Why the Widmore coverup?

[truffula]

I tried to make a theory, but I can't wrap my brain around it.
Number Johnny Five needs more input. :D

Why did Widmore/Maxwell aid in the coverup of the crash of flight 815?

Why would they want people to stop looking?

Perhaps because they know of the Island already, and don't want anyone else to find it.

And then that begs the question - who are the "freighter people" (FP from now on for me :p)? Who sent them? And for what purpose?

Obviously NOT PENNY.
But if not Penny, then whoever sent them knew about Pen and Des and had access to the picture (that only ONE SHOT was taken and somehow there are multiple copies all over - Des had one, Pen had one, and Naomi had one) - right?

Makes me wonder exactly how much of her father's dealings that Penelope Widmore knows about.....

By all means, discuss on. :)

[leleana]

I think that Penny's two guys weren't the only ones who saw the island when the failsafe key was turned. My current theory is that the freighter people are from Maxwell, who is working together with Widmore - hence how they had the picture of Penny/Des. Maxwell probably caught sight of the island during that moment of clarity, and immediately took action. They needed to coverup the plane crash, and Widmore helped them do that. That way, it left them free to deal with the island without any more search parties.

It makes sense to me. Of course, I'll probably end up being totally wrong.

[LostViking]

Perhaps because they know of the Island already, and don't want anyone else to find it.



I think that's it in a nutshell. There is no way that widemore doesn't know all about the island. They may have helped build it for all we know. I would think they don't want it getting out that the does exist - thus the cover-up.

[RadioDave]

who are the "freighter people" (FP from now on for me :p)? Who sent them? And for what purpose?


THAT my friend is the million dollar question. I'm pretty sure they've been sent by Widmore/Maxwell (hell let's throw Paik in there too)... but why?

They don't want anyone else knowing about the island.. they want "it" all to themselves... but what in blue blazes is "it"?

I think that's the key to unraveling this whole mystery.

[LAN]

They don't want anyone else knowing about the island.. they want "it" all to themselves... but what in blue blazes is "it"?

I think that's the key to unraveling this whole mystery.

I still think it somehow involves the fountain of youth.

--Timeless Richard Alpert
--People dying and killing to keep it a secret
--The healing properties of the island
--DHARMA Life Extension Programs

Can anyone brainstorm any other ideas to go with this idea? (even if you dont buy it)

[BonesDMC]

Another thing to think about is how did Charley get an incoming message from Penny?

[truffula]

Another thing to think about is how did Charley get an incoming message from Penny?
I would imagine that she located the Island herself (with the help of her arctic friends :p). But we know from her transmission with Charlie: "What boat? I'm not on a boat."

And that makes me think, does Charles Widmore know what his daughter is up to in regards to finding Desmond/The Island?

Another random thing is Richard Alpert's line when he interviewed Juliet: "We're a privately funded company" - now I had just assumed that those funds were coming from the Hanso Foundation, but now I'm starting to think that Charles Widmore may have his hand a little deeper in the cookie jar than I had initially thought.

I'll try to add more at lunch if I think of anything. :)

Good posts so far, everyone!! :D

[see you in the next life]

As much as I hate the idea......I just don't believe DHARMA is around anymore.

You will soon know how Charles Widmore found out about the island.

I think Widmore is simply interested in the island.

DHARMA is now defunct.

He probably discovers what Penny is up to and sends his team to the island first.

[RadioDave]

does Charles Widmore know what his daughter is up to in regards to finding Desmond/The Island?

I betcha he doesn't. It would make sense that Penny would look for Desmond independently of Charles, since he never much liked Des anyway.

Here's an interesting question to ponder... do you think Charles will be surprised if/when he discovers Des is on this island?

I've seen theories that he used Des to find the island, and somehow caused him to wreck there.

[Winston Smith]

Another thing to think about is how did Charley get an incoming message from Penny?

You know, when I rewatched this a few days ago, I realized that Charlie did not recieve the message. Penny actually says, "How did you get this frequency?" This implies that Charlie called her, or somehow the computer at the Looking Glass called her.

[snakey]

I'm with you all who are disappointed in the Hanso/Dharma exclusion, was it due to tptb messing with the Hanso mystique in TLE1? It would make so much more sense to keep Hanso/Dharma in the mix, Mittlewerk would have been a great Widmore employee, donchathink?

[RememberMe]

What I don't get is this. If Widmore/Maxwell had a man on the boat, why did they need Sam to find 815? My original thought was that Widmore/Maxwell had planted the fake 815 and a rogue employee in the company was trying to help Sam find the island/real 815. But, at the conclusion of the ARG it seems that the fake 815 was a plant and that Widmore/Maxwell wanted the fake found so that the island wouldn't be found/the real 815 wouldn't be found/the survivors wouldn't be found/whatever the reason for the coverup.

But, if Widmore/Maxwell planted the fake 815, why send Sam cryptic messages that he may not be able to decode in an attempt to lead him to the wreckage? Why not guide their own employee on the boat to "stumble" upon the wreckage? Involving Sam just makes no sense to me other than for the purpose of inventing an ARG.

[truffula]

What I don't get is this. If Widmore/Maxwell had a man on the boat, why did they need Sam to find 815? My original thought was that Widmore/Maxwell had planted the fake 815 and a rogue employee in the company was trying to help Sam find the island/real 815. But, at the conclusion of the ARG it seems that the fake 815 was a plant and that Widmore/Maxwell wanted the fake found so that the island wouldn't be found/the real 815 wouldn't be found/the survivors wouldn't be found/whatever the reason for the coverup.

But, if Widmore/Maxwell planted the fake 815, why send Sam cryptic messages that he may not be able to decode in an attempt to lead him to the wreckage? Why not guide their own employee on the boat to "stumble" upon the wreckage? Involving Sam just makes no sense to me other than for the purpose of inventing an ARG.
Think of it this way - if you were Widmore/Maxwell and were responsible for this "coverup", it wouldn't look too good if you yourself made the discovery. They needed a patsy. Someone who had interest in finding the missing flight - Sam. His news report (first vid on find815) made Maxwell aware of him, and shortly after, they start sending him the cryptic emails.

[RememberMe]

I see what you're saying. But, a Maxwell rep was still on the boat and Sam could easily say in an interview that he got info from Maxwell re: the location. But, I have enough other questions bumping around in my head that I'll leave this one alone since I'm confident we'll never get a good explanation.

[aggiesean]

Hi truff. :wave2: I ended up :bump:ing my Murder Inc thread in TLE theories because of that issue you raised as well as the episode last night. Why would Widmore work to cover up the crash? As I state in that thread, I think it goes back to his history with both Desmond and Gary Troup. He wanted to get rid of them both, and had the means to do so with the island and his connections to the Hanso Foundation and Paik Industries.

[/end shameless plug for my own theory :p]
:Cowdance:

[snakey]

Plus it was to 'handle' Sam and keep him satisfied with a plausible explanation so he'd stop digging into the crash. From the look on Sam's face when he saw Talbot on tv, I think they misjudged him and he isnt fooled by the ruse. He will continue his search, TLE 3 anyone?

[see you in the next life]

Think of it this way - if you were Widmore/Maxwell and were responsible for this "coverup", it wouldn't look too good if you yourself made the discovery. They needed a patsy. Someone who had interest in finding the missing flight - Sam. His news report (first vid on find815) made Maxwell aware of him, and shortly after, they start sending him the cryptic emails.


Exactmundo, my friend. Exactamundo.

[truffula]

So after tonight....did Widmore actually coverup the crash?

Do we believe the "proof" that Tom showed Mike?

[Dew]

I am not so sure what to believe...bodies from Thailand?? Majority, if not all Asian bodies on that plane? No one noticed this when they showed this on the news? I mean aren't some cultural features seen like eye shape? I am gonna get in hot water trying to explain myself but I think you folks get what I mean.

[aggiesean]

Dew, it's true that there would be physical features discernible based on skeletal structure that is different based on a person's race: these would be noticable through close study. However, given the location of the fake crash, they wouldn't even be able to tell that detail if all they have is water-distorted pictures of the bones.

:Cowdance:

[RadioDave]

Yeah, but... the video of the "staged" plane crash seemed to be pretty clear. Clear enough for Lapidus to get a good look at the alleged pilot's hand. If he could see that, then it would stand to reason that the faces are still in good enough shape to be able to tell they're all thai.

Although, as a newsman myself, I can tell you there is no way on God's green earth any news agency would show floating dead bodies like they did.

Hey families of the crash victims... wanna see your loved ones' dead body parts? Heeeeeere ya go!

[snakey]

True Dave, they are just doing what they always do, continuity slip, not to mention it sure did look like Greg Grunberg in that water, lol!! He's way bigger than the average Thai person.