Desmond's flashes are events that flash before Desmond's eyes. These flashes show the future, although the event that was shown can be postponed to a later time. Desmond states he began having flashes after turning the fail safe key.
| Flash | Brief description |
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A day from his past: After turning the fail safe key, Desmond saw a series of images. Afterward, he relived one day from his past. Desmond also met Ms. Hawking, a lady who seemed to know that Desmond is reliving this day and his future on the Island. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1"), ("Flashes Before Your Eyes") |
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Locke's speech: After the Swan's implosion, Desmond encountered Hurley in the jungle and told him about a speech that Locke made, in which he said he was going to get Jack, Kate and Sawyer back to camp. The speech took place later that day. ("Further Instructions") |
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Lightning strike on Charlie: Desmond saw a lightning bolt would strike and kill Charlie. In an attempt to save his life, Desmond built a lightning rod that saved his life. This flash marked Desmond's first successful attempt to change the future as he saw it. ("Every Man for Himself") |
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Charlie drowns: Desmond again predicted Charlie's death when he saw Claire drowning in the ocean, and Charlie running to save her, only for Charlie to drown soon after. Desmond instead ran for the ocean, and saved Claire himself. This flash marked Desmond's second successful attempt to change the future as he saw it. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes") |
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Charlie slammed against the rocks: Desmond tells Claire that if Charlie had gone to catch a gull with her, he would have fallen into the water and been slammed into the rocks by the ocean current. ("Par Avion") |
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Finding the Parachutist/Arrow to the Throat: For the first time, we actually see one of Desmond's future flashes. The flash begins showing Desmond, Jin, Charlie and Hurley trekking through the jungle in the rain. After stepping on a Rousseau-style booby trap, Charlie is shot in the throat with an arrow. Desmond warns Jin not to try and remove it, and Charlie dies on the spot. As he dies, Desmond tells him he is sorry. The flash then shifts to the beach and a reverse of the cable being lifted out of the sand by Hurley appears. Then we see the helicopter in the distance at night over the ocean. It next shifts to someone looking at the photo of Desmond and Penny. After, it shows Jin, Charlie and Hurley holding a parachute on the ground. Then the two legs of the parachutist hanging in the air and the helmeted upper body of the parachutist. Then a fast still image of Penny on the Island. ("Catch-22") |
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The Looking Glass/Rescue: Desmond sees Charlie in an underwater station. Charlie flips a switch next to a yellow light, then drowns in the room. Then, Desmond sees Claire and Aaron being lifted onto a helicopter that lifts off the island, suggesting that Charlie's actions make their rescue possible. After seeing this, Desmond tells Charlie that he needs to die in order for rescue to come. ("Greatest Hits") Desmond's flash comes true when Charlie drowns in a room in the Looking Glass after disabling the jamming equipment, ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 1") but the rescue of Claire and Aaron aboard a helicopter never comes to fruition. Aaron is rescued aboard a helicopter, but carried by Sun, and from the freighter Kahana, not from the Island. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2") Claire is later rescued on the Ajira Flight 316. ("The End") |
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