Jan 31 2009
The tangled family tree of Daniel Faraday (spoiler-filled speculation)
Here’s what I’ve put together so far, based on theories I’ve been reading on the internet, and also my own warped thoughts.
1. Ellie, the woman with the gun, is Faraday’s mother.
She is also a younger version of Ms. Hawking. Right before Jughead aired, during the rerun of The Lie, one of the little pop-up hints said that Ms. Hawking’s first name was Eloise. (I guess you could call that a spoiler from the LOST team itself.)
Ellie could easily be a diminutive form of Eloise.
Faraday’s rat was named Eloise.
Last week, Faraday told Desmond to find his mother. Then, voila, there was Ms. Hawking, who we haven’t seen in two years, back in the story. Coincidence? Unlikely.
This week, Widmore told Desmond that his mother is in Los Angeles. That would seem to nail it, as Eloise Hawking is in Los Angeles (with Ben).
2. Charlotte could be Faraday’s sister.
Charlotte has said she was born on the Island. Ellie could be her mother.
Faraday clearly loves Charlotte, and was very upset about her having gotten time-travel sickness. Although I assumed, while watching the episode, that the love was romantic, on thinking back, there was nothing specifically romantic or sexual between them. It could easily have been sibling love.
I’ve seen a theory that Charlotte is Faraday’s daughter, but I think that the idea of Faraday fathering children in the past is too convoluted even for LOST (which is saying a lot!). So I’m going with the theory that they are brother and sister.
3. Charlotte (or maybe Daniel) could be the baby in the first scene of “Because You Left,” the first show of the season. Because that scene started off the season, I think it had to be significant. And it was never explained. So I’m going with the explanation that would be the most interesting, dramatically.
4. Widmore could be Daniel and Charlotte’s father. There’s actually no particular reason for this, except that (1) it is possible, and (2) it would be interesting. (Though Widmore did fund Faraday’s research, there are plenty of other reasons, besides paternity, that he may have done that.)
5. So, in conclusion, this is our theoretical nuclear (no pun with H-bombs intended) family: Ellie, later to be Eloise Hawking, is dear old Mum. Widmore is Daddy dearest. Charlotte was born on the Island, but was adopted by Dr. Candle, because Mum and Dad took off. She never knew Daniel, who was born (I’m guessing) in England, until they reunited on the freighter. Daniel knew who she was, though, because he’s a time-travelin’ man.
Picture of Ellie from 5×03 Jughead (c) ABC
I don’t think I would have ever put Charlotte as Daniel’s sister - although your argument does make sense in a Lost way. Especially since both Eloise and Widmore are shown to have been in the same camp at the same time. So, that would mean that Penny has a brother and a sister. Could Eloise also be Penny’s mother?
@laneerg:
OMG — Eloise as Penny’s mother — what a great idea! It’s certainly possible — I don’t think there has ever been any mention on the show of who Penny’s mother is. Which, in light of your idea, is something that now looks conspicuous in its absence!
“… in a Lost way” <– ha ha
@Staci:
Thanks for your kind words!
“Flowers in the Attic” <– ha ha. Didn’t LOST already hint at the idea of brother-sister incest with the story of Shannon and Boone? That was pretty icky.
I like Faraday a lot, so if it turns out he’s not related to Charlotte after all, I hope that he *will* get the girl. Go geek!
That whole Shannon and Boone thing was so icky. I liked both of the characters in their own right — but the idea of them having romantic entanglements - even though not blood related (if I remember correctly) -ICK!
The way I was (mis)remembering it, I thought they were half-siblings, but I just looked it up in Lostpedia, and you’re right! They weren’t blood relatives — they were step-brother and sister.
I still don’t like them.
Now that so many characters are coming back from the dead, there are a lot of old characters I’d love to see again. But I certainly wouldn’t mind if Shannon and Boone decided to stay dead. 
While I was looking just now at Lostpedia, I found an interesting bit of trivia — the producers said that they had based the character of Shannon on Paris Hilton!
Why doesn’t daniel get temporal distortion sickness could it be because he was born on the island (to Eloise (elly) Hawking and Charles Whidmore) and maybe he is like Richard Alpert and will not age. Also I think Penny is his sister but was born off the island and has never been there that’s why dear old Daddy doesn’t want her to get involved with the island. Is Jack’s father Jacob the leader of the others back in 1954? The plot is thickening!
hey folks…
that’s a nice theory about Daniel Faraday’s Father even if there is no better proof right now..
but I have another theory about who is Daniel Faradays Father..
I think it’s Alvar Hanso himself… I say that because there is a video on youtube where u can see Alvar Hanso as a younger aged man and for me he do look exactly like Daniel Faraday .. He’s is even wearing the same suit..
Coincidence ??
Oooh, Alvar Hanso. Interesting.
I found a video on YouTube — don’t know if this is the one you were thinking of, but it does feature a young Hanso — and he does look somewhat like Faraday. His tie is a lot wider, though
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi4RRfd9StQ
when you say on the episode “because you left” you say that the baby in the starting scene could be daniel, i think that it is miles and his father is Dr. Pierre Chang i think this because miles was getting nose bleeds and daniel had asked miles if he has been on the island before maybe that is why he got the nose bleed.
It could be Miles. From the quick glimpse we got of the baby, I thought it wasn’t Asian — but I wouldn’t swear to it. If Miles was in fact a baby on the Island at the time that Dr. Candle was discovering the weird energy of the donkey wheel, that might explain why Miles can communicate with the dead.