BIG E SAID:
Where in the timeline is the scene when Desmond meets up with Jack in a flashback? When Desmond talks to Jack on the bleachers?

POTPIE SAYS:
It's not long after he is released from military prison, after he gets to America, just before the race starts.

BIG E SAID:
He ends his conversation with Jack by saying something like "See you in another life, Brother." Is this because Desmond now knows that he can travel back and forth in time, so he's constantly wondering if he'll see somebody again in "another life"? Or does he have particular knowledge that he'll see Jack again on the island? I feel like I need to watch this episode again.

POTPIE SAYS:
Now THAT'S a good question! I don't think he does know, but maybe the scene we saw was before he meets Daniel at Oxford and goes back in time and changes everything. If we saw the same scene again now, it might be very different because of the side effects of meeting Daniel. Does that make sense?

BIG E SAID:
Does anyone know what season/episode this scene is in?

POTPIE SAYS:
"Man of Science, Man of Faith." Season 1, episode 1.

BIG E SAID:
Does Jack have this conversation just before the he goes to Australia?
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POTPIE SAYS:
No, I think this conversation happens a long while before Jack goes to Australia because when Desmond and Jack are running stairs, Jack had only just met Sarah in the hospital. Jack goes to Australia to find his father after he and Sarah are divorced. (Remember, Desmond was on the island pushing the button for 3 years before flight 815 crashed.)

Was the military Desmond's 1st attempt to prove to Penny & Widmore that he wasn't a loser and a coward? If so, he failed miserably because he was dishonorably discharged and went to prison for years. After prison,sis self-confidence must have been shot AND he was probably convinced he was insane anyway. So where did he get the strength to try a second time to prove himself to Penny and her father??? That amazes me! Triumph of the human will to succeed!--Wow!

Has Desmond changed his future AND HIS PAST now that he met Daniel at Oxford and set up this recursive loop?

__________________
"Helen, do you remember that authentic Australian walkabout I told you about?"

My best (and only) guess is that Desmond thought he was crazy when he had those time traveling episodes years before, so he doesn't mean anything physics-related by the comment. However, he is a spiritual man and he does have a sense that he is on a path and miracles happen, so he might mean "if god and destiny permit it, maybe I'll see you again" when he says "see you in another life, brutha".

So if I'm right does that mean that the episodes stopped happening for a number of years between the military and after he meets Daniel at Oxford? I have to guess that they do because Desmond never lets on that he knows more is going on in his life. He never has any kind of a knowing look. He doesn't recognize Daniel or Jack. Rewatching the old Desmond episodes, there are no clues, even now knowing what we know about his life there are no clues. If the producers turn around and say he did know, I'm gonna be mad.

Still, it's a compelling question...

__________________
"Helen, do you remember that authentic Australian walkabout I told you about?"

Thanks, Potpie, for referencing that episode I was looking for. I think you're probably right that he had the scene with Jack before the time travel incident. But this is what always gets me confused with time-travel issues. I love that the show is going in this direction, because time-travel fiction is a current interest of mine (but only time travel within your own lifetime). I love thinking about fate, and whether it's possible to change your destiny (which of course is why I love LOST so much!)