Lost Character Analysis Part 4

My mega Lost character analysis series continues today with Desmond Hume, but before I begin I’d like to make a few observations about Season 4’s Confirmed Dead episode. Expect spoilers so run over to ABC.com to watch the most recent episodes if you don’t want me to ruin your fun.

The second episode of the fourth season, Confirmed Dead, focused heavily on the introduction of four new characters and we’ve already been given brief glimpses of their recent pasts. If these characters were simply more castaways then I would question their addition but these four provide an entirely new slant on the same mysteries (Dharma Initiative, Ben Linus, polar bears) that we’ve already been pondering. And who’s that black dude working for Oceanic? I wouldn’t want to run into him in a dark alley but I’d sure like to ask him some questions. Obviously Oceanic knows more about the situation then they’re letting on.

According to Wikipedia the next several episodes will return focusing on our original Losties so Confirmed Dead brought us up to speed on the new guys and now we can take off running. My main complaint with the episode was that not a lot happened, but that’s an understandable obstacle when four new bodies have to be introduced and fleshed out.

"Do you have a wee bit o' toilet paper, brother? I got a 'fighter.'"

Desmond Hume – Speaking of Season Four, what the hell happened to Desmond? As far as I can tell he isn’t with Sayid and Jack’s bunch (though Wikipedia says that he is) and I don’t remember seeing him with Locke’s posse either. He’s something of a wildcard and that’s really been the case since the beginning.

Desmond was introduced in the topsy-turvy first episodes of season two as the man who continuously saved the world by entering the same sequence of numbers every 108 minutes. When his world-saving device was shot up he bolted and didn’t reappear until his sailboat returned as if he were sailing in a “snowglobe.”

If all that weren’t enough, Desmond appears to be clairvoyant since initiating the hatch’s fail safe mechanism. He helped Charlie avoid his death a number of times before helping him sacrifice himself to bring what they believed was a rescue attempt.

Desmond has received much less air-time than the other main Losties (Jack, Kate, Sawyer, etc.) but he’s proven to be no less important to their continued chances for survival. His history with his long-suffering girlfriend Penelope, who apparently will stop at nothing at finding him, as well as his connection with a number of other island folk (Libby) makes him feel like something of a plot device. A potential ace in the hole to bail writers out of jams and keep plots moving.

I do believe the writers have a far-reaching goal for Lost, but it doesn’t hurt having a guy who can “know” things he shouldn’t when you’re trying to handle as many loose threads as Lost tosses around.

I have absolutely no evidence to back me up on this, but Desmond is the type of character I would predict is inside that coffin in Jack’s flash forward. Desmond is somewhat removed from everyone and because of his clairvoyance he is always in a position to take incredible momentous actions and divide everyone’s feelings towards him. Of course, a ton of other people fit this role as well but Desmond isn’t the first person you’d think of which makes him the first person I do think of.

Biggest Questions: Where is he? What else does he know that he isn’t telling anybody? Will he ever reunite with Penelope? Will he be in the coffin and make me sound like a genius? Please?