Relationship Spotlight: Desmond Hume & Penny Widmore (Lost)

If your TV show is going to coopt a classic literary romance, you could do a lot worse than Odysseus and Penelope.  Like many pairings on Lost, Desmond and Penny’s happily-ever-after-ness is chiefly hindered by an unwillingness to fight for the relationship in a clinch, and in their case, the mistake puts a lot in motion for both characters and makes their story one of working to regain a missed opportunity (Some Desmond/Penny spoilers.)

Because Desmond and Penny’s story is told even more out of order than most on Lost (and theirs is subject to the most timey-wimey tinkering,) I’ll sum up as best I can.  Penny is the classy, laidback daughter of a wealthy tycoon (who, unbeknownst to her, is up to his armpits in island-related intrigue.)  Status and wealth aren’t big considerations for her, although she’s of course lucky enough not to have to worry about either.  Desmond is, from what I can tell, a decent working-class fellow with an overwhelming tendency to get in his own way.  When Penny meets him, he’s adrift, and that characteristic follows him through much of the show.  When things get to be too much, he’s liable to run, and his running lands him everywhere from a monastery to a military prison to, of course, a doomsday hatch on a whacked-out, time-shrouded island.

Despite their devastatingly-adorable meet-cute, Penny and Desmond’s relationship is plagued by his fears that he isn’t good enough for her.  Granted, he’s pretty thoroughly dressed down by his dad, a domineering moneybags who tells Desmond he’s a waste of good Scotch, but he wouldn’t be so easy to manipulate if he didn’t already have these issues.  But he does, so he is, and because Desmond has a knack for screwing up a good thing, he lets these feelings of inadequacy interfere with what he’d doubtless describe as the best thing to ever happen to him. 

(It’s worth noting that, as Desmond backs away and insists that Penny deserves better, Penny does fight for what they have.  She tries to cut through his insecurities and only walks away when it’s clear that he won’t be reasoned with.  I’m of two minds about this.  On the one hand, Penny is pretty awesome – she’s devoted and loving, goes after what she wants, and doesn’t put up with a lot of crap.  On the other, her near-perfection makes her a flatter character compared to Desmond’s more complex mix of qualities and flaws, which puts her at a narrative disadvantage.  I understand that Desmond is more central, and we see Penny mostly in his flashbacks, but I wish she was a bit more of a character and a bit less of an idea.)

Since Desmond’s chief faults are, as mentioned, getting in his own way and running when the going gets tough, the break-up balloons into a serious Odyssey situation.  His attempt to “prove himself” to Penny – which, naturally, she doesn’t ask for – involves a boat race around the world, which is what lands Desmond in his island predicament.  And, voila:  Odysseus and Penelope!  Well, not quite.  Though Penelope was no slouch in Homer’s story, keeping the suitors at bay by unraveling her tapestry each night, Penny takes a more active role here.  While Desmond gets waylaid by his personal Circe (not a beautiful enchantress, but an all-consuming mission down in the hatch,) Penny uses her wealth and resources to search for him.  By all rights, it should be impossible for her to find him, but she is one determined woman, and when a certain group of plane crash survivors shake Desmond out of his resignation, he joins the effort as best as he can from his end.  Suddenly, everyone’sbest chance off the island becomes the sheer perseverance of two people bent on making their way back to each other, and I just love that.