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Ms. Hawking

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Ms. Hawking

Portrayed by Fionnula Flanagan

Portrayed by [[{{{Actor1}}}]] and [[{{{Actor2}}}]]

First seen

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Last seen

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Appeared in

"Flashes Before Your Eyes"

Mentioned in

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Centric episode(s)

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Name

Hawking

Also Known As

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Status

Alive

Age

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Date of birth

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Date of death

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({{{DeathEp}}})

Origin

London, England

Profession

Jewelry store cashier

In Australia...

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On the plane...

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On the island...

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Family members

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Connection

Met Desmond when he tried to buy a ring from her

Season(s)

S1 - S2 - S3 - MP - S4

[[:Category:{{{Images}}}|Images]]

Ms. Hawking works at the store where Desmond goes to buy an engagement ring for Penny during his first time shift after he turned the fail-safe key.

When she shows him a ring and he tells her he'll take it, she seems upset and responds by telling Desmond he will not. After Desmond refuses to give the ring back she explains to Desmond that she knows his name, that he will break Penny's heart, he will not marry her, instead entering the sailing race to prove Penny's father wrong, and that he went to the Island and pressed the button for three years until he was forced to turn the failsafe key. She says that if he "doesn't do those things", that "every single one of us is dead".

Once Desmond refuses to give the ring back she decides to take a walk with him.

Ms. Hawking and Desmond buying chestnuts.

While on their walk she points at a man wearing a suit and red shoes, saying it is a bold fashion choice. As she and Desmond sit on a bench she tries to explain to Desmond that he must not ask Penny to marry him. She says that it is his "path" to go to the Island. At this point in the episode, it can be noticed that Ms. Hawking is wearing a pin, an ouroboros; a circular serpent with its tail in its mouth, representing life as a cycle. But this particular one isn't eating its tail. Then all of a sudden a large crash is heard behind them as the scaffolding from a construction job falls to the ground. As she and Desmond turn around, a pair of legs with red shoes is shown sticking out from under the pile of rubble. As Desmond realizes this is the man she pointed out earlier, she admits to knowing that he would die. When confronted by Desmond as to why she did not warn the man she informs Desmond that he would have been hit by a taxi the next day, and if she had warned him about that he would have broken his neck in the shower. As Desmond stares blankly at her she explains that the universe has a way of "course correcting" (a phrase Desmond later recites to Charlie), and that death cannot be avoided. Her last words to Desmond are that pressing the button is the only great thing he will ever do in his life. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")

Ms. Hawking with Brother Campbell

She also appeared in a photo on the desk of Brother Campbell. ("Catch-22")

Trivia

Her last name is the same as that of the physicist Stephen Hawking, who wrote A Brief History of Time, the book seen being read by Aldo in "Not in Portland", and in Ben's living space in "The Man from Tallahassee".
The pin she wears on her shoulder wrap outside is an ouroborous, an ancient symbol representing cyclicality, and more recently said by Jung to represent the human psyche. This particular one is wrapped around its tail rather than eating it.
In the movie The Others, Fionnuala Flanagan's character Bertha Mills was dead, along with all of the other main characters in the film. The film's heroine, Grace Stewart (played by Nicole Kidman), believed herself to be alive. Once Grace began having flashes of memories of the events that had killed her, Bertha revealed the true nature of the situation with a staged photograph of Bertha's corpse.
The producers clarified that by "every one of us will die" she meant every one in the world. (Official Lost Podcast/February 20, 2007)
In an interview with ew.com the producers suggest that Ms. Hawking travels through time. LINDELOF: "Unless you travel back in time, like Mrs. Hawking does." [1]
Ms. Hawking shares a few similarities to the characters Frank and Grandma Death in the movie Donnie Darko, including her observation that everyone dies. A similar line in Donnie Darko is "every living thing dies alone."
Ms. Hawking appears in a picture with Brother Campbell when Desmond goes to ask him about leaving the monastery.
- The arches in the background of the photo are the ones that Charlie and Liam walk through in "The Moth" and Desmond walks through in "The Constant".
- This photo is a composite, since the angles and contrast are different, both from character to character, and between both characters and the background.
On the Season 3 DVD, Damon Lindelof describes Hawking as "some sort of temporal policeman in place to make sure that everybody who is supposed to get to the island, does." He says this is related to the grand scale of Fate versus free will

Unanswered questions

Unanswered questions
Do not answer the questions here. Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer. More details...

For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Ms. Hawking/Theories

How does she see Desmond's/other people's futures?
Who appointed her as a 'temporal policeman' and what is her connection to the Island?
Why does she appear in a photo with Brother Campbell?
- Do the visual flaws suggest it is an in-universe composite forgery, and what is its purpose? Or are simply a result of a prop blooper by the real-life producers?
Did she work in the store the first time Desmond went to buy the ring?
If the universe course-corrects by itself, why is she so concerned about Desmond changing things?