SPOILER ALERT

Another great episode! Lost is back.

So now we have some questions. Did Desmond really go back in time, or was all of this in his mind? My initial reaction during the first “flashback” was that he traveled ahead in time. Especially when the paint can was labeled “FUTU.” But then it became obvious this was in the past. I believe he really did travel through time and he is forever stuck in a bending time loop – a “snowglobe” of time. I loved the ‘deja vu’ element with the numbers and the hatch. I enjoy anything with a time travel element or free will vs. destiny – much like the Matrix. I got a Matrix Oracle feel from the ring seller too. Also, he arrived back on the island naked, which points to time travel as clothes would not translate — and it’s also a reference to the Terminator.

The only part of the episode I didn’t like was when Desmond threw the ring into the Thames. Just looked cheesy.

Oh, and please kill Charlie soon – although I have my doubts that he will die because it was explicitly said in the show. He’s just gotten so annoying. I miss season 1 Charlie. I did like the meeting between him in his pre-Driveshaft days and Desmond in London. He was playing Oasis’ “Wonderwall,” and the lyrics are “maybe you’re gonna be the one that saves me.” Awesome!

So where do we go from here? What if everyone on the island is caught in a time warp? What if their “flashbacks” are all parts of their lives before/after the island, yet they don’t realize they’ve been on the island before? Only Desmond has figured it out. I just blew my own mind. But it could be possible that this only happens to Des. Very Odyssey-like, with Pen waiting for his return.