Desmond Hume/Theories

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Theories about Desmond Hume

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Stated as questions or possibilities (avoid question marks, "Maybe", "I think", etc). More appropriate for another article. Illogical or previously disproven. Proven by canon source, and moved to main article. Speculative and lacking any evidence to support arguments. Responding to another theory (use discussion page instead). This does not include responses that can stand alone as its own theory. Usage of an indented bullet does not imply the statement is a response. See the Lostpedia theory policy for more details.

Contents 1 Inspiration for Character 2 Parentage/Identity 3 Jacob (Disproven) 4 Importance of "jumps" to Desmond's History 5 "Time Travel" 6 The Discharge and possible transformation 7 "Premonitions" & possible psychic abilities 8 Miscellaneous 9 Connections to Watchmen 10 Connections to The Dark Tower 11 Differences between Survivor's vs Desmond's Timetravel

Inspiration for Character

An unfortunate amateur British sailor named Donald Crowhurst has some interesting parallels to the character Desmond in lost.

• Both unsuccessfully competed in an around the world sailing competition
• Donald Crowhurst apparently went insane creating a philosophy of the human condition centered on the number 243 that would some how allow for an escape from his impossible situation.

Parentage/Identity

Through time travel Charlie forgets his name and becomes Desmond.

• • The Hume family returns to the island but arrive in the 60's. Because Desmond lived on the island, he dies from temporal displacement, unable to find a constant between his days pushing the button, and his time off the island. Penny dies to either because she was born on the island or she was killed by the monster. Charlie survives. Eliose, haveing seen the whole thing, takes in Charlie and give him to a family. Charlie grows up to be Desmond.
    • Eliose said that the island wasn't through with desmond yet 316. He will return.
    • We have seen nothing of Desmond's childhood.
    • This is why Elloise keeps setting Desmond to his Island destiny
      • Se did the same with Daniel.
      • She makes him choose his destiny in Flashes Before Your Eyes.
      • She tells him he will go back 316
      • She visits Desmond at the hospital when he is shot.
    • Desmond and Penny are Adam and Eve.
    • Charlie Hume may be Locke's step brother that he mentions to Boone.
• This is POSSIBLE genetically. Adult Desmond passes 1/2 his genes to his charlie, Penny passes 1/2 her genes to her son all in all Charlie/Desmond ends up with some Genes from his penny and some from himself.(genes are like cards shuffled in a game) this would wrap up the time loop nicely
  • Where did the other half oth Desmond's genes come from?
    • They always existed in a time loop like Richard's compass
  • haha he did his mom lol

Jacob (Disproven)

• • There seems to be a theory for every character on the show being Jacob.
    • Maybe Jacob is a hodge-podge incarnation of every character then, haha.
    • They both have the Jesus/hippy look going on to, plus it's better than the Jacob is Ms. Hawking theory that is STILL up!
      • Maybe Jacob is Desmond's father.
        • Has been referred to as “The Constant”. If anything has been constant on the island, it’s been Jacob
        • Also as explained by Faraday, the Losties are the “variables”.
        • The rules of time travel “don’t apply to him”
        • Desmond will return to the island to protect Penny from future possible attacks from Ben. Ultimately, he will have the chance to continue to push the button to prevent the crash of the oceanic flight.
        • Though his main goal is to protect Penny, essentially what he wants is for her to be safe and to be with her
        • This leads him to constantly trying to “fix” how things happen to reach that *****The show began with the crash and will end with Desmond preventing it from *****Eloise said that pushing the button was the single greatest thing he ever did, but she wasn’t referring to what he’s done in the past we have seen yet, his decision to push the button theoretically trapping himself on the island in order to save himself and more importantly (to him) Penny
        • From what Desmond has seen, Locke is more likely to follow faith over science, hence him choosing him over Widmore and Ben
        • He never wanted either of those two to have any control since ultimately they caused this dilemma for him. Widmore sent him on this trip originally and Ben attacked Penny
        • “Help me “ means nothing more than the statement. He believes Locke can help him achieve his final goal
        • As stated Jacob was not cast until Season four, which is right after we viewers find out Desmond is the constant and that he is not bound by the rules of time travel.

Importance of "jumps" to Desmond's History

• Desmond's "jumps" are responsible for his breakup with Penny (shown, when he 'remembers' the photo from the future) and his discharge from the army (implied). Desmond took off from the base during basic training (presumably when he should have been STAYING at the base). This occurred on a day that he was already getting into a lot of trouble with his drill sergeant and probably resulted in his dishonorable discharge and imprisonment (although it is possible something more severe led to his incarceration).
  • Desmond said he had two days leave when he called Penny, and everything he did during the flashes back to 1996 probably took place within those two days. His discharge was due to something outside of these flashes.

"Time Travel"

• Desmond has yet to push the button that Mrs. Hawking predicted; he has only fulfilled one of her prophecies: turning the fail safe key. Therefore, the button in the Swan is not the button Desmond is supposed to push to do a "great" thing.
  • The creators have made sure to refer to the computer & numbers as "pushing the button" many times -I just saw it in Dave again. Surely this is what Hawking was referring to and she said that turning that key is the "only truly great thing you will ever do" - in other words one thing. This is NOT a two-part prophecy she is giving. It's not a prophecy at all, its history of the future.
• Desmond has gained a 4th-dimensional presence -- now his periodic prescience spans his entire life, as he basically exists in the present in all possible moments on the timeline. We only saw part of what he now remembers experiencing in the past -- knowledge of the future. Other aspects of Desmond's timeline may now be different.
  • Agreed, Desmond will remember bits and pieces (as he sees it) but in reality someone (e.g. Faraday) interferes in his past and "changes things." Not really changing it though. Desmond's selective amnesia and recall is indicative of the bits and pieces being "changed." It should be noted though, as Faraday puts it "you can't change the past" so Desmond lives ONE timeline and remembers pieces or has flashes at key moments . He remembered Faraday @ the Swan at the same "time" Faraday was talking to him on the island -thats why the scenes were shown in sequence- we know time is skipping on the island while it is also passing normally outside the island. The memories aren't "activated" until they are made- that's the best I can put it in 3D speech.
    • That doesn't make any sense. When Faraday gives his message to Desmond, only hours have passed from Faraday's perspective. three years have passed from Desmond's perspective before Desmond remembers.
      • The island is jumping through time, not Faraday and company. After Ben turns the wheel, think of all the characters as still being on the same timeline. Those on the island are not traveling through time, the island is traveling through time right under there feet. Therefore when Faraday finds Desmond at the Swan and tells him that he needs to find Faraday's mother, Desmond instantly receives the "memory" in real-time when he is on his boat in 2008. The Faraday outside the Swan talking to Desmond is 2008 Faraday, telling 2004 Desmond to find his mother. At this very moment 2008 Desmond wakes up on his boat with this new memory as it has literally just occurred.
      • Actually it does make sense. Daniel and the others are unstuck in time, moving to various points in the Island's timeline with each flash. This means that they're also traveling in space, at least during some flashes. In order to travel almost instantaneously from one point to another, they have to be traveling close to the speed of light. Time slows down for those traveling near the speed of light. So what seems like 3 years to a person sitting still (or traveling at normal speeds, like Desmond) might seem only like a few days or weeks to someone like Dan, who is spending a lot of time traveling near the speed of light.
      • Alternatively, it can also make sense by considering that since Daniel et al are unstuck in time, they don't experience time the same way Desmond, and others in the normal world do. Kind of like in Narnia, where 1 year in earth time can be either 4 years in Narnia time or 1000 years in Narnia time. They just aren't connected in time at all. If the Island works this way, when skipping, then a short time on the Island can certainly correspond to a longer time in the real world.
    • It's always been that Faraday spoke to Desmond at The Swan's back entrance; Desmond's chronologically altered conscience and special connection to Daniel allowed Faraday to trigger another instance of Desmond's past state of being consuming his consciousness (like in The Constant) in 2008 when he is sleeping in his boat at an exact moment that would set course a chain of events that leads Desmond arriving at Eloise Hawking's door at the very same time as Jack, Ben, and Sun and will ultimately result in Desmond making his return to the Island. Daniel caused this by personally (rather than Sawyer) knocking on the Swan's door. The past Desmond's memories are treated in the same manner as his experiences in The Constant and Flashes Before Your Eyes.
• The Many Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Physics should be consulted by Desmondian Theorists, whether or not the writers are in fact utilizing quantum theory. If Werner Heisenberg and Neils Bohr were correct, it is legitimately plausible that Charlie Pace and Desmond Hume are both temporally immortal.
• Desmond has become "unstuck in time" like Billy Pilgrim.when Desmond was inside the swan he was pushing the button keeping time from moving past 1996 but since it would eventually get past that point or Desmond would he already has a future.

so he should be able to remember everything that happens up to the time in the real world, when he turns the key time starts again and his mind merges with the current times consciousness.

• Desmond isn't traveling through time. If time is cyclical, then whatever happened at the Swan could be allowing Desmond to remember things he has already experienced. Ms. Hawking may know so much because she has been doing the same thing longer than Desmond. Also, Desmond has yet to have a premonition about something that he wasn't involved with.
• Desmond can no longer see into the future. (evidence: he said to Sayid that he was 'perfect') ""
• Another way to consider the matter of Faraday's encounter with Desmond is to think of its having occurred a little less than two years before it happened relative to Faraday's non-shifting baseline date of 12/31/04 - 1/1/05, compared to, say, sometime in early 2002 shortly after the crash of the Beechcraft and the 3rd Time Shift. This time gap might exactly correspond to the one between Faraday's baseline and when Desmond has his memory of the encounter in late 2007, after which they sail to England and then, L.A. by January 2008; he and Penelope would not fly for fear of being picked up by her father's figurative "radar."

The Discharge and possible transformation

• The discharge has turned Desmond into a long awaited savior, who is the individual the Others are referring to as "Him".
  • Was not simply transported from the Hatch after the discharge, but actually reborn for the purpose of doing or revealing something important. New Biblical citations on Eko's stick allude to baptism and rebirth.
  • Such a rebirth echoes Tolkien's Lord of the Rings where Gandalf is reborn as Gandalf the White. He subsequently has greater power and now knows his purpose is to fulfill his destiny of ridding the world of Sauron (The dark lord)
  • Desmond has done the "great thing." David Hume's quote/philosophy is, roughly, "the future is under no obligation to mimic the past." This idea contradicts the Numbers and the DHARMA Initiative's belief that the end of the world is pre-determined by the state of the world/humanity. So, by turning the key, Desmond rejects the Numbers and the belief that they determine the end of the world. This rejects the DHARMA Initiative (along with its ties to Penny's father) and frees the future from the past. He is aptly named. This is also very Christ-like (freeing people from their pasts), and Desmond has been made to look very like western depictions of Jesus.
• The Island does not want Ben in charge; it communicated with Desmond via Mrs. Hawking to show him the future and thus allowing him to keep Charlie alive so that he can foil Ben's plans of blocking communications off of the island and remove him from authority.
  • Jacob seems to decide the leader and had no problem pushing Ben aside for Locke to step in. Also Ms. Hawking is a living person off the island, there was no communication via the island as Desmond truly traveled back in time.
• Desmond's ability to predict the future is actually him somehow channeling predictions from The Island or the magnetic force itself. This is demonstrated through the similarities between the hieroglyphs witnessed by Locke, which were displayed on the Countdown Timer during the system failure, and Desmond's prediction. One interpretation of the hieroglyphs Locke saw in the hatch is "She/Rises to the sky/in Flames//He/Dies." The first part, "She/Rises to the sky/in Flames/" is the female part of the sentence (it's on a red background) and the second part "He/Dies" is male and is on black. This sounds similar to Desmond's prediction about Claire and Aaron getting into a helicopter and Charlie dying in The Looking Glass.
• Desmond's abilities will develop and evolve as the series continues leading to the point of which he can travel through space and time at will. Because of this he will appear in other character's flashbacks and flash-forwards with the knowledge he has in the present and try to stop them from coming to the island. The sound you hear between flashbacks and present event is the sound of Desmond breaking through time.
• Since he can change things in the past, he will go back to when he crashed the plane, and push the button on time, thus saving everyone.
  • Doing that would prevent Desmond from being rescued by Penny. As much as Desmond risks to save the survivors Penny is still rightly his first priority. Even more so now that he has a child with her.
    • Penny would indeed be his "first priority." Ensuring that she lives (assuming Ben kills her and Desmond knows about it) by pushing the button where he originally did not, would fit perfectly. When he spoke to Ruth about why he left her, he referenced "sacrificing" everything for a greater cause. And in this scenario, he would be sacrificing everything.
    • If Ben actually did kill Penny in 316 then maybe Desmond would assume stopping the survivors from ever crashing would change the future in such a large way that the universe wouldn't be able to course correct and she wouldn't die. Creating a new "string." Or "street."

"Premonitions" & possible psychic abilities

• Desmond lied about his premonition of Aaron and Claire leaving the island together by helicopter if Charlie died; instead, if Charlie died, Desmond saw himself on the helicopter (along with Sayid) and also in the Season 4 finale got off the island himself. This is further proven by his cowardice ways, referred to many times throughout the show.
  • In the episode Further Instructions John Locke goes into the sweat lodge as sees Desmond. Boone states that "he is helping himself." This could have something to do with how he may have lied to Charlie about Claire leaving the island, as he saw himself being reunited with Penny instead.
  • Or, Desmond wasn't lying, but his future visions are fallible and he got this one wrong.
    • In Catch-22 we see that Desmond's flashes can be a bit shaky. He brings Charlie along because he died in the vision, however in another flash we can see Charlie is one of the people holding the parachute. Desmond himself says if he changes anything the picture changes (an allusion to him being special and holding the power to change the future). Any action taken by Desmond, direct or indirect could have changed the outcome on the helicopter. He risked killing Penny (or so he though) by saving Charlie's life, he isn't a total coward.
  • This could be an event that will happen at some point in the future. Desmond never said when it would happen.
    • Except Aaron is already off the island...and is no longer a baby for that matter. So it will be interesting to see how they manage to explain that one in any other way besides he was lying, or just wrong.
  • The producers have stated that they are aware of this, and that they 'have a plan' regarding the issue (CC 2008). So it's not clear if Desmond was lying or not. Looks like this will be resolved in future episodes.
• The psychic ability has nothing to do with the discharge, or was perhaps only amplified by it; rather, Desmond has always had this ability, as Charlie believes that some have "the gift" ("Raised by Another"). After all, Desmond did successfully predict Sarah's recovery ("Man of Science, Man of Faith"), and the prison officer who administered his dishonorable discharge reminded him that having a last book to read before you die is good, "if you know when you're going to die". ("Live Together, Die Alone") Though he did not seem to know how the rest of the world might be affected by not pushing the button, perhaps it simply "doesn't work like that," but rather comes in flashes.
• Desmond will predict his own death, as suggested by the officer who discharges him in "Live Together, Die Alone", who says, "As long as you know when you're going to die.", and begin to read his book, Our Mutual Friend.
• Walt's powers may be, in essence, a "younger version" of the same abilities that Desmond has.
  • Another possibility is that Walt's abilities pertain to the concept of "space" (being in multiple places at once, manipulating physical elements such as backgammon dice and weather) and Desmond's pertain to "time" (crossing from present to past, seeing future events and thus having the capacity to alter the "direction" in which time flows).
    • Desmond's powers may, like Walt's, manipulate more than time.
      • Example: upon meeting Jack and learning that Jack had been unable to fix his patient as promised, Desmond asked, "Just one thing -- what if you did fix her? ... But what if you did?"[1] Perhaps Jack's medical expertise was initially correct, and, upon completion of surgery, Sarah's spinal column was still irreparably damaged. However, once Desmond imagined the possibility that she had been healed, she suddenly was.
    • This is what 'Only Fools are enslaved by Time and Space' is referring to in the reversed audio heard in Room 23
• Most if not all of Desmond's flashes have been focused around Charlie dying. With Charlie's death Desmond has lost his ability to see the future.
  • Desmond's flashes disappeared when he find his "constant" in season 4.
• Desmond is being fed his premonitions somehow from Jacob in order to manipulate him. His premonitions in the second half of season three all relate to things that are triggered by him knowing they'll happen (his premonition about finding Penny led him to gather the others for the expedition, his premonition about Charlie's death led his volunteering for the diving mission), so the premonitions themselves must be a way of getting Desmond to action them.
  • If the case is true, why does Jacob "feed" Minkowski? (unlikely explanation)
• When the hatch exploded, as well as being in the hatch for so long, would have caused him to be exposed to electromagnetic radiation, which would give him visions.
• I believe Desmond is a DHARMA Baby, like Ethan and Miles. Ethan equipped with superhuman strength, born on the island, his parents are Amy and Horace. Miles is Pierre Chang's baby, giving him his speaking-to-the-dead power from being born on the island. Desmond has the power to see the alternate future timelines, so he may have been born on the island during the DHARMA times. But this theory may also be false because he doesn't get his powers til later in his life after being on the island, after the blast from the electromagnetism hitting him, this theory is very open!

Miscellaneous

• By turning the fail safe key he somehow upset the course of events in the universe and became "unique" and "special" as described by Faraday in the sense that he can now control his own destiny. He can change his own future or timeline which is why Daniel can talk to him and tell him to see his mother; Desmond is not restricted by "the rules" but instead lives by free will. Hence his name being a reference to David Hume.
• Although he has spent years searching for Penny and although he promised Penny he would never leave her again, he will break his promise and return to the island in order to save those left behind.
• Charles Widmore called him a "coward." He was imprisoned for desertion from the army (e.g. fleeing a combat situation) or treason.
  • He was dishonorably discharged because of his going AWOL in "The Constant".
    • He told Penny over the phone he had a few days of leave and wanted to visit her, he most likely visited Daniel, Widmore and then Penny during this time.
• He was imprisoned because he (intentionally) failed to do something in order to be in jail, so he could fulfill his destiny on the Island; he knew he needed to be imprisoned (for some unknown reason) and he knows exactly the time of his death as well (Our mutual friend).
• Desmond the only one in Widmore's race. Widmore gave directions to Desmond, based on the Black Rock Diary, of where he thought the Island might be, knowing that he would contact Penny at all costs on the phone number he had already given to Desmond through allowing him to contact Penny (by giving him the address). He either didn't know when this would be and was banking on Penny's actions, or he knew that when Desmond had seen Penny (1996) he had told her he would call on the stated date and time and on that number. The freighter was already in place waiting for the call and ready to jump the island.
• His mentioning to Jack that he was "almost" a doctor isn't a reference to being a medical student but to being a combat medic.
• Desmond's character is influenced by and perhaps similar to the protagonist in Doctor Who; the long running British science fiction series about a wandering time traveler. Doctor Who can regenerate, in effect be reborn when he is near death, very similar to the possible "rebirth" Desmond experienced during the Hatch explosion. Further, the Doctor travels in a vehicle much larger on the inside than it appears from the outside, rather like the Hatch, which when discovered was simply a door but leads to a large interior. Desmond's attire when he meets Ms. Hawking and walks with her specifically the long coat and scarf is very similar to the outfit worn by the most famous Doctor Who, Tom Baker.
• Took a stuffed rabbit from the bed when packing to leave the Swan. There was something inside the rabbit to help him.
• Penelope waiting for Desmond to come home can be considered a reference to the Odyssey where Desmond is Odysseus trying to find his way home. It is also of note that in The Odyssey, Penelope has 108 suitors.
• Desmond seems to have been on the Island about as long as Juliet has (since 2001). If the Island can only be approached at certain times (say, a barrier being lifted), then perhaps Juliet's arrival on the Island is what caused Desmond to be captured there, too.
  • We will see the time-traveling Losties on the island jump to 2001 and witness Desmond's (and possibly Juliet's) arrival.
• The question that Desmond asks Locke "what did one snowman say to the other snowman" could be the question that is told to ask Daniel Faraday when he arrives on the island. Knowing that he sees Faraday in later life, he uses this question as Daniel Faraday's constant.
  • Daniel did not know the answer to this question when he asked him on the island.
    • Desmond did not ask him the question; he just asked, "Are you him?"
• His father is dead or abandoned Desmond and his brothers.

• Desmond's parents are still unknown; one of the only main characters on the island whose parents we know nothing about. Surely not a coincidence but perhaps a set up for a later twist. Desmond could be the second son of Eloise Hawking. Making him half brother to Daniel Faraday and step brother to Penny, much like Boone to Shannon (assuming that Penny is not Hawking's daughter & Charles Widmore is not Desmond's father). This might help explain the special connection he has with Faraday and why Widmore does not want him to be with Penny. This is also supports reason as to why both Hawking and Widmore were present at the hospital when he got shot by Ben and in his time traveling when he met Eloise. Hawking could be trying to direct both Desmond and Faraday to the Island so they can save each other. If Desmond does not crash the plane, he will never turn the key, meaning Daniel will never go to the Island to save everyone.
  • Desmond and Faraday are quite close in age. Desmond may have been present in Faraday's childhood. Making him an even stronger constant in Daniel's life.
  • Hawking told Desmond that the Island is not done with him. This could be a hint that he has to go back in order to save Faraday after getting shot by her.
    • Desmond had three Brother's.
    • We have not seen any flashbacks of Desmond's brothers. So this may not even be fact.
      • If Hawking were his Mother how come he does not recognise her in his time travels?
      • Maybe because he was born on the Island, making his Mother appear a different age off the Island. We don't know when Eloise left the Island or if she even came back at some point. They may have got seperated from each other or she might have even kept distant from him in order to keep him safe.
      • It seems Hawking was apart of Desmond's life for quite some time without him knowing. She is seen in a picture with Brother Campbell.

• Except for a brief moment by the cockpit Desmond and Ben never truly meet on the island. Not knowing that Desmond was on the island at all Ben can't possibly be aware Desmond is one who needs to go back. When Desmond shows up in L.A. to talk to Daniel's mother Ben will realize the truth and do whatever it takes to recruit him as well.
  • Actually, it is quite possible that Ben did know of the existence of Desmond

(he surely has watched him working at The Swan in The Pearl's television)

• Desmond will return to the island. Ben killed Penny, as promised. That's why he was seen bloody and beaten using the payphone at the docks. (Desmond and Penny were living on a boat). Penny is the reason Desmond wanted to leave the island so bad. With her dead, and the killer on the island, of course he's going to go back.

No longer a possibility since we know that Ben is bloodied because Desmond beat him after Ben tried to kill Penny.

• Desmond is the Variable.

• Ben killed Penny in "316". Desmond will have to seek out Widmore's help to return to the Island to exact revenge on Ben. Widmore will lie to Desmond and tell him that because he is "special" he can use the Orchid to change the past to restore Penny but in doing so, Desmond will realize that most of his life has been manipulated by Widmore as part of a plot to lead Widmore back to the Island. (This accounts for Desmond telling Jack that they are all pawns in a game) Widmore's plan was always for Desmond to go to the Island and become "special" (via the Implosion) so that Desmond could alter Island history in such a way that Widmore's place as leader on the Island will be restored. Desmond will sacrifice himself to ensure that neither Widmore nor Ben gains control of the Island and the resulting Time Space event becomes known as "The Incident".

• Somehow Widmore knew that Desmond was alive and on the Island (was he connected with the regular restocking of The Swan?), because of the photograph that Naomi carried and her ruse (how'd he get a copy? ... of course, she could have also been a double-agent for Penelope). The question would be: If or how Widmore could have foreseen or manipulated Desmond's ending up on the Island. Curiously, aside from Naomi, no one else with the freight crew seemed to have had any instructions or knowledge respective to Desmond. Ben should also have become aware of Desmond's existence at the Swan and investigated his background and connection to Penelope Widmore, and he might have learned more from Sayid (in happier times) about how they all (really) got rescued. Then, upon seeing Desmond at the church, Ben appeared rather startled and might have surmised that Penelope could then be found at a cash-friendly Marina in the L.A. area. It seems safe to say, however, that neither Ben nor Widmore are much aware of or appreciate Desmond's somehow "special" relation to the Time continuum and with the Island, as they might have less information on that score than even the audience.
• Desmond is Charles Widmore's son, that's the reason Widmore never wanted Desmond to be involved with Penny.
• Desmond will eventually take a lieutenant position on the Island under Locke's regime. Richard, whose relationship with time/space is still unknown, will pass the torch to Desmond, whose relationship with time/space is also unknown but possibly similar to Richard's. It's been seen that the Island is not finished with Desmond, and that Desmond is extraordinarily unique. Richard will die once Locke assumes the power over the Island (becomes its "new" Jacob figure) and Desmond will be his right-hand man.
• Desmond is Jacob's son!

Desmond Hume's real life namesake, David Hume, came up with the Black Swan metaphor, which roughly states that you can witness any number of white swans, but that still doesn't prove that all the swans are white; yet it only takes one black swan to prove that they're not. No matter how many times you witness something in the past, it is still not proof that it will be that way in the future. For instance, many people used to believe that all swans were white, but when a black swan was discovered in Australia, it proved otherwise. Perhaps Desmond Hume is a black swan in matters that regard time. Faraday and Eloise Hawking both state that the events of time cannot be changed, and yet when Eloise Hawking meets him, but maybe they're just "looking at the white swans". When Eloise Hawking meets him and talks him out of buying the ring for Penny, she tells him that time can't be changed...but the very act of talking him out of buying the ring seems to indicate that she might suspect that time can be changed.

• • This analogy is more practically shown in the first episode of season 5 (can't remeber the name), where Jacob is trying to convince the other guy that the Black Swan (the actual ship) will be different.

• Reason why He didnt go to the Island a second time was because the Island was finally done with him

Connections to Watchmen

• Desmond's visions may parallel Watchmen's Dr. Manhattan. After Manhattan's accident, he acquired powers, but did not know their extent initially, gaining more power (while also becoming less human) through time. Desmond may have received a similar power of clairvoyance, meaning he's aware of all points in his life. Instead of existing in the "present" he's aware of the future and the past simultaneously. His brain probably can't process these new power(s) correctly, so his "visions" of the future come in the flashes. In contrast he perceives memories as normal memories because if his preconceived notion of the past. Unlike Dr. Manhattan, he does not believe the future is unchangeable, so he tries to save Charlie. An underlying plot of the flash-forwards will be Desmond and others trying to alter the future.
  • Desmond also reappeared naked, much like Dr. Manhattan.

Connections to The Dark Tower

• Desmond may have been on a journey similar to that of Roland Deschain in The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. The events in The Dark Tower occur on a loop. Desmond is on a lengthy quest, the beginning and end of which are unknown. His "flashes" are simply his remembering that he has, in fact, done all of this before. The fail safe somehow interrupted this iteration of his quest, fast-forwarding and forcing him to start again. Normally, he forgets the events of his quest, but the fail-safe has interrupted this.

Differences between Survivor's vs Desmond's Timetravel

Why Desmond is Special.

1) The Survivors traveled on the Island timeline only. Desmond traveled between the Island and the outside world.

2) Desmond making a change in the outside world makes a change on the Island. Example: He gets Penny's new number and tells her he will call her in 8 years, leading to their rescue.

3) Desmond flashes to the outside world and inhabits himself at that time and place. When the survivors flash to a time where they already exist on the Island, they don't inhabit themselves. Example: Locke and the rest walk past the Hatch when the light goes on. Locke, of that time, is knocking on the Hatch which makes Desmond turn the light on.

• Well, we could do this all day. Desmond's time travel experiences are demonstrably entirely different to those the Losties experienced. The only major connection is the nosebleeds.

• It seems that Desmond's travel is comparative to Theresa Spencer's, in that her body remains in place in the time stream but her consciousness moves through time. There is one startling similarity between these two that is distinct from other demonstrated time travel; These "time travels" occurred off of the Island. This could mean that your body is only able to follow you through time on the Island.

• Teresa Spencer's experiences are like Daniel Faraday's, not Desmond's. Daniel, with the aide of his laboratory light thingy, sent his mind to his future on the island. This is how he wrote his journal and injured his brain.

v • d • e Theories about main characters Ana Lucia • Ben • Boone • Charlie • Charlotte • Claire • Desmond • Eko • Faraday • Hurley • Jack • Jin • Juliet Kate • Libby • Locke • Michael • Miles • Nikki • Paulo • Sawyer • Sayid • Shannon • Sun • Walt