The Sideways and The Constant

After watching The Package last night, I had a realization about the connections between characters in the Sideways which goes back to The Constant(not really new, but it came together pretty clearly for me). In the Sideways our characters connect with each other and unlock each others memories of life. These awakenings happen when a situation mirrors something they experienced on the Island with the person who "Triggers" the awakening.

For Desmond, it all starts when he sees Charlie's hand on the window after he causes the car to drive into the ocean. He gets a flash of "Not Penny's boat" which sets him off looking for Penny. Who he finds at the end of the episode and becomes Awakened.

For Sun and Jin, they're getting Sun checked out to make sure the baby is okay after she's shot in their encounter with Keamy, and their memories of life are triggered.

For Hurley, it was having his coffee "Date" with Libby. The date they never got to have in life.

For Sayid it's making physical contact with Shannon. And while I know people say Nadia should have been there with Sayid, we need to look at who Sayid was when he was with Shannon. During that brief period, Sayid was a completely different person than he is at any other point in the series. Likewise with Shannon. She started to become more likable after her and Sayid got together. More of a real person.

For Kate and Claire it's the birth of Aaron and their shared moment.

For Charlie it's making contact with Claire.

For Locke it's moving his toes after his surgery, which mirrors his first memory upon arriving on the Island.

For Sawyer and Juliet it's making physical contact with one another.

For Jack it's his fathers casket.

While not all situations mirror their Island counterparts, they do involve people who were important to the Awakened in life. Not only important personally, but shared important experiences together. Major life changing experiences.

So to me, it seems that the concept of a Constant carries over into the Sideways and works very similarly to how Daniel explained it in The Constant. A person who is important to you, and exists during both time periods\planes of existence.