Lost: The Constant

“The Constant” is the fifth episode of Season 4 of Lost, originally broadcast on February 28, 2008. Sayid and Desmond hit some turbulence on the way to the freighter, which causes Desmond to experience some unexpected side effects.

Contents [hide] 1 Synopsis 2 Trivia 2.1 General 2.2 Production notes 2.3 Bloopers and continuity errors 2.4 Recurring themes 2.5 Cultural references 2.6 Literary techniques 2.7 Storyline analysis 3 Episode references 4 Unanswered questions 4.1 On the Freighter 4.2 On the Island 4.3 Desmond’s Transitions 5 External links

Synopsis

Real-time events: Desmond is on the helicopter with Sayid and Frank, looking at a picture of Penny. Frank is flying on the same coordinates that Daniel informed him of, and Sayid becomes worried when they lead them straight into a thunderstorm. They experience some turbulence and Frank reassures Sayid that they will be OK. The turbulence becomes progressively worse and Frank struggles to remain on the correct bearing. The helicopter begins to drift from the 305 heading and suddenly Desmond is experiencing flashes.

Flashtime:

Desmond wakes up in a military barrack as a drill begins. His Sergeant starts to shout at him because he did not respond promptly to the wake up call. He demands an explanation and Desmond explains he was having a dream about being on a helicopter, flying over the ocean, before reaching a thunderstorm. The Sergeant comments that it was at least a military dream but still mocks Desmond. As punishment for Desmond’s lack of concentration the Sergeant orders the entire regiment to get ready for the morning routine in double time, 4 minutes instead of the normal 8 minutes.

Real-time events: Desmond wakes up in present time after his flash and is noticeably disorientated. He struggles with his seatbelt and is panicking, appearing like he wants to jump out of the helicopter. When Sayid questions him and asks if he is all right. Desmond, puzzled, ask Sayid’s name, not recognizing him. Desmond then pulls out of his pocket the picture of him and Penny. He then starts to calm. The thunderstorm clears and the helicopter lands on the freighter. Keamy and Omar come running toward Frank, asking who Desmond and Sayid are and why he brought them with him. Frank tells them they are survivors from Flight 815 to which Keamy replies that he shouldn’t have brought them on board. Desmond is distressed and starts yelling that he doesn’t know Sayid and Frank. Sayid tries to calm him down, but to no avail. Keamy says he will take Desmond down to the sick bay to let their doctor take a look at him and then Sayid can see him again. Sayid grudgingly agrees. As they go to get Desmond, Keamy tells Des that he is from Las Vegas whilst Omar is from California. They last ported Fiji so at least they know they are still in the Pacific. After this, Desmond has another flash.

Flashtime: Desmond is then in the rain, standing while all the others in his regiment do crunches. His sergeant ridicules him and makes the entire regiment run as a punishment for Desmond’s erratic behaviour. Afterward, Desmond speaks to one of his friends in the regiment, and tells him about his “dreams” he has been experiencing. His friend calls him crazy, but asks if there was anyone he knew in the “dream.” Desmond then remembers that in the helicopter he was holding onto a photo of Penny. He then ventures to a nearby phone booth to call her. However, just as he is about to go in, another person from his regiment comes out, bumping into him, sarcastically thanking him for the extra work the sergeant made them do on the account of Desmond’s disobedience. As Desmond reaches down to pick up the dropped coins, his consciousness returns to the freighter.

Real-time events: Keamy and Omar escort Desmond down to the sick bay, which they lock him in. Desmond panics and starts pounding on the door and screams to be let out. He hears a voice behind him saying “You have it, too.” Turning, he sees a man lying on a bed, strapped to it. The man asks him if “it is happening” to Desmond as well.

Back on the beach, Jack and Juliet are worrying about the helicopter, as they haven’t heard from Desmond or Sayid for a day now. Juliet notices that Charlotte and Daniel are not so worried, even though the freighter is only 40 miles away - 20 minutes of flying, and questions them about it. Against Charlotte’s advice, Daniel admits that the perception of time on the Island might be different than the time experienced off the Island. He says that as long Frank uses the bearings that were given to him, the people on the helicopter should be fine. If not, there could be “side-effects”.

Meanwhile, on the upper deck, Sayid is surveying the freighter. He notices a closed-circuit camera on the railing beside him. Looking up on a higher deck, he sees Keamy and Frank arguing. As Frank comes down the stairs to meet with Sayid, Sayid asks him why they left at dusk but arrived midday. Frank doesn’t know. Sayid then asks for the phone, which Frank will only give him if Sayid gives him the gun. Sayid gives Frank the gun, and calls Jack. He tells him that Desmond doesn’t seem to remember who they are. Jack then puts the phone on speaker. Daniel asks if Desmond has been subjected to intense dose of radiation. He then says that by coming out of the Island, some people “might get a little confused”, but it is not amnesia.

In the medical room, after Minkowski phases out, a doctor, Ray enters. Minkowski wakes up and tells Ray that “this” will happen to everyone else once they go back to the Island. The doctor injects Minkowski with a sedative. After this, the doctor checks out Des’ eyes with a lamp, so he can “help him”. In the middle of a phrase, Desmond has another flash.

Flashtime: After picking up the coins on the floor, Desmond goes to a phone booth to call Penny. Troubled by his call, Penny tells him that he shouldn’t be calling her as he broke off with her and then joined the army. She adds that she has moved. She hangs up after telling him to not call her anymore. When Desmond tries to answer her, the flash stops.

Real-time events: Sayid comes down with Frank in the medic bay to bring the phone. The doctor pushes the alarm button. Sayid then quickly gives the phone to Desmond as on the other end is Daniel, who urgently wants to speak to him. Daniel asks him what year does he think he is in, to which Des answers 1996. Dan then asks where he is “supposed to be” and then tells him that he should go when he has another flash to Oxford so that Desmond will be able to give Daniel a message in the past. When Omar and Keamy suddenly enter the bay to stop the call, Desmond has another flash.

Real-time events: Back in the bay, Keamy takes the phone back from Desmond. He and Omar then bring Frank outside the room, as the captain wants to talk to him. Sayid adds that he too wants to talk to the captain, to which Keamy answers sarcastically: “I’ll be sure to let him know. In the meantime have a seat.” Des tries to “get back” using the doctor’s lamp but doesn’t succeed. After Sayid calls Desmond by name, Minkowski suddenly reacts, freshly woken up. He tells them that he is George Minkowski, the communication officer. Before they strapped him down there, all the calls to and from the boat went through him in the radio room. Every so often, a flashing light went on his console, an incoming call. They were under strict orders never to answer these call, which actually were made by Desmond’s girlfriend: Penelope Widmore.

Flashtime: Back from the “future”, Desmond wakes up in Daniel’s Oxford room. Daniel notices that Des was gone for 75 minutes and tells him that the more time he goes back and forth, the more it gets harder and harder as in his case the progression is exponential. Des then notices that the rat is dead, from a brain aneurysm. Desmond then confronts Daniel about that, but Dan says that he doesn’t know if Des is going to also die. Eloise’s brain short-circuited, she couldn’t tell the difference between the past, the present and the future as she didn’t have any thing to attach herself to: she did not have a constant. Daniel then tells him about the need for Desmond to have a constant, something that is present in both times and that he really cares about. Desmond then jumps to the phone and calls his constant, Penny, but the number has been disconnected.

Real-time events: When Desmond returns to his 2004 conscience, he knows he has to contact Penny. He tells that to Sayid, but Minkowski interrupts their conversation and says that two days earlier, someone sabotaged all the equipment. All communications with the mainland has been lost. Minkowski could have fixed it, but then he went nuts. Sayid then asks where is the radio room and frees Minkowski so he can show them the way. Sayid also asks how they are going to get out of the room, but Minkowski notices that the door is open: they seem to have “a friend on this boat”. Desmond notices that George has started to bleed from his nose. They prepare to leave.

Flashtime: In 1996, Charles Widmore is present at an auction for lot 2342, the journal of the Black Rock’s first mate. The contents have not been published and are unknown to anyone outside the seller’s family, Tovard Hanso’s family. Charles wins the auction for 380 000 pounds. Meanwhile, Desmond has arrived at the auction and is trying to get past the guard to talk to Widmore. After the auction ends, Widmore walks out and agrees to talk to Desmond quickly. At the men’s bathroom, Desmond tells him that he needs to get in touch with Penny. He doesn’t know how to reach her as her number has been disconnected. After Widmore talks about Des’ cowardice and his “second thoughts”, he ultimately gives him her address so that she can tell him herself that she hates him. Just as Des is about to close the sink, the flash ends.

Real-time events: On the boat, Sayid, Minkowski and Desmond are going to the sabotaged radio room. Minkowski says that “it” is happening faster and is getting harder. Desmond then asks to George how it happened to him. Minkowski tells him that they were bored out of their minds, waiting for their orders, anchored “here”, so him and Brandon, another crew member, decided to take the ship’s tender to see the Island. But Brandon started acting crazy so they turned around. Soon after, Brandon died and Minkowski went nuts. Sayid looks at the destroyed equipment and asks Minkowski “who did this”. George doesn’t seem to know and adds that he feels sorry for the person when the captain finds out. He then suddenly phases out again. Sayid then uses his military training expertise to repair the phone. Desmond notices a calendar: “it’s 2004″. Sayid sees it also and notes that it’s almost Christmas. Desmond starts to bleed from his nose, and suddenly Minkowski has a fit and bleeds from his face. Minkowski’s final ‘trip’ cost him his life, as he returned to 2004 he died, his last words being I can’t get back.

Flashtime: Desmond awakens in the same bathroom as before, the sink full of water. After refreshing his face, he goes to see Penny. She opens the door to a distraught Desmond in 1996. Despite clear signs that Penny wants to have a “clean break” from Desmond, the latter insists, pleading for her phone number. After entering the flat, he tells her that he needs her phone number so he can call her in 8 years (December 24th, 2004). Ultimately, after a bit of reassuring, Penny gives Desmond her number: 7946 0893.

Real-time events: Desmond comes back from another flashtime and tells Sayid the London phone number. Sayid repairs the phone, dials it, and then gives it to Desmond. Desmond then engages in a heartwarming phone call with Penny, preparing Christmas; she has been looking for him for 3 years, also confirming to Desmond of her conversation with the late Charlie. She knows about the Island, she has researched it, and is trying to find him. After they exchange their love for each other, the battery dies out. A happy Desmond then thanks Sayid, seemingly having remembered everything. He is now “perfect”. On the beach, Daniel begins flipping through his diary until he comes to a page that reads: “If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be my constant.” Presumably Daniel makes a note of this in the past at Oxford because he knows he will meet Desmond on the island in the future and anticipates problems like those experienced by Desmond and Minkowski in this episode.

Trivia

General

• This episode is the first to contain a Flashtime (neither a Flashback nor Flashforward). Instead, Desmond is aware that he is traveling between 1996 and 2004 within the context of the present time narrative.
  • The Desmond-centric episode Flashes Before Your Eyes also has Desmond time travel, but within the context of what appeared to be a flashback.
• Penny’s phone number is 7946 0893 in London.
  • 020 7946 0893 was a Season 4 bonus clue in the Find 815 ARG (Find 815 clues/January 9)
  • Although this looks to be a UK telephone number in London, it is an unassigned number (Ofcom specifies that numbers beginning with 020 7946 0 are for drama purposes [1]).
• Penny’s address is 423 Cheyne Walk in London.
  • 423 Cheyne Walk was a Season 4 bonus clue in the Find 815 ARG (Find 815 clues/January 9)
  • It is near where Desmond’s photograph with Penny was taken. In addition, Widmore Industries has its offices in the same neighbourhood. (”Flashes Before Your Eyes“).
  • Cheyne Walk is a famous street in London known for its famous inhabitants. Residents have included Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, George Eliot, Dante Rossetti, and Henry James (who wrote The Turn of the Screw).
• Queen’s College, Department of Physics and Southfield were Season 4 bonus clues in the Find 815 ARG (Find 815 clues/January 30)
• The journal that Charles Widmore buys in the auction is the same journal referenced by Oscar Talbot in Chapter 5 of the Find 815 ARG. Talbot was working for a branch of the Widmore Corporation, and says that his employers had the journal.
• The journal’s seller is named Tovard Hanso.
• After the auctioning of the Black Rock ledger, some of Charles Dickens’ belongings are place up for bidding.
• According to the calendar on the wall, as well as Desmond, the real-time events of this episode take place on Day 94 (Christmas Eve) when Sayid, Desmond and Frank left the island. This means that while it is Day 94 on the Freighter, it is actually Day 96 on the Island.
• Camp Millar was a season 4 bonus clue in the Find 815 ARG (Find 815 clues/January 23)
• Kevin Durand, who plays Keamy, was in the movie Smokin’ Aces with Matthew Fox and Nestor Carbonell. He was also in the movie Wild Hogs with M.C. Gainey and Walking Tall with Michael Bowen
• In the Bible, Daniel, like Daniel Faraday, is known to have skills in interpreting dreams (Desmond tells his Sgt. that he had a dream).
• The phone that Sayid connects to the battery is a standard Lineman’s Handset (looks like a Harris TS22).
• Jeremy Davies, who portrays Daniel Faraday, also portrays Tom-Tom, the main character in the movie “The Million Dollar Hotel.” Tom-Tom is in love with a woman named Eloise. Likewise, Davies’ character Faraday is closely linked to another Eloise: the white lab rat.
• Minkowski mentions that in the Radio Room on the ship there is a blinking light and incoming calls from Penny, very similar to what was seen in The Looking Glass communication room.
• Desmond trying to grab Penelope’s attention and tell her about how he was (is) lost on a boat at sea is reminiscent of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
• Fisher Stevens (George Minkowski) played Chuck Fishman on the show Early Edition. The show was about a man, Gary Hobson, who “gets tomorrow’s newspaper today.” Hobson would try to prevent bad events mentioned in the next day’s paper from happening.
• Fisher Stevens, who plays Minkowski, was in the 1985 Sci-Fi film “My Science Project”, which dealt with other dimensions and time travel.
• As the helicopter approached the freighter, a sign near the landing pad indicated the name of the ship: ‘Kahana‘.
• The majority of the notes on Daniel’s chalkboard and notebook are (introductory) notes on Special Relativity and General Relativity, with a small amount of quantum mechanics scattered in.
  • Special Relativity deals with linear contractions/dilations of space and time
  • General Relativity deals with the curvature of space and time
  • There have been evidences of both Special and General Relativity on the island - as Faraday pointed out (and his payload experiment showed), there is a contraction of time when you go to or leave the island, perhaps due to a relativistic effect (that is not yet understood). Also, the writers may be building on a “worm-hole”-ish idea (vile vortices?), which would relate to General Relativity.

Production notes

• Ben, Claire, Hurley, Jin, Kate, Locke, Michael, Miles, Sawyer, and Sun do not appear in this episode.
• The scenes in the military camp were filmed on the slopes of Diamond Head. [2]
• The dog seen at Oxford university when Desmond finds Daniel Faraday seems to be the same dog used for the picture in Jacob’s cabin.

Bloopers and continuity errors

• On the map in the helicopter, you see 2 different versions of the freighter on the map. The second version has 2 lines drawn in the freighter.
• In 1996 London telephone numbers were seven digits only (they changed to eight digits when the area codes changed from 0171 and 0181 to 020 in 2000 [3]). Therefore in 1996 Penny’s number would have been quoted as 946 0893 (or 0171 946 0893).
• On the blackboard in Daniel’s office there is an incorrect form for Schrodinger’s equation for the time evolution of a wavefunction. The equation should read:, instead of .
• When Desmond is in the phone cabin and looks at his hand you can see his finger tips look like prunes, an effect that can’t really be produced by natural rain.

Recurring themes

• Desmond moves back and forth between 1996 and 2004 — 8 years apart. (The Numbers)
• Penny lives at 423 Cheyne Walk (4-23 or 42-3) (The Numbers)
• The frequency that Faraday gives Desmond is 2.342 (23, 42) (The Numbers)
• The auction lot number of the Black Rock diary is 2342. (The Numbers)
• Faraday says that while Desmond was in a catatonic state in his room at Oxford, 75 minutes had passed. Desmond perceived the same amount of time as 5 minutes. The ratio of 75:5 is equivalent to 15:1. (The Numbers)
  • At the auction, Widmore is bidder number 755, the same numbers as the time ratio. (Coincidences)

• Another bidder number, 887, is a prime number. Added together, they give you 23. (The Numbers)

• Charlotte earned her doctorate at Oxford. Daniel taught there. (Coincidences)
• Minkowski is unable to find a constant and dies as a result. On the other hand, Desmond is able to find a constant (Penelope) and manages to avoid death. (Life and Death). Minkowski’s constant, also called Minkowski’s theorem, is the foundation of geometry of numbers.

Cultural references

Cultural references in LOST (direct references only)
Art • Books • Cars • Games • Movies and TV • Music • Philosophy • Religion and ideologies • Science

• Philip K. Dick’s VALIS-In the novel the main character Horselover Fat (himself a version of author Philip Dick), gets exposed to a pink laser which provides him with knowledge perceived to be from God. This ‘living information’ reveals details from the future. It also shows him that his currently perceived reality is a facade, that in fact he is a citizen of ancient Rome. This is analogous to the pink beam that was used on Faraday’s test mouse, Eloise.
• Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five-Desmond, during one of his flashbacks/time travels, speaks to someone else in the military with him. His friend’s name is Billy. Billy Pilgrim is the main character in Slaughterhouse Five. The narration of the story of Billy Pilgrim begins: “Listen. Billy Pilgrim has become unstuck in time.” When Desmond is with Daniel in 1996 and Daniel is about to experiment on Eloise, he says that he is going to unstick her in time. Also, the narrator of Slaughterhouse Five, Vonnegut, says that he likes to call old girlfriends late at night. Desmond calls Penelope at night. When Desmond spoke with Mrs. Hawking, she said that events are structured and that the universe will course correct. In Slaughterhouse Five, Billy Pilgrim explains that , according to the Tralfamadorians, aliens who can see the fourth dimension, time is structured and events cannot be changed (we are like bugs in amber). When asked about the end of the universe, the Tralfamadorians explain that one of their test pilots presses a button that destroys the universe. Billy asks why they cannot stop the pilot from pressing the button, and they reply that the pilot always has and always will press the button. The moment is structured that way. Desmond’s purpose, according to Mrs. Hawking, is to turn the key and he cannot avoid it. The moment is structured that way. Billy Pilgrim sees the future, and even predicts his own death. Desmond predicted Charlie’s death and other events on the island.

• It has also been implied that Desmond himself knows the time and date of his own death. He carries Charles Dickens’s “Our Mutual Friend” with him because it is the last book he wants to read before he dies.

• The Time Traveler’s Wife a novel by Audrey Niffenegger depicts an science fiction inspired love-story where a man with a “Chrono-Displacement” genetic disorder causes him to unpredictably time-travel. The novel’s conflict is amplified when his wife, who is the daughter of a wealthy family, must cope with his frequent absences and dangerous experiences. A central theme unlike many other time travel stories, it is not possible to change the past or future.
• Many elements of this episode are similar to the film Je t’aime, je t’aime (1968) by French director Alain Resnais. In the film, a man is used as part of an experiment wherein he is sent back in time repeatedly by scientists to re-experience specific moments in his life. Once he arrives in the past, he seems to have only a vague understanding of where he is or where he came from. When he returns to the future, he is comatose. In the film, they first experiment on mice, like Farraday. There are a number of instance in the film where, in the man’s past, the mice from the future appear where they should not be. One of these places is on a beach. Resnais’ films often deal with the relationship between time and memory.
• How to Disappear Completely: When Desmond lands on the freighter, he says “I’m not here; this isn’t happening”. These are the lyrics of the chorus of the fourth song from Radiohead’s fourth album, Kid A.
• All Good Things: The series finale of Star Trek The Next Generation features Captain Picard in three different timelines. He becomes unstuck in time, like Desmond and Billy Pilgrim. As he bounces back and forth, he becomes aware of a temporal anomaly in all three timelines. In essence, this anomaly is The Constant. Only when he identifies the constant and directly contacts it is he able to stay in one timeline, ignorant of his future. Also, Desmond’s trip to contact Daniel at Oxford is reminiscent of Picard’s trip to visit Data at Cambridge. Damon Lindelof confirmed that “All Good Things” was a big influence in writing “The Constant” here.
• La Jetée (1962) by Chris Marker. After a nuclear holocaust, scientists send an unnamed protagonist into the past (and later, the future) through experiments designed to expose human consciousness to “time waves.” Only those of a stable mental disposition can successfully receive these waves and travel through time without going mad. The main character, referred to as the Man, falls in love with a Woman in the past, but his decision to stay with her results in his own death (an event he had witnessed as a child.) This essayist film dealing with time and memory served as the basis for Terry Gilliam’s Twelve Monkeys and was referred to in Blade Runner when the photo of Rachel’s mother briefly animates.
• Donnie Darko: The concept of a Constant has been introduced in the film as the Artifact in Donnie Darko; it has been referenced at two points along the time-stream, and existing in both tangent universes. Both items are critcal in resolving a time paradox.
• Eloise: is the name of the protagonist in a series of children’s books written by Kay Thompson and illustrated by Hilary Knight. She is a spoiled, neglected girl and the stories revolve around her causing mischief to the Plaza Hotel of New York employees and their guests. The character is purportedly based on Liza Minelli. (see reference to Jeremy Davies, Million Dollar Hotel).

Literary techniques

Literary techniques
Flashbacks • Flashforwards • Irony • Juxtaposition • Archetype • Mindf*ck • Plot twist • Symbolism • Foreshadowing • Cliffhanger • Redshirt • Unseen character • Regularly spoken phrases

• Minkowski says he can’t get back. (Regularly spoken phrases)
• In 1996 Desmonds commanding officer asks him why it took him so long to reach his mark, which is in direct relationship to the present circumstance of the helicopter taking too long to reach the freighter. (Symbolism)

Storyline analysis

Storyline analysis
A-Missions • Crimes • Economics • Leadership • O-Missions • Relationships • Rivalries

Episode references

• Frank is told by Daniel to follow a bearing of 305, which is a Northwest direction. Eko’s stick bore the inscription “Lift up your eyes and look north - John 3:05″. (”I Do“)
  • Ben told Michael and Walt to follow a bearing of 325 to find rescue. (”Live Together, Die Alone“)
  • 305 is also the heading Juliet tells your character to use in the videogame Lost: Via Domus in order to get off the island.
• Daniel asks if Desmond had recently been exposed to high levels of radiation or electromagnetism. (”Live Together, Die Alone“)(”Flashes Before Your Eyes“)
• Penny tells Desmond she was told he was alive and on an island when she spoke to Charlie. (”Through the Looking Glass“)

Unanswered questions

Unanswered questions
Do not answer the questions here. Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer. More details…

For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: The Constant/Theories

On the Freighter

• Why were the Freighter people under strict orders to not answer Penelope’s call?
• Who sabotaged the radio room?
• Who opened the sick bay door?
• How is it that Minkowski remembers events before he became “unstuck”, where Desmond does not?
• Who is the captain of the Freighter? Where is he?
• What has Penny been researching?

On the Island

• Does Daniel remember Desmond from 1996?

Desmond’s Transitions

• What is contained within the journal of the Black Rock’s captain?
• How did the journal come to be in Madagascar?