Looking at Charles Widmore

Today a character in Lost that hasn't had much screen time caught my eye. Penny's father Charles Widmore.

The info

I am posting this right after seeing "The Constant", where he buys a log from The "Black Rock", a ship lost at sea long ago, and incidentally the same slave ship the survivors visit in episodes "Exodus, Part 1", "Exodus, Part 2" and "The Brig". This ship is deserted in the middle of the jungle on the island. He also sponsors an "around the world" boat race, in which Desmond wrecks on the island. This race must have cost him millions to hold, yet why does Mr. Widmore invest so much in a frivolous event that gains him nothing? Perhaps the question should be, what motivation would he have for sending hundreds of boats in path of this island? There are other things that link him to the island. In the episode "Flashes Before Your Eyes", Mr. Widmore pours himself a glass from a $75,000 bottle of MacCutcheon Scotch whisky, making a big deal of how rare and expensive the whisky is. Is it a coincidence that Charlie finds a bottle of the same whisky in Sawyers stash? Where on the island did Sawyer find it? Another link is the name "Widmore" is on the pregnancy tests that Sun, Kate use on the island and Rachel back home. These tests were parachuted in with the rest of the supplies from Dharma, meaning to this day Widmores company still sells supplies to Dharma. Which leads me to my next, and possibly most eye opening link to the island. When Desmond is interviewed in the office of Charles Widmore, there is a picture of a polar bear and an image of a Bhudda on the wall. On the top of the picture "Namaste" appears. "Namaste" is the Dharma members greeting to Ben and his father Rodger in "The Man Behind the Curtain" flashback. It also appears on the Dharma banner in the same scene.

My Conclusion

All these seem to indicate that Mr. Widmore has both past and present ties to the Dharma initiative. When the Dharma initiative was founded in 1970, Mr. Widmore was in his 30's. This, along with his great wealth means he would have been in his prime when Dharma was founded. We know he wasn't one of the two founders, but he may have a hand in the great financial backing this initiative would have required. Here is where more pieces of the puzzle fit in. In "The Constant", George Minkowski, the communications officer aboard the freighter, was under strict orders never to answer the incoming calls from Penelope Widmore. This shows that they know she is trying to contact them, and their superiors know exactly who she is. They refer to Penny as Desmonds girlfriend, when they hadn't been together for the three years that Desmond has been on the island. The only person who has the funds to hire the freighter, would refer to Desmond as Penny's boyfriend, has connections to the island, and knew in advance that Penny would be trying to contact them and has reasons to want to stop this communication, can only be Mr. Charles Widmore.

Decoding Lost

These are my musings on LOST, it's intricacies and answers to all your questions (at least what I've been able to figure out!).

I'm going to start on answers to questions on lostpedia, and I'll swap ideas with anyone else who feels a crave to figure things out before they happen on the show!

I'll start in the following blog, so hold on to your hats, its going to be a mind bending experience!