The Kahana's role in The "Loophole" planR by Ricardus Alpert

I've had a lot of theories for the past two days. This is my last one for now, and any questions or feedback will be appreciated.

I re-watched some S4 episodes a few days ago, and it's clear to me that The Kahana played a huge role in The Nemesis' loophole plan. How so? Well, allow me to examine the evidence and explain.

We've been told a lot of things about The Freighter's mission, and it's been hard for us to determine which of these things were true. Part of it was caused by the Writer's strike, and S4's shortness, but while S5 shed some light on a few issues, it didn't clear everything up. Let me start by saying that I'm convinced Widmore is working for Jacob's Nemesis, as some of us have speculated. It's easily supported by the show, and there's not a lot of evidence against it. I believe that MIB ordered Widmore to send The Freighter, in order to further his own plan. So, was it successful? Well, yes and no. I think that originally, Widmore had two primary objectives when he sent The Kahana: Removing Ben from power, which would not only make Locke the leader, but it would motivate Ben to hate Jacob. If MIB planned for Ben to be the one that murders Locke, then he needed him off the island. But I don't think he shared that with Widmore. Widmore's secondary objective was to kill Alex. No! t only did Alex's death provide MIB with a tool to manipulate Ben, it was probably one of the biggest motivators in getting him to hate Jacob. It's even possible that Widmore was attempting to correct the mistake made 16 years before, when he had to let Alex live because Ben called his bluff in front of his people.

I'm also convinced that he ordered Keamy to kill everyone who stands in his way. You could argue that Keamy was infected by the sickness, but I think that excuses too much of his actions. Keamy was already a heartless bastard, as Ben told us from his background. If Ben knew exactly what kind of man Keamy was, then so did Widmore. Widmore wanted someone who would stop at nothing in order to remove Ben. Also, notice how Keamy NEVER denies that he intends to kill everyone on the island. When Locke confronts Widmore about "Sending a team of killers and a boatload of C-4 to the island", he doesn't deny it either.

So where did The Kahana fail in its mission? Widmore miscalculated when he sent Keamy. I'm pretty sure that he never intended for Keamy to blow up his own boat, and kill everyone on it. The mercenaries might have failed to remove Ben from power, but killing Alex right in front of him motivated him to resent Jacob, which eventually lead to his own self- exile. Locke was also made leader when Ben left, so in both cases, the mission was a successes.

But why did so many things go wrong?

Quite simple. Because The Man in Black didn't tell Widmore everything.

I believe that MIB's involvement with Widmore is merely a means to an end. Whatever he promised Widmore for his cooperation, he's not planning on giving him. Once Widmore stops being a useful ally, he's going to get rid of him. When it comes to The Kahana, things went exactly as MIB planned.

That's why Taller Ghost Walt warned Locke he had to stop Naomi. MIB needed Locke back in action after Ben shot him, and The arrival of The Freighter was the immediate threat. That's also why Smokey attacked the mercenaries, even when it's either MIB, or sides with MIB. Locke needed to survive the encounter with Keamy's crew, and they wouldn't have spared anyone other than Ben. When Christian warns Locke that "The people from the boat are already on their way back", they don't really pose a threat to him. He's using their threat in order to manipulate Locke to take extreme action. Case in point, moving the island.

S4 also raises a very interesting question, when it comes to Widmore. If he's so possessive of the island, why isn't he on the Freighter as well? I believe that S5 has shed more light on this. Since Jacob is the one that either ordered or sanctioned Widmore's banishment, Widmore knows that Jacob would never allow him to set foot on the island again. The only way for him to come back is to get rid of Jacob, which is something The Man in Black has been eager to do for quite some time.