boy only shows himself to candidates; that's why Richard wasn't able to see him, whereas Desmond did see. That means Desmond is the last recruit and new candidate to replace Jacob.

Desmond/Locke

• It appears that when FLocke initially embarks on his excursion with Desmond, that he's doing what he's done time and time before. Journeying through the jungle, talking about good and evil, maybe he'll treat you to some scrumptious boar, or show you a cave on the side of a cliff, or even an ancient well. Regardless of the method, Flocke's goal is always to try to lure and manipulate people in believing (in) him. However, at the well, once the theatrics were done, Flocke appeared significantly distressed by Demsond's light-hearted responses and his overall invulnerability in being afraid at that moment. Flocke's failure in swaying Desmond's heart infuriated him. This, ironically, made Flocke fearful of what Desmond may be capable of. After all, if Flocke merely had the sole intention of killing Desmond, he could have done it much earlier
  • Desmond could be a candidate now, meaning MiB cannot kill him.
    • The candidates do not change.
    • For all we know Desmond was always a candidate. We were told there are 6 candidates. We know of Jack, Hurley, Sawyer, Sayid, and Kwon. If Kwon is only referring to one of the spouses then a 6th spot is still open for Desmond. Maybe we just never saw his name
  • This is very similar to the situation with Eko. Both he and Desmond rebuked the MiB's advances in their own ways, and were subsequently attacked and left for dead.
• Desmond knows that Locke is the MiB. He simply told him he believed he was Locke to trick him.
• "You're John Locke" should be interpreted as "You're 'John Locke'" -- a deliberate non-answer and both of them know it.
• Desmond seemed to know that his fate was to end up in the well. He willingly went with Sayid, and again went willingly with Locke and 'wasn't even afraid.'
  • Desmond knows what will happen, so he knows that whatever is happening is supposed to happen. Thus he just goes along with it all because somehow he knows where it will all lead to.
• Once Desmond asks "What is the point of being afraid?", FLocke realizes he may be someone that proves Jacob's point that not everyone is inherently corrupt.
• Flocke is afraid of Desmond. Those that are not afraid of Flocke are a threat to him. He requires the control, with Desmond there is none. Desmond is able to withstand Electromagnetic Flashes, so far. Flock may be testing him to see if he can survive another one.
• Desmond knew Flocke would push him down the well, and allowed it to happen because he wanted to be exposed to the electromagnetic energy, which will allow him to reconnect with the FST, just as when Widmore exposed him to it in the shack.
  • It's not possible that Desmond knew that FLocke would do that. If he really did gain any information from his time in the wooden shack, it would be about the Side-Timeline, not back and forth in the OT as we have seen Desmond do before. It appeared that Desmond did not know Flocke was going to do that because frankly, I don't even think FLocke knew he was going to do that! As said and implied by others, throwing Desmond down the well was a more improvised maneuver rather than calculated.
    • Sorry for being unclear. I didn't mean Desmond "knew" Flocke would push him down the well in the sense of having a prophetic vision; I meant "knew" inasmuch as anyone might ordinarily "know" what someone else would do in a given situation. Perhaps "expected" would have been a better word. In any case, it explains why Desmond wasn't afraid of Locke.
    • In addition, if the people who built the well did not find anything down there, what do you expect Desmond to find? If this well turns out to be a well with a frozen chamber/wheel, then FLocke may have made a mistake by putting Desmond in the same vicinity as that power. However, there may be nothing at all down there, a dead end.
• It can easily be argued that of all the people we've met on the Island Desmond is the most inherently good. Almost everything he has done has either been for someone else (mostly Penny) of the greater good (pushing the button for all those years without asking). Desmond will be the individual who proves Jacob right.
  • This is why fLocke pushed Desmond down the well - because here was the proof that Jacob needed. With him, MiB loses.
  • To prematurely counter act the "Hurley's a good guy" argument: Hurley's greed (one of the seven deadly sins) led him to "steal" the numbers to win the lottery, and this gluttony (another one of those deadly sins) caused him to lie about hoarding away supplies when they first landed on the Island.
• Locke after being hit by Desmon, while he is in the floor, looks like he just came back from somewhere, you can see it when he changes his face. I would say that Locke just got a vision from the Island. At the same time Desmon, just before hitting him makes a weird smile. Desmon really tries to kill him because he knows who he is in the FST. If the reason was to produce in him a near-death experience, hitting a man in a wheelchair with a car, top speed, seems too brutal.

• For someone who had been told (Eloise Hawking) that he'd never accomplish anything great in his life (reminds me of the reverse pyschology applied by the "oracle" to Neo in the MATRIX), Desmond has come quite a way. He now has the air of someone who has truly found his "purpose" and the smile of the older mysterious boy seems to be quite a reassurance. Fake Locke was previously warned by mysterious boy that he couldn't kill Sawyer (because he was a "candidate" or else?) because it was against the rules. Fake Locke's attempt to kill Desmond (I can't imagine we've seen the last of him) may have been a serious breach of the rules with consequences yet to come.
  • Actually, Desmond was told he would accomplish something great in his life: pushing the button in the hatch. It's interesting that the MIB knows this about Desmond. Perhaps whatever Desmond's button pushing was accomplishing was keeping the MIB/Smokey somewhat at bay. Perhaps Desmond's been fighting the MIB for years in this manner and never realized it.

• Flocke threw Desmond down the well specifically because he understood that it would not kill him - due to Desmond's immunity to things electro-magnetic - but deliberately to get Desmond out of the way and unable to influence anyone else. To Flocke - Desmond is an unwanted complication - you might call him a variable - and Flocke does not need complications. Flocke cannot kill Desmond as he can only kill those judged and found wantiing (e.g. Eko) or those who have offered him violence (Ilana's team and the others at the temple who had opposed him in the past). Hence the solution with Desmond is to put him into the well (an electro-magnietic pool linked to the Island's power) so Desmond is incappacitated, but not killed. I would argue that this placement of desmond in the well is playing into Desmond's hands as proximity to the power of the Island will make his ability to flash between OT and FST stronger and it will bring about Flocke's ultimate defeat.

The Well

1. Desmond is in the well with a Frozen Donkey Wheel
2. Pushing Desmond down the well into the electromagnetic anomaly is Locke's way of killing him without him remaining on the island as a whisper (However, unknown to Locke, Desmond can survive this). Once Desmond hits the pocket of energy he awakes back in FST.
3. The wells are connected via underground tunnels. These same tunnels are the Cerberus Vents. Because of MiB's inability to withstand the EM pylons, the tunnels were a way of routing the monster around the island, in effect, a way to control and direct the "security system" by utilizing the Electromagnetism found in each well.
4. Being in the well of electromagnetism allows Desmond the ability to bring knowledge from the OT into the FST.

(Evidence please)

Consequences

• Choosing to not destroy the plane could result in these situations:

1. 1. MiB will kidnap/force the remaining candidates to get on the Ajira flight, ending everything.
   2. Hurley will sabotage the plane at the last minute.
   3. One or more of the non-candidates will be killed.
   4. Desmond will somehow prevent the plane from taking off.
   5. Richard's group will prevent the plane from taking off.

• The plane is irrelevant. We know there's a submarine, even if Richard's group doesn't yet, so blowing up the plane doesn't affect MIB's ability to leave the Island. That plane could never take off anyway: pointed the wrong way, probably with insufficient space and an inappropriate surface on which to gain liftoff, and with old fuel.
• Zoe suggests the plane could be repaired, Sawyer doesn't disagree, other than that there is little objective information. Notice nevertheless that both escape vehicles - sub and plane - are now surounded by sonar fence pylons, an obstacle fake Locke seems to be determined to overcome by carving and developing olympic aspirations...
  • Also, it seems likely enough that Desmond, at the bottom of the well, is poised to turn the donkey wheel (or interact with some part of the island's magic machinery), activating an electromagnetic event similar to the one he caused by not pushing the button in the hatch. It would be fitting for Desmond, having inadvertently crashed 815, to now actively choose to crash the Ajira plane as it leaves the island with MiB on board through a similar method.
    • Yeah, except for the point that Desmond has in fact not "inadvertently" crashed 815, cause these dudes on the plane were destined (!) to go there...
  • MIB seems to be stopped by water and sonic vibrations. Traveling on the sub, while it may not kill MIB, would be pure hell for him. Consider the sSonar beacon the submarine needs to navigate not to mention the pressure on the sub when dived may affect MIB differently then everyone else.--Zaggs 17:26, April 14, 2010 (UTC)

Jack and MiB Face to Face

When Jack and Flocke came face to face...

• MiB had a look of fear. MIB knows Jack is the true candidate.
  • MiB looked at Jack as if he was his new target. Jack has a great history with Locke. Originally they were butting heads over issues of leadership and faith vs fact. But eventually Locke converted Jack to the believer in "The Island" (and it's "plan"). MiB or FLOCKE intend to use their history to manipulate Jack for his benifit in an upcoming episode.
  • MiB has Locke's memories. He's remembering everything that transpired between Jack and Locke.
  • MiB was not afraid, only Jack was.
    • Jack's not afraid of anything.
• Jack had a look of fear. Something happened to Jack. Something important.
  • But Jack knows it's not really Locke.
  • Jack and Locke have a huge history, and it's the first time he has seen him since before the Ajira flight. It feels like we have known about Flocke forever, but only a few days have gone by on the island this entire season. Jack has only known that "Locke" was still "alive" for a few days. It must be pretty hard to wrap your head around the idea that someone has come back to life. Even though Jack knows it isn't Locke, it's Locke's body. He's having trouble telling his brain that it isn't actually Locke. Anyone would be disturbed if they saw someone that had died walking around again.
    • Also, keep in mid how affected Jack was by the news of Locke's death. Jack was the only one at his funeral. Jack had to put his own father's shoes on Locke's corpse. Jack is just recovering from a lengthy mental breakdown, and seeing Locke alive and well isn't helping him with his daddy issues.
      • And in the FST Jack is likely going to meet Locke now since he was hit by Desmond and will be sent to the hospital. This could trigger Jack's own recollection of the island memories. There is a major connection between Jack and Locke/Flocke.
        • People on the island are completely unaware of FST. Whatever happens in that timeline, does not appear to affect anyone in OT, with the exception of Desmond whose consciousness was always able to travel.
• The reason Flocke only greeted Jack, is because Jack is the only one who hasn't met him yet. The sight of Locke has just shocked Jack.
  • Hurley hadn't met MiB in a human form until this episode.
    • Hurley is also the first of the Candidates to NOT let MiB speak first.
      • Also note that Flocke handed Hurley his knife. As we know, Jacob was killed with his own knife, and it seems highly likely that somebody (Hurley?) will be able to kill Flocke with his own knife.
        • Note that Sayid tried to kill MiB with his own knife as well, and failed. This is likely for two reasons:
          • Sayid let MiB talk first.
          • The knife that Sayid tried to use was not actually the MiB's, or it is not effective now that MiB has changed forms.
• It is possible that fake Locke is Christian, Jack's father - after all Jack did see him several times on the island, and Locke saw him too before turning the wheel - yes it could merely have been only MiB, but it could be he is really Christian.
  • MiB predates Christian S. by god knows how many hundreds of years. Also, Christians' absence seems a bit peculiar, no doubt he will come to play again soon for a pivotal role. He may attempt to manipulate Jack once and for all to side with FLocke. This may very well be Jack's biggest challenge, not necessarily the old rhetoric of Jack Vs. Locke, but actually Jack Vs. His Father, Christian.
  • Jack knows Hurley can see dead people, etc. So perhaps, the reason Jack had a shocked look on his face, is because he thought that Hurley was going to talk to the "Ghost" of Locke, and not expecting to see "Locke" alive.
    • It seems that all losties except for Desmond came to understanding that Lock is not a ghost, but an entity which took his form.
• Jack and MIB react strongly upon seeing each other because Jack is no longer Jack, he is Jacob now. This is why he has stopped leading people. This episode gave an important clue. Richard says that Jacob can't tell people what to do. This is why Jack(Jacob) is know longer the "man in charge". This new "Jack" corresponds in time to Jacob dying perfectly.

Zen Desmond

• Desmond was not feeling fear about being alone with MiB. He then got thrown down into a well. Desmond is not afraid or worried about his path on the island anymore because he knows his FS counterpart is working on setting the timelines straight.
  • Desmond is pure determinism at this point. His consciousness never left the FST, as such his OT consciousness just does what it's told, acts without any free will. His salvation for everyone else is the transfer of consciousness for everyone on the flight from OT into FST.
    • But it seems quite the opposite; that FST Desmond wants everyone in the FST to remember the OT and transfer their consciousness to the OT.
      • He definitely wants everyone in the FST to remember the OT, but we have no evidence that he wants to transfer anything. Desmond touched his own OT consciousness and received from Daniel the explanation that something in the OT made them want to change something. Now that they have, Desmond wants to reconnect everyone with their OT memories so that they can all reclaim in the FST what was important to them in the OT.
• Desmond now knows he caused the plane to crash, and like Faraday doesn't "want to set off a nuclear bomb", Desmond wants to correct his "mistake".

Whispers and The Others

• For the better part of the series, The Whispers have generally been associated with the presence of "The Others". If the idea that The Whispers are voices of souls stuck on the island is true, then that would mean that some of "The Others" that we've seen in the past/present have in fact been ghosts. This would also mean that while Hurley can see them at all times, these ghosts do have the ability to reveal themselves to anyone should they choose to.
  • Not only does the newly revealed information on the whispers NOT imply that some Others we've seen are themselves ghosts, but also Hurley has never been shown to "see (souls trapped on the island) at all times". Hurley's power is seemingly subject to the will of any spirit he talks to (with the possible exception of his first conversation with ghost Charlie, at the end of which Hugo seems to will him away) in that they show up whenever they feel like and leave the same way, with no way for Hurley to find them himself or call on them in any way. It seems that the whispers have an agenda unrelated to Jacob's or MiB's. It would make sense that the agenda of the whispers falls in line with the desires of the people who's spirits are whispering. They tend to precede attacks from the others and from smokey in any form, so it seems like they are just trying to protect people. This holds with Ben telling Rousseau to run the other way when she hears whispers. If Ben had no real desire to bring Rousseau any harm, telling her to use the whispers as an alarm was pretty sound advice, even if it was (in Ben's eyes) just to prevent her getting caught by the Others.
  • Typically the whispers are heard before The Others make an appearance.
    • It is assumed The Others are the source of the whispers, however, it is the whispers that appear before the Smoke Monster arrives. The Whispers have been traditionally followed by the "tick tick" sound and black smoke - hence the ghosts providing a warning to those in danger. Knowing that alive inhabitants might be a little perturbed by the sound, this is a pretty good warning; and the alerted islanders run for cover. This is also indicated by Danielle Rousseau "when you hear the whispers run)
    • There are no tracks left - if they are ghosts or smoke; no tracks would be left. Ghosts cannot be seen by inhabitants other than Hugo Reyes (others might have seen them, but they are possible deceased).
• The whispers were no more than a plot device to make the others seem more 'creepy'. The 'explanation' was in some way to satisfy fan curiosity. No further explanation will be forthcoming.

• • • The Others don't leave tracks simply because they're well trained and experienced and know how to set dummy trails or remove their tracks entirely.
  • In Season 5 The Whispers are heard before Christian Shepherd reveals himself to Sun and Lapidus in the Dharma barracks
    • This would potentially confirm that Christian is in fact a spirit
  • At the beginning of Season 6 when Kate/Jack/Hurley/etc... are in the tunnels leading to the temple, whispers are heard before The Others kidnap them.
• Perhaps the whispers show themselves only in times of trouble. They are not associated with Others, MiB, or higher power even. They watch, and when something big is going down, they're 'talking' becomes more intense and it gets louder, to the point where the audience and characters can hear them. Therefore, the whispers are tied to events that happen, not factions/people. The reason they appear so often with the Others is because for a lot of the time, the Others were committing kidnappings, deceptions, raids and so forth, which would have invited a lot of talk among the witnessing whispering ghosts.
• The Whisper transcripts need updating for later episodes, but the ones that exist can seem to indicate "ghosts" who both watch the action of the Losties but also attempt to manipulate the action in some undisclosed way.
  • For example, during the whisper sequence with Charlie on the beach, the following statements were made:

"Grab it right now" "I know I've had it" "Let's get him moving" "Are you confused or something ?" (sped up) "He's just leaving him " (reversed) "We can all raise this baby " Many such examples of "action" exist.

• It seems clear that death (and love) are "Doors" in the Lostverse. Some people get stuck on the other side of the door without moving on. When Ilana dies, she will "wake up" surrounded by a myriad of ghosts and will work with them for whatever their endgame is.

• In the first season, there is a boar that is taunting Sawyer, and it's accompanied by whispers saying "it'll come back around," which are the last words of the man Sawyer killed, leading Sawyer to believe that the boar is the ghost of the man he killed. Lost's explanations of the whispers make sense for that episode, but it is unclear why that man's spirit would end up on the island.
  • It could just be what Sawyer, with his guilty-conscience, imagined the whispers to be saying when he heard them.

• Walt was whispering to Shannon in Man of Science, Man of Faith and Abandoned and both Shannon and Sayid also in the same episode but Walt clearly got off the island and wasn't stuck on the island so how was he one of the people who could whisper if he was able to leave the island.
  • The explanation offered so far has been Walt is "special," and that is why he was able to appear as if he was a ghost.
  • To more detail: Walt can be theorized as projecting his image into other people's minds. Almost as a manifestation. Walt's ability had emphasis in the creative mind, meaning he can project what he can think of. So, he reads about polar bears, and you get one. He reads and thinks about birds, you get them flocking in. He even tries to visualize him throwing the knife with Locke before he successfully nails the throw.

FST visions of the OT

• In the FST, only people who have died in the OT have organically generated visions of the OT
  • Charlie, Faraday, and now Libby all had visions of the OT without the aid of someone else
    • But why didn't FST Charlotte appear to have any OT memories? Or Arzt? Keamy? Must not be a guarantee.
      • Charlie, Faraday and Libby had visions of people they loved, ie their soul-mates. If someone doesn't find their soul-mate on the island, then they don't have a vision. Interestingly, Charlotte must not reciprocate Faraday's love. (Obvious, since Faraday got nowhere with her over several weeks while she hopped into bed with FST Sawyer after about five minutes.)
    • Only Faraday and Libby had visions without the aid of someone else. Charlie would have died had Jack not revived him, just as he revived him after being hanged by Ethan in the jungle.
      • Jack didn't aid Charlie's vision though. He interrupted it, which is why Charlie was angry. It was the near death experience that brought on the vision, not Jack reviving him.
  • Desmond and Hurley had visions, but only with the aid of other people

Desmond has been claimed, for good

• The Man in Black is confounded that Desmond has no fear. Sayid also described a numbing of sensations. Claimed persons have exhibited erratic behavior from their previous personalities. Desmond's optimistic and carefree disposition marks him as claimed by the light side.
  • Totally agree with you. While Sayid said he wasn't feeling good, pointing he felt no more and never smiling, we can see Desmon smiling but at the same time never being scared. Locke realized who he was after asking him about his fearless situation, that' s why he threw him down the well. Walking with him thru the jungle was kind of an interview for MiB to try to find out who he really was.
    • Now that its mentioned, there are some similarities between the Zen-like Dogen and Desmond, who seems to be on a path of Zen. Also, Dogen (awesome character) seemed extremely well poised, and not one to let fear consume him
    • Desmond is on the path of ‘true love’. Like a ‘love fool’ who does anything for love. In the FST he is ready to sacrifice his wealth power and status to seek out Penny and set the timeline back to the OT. Desmond is not literally a fool, he does understand he is part of a grand scheme of something going in both FST and OT. Let’s not forget that Desmond is the constant, as such once he begins to walk this path, and understanding what true love is (ala Penny)and the sacrifices involved, he is more of a neutral, and can be anywhere. Not really on anyone’s side . I see Desmond as someone who is going to carry/guide/catalyst the candidates to their destinies. Desmond is more like the ‘scale’ which balances the white rock against the black rock. He is a bit like the island, balancing the two entities Jacob vs MiB.MiB takes advantage of people's grief, fears or anxieties and pain to turn them(corrupt them) towards his agenda, Sayid, Claire, Sawyer, Richard. Desmond is in that place where these attributes don’t exist and MiB does not understand it. Remember Jacob said his plan was to prove MiB wrong that humans do not always, kill corrupt and destroy. That humans can make better choices. Should Desmond choose to sacrifice himself out of true love for something, he will be pretty much on his way to prove MiB wrong. Dogen was on the path of understanding the sacrifice that true love brings; to have his son live he has to do this work on the island. Dogen did say that Jacob drives a hard bargain. The MiB said his mother was ‘crazy’ , who knows MiB probably does not know true love as it applies to humans. I can see the season ending with some stupendous act of love, sacrifice, or bravery which will seem awesome, and at the same time in some sense seem like a waste from MiB and some people’s point of view to keep the balance or status quo on island. That’s love. On a lighter note, someone needs to show MiB some love or Zen or chill pills.
• Desmond could be the goodness in humanity that Jacob wanted to prove to the MIB. Perhaps the lack of fear he projects startled the MIB(to para-phrase Yoda "fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to the dark side"). The MIB's could be that all humans are inherently fearful, and therefor corruptible, violent, and make make greedy selfish choices. Desmond could finally be the nail in the coffin for his view on humanity, thats why he through down the well, so he couldn't influence others.

Desmond is an Alt. timeline version of Jacob

• Like Jacob trying to bring people to the island, Desmond is attempting to bring people from the island to the alt timeline.
  • His manipulations of Hurley were similar to Jacob's manipulations of the six.

Desmond is the OT timeline New Jacob

• It’s no coincidence that Des is named for a fellow Scot, philosopher David Hume, who argued that free will and determinism are compatible, i.e. that the truth of one does not rule out the truth of the other. Ever since we first met Desmond, he has personified the struggle between determinism and free will. Yet lately Desmond is just beginning to bridge the gap between the two.
• He’s been making the rounds to all the Oceanic passengers, trying to help them pierce through the illusion of the FST. He’s not unlike Jacob, who helped steer his candidates on course. Free will, interestingly enough, is the basis for the contest between the MiB and Jacob: that someone can prove himself incorruptible, and yet make the right choices on their own, is what Jacob has been waiting for.
• Des is not a Candidate. Des, is, however, a variable, a wild card, someone who, in Faraday’s words, is “uniquely and miraculously special” and someone to whom the normal rules seemingly do not apply. It is possible that Des will do what Jacob has been waiting for: a selfless act of personal sacrifice in the service of the greater good. He’ll choose to remain on the island as the new Jacob, not because he was chosen to do so but because he chooses to do so. The one place that he’s least wanted to be, even though it means he’ll never see Penny or his son Charlie again, because doing so will save the world. This is the philosopher Hume’s idea of self will — Liberty — coexisting with determined fate — Necessity. This could also be the sacrifice Widmore told Des he’ll have to make.
  • This is a very insightful theory. But since Ilana said the candidates are to replace Jacob, I believe if Desmond is not a candidate, by being the constant, he is going to help bring the candidates or whoever is going to replace Jacob to a similar realization. One of selfless personal sacrifice, with no seeming personal gain as you describe. Without Desmond the equation will never be balanced, though other variables or candidates may change, the constant has to be there.

The Number 42

• So Desmond is number 42. I know it's a pop culture reference but theyre not rare in Lost, but in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy the answer to the meaning of life is 42. So theyre saying Desmond knows the meaning of life.
  • I don't really know where you got this but number 42 is Kwon, so unless you have some way to relate Desmond to the name Kwon i think 42 has to represent either Jin or Sun
    • He got number 42 from the restaurant scene in "Everybody Loves Hugo" when Desmond's order number of '42' was called out.
• No offense, but this theory has no substance and likely should be deleted. The ticket number 42 is just a reference to the numbers that have been referenced ever since the first season. The ticket number does not make Desmond any more significant than he already was. Anna Lucia had seat number 42 on Flight 815, and she was killed off in the second season. Most characters have had some encounter with the number 42 since that is one of the numbers the show always returns to. As someone else mentioned, the significant number 42 is the number on the lighthouse which represents one of the Kwons as a candidate.
• Strangely enough the producers did choose 42 as reference to Hitchhikers Guide, as part of a random set of numbers chosen from both the pilot and references such as these. While their origins have not much meaning to the show they have indeed been appearing everywhere in Lost episodes...except in the alternate timeline. What is interesting is that places where the numbers used to be, such as the seat numbers and Hurley's lottery win (promotional photo)have actually changed numbers. This is the first clear reference to the numbers right when Desmond is leading Hurley to remembering the original timeline. This may actually be a sign that the original timeline is starting to affect the alternate.

Reflections

• I know I brought this up in the discussion, but I feel that it holds some kind of significance. I theorize that Hurley not seeing his reflection at any point in the episode (unless you want to count his face on posters?¿) was intentional. I feel it is something we were supposed to pickup on. Maybe even though that Hurley didn't have his "memories", that he possibly transcends both realities? I'm not sure what it could possibly mean, but considering every previous character aside from Jin has seen their reflection. Maybe it means they really aren't as important as we're lead to believe?