The sideways time Desmond Hume is a man on a self-appointed mission to awaken all of the Sideways time versions of the Island Lost characters to their seemingly dual existences. Having been awakened to this conundrum by Charlie Pace in the course of a near death experience, he has now endeavored to track down all of the Flight 815 passengers in order to avail them of this knowledge as well. As seen last night, he did so successfully with Hugo, and at the end of the episode, he seems to have gone to extremes in order to awaken Sideways Locke-he run him down with his car, wheelchair and all, leaving a critically injured Locke in convulsions on the road right in front of a horrified Sideways Ben. Personally, I think I would have taken a different approach, but evidently Desmond is on top of his game enough to know the risk is minimal.
It will be interesting to see where he goes with this from this point on, and perhaps fun to speculate. He has already met Sideways Claire, of whom he is aware also due to Charlie's awakened feelings for her. We know that Island Claire is insane at least in part due to her loss of her infant son Aaron (Kate having in an earlier season abducted the young lad and taken him to the outside world to be raised). Will Desmond go that extra mile and abduct Sideways Aaron from Claire as a means of awakening her to her island past?
What of Sayid, whom we saw last week in the previews for this week's episode discharging a firearm into the bottom of the well into which Island Flocke (Smoke Monster in the guise of John Locke) had unceremoniously dumped Island Desmond towards the end of the last episode. Will he clear the way for Sayid to recapture his love for Nadia (and his island memories as well) by going to the extent of murdering Sayid's brother right where he is in the hospital?
And then there is Jack, whom I have read this weeks Sideways plot is centered around. Obviously he will in his capacity as a spinal surgeon work on the injured Sideways Locke, whom I have no doubt will start to realize his island life-and death. How will this make him react to Jack, with whom he was at enmity throughout the series. And what will his reaction be to Ben, who murdered him in the Island universe (though this occurred off the island)?
Thankfully, Hugo's meddling may produce some unexpected positive results on the island world. The ghost of Michael advised Hugo to talk to Locke, so off he went, taking some of his compatriots with him, although Ben and Miles elected to follow Richard, who is determined to destroy the Ajira plane in order to prevent Flocke from leaving the island. This all followed the shocking death of Illana, who suffered the same death-by-dynamite fate as Dr. Arzt (in the season one finale) when she secured dynamite from the Black Rock in order to destroy the Ajira plane.
Otherwise, Jack seems resigned to whatever fate awaits him for once, and has agreed to follow Hugo's lead, as has a reluctant Sun, desperate to be reunited with husband Jin. My first reaction was, well, Michael meant to talk to John Locke's ghost-since Hugo alone of the characters has that ability (Miles can only hear their last thoughts if he comes in contact with their remains). He did not mean, obviously, that Hugo should talk to the Smoke Monster in the guise of Locke.
But then it occurred to me, since Locke's memories and even a large part of his personality seems contained within the form adopted by the Smoke Monster, whatever that creature really is, then it is possible, in fact probable, that communicating with Locke through that form might actually cause John Locke-the real one-to actually take control of the form. Kind of like an exorcism in reverse, sort of.
As for Desmond, will his scheme work on peripheral characters who were not passengers on 815? For example, will Martin Keamy, assuming he somehow survives his gunshot wound in Sideways time, awaken to his past as a mercenary for Charles Widmore on the island?
And what of Ben?
