Desmond in Wonderland

Suddenly she came upon a little three-legged table, all made of solid glass; there was nothing on it except a tiny golden key, and Alice's first thought was that it might belong to one of the doors of the hall; but, alas! either the locks were too large, or the key was too small, but at any rate it would not open any of them. However, on the second time round, she came upon a low curtain she had not noticed before, and behind it was a little door about fifteen inches high: she tried the little golden key in the lock, and to her great delight it fitted! - from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland   `Oh, I've had such a curious dream!' said Alice    Great works of literature inspire something in us. It's a wonderful feeling. It's a sense of wonder, mystery and adventure. That sense or feeling is quite a powerful emotion. It's certainly uncommon almost by definition. Fortunately, for LOST fans we get to experience it a little bit more than the general population.    Flashes Before Your Eyes has us thinking about so many things: time travel, deja vu, destiny, clairvoyance, a girl named Claire and even a course correcting universe. In a sense, this episode isn't really a flashback. Desmond is off the island, in the past, and the flashes that he sees are from his future on the island! The question of what happened to Desmond after turning the key in the hatch is finally answered. He turns the key while thinking of Penny and immediately finds himself on the floor of his old flat after falling from a ladder. Penny is there and he is back. Incredibly, he knows about the island, the hatch, the race around the world and even Charlie, yet he seems to be re-living his past. At one point, he is racing to speak to a physicist about the possibility of time travel.   This is a great episode. This is what LOST is all about: mystery, adventure, romance, wonder and discovery. Scene from Season 3, Episode 11