It’s become abundantly clear that Charles Widmore and Ben Linus are at the heart of the larger story of Lost. Ever since he was going by the name of Henry Gale, Ben has been telling just about anyone who would listen that he’s one of the “good guys.” We have seen far less of Charles Widmore and have been led to believe that he is the “bad guy” in all of this. After this week’s episode, however, I’m wondering if Widmore is in fact the innocent one. Could he be the “good guy?”
I know it would mean that Ben has been lying all this time, and that may be really hard to believe. Oh wait, Ben is a manipulative lying liar. I forgot.
In this week’s episode, “The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham,” we got to hear a bit of Widmore’s side of the story as he approached Locke and spoke with him. Widmore claimed that he was once the leader of the Others and that Ben tricked him, sending him into exile from the island. The fact that he was helping Locke this week, that he needed Locke to get back to the island, got me thinking. I don’t know if I’m just gullible, but I kind of believed Widmore’s story.
Yes, he did send a bunch of angry mercenaries to the island, but he claimed that was just intended to “take care of Linus.” Is there anything else that we’ve seen Widmore do that could be considered evil? I know we saw him break the neck of his fellow Other in the past, but we’ve seen plenty of other people act in very extreme ways to protect the island. Who can forget Locke throwing a dagger into Naomi’s back?
Honestly, I think most of the argument for Widmore as a good guy comes from watching Ben. He is the guy who shot Locke and left him for dead in the jungle, only to finish the job with a strangling off the island, as we saw this week. I would think that if Ben really were a good guy, he would be doing a whole lot more to explain himself. Instead, he just lies and manipulates: sending lawyers after Aaron, hunting down Penny, kidnapping castaways, murdering Abaddon, and gassing the entire Dharma Initiative, just to name a few instances.
Part of what’s great about Lost is that we just don’t know what the real story is yet. It’s a huge unfolding story and we still have a lot to learn. Some people hate the slow burn, but I can’t get enough of it.
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Mar 02, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
Widmore may have been speaking a certain amount of truth to Locke but not for one second do I believe him to be a good guy. He is hiding something as well.
There are no good guys on LOST.
Oreo you start making me feel like the hare to your turtle. Time and time again I read the post in my RSS reader and then come here to comment and you already said what I wanted to say.
To me, they both have ulterior motives all – the – time. There’s a reason why Ben killed Locke and there’s also a reason why we are lead to believe that Widmore is a “good guy”. Whatever that means. I was surprised at what Benjamin did but I still believe he’s a plagued soul, driven by the need to please – or fulfill a mission. And Widmore is greedy. He wants the island for himself. His younger self to me feels like it is pulled right out of “Lord of the Flies”. I think the island corrupts everyone – that the island itself is evil. I mean what good has the island done to anybody? The island IS death and I think the final questions answered will reveal just that – and I also think that those who deserve it, like Ben and Widmore, will end up as if the island was hell, wanting to leave but unable to. That to me could be the final scene to the whole series – the good guys making it, finally able to leave the island altogether, and the bad guys either unable to ever get to the island again as their personal hell or being forced to stay there as their personal hell. I just don’t know which will be the end for whom.
*POST AUTHOR*
I don’t necessarily disagree with you, but…
Good things the island has done:
– Healed Locke’s legs
– Cured Rose’s cancer
– Cured the cancer of Juliet’s sister
– Killed Paulo and Nikki (though I hated them far less than most)
– Apparently endowed RIchard Alpert with immortality
*POST AUTHOR*
I completely agree. I normally wouldn’t use the term, but I did because Ben uses it so much.
Widmore tried to keep Desmond and Penny apart. This is an unforgivable sin.
Weren’t the mercenaries supposed to release some poison gas that would kill everyone — not just Ben?