After being shot by Ben Linus (Michael Emerson),[a] Desmond Hume (Henry Ian Cusick) awakens to discover that Charles Widmore (Alan Dale) has brought him back to the Island.

Charles informs Desmond that his son Daniel Widmore (Jeremy Davies), a classical musician, has invited the rock band Drive Shaft to perform with him that evening.

The band's bass guitarist, Charlie Pace (Dominic Monaghan), has been arrested for possession of drugs, and Charles requires Desmond to collect and deliver him to Daniel's event.

Upon their meeting, Charlie tells Desmond that he recently almost died after swallowing a bag of heroin,[b] and in his near-death state experienced a vision in which he was with a blonde woman.

After discharging himself from the hospital, Desmond apologizes to Charles' wife Eloise Widmore (Fionnula Flanagan) for being unable to ensure the attendance of Drive Shaft.

As Desmond prepares to leave, he is stopped by Daniel, who tells him that he recently saw a red-haired woman in a local museum that he strongly felt he already knew and loved.

Daniel shows his notes which contain a graph with imaginary time on one axis, and hypotheses that the world as he and Desmond are experiencing is not their correct path, and something like a nuclear explosion has altered their realities.

"[5] IGN's Chris Carabott stated "while not necessarily on the same level as "The Constant" or even "Flashes Before Your Eyes", "Happily Ever After" does deliver many game changing moments that will alter the way we view the alternate universe from this point forward."