Desmond Hume
From Lostpedia
Portrayed by Henry Ian Cusick
Desmond David Hume was the lone resident of the Swan at the time of the Flight 815 crash. Locke, Kate, and Jack discovered him there a month after the crash, after they had blown open the Hatch. After his failed attempt to leave the Island on his sailboat, Desmond joined the camp of survivors. Following the destruction of the Swan, Desmond gained a mysterious ability to see flashes of the future, with which he predicted Charlie's imminent death. During the helicopter ride to the freighter, Desmond's consciousness from the past (1996) began drifting to the present (2004) until Desmond made contact with his constant, his long-lost love, Penelope Widmore.
Contents |
Before meeting the survivors
Off the Island
Not much is known about Desmond's early life, aside from the fact that he did not graduate from university because he had to support his three brothers after something happened involving his father. The cause of the elder Hume's departure remains unknown. For a time, he served as a set designer for the Royal Shakespeare Company. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
Desmond dated a woman named Ruth for six years. Ruth said the closest thing Desmond came to a religious experience in that time was when Celtic won the Scottish cup in 1995. Later that year, a week before their wedding date, Desmond woke up on the street after a night of drinking fueled by wedding fears. Brother Campbell, a monk at a monastery in Eddington, Scotland, offered him help, which led Desmond to believe he had a calling to become a monk too. Desmond entered the monastery. He impressed and surprised Campbell by keeping his vow of silence, earning status as a novice monk and the title "Brother". Ruth's brother Derek tracked Desmond down at the monastery and punched him, leading Desmond to seek out closure with Ruth. Ruth didn't buy Desmond's claims of a spiritual experience and told him he was just running away because he was scared. After this rebuke, Brother Campbell found Desmond drinking the wine that the monastery vineyards produced. He told Desmond that he did not think that he should be a monk, and obviously was meant for a greater purpose. As Desmond was getting ready to leave, he met Penelope Widmore, who introduced herself as Penny, while she was picking up several crates of wine for her father, Charles Widmore. They flirted and she offered to take him back to Carlisle with her. ("Catch-22")
Desmond's relationship with Penny developed, and they fell deeply love. Desmond dated her for two years prior to meeting her father, who was apparently unaware of their relationship. Eventually, Penelope moved into Desmond's flat (he being too proud to move into hers). During this period, Desmond's "best mate" was a physics professor named Donovan. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
One day in late 1995 or 1996, Desmond was painting his flat and fell off of a ladder. When he woke up, his 2004 consciousness had entered his body. This consciousness, confused, dismissed its future knowledge as deja vu or a dream, and seems to only have fragmented memories of the future. Desmond continued living with this 2004 consciousness intermittently for the next series of events.
The unemployed Desmond made an appointment to speak with Charles Widmore at the main offices of the Widmore Corporation. Widmore offered him a job in the administrative department, but Desmond revealed that the real reason he came was to ask not for a job, but for Widmore's permission to marry his daughter, Penelope. Widmore expressed his unfavorable opinion of Desmond, impressing upon him his valuation of Desmond as worth less than his MacCutcheon whiskey. Desmond left, crestfallen and angered, but seeing Charlie Pace performing on a London street corner just outside triggered his memories of the future.
Desmond's friend Donovan was skeptical of Desmond's theory that he could be time-traveling, and asked him to predict what would happen next. Desmond foretold the outcome of a televised soccer game, only to be proven wrong.
Dismissing his Island experience as a dream, Desmond resumed his daily life and decided to buy a ring to propose to Penny, even without her father's permission. Ms. Hawking, the jewelry store clerk, revealed that Desmond was not supposed to buy the ring, that he was supposed to have second thoughts and abandon Penny. She further claimed to know that Desmond's future would involve going to the Island and pushing the button in the Swan. She imparted some of her understanding about how the universe "course-corrects" to prevent people from straying too far from their fate. Mrs. Hawking was shown to have a framed photograph of Brother Campbell on her desk, indicating a possible connection between these two characters. During her discussion with Desmond, she predicted the imminent death of a nearby man. Hawking claimed to be unable to ultimately prevent the death of the man, explaining that "the universe has a way of course correcting," meaning that if she saved him from that death, he would simply die another way soon after. Desmond kept the ring anyway, determined not to succumb to fate.
He later met Penelope near the River Thames and they had their picture taken in front of a marina backdrop. Upset with the thought that he couldn't even afford the 5-quid photograph; he came to believe that Charles Widmore was right: he wasn't good enough for Penelope. He told Penelope this, and she stormed off with mixed emotions of anger and sadness. In the end, Desmond made the decision predicted by Mrs. Hawking, and threw the ring into the Thames.
Drowning his sorrows at a pub that night, Desmond realized that he was a day off in his prediction of the outcome of the soccer match. Jimmy Lennon stormed into the bar, carrying a cricket bat and looking for the bartender. Desmond tried to prevent the altercation from happening the way he remembered it, but was hit with the cricket bat, sending his consciousness back into the future (see below, after the Swan implosion). ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
Sometime around 1996, Desmond joined the Royal Scots Regiment. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
During his recruit course in 1996 at Camp Millar (north of Glasgow, Scotland), Desmond woke up from what he thought was a dream, in which he was in a helicopter in a storm. In reality, his consciousness was time travelling to December 24, 2004. Desmond continued to uncontrollably leap back and forth between 1996 and 2004. Confused when in the future, 1996-Desmond received instructions from the 2004-Daniel Faraday to meet him at Queens College Department of Physics in Oxford in 1996. After Desmond convinced Daniel that he had been to the future, 1996-Daniel Faraday explained that unless Desmond found a "constant", something familiar and meaningful in both time periods, he (Desmond) would likely have a brain aneurism and die. Desmond decided that Penny would be his constant. Learning that Penny had moved and changed her phone number, he met with Charles Widmore in London to get new contact information for her. Charles relented, giving Desmond Penny's address, confident that Penny would reject Desmond once and for all. Desmond took 2 days leave from the Royal Scots to visit Penny, explaining to her that he needed her new phone number but that wouldn't call her for eight years. Confused and upset, Penny reluctantly gave Desmond the number. Desmond left Penny's house to return to the Royal Scots smiling contentedly, knowing that in the future he will have made a connection with her, saving his life. ("The Constant")
Desmond managed to reach the rank of a lance-corporal before being dishonorably discharged and serving time in the Southway Garrison military prison for failing to "follow orders". (His exact offense is still unknown.) At his release, Desmond reclaimed his belongings, including his copy of Charles Dickens's Our Mutual Friend; the book he chose to be the last thing he read before he died, and thus did not check it in prison, to "avoid temptation". ("Live Together, Die Alone")
Outside the Garrison, Charles Widmore waited for Desmond's release. Widmore revealed that he had intercepted all of the letters Desmond had sent to Penelope from prison. Widmore then attempted to bribe Desmond into keeping away from his daughter. Widmore felt certain Desmond's would agree to the arrangement, since he believed Desmond to be a coward. Desmond, however, declined, and entered himself in a world sailing race sponsored by Widmore in order to prove his worth.
Desmond then traveled to America, where the race was set to begin. He arrived, however, short of money and a sailboat. Desmond met Libby in a café, where she insisted on buying him coffee. During their conversation, Desmond confided in her his shortcomings for joining the race. Libby then surprisingly revealed her ownership of a boat, the Elizabeth, which had belonged to her late husband. Upon her insistence, Desmond eventually accepted Libby's offer of the boat, promising to win the race "for love".
As Desmond prepared to train by running stairs at an L.A. stadium, Penelope approached Desmond and revealed her success in locating him by employing her great resources. "With enough money and determination you can find anyone," she explained. Penny asked him if he had read his beloved book yet, and inquired as to why he did not write to her. To evade her questions, Desmond confronted Penny with his knowledge that she is getting married, adding that he will be back in a year, after winning her father's race, and he hoped Penny would wait for him. Penny believed his choice to enter the race was just another example of cowardice. Desmond insisted that he is running to get his honor back.
Moments later, Desmond met Jack Shephard, while training at the same stadium. During their short conversation, Desmond suggested that Jack is running the stadium stairs because of frustration having to do with a woman. Jack confided in Desmond about his patient, Sarah, whom Jack had no hope in fixing. Desmond pointed to the possibility of miracles. Sarah's subsequent unexpected healing suggests that possibly Desmond was right. ("Man of Science, Man of Faith") Since Flight 815 crashed on September 22, 2004, and since Desmond has been on The Island for three years, this would put the start of the solo race around the world some time during 2001.
Whilst racing across the Pacific, Desmond's boat was hit by a strong storm, during which Desmond wrapped his book in plastic, before getting knocked unconscious and falling off the deck. Soon after, he washed up on the Island's shore.
In the Swan Station
The half-conscious Desmond was dragged from the beach into the Swan, by a man in a biohazard suit who later identified himself as Kelvin Innman. Inside the Swan, Kelvin tells Desmond that the outside environment is contaminated by a mysterious sickness, to which Desmond may have been exposed. Kelvin forcibly innoculated Desmond with a vaccine labeled with the Numbers. Kelving instructed Desmond to inject himself with it every 9 days. Desmond learned the "pushing the button" routine, and watched the Swan Orientation film repeatedly, which raised many questions in his head, most of which remained unanswered by Kelvin. ("Live Together, Die Alone")
After two years, Kelvin showed Desmond how to initiate the lockdown sequence, which Kelvin used to complete the invisible blast door map started by his previous Swan partner, Radzinsky. One night later, while drunk underneath the Swan's computer room, Kelvin revealed to Desmond the nature of the Incident, and the function of the fail-safe key, which he carried at all times but was never able to find the courage to use. ("Live Together, Die Alone")
Desmond had lived in the station for three years, while Kelvin continually left the Hatch in his suit, under the pretense of analyzing the outside environment. Kelvin never allowed Desmond to take a turn analyzing the environment. However, on the day of Flight 815's crash, Desmond noticed that Kelvin's suit was ripped, yet he continued his trips, leading Desmond to wonder if the sickness was a lie Kelvin made up to keep him in the hatch entering the numbers. Desmond had his first adventure in the jungle when he subsequently followed Kelvin. Desmond saw Kelvin taking off the biohazard suit before marching toward the cove. At the cove, Desmond found his sailboat, apparently repaired by Kelvin, by which Kelvin seemed to be plotting his escape from the Island.
Desmond confronted Kelvin, after realizing the charade to which he was subjected, and in the struggle that followed, he accidentally slammed Kelvin's head against a rock, resulting in Kelvin's immediate death. After grabbing Kelvin's fail-safe key, Desmond ran back to the Swan, where he found the countdown timer had reached zero, and system failure messages were flowing across the computer screen. Desmond eventually managed to stop the system failure, although, unbeknownst to him, Desmond's actions inadvertently released the electromagnetic charge that had built up during Desmond's absence from the Swan, caused the nearby Oceanic Flight 815 to break in the air and crash on the Island.
With Kelvin dead, Desmond was now on his own, and he spent the next 40 days in the Swan in complete solitude, carrying on the duty of pushing the button all by himself. In a moment of despair, Desmond contemplated ending his life. Sitting down with a gun in his hand, Desmond questioned whether anything in his world is real. He moved to open his Dickens' novel, when a letter fell out of it: a hidden letter from Penelope, in which she encouraged Desmond to never give up, emphasizing her love and her decision to always wait for him. In a fit of rage, Desmond started to sabotage the Swan's contents, when he suddenly heard pounding on the Hatch above. Turning on the bright light, Desmond looked up as the traumatized Locke peered down ("Deus Ex Machina") in return, causing both men to regain their hope. Although we didn't see Desmond in Season 1, the effect of his turning on the light was felt in the first Season. ("Deus Ex Machina") ("Live Together, Die Alone")
With the survivors
Season 2 (Days 44-67)
In the events of blowing open the Hatch and their descending to the Swan, Locke and Kate confronted the suspicious Desmond, who held them both at gunpoint. Led by Locke into believing that Kate is the most dangerous of the two, Desmond ordered him to lock Kate up in the pantry. However, this gave Kate a chance to escape through the ventilation system, to later intervene with Desmond's holding of Locke, and Jack who joined them, and consequently resulting in Desmond's accidental shooting of the Swan's computer. After failing to fix it, Desmond decided to flee the station, claiming that everyone will die soon, but was followed by Jack. Upon their confrontation, Desmond recalled his off-Island encounter of Jack, and asked him about Sarah, before repeating the Numbers to Jack in case the computer was ever fixed. ("Man of Science, Man of Faith") ("Adrift") ("Orientation")
It is assumed that Desmond then set off on the sailboat, in an attempt to escape the Island. His attempt, however, was unsuccessful, and after two weeks the boat sailed back toward the Island. When the boat emerged to the survivors, Jack, Sayid and Sawyer swam to it, only to find Desmond inside, who by then believed the Island to be the last thing left from a long lost world. ("Live Together, Die Alone")
Desmond was then approached by Sayid, who asked for his help in his plan of sailing to the Others' camp, but he refused. Desmond was sought out later by Locke, who brought him the Orientation video from the Pearl, debunking his whole conception of the Swan's function. Desmond then agreed to join Locke on his mission, to let the Swan's countdown end once and for all, without interference, and see what would happen. In their attempt, they locked Eko out of the computer room, using Desmond's experience in triggering the lockdown. However, in their ensuing conversation, Desmond learned from Locke the truth about the pounding he heard earlier on the Hatch door, and about the Pearl's log printout as well. ("Live Together, Die Alone")
After reading the log, Desmond then connected the date of the plane crash to the earlier system failure he witnessed, leading him to conclude that he may have unintentionally caused the crash. Desmond then decided that the button must be pushed, but Locke, however, intervened and destroyed the computer. With no other resolution, Desmond felt compelled to use the fail-safe key, and thus descended to the Swan's passageways to turn on the switch. With the words "I love you Penny," Desmond turned the key, causing the discharge, and the unavoidable implosion of the Swan. ("Live Together, Die Alone")
* It is at this point that he enters his "altered timeline" in a lucid flashback (see above)
Season 3 (Days 69-91)
After turning the failsafe key in present Island time, Desmond's consciousness re-enters his past and relives a series of events in 1996, to which he was able to make some minor changes, but not change the ultimate outcome of. Desmond woke up, lying completely naked in the middle of the jungle with blood stains on his chest and body. He began to run around looking for help, and, unbeknownst to him, ran past Locke, who was also waking up after the Swan implosion. He eventually found Hurley, who was on his way back to the beach after his encounter with the Others at the Pala Ferry. Hurley told Desmond how Jack, Kate, and Sawyer were still with the Others.
On their way back, Desmond revealed his first premonition, while attempting to comfort Hurley over his worries about his captured group. To calm him, Desmond commented on Locke's intentions to go after them, and referred to Locke's yet-to-happen "speech". At their arrival, Desmond parted from the survivors, and stood by the sea, while the previously confused Hurley listened to Locke's rousing words about saving the missing Jack and the Others captured, leaving Hurley in shock as he looked back at Desmond. ("Further Instructions")
Later, Desmond approached Claire, in an attempt to persuade her to move down the beach, to allow him to fix her roof, but Charlie intervened. At his failure to convince them, Desmond borrowed a golf club from Paulo, which he used in constructing a lightning rod that he placed very close to the tent. Shortly after, the camp was caught up in a sudden storm, when a bolt of lightning struck the recently built lightning rod, on its way to the tent, leaving Charlie in shock, similar to that previously experienced by Hurley. ("Every Man for Himself")
Desmond and Locke were later joined by Sayid, in a meeting to discuss a rescue plan for Jack and his group. Desmond explained to Sayid that the stations equipment could be used as well in communication, and thus they required Sayid's technological skills in helping them search for a station where Jack could be possibly captured. The three head to the Pearl, joined by Paulo and Nikki, where Desmond helped Sayid in patching the monitors with available feeds from other stations, leading to the temporal appearance of the mysterious one-eyed man on one of the screens. Moments after, Desmond heard the Monster's familiar sound, and hurried above with the rest, to witness the last moments of the dying Eko, where he was then left with Paulo and Nikki while Sayid accompanied Locke back to camp to get shovels for the burial. ("The Cost of Living") ("I Do")
When Charlie and Hurley met up with them, Desmond suddenly rushed to the beach and dragged a drowning Claire ashore and resuscitated her. Charlie became suspicious and Hurley aided him in getting Desmond drunk on MacCutcheon whiskey, so that he would divulge his secret. Charlie and Desmond got into a fight after Desmond was called a coward by Charlie. He jumped and strangled Charlie, claiming that Charlie would not want to know what happened to him when he turned the fail-safe key.
After the fight was stopped by Hurley, Desmond apologized, and was carried by Charlie back to his tent. Then, Desmond revealed that when he turned the failsafe key, his life flashed before his eyes, but after, the flashes didn't stop. He has been getting precognitive visions, but they were to save Charlie, not Claire, and he is afraid that there are only so many times he can cheat fate before it catches up with Charlie, and causes his death. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
Later, he prevented Charlie and Claire from catching migrating seagulls, foreseeing that Charlie would die attempting to do so. He then caught one himself before being confronted by Claire and eventually telling her his secret. ("Par Avion")
Desmond later witnessed Nikki and Sawyer arguing, and told Hurley about it later while he was investigating Nikki and Paulo's apparent deaths. He appeared at Nikki and Paulo's funeral. ("Exposé")
Desmond hunted with Sawyer and successfully killed a boar to the delight of the rest of the survivors. ("Left Behind")
Around Day 86, Desmond had another series of flashes which showed another instance of Charlie's death and something coming to the Island. Believing that Penny had found the Island and was on her way, Desmond gathered up all the people he would need for his mission that were present in his vision: Charlie, Hurley and Jin. Desmond explained to Hurley that he saw what he referred to as "puzzle pieces" to a puzzle that had no picture on the front of the box. Upon Hurley's further inquisition, he said that he couldn't divulge many details about what he saw, for fear of "changing the picture on the puzzle box". What he was specifically avoiding mentioning was that his vision showed Charlie being killed by one of Rousseau's arrow traps.
With the assistance of Hurley's memory of the location of the cable and Jin's chance discovery of it in the sand (as per the puzzle piece), the crew followed into the jungle for a "camping trip". Watching a helicopter crash in the beach, Desmond then pointed the group's attention to the sky further into the jungle to see a flashing red beacon. Following his instinct and his half-assembled puzzle, Desmond led the group onward in the direction of the parachutist. On the way they found pieces of debris from the helicopter including a Portuguese language copy of Catch-22 with a picture of him and Penny in it. Despite his conviction that everything had to happen exactly as in his vision he nonetheless saved Charlie once again. When they find the pilot of the helicopter it turns out not to be Penny but Naomi. ("Catch-22")
Naomi was injured in the crash, and Charlie, Hurley, and Desmond argued a bit on how to treat her. A call is answered after Hurley accidentally fires a flare gun, which ends up summoning Mikhail. Desmond agrees to let him go if he helps save her life. With treatment, they remove a stick from her lung, and Mikhail says it will heal in a day, or a day and a half. Desmond allows him to leave, despite Charlie's protests, but not until after they recover the satellite phone Mikhail attempted to steal. ("D.O.C.")
Not trusting that Jack isn't working with the Others he persuades Jin, Hurley and Charlie to keep Naomi's presence in the camp a secret but it soon comes out, first to Kate, then finally to Jack. ("The Brig")
While Jack is revealing his plan to blow up the Others' raiding party, Desmond has yet another 'flash.' In it, he sees Charlie inside a facility of some kind containing a yellow blinking light and a switch, followed by Charlie flipping the switch, turning the light off, and then drowning. This action, according to the flash, results in Claire and Aaron boarding a rescue helicopter. At first, Desmond hesitates to tell Charlie this, but later lays it out for him, explaining that Charlie must die if the group hopes to be rescued. After it becomes clear that the switch from Desmond's premonition is inside the Looking Glass Station, Charlie volunteers to swim to the station by following the underwater cable, and Desmond volunteers to accompany him. Once he and Charlie have gone out onto the water in the outrigger to the point directly above the Looking Glass, Desmond volunteers to take Charlie's place. Charlie at first seems to assent, but then knocks Desmond unconscious with an oar and tucks his final message to Claire inside Desmond's shirt before diving into the water. ("Greatest Hits")
When Desmond wakes up, he is immediately met with gunfire from Mikhail, who has arrived to stop Charlie. Desmond is forced to dive down, and arrives at the underwater station to help Charlie. After hiding, Desmond harpoons Mikhail as he attempts to kill Bonnie and Greta. As he and Charlie prepare to leave, Charlie communicates with Penny via a video feed. As Charlie shouts for Penny's missing love, Desmond sees that Mikhail has vanished. Desmond runs to the communication room, noticing Penny on the monitor. Charlie, acting selflessly however, has no choice but to lock him out, seeing Mikhail through the underwater window about to blow it open with a grenade. Desmond stares through the peephole on the locked door, trying his best to open the door, as the grenade explodes and the room fills with water. Charlie, in his dying moments, writes a message on his hand in permanent marker for Desmond, having spoken to Penny. Desmond reads, "NOT PENNY'S BOAT", and understands the message. He continues to watch helplessly as Charlie drowns in the water. ("Through the Looking Glass")
Season 4 (Days 91-99)
After Charlie's final warning, Desmond hurries back to the beach camp. He returns with the outrigger and rushes in to warn the survivors of Charlie's message. When it is determined that warning Jack over the radio-waves is too risky, he joins Sayid, Bernard, Jin, Hurley, Sawyer, and Juliet on a mission to intercept the survivors on their way back from the radio tower.
After the groups are reunited, Desmond is about to go tell Claire of Charlie's death. However, before he can Hurley stops Desmond and does it himself. Despite his extreme concern over what Charlie told him, when the survivors split into two groups, he appears to stay with Jack's group (which continues to try to make contact with the "rescuers"), rather than take shelter in the Barracks with Locke's group. He follows the main group of survivors to the beach while Kate and Jack pursue the downed parachuter. ("The Beginning of the End")
Sayid later uncovers the picture of Desmond and Penelope from Naomi. He suggests that they bring Desmond to the helicopter in order to shed light on the situation. Juliet goes to retrieve him and both join Jack, Kate, Sayid, and Juliet at the helicopter. However, Desmond is as clueless as everyone else. While Sayid, Kate, and Miles go in search of Charlotte, Desmond questions Frank about Naomi's picture of Penny. Frank denies knowing anything about Penny and explains that he is not a higher-up in the operation. When Sayid returns with Charlotte, Desmond leaves the island in the helicopter with Frank, Sayid, and Naomi's corpse. ("The Economist") Later, when Jack tries to contact the freighter about the helicopter. A woman named Regina informs Jack that the helicopter never returned. Desmond's fate, along with Frank and Sayid, is unclear at this point in time ("Eggtown").
While flying to the freighter, Desmond admires his picture of him and Penny. When flying towards the thunderstorm Desmond becomes unstuck in-time causing him to shift between 1996 and 2004. His memories are set to 1996. Desmond returns from the second shift confused and wanting to get out of the helicopter. Sayid restrains him and after a while he stays still till they arrive at the freighter. At the freighter Desmond says he does not know Sayid or anyone else. Keamy and Omar take Desmond to the sickbay so the doctor can look at him.
While at the sickbay he meets Minkowski who is strapped to a bed. He says that "it" is happening to him as well. After injecting Minkowski with a sedative, the doctor examines Desmond. He then shifts back. When he returns Frank and Sayid come into the sickbay with Faraday on the phone. Dan asks Desmond where he should be. Desmond says 1996 in the UK. Dan tells him to go find him in Oxford. He tells him some numbers so the past Dan could belive him and that he should say he knows about Eloise. After returning Keamy takes the phone from him and he, Frank, and Omar leave the sickbay locking Sayid and him inside with Minkowski. After returning from another shift Sayid says Desmond's name and Minkowski recognizes it. He says that the freighter had been getting calls from Penny.
Determined to call her so he can stop the time-shifting and his inevitable death, Desmond leaves the sick bay with the help of an unknown person and goes to the communication room with Sayid and Minkowski. There, Minkowski shifts again; when he returns, he dies. With Penny's number and the radio fixed, Sayid calls the number and Desmond talks to Penny. She says that she has been looking for him for the past three years. They exchange their love and vow that they will find one another before the battery dies. Desmond, having found his constant, tells Sayid that he is "perfect" now. ("The Constant")
Afterward, Desmond is confined to the sick bay with Sayid. Frank claims that they are imprisoned there because the Captain is angry at them for "busting out" of the sick bay and communicating with Penny. Later, Ray releases Desmond and Sayid from the sick bay and takes them to meet Gault, the captain of the freighter. Gault shows Desmond and Sayid the black box of a plane that is apparently Oceanic Flight 815, and insinuates that Ben is responsible for staging the crash of Flight 815 deep in an ocean trench. After the meeting with Gault, Ray leads Desmond and Sayid to their new room; there, they encounter Michael, who is using the alias "Kevin Johnson". It is unclear whether Desmond recognizes Michael (they'd had no scenes together, but could have met briefly before), but like Sayid he introduces himself as though they are strangers. ("Ji Yeon")
Later, Desmond looks on as Sayid interrogates Michael, and he does not prevent Sayid from blowing Michael's cover in front of Captain Gault. ("Meet Kevin Johnson")
After Frank returned from the island with the mercanary group, Sayid was briefly interrogated by Martin Keamy, and Desmond looked on, not offering any support to Sayid, although when the captain noticed that Keamy was acting up (possible "Cabin Fever" he reffered to earlier) he did not disagree that it was time to get the people on the beach rescued as soon as possible.
After Gault stalled and got the ships tender ready for the two, Desmond got a blank look in his eyes (unclear at this point in time of it was a flash or not) before he told Sayid that he refused to return to the island, and watched on yet again as Sayid took off towards the island.
Later that night, Desmond watched as Frank and Gault tried to convince Keamy not to head back to the island from a safe area on a set of stairs. He attempted to interfere with the arguement after watching Doc Rays throat get slit, but his cowardice got the better of him when he watched Gault got shot and the helicopter took off for a third time, fleeing from his position on the stairs. ("Cabin Fever")
After Faraday begins to ferry survivors over to the freighter, Desmond helps Sun onto the boat and asks if everything is okay. She says its fine, and he leaves her and Jin alone with Michael. He runs into a control room where he tells a mechanic named Hendricks that the engines should be working and reminds him to follow a bearing of 305. Suddenly, a radar in the control room is not working, and Hendricks tells Desmond that he will not continue any further unless the radar works. Desmond runs into a room and notices it is filled with C4 and screams for Michael, who is catching up with Sun and Jin. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 1")
Trivia
- David Hume was an 18th-century Scottish philosopher and early advocate of determinism. ("The Constant-Enhanced")
- Desmond was the twentieth character to ever have a flashback.
- Desmond's episode count so far is 26 (as of "Cabin Fever").
- In order to purchase a boat for the race, Desmond needed $42,000 (Numbers)
- On their first encounter, Desmond and Jack parted with Desmond saying "See you in another life, yeah?" ("Man of Science, Man of Faith") ("Orientation")
- The record Desmond put on before he heared the explosion from the blowing open of the Hatch is "Make Your Own Kind of Music". ("Man of Science, Man of Faith")
- The performance of Oasis's single "Wonderwall" places the known start of Desmond's timeline no earlier than 2 October 1995 when "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?", the album containing the song was commercially released. The song contains the lyrics "because, maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me"; Desmond saved Charlie's life repeatedly before Charlie finally sacrificed himself in "Through the Looking Glass".
- According to the producers, in Desmond's original timeline prior to his consciousness's travel back to 1996, he did not get hit with the bat, and might possibly have had a different origin for the photograph. (Official Lost Podcast/February 20, 2007)
- Desmond is fan of football club, Glasgow Celtic. Immediately before Desmond was caught drinking by Brother Campbell, he was singing the Celtic song, "It's A Grand Old Team" His ex-fiancée remarked that his only religious experience during the six years they dated was Celtic winning the Scottish Cup. ("Catch-22") Glasgow Celtic are traditionally associated with Scottish and Irish Roman Catholics, while Protestants support their arch-rivals, Glasgow Rangers.
- A noteworthy game in which Graybridge came back from two goals down in the final two minutes of the game to win helped trigger Desmond's memories of the future during his trip to the past. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
- Desmond's address was shown on an envelope in "Live Together, Die Alone". The town he lived in, Halstead, exists, though the street does not, and the post code, which began with CO8, does not correspond with Halstead, the post code for which begins with CO9.
- The creation of Desmond's character may have been influenced by the Grateful Dead song "Terrapin Station" (lyrics). In the song a storyteller tells of a sailor who loved a women in Carlisle many years ago. A lady in the song throws her fan into a Lion's Den and challenges the sailor and a soldier to retrieve the fan. The sailor tries to get it back but the soldier decides against it. The sailor emerges from the lion's den and the lady leaps at him. Parallels can be found in Desmond and Penny's story (their first meeting results in a trip to Carlisle; Desmond is Penny's rejected soldier and her sought after sailor).
Unanswered questions
| Unanswered questions |
|---|
|
- For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Desmond Hume/Theories
- What happened to Desmond's father that meant he had to leave University before graduation to take care of his brothers? ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
- Why was he dishonorably discharged from the British Army Royal Scots regiment? ("Live Together, Die Alone")
- Why was Desmond naked when he woke up in the jungle after turning the key? ("Further Instructions") ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
- What causes Desmond's visions of the future? ("Flashes Before Your Eyes") ("Par Avion") ("Catch-22") ("Greatest Hits") ("Through the Looking Glass")
See also
- Our Mutual Friend
- Desmond's flashes
- Desmond's photo
- Desmond's letters
- Elizabeth - his sailboat
- Log printout
- The discharge
- The listening station
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron • Ana Lucia • Bernard • Boone • Charlie • Claire • Desmond • Eko • Hurley • Jack • Jin Kate • Libby • Locke • Michael • Nikki • Paulo • Rose • Sawyer • Sayid • Shannon • Sun • Walt | ||||||
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centric episodes | "Live Together, Die Alone" • "Flashes Before Your Eyes" • "Catch-22" • "The Constant" | |||
| Flashback characters | Auctioneer • Bartender • Billy • Brother Campbell • Marvin Candle • Delivery man • Derek • Donovan • Eloise • Daniel Faraday • Ms. Hawking • Mr. Hollister • Kelvin Joe Inman • Jimmy Lennon • Libby • Man wearing red shoes • Brother Martin • Master Sergeant • Charlie Pace • Partridge • Photographer • Physics student • Receptionist • Ruth • Sergeant • Jack Shephard • Soldier • Suited guard • Charles Widmore • Penelope Widmore • Young man | |||
| Items | Letters (Desmond) • Letter (Penelope) • Lightning Rod • MacCutcheon Whisky • Our Mutual Friend • Photograph • Satellite phone | |||
| See also: Main Characters | ||||
