CHARACTER OF DESMOND

One of the characters that had the greatest importance (the big build-up) for the series conclusion was our lost Scot, Desmond Hume. In the end, his role was merely a concierge. For many, this was a great disappointment.

Desmond first appeared on the radar in Season 2. In order to stretch out the character tree, TPTB needed to craft a more "epic" and sympathic love story. So Desmond and Penny romance was born.

Very little is known about Desmond's background. His time line during flash backs do not have the continuity to be considered full truths. Some of  Desmond's life seems to be disjointed concurrent events. We are led to believe that he was set designer for a theatre company, a banished military corporal, a failed monk, a failed copier salesman, and a lost sailor. In 1988, he broke off his engagement with a woman named Ruth because he feared a committed relationship. Afterward, at the monastary run by Eloise Hawking's friend, Brother Campbell, Desmond meets Widmore's daughter, Penny. He has a relationship with her that her father disapproves (which is probably why Penny liked Desmond). But Desmond runs away from Penny when things got too serious. Then, he flip flopped mentally to get her back by "proving" something to her father (by winning a solo trans Pacific boat race). It seems all far fetched and a lame excuse to avoid marriage.

It is the failure as a monk that "tags" Desmond into Eloise's scheme to get Desmond onto the Pacific Ocean to be trapped on the island pressing a stupid button forever. Eloise, as Widmore's spouse (as depicted in the sideways world), had to be working in concert with Widmore under some guise to "protect" and/or "reclaim" the island from Ben and the Others. Eloise told Desmond that he was destined to "save the world."  And that is the HUGE mystery item for the series - - - a noble goal, a epic struggle, a great solution. So we are left guessing what was attacking the world, and how Desmond was destined to save it.

Desmond is also the character that starts the flood gate of "inconsequential" meetings with the other main characters. This script entanglements in retrospect only gave the series catch phrases but not plot momentum. Desmond meets Libby in a coffee shop. In less than five minutes, she gives a stranger her husband's boat. Yes, that is crazy. Desmond then meets Jack running stadium stairs. Both men have burning woman problems. Desmond tells him that he will see Jack "in another life." Desmond then crash lands on the island. He meets Kelvin, who just happened to be part of the American forces in Iraq who converted Sayid. Desmond was tricked into pushing a computer button every 108 minutes. Three years later, Desmond confronts Kelvin about the station. In the fight, Desmond kills Kelvin and misses the deadline to push the button. He believes the release of the EM energy from the Swan station caused Flight 815 to crash on the island.  (Except, the counter supernatural explanation is that only Jacob can bring people to the island.)

When Locke finds the Hatch, Desmond finds his way to escape his prison. Locke and the survivors then take his place on pure faith that pushing the button was important. But when Locke decides that this is a farce and destroys the terminal, causing an incident, Desmond takes the fail safe key and the entire station "blows up then implodes" into a large crater. By any standard, the force of such a blast would kill a human being. But Desmond awakes naked in the jungle. (Some believe that this may not have been Mr. Hume but a recreation. Or he had cat lives like Patchy.)  Afterward, TPTB created another strange plot twist of Desmond having "flashes" in time - - - which he believed he could see into the future. Some of his illusions turned out to be true, but some like the vision of Claire on the rescue helicopter, were false.

So if Desmond's sole purpose in "saving" the world was to press the hatch button, then he failed. He set into motion the MIB escape plan.

But then we were told that after Desmond left the island, found Penny and had a child, that he returned to the island to save his friends. There was no rational basis for this 180 degree turn. Desmond vowed never to return to the island because he knew it was a prison. He had everything he wanted off the island: Penny and his son. So what if the world would end - - - it would end with his family. So it puts that whole family dynamic in dispute when Desmond agrees to return to the island, as some sort of "weaponized" human being to destroy MIB. When the tech gets fried by the EM coils, any normal human being would also be fried. But not Desmond. He passes the test with flying colors. But for what purpose?

The only thing Desmond does is lift the stone cork in the Light Cave. Apparently, there is some EM radiation present (as with the remains of other people), but human Jack later goes into that cave to save Desmond without dying or turning into a smoke monster. So from the story itself, Desmond was not a key player at all. His island role was really overblown and found to be insignificant since Desmond does not kill Flocke, but Kate does (or so we are led to believe.)

So we have the super-fried Scot returning to the island to accomplish . . . . ? Nothing. MIB was created by the disruption of the light cave source so another disruption would not cause any change in MIB's existence. Did Desmond gain Widmore's respect by being a EM conduit? No. Did Desmond actually save anyone on the island? No. Did Desmond ever reunite with Penny? We don't know, but probably not if one gives any credence to the sideways arc.

In the sideways world, Desmond is the mirror opposite of his former self. He is Widmore's friend and confident employee. He is successful. He is trusted. He is in control. Then he meets a crazy musician named Charlie, who tries to kill him. By attempting his murder, Desmond begins to have strange thoughts - - - back to Flight 815. He investigates the passenger list and he begins to "awaken" the characters about their death-existence in the sideways world.

Now, if Desmond's island relationships were the "most important people in his life" since that is why he was in the church at the end, well, that is hard to believe. The "best" part of Desmond's non-sideways life was escaping the island and living with Penny and his son. So, if Christian statement was true, then Desmond's off-island life with Penny is false. This cannot be reconciled. Even if Desmond "awoke" himself in the sideways arc, there was no need to awaken anyone else - - - all he had to do was re-connect with Penny (who barely had any contact with O6). It would have been Penny, Dez and his son Charlie in their own after life church. But that leads to a crushing theory that Desmond's life with Penny was a pure fantasy - - - there was no blissful reunion, no child, nothing. That the sideways fantasy was a mere post-death continuation of a life fantasy.

Desmond's role was sold to viewers as being a lynch pin solution to the island mysteries. But he may have been just another rat in Daniel's Oxford lab maze. After Desmond awoke in the sideways world, he was confronted by Eloise at the pre-concert garden. She warned Desmond not to go any further. She did not want him to "take away" her son. Desmond said he was not there for Daniel. In Eloise's theory, this entire magical island drama was a scam to keep her external fantasy relationship with Daniel. Which means that at some point, possibly in the sideways arc, Eloise sent Desmond to the island just to avoid any memories of Penny in the after life. It seems like a huge effort for Eloise to tear a part time and space to exile one man to a hidden island just to shelter her son from leaving her (after) life. But that seems what happens in the end: Eloise's relationship with her son remains the same. Her "world" is saved, but not by Desmond "saving" it but "leaving it."

The Lost saga could have been told without the Desmond-Penny-Widmore triangle. As a second season character who lasted to the end, Desmond really had no significance except for being a literal lightning rod for plot twists and run up to faux danger.

For all the troubles, personal pain, physical damage, did Desmond's journey through Lost change his character? Not really. He was still used as a pawn in either alternative dimension. He was at the mercy of stronger leaders. He always kept trying to prove his worth. He was easily manipulated. If his only focus was to live happily ever after with Penny, then in a small way he succeeded in the end. (As said in previous posts, we do not know whether the white light ending in the finale meant a trip to heaven, or a trip to final judgment.)

One would have thought that if Desmond has super hero powers he would have had a more heroic role in the island conflict. He would have been able to take down both Widmore and MIB. But he did neither. He was a footnote in the main characters journey to the sideways church.