Theory: Widmore preceded Ben as the Others' leader

A simple theory: the leader of the Others before Ben was none other than Charles Widmore.

Why? Well, basically, because he almost comes right out and says it. From his conversation with Ben in "The Shape of Things to Come": "I know who you are, boy. What you are. I know that everything you have you took from me."

Widmore's definitely talking about the island in some capacity, but pinpointing what opens up a massive can of worms. We know that he bought the Black Rock's ledger, so he could feel that he "owns" the island because of some distant relationship he has to Black Rock shipmate Magnus Hanso, whose descendants would later fund the Dharma Initiative. Or he could've been integral to the Dharma Initiative itself. Then you have to consider whether or not the Dharma Initiative was simply making up an elaborate myth about "hostiles" on the island (check out Ben's first flashback for more evidence of this), which then went beyond their control and resulted in their death during the Purge.

But then again, when you hear hooves, don't assume it's zebras. The simplest explanation is that Widmore was the original leader of the Others - whoever they are - and in a coup, Ben replaced him as the leader and expelled him from the island. Widmore later used his considerable fortune to find the island again and get revenge against Ben.

That means that Richard, when recruiting Kid Locke, may have been working on Widmore's behalf (if he wasn't time traveling from Ben's time period, that is). Remember that Richard, while still an Others loyalist, told Locke in Season 3 that they were getting tired of Ben's leadership, and viewed his continued focus on fertility tests a distraction from their real goals. Perhaps it was Widmore who started all of their children-testing experiments?

TAGS: Ben, Charles Widmore, Others, Theories
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