Changes: Eloise Hawking

Revision as of 02:59, 25 July 2010

Hawking redirects here. For other uses, see Hawking (disambiguation). Eloise redirects here. For the rat, see Eloise (rat).

Eloise Hawking, also known as Ellie, is a former leader of the Others and the mother of Daniel Faraday by Charles Widmore. While on the Island, she unwittingly shot a man who turned out to be her adult son, visiting from the future -- an act that forever changed her life. Eloise then helped Daniel's friends by trying to detonate a hydrogen bomb, in an effort to change the future. After leaving the Island, she resided for a time in Oxford, England, where she pressured her son to achievement as a researcher in theoretical physics. Her foreknowledge of future events based on her encounter with her time-travelling son gave her a somewhat omniscient air in her guidance of her son. In 1996, she was instrumental in ensuring that Desmond Hume traveled to the Island. Between 1978 and 1982 she relocated to Los Angeles, California, where she became the caretaker of the Lamp Post, a clandestine former DHARMA Initiative station capable of locating the Island. Using the facilities there, she assisted Benjamin Linus and members of the Oceanic Six in returning to the Island by identifying Ajira Flight 316 as the only flight that would take them there. In the flash-sideways timeline, Eloise lived a happy life with Daniel, a life that she was unable to share with him while they were living. When Desmond started to make people remember their lives and move on, Eloise was unnerved and desperately tried to stop him, fearing that she would lose Daniel again if he moved on. It is currently unknown if she or her son were able to finally find peace and move on from the Flash sideways world.

On the Island

EllieJughead — Eloise points a gun at Daniel Faraday as they go to the hydrogen bomb. ("Jughead")

1954

A 17-year old Hostile in 1954, Eloise (under the name of "Ellie") was likely involved in the flaming arrow attack against the survivors during one of the Island's time shifts. ("The Lie")

Subsequently, Eloise commanded a small squad which ambushed and captured Daniel Faraday, Miles Straume, and Charlotte Lewis (members of the science team). She first assumed that they were members of the U.S. Army, despite their claims that they were scientists.

She led the captives back to the Hostiles' camp where she left them in the care of her leader, Richard Alpert. Alpert appeared to trust Eloise and later asked her to single-handedly escort Faraday to the Jughead so that he could disable it. Along the way, Faraday remarked that Eloise looked like someone he used to know. She however expressed great distrust for Faraday and wanted to know exactly what he was doing, at times threatening to shoot him. He eventually confessed that he was from the future, but before she could extract any more information from him, she was ambushed by Sawyer and Juliet. Sawyer held her at gunpoint and forced her to drop her weapon. However, before the confrontation progressed, a time shift occurred and Faraday, Juliet, and Sawyer vanished. ("Jughead")

1977

Eloiseshootsdan — Eloise, moments after shooting her son. ("The Variable")

After Sawyer and Kate brought the young Ben to Richard Alpert, one of the Hostiles told Richard he shouldn't save Ben without asking Ellie first, and warned him about what would happen if Charles found out. This implied that Eloise and Widmore were in positions of leadership at the time. Richard replies that he doesn't answer to them, implying that he is independent of their authority. ("Whatever Happened, Happened")

Several days later, Eloise was present at the Hostiles' camp when a man stormed in, waving a gun and asking to see her. Richard came to Eloise's rescue, telling the man that Eloise was not present at the camp at the time. The man instead threatened to shoot Richard unless he was taken to Eloise. Before the man could act, Eloise, who was actually present in the camp, took aim and shot the man in the abdomen. As the man fell, he realized that he had been shot by Eloise, and whispered to her that she had "known it the whole time." Confused, she asked him who he was, and he revealed that he was her son, leaving her standing over him, shocked. ("The Variable")

5x15 StoryTime — Eloise asks about the presence of her writing in Daniel's journal. ("Follow the Leader")

Eloise then skipped through the pages of Daniel's journal and was confused by the dedication in it, which she appeared to recognize as her own handwriting. When Charles Widmore arrived with Jack and Kate as captives, she ordered that they be taken to her tent. She assured them she'd believe whatever they said because she just killed her future son, the same man who told her to bury the bomb 23 years earlier before disappearing. Jack told Eloise that by using the bomb, they could alter the future and undo what Eloise had done to her future son. Eloise agreed to help them and with Richard and Erik, they went to the bomb. They arrived at the creek where the entrance to the Tunnels was and after a run-in with Sayid, Richard, Jack, Eloise and Sayid swam down to the underground tunnels beneath the Barracks where the bomb was hidden. They came to a room and Eloise uncovered the bomb ("Follow the Leader").

516richardeloiseargue — Eloise and Richard argue.("The Incident, Part 1")

Intent on helping Jack and Sayid, she assists in disassembling the bomb to extract the nuclear core, the only part necessary. Richard objects to her messing with radiation because she is pregnant. She ignores his warning and helps. They then travel through the tunnels to a spot where Richard bangs on the wall of the tunnel with a sledge hammer. He breaks through the wall to reveal the basement of what we find out to be Horace's house at the barracks. Eloise insists on leading the group through The Barracks but is knocked out from behind by Richard. He states that he must protect their leader, referring to Eloise. He also says they have received sufficient help and must now continue alone. ("The Incident, Part 1")

At a later date, likely 1978 to give birth to Daniel (as he has a birth certificate), Eloise left the Island and moved to Essex, Massachusetts, where she raised her son Daniel Faraday, fully aware that he would die at her hands after traveling back to the 1970s.

Off the Island

Relationship with Daniel

5x14 eloisefb — Eloise watches her son, knowing his eventual fate. ("The Variable")

After leaving the Island, Eloise approached her son, Daniel, while he was playing piano. When Daniel asked her opinion of the music, she told him that it was wonderful. However, she chided him for wasting his time on frivolities such as music. She claimed that he has a scientific mind which he must dedicate entirely to science. She further claimed that it is her job to keep him on the path, and that there is no time for distractions. Daniel claimed that he could make time, but she disagreed, closing the piano. ("The Variable")

5x14 eloisegrad — Eloise attends her son's graduation from Oxford University. ("The Variable")

Several years later, Eloise was present at Daniel's graduation from a doctoral program at Oxford University. As Daniel and his girlfriend, Theresa Spencer, walked out of the college they were met by Eloise, who requested dinner alone with Daniel, without Theresa. Theresa complied despite Daniel's protests, leaving Daniel and Eloise to go to the restaurant.

At an Indian restaurant Daniel expressed his discontent with Eloise's behavior toward Theresa, his girlfriend. Eloise told him that he had no time for women, and that he must focus entirely on his work. Daniel mentioned that he received a grant from Charles Widmore. After hearing this, Eloise relented, apologizing to Daniel and telling him that she is not there to argue with him. Before leaving, she gave Daniel a wrapped gift. Daniel opened the gift, revealing a leather journal. ("The Variable")

Desmond's temporal displacement

3X08 DesmondHawkingStreet — Eloise and Desmond buy chestnuts. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes") (promotional still)

Eloise worked at the store where Desmond went to buy an engagement ring for Penny during his first time shift after he turned the failsafe key.

When Eloise showed him a ring and Desmond told her he would take it, she seemed upset and responded by telling him he would not. After Desmond refused to give the ring back she explained to Desmond that she knows his name, he will break Penny's heart, he will not marry Penny, instead entering the sailing race to prove Penny's father wrong, and he will go to the Island and press the button for three years until forced to turn the failsafe key. She said that if he "doesn't do those things," that "every single one of us is dead."

When Desmond refused to give the ring back, she decided to take a walk with him. While on their walk, she drew Desmond's attention to a man wearing a suit and red sneakers, saying it was a "bold fashion choice worth noting." As she and Desmond sat on a bench, she tried to explain to Desmond that he must not ask Penny to marry him. She said that it was his "path" to go to the Island. Eloise was wearing a pin, an ouroboros, a circular serpent with its tail in its mouth, a symbol in alchemy representing life as a cycle. But this particular one wasn't eating its tail.

Suddenly, a large crash was heard behind them as the scaffolding from a construction job falls to the ground. As she and Desmond turn around, a pair of legs with red shoes were shown sticking out from under the pile of rubble. As Desmond realized this is the man she pointed out earlier, she admitted to knowing that he would die. When confronted by Desmond as to why she did not warn the man, Eloise informed him that he would have been hit by a taxi the next day, and if she had warned him about that he would have broken his neck in the shower. As Desmond stared blankly at her, she explained that the universe has a way of "course correcting" (a phrase Desmond later recites to Charlie), and that death cannot be avoided.

5x14 eloisedan — Eloise encourages Daniel to go to the Island aboard the *Kahana*. ("The Variable")

Her last words to Desmond were that pressing the button is the only great thing he will ever do in his life. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")

She also appeared in a photo on the desk of Brother Campbell. ("Catch-22")

Visiting Daniel

In 2004 Eloise visited her son in Essex, Massachusetts. Daniel was playing piano at his home when his mother arrived. She asked if Daniel had been offered a job, to which he affirmatively replied, but stated that he is incapable of doing the job due to his memory loss. She eventually persuaded him to accept Widmore's offer and go to the Island, assuring that she would be proud of Dan if he did so. Daniel agreed to accept the offer. ("The Variable")

Assisting the Oceanic Six

Hawkingben — Eloise warns Ben he has 70 hours to bring the Oceanic 6 back to the Island. ("The Lie")

In 2007, three years after the rescue of the Oceanic Six, Eloise worked closely with Benjamin Linus in an attempt to reunite the Oceanic Six and to bring them back to the Island. She worked in a laboratory, which we later learn to be a DHARMA Initiative station known as The Lamp Post, attempting to plot out the next location of an "event" using a giant swinging pendulum (possibly a Foucault pendulum), a chalkboard, and a computer (an Apple III, a model made from 1980 to 1984). After determining the point, she met with Ben, informing him that he had only seventy hours to return to the Island, a goal that Ben insisted he could not meet. Eloise warned him that he had no choice, and that "God help us all" should he fail. ("The Lie")

5x06 EloiseAndJack — Eloise hands Jack the information regarding Flight 316. ("316")

Ben soon returned, but only managed to bring Jack and Sun with him (along with Desmond, who had arrived at the same time, discovering that Eloise was Daniel's mother). She was disappointed that Ben didn't bring everyone back as she had told him, but said that they would be able to make do with the few people they had, "for now." Then she said "Well, let's get started" and sparked a smile. ("This Place Is Death")

She showed them the Lamp Post and explained to them that the station was how the DHARMA Initiative found the Island. She went on to explain that she calculated where a "window" to the Island would close in 36 hours and told Jack and the others that they must be on Ajira Airways Flight 316 to return. Afterward, she spoke to Jack privately, handing him Locke's suicide note and told him that the crash of Flight 316 must mirror that of Flight 815 as closely as possible.

5x14 eloisechaz — Eloise, enraged by Widmore's mention of Daniel being his son. ("The Variable")

She explained to Jack that he must give something to Locke that belonged to Christian Shepard. When Jack became visibly upset, Eloise's last words to him were, "That's why it's called a leap of faith." ("316")

The following day, Eloise visited Desmond in the hospital, after he had been shot by Ben. At the hospital, Eloise talked with Penny in an effort to comfort her. When Penny asked if Desmond would be all right, Eloise said she did not know and that for the first time in a long time she didn't know what was going to happen next. After Eloise left, she encountered Charles Widmore. Widmore refused to go inside to see his daughter, saying that his relationship with her was one of the things he sacrificed. Eloise, clearly angered by this, told him not to talk to her about sacrifice after she sent her son to the Island to die. Widmore answers her by telling her that Daniel is his son too. Eloise slapped him and walked off. ("The Variable")

Flash sideways

6x11 MrsWidmore — Eloise Widmore sternly tells Desmond he is not ready yet.

In the flash sideways timeline, Eloise, along with numerous others, lived in a purgatory-like state, somehow reflecting an alternate version of their lives as if the Island had been destroyed. Eloise was dedicated to organizing charity events and was also married to Charles, though she was aware of her stepdaughter, Penelope Milton. At some unknown point, Eloise managed to remember her life, realising the nature of this reality. When Desmond remembered his life and sought to meet Penelope during a charity concert for the Golden State Natural History Museum, Eloise tried to stop him. ("Happily Ever After")

6x17 EloiseAndDesmond — Eloise asks Desmond about her son's part in his plan.

Eloise met Desmond once again during the concert, aware that he had been awakening several people to their former lives. Knowing that if her son Daniel remembered his life, he would be able to finally move on, possibly departing from her. At Eloise's request, Desmond agreed not to awaken Daniel. ("The End")

Additional casting

17-year-old Other Ellie was played by Alexandra Krosney. In the casting call for "Jughead" she was described as "Sophie. British aristocrat in her late teens and appears quite innocent and a little prim, but underneath she is formidable." [1]
Middle-aged Eloise was played by Alice Evans. The casting call for "The Variable" described her as "Sophie. Late 30s - 40s, British. Very intelligent, skillful, prim and proper aristocrat yet someone who is tough and resourceful when necessary to protect her family. Looking for actress 5'0" to 5'4" in height for matching requirements. Must have an English accent..." [2]

Trivia

Until Season 5, Ms. Hawking remained a mysterious character whose accurate foreknowledge of future events, characters' predestinations, and the workings of time challenged viewers' assumptions about the story logic of the show and led Damon Lindelof to describe her as a "temporal policeman." Despite the fact that she was introduced in "Flashes Before Your Eyes", her name was not given until "This Place Is Death" and it wasn't confirmed that it was the same person until "316".
Her last name is the same as that of the physicist Stephen Hawking, who wrote A Brief History of Time, the book seen being read by Aldo in "Not in Portland", and in Ben's living space in "The Man from Tallahassee". Her name could be a reference to a book in particular "The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time" by Ellis & Hawking.
- Similarly, her son's last name, Faraday, is the same as a famous English physicist who researched electromagnetism.
Actress Fionulla Flanagan is one of six actors playing a recurring character who who was given billing with the rest of the main cast for the only time in "The End".
Eloise is one of only eight members of the main cast who have not been given their own centric episode, the others being Charlotte, Frank, Penny, Ilana, Christian, Libby and Pierre.
Her first name, Eloise, may be a reference to the medieval tale "Eloise," in which a young girl has a forbidden romance with an older man, Abelard. The couple can hide their affair until Eloise becomes pregnant. They are secretly married, but the story ends tragically as the lovers are torn apart. Abelard is castrated by his enemies (associates of Eloise's family) and becomes a monk, while Eloise takes the veil. Jean-Jacques Rousseau also wrote a novel titled "Julie" or "The New Eloise" inspired by the medieval story of doomed love.
Eloise Hawking has met the following main characters: Daniel, Charlotte, Miles, Sawyer, Juliet, Desmond, Ben, Jack, Sun, Kate, Sayid, Richard and Penny.
- She knows of Locke because she somehow managed to acquire his suicide note & pass it on to Jack.
The firearm that Ellie uses is an M1 Carbine, a weapon used by the U.S. military during World War II and the Korean War, particularly by elite units such as paratroopers and by mechanized units that spent a great deal of time in vehicles. It was also common for specialists such as engineers, radiomen, medics, mortar crews, and officers to carry it because of its light weight. It was favored in this role as a replacement for the larger, heavier M1 Garand.
Before resetting the frozen wheel on Island, Locke was instructed by Christian Shephard to contact Eloise Hawking in Los Angeles. ("This Place Is Death") Locke passed this information on to Ben immediately before Ben killed Locke. ("The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham")
The pin she wears on her shoulder wrap outside is an ouroborous, an ancient symbol representing cyclicality, and more recently said by Jung to represent the human psyche. This particular one is wrapped around its tail rather than eating it.

Camhawk — Eloise with Brother Campbell ("Catch-22")

Her son Daniel named a rat he was experimenting on after her.
The producers clarified that by "every one of us will die," she meant every one in the world. (Official Lost Podcast/February 20, 2007)
In an interview with ew.com, the producers suggest that Eloise travels through time. LINDELOF: "Unless you travel back in time, like Mrs. Hawking does." [3]
Eloise shares a few similarities to the characters Frank and Grandma Death in the movie Donnie Darko, including her observation that everyone dies. A similar line in Donnie Darko is "every living thing dies alone."
Eloise appears in a picture with Brother Campbell when Desmond goes to ask him about leaving the monastery.

This photo is a composite, since the angles and contrast are different, both from character to character, and between both characters and the background.

On the Season 3 DVD, Damon Lindelof describes Eloise as "some sort of temporal policeman in place to make sure that everybody who is supposed to get to the island, does." He says this is related to the grand scale of Fate versus free will.
Her first name was first given as Eloise in "The Lie-Enhanced," but was not mentioned on screen or in credits until "This Place Is Death".
Ms. Hawking said the same line to Jack in "316" that Malkin said to Claire in "Raised by Another": "It must be (has to be) this flight."
In "316" Ms. Hawking is wearing a pendant and three white dots on her jacket. The pendant appears to be a Tibetan Buddhist double dorja, which is a variant type of vajra.
One of the Mysteries of the Universe episodes investigates her life after leaving the Island and working at the Lamp Post, and discovers that she does not have a birth certificate. This might indicate that she was born on the Island.
Eloise Hawking is listed as the Interim Director General of the Global Welfare Consortium at GlobalWelfareConsortium.com Registering with the site through a "click here" opens a pop up. Allegedly, when contact information is entered, it says, "Register Candidate 23," though now after the contact info is entered it says, "Those who repent deserve redemption... Those who defy deserve damnation." The site is registered to Domains by Proxy, Inc. (Word has since leaked on the web that this is NOT an ARG endorsed by the producers of the series)

Unanswered questions

Unanswered questions
Do not answer the questions here. Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer. More details...

For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Eloise Hawking/Theories

When and under what circumstances did she leave the Island?
What is her connection to Brother Campbell?

@@ Line 89: / Line 89: @@
 ==Flash sideways==
+[[File:6x11 MrsWidmore.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Eloise Widmore]] sternly tells {{alt|Desmond Hume|Desmond}} he is not ready yet.]]
 In the flash sideways timeline, Eloise, along with numerous others, lived in a purgatory-like state, somehow reflecting an alternate version of their lives as if the Island had been destroyed. Eloise was dedicated to organizing charity events and was also married to Charles, though she was aware of her stepdaughter, Penelope Milton. At some unknown point, Eloise managed to remember her life, realising the nature of this reality. When Desmond remembered his life and sought to meet Penelope during a charity concert for the [[Golden State Natural History Museum]], Eloise tried to stop him. {{crossref|6x11}}
+[[File:6x17 EloiseAndDesmond.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Eloise Widmore|Eloise]] asks {{alt|Desmond Hume|Desmond}} about [[Daniel Widmore|her son]]'s part in his plan.]]
 Eloise met Desmond once again during the concert, aware that he had been awakening [[Losties|several people]] to their former lives. Knowing that if her son Daniel remembered his life, he would be able to finally move on, possibly departing from her. At Eloise's request, Desmond agreed not to awaken Daniel. {{crossref|6x17}}