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.

Widmore thinks the world of Desmond, has paintings of scale with black & white rocks

Desmond enters Charles Widmore's office in Los Angeles and is met by Widmore with a bit hug.

Once we come back, we see Desmond staring at a model sail boat on Widmore's wall, possibly having a slight memory of his boat in the original timeline. Widmore is on the phone telling someone to get Charlie arraigned and get him out of there.

Widmore tells Desmond that his son is a musician (Daniel Faraday/Widmore) who is playing his wife's (Eloise Hawking/Widmore) charity event with the band Driveshaft. He asks Desmond to keep an eye on Charlie and make sure that he makes it to the event.

Widmore tells Desmond that he has a great life because he has no family, commitments or attachments, but Desmond doesn't seem convinced that it's so great. Widmore then opens a bottle of MacCutcheon's whiskey and shares a shot with Desmond, telling him that "Nothing's too good for you."

So clearly, this entire scenario is backwards. Instead of loathing Desmond and deeming a shot of MacCutcheon's being worth more than his life, Widmore loves Desmond and says nothing is too good for him. And there's so much more to come.

Also, if you look on the wall in Widmore's office, there are two paintings of a scale with black and white rocks on either side. One has a white frame and the other is black. In both of them, the rocks on each side seem fairly balanced.

Desmond crosses paths with Hurley & Claire, Minkowski is his driver

At LAX, we see Desmond in a daze, staring at his reflection in the Oceanic flight status board. Hurley walks by him and says that the bags for 815 are at carousel 4 (one of the numbers).

At baggage claim, Desmond helps Claire with her bad since she is struggling to retrieve it. He asks her if she's having a boy or girl, and she reveals to him that she doesn't know. He offers Claire a ride but she tells him that someone is picking her up (as we know, that didn't happen). As she's walking away, Desmond tells her confidently that she's having a boy. He seems to remember this from the original timeline.

As Desmond walks further, he approaches none other than George Minkowski, who introduces himself as his driver. Desmond reveals that he wants to go straight to the office and that he was in Sydney closing a deal for the boss (Charles Widmore). Minkowski tells Desmond that if he needs anything while he's there, just let him know (it's a bit like Matthew Abbadon's offer to Locke in the season 5 episode "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham"). Then Minkowski awkwardly offers to get Desmond a prostitute, which he quickly turns down.

Electromagnetism moves Desmond's consciousness to sideways timeline

As Simmons' charred body is taken out of the box, Widmore stops to look at him and then proceeds to have his men force Desmond inside. They hit Desmond in the face and then tie him to a chair in the center of the room between the solenoids.

Widmore tells Desmond that he should be fine if everything he's been told about him is true. One guy asks Desmond if he has any keys or changed on him, which he doesn't. Widmore tells Desmond that after this is over, he's going to ask him to make a sacrifice, which prompts Desmond to ask what Widmore knows about sacrifice. Widmore tells Desmond that his son (Daniel) died for the island and that his daughter (Penny) hates him and he's never seen his grandson (Charlie).

Widmore and the other men leave, locking Desmond inside. Desmond freaks out and breaks free from the chair. Inside, Jin demands answers from Widmore. Widmore says Desmond is the only person he knows of that survived a catastrophic electromagnetic event and he needs to know if Desmond can do it again.

Seamus powers up the system, but hesitates in flipping the switch. Widmore comes over and pulls the three levers causing the solenoids in the box to light up. The gauss meter pushes past the maximum reading of 200, the picohertz reaches about 174 and the EMF reading is 242.7958.

Suddenly, as Desmond stands between the solenoids, there is a bright flash and we see the sky shot from the Oceanic 815 window from "LA X." We cut to Desmond standing at the flight status board at LAX.

So Desmond is transported from the main island timeline to the sideways timeline. But what exactly does Widmore have planned on the island if hitting Desmond with a big dose of electromagnetism is just a test for a bigger event later? Presumably, Widmore has heard from someone that Desmond survived the implosion of the Swan Station. Also, what is the sacrifice that Widmore wants Desmond to make? It certainly seems ominous.

Simmons is charred in the electromagnetic device, Widmore doesn't care

After Desmond attacks Widmore, he insists that Zoe start a test, even though she says it's not ready. Jin follows her to the Hydra Station's generator room, passing a makeshift wooden box connected to some heavy duty cables.

Once they're in the generator room, Seamus and many others panic as they prepare to set up the test a day ahead of schedule. Seamus says they need to get a functioning E.M. field. When the generator is turned on, it fails. Seamus sends a man named Simmons outside to the box to check the contacts on the solenoids.

Seamus turns to a white rabbit in a cage that is named Angstrom and tells it that it will be going into the box next. Anders Jonas Ångström was a Swedish physicist who studied terrestial magnetism, light and optical phenomena.

One of the technicians discovers it's a bad breaker and throws the switch as Simmons is inside the box examining the coils. The solenoids emit a bright light and Simmons is tossed across the box. The cameras go out and then the system is powered down. when Jin, Seamus and Zoe arrive at the box, they see the charred remains of Simmons' body.

Charles Widmore comes to the box and is unfazed by Simmons' body. Desmond is brought to the entrance and looks terrified of what could be coming next.

Desmond learns he's back on the island, attacks Widmore

Desmond wakes up in the infirmary on Hydra Island to see Zoe standing over him. Desmond is disoriented, but demands to see Penny. Charles Widmore enters and tells him that Penny and his son Charlie are safe, but he can't see them because he has brought him back to the island.

Upon learning this, you can see rage building inside Desmond who then attacks Charles Widmore with his IV. Charles' head is cut and he leaves the room.