*** Spoilers Follow***
Charles Widmore is an Other?!?!?!
That was seriously the best revelation LOST has given us in a long time and goes a long way to explaining why he wants to get back to the island. Maybe at one point Widmore was even the leader of the others before leaving/getting banished/transported off the island. I hope the writers are planning a Widmore-centric episode soon. That would be great to learn more about him, how he left the island, why he can’t get back, and see what’s really going on between him and Ben.
Here’s my theory as to who the Others (with the exception of Richard Alpert) really are. They’re survivors of the British trading ship, the Black Rock, that crashed on the island back in the mid-nineteenth century. This explains their British accents. My guess is that after they crashed, they were unable to get off the island and started their own society. They’ve been there long enough that they feel the island is theirs and don’t want to give it up.
Another thing about the Others I’m still trying to figure out: They don’t really seem to be into building places to live. They were living in the tents of the army people they killed in the 1954 flashback in this episode and moved into the Dharma Initiative homes once they eliminated all of them. I find it odd that they don’t really seem capable of building any kind of permanent settlements. I’m sure there’s a reason for this, I just haven’t figured it out yet. If anyone has a theory, feel free to throw it into the comments below.
Meanwhile it looks like Desmond, Penny, and their son are headed to Los Angeles. Fate is bringing everyone back together. It looks like Desmond is headed back to the island, no matter what kind of promises he made to Penny. It appears, at least in LOST’s universe, you really can’t mess with fate.