Episode Report Card LTG: A+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Constant Craving
By LTG | Season 4 | Episode 5 | Aired on 02.27.2008
On the island, Jack's phone rings. It's a wrong number. Or it's Sayid. There's a little mutual exposition -- Jack asks where the hell Sayid has been, Sayid tells Jack that Desmond went loco. Jack puts Sayid on speaker, thereby enabling Juliet, Daniel, and Charlotte to hear every word of the conversation. Sayid tells them what we already know, and Daniel looks very worried. Jack asks, "Side effects?" Daniel asks whether Desmond has recently been exposed to any radiation or electromagnetic fields. Just a little bit. Since neither of them really know what happened in the hatch (because nobody on this island ever shares the tiniest bit of information), they just stare at him stupidly. Daniel tells them that for some mysterious reason, some people going to or from the island can get a little confused. Juliet asks if it's amnesia. As we know, it is not.
In the sick bay, Desmond is trying to talk to the guy on the bed. His eyes are open, but he's just staring straight ahead and not reacting to Desmond in the slightest. I have to ask, is this what's happening to Desmond when his brain goes flitting off to the past? Because that would make it pretty hard for other people not to notice one of these little episodes. Bed guy blinks, and tells Desmond that he was just on a Ferris wheel. Wheeeee! The light in the room is turned on, and a sour-faced bald man in a lab jacket enters the room. Bed guy tells the medic (whose name is Ray) that he's not crazy because the same thing is happening to someone else. Ray prepares a hypodermic and sedates bed guy. After bed guy passes out, Ray asks Desmond how he's feeling. One a scale of one to ten, I would say "freaked out." He screams that he's not going to let Ray sedate him, and Ray calmly puts down the empty syringe. Ray pulls out a little medical flashlight and tells Desmond that he only wants to check his eyes. Desmond asks why; Ray tells him, "So I can help you." Desmond calms down and lets Ray approach him. Ray starts to flash the light in his eyes, and asks him to talk about the last thing he remembers.
And we're right back to the rain. Desmond is still hunched over, reaching for the coins he dropped on the ground. He turns and sees that the soldier who bumped into him is only around twenty feet away, indicating that he's only been out of it for a few seconds. He enters the phone booth, drops in the coins, and dials. Guess who he's calling. No, just guess. You're right, it's Penny. She doesn't sound thrilled to hear his voice. He tells her that he's in trouble and confused, and needs to see her. She tells him he really is confused if he thinks she still cares for him after he dumped her and joined the army. He tells her that he's about to start a two-day leave, and asks if he can come see her. Does he really still get a leave after pissing off his sergeant so badly? No wonder the British army sucks. She tells him he can't, and also not to bother showing up at her old place, because she's moving. He pleads with her, but she hangs up on him.