Lost Recap: A Wrinkle in Time
Television February 29th. 2008, 10:03am
It’s one of those episodes were some fans are likely to say, “the show jumped the shark!” or “time travel is for losers, what a waste of an episode.” But we’re die-hards, and there’s nothing this show can do that would force us to give it up. The EW recap is posted, and it contains references to two items we missed: a Vonnegut Slaughterhouse 5 mention and how closely Desmond-Daniel paralleled Marty-Doc from Back to the Future. In case you haven’t seen the episode, we’ll tuck spoiler questions behind the jump:
* Locke was also exposed to the radiation when he and Ecko were trapped in the exploding hatch (right?), so presumably he could toggle in time at some point?
* Who opened the door to help Desmond and Sayid get out of the room? Who is Ben’s “spy?”
* Seriously – is Sayid the new MacGyver?
* Remember when Penny was the hot wife on one of the best short-lived TV shows of the last decade, ‘Mind of the Married Man?’
* Why was with Penny’s dad bidding so high for the Black Rock ledger?
57 Responses to “Lost Recap: A Wrinkle in Time”
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February 29th, 2008 at 10:07 AM
Yeah, I’m loving this season but I couldn’t help but think of Marty and Doc in this episode at times. Still liked it though.
Mind of the Married Man reference. Ha! So glad someone else remembers her from that.
And Desmond IS Eddie Vedder, can’t seem to shake that thought either.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:16 AM
I found myself thinking earlier yesterday: “Why do I like this show? It’s just a convoluted mess of unresolved questions and mysteries that never seems to progress!”
Just as I was losing my faith, they come with what I thought was one of the best episodes in a long time. A long-held theory of many, the time-travel aspect, was confirmed, and we finally got to see the freighter. I was floored–I’m sure many will not like the episode, but I thought it was a great mix of plot resolution, laying the foundation for more mysteries, and drama with the Penny/Desmond angle. Thought it was great.
/fanboyism.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:17 AM
I don’t watch the show but I saw this and started making fun of my gf for liking a show so ridiculous and brought up the time travel and she said they explained it wasn’t time travel it was the conciousness of the mind, the fuck?
February 29th, 2008 at 10:21 AM
It was tremendous.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:22 AM
* Locke was also exposed to the radiation when he and Ecko were trapped in the exploding hatch (right?), so presumably he could toggle in time at some point?”
Electromagnetism.
Penny’s dad bought the Black Rock ledger because he was looking for the island (prior to the plane crash) and that ship must of had info on it.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:23 AM
Faraday guys has me intrigued. Have a feeling that when he said “you can’t change the future,” that it was some sort of foreshadowing. Thought the episode was great.
And TBL there is no way I take Claire over Kate.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:23 AM
The thing I’m not liking about Lost right now is that the island isn’t even a character anymore.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:24 AM
penny also showed her good on “tell me you love me”. she has fantastic cans.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:24 AM
And to the Locke point… he has nothing to keep him grounded (like Desmond’s Penny). He wants to stay on the island. I assume if he stays he wouldn’t have any issues with the present and past lunacy.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:25 AM
Penelope has some sweet full frontal on that “Tell Me You Love Me” on HBO.
/too cheap to pony up for Skinemax
February 29th, 2008 at 10:25 AM
Claire vs. Kate shouldn’t even be a contest.
I pray we never have to hear “What’s happened to my Bay-Bay” again, but I’m sensing that will happen.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:27 AM
The Black Rock is the ship where they get the dynamite. It is in the middle of the island.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:29 AM
And TBL I hate you by the way. Never watched Lost until last season. Only started watching cause you gave it so much time. And now I am addicted to the damn show. Only three must shows for me: Office, Lost, and the Shield.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:32 AM
Anyone else notice Faraday’s device goes all the way to 11. Awesome.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:34 AM
@NSR – Why didn’t they just make 10 more powerful?
February 29th, 2008 at 10:38 AM
I liked the part where Locke banged his head hanging a clock in his bathroom and had a vision of the “Flux Capacitor”.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:38 AM
His goes to 11.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:41 AM
That was one of the best episodes. It explained a lot about the Island and how things are screwed up. I think Michael is the “captain” and is Ben’s spy. I also think that this boat is run by Penny’s dad and is there to get rid of everyone that will attest to the Islands location.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:41 AM
Lost is the best show on television…in my opinion, it might be the best show of all-time. That being said, I thought it was an average episode (by no means did it jump the shark). My thoughts: Widmore wanted the Black Rock ledger b/c perhaps it had the coordinates the ship was traveling when it became “lost”…i.e. the coordinates to find the island.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:42 AM
The diary from the Black Rock was from a sailor named HANSO, as in the Hanso Foundation. Just another cool link…
Also, don’t think of it as time travel. Thing more along the lines of String Theory and alternate realities. Complicated stuff for sure, but they’ve made it great TV.
Also, Locke’s potential constant was his father. I think Ben wanted Locke’s father dead to eventually kill Locke. If his father stayed alive, then he would become Locke’s constant…
OK. My head is starting to hurt.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:44 AM
Maybe this has been asked/answered before, but I wonder how the Black Rock ledger made it off the island??
February 29th, 2008 at 10:47 AM
@Wally’s World–Good theory about Ben wanting Locke’s dad dead. Hadn’t thought of that.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:49 AM
The Black Rock ledger was discovered on the island of Madagascar(!).
February 29th, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Freaking awesome awesome episode. So many tie-ins with past theories and the Lost Experience stuff online. Awesome!!! This season has featured two of the best episodes of the entire series imo already (the other one with the introduction of the freighter characters). Such a mindblowing episode, all tied together greatly in the short mini-drama with Desmond and Penelope. Seriously great stuff.
As for the Black Rock Ledger: It was in port in Siam before it went off to what is assumed to be the island, so the Ledger is from before it left. It was never on the island atl.
February 29th, 2008 at 11:05 AM
Great episode. Lots of stuff to feed the speculation and solve some lingering mysteries, but it also plays very well as a one-off. The Penny/Desmond love story has felt sort of strained at times, but that phone call at the end was dramatic gold. Of course, when there’s so much buildup to a moment, it would have to be a real mess to fail.
One question that I haven’t seen mentioned, why would Faraday use Desmond as his constant? Is he afraid that he’ll jump at some point, and if so, why not use anyone else that he has easier access to on the island/back in time?
February 29th, 2008 at 11:08 AM
I would assume Faraday is just playing it safe, especially since he has been exposed to lots of Electromagnetism already with his testing and research. Plus he probably plans to get off of the island, so that could screw him up. As for Desmond as his constant, he is the one constant between the island and his life in 1996 I would assume. He likely didn’t know of his cohorts on the island before this mission, since they were all selected at Random.
February 29th, 2008 at 11:11 AM
This season has been light years better than last season. I liked last night’s episode a lot, mostly because I like Desmond.
Considering that his name’s been in the main cast listing all season and he hasn’t shown up yet, I’d be shocked in Ben’s “spy” isn’t Michael (Harold Perrineau).
February 29th, 2008 at 11:12 AM
Oh, and as for who opened the door for Desmond and Sayid, I just assumed it was the pilot.
February 29th, 2008 at 11:14 AM
that ep didn’t really advnace the story like the previous ones had, however, it did advance the theory quite well. At least we are getting some answers now.
apparently the next episode takes place entirely on the island, even the flashback/flash forwards. Penny’s father is on the cast list.
February 29th, 2008 at 11:14 AM
Guy who is smart just said: Ben is actually a good guy, and will emerge as such in the end. The bad guys are after Ben and his money and his secrets.
February 29th, 2008 at 11:15 AM
Sweet. I type my comment, then go read the EW thing and Jensen says he thinks the spy is Michael, too. I AM THE SMARTEST MAN ALIVE.
February 29th, 2008 at 11:21 AM
I don’t think it’s just a consciousness thing that Desmond had, it has to be more along the lines of actual time travel. Otherwise, Desmond would not have been able to influence Daniel, Penny and her father.
who knows, i spent too much time trying to figure out the back to the future time line and it drove my fellow circuit city employees nuts.
February 29th, 2008 at 11:31 AM
wilhel: huh? I thought this episode advanced the story more than hardly any others ever have: Desmond spoke to Penny, he traveled in time, it showed him and Sayid leaving the island and landing on a freighter, etc. That is like tons of story advancement.
February 29th, 2008 at 11:39 AM
Anyone notice that Daniel’s machine had to be set to 2.342. 23 and 42! *gasp* Lost numbers. I would consider it a coincidence but it’s Lost.
February 29th, 2008 at 11:42 AM
we finally see the evil, conniving side of charlotte, who they’ve tried to play off as an innocent member of the freighter ship so far.
February 29th, 2008 at 11:51 AM
I might have to watch it again, but other than landing on the freighter, nothing really happened in the present (or future) tense that pushes the story forward as much as the previous episodes have done.
Des talked to Penny, who already knows about the island, the viewers got a couple clues as to what level Penny’s father is involved in all of this.
it was a good episode, but I don’t see it as good as the last few were.
February 29th, 2008 at 12:16 PM
yeah is kind of true wilhemreems. but they needed to explain desmonds situation and they needed to badly. if you remember, last season was nothing but horrible episodes that did move the story along. at least this was a good episode
February 29th, 2008 at 12:23 PM
Daniel is probably going to die on the island which might be why he’s crying when we first see him observing the crash on television. Maybe the images trigger a flash forward to his death.
February 29th, 2008 at 12:27 PM
I didn’t read the EW thing, but can someone answer this:
Did Desmond actually go back and change past events? Or was he just remembering them?
Basically, in 1996, did he actually meet Daniel at Oxford and see that experiment with the mouse? Or did his 2004/island self go back in time and change events?
February 29th, 2008 at 12:38 PM
Well Mike, in the storyline of Lost he went back and changed the events, but in the arrow of time sense, based on the present, in 1996 he actually did all those things. Kind of depends on your perspective. It’s all relative.
February 29th, 2008 at 1:05 PM
I’m confused about the Black Rock. If it was lost at sea, how is Charles Widmore purchasing it? And it seems like there’s a ton of info on the Lost Experience that might become part of the actual show.
February 29th, 2008 at 1:09 PM
SJ, I am hoping that he is just “remembering” better.
Cursed, well he is purchasing the ledger, not the ship. I can’t remember if they said the ledger got separated from the Black Rock, or not. Either way, it was being auctioned off by the Hanso family.
February 29th, 2008 at 1:09 PM
@pointofattack- I hadn’t noticed that, but it’s not surprising at all. I wonder if it will be brought up on next week’s “Pop-up Video” rerun.
TBL- if Ben truly is a “good” guy(which I’m skeptical of, but hey, anything can happen on this show), maybe that goes a long way in explaining why Sayid is working for him in the future.
February 29th, 2008 at 1:15 PM
My question about time travel (I’ll defer to the actual time travel experts). Wouldn’t there technically be two Desmond’s running around in 1997? It can’t be the same Desmond, b/c how could someone just disappear – that would ruin any kind of real time coherence? I’m so confused…my head hurts.
February 29th, 2008 at 1:19 PM
The stuff from the Lost Experience definitely all ties into the show, but mostly in terms of back story, which is very interesting in formulating theories about what is happening on the show. A lot of it has come into play already in past seasons.
Cursed: I think the thought is that he didn’t physically travel in time, but did it in his mind, so he just suddenly was himself in 1996. Note that he looked younger, had shorter hair, etc. He didn’t physically travel in time.
February 29th, 2008 at 1:33 PM
Hmmm . . . now who could THIS be?
February 29th, 2008 at 1:49 PM
ISNT THIS A SPORTS SITE???
755
no mention of the number on charlie widmore’s racket in the auction
wonder who they think the true home run king is!
February 29th, 2008 at 2:06 PM
Nice grab Mike, sure does seem to give that Michael speculation some substance.
February 29th, 2008 at 2:52 PM
Desmond’s consciousness, not his physical form, traveled through time. Faraday gave him the numbers and Eloise in the future, and he used that info in the past. Plus other characters mentioned that he would zone out when he “time traveled.” Isn’t that what happened when Minkowski traveled? Speaking of Minkowski, could he be Ben’s spy, given he was the communications guy? I agree that Michael could be, but this makes sense to me, too.
February 29th, 2008 at 3:13 PM
Can you expand on this, for slow people like myself? Future & past in relation to when?
If Desmond’s consciousness “traveled” through time (and I agree that it did), isn’t that just another way of saying that he remembered a past event? I think (hope) that Desmond and Daniel had met in the past – before Daniel told him about it over the island phone – and that Daniel was just “reminding” him about it.
Although then you would have to answer why/how Desmond was visiting Daniel at Oxford in the first place?
On the other hand, why/how would Daniel have scribbled in his notebook that Desmond should be his “constant” if he had not already met him previously?
February 29th, 2008 at 4:12 PM
good grab with the pic Mike, and good question about Daniel’s “constant”.
It’s almost too complicated to try to figure out if it is time travel or just a vivid dream, but since he’s impacting other people around him, Penny, Daniel, etc, it would seem it’s more than just his conscious going in and out.
February 29th, 2008 at 4:35 PM
Just re-watched the episode. Another number connection: the Black Rock auction lot number was 2342.
February 29th, 2008 at 4:40 PM
Also in the auction, they said that the ledger was discovered among pirates’ stolen goods 7 years later in Madagascar
February 29th, 2008 at 5:00 PM
How else would his past self known what numbers to set on the machine? Or known about the rat? We know that those events took place in 1996, because that’s when he was in the military. Also, he told Penny he wouldn’t call her until 8 years in the future. I can understand what you are saying about remembering a past event, but I like the string theory someone mentioned. Kind of like the TV show “Quantum Leap.” His consciousness could leap around to any person within the timeline of his life. Desmond just “Quantum Leaped” into his own body.
February 29th, 2008 at 8:18 PM
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4bTvAUVPyLI
This video on youtube goes into a little Time Travel. It a Darma Training video. Check it out
February 29th, 2008 at 8:24 PM
Pause that video at 1:09 …
March 1st, 2008 at 3:08 AM
I thought this last episode was tremendous. One of the best episodes yet in the series.
First, the guy who plays Desmond (cusick) is a great actor. And Daniel Faraday’s character is a great actor too, so the acting was really probably at its best in this show.
Also, this show can be pretty dark and depressing at times, so I think to reintroduce Penelope and Desmond was great and badly needed to give the show a positive plotline.
The time travel, the island, all the theories make this show really interesting, but it’s the depth of the characters that make it one of the best shows of all time. Desmond is just a cool character and one of the most intriguing on the show.
Anyway, one of the best episodes ever in my opinion. This show is just amazing.