The "Getting Lost" series is about a Lost newbie's attempts to watch all five seasons of the show for the first time, just as the sixth (and final) one rolls along.

What I Watched on Week 11: Season 4, Episode 5 ("The Constant")

Well, I'm still here.  I took a plane to Singapore and it did not crash somewhere in the Pacific.  It landed like it should be, where it should be, and thus I enjoyed my vacation, although walking constantly for four days or so resulted in blisters on my feet.

So, yes, I did not watch Lost in the past six days.  I returned here and found myself busier than usual.  I did not bring my season 4 DVDs, either.  But before I packed up my bags and headed for the airport, I watched one episode that's going to keep my head rolling for life: "The Constant".

That episode freaking rocks.

The writers must love Henry Ian Cusick.  I've been watching Lost for most of the past three months, and most of the episodes that have mesmerized me to extreme levels always involve Desmond.  "Flashes Before Your Eyes" is one of my favorites from season 3, even if it left me initially confused--it just took the game to an entirely different level.  And then "The Constant" comes and all of what I thought was wiped clean, again.  I guess it's because Lost's idea of time travel was pretty new to me: you don't travel physically, but your consciousness does, and it's literally a death sentence unless you, of course, find yourself a constant to hold on to.

But I guess it wouldn't work if the stakes weren't so high.  I wouldn't have paid attention to Desmond and Penny's story if not for all those loose ends in the previous season.  Those two are just so loveable, much more lovable than any other romance on the show.  (Also helps that we're spared the dramatics that we saw with Jack and Kate, for instance.)  It somehow feels that the resolution of their relationship has a huge impact of whatever happens on the island--and I'm thinking that once they're together, everything will work out just fine, in its own cosmic way.

Of course, the end result is, that episode leads to all these questions--in my case, I carried all those thoughts to the plane, and I ended up thinking the plane will split up in the middle of the sea and I'll die because I was seated right beside the wing.  But I digress.

So, why Desmond?  Exposure to something radioactive or electromagnetic, Daniel says.  Sure, he got exposed to that anomaly first-hand when he flicked the fail-safe switch at the end of season 2.  That doesn't exactly explain why that George dude (did I get the name right?) suffered from the same thing when he got to the island, because by that time the anomaly should have stabilized a bit.  The same goes for Daniel, unless he was exposed to that sort some time after the events of 1996.

I'm thinking, however, that it's possible Daniel was exposed to the anomaly after getting on the island.  I don't think I could explain myself well, though.  Could it be that Daniel suffered from the warp-like condition when he got to the island in 2004, but realized it would happen as early as 1996, when Desmond explained stuff to him?  Could it be that Daniel started to switch times as early as 1996?  I know, that paragraph was hard to articulate.

Next, does this mean the events of "Flashes Before Your Eyes" was pretty much the same as "The Constant"?  That was time travel.  He was interacting with the lady at the jewelry store and Charlie.  Maybe Desmond was also switching times as early as 1996, but only went through the actual incident in 2004.  (Does that make my point any clear?)  And then, another question: what about his flashes of Charlie's death?  I started to think that they aren't flashes, but rather him switching times momentarily.  Then again, he can't be jumping to a different time: if it's 1996 and 2004, it has to be only 1996 and 2004, and nothing else.  And then there's Desmond also claiming that his flashes are incomplete and not arranged chronologically.

Finally, there's Penny's presence.  Thank you for pointing out what has slipped my mind, Mr. Aussie SNAG sir--Penny did know about the island, but didn't know where exactly, so she began looking for anomalies, and when she found it, she tried her best to make contact with it.  Maybe that's what the jewelry store lady was talking about: the universe course-correcting errors.  So Desmond and Penny aren't supposed to split?  And the split was a huge universal mistake?  If the two only reconciled in 2004, how come Penny was looking for Desmond as early as three years before?

Or maybe it was not a universal mistake, but more of an intended deflection in the pre-arranged course of history, if only it would result in whatever's happening on the island right now.  Collateral damage with all the necessary settlements, if I can use a legal metaphor loosely.  And that, my friends, is why I'm leaning towards the spiritual aspect of the show rather than the scientific one.  If I'm to keep track with this, though, I should start watching again.

The series so far:
Week 1: An Introduction and the First Six Episodes
Week 2: I Want My Australian Accent Back!
Week 3: The Week I Felt Like Locke
Week 4: All These Numbers Are Giving Me A Headache
Week 5: I Tried So Hard, Shannon, But I Can't Seem To Like You
Week 6: "I Guess It's All Relative Now, Huh?"
Week 7: The Science of Going in Circles
Week 8: You Know, Like in Cartoons, When You Watch Too Much and Your Eyes Swell?
Week 9: Can You Help Me Untangle This One, Brother?
Week 10: Killing Charlie Softly and Other Destiny-Related Issues





- Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image courtesy of ABC)