Turns out that Desmond David Hume on “Lost,” the character most memorable for calling everybody “brothuuh,” (heavy on the accent), is actually an ex-brother! (well, ex-monk, but close enough). This shocking revelation was revealed on last night’s episode, “Catch-22.”

Here’s the story: Desmond convinces Hurley, Charlie, and Jin to trek with him through the jungle in pursuit of Penny, his long lost love. Desmond believes she has somehow traveled to the island in search of him. In between events on their journey, audiences are treated to “before-Penny” flashbacks of Desmond’s attempt to become a monk after jilting a different girlfriend of six years one week before the wedding.

The flashbacks include all sorts of interesting religious parallels: At Desmond’s monastery they bottle wine called “Moriah Vineyards”–the name of the mountain where the Prophet Abraham takes Isaac to be sacrificed, according to many religions’ scriptures. (Is Desmond the island’s Abraham, who is supposed to trust God and take Charlie for slaughter–but then fails?) We also learn that Desmond left his fiance for the monastery because he awakens in the street one morning to find a monk offering his hand to him, and suddenly Desmond believes he has a “higher calling.”

But it turns out, “the brothuuhs” decide he’s not meant for the monastery and ask Desmond to leave while he’s still a novice. He has an even higher calling, one of the monks tells Desmond before he’s off on his way.

Is Desmond’s higher calling wrapped up with Penny somehow? The last scene has Desmond meeting Penny as he’s packing up to go. Is it Desmond’s destiny to always run from his calling–since he runs from Penny too, just as he runs from Charlie’s death?

Too soon to tell.