Number 2: Episode 3×08 – “Flashes Before Your Eyes”
Featured Character: Desmond
Major Events & Revelations: Desmond’s consciousness is sent back to his 1996 body; Desmond is having visions of Charlie’s death; introduction of Eloise Hawking
While Lost has obviously always had a mystical feel to it, I think one could make a strong argument that Desmond’s apparent ability to see into the future was the first time the show tackled something that was so explicitly in the Sci-Fi realm. And there were a lot of fans who were skeptical – or downright angry – that Lost was beginning to flirt with the idea of becoming a science fiction series. So, much like with the show’s pilot, there was a tremendous burden that this episode “works” in order to ensure that the viewers stick around for the ride.
“Flashes Before Your Eyes,” the first episode to focus on time travel, more than accomplished what it set out to do. Not only did this episode succeed in getting cynical fans to accept the notion of time travel, it actually allowed them to become emotionally invested in the idea. Don’t sell this achievement short – fans likely would not have been so patient with and accepting of the zaniness that occurred during the early episodes of season five if this episode had not been done so well.
This was also the first episode to depart from the standard Lost storytelling formula, where the action would alternate between what was happening in the island and what was happening in the past. Sure, there were episodes with Claire and Michael that tinkered with the formula a bit, with the flashbacks devoted to events that occurred earlier on the island, but this was the first time that the action occurred almost exclusively in the flashback, with present day island happenings merely bookending the action at the beginning and end of the episode. And while it may have been a risk putting such a potentially significant episode on the shoulders of a relatively new character that viewers didn’t know a whole lot about, I think that might be why this worked so well. Would this episode have been so enjoyable had it focused on Jack, Locke, or Sawyer – characters we had already learned so much about? I honestly don’t thinks so.
But even when you remove the burden and long-term significance, “Flashes Before Your Eyes” is able to stand on its own two feet as a highly enjoyable episode. One that presents new stories, establishes rules, and firmly sets up Desmond as a romantic that is motivated by love (it was almost tragic watching him desperately try to avoid fate so he can stay with Penny, but knowing that he would fail). Much of this occurred in the highly entertaining scene between Desmond and Eloise Hawking. She was introduced to the audience with little explanation and fanfare (in fact, she wouldn’t be seen again for another two or so seasons), but she somehow knew about the island, time travel, and the “rules” involved. Season five was about “whatever happened, happened.” This episode similarly stated “whatever will happen, will happen.” No matter what Desmond does – no matter how hard he tries to avoid it – he is destined to end up on the island one way or another.
On a personal level, one of the things that made this episode so fun was the self-awareness. Lost viewers have been trained to keep their eyes out for certain things. Any time we see a number in the background, we have to check to see if it’s one of “The Numbers.” When we see something on the television, we’re sure to check if another character is on the screen. Throughout this episode, Desmond was fully conscious of these strange coincidences. He was unsettled when he looked at the clock and noticed it was 1:08 (the amount of minutes he’d have to type in the numbers). He was knocked off guard when Penny casually used the phrase “the end of the world.” He was inclined to check the microwave when it was beeping in the same manner as the hatch computer. His curiosity was piqued when a delivery came for 815. And he completely lost it when he saw Charlie singing on the street. It’s almost as if Desmond was in on the joke.
And the twist at the end of the episode was icing on the cake. Since the beginning of the season, Desmond has been rescuing Claire from potentially life threatening situations, leading everybody to believe he was having visions of her death. Yet at the conclusion of “Flashes Before Your Eyes,” we’d learn that Desmond was actually envisioning the end of Charlie’s life. It seems that Charlie would die trying to save Claire, so by proactively rescuing her, Desmond was actually sparing Charlie’s life. This led to something rather unprecedented – the foreshadowing of an extremely popular original character’s death 14 episodes in advance (and also hinted at earlier in the episode, when Charlie sang – with Desmond standing there – “Wonderwall” by Oasis, which features the line “Maybe you’re gonna be the one who saves me”). And they actually followed through with what remains, in my opinion, one of the best death scenes in modern television history. And for that matter, the unique budding friendship between Desmond and Charlie ended up being an unexpected highlight of Lost’s very strong third season.
For me, “Flashes Before Your Eyes” is still the measuring stick for any Lost episode that is structured in a manner outside of the typical cuts between the island and the real world (whether it be flash forward, flashback, or flash sideways).
Click here for my original review of the episode
Matt Basilo has been writing for Inside Pulse since April 2005, providing his insight into popular television shows such as Lost, 24, Heroes, and Smallville. Be sure to visit his blog at [a case of the blog] and follow him on Twitter.
