LOST Pre-Game: “The Substitute”

Now, this is the part that blows my mind. See, she knew that Daniel would die on the Island, because he got lost in time and died in her own past. It happened in 1977, so when he got a job offer from Widmore in 2004, she already knew how things turned out. OK. We can get our minds around that. But when she talked Desmond out of proposing to Penny, she was talking about a decision that would change the future. This indicates, and I hope I’m getting my intent through clearly, that she knows what happens in the past, present, and future. White Oracle doesn’t travel through time, but she still knew that for the security of the timeline, Desmond couldn’t propose. It’s one thing to know that something happened 27 years ago, it’s another to know that a decision somebody is making today will alter the future. And remember that scene, when she sits down with Desmond and explains destiny – she has very specific and detailed knowledge of things that are going to happen (the pedestrian crushed by rubble). For her to send Daniel to the Island, that’s her remembering a thing that did happen. Convincing Desmond not to propose, that’s her ensuring a future scenario.