By the end of season 5, it seems confirmed that Daniel Faraday's parents are Eloise Hawking and Charles Widmore. This would mean, assuming Penelope's mother is the "outsider" Ben refers to, that Daniel and Penelope are half brother and sister.
We've also seen a picture showing Brother Campbell and Eloise Hawking together in "Catch-22." Eloise remains a tremendously mysterious figure because she is heavily involved in Desmond's story after "Flashes Before Your Eyes" (this connection is incredibly confusing if no further explanation is provided, but I'm pretty sure this theory would be a good explanation for why she would appear to him).
Eloise is very involved in Desmond's path, just as she was very involved with Daniel's path (in both examples she knows that they are destined to end up on the Island, and that it is fate that they should do so).
So with all this setup, my theory is this: Desmond's parents are Brother Campbell and Eloise Hawking. Or, at the very least, Desmond's mother is Eloise Hawking.
- This explains why Eloise would be so invested in Desmond's path. Of all people, why would she be in that shop where Desmond buys the ring?
- Desmond has the same "power" that Eloise has: the ability to see the future. She also had the knowledge of course correction.
- Charles Widmore may have more reasons for not wanting Desmond to end up with Penelope. I'm assuming that Charles and Eloise are not married, but if they were that would make Desmond and Penny step brother and sister. They aren't related by blood (that might be a little awkward for network television), but that's pretty close a connection that Widmore might not want for a number of reasons.
- It's been widely theorized (and hinted by Darlton) that Daniel and Desmond share some sort of a connection. If this theory is correct, that connection would be the fact that they are half-brothers.
Things standing in the way of this theory:
- When Eloise visits Desmond/Penny at the hospital in "The Variable" she mentions her son Daniel in reference to Desmond, but never a single word about another son. You'd think there might be something in there if she was actually Desmond's mother. However, this hardly discredits my theory, there could be an explanation.
- In "Flashes Before Your Eyes" Desmond tells Charles that his parents died and he had to look after his siblings. However, Eloise could've abandoned him for one reason or another.
We've also seen a picture showing Brother Campbell and Eloise Hawking together in "Catch-22." Eloise remains a tremendously mysterious figure because she is heavily involved in Desmond's story after "Flashes Before Your Eyes" (this connection is incredibly confusing if no further explanation is provided, but I'm pretty sure this theory would be a good explanation for why she would appear to him).
Eloise is very involved in Desmond's path, just as she was very involved with Daniel's path (in both examples she knows that they are destined to end up on the Island, and that it is fate that they should do so).
So with all this setup, my theory is this: Desmond's parents are Brother Campbell and Eloise Hawking. Or, at the very least, Desmond's mother is Eloise Hawking.
- This explains why Eloise would be so invested in Desmond's path. Of all people, why would she be in that shop where Desmond buys the ring?
- Desmond has the same "power" that Eloise has: the ability to see the future. She also had the knowledge of course correction.
- Charles Widmore may have more reasons for not wanting Desmond to end up with Penelope. I'm assuming that Charles and Eloise are not married, but if they were that would make Desmond and Penny step brother and sister. They aren't related by blood (that might be a little awkward for network television), but that's pretty close a connection that Widmore might not want for a number of reasons.
- It's been widely theorized (and hinted by Darlton) that Daniel and Desmond share some sort of a connection. If this theory is correct, that connection would be the fact that they are half-brothers.
Things standing in the way of this theory:
- When Eloise visits Desmond/Penny at the hospital in "The Variable" she mentions her son Daniel in reference to Desmond, but never a single word about another son. You'd think there might be something in there if she was actually Desmond's mother. However, this hardly discredits my theory, there could be an explanation.
- In "Flashes Before Your Eyes" Desmond tells Charles that his parents died and he had to look after his siblings. However, Eloise could've abandoned him for one reason or another.
