Hurley blows up the Black Rock + Ben ponders Ilana's death

As the beach camp gang make their way across the island towards the Black Rock, Ben ponders Ilana's death. He says that she was handpicked by Jacob and trained to protect the candidates. He continues saying shortly after she told the candidate who they were, the island was done with her and she died. He says he wonders what will happen the rest of them once the island is finished with them.

As the group reaches the Black Rock, Richard notices that Hurley is missing. Suddenly they hear him screaming "Run!" and "Go!" as he runs away from the Black Rock which is destroyed in a massive explosion. Everyone is thrown to the ground as pieces of the ship rain down around them.

Richard screams at Hurley asking him why he did that and Hurley simply says that he was protecting the group. Richard says that now they're all dead and walks off.

Miles goes to Hurley and asks him why he blew up the Black Rock. Hurley tells him that Michael told him to and that people come to him and yell at him after they die. When Miles questions whether he always does what the dead people say, and Hurley replies "Dead people are more reliable than alive people."

Well, that's likely the last we'll be seeing of the Black Rock, at least in the present. We've been there a lot this season, so it will be nice to move on.

Desmond approaches Hurley at Mr. Cluck's, pushes him towards Libby

At one of the Mr. Cluck's locations, Hurley enters and demands a family size bucket of chicken. He sits at a table and makes his way through a lot of chicken, when he spots Desmond staring at him from across the restaurant.

Hurley calls out to him and Desmond says that he remembers him from Oceanic 815. Desmond sits down and comments on the large pile of chicken bones in front of Hurley. Hurley says that he eats when he's depressed and Desmond asks what the girl's name is. Hurley proceeds to tell him about the failed blind date and Libby approaching him, saying that they already knew each other.

Desmond leans in and asks Hurley if he believed Libby. Hurley says that he kind of did. Desmond tells him that maybe he should try to find out where Libby thinks he knows him from.

Then cashier calls out "number 42!," which is the number of Demond's order (and one of the numbers). Desmond says that it was nice bumping into Hurley and leaves.

So it seems that Desmond might be acting a bit like Jacob, pushing Hurley towards Libby like Jacob pushed people towards the island. The question is, what is Demond's goal?

Hurley takes Ilana's bag of Jacob's ashes, supports Richard's plan

At the beach camp, Hurley looks through Ilana's things and finds a copy of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's book Notes From the Underground in Russian. He then discovers the bag of ashes that Ilana collected from the firepit where Jacob's body burned at the Taweret statue (the four-toed statue). He looks inside, and decides to keep the bag.

In the group, as Richard prepares to go get more dynamite, Jack starts to question his plan. Hurley pipes in and supports Richard's plan and seems sincere when he convinces Jack to trust him. As we know, Hurley has his own plan, but we'll get to that later.

It seems that Hurley is being really smart when he takes Jacob's ashes, which will quite possibly come in handy for warding of Locke or the smoke monster some time in the future.

Locke carving a large stick, Sayid takes him to Desmond

At Locke's camp, Locke is shaving down a large stick, which Sawyer questions him about. Locke says "I'm not sure what it's gonna be yet, James. When the time is right, it'll tell me." That's similar to the story Locke told Boone about Michaelangelo creating the statue David in the season 1 episode "Hearts and Minds."

Sawyer questions why they're just sitting around, doing nothing to get Jin back. Locke tells him that they're waiting for Jack, Hurley and Sun to show up, because they'll need all of them to be able to leave the island, just like when they came back to the island.

Sayid then returns to the camp and asks to speak to Locke alone. Sayid takes him into the jungle where he shows Locke that he has Desmond tied to a tree. Desmond still looks absolutely content and Locke looks surprised and pleasantly intrigued.

Ilana is blown up by Black Rock dynamite

Ilana returns from the Black Rock with four sticks of dynamite in her bag which she says is enough to destroy the cockpit and all of the instruments. When Hurley questions the plan, Ilana gets into a bit of tizzy, saying that they have to trust her because she's been training her entire life to protect the candidates.

Ilana begins to recklessly put water bottles into the same bag as the dynamite. Richard agrees that this is what they need to do, but when Hurley says that Jacob never told him that they should blow up the plane, Ilana has a bit of old Ben freak out where she says that everything she's doing is for the best interest of the candidates. Suddenly, she drops her bag to ground, and in a giant explosion, Ilana is no more.

Hurley sees this as Michael's prediction of people dying because of him coming true.

Ilana being suddenly killed was a hell of a way to say goodbye to a series regular. We never learned much about her, but I'd guess that we'll be seeing her again and at least getting a little more info on her relationship with Jacob.

Libby approaches Hurley at Spanish Johnny's, says they are soul mates

Hurley sits alone at the Mexican restaurant Spanish Johnny's eating tortilla chips. It's obvious he's been sitting there waiting for his date Rosalita for a while.

Suddenly, none other that Libby appears and she knows his name. Hurley is dumbstruck, and thinks that she is Rosalita before she tells him that she spotted him from across the restaurant. She asks Hurley if he believes in that two people can be connected, like soul mates. He hesitantly responds yes and then she says "You don't remember me do you?"

Before they can continue, Dr. Books (Hurley's old doctor from Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute) shows up and pulls Libby away. Libby tries to explain that Hurley is an old friend, but Dr. Brooks takes her away, apologizes to Hurley for the intrusion as they leave.

Hurley has clearly been affected and follows them outside where he sees Dr. Brooks help Libby into a Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute van. He waves at her as she leaves and looks determined to see her again.

So how does Libby seem to have such a vivid memory of Hurley? Does her condition have something to do with her memory of the timeline and is this why she was staring at him in the flashback at Santa Rosa in the season 2 episode "Dave."

Hurley receives a stern warning from Michael at Libby's grave

Hurley visits Libby's grave, exchanging the dead flower for a new one. He talks to her out loud, telling her that a lot people come to talk to him after he died, but she never has and he wishes she would.

Ilana approaches him to say that they are leaving to go to the Black Rock to get dynamite to blow up the Ajira plane. He questions the plan, and Ilana is unsure too, but says it's their only option. She then asks about the grave and Hurley tells her about their date that never was.

Moments after Ilana leaves, Hurley hears the whispers and suddenly Michael appears. Clearly, this the last person Hurley would want to see, especially at Libby's grave. Michael says he's there to stop Hurley from getting everyone killed since people are listening to him now. Hurley asks him why he should trust him, considering that he murdered Ana Lucia and Libby. Michael says that if they move forward with their plan to blow up the plane, people are going to die.

Jack appears which causes Michael to disappear.

Hurley receives man of the year award from Pierre Chang, with slideshow

"Everybody Loves Hugo" opens with a slideshow of Hurley's accomplishments in the community, narrated by the familiar voice of Pierre Chang. During the slideshow, we see Hurley as baby (Jorge Garcia confirmed the third photo is him as a baby), the Mr. Cluck's locations around the world and Hurley's various philanthropy including children's homes, hospitals and more. There is also a photo of Hurley in a Humane Society shirt holding a Chihuahua (the dog is Jorge's dog Nunu).

Hurley is introduced by Pierre because he donated the money to open Hugo Reyes Palentology Wing at the Golden State Natural History Museum. As Hurley stands up after being introduced, he receives a standing ovation from the crowd, but his mother who is sitting next to him does not look pleased.

Outside, Hurley is holding his award, which is shaped like a Tyrannosaurus. His mother, Carmen, chastises him for not having a girlfriend and tells him that she has set up a date for him with Grandpa Tito's neighbor's daughter Rosalita. Hurley is skeptical, but goes along with it.

Desmond gets a date with Penny, asks Minkowski for 815 manifest

Once again, Desmond wakes up, this time in the stadium. Penny tells him that he passed out when he shook her hand. Penny then asks him if they've met before, and Desmond says that he thinks he would have remembered. He then asks her out for coffee and she agrees to meet him at a near-by shop in an hour. Both Desmond and Penny seem quite enthralled about meeting.

Desmond returns to the limousine and tells Minkowski that he found what he was looking for. He asks to me taken to the coffee shop and then makes an interesting request. He asks Minkowski to get him the manifest of Oceanic 815 because he needs to show them all something.

Is Desmond now going to make it his mission to show the 815 passengers visions of the previous timeline? If so, how will this knowledge affect the passengers and will it cause a cross in the original timeline.

Desmond is now eager to help in original timeline, Sayid kills two men & takes him

When Desmond wakes back up in the original timeline, alive and well, Seamus and Zoe are both shocked, but Charles Widmore doesn't seem surprised at all. A nurse/medic starts to check his condition, but he waves her off, saying he's fine and asking Widmore to help him up.

Widmore tells Desmond he was only unconscious for a few seconds. He then starts to apologize, for putting Desmond through the test, but Desmond stops him, saying it's okay because he understands now. Widmore seems confused, but Desmond seems very zen and asks, "When do we start?"

Zoe and two other men start to walk Desmond through the Hydra Station grounds. She asks him what happened to make him go from beating Widmore about 20 minutes ago to being Mr. Cooperative. He says a lot can happen in 20 minutes. She says that the machine fried his brain. Suddenly, Sayid appears and kills the two other men. He points a gun a Zoe, but tells her to run. Sayid tells Desmond that Widmore's team are dangerous and they need to go. Desmond, Mr. Cooperative, says "lead the way" and follows Sayid.

So what exactly does Desmond now know in this timeline that makes him so zen? Does he know exactly what he needs to do, or is he just going with the flow?

Desmond meets Penny at the stadium, moves back to original timeline

Desmond arrives at the infamous stadium where he met Jack in a flashback of the original timeline. He sees Penny, doing the same tour de stade that Jack and Desmond were doing at the end of season 1.

Desmond slow approaches her and has a big smile on his face when he introduces himself. He shakes her hand, and at that moment he flashes back to the original timeline, in the electromagnetic box, alive and well.

It seems that this pivotal meeting between Desmond and his constant, Penny, pushed him back into the original timeline. Could it be because he achieved what he was destined to achieve in the other timeline to accomplish what he needs to in the original timeline?

Daniel tells Desmond how to find Penny, shows him quantum mechanics in journal

Desmond returns to the limo to have a drink after his discouraging conversation with Eloise Hawking. As he's telling Minkowski to just drive around, Daniel Faraday (known here as Daniel Widmore) knock on his window and asks for a talk.

First, Daniel asks Desmond if he believes in love at first sight and proceeds to tell him about the girl he saw at the museum with blue eyes who was eating a chocolate bar. Right away, we know he's talking about Charlotte. He says that when he saw her, it was like he already loved her.

He says that's when thing got weird and later that night he woke up and wrote a complex quantum mechanics equation in his journal. In this timeline, he's a musician, not a physicist, so he had to take it a friend to find out that only someone who had been studying physics their entire life could write the equations.

He then explains that if something terrible is about to happen and the only way to stop it would be to release a large amount of energy, like setting off a nuclear bomb. He says that what if their current life is not supposed to be their life and that somehow they changed things. He believes that he may have already set off a nuclear bomb.

Desmond is just confused and doesn't understand what any of this has to do with him until Daniel mentions Penny. Daniel tells Desmond that he felt love and that's why he's looking for Penny. He then reveals that Penny is his half-sister and can tell Desmond exactly when and where to find her.

So, Daniel seems to have had a fairly significant vision of the original timeline, though he doesn't discuss the specifics. But he is able to push Desmond into a direction which may push the two timelines closer together.

Eloise Hawking scolds Desmond for trying to find Penny

As he's leaving the hospital, Desmond is on the phone with Charles Widmore who berates him for letting Charlie get away. Since Desmond doesn't get what the big deal is, Widmore tells him that he should be the one to tell Mrs. Widmore the bad news.

Desmond arrives at the site of the charity event, and Minkowski wishes Desmond good luck meeting Charles' wife for the first time. We cut to Eloise Hawking, sporting some massive hair, who is scolding some of the catering staff about the placement of butter knives.

When Desmond approaches her, he passes by Daniel Faraday (or Daniel Widmore in this timeline). As Desmond introduces himself to Eloise, she looks flabbergasted, like he's not supposed to be there and this isn't supposed to happen. Desmond tells her that Drive Shaft isn't going to be able to perform and she completely understands and doesn't seem worried about it at all. She says "what happened, happened," one of Daniel's infamous lines from season 5.

As Desmond leaves, he hears two of the event coordinators calling out a list of guests who are attending and he stops cold when he hears the name Penny Milton. He asks to see the list, but Eloise angrily interferes telling him that the list is confidential.

Eloise pulls Desmond aside and tells him to stop what he is doing because someone has clearly affected his way of thinking which is a violation. She says that he needs to stop looking for whatever he is looking for (Penny) because he has what he has always wanted, Charles Widmore's approval. When he questions how she knows what he should do, she says "Because I bloody do." She says he can't see the list because he's "not ready yet."

So what exactly is Desmond not ready for yet and how does Eloise, even in this timeline, know what Desmond should and shouldn't do? Also, her still being alive and off of the island along with Charles in 2004 suggests that the island sank to the bottom of the ocean after the hydrogen bomb detonated since she and Charles were both on the island at the time it was detonated. So once again the question is posed, when and how did the island sink?

Desmond crosses paths with Jack at St. Sebastian's, Charlie makes a break for it

Desmond tries with no luck to find out where Charlie is from a nurse when Jack walks by. Desmond recognizes him from the plane and asks Jack for help finding Charlie. Jack seems unconvinced that someone from the plane ended up at this hospital, when Charlie tears down the hall past them trying to make an escape.

Desmond takes off after Charlie and finally corners him in a waiting area. Charlie says that he's running because no one at the hospital can help him. He also says that he wasn't trying to kill Desmond, he was trying to show him something. Desmond grabs Charlie's hands, presumably looking for the message "Not Penny's Boat" written on them, but it's obviously not there.

Desmond then asks Charlie who Penny is, but Charlie doesn't know. Charlie tells him that he's not going to play the rock show because "none of this matters." He says "All that matters is that we felt it." As Charlie leaves, he tells Desmond that he should go find Penny.

Desmond has flashes of Penny & Charlie during M.R.I.

At the St. Sebastian's Hospital, Desmond is being asked a series of questions by the doctor. When she asks if he's having hallucinations, he hesitates and says he's not sure if he's had hallucinations. The doctor says that his C.A.T. scan was inconclusive and she's going to send him downstairs to get an M.R.I. He objects, wanting to find Charlie, but she insists on the M.R.I.

Downstairs, the M.R.I. technician asks him if he has any keys or change, echoing what one of Widmore's men asked him before putting him into the electromagnetic box. The technician warns him that the machine will be loud and gives him earplugs. He also gives Desmond "the button," which he should push if he needs to stop the machine. Desmond seems to respond to the term "the button," possibly having a recollection of the button in the Swan Station he pressed every 108 minutes.

Once the machine starts, it seems that the electromagnetism of the M.R.I. triggers a response in Desmond causing him to see a vision Charlie's "Not Penny's Boat" message again as well as many images of Penny and his son Charlie. As he sees Penny and his son, Desmond gets emotional and suddenly starts pressing the emergency button and screams to be let out of the machine. He rips off his restraints and goes to find Charlie.

Desmond has vision of "Not Penny's Boat" after Charlie crashes car into marina

In the car, Desmond and Charlie hear Drive Shaft's hit song "You All Everybody" on the radio. Desmond is not impressed by the song. Charlie then gives Desmond the choice of either getting out of the car or to let Charlie show him what he's been talking out. Charlie then grabs the steering wheel forcing the car into the marina, the same one where Desmond and Penny docked their boat and where he was shot by Ben.

After the car is submerged in the water, Desmond frees himself but Charlie just sits in the passenger seat with his eyes closed. Desmond makes his way through the open window and surfaces, but only takes a few deep breaths before going back for Charlie.

Underwater, Desmond tries to open Charlie's door, but can't get it open. Charlie opens his eyes slowly, turns toward Desmond and places his palm on the glass. Suddenly, in flashes, Desmond sees Charlie from the season three finale "Through the Looking Glass," pressing his hand against the flooding com room of the Looking Glass Station that says "Not Penny's Boat."

After a moment, Desmond snaps to, opens the door and brings Charlie to the surface.

So it seems to have taken a life-altering experience in order to cause Desmond to have a clear vision of the original timeline, much like Charlie's almost dying on the plane which was similar to him being on the brink of death after Ethan hung him from a tree in season one. What does it all mean though?

Charlie walks into traffic, tells Desmond about vision of Claire

Desmond arrives at the court house in a silver car with the license plate 2SBI653. As he approaches the door, it seems like he looks at his own reflection again, this time in the door. Charlie and a lawyer emerge from the building. Charlie takes his person items including his DS ring, watch and wallet, then darts out into traffic, narrowly avoiding numerous vehicles. He enters a bar called Jax across the street from the courthouse and Desmond follows him.

Inside, Desmond and Charlie start talking, and Charlie asks Desmond if he's happy and if he's been in love. Desmond gives a flippant response saying he is happy and he's been in love thousands of times, but Charlie's not buying it. Charlie then asks if he's experienced "conscious-altering love." An interesting question for one whose consciousness jumps through time and timelines.

Charlie proceeds to tell Desmond about the incident on the plane and that he made a break for the bathroom because the marshall, Edward Mars, knew he had drugs. When he was choking on the bag of heroin and was "slipping into the abyss," he had a vision of Claire. He says that he and Claire are together, in love and always have been. Just as he's "being engulfed," he opens his eyes to see Jack crouched over him on the plane. Charlie says that in that moment where he saw Claire, was "something real" and "the truth."

Desmond then gives Charlie the option of coming with him and having a luxurious afternoon or exterminating his musical career. Charlie says that doesn't seem much like a choice, but in a Jacob-esque moment, Desmond says "There's always a choice, brother."

It's interesting that Charlie seems to think, and possibly rightly so, that the original timeline where he saw Claire was the real truth. It's also interesting that Desmond still calls Charlie "brother," considering that is something he picked up at the monastery. Did he still spend time there or is that a bit of his original timeline seeping through.