I am – Hercules!!

LOST 3.8 FAQ

What’s it called?
“Flashes Before Your Eyes.”

Who’s responsible?
Teleplay is credited to series co-creator Damon Lindelof and “Buffy”-“Angel”-“Alias” vet Drew Goddard.

What does TV Guide say?
“A suspicious Hurley enlists Charlie to help him drag the truth out of Desmond, who has been acting strangely ever since the hatch implosion.”

This is a Desmond-centric episode?
Oh, yes.

Does Desmond again demonstrate his new super-power?
He does!

Do either of the Widmores turn up this week?
Yes, both gruff Charles and charming daughter Penelope.

Are the Widmores confined to Desmond’s flashbacks?
They are.

Do we learn anything more about how the Widmores might be connected to Dharma Island?
Nothing noticed. But pay attention. There’s a lot of set dressing this week.

Desmond theorized early this season that the fail-safe he activated at the end of last season somehow destroyed the world-destroying magnetic anomaly. Do we learn anything this week that would contradict this?
We do not.

Do we learn why the magnetic anomaly didn’t destroy the world before Dharma built Swan Station?
Not this week.

What else is TV Guide not telling us?
This is perhaps the most atypical episode of “Lost” since 2005’s “The Other 48 Days.” Which is saying something.

The big news?
Jack, Kate and Sawyer are wholly absent this week. (Maybe for the first episode ever?) Also missing are Henry, Juliet, Tom, Danny, Alex and the other Others. Nikki, Paulo, Bernard, Rose and Jin get the week off as well. Locke, Sayid and Sun only appear in a single scene in the teaser.

Sawyer and Kate do not return to the big island this week?
Not unless they landed on a different beach. This episode may be set before or concurrent with the events of last week’s installment. As it begins, Locke is just getting around to informing Charlie and Hurley of Eko’s demise way back in 3.5.

And we don’t learn this week if Ben or Ben’s daddy built Lostzilla, Monster of Smoke?
Nope.

What’s good?
The very wet Claire. Desmond’s (and another’s) close shave. The musical echo of our first meeting with Desmond in 2.1. The flashbacks, which I suspect even a lot of the hate-iest flashback-haters will like. “This swallow is worth more than what you could make in a month.” “Every single one of us is dead.” The cricket bat. Oasis Charlie.

What’s not so good?
Viewers who think the 815ers are more interesting than The Others at this point are, candidly, nuts. I already miss Ben, Julie and Li’l Dharma Island.

How does it end, spoiler-boy?
Desmond offers one last prediction.

Herc’s rating for “Lost” 3.8?
***1/2

10 p.m. Wednesday. ABC.

Ack!! Season-Sets Winging Furiously Toward Us!!
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