Dan is a man with a plan. After weeks of questioning what exactly Daniel Faraday knows or doesn't know, and whether or not we should trust him, Wednesday's episode of Lost, the show's 100th, gives us a peek into that complicated brainiac's melon, and what we find out is scary to contemplate. It seems that Daniel wants to prevent the folks at the Swan station from drilling, because it will release a dangerous amount of electromagnetic energy, killing many and launching a series of events that will eventually cause the crash of Oceanic 815. To counter this, Faraday thinks the best course of action is to detonate a hydrogen bomb. Come again, Daniel... while I pick up the pieces of what was once my staggeringly capable brain, read on!
Namaste, y'all! Let's get the Daniel backstory out of the way before we cover Operation Boom-Boom Island Bye-Bye, shall we? (Brain not quite working still. With any luck, my college roommate wasn't lying when he told me that Newcastle Brown Ale contains important brain-enhancement properties.) Onward!
Danny Boy
Young Daniel likes the tickle the ivories, and count the ticking of the metronome. His mom, however, can't just enjoy his prodigious skills and be all: My boy is so talented. Instead, she asks the tweaky tween: "Do you know what destiny is?" She explains that he has a gift that he needs to nurture, with something other than piano-playing. "I could make time" [to play the piano], Daniel argues. "If only you could," a young Mrs. Hawking replies ominously. Burning question: Why do Daniel's parents (Hawking and Widmore) both have British accents, but he doesn't?
At his Oxford graduation, Daniel is the youngest doctor ever. But instead of an "atta boy," Mrs. Hawking insults Daniel's girlfriend, Teresa the doomed research assistant, and gives him a journal — the journal, in fact, which will later play a key role in future events.
Daniel also reports that he received a 1.5 million-pound grant from Charles Widmore, but is apparently unaware that he's his father. "Daniel, no matter what, remember, I will always love you. Mother" reads the journal's inscription.
Back to "Confirmed Dead"
We now revisit the scene from Season 4's freighter-folk flashback episode. Daniel is watching the news report that says that Oceanic 815 has been located on the ocean floor, and that everyone on board is presumed dead. He's really upset, but he doesn't understand why. (Oh, we know why, Dan.) Charles Widmore shows up, and pointedly explains that they've never met. He offers him a job on the freighter, and explains that he can finish his work on the island, where the passengers of Oceanic 815 are, in fact, still alive.
Further, his recent memory lapses — presumably the result of his questionable Oxford experiments that fried poor Teresa — will be fixed by the island. Widmore is sounding a lot like Daniel's mother, but that's because, Widmore explains, they're old friends. Any thoughts on who the unseen Caroline in this scene might be? (Aside: My observant colleague Matt Mitovich points out that the Wired mag we see in Daniel's house bears the cover line: "The Super Powers Issue -- X-Ray Vision, Invisibility and Time Travel -- The Impossible Gets Real!")
A short time later, an adult Daniel is forlornly playing the piano again. Mama Faraday shows up, and her surprising mission is to encourage Daniel to travel to the island with Widmore's crew. She repeats Widmore's claim that he'll be healed by the island. "You really want me to go? Will it make you proud of me?" Daniel asks pitifully. Yes, Daniel, it will, so off he goes. It's interesting that with all the daddy issues floating around, and with the confirmation that Daniel's daddy is Charles Freaking Widmore, it's Daniel's mother about which he could log some hard time on the couch discussing.
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