Recap of 5×14 The Variable

Faraday, saying, "She was wrong."

An amazing episode.

After we’ve heard Jack wail so many times, “We have to go back! We have to go back!” it turns out that no, they didn’t have to go back after all.

Faraday’s theory about how you can’t change the past is turned on its head.

We see Mommy issues that are just as twisted as the show’s ubiquitous Daddy issues.

The episode starts with a fabulous beginning, quickly flipping through scenes we’ve seen before — Faraday telling space-suited Desmond to meet him in Oxford, Eloise saying “God help us all,” Ben shooting Desmond.

Then new footage of Desmond in the hospital, Penny and baby Charlie. Eloise Hawking shows up! Says this was her son’s fault.

30 years earlier…. Faraday is coming out of submarine hatch, which we saw at the end of the last episode. Faraday asks Jack why he came back. Jack says Faraday’s mother told him it was his destiny. Faraday tells Jack, “She was wrong.”

Flashback to young Daniel playing the piano. His mother asks him if he knows what destiny means, and says it’s a special gift that must be nurtured. His gift is his mind, his talents in math and science. So he will have no more time for the piano! “I can make time,” Daniel says, but Mom Eloise is unyielding.

Meanwhile in Dharmaville, Jack finds out that Phil is in Sawyer’s closet.

Faraday goes to the Orchid. Dr Chang says “God help us all” — we saw this earlier this season in Episode 1. Faraday says that there will be an explosion in the Swan station 30,000 times more powerful than the one in the Orchid. Dr C asks, how do you know? Faraday says, I’m from the future. Faraday tells Dr. C that Miles is his son. Miles is not pleased.

Flashback of Daniel graduating, getting his doctorate. Mom Eloise is horribly rude to Daniel’s girlfriend Theresa, then whisks him off to lunch alone. He tells her he has a grant from Charles Widmore! Her expression is unreadable. She gives him a gift, and then leaves. It’s the book that we always see him writing in, his constant.

Dharma time. All the Dharma losties are meeting, talking about skipping town, debating whether to get on the sub or go into the jungle. Knock on door. It’s Miles and Faraday. Sawyer, to Miles: “He still crazy?” Miles: “It’s on a whole new level, man.”

Flashback to Daniel freaking out while watching the news on TV about Flight 815 being under the sea. (We’ve seen this part of the scene before.) He’s in terrible shape from having sent himself through time, which destroyed his mind and his memory (and messed up his girlfriend and cost him his job). He doesn’t even know why he’s so upset by the broadcast.

Charles Widmore shows up! Tells Daniel that he had faked the Flight 815 crash. Offers him a new opportunity — to go to the Island. Tells him it will heal his mind. Says he shouldn’t be wasting his gifts. Faraday says, “You sound like my mother.” Widmore says that’s because they are friends.

Dharma Losties argue about whether to go to the Hostiles to find Ellie, Faraday’s mother. Jack wants to, Sawyer doesn’t. They both appeal to Kate, but it’s Juliet who tells them the fence combination. They split up — Kate, Jack, and Faraday take off. Faraday sees little Charlotte, tells her she has to leave. They have a shoot-out with Radzinsky.

Flashback to messed-up Faraday playing the piano. Mom Eloise comes in, tells him he should accept Widmore’s offer. She echos Widmore in saying that the Island will heal him. Faraday, pathetic, asks Eloise if taking the job will make her proud of him.

Dharma time. Faraday says, this is our present. Any one of us can die.” Well, there goes my theory.

Radzinsky finds Phil in Sawyer/Juliet’s closet. Uh oh!

Faraday explains to Kate and Jack that after the explosion goes off in the Swan, then the hatch will be built, the button will have to be pushed to keep the energy contained, Flight 815 will crash, and he himself will be on the freighter, and so on. All of that will be the result of the explosion that is about to happen.

He says he thought that you couldn’t change the past, but that’s because he was thinking of the constants. But what about variables? He says THEY are the variables. They CAN change their destiny.

And he intends to do that by detonating the H-bomb.

Back to Penny and Eloise, who says she has come to apologize. For once, she doesn’t know what is going to happen next. But Desmond is fine! He tells Penny, “I promised I’d never leave you again.”

Eloise walks out of the hospital. Widmore creeps out of the shadows. She tells him he should go inside and visit his daughter, Penny. He says that relationship was one of the things he had to sacrifice. She says, don’t talk to me about sacrifices. I sent my son back, she says, knowing full well what would happen.

Widmore says, “He’s my son too!”

Eloise slaps him.

In Dharma time, our trio creeps up on the Hostile’s camp. Faraday confronts Richard Alpert. Then young Eloise shoots Faraday! He says, “You knew. You always knew this would happen.” But young Eloise has a blank expression. Is she faking?

And is Faraday dead?

Screencap of Faraday (lightened/cropped) from the DarkUFO sneak peek video #2 in my previous post, (c) ABC