Spoiler alert: Spoilers follow for all six seasons of Lost
Summary
- Desmond Hume was a central figure with connections to Charles Widmore, a main antagonist in
Lost
. - Widmore’s rivalry with Ben Linus escalated throughout the show to a tragic ending in the penultimate episode.
- Although Widmore aimed to redeem himself, his past sins caught up to him as the series came to an end in
Lost
.
Well over a decade after it ended, there are still few shows that provoke the level of fervor and debate as Lost. It arguably ushered in television’s entry into the internet era, gaining a vast community of fans who loved picking apart and speculating about the show’s countless mysteries. Almost no other network television show of the time had legions of viewers invested on a weekly basis to the degree that Lost did. While debates rage to this day about whether it stuck the landing, the fact that it still inspires discussion is itself a sign of its impact.
But at the end of the day, what kept people returning to Lost every week was its characters; few shows in this generation have had such a consistently compelling cast, with backstories and emotions as believable as they come. Indisputably, one of the standouts was Desmond Hume, who was introduced in the second season and quickly became one of the show’s central figures. His involvement also allowed Lost to explore another of its most compelling mysteries — that of Charles Widmore, father of Desmond’s lover Penny, and his unexpected connection to the Island.
Lost
4/5
- Release Date
- September 22, 2004
- Seasons
- 6
Who Was Charles Widmore in Lost?
Lost first introduced Charles Widmore in the second season finale, “Live Together, Die Alone,” appearing in flashbacks as he prevents Desmond from contacting his daughter, Penny. To prove to his soulmate’s father that he isn’t a coward, Desmond enters a sailing race around the world, but his ship gets caught in a storm, and he ends up on the Island. Initially, few suspected Widmore would have much impact on the show and that his presence was mostly there to inform Desmond’s character.
However, Widmore unexpectedly becomes one of the show’s main antagonists. The fourth season kicks off when a freighter arrives at the Island, supposedly to finally rescue the survivors. But it quickly becomes clear that the crew has more nefarious intentions, with the ship holding a team of mercenaries answering directly to Charles Widmore, with orders to capture the leader of the Others, Benjamin Linus (the great Michael Emerson), and to take control of the Island.
Related
The CW Actor You Forgot Was on Lost
Before he was Damon Salvatore, Ian Somerhalder charmed audiences as Boone Carlyle on Lost.
This story arc develops a series-long rivalry between Widmore and Linus, which later seasons explore more thoroughly. But things between them reach a breaking point when mercenary leader Martin Keamy executes Linus’s daughter, Alex, in front of him. A shell-shocked Linus remarks that Widmore “changed the rules.” After leaving the Island, he warns Widmore that he plans to kill Penny in revenge. The “rules” are never fully elaborated on, except for the fact that, for reasons unknown, Widmore and Linus aren’t allowed to kill each other.
Even after the conflict between the freighter crew and the crash survivors ends, Widmore remains a presence in the series but takes on more of an anti-hero role. In the show’s fifth season, he secretly reunites the “Oceanic Six” (the survivors who managed to escape) and convinces them to return to the Island, warning them that a war is coming and that he needs their help. The final season, which depicts the unfolding of said war, sees Widmore finally returning to the Island, bringing Desmond as part of a gambit to defeat the villainous Man in Black. However, Widmore doesn’t see the final conflict play out, as Linus shoots him to avenge Alex’s death.
Why Did Charles Widmore Want to Return to the Island?
Lost’s fifth season heavily delves into Widmore’s backstory, shedding light on his rivalry with Benjamin Linus and explaining why he’s so desperate to capture the Island. When the Oceanic Six return to the Island, they’re transported back to the 1970s, when the Dharma Initiative was at the peak of its power. Upon encountering the Others, they realize Widmore is among their ranks, serving under Richard Alpert’s command. He first meets a young Benjamin Linus when the Others bring him to their camp to heal a gunshot wound, but it’s clear that he’s skeptical of letting people outside their ranks into their territory.
Their rivalry only heats up when Linus comes of age and officially joins the Others. By the ’80s, Widmore has become the group’s leader and orders Linus to kill Danielle Rousseau, a woman stranded on the Island. When Linus tracks Rousseau down, he’s shocked to discover she has a newborn daughter. Promising to raise the child in a safe environment, he grants mercy to Rousseau and spares her life before adopting the girl (she would become Alex). Linus later insists to a furious Widmore that his leadership is going against the will of Jacob, the Island’s protector.
Related
SEAL Team Creator’s New Max Series Casts Lost Star
The new thriller series has been compared to The Fugitive and John Wick and centers on a merciless assassin.
By the ’90s, Widmore was officially banished from the Island as punishment for repeatedly leaving and conceiving a child, Penny, with an “outsider.” He spends well over a decade seeking a way to return, finally locating the Island after a giant discharge of electromagnetic energy (as depicted in Season 2’s finale). Promptly, he hires a mercenary crew to take control of the Island and kill all its inhabitants while kidnapping Linus in revenge for usurping his control of the Others. In Season 4’s finale, Linus stops Widmore’s plans by “moving” the Island to another part of the world.
After John Locke leaves the Island, Widmore asks for his help in reuniting the Oceanic Six, revealing that Jacob convinced him to see the error of his ways and to fight to stop his rival, the Man in Black, from escaping the Island. His involvement in the war escalates in the show’s final season when he finally returns to the Island, bringing Desmond as part of Jacob’s contingency plan. Since Desmond had survived exposure to mass electromagnetic energy in the past, Widmore knows he’ll be able to reach the Island’s electromagnetic heart and put out the light, which would render the Man in Black mortal (while also risking the Island’s destruction).
Charles Widmore Couldn’t Achieve Full Redemption
Thus, while Widmore’s methods in Lost‘s endgame remain unscrupulous, his intentions are at least aimed mostly in the right direction. But alas, he’s unable to truly redeem himself, as the sins of his past come back to haunt him when a vengeful Benjamin Linus kills him in the show’s penultimate episode.
Even still, his presence in Lost proves key to several of the show’s most tantalizing mysteries and a window into how several of Jacob’s followers seek short-term power at the expense of their true duty to protect the Island. Thanks to the show’s recent return to Netflix, Widmore and his many mysteries can finally intrigue and captivate an entirely new generation of fans. Lost is streaming on Netflix and Hulu.
