The hatch imploded and he should've been killed instantly as he was at ground zero.

I'm just saying that he seemed to be specifically reacting to his head wound, immediately following getting hit by the guy in the bar.

There were all types of metal objects flying around the time prior to the implosion. A head injury is not beyond the realm of possibilty. It is possible that his dream incorporated the bat to the head to account for the head injury. Kinda like when you hear a song in your sleep, your mind will make it part of your dream.

The other one is, where the hell is that dog??????

It is worth noting that he did not wake up at the same spot that he turned the key. He must have somehow been thrown out of the hole which resulted from the implosion. When he gets up after the flashback he goes over and looks into the hole.

My guess as to one of the questions that will be answered next week will be how Locke got in his wheelchair.

I thought he was on the boat with Walt and his dad? Wait...no he wasn't! And where's Bea????

Thought it was a great episode. I don't think there was any time travel. I think the island created his past just like it had created people. Maybe the island was able to create an entire world because Des was knocked out. Or maybe it was just his mind coping with the situation. Or even maybe someone got to him and did some stuff to them. Whatever happen I don't think it was time travel.

I'm wondering if all the flashback we are seeing are really flashbacks at all. Now I'm thinking they could be part flashback in time and part island magic. This would explain why people and items from the island keep popping up in the flashback. The island could be recreating events but it has to use things that are currently around. Kind of like if someone is waking you by saying wake up, someone in your dream might just break out of nowhere and tell you to wake up. But with Des instead of wake up it was the microwave sounding like the clock ticking down or phrase some one spoke.

I think I'm to stupid to watch this show anymore. I don't get all these theories. And if the hatch "Imploded" then how did he get thrown out like he would have if it "Exploded?" Wouldnt he have been buried inside instead?

It is still up to question what exactly happened. Implosion would explain why the structure seems to be missing, but the Hatch door flew up into the air and landed on the beach.

The back story IS part of the regular show - and why a lot of people here don't get that, or incessantly complain about it is beyond me.

Bottom line, If you don't like the back story/flashbacks, then you really are not a fan of this show. Deal with it, or don't bother watching.


Now onto other business...

As far as time travel goes, another thing I found interesting, was that in the late great show Odyessy 5, the main characters were sent back in time 5 years, but it was really only their consciousness's that made the journey back. They, too, were constantly trying to change the outcome of things, and save/change their future/fate only to find that their actions would not always work out the way they thought they would. Sometimes, instead of preventing something from happening, because of what they did, it ended up speeding the process of what would have normally happened, rather than stopping it.

mrpayroll is rite, there is no need for so many back storys especially a whole god damn episode of it. just because you don't like one part of the show doesn't mean your not a fan of the show, you don't have to like every single part of a show to be a fan.
i enjoy the parts were there on the island and i would like the show to progress a bit more.
So if you don like it then you deal with it.
compared to last weeks episode it was a pretty awful episode, the only good part of the show was at the end when desmond was talking to charlie.
i am also a desmond fan but i don't like the whole episode being a big flashback.

One thing that I noticed about Desmond's situation is that it seems like it was derivitive of a number of other stories:

The old lady with the ring was reminiscent of The Oracle in the matrix movies.

The idea that you're going to die and that fate will see to it that you can't cheat death is from "Final Destination." (Not to mention the bus from last episode.)

And the man with the red shoes died almost exactly like a bit character in the Sandman graphic novel "Brief Lives."

And... if I'm not having a bit of deja vu myself... Desmond watching the football game and knowing what was about to happen also reminded me of something else I saw but I can't remember what it was.

Note that all of these things involve Desmond's precognitive powers in some way. Was he subconsciously embellishing his memories with bits of stories he was familiar with?

No, that's like saying you're a fan of Baywatch, but just because you like to see the chicks run around in bikini's. This does not make you a "fan" of the show.

The flashbacks/back story are an essential part of Lost. If you don't like or watch them, you are literally missing out on half the story. They are as much a part of the show, as what happens on the island. Without them, you might as well be reading a book with every other chapter missing.

Tell me about any other show that you watch, which you would call yourself a fan of, that you only watch/enjoy 50% of?

And for the record, the EP was one of the best - mainly because it 90% flashback, so to speak. Again, I stand by my original statement - if you didn't dig (or get) this episode, then you're not really a fan of this show, or truly get what it's about.

Okay, you talked me out of watching it!

Chris

Too much of a good thing?

Chris

On the last episode there was a message during the clockwork orange scene. "Only fools are enslaved to time and space". I guess that means Des is no fool.

I agree with your first point, but maybe not the second (though I get what you mean).

I personally love the flashbacks, and they absolutely are an integral part of the show. I couldn't believe it even last year when people would continually question why they were there, as if they didn't know the show's format.

I'm not sure if that disqualifies these people from being fans though. It's like music, you may really be into an artist, but you just don't like some of the songs on an album. Can you still be a fan of the album? Sure.

It almost seems like the opposite though. Desmond definitely seems like he's enslaved.

Ok, not to venture to far off actual topic... but yeah, I agree with most of what you're saying, too. However, where I'd differ, in using your analogy, would be to say that in that case, I "liked" the album, but did not "love" it.

To me, "fan" would be more equal to "love", especially when taken for the definition of the word - "an enthusiastic devotee or follower", or fanatic - "a person with extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal". Given those contexts, then no - someone who does not like the flashback/back story would not be a "fan" in the true sense.

summary of thread so far

can't wait...loved it...wtf???

This episode reminded me of how I brought up the way the writers are basing Charlie after the band Oasis on the thread for last weeks episode. Now they show him playing wonderwall for peoples change.

Since there was a question about the Scotch....

So, it's a pretty good bet Old Man Whidmore doesn't think Desmond will do better than $3300 a month.

Actually, it was Fionnula Flanagan, who has a pretty extensive resume on IMDB here.

I'm sure Diana Swarwid would appreciate you saying that, considering she is 14 years younger than Fionnula.

I'm always amazed by people who don't know about IMDB.

Well since he didn't have a job, he was right on the money.

This episode has definitely reinvigorated my love for the show. The first 7 episodes with the Jack/Kate/Sawyer plot were mediocre, but after Des's episode, I can't wait to tune in next week.

Wow, she's guest starred in Mannix, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, The Streets of San Francisco, and Marcus Welby, M.D...