Episode Title: "The Constant"

Episode Number: Season 4, Eposode 5 (# 74 overall)
Production Number: 4.05
Air Date: 02/28/08

Flashback (Time Travel): Desmond


Synopsis: "Sayid and Desmond hit a bit of turbulence on the way to the freighter, which causes Desmond to experience some unexpected side effects." ABC Press Release.

Guest starring are Jeremy Davies as Daniel Faraday, Rebecca Mader as Charlotte, Jeff Fahey as Frank Lapidus, Alan Dale as Charles Widmore, Sonya Walger as Penelope "Penny" Widmore, Graham McTavish as sergeant, Darren Keefe as Billy, Edward Conery as auctioneer, Marc Vann as doctor, Fisher Stevens as George Minkowski, Kevin Durand as Keamy and Anthony Azizi as Omar.

"The Constant" was written by Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof and directed by Jack Bender.

2004:Desmond, Sayid, and Frank are in the helicopter. Frank is following the bearing Daniel told him to fly, making him fly into a thundercloud. The turbulence gets bad, and the helicopter moves from its bearing of 305.

1996: Desmond wakes up at an army barracks. The sergeant comes to him and shouts at him, asking why he did not immediately respond to orders. Desmond explains that he had a very vivid dream about flying in a helicopter. The sergeant says that at least it was a military dream. He commands the regiment to do double time as a consequence of Desmond's actions.

2004: Desmond awakes from his flash, and is confused. He takes off his seat belt, and starts to panic. Sayid tries to calm him down, but Desmond asks why he knows his name, and who Sayid is. Desmond takes out the photo of Penny, and the storm clears. Frank brings the helicopter down, and soon lands on The Kahana. Keamy and Omar run to Frank, wondering who Desmond and Sayid are. He says they are survivors of Flight 815.

1996: Desmond is standing in the rain, while the other soldiers are doing crunches in the rain. The sergeant yells at him, and makes everyone run. Afterwards, he tells another soldier about the "dreams" he is having. He remembers the photo of Penny, and goes to a phone booth to phone her. As he approaches the booth, someone bumps into him because of his disobedience. He reaches down to grab the money he drops, and he goes back to the freighter.

2004: Keamy and Omar take Desmond down to the sick bay. He is locked in, and Desmond panics, saying he is not supposed to be here. Then, he hears someone says "You have it too". Back at the beach, Jack and Juliet worry about the helicopter. Daniel says that perception of time on the Island might be different than what the time really is, and as long as Frank followed the bearing, everything will be fine. Jack asks what will happen if he doesn't, and Daniel replies that there might be some "side effects". Back at the freighter, Sayid asks Frank as to why they arrived on the boat at midday when they left at dusk, but Frank does not know why. Sayid asks for the phone, and trades his gun for it. He calls Jack, and says there is a problem with Desmond. Daniel asks if Desmond has been exposed to high levels of radiation or electromagnetism. He says that people can get confused, but it is not amnesia. In the sick bay, Minkowski fall asleep. Ray, the doctor walks in, and Minkowski wakes up, and says that it is going to happen to everyone. The doctor injects him with a sedative, and then goes to examine Desmond, who then goes back to the past.

1996: Desmond picks up the coins that he dropped, and went in he phone booth. He phones Penny, but she does not want to listen to him. She says that they have broken up ever since he went to join the army. She says that she has moved, and tells him not to phone her. She then hangs up, and his flash ends.

2004: Sayid gives the phone to Desmond, but the doctor pushes the alarm. Daniel, who is on the other side of the line, talks to Desmond about his time traveling. He asks Desmond what year he thinks it is, and he replies that it is 1996. He then asks where he is supposed to be, and he says in the army base. Daniel says to get a train to Oxford University the next time he goes back, because he will be there. He then says that when he finds him, he must tell him the setting 2.342 at 11Herzt, and finally to say that he "knows about Eloise". Omar and Keamy enter and stop the phone call, and Desmond goes back to 1996.

1996: Desmond meets Daniel at Oxford University, and tells him about the future. At first, Daniel believes that his colleagues are pulling a prank on him. Desmond then says the setting that he said in 2004. Daniel is still suspicious, but become interested in how he knows about that. He then says he know who's Eloise, and Daniel takes Desmond to his room. Daniel puts a radiation suit on him, and Desmond asks why he doesn't. Daniel says that he is not exposed to prolonged exposure, and Desmond says what does he put on his head, and Daniel laughs at the comment. He pulls a rat outside a cage, named Eloise, and places her in a maze. He then programs the settings Desmond said into a machine, and a bright ray comes out, hitting the rat. After the rat returns to itself, he opens the door, and the rat quickly moves the maze and to the end. Daniel is excited about the results, because he had not taught the rat to go through the maze. He successfully sent the rat to the future, and brought it back, already knowing the maze. Desmond asks why the future Daniel would send him to the present 1996 Daniel, and also says that he will go to an Island. Daniel replies "Why would I go to an Island?"

2004: Keamy takes the phone from Desmond, and takes Frank out the room, saying that the captain wants him. Desmond tries to get back to the past, by shining a light at his eyes. Minkowski wakes up from his past. He says he is the communications officer. He says before he was strapped down, he used to get a flashing light on the console, but where under orders not to answer the call, which with coming from Penelope Widmore.

1996: Desmond wakes up in Daniel's room. Despite being gone for 5 minutes, he was actually gone for 75 minutes. Desmond notices the Eloise had died, and asks how. Daniel says its brain short circuited, because it could not tell the difference between the past and the present, because she had no anchor, no constant. Daniel says Desmond needs a constant, and he grabs the phone, saying he is going to call his constant, but the number is disconnected.

2004: Desmond tells Sayid he must contact Penny. Minkowski says that two days earlier, someone sabotaged the communications, and have not been able to access the mainland. Sayid asks to show the way to the radio room, and how they will get out. Minkowski notices the door has been opened, and says they seem to have "a friend" on the boat. Desmond notices Minkowski's nose starts to bleed.

1996: Bider #755, Charles Widmore, is trying to buy auction lot #2342, the journal of the first mate, Tovard Hanso, of the Black Rock. He wins the auction for £380,000. Mr. Widmore sees Desmond, and agrees to talk to him. In the bathroom, Desmond tells him that it is vital that he gets in contact with Penny. Mr. Widmore gives Desmond her address, after calling him a coward. Desmond is about to turn off the sink, and his flash ends.

2004: Minkowski, Desmond, and Sayid head to the radio room. Minkowski says it becomes quicker, and is getting harder. He says that he and another crew member, Brandon, wanted to see the Island, so they took another boat, but Brandon started acting strangely, so they turned back. He died later, and the same thing started happening to him. Sayid starts fixing the equipment, and Desmond looks at a calender, December 24, 2004. Desmond's noses starts to bleed, and Minkowski starts bleeding, and behaving erratically. He then says "I can't get back" and dies. Sayid asks what happened to him, and Desmond says "The same thing that's going to happen to me."

1996: Desmond wakes up to an overflowing sink. He gets up, and goes to Penny's house. She opens the door, and finally lets Desmond in. Desmond asks for her phone number, but Penny won't let him have it. He promises he will not phone for 8 years, and she finally gives it to him: 7946 0893.

2004: Desmond returns just as Sayid finished fixing the phone. He tells him the phone number. Penny finally picks it up, and is overjoyed to hear it is Desmond. She is currently setting up for Christmas, and says she's been looking for him for three years, and says she heard Charlie say he is fine. They say they love each other, and the battery dies out. Desmond thanks Sayid, and says that is enough. Back at the beach, Daniel is looking at his journal. He turns to a page with big red writing on it: "If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be my constant."

OMG Moments:

• Desmond believes that the year is 1996, and did not know who Sayid is.
• Desmond gets a hold of Penny, and she knows about the Island.
• Daniel remembers Desmond's visit in 1996, and he is his constant.

New Clues:

• Daniel Faraday was a professor at Oxford before he became a passenger on the freighter.
• Mr. Widmore now owns the captain's log from the Black Rock, the information in the log had only been known to the prior owner.

Questions:

• Why did Desmond and George go through the mind-time-warp?
• Was it because of their previous radiation exposures?
• Will Daniel also go through a mind-time-warp?
• Where was Desmond's present conscious when his 1996 conscious took over?

Trivia:

• Desmond's conscious was shut down in the opposite time/reality he was in. For example, if his conscious was in present time body, his conscious in 1996 would be shut down and visa versa.

Theories: