- Charles Widmore brings Desmond back to the island so that he can conduct a dangerous electromagnetic experiment, which sends him back to the alternate reality in Los Angeles, a reality where he has never met Penny.
- Desmond learns that he was abducted by Charles Widmore and brought back to the island. Widmore's team prepares to perform an electromagnetic test with Desmond and accidentally kills one of the men during the preparation of the experiment. Desmond is sent to the parallel reality in Los Angeles, where he meets his friend Charles Widmore. Desmond is assigned to release the addicted Drive Shaft bass player Charlie Pace from the jail to play in the charity event promoted by Widmore's wife Eloise for her son Daniel. Desmond invites Charlie to go to a five star hotel to play but Charlie pulls the steering wheel of Desmond's car and throws it into the sea. Charlie refuses to play and tells him to look for Penny. Desmond visits Mrs. Widmore to tell that Charlie will not play and he meets her son Daniel, who is a musician, and tells that he feels misfit in the world. Daniel tells Desmond where he can find his half-sister Penny. When Desmond meets her, he awakes in Widmore's camp.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Desmond woke up with Zoe talking to him. She told him he'd been moved from a hospital. He wanted to see Penny, but Charles Whidmore showed up and said that wouldn't be possible. Charles told Desmond he'd been shot by Ben, and Desmond remembered it happening. Charles assured Desmond that Penny and his son Charlie were OK. Charles told Desmond he'd brought him back to the island and Desmond freaked out, bashing Charles in the head a couple of times. Desmond wanted to go back, but Charles told him, "The island isn't done with you yet."
Charles told Zoe to prepare a test immediately, even though it wasn't scheduled until the next day. She took Jin with her to an old Dharma generator and she told some techs to get it running because Desmond was on his way. They powered on the generator and it didn't work. A guy went to check on some big ring-looking thing when another tech flipped a circuit that fried the first guy. That's when Charles showed up with Desmond asking, "Are we ready?"
After the fried guy was carted away, Whidmore's men propped Desmond up in front of the large ring. Whidmore told Desmond he had to sacrifice for the island and that if he didn't help, he and Penny and his son would be gone forever.
Jin tried to stop Whidmore from testing anything on Desmond, but Whidmore said Desmond was the only man he knew who had survived a catastrophic electro-magnetic event, and he had to know if Desmond could do it again. The machine went on and Desmond stood directly in between two rings, glowing and straining as the pulses pushed and pulled him. Suddenly, a flash and Desmond was looking at the baggage claim board after Oceanic 815 landed in L.A. Hurley recognized him and told him where to go. Desmond spotted Claire and made some chit-chat about her coming baby. He offered her a ride and told her she was going to have a boy.
A driver named George was waiting for Desmond and he asked to be taken to the office. Desmond said he was "closing a deal for the boss" in Australia. George referred to Desmond as "the boss' right-hand man." Desmond went to see Whidmore and they were on what seemed to be very pleasant terms.
Whidmore told Desmond about his son, a musician, and his band Drive Shaft. He said the bass player was a junkie and needed to be watched in order to get to a performance. Whidmore told Desmond he had "the life -- no family, no commitments." Desmond agreed he was a "blessed man." Whidmore poured a glass of his 60-year-old Scotch and said "nothing's too good for you," and he toasted Desmond.
Desmond went to the courthouse to pick up Charlie, who promptly wandered into the street and nearly got hit by several cars. Desmond found Charlie at a bar. Charlie sense that Desmond wasn't as happy as he appeared to be. He asked Desmond if he'd ever been in love. Charlie said he'd seen love on the flight back from Sydney. He described Kate, sitting in front of him in handcuffs. He said he went to swallow his stash because he saw the cop who was with Kate. He explained that the turbulence caused him to choke, and he saw "her." He then described a blond woman, saying they were together -- "like we've always been and always will be." Charlie told Desmond he'd seen "the truth." Desmond told Charlie he had a choice, whether to stay at the bar and have his music career disintegrate, or to go with him to a five-star hotel and have Charles Whidmore owing him a favor.
"Doesn't really seem like a choice," Charlie said.
"There's always a choice, brother," Desmond replied.
They drove, listening to "You All Everybody." Charlie got all philosophical again about Desmond's happiness, or lack thereof, and gave Desmond a choice: He offered to show Desmond what he was talking about (the truth) or Desmond could get out of the car. Desmond began to ask why he'd want to get out of the car when Charlie turned the wheel and steered the car off a dock and into the harbor.
As Desmond tried to pull Charlie from the submerged car, Charlie placed his hand on the window (just like he'd done in The Looking Glass station on the island). Desmond had a flash of Charlie's hand-written note ("Not Penny's boat") from the moment when Charlie drowned in the the Looking Glass control room, but he realized Charlie had nothing written on his hand this time and managed to pull Charlie to the surface.
Desmond was examined by doctors and was asked if he'd had any hallucinations. He hesitated and said he wasn't sure. The doctors insisted on giving him an MRI. Desmond was strapped into the machine and given a panic button to press if he needed to stop the test. (A button -- get it?). As the test began, Desmond saw a montage of scenes from his life with Penny, starting with Charlie's hand-written note and including flashes of his son being born. He panicked and left the testing room, demanding to find Charlie.
Desmond recognized Jack, a doctor in the hospital he was in, and told him he had to find Charlie, who was also on their flight. That's when Charlie came running down the hall and Desmond gave chase. He cornered Charlie, who said he wasn't trying to kill Desmond with the car incident but said he was trying to show him something. Desmond asked to see Charlie's hand, and asked, "Who's Penny?" Charlie knew Desmond "felt it." Charlie told Desmond his rock concert didn't matter anymore. He told him to "stop worrying about me, and start looking for Penny."
Desmond told Whidmore that Charlie was gone. This upset Whidmore, who scolded Desmond for saying it was "only a bloody concert." Whidmore's wife took it more seriously than that. He sent Desmond to tell his wife about Charlie's disappearance. George, the driver, wished Desmond luck as he went off to meet with Mrs. Whidmore. It was Eloise, who was in the midst of lambasting servers for not placing knives correctly at the dinner tables.
Desmond told Mrs. Whidmore that Drive Shaft wasn't going to be able to perform with his son and she said she wasn't angry at all. "What happened happened," she said, with a smile. Desmond went on his way and happened to overhear someone reading the list of guests for the big charity event that night, and he heard the name "Milton, Penny -- solo." He asked to see the list and Mrs. Whidmore said he couldn't. She sent the catering staff away and told Desmond to "stop." She told him, "Whatever it is you think you're looking for, you need to stop looking for it."
He asked if she knew what he was looking for, and she said she didn't know why he was looking for anything, having already gained Charles Whidmore's approval. He asked again if he could see the name on the list, or know why he wasn't allowed to see it. She said he couldn't because he was "not ready yet."
"Ready for what?" he asked, but she'd walked away without responding.
Desmond went back to his limo, where George was waiting. He sat inside and there was a knock on his window. It was Faraday, but he introduced himself as Daniel Whidmore, and said, "We have to talk."
Desmond apologized to Daniel about Charlie not being able to perform, but Daniel immediately asked Desmond if he believed in love at first site. Daniel began telling Desmond about a red-head with beautiful blue eyes and that as soon as he saw her it was like he already loved her.
"And that's when things got weird," Daniel said.
He said that night he woke up and wrote a complicated equation. Desmond asked what it meant, but Daniel said, "I'm a musician. I have no idea." He said a friend at Cal Tech told him they were quantum mechanics equations that could only have been done by someone who'd been studying it his whole life.
Daniel started talking about the possibility of something terrible, catastrophic pending, and the only way to stop it was by releasing a massive amount of energy, "like setting off a nuclear bomb."
Daniel wondered, "What if this wasn't supposed to be our life? What if we had some other life and for some reason, we changed things?" Daniel said he didn't want to set off a nuclear bomb. "I think I already did."
Desmond tried to leave, but Daniel asked why he'd asked Mrs. Whidmore about a woman named Penny. "It happened to you, too, didn't it?" Daniel said. "You felt it." Desmond said he didn't know what he felt, and Daniel said he felt "love."
Desmond said he wasn't even sure if Penny existed. "She's an idea," he said.
"No, Mr. Hume," Daniel said. "She's my half-sister. And I can tell you exactly where and when you're going to find her."
We next saw Penny running up and down the familiar stadium seats where Desmond used to run (and where he first met Jack). Desmond watched her and introduced himself. She was surprised, and didn't seem to find him as familiar as he'd found her. But she smiled and shook his hand.
Next, Desmond was staring up at the ceiling in the electro-magnetic chamber back on Hydra. Some techs came in and checked his heart rate, declaring him to be OK.
Whidmore asked how he was feeling and Desmond said he was fine. Desmond asked how long he was unconscious and Whidmore said it was "no more than a few seconds."
Whidmore again tried to explain to Desmond that he was vital to the overall mission. Desmond stopped him and said he understood.
"You told me you brought me here to the island to do something very important," Desmond said. "When do we start?"
As they walked away from the testing site, Zoe asked Desmond what happened to him, because 20 minutes earlier he was beating up Whidmore and now he was suddenly on board with the mission. Desmond couldn't really explain it, but Zoe figured the machine must have fried his brain.
Just then, Sayid emerged from the brush and took out Zoe and Desmond's two guards. He pointed a gun at Zoe and said, "Run." She did.
Sayid told Desmond, "These people are extremely dangerous. We have to go now."
"Why, of course," Desmond replied. "Lead the way."
Back in L.A., Penny woke Desmond up as he lay unconscious in the stadium bleachers. She said he fainted after they shook hands. She asked if they'd met before, but Desmond said he thought they would have remembered if they had.
He asked her out for coffee. She agreed to meet him in one hour. She laughed as she walked away, and turned to flash him a smile.
Desmond walked back to his waiting limo, stepped inside and told George he found what he was looking for. George asked if there was anything else he could do for him, and Desmond asked George if he could get the manifest from his Oceanic 815 flight. George said he could and asked why he needed the names of the passengers.
"I just need to show them something," Desmond said.
Boom.
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