I almost felt as if Widmore left the sink on in the bathrrom
scene cause he knew that Desmond was likely to fall and
hit his head and pass out or something.

The water was to wake him up.

Maybe but I think he was just being the d*ck that he is.

Did you notice that he turned the faucet on with a washcloth? I think he just did not want to turn the faucet back off with his clean hand, so he is an arrogant jerk and just left it running.

Did you notice that he turned the faucet on with a washcloth? I think he just did not want to turn the faucet back off with his clean hand, so he is an arrogant jerk and just left it running.

True, good point.
Maybe he lets other people in general clean up his mess.

I kind of took it as an underhanded way of insulting Desmond. Sort of like, you're beneath me, you do the work.

Did you notice that he turned the faucet on with a washcloth? I think he just did not want to turn the faucet back off with his clean hand,

The first thing I thought of was that he's some kind of obsessive/compulsive. The next thing I thought of was that perhaps Widmore is an homage to a similar OCD, billionaire playboy Howard Hughes?

Why would they bother to show the whole running water thing unless Widmore has issues with germs or is an OCD?

He didn't want to touch the towel because it had touched the dirty sink. That's why he washed his hands and left the water running.

You know, it could have just been a device used to show approximately how long Desmond was unconcious on the floor. It would take long at all for the sink to fill and overflow if it was stopped up. It might have just been a comparison for the viewers as to how much time passed in 1996, in relation to what Desmond was doing in 2004.

You know, it could have just been a device used to show approximately how long Desmond was unconcious on the floor. It would take long at all for the sink to fill and overflow if it was stopped up. It might have just been a comparison for the viewers as to how much time passed in 1996, in relation to what Desmond was doing in 2004.


Thats what im thinking too, but i do like the idea of Widmore being OCD like Howard Hughes.

Maybe but I think he was just being the d*ck that he is.

Agreed.

But didn't Des turn the tap off right before he went back to the boat?

And there's a little discontinuity problem. When they first show the faucet, the water flows fullstream and the shot after, without Des touching it, there's a smaller amount of water running

Water is a symbol for life. Widmore was showing Desmond that he was in control because he was powerful enough to let life flow with no regard to the consequences.


...


Nah, he's just a creep.

The first thing I thought of was that he's some kind of obsessive/compulsive. The next thing I thought of was that perhaps Widmore is an homage to a similar OCD, billionaire playboy Howard Hughes?

Why would they bother to show the whole running water thing unless Widmore has issues with germs or is an OCD?

He didn't want to touch the towel because it had touched the dirty sink. That's why he washed his hands and left the water running.

But then he went and touched the dirty doorhandle with his clean hand?!

But why would he put the stopper in the sink, if he was just washing his hands? Then of course leave the tap on.. Very odd indeed.

The discontinuity issue makes me wonder if there is not ome sort of "musical chairs" thing going when shifts happen.

Hear me out: a person shifts and their consciousness goes forward in time from where they are supposed to be to island time. So where does the island consciousness go? And where do we find an "empty" consciousness to replace it with? Is the Des we have grown to know and love out there somewhere? Did he shift to his body in a sandy grave 6 years in the future while his "Dead" consiousness shifted to fill in for the Army Des?

This is how the shift might have happened on the heli for the visual learners out there

Past
Location Army base
consciousness empty/dead

Present
Location: Island/heli
consciousness"Why am I here? I don't know any of you!"

Future
Location: grave/coma
consciousness "I was just about to be saved and now i have sand in my eyes!"

And what was Faraday able to do with the empty Des? Is someone using those opportunities to talk to the conciusness that shifts in as replacement? What could Miles do if a dead consiousness was in a body replacing a current consiouness that is shifting?


My head is going to implode. *wipes blood from nose*

I thought the faucet thing was Widmore's OCD too, but then they showed him touching the door as he left ... no way a true OCD'er would do that...

Water is Special. It's Reflective, and it's Faith.

Did Widmore leave the water on to help Desmond or to hurt him? Here's another way to think of it. Does Widmore truly love his daughter?

I also interpreted it as him being a germophobe since he turned it on with the towel. He also wanted to demonstrated that Desmond is still beneath him and assume that he will turn it off for him. Desmond started to turn it off when he passed out again. (That's why it wasn't running at full blast after he awoke.)

Widmore touching the door handle is likely just a continuity error.

And as others have touched on, water is a symbol of so many things and was also a literary device to show us how much time had passed.

What I couldn't understand was how the water managed to fill up the sink and overflow. What sort of public bathroom uses stoppers in their sinks?

I love theories as much as the next guy - but I think it was just a vehicle for the writers to show about how much time has passed.

Because we all were thinking "Oh ok, he's been out long enough for the sink to fill and spill on the floor"

I thought the faucet thing was Widmore's OCD too, but then they showed him touching the door as he left ... no way a true OCD'er would do that...

I always use a paper towel to open the door in a public restroom. It's not that I'm OCD, it's just that I have seen enough people bypass the sink altogether.:eek2:

Yeah, I think it was just to reference how long Des was blacked out for. So Widmore knew he was time traveling??? Was he even surprised to see Des? Or does seeing Des make him think that he's going thru the worm hole trying to get off the Island?

Two-fold purpose:

1) To demonstrate how much of a tool Chuck Widmore is. I mean come on, he waited until he was taking a leak to even address Desmond.

2) To show how long Desmond was down for the count.

I did find it interesting though, that Widmore claimed to not hate Desmond. One gets the impression that Widmore's been testing Desmond for quite some time.

Sinks can overflow without being stopped up. They just have to be left running long enough.
And I agree, a true germaphobe wouldn't have gone and opened the door with a bare hand after all that. I just think they slipped on that one.

I personally thought that Mr. Widmore left the sink on intentionally to help Desmond understand what was happening to him. I'm of the belief that Widmore is one of the major power-players of the whole LOST mythology- why else would he be buying a book about the Black Rock in 1996 if he didn't care/know about the island?!

Perhaps Mr. Widmore is aware of the time/consciousness shifting that can be caused by the island, and he is trying to help Desmond out. Perhaps he, himself, has travelled through time similarly to Desmond. Maybe the island is his constant... or am I totally misguided?

My co-watchers thought that Widmore carefully didn't touch the sink and left it running in order that Des would have to touch it - and thus force a time incident.

Either the metal of the sink triggered it, or it was coated with something.

Personally, I think that's a bit of a stretch.

Like you, RR, I was intrigued by the "I'm not the one who hates you" comment.

My co-watchers thought that Widmore carefully didn't touch the sink and left it running in order that Des would have to touch it - and thus force a time incident.

Either the metal of the sink triggered it, or it was coated with something.

Personally, I think that's a bit of a stretch.

Like you, RR, I was intrigued by the "I'm not the one who hates you" comment.

It's hard to say what Widmore knows (or what he doesn't know) about the Island and such. IMO, it's very possible (as others have suggested) that he's a cosmic powerbroker who has keen insights into the Island and it's properties. I wouldn't be surprised if he's similar to Ms. Hawking in the sense of manipulating Desmond towards a particular path.

As a true germaphobe, I can guarantee you I would never touch that door. I use the towel to turn the faucet off after I wash my hands and then carry the towel to the door and use it to open the door.

I agree that it was a device to show how much time had passed, and to show what a jerk Mr. Widmore is.

I did find it interesting that Mr. Widmore said he didn't hate Desmond. I sort of think he knew what was going to happen with Desmond. Maybe he knew Desmond would feel obligated to prove himself by entering the boat race, and therefore crash on the island. He wants to see how far Desmond will go to prove his love for Penny. Just an idea.

My co-watchers thought that Widmore carefully didn't touch the sink and left it running in order that Des would have to touch it - and thus force a time incident.

Either the metal of the sink triggered it, or it was coated with something.

Personally, I think that's a bit of a stretch.

Like you, RR, I was intrigued by the "I'm not the one who hates you" comment.

my co-wathcers and i thought about this...in donnie darko, water + metal = conductors of time travel. are TPTB applying this same theory here? is widmore capable of "jumping around in time?" he obviously knows enough about the island to want the journal...does he know that des can "jump around" and he wanted to force him to do it?

soooo many questions and a fwe answers...I LOVE IT!

Two-fold purpose:

1) To demonstrate how much of a tool Chuck Widmore is. I mean come on, he waited until he was taking a leak to even address Desmond.

2) To show how long Desmond was down for the count.

I did find it interesting though, that Widmore claimed to not hate Desmond. One gets the impression that Widmore's been testing Desmond for quite some time.

I think this is correct. It shows that Des was in 2004 for minutes but when he jumps back to 1996 it has been a half hour or more (the length of time it takes to overflow a sink with water without having a stopper in place)- I think the overflowing water was just a time reference device for the audience.
And it also shows Widmore as a jerk who thinks others can clean up after him.

As a true germaphobe, I can guarantee you I would never touch that door. I use the towel to turn the faucet off after I wash my hands and then carry the towel to the door and use it to open the door.

I agree that it was a device to show how much time had passed, and to show what a jerk Mr. Widmore is.

I did find it interesting that Mr. Widmore said he didn't hate Desmond. I sort of think he knew what was going to happen with Desmond. Maybe he knew Desmond would feel obligated to prove himself by entering the boat race, and therefore crash on the island. He wants to see how far Desmond will go to prove his love for Penny. Just an idea.

Chuck Widmore truly is Laban.

I just think Widmore didn't care to turn the sink off, he looked like some sort of germ-a-phobe the way he had to use the paper towel to turn the sink on in the first place. Either he hates germs or he's a lazy sod. I think it's both!! I hate that guy.

Maybe Widmore isn't a bad guy afterall, and he's working to get Desmond to the Island like Ms. Hawkings was doing. If that is the case than it explains why he gave Des Penny's address and also why he has made Desmond feel like he had to prove himself, discouraging his advances towards Penny so that he would wander off to the island.

PS. And using Libby to give "her" boat to Desmond.

You know, it could have just been a device used to show approximately how long Desmond was unconcious on the floor. It would take long at all for the sink to fill and overflow if it was stopped up. It might have just been a comparison for the viewers as to how much time passed in 1996, in relation to what Desmond was doing in 2004.
Haha, oh good. After the first couple of posts, I was wondering if ANYONE would bother bringing this up!

Did you notice that he turned the faucet on with a washcloth? I think he just did not want to turn the faucet back off with his clean hand, so he is an arrogant jerk and just left it running.

Yeah i hate the guy! But Penny seems a really nice girl so maybe her mother is a better person!?? I wonder if we will see her one day.