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The Gift

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The episode opens with a voiceover from FBI agent Al Gough narrating a message to a woman named Celia. Al says he knows Celia didn’t have a flash forward. During the voiceover, we see her playing with her sons. As she loads them in the car, Celia pulls a flyer from her windshield. It features a blue hand and a web address: www.ALREADYGHOSTS.com.

There’s a message on the back that reads: "We know you are one of us."

Ian Rutherford was the center of a case Al was investigating with MI-6’s Fioana Banks, who is in town from London. Rutherford is one of the three people with blue hands that Demetri and Al found at the abandoned house. They all died from self-inflicted wounds. All three were “ghosts,” a nickname given to those who did not have a flash forward. The Blue Hand is a place where ghosts can gather to embrace the inevitable. It’s basically a death club. Next meeting is in downtown L.A. and we’re thinking it’s going to have some federal party crashers.

Mark, Demetri and Al infiltrate the Blue Hand meeting where entry involves a quick game of Russian Roulette. Without hesitation, Al takes the gun, places the barrel under his chin and pulls the trigger, CLICK! No bullet. Mark says, “You got a death wish. You could have been killed.” Al tosses him the one bullet that was in that chamber and echoes the message written on its side when he says, “Not today.”

Sound Off

FLASHFORWARD -

Did Al's death change the future?

Do you think Al's actions will change destiny, and possibly Demetri's fate?

Answer

ekwynn1

1 week ago

And about those Blue Hand suicides: I meant to add that simply not having a FF ignores the fact that one doesn't know what else might have happened in those next six months. If I decide to kill myself now because I believe I will be dead in six months, I am changing the future. Al's grandstanding action aside, people are changing the future all the time. Al's suicide was dramatized but it was hardly a benchmark. Why would his single act of suicide be any more important than the Blue Hand guys' suicides? They might have cut short a whole lot of actions that would have taken place had they waited it out. Presumably, these cut-short intervening actions had other ramifications that would now never take place. The alternative theory which comes from the mouth of the character Simon Campos (played by Dominic Monaghan) is that everything is pre-destined and therefore nothing can be done to alter the future. The Book is already written. If that's the case, all the suicides are futile in that they will have no effect whatever on the future. Except for the suicides and they - we must assume - were always going to die in the next six months some way including committing suicide.

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ekwynn1

1 week ago

It's like several of you have said on this board: the act of looking at the future changes it. All the things people are doing like creating mosaic, etc. are things that are changing the future because had they not seen the future they would not be doing what they are doing now. There would be no reason to create mosaic, for instance. And the blue hand guys who killed themselves already did what Al did; they changed the future because by killing themselves they chose the moment to do it instead of allowing their fates to play out for the next six months. If people consciously work towards a pre-determined outcome then they are changing that outcome because they are trying to pre-empt it. Without looking at the future, you don't start trying to do certain things because you wouldn't know what you should be doing. There is a lot of playing about with time here, and it's not all logical.

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geistjagerin

1 week ago

When Al jumped off the building, I half expected him to fall on Celia : D I thought it was really surprising and exciting that one of the main characters died, but why did it have to be Al? He was a likable character. And cute! I keep wondering, why is it that Mark is investigating the flash forward in his flash forward? We must be dealing with at least two, probably three, or maybe more different possible futures. Obviously the future Al saw was not to be (I mean, if he fell a few hundred feet and was carted away in a body bag, I would think that it is pretty definitive that he is dead--or the writers are really testing our patience). Maybe it's not so much that the future is changed as that everyone is being diverted into a different future.

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Drklion643

1 week ago

The future for the MI6 Agent changes, because she taped the window, AND Al will no longer be there. It's like the whole, "If you kill a fly in the past, you'll change the future thing" Everything and everyone he enacted/would have enacted with, will not happen because he's not there. Celia will still die imo. Demetri is going to die in March, the lady said he'd get shot in the chest or something...to change his future umm, bulletproof vest maybe? Or wear two just to make sure. DUH!

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Makius777

1 week ago

Alright lets think about this. Now Suppose everyone on earth really did see a glimpse of the same exact point in the future. Now if everyone sees the exact point in time do you really think anyone would be having a business meeting, chillin on the sofa or sitting in the john pushing one out when 10pm April 29th comes rolling around? Hell no! Everyone and their jock strap is going to be glued to the television at that exact moment to see if anything is going to happen! Not going about their daily lives as if nobody saw the future 6 months earlier! So just by simple act of ''seeing" your future you change it and Al's death proved that. What everyone saw was one of an infinite number of futures that could possibly happen. It's just basic String Theory really.

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LeeWTK

1 week ago

Does anyone know the name and city of the motel/hotel that is in the opening scene of tonights show? I would really appreciate the information if anyone has it. Thanks!

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theranch1414

1 week ago

no

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edfactor

2 weeks ago

Butterfly effect. of course it did.

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cb131

2 weeks ago

One can only hope that it does.

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RandomRasnsom

2 weeks ago

Of course. Butterfly Effect as it relates to the Chaos Theory, baby!

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ngarai6666

2 weeks ago

It allows for the possibility of no "fixed" future.But 2nd-order counterfactual history allows the writers much creative leeway in bringing some aspects back to the 'pre-determined' state and others to wildly "quantum" free-will storylines!Demetri is the most interesting character,by far.I actually care about what happens to him.The Crows' Death in Africa precursor thing is really intriguing because I'm a big fan of all the Corvines.I knew something would have to occur to enlighten us viewers as to the possibility of changing the 'fastforwards'.Sad that it was Al who had to show us.I really like this new show;I'm a LOST show fanatic (so,duh!!!).- ZKW.

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zeroglory3224

2 weeks ago

I hope so, but perhaps not as much as Al intended. It would seem it had to change the future some, as Al will not be in the future to be in the UK. However, did he save Celia? Maybe not. Maybe the way that he was responsible for her dying was more of something he didn't do, didn't stop something from happening that he should have, and now with him gone he won't be able to stop it from happening. Maybe not, maybe Celia will live happily ever after, we will see.

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Madalliam

2 weeks ago

The idea is...nothing is certain. But all he knew, when he did this was, it wouldn't be HIM that hurt her in any way. Anyone can die, any time. There's no big certainty that Celia won't still die somehow. If that's her "fate" maybe it's just someone else that does it. For instance...if Celia makes a dumb lane change and it was Al who had hit her which causes her death (by him kinda)-- maybe she STILL makes that dumb lane change in the future and someone else hits her. OR maybe someone else is more vigilent and she escapes death altogether because no one was there to hit her. ^ just an example. We don't know what really happens, but I can't help to think it's accidental eithey way.

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ColTravz

2 weeks ago

OK. Now my mind is completely blown. This just throws everything out of whack. Kind of like a time continuam disruption. We, at my firm, were discussing just yesterday what was going to happen to the series once the six months was up. I guess this is how they can keep it going. B.T.W. My prayers are with my fellow service men and women at Fort Hood.

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chaseguy17

2 weeks ago

Al's death was beyond stupid. Nobody would kill themselves for something they have not already done and especially if it was a person they did not know. There are tons of ways to change the future. Al should have known this, as he mentioned taping the windows. What a stupid premise. Al's future was the easiest to get out of, as he wouldn't have to show up to the office on April 29th. It would be easy. He could hold the investigation meeting at his house instead or in a different room. Mark burned his bracelet, so that will not be there. It's hilarious that AL says, "I found a way to change the game." Ummm yea Al, you think it might have been better to use somebody who changing their flashforward wouldn't involve killing somebody? Like maybe take a restaurant owner who saw himself at his restaurant...and burn his restaurant down. basically there were a million things you could do. This was horrid writting. Ridiculously stupid if you guys buy into this.

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PixelSith64

2 weeks ago

It was something that he had done BEFORE April 29th, so he doesn't know what it is he did or when it will happen. That's why he decided to kill himself, so he can't kill her. If he had had a meeting in a different room on that day he would have just got the same call. It would have been a different story if he had known WHAT he had done, and then he could have changed that. This was the only surefire way to keep her from dying, or at least that's how he sees it.

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seekeroftruth7

2 weeks ago

anything can happen

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Rucook

2 weeks ago

Since Al changed his destiny, I believe that Demetri will reflect on what he can do to stay alive. Then it makes you think about those who were at the Blue Hand Club, did they have a chance to change their destiny or not????

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lisakimberlin69

2 weeks ago

the future is the present and the past is the present one and the same just reflection of the same of each other except when you look in mirror its flipped like 31 would be13 so no# merged would be 3113 or 10/6+2/17=31/13

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wendy69b

2 weeks ago

Why would you take the time to come to this discussion board if you are so bored with the show?

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littlecitadel

2 weeks ago

I was convinced that Al was going to land on Celia. but not really-- it would have been way too silly for such a emotionally fraught moment. And it would have detracted from the free-will vs. fate ambiguity... which would have bummed me out. Because we all know Celia may still die. Course correction and all. errr... wrong show??

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evilsilver

1 week ago

the answer was already stated in 1x06... quantum physics states that the mere act of observing something changes the outcome... the future is no different in this sense, because of the fact that the future was viewed, everything changes. if you want a more in depth explanation to the thought process simply watch "Next" (the one with Nicolis Cage in it). "i can look into the future, but that changes the future"

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lostoncityisland

1 week ago

I think you should stop these stupid questions and go directly to the boards.

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SPPJR20

1 week ago

Yea probably. But what I want to know is what's going to happen to the people that didn't have a flash forward. They assume the reason they didn't have one is because they will not be alive at that time. What if the reason is nothing of the sort, but they simply didn't have one because of some sort of flash forward malfunction. As we've already seen, the flash forwards were the result of an experiment gone wrong. Isn't it possible that the people lacking a flash forward were somehow immune?

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Cecil403

1 week ago

What do you think?Whats happening in this show is, when people saw their future, all their actions afterwards, the actions that were a direct result of the vision. Whether they were trying to prevent it or encourage it to happen. These are the actions that are going to make the vision come true....this is what people arnt understanding.

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Fredericspitz

1 week ago

If he ends up not being dead and in recovery I stop watching that show ;)

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azmummy

1 week ago

Agree!

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kinggerald224

1 week ago

first off why did Jet Jackson have to die...he's back on tv and he can't last an entire series. whats up with that. Also I think things have changed, but not because of Al death, things changed because of the visions they all had during the black out

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LloydSimcoe

1 week ago

People, puh-lease! Al is not dead. In his FlashForward, Al was in London with that relatively young Margaret Thatcher chick talking about the Rutherford B. Hayes case. Thatcher had the same FlashForward, so Al MUST still be alive as of April 29, 2010. I know we all watched Al jump to his alledged demise in the last episode. But think about it: we also saw Aaron's daughter Tracy sitting at his dining room table. She's dead -- with DNA tests to prove it (Aaron's FlashForward was clearly a dream sequence). So, what happened at the end of the last episode? Clearly it was one of the following: (1) the last ten minutes of Episode 7 were all a dream sequence that didn't really occur; (2) everyone watching the show blacked out at the same time and had the same vision (a kind of "FlashForward" of our own); (3) Al did really jump, but much like Bill Murray's character in the great film "Groundhog's Day", he will wake the next morning in his bed, covered in "dirty rice" -- then he will come to his senses and not repeat that jump; or (4) the writers were just messing with us and will take it all back in Episode 8. Aaron's daughter is dead, Al is alive and Demitri is doomed. I just hope Oliva jumps in the sack with Lloyd Simcoe sooner than later so we can all stop watching Mark anguish over it (SUCH an overactor).

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tlhndr6

1 week ago

Yes, definetely. Al's suicide provides an unfortunate example of how the future can be changed. I thik that the FFs were visions of what the future holds if people continue living their lives they way they were on the day of the FF. They can change the future. Hopefully Mark realizes this and does not soully depend upon what he saw on his board in his FF.

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dcgrafx1

1 week ago

Yes. The future is a variable, no matter what pre-cognitive visions were seen during the black-out. Knowing that the "event" was manmade opens up thousands of possibilities for change. If however, people intentionally follow a path to their visions, then they are facilitating it becoming a reality.

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aliceluan

1 week ago

I cant believe Al died! I was so looking forward to see how he gonna work out the case with the woman came from London! OMG I still cant believe this.. and I think this wont change anything only made things worse.. Cuz so many ppl will follow his step and make decision like this.. so sad for Al!

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elfinrock

2 weeks ago

Al should not have died. His character was much too interesting for that.

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chaseguy17

2 weeks ago

i love lost. Lost doesn't have characters make implausible decisions. Charlie "KNEW" that he had to die, to get everybody off the island. What i'm saying is, the people in this show should know how easy it is to change a flashforward, especially if all you were doing on a specific day was having a conversation somewhere. You simply don't go to that location on that specific day. it's easy. And the fact that you can change that, means that you can change everything else. So Al should have been...gee, i don't have to go to work on April 29th, so that means the future isn't set in stone. That means if I can change my flashforward, I can change what happened. I don't have to kill Cielia. I enjoy watching shows and going along with the ride. Hense why I love a show about a time traveling island and I was very intrigued about a show where the world blacked out for 2+ minutes. I have no problem going along with the ride with those plot devices, because they are science fiction elements that I enjoy. but whn the entire world thinks their flashforwards are set in stone...I start thinking, "Are they crazy?' Al doesn't have to go to work. Anybody in their right mind would think that. It's beyond annoying.

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Madalliam

2 weeks ago

Keep in mind-- he got the CALL on 4-29. This doesn't mean he actually "killed" Celia on that day. This could have happened anytime between "now" and April 29th. She could have just died when the attorney had called him. If this was a car accident or shooting, she could have been on life support a while before the actual "death".

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kriege51

2 weeks ago

I sure hope so. Nobody likes to think they are on a path they cannot change. He made a tremendous sacrifice and it was very well played by the actor.

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olagaton

2 weeks ago

I think it will definitely lift the weight off of everyones shoulders, as they now know that actions they make now may not allow them to lead into the actions in the future. In addition, I think that Al's actions will/should throw the entire investigation into chaos, since they should now understand that the investigation Joseph Fiennes character saw in the future carries much less weight, since it's even more evident that it may not occur the way he saw it.

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Cyn42001

2 weeks ago

It looks like Al's death has already changed the future but WHY, WHY, WHY!!!!!!! did they kill him??? My friends and I were on the phone the minute this episode went off and ALL OF US were totally shocked and upset about the show getting rid of him... of ALL the people they could have killed off. I hope this is a dream/nightmare sequence.

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Madalliam

2 weeks ago

Hmm. I don't think so James. I think this was meant to prompt this team to get with the picture and realize that not everything they saw has to happen the way they saw it. It was important to the series to have the idea that people are so scared by what they see in the future, that they aren't taking time to live in the "now" and do what they must to fix some things. Mosiac is a huge project and it's consuming the lives of the team working on it in an immense way. I have yet to see Mark Benford go home and be the super loving dad and husband to help divert the future that his wife saw in her FF (except after the suicide). Instead he's focusing on his anger at something that hasn't happened yet-on his own end (blaming himself and also Olivia for their FFs). I think this move by the series, was to help focus some attention on things that need attention.

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James07753

2 weeks ago

I wonder if this will turn out to be a dream sequence in the next episode?

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aznonie

2 weeks ago

It could change the future for Celia, but it also could change other peoples' lives. Maybe Celia needed to die in order for others to live. What if she were putting herself in the way of danger to save her children? Now their lives could be changed. The future isn't written in stone. The day they did the flashforward, that date in the future was as it was the day of the blackout. It could all be changed now just by simple, small things changing. The blackout itself changed the way the future would be because now people know what's going to happen, they will change what they would have done. IMHO

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wendy69b

2 weeks ago

I also have wondered if people could have been sleeping if they didn't have an ff. Or what if Demetri does get shot and he doesn't die buy goes blind for whatever reason?? Then he would be alive but wouldn't see anything. Also, do we know if his fiancee seen him or did she just see herself getting married? And maybe she was dreaming.

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squeejlueej

2 weeks ago

Exactly, in this latest episode anyway, Demeti's fiance saw herself at her wedding. No sign of Demetri himself...

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Hiljag

2 weeks ago

Now, to the actual question at hand, yes it will change the future. Someone who was seen in the future by others, contacted by others, that part of the future can never happen. If Al was no longer working with Demetri's in the future but the woman from London, then this may not change Demetri's fate. Maybe Demetri had been killed before Al was with the agent from London. Maybe Al was not with Demetri when he is killed, so Demetri's fate is on a different path. Why are we not asking about the other agent who was shot, will she be pregnant on April 29 since gunshot may have injuried her womb?

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Madalliam

2 weeks ago

Janice says in the hispital that the procedure that Olivia did, basically left a small chance of her getting pregnant. Remember in Janice's FF? She's crying when the ultrasound happens. I thought maybe she'd been crying because maybe a spouse had died and she was thankful the baby was healthy at the time of the ultrasound (could be numerous reasons to cry, but it seemed like a ... thankful cry) but maybe she's crying because up til that moment, she was told because of her messed up uterus, she could have miscarried anytime and she's crying because she's happy that the baby is ok.

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grrlgeniusbk

2 weeks ago

I think Demetri should wear a vest on the day of his 'murder' and he should elope immediately.

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Hiljag

2 weeks ago

This is ludricus, after all the development of the show's plot to have Al kill himself in the second month of the series doesn't make sense. Was the actor playing Al wanting out of the show over contract disputes like they do in soap operas? This did not fit Al personality that has been revealed thus far.

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jaimifa

2 weeks ago

I agree!!!

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jaimifa

2 weeks ago

It didn't fit the charater's personality.

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Madalliam

2 weeks ago

Well...anyone can be pushed to the limits. Remember that he *feels* his own pain from his FF at having killed - even by accident the woman, leaving her 2 kids orphans. Now, I agree that he might have been able to figure out a different way to circumvent this decision, but I think that he doesn't want to take a chance at feeling the kind of pain and regret that he felt in his FF if any action made by him or not made by him, resulted in her death. And he's kind of tired of this doomsday "it's going to happen" approach by everyone on the team-- so I think in some ways-- it does suit his personality because he's not just committing "suicide" just to do it. He has a purpose. People with a purpose and with a clear objective tend to want to make a point. So it wasn't about him just committing suicide. This was about him showing the team- that things COULD change. And it was about absolving himself of the possibility of inadvertently killing a mother of 2 young children.

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cmullen0828

2 weeks ago

He was being selfless and noble, taking his life to save the life of another, and to prevent those kids from going into foster care. Maybe he had a similar childhood? Either way, he did it to help the others and Celia. To show everyone that the future CAN change. He is trying to turn everyone against fatalism.

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maryjunebug

2 weeks ago

How would you know if all you had to do to change the future was just not appear at your office (or wherever) on that day? Maybe you will have thought of that but something out of your control and beyond your control makes you appear at your flash forward ? Al obviously had a ff but now has elminated that ff from actually happening since he killed himself, making any ff impossible since he is now dead. Very interesting.

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Hiljag

2 weeks ago

What happens to the agent from London now? It almost appeared if though they were about to get romantically involved and it would have been great to have them working together to help solve some of the cases, but now it just doesn't make any sense.

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Hiljag

2 weeks ago

An empty answer? You must have something to say! What do you think?

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m58d

2 weeks ago

Obviouslyit changed destiny - he's not going to be there to get the call to tell him that he had killed Celia..possibly changed Demetri's fate ? Possibly, sure. Look at the word "If" in the sentence..

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lostfreak86

2 weeks ago

I'm going to throw this out here on this thread. I've also posted on the "Was Dimitri Sleeping" thread. I think its possible that Zoe saw Dimitris funeral. In East Asian cultures, white symbolizes death and is worn during funerals (to explain her white dress). Like the other posters said, we have yet to actually see him appear in her FF. She might be blocking that part out, or was in an exterme sense of denial at the time of the FF which is why she was so convinced it was a wedding. Not that I want Dimitri to die, I really like his character. Just an idea.

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jaimifa

2 weeks ago

mmm...good observation. i agree.

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Stephanus_S

2 weeks ago

I agree. It's a good observaton. Like someone else has mentioned. I don't recall seeing Dem in Zoey's walk on the beach.

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FlashForwardJunkie

2 weeks ago

If Demi dies on March 15 why did they wait until April 29 to have a funeral??

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RICOROO

2 weeks ago

AL'S DEATH DID NOT CHANGE THE FUTURE, WHAT EVERYONE SAW IN THIER FLASH FORWARD WAS THIER ALTERNATE REALITY (SEARCH SUICIDE THEROY) SO AL IS DEAD IN THIS REALITY AND STILL ALIVE IN THE OTHER

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jaimifa

2 weeks ago

i can't believe you killed off Al! He wasn't a small character - and who ever directed that episode should have told those actors to act as if that was their kid brother about to leap! They should have been frantic and begged. That constipated look on finnes face was the worst. The whole scene was lame, and I hope that you make up for it some how! And NO, I don't think it will change the future!

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Atreides_pl

2 weeks ago

I think the future is to be shaped by every character by himself. Al's death means that his flashforward was an alternate version, while Aaron's seems to be real - his daughter came back alive... I think we will see more such suprises in futrue episodes :-D

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From the Soundtrack

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  1. I Will Not Forget

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