If there’s anything I love, it’s time travel. A good old fashioned dose of physics brings me great joy. And that’s exactly what I got when “Lost” went all “Donnie Darko” on us this week.

In a nutshell, Desmond kept going in and out of 1996 and the present (2004). It has something to do with exposure to high levels of radiation or electromagnetism, which Desmond experienced when the hatch imploded all those episodes ago. Then in subsequent episodes, he wakes up in the future with Penny, only to go back to present time on the island, after which he could prophesize the future deaths of his fellow castaways.

So, have the writers been tapping into their inner Stephen Hawking? I think so. We learned that island time is different from real time, or there is some sort of shift in time progression when one gets near the island. Perhaps a worm hole is afoot.

But why does it only affect those who have been exposed to electromagnetism or radiation? Makes you want to rethink getting your next MRI, doesn’t it?

In another interesting turn of events, back in 1996 Desmond hunts down Penny’s father to find her address. Desmond finds old Chuck at an auction in which he just won a seaman’s diary. The diary is very old (and expensive) and its contents have never been seen except by the owner’s family.

My oh-so-clever sources, Peppy and Mrs. D., tell me that they think this diary is going to be a key piece of information later on. Does it hold the secrets of the island? I’m guessing we’ll find some answers there. But why does Penny’s dad want it?

So that pretty much sums it up for this week -- time travel, possible worm holes, old diaries, you know, the usual. Since I’ve never been exposed to radiation or electromagnetism, I’ll have to wait until next week to find my answers.


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