Season 3 Episodes

Episode 8

Flashes Before Your Eyes

On the island, a suspicious Charlie decides he wants to confront Desmond about his apparent psychic abilities, and the seeming visions that had Desmond save Claire from drowning and save her tent from getting struck by lightning. Since Desmond is typically cagey and pensive, Charlie decides he might have better luck if he gets Desmond drunk, so he plies him with whiskey and then begins quizzing him. When Desmond resists, Charlie calls him a coward and Desmond charges Charlie, knocking him over and screaming "you don't want to know what happened to me when I turned that key."

In a long flashback, Desmond goes for a job interview with his love Penny's father's company, Widmore Industries. When he gets there, Desmond tells Mr. Widmore the job interview was a front - he is really there to ask for Penny's hand in marriage. Mr. Widmore is appalled and insults Desmond, telling him he'll never be a great man. Desmond leaves, depressed, and runs into Charlie busking with his guitar on the street corner. Desmond begins to have a major 'flash' - suddenly getting visions of the island. He asks Charlie how he knows him; but Charlie doesn't know Desmond - he thinks he's a drug addict or crazy.

Desmond asks his physicist friend about time travel, but the friend scoffs. Desmond tries to prove his powers by telling his friend 2 things: What is about to happen in the football match, and that a man with a cricket bat is going to attack the bartender - he had a vision - but it turns out to be false. Desmond returns home and tells Penny he loves her. The next day, he goes out shopping for a ring. The proprietor of the jewellery shop shocks Desmond by revealing that she knows all about him. She tells him he is destined to leave Penny and end up on the island, where he will save humanity by turning the fail safe key in the hatch someday in the future. She tells Desmond that he can try to fight fate, but the reality is that the universe will "course correct" itself and find another way of forcing people back on their prescribed path. Desmond goes to Penny and breaks up with her, tragically accepting his fate. He goes to a bar to get drunk and suddenly realizes that his earlier vision about the football game and the thug with the cricket bat was right - Desmond just had the wrong day. He decides he will fight fate after all, and will go to Penny to beg forgiveness and tell her he loves her. Before he can, though, he is hit in the head by the thug with the cricket bat when he advises the bartender to duck. He wakes up. back on the island.

Charlie and Desmond make peace with one another, but Charlie keeps asking about Desmond's visions. Finally, Desmond reveals the truth to Charlie: He has had multiple visions of Charlie dying: Getting hit by lightning in Claire's tent, and drowning while trying to fish Claire out of the ocean. Desmond says that although he has saved Charlie twice before, the universe will inevitably "course correct," and no matter what he tries to do, Charlie is going to die.