Richard's Duty to the Island

[LOSTLOST]

I think Richard's job is to find the island a leader and to make sure the leader makes the right decisions regarding the island's safty and future. Jacob would do this but for some reason he is confined only to make decisions only when desperate times call for desperate measures. But he is definintly 2nd in command and over-sees the leader and has the job of choosing new ones.

My question is why dosnt he just lead? Are there rules for him aswell?

[swaded420]

Good question. We've seen Richard doing seemingly mundane tasks for Ben, ('bring me the man from the Tallahassee') which makes it seem as though Ben is higher in rank than Richard. When Richard took Ben and agreed to save him, someone said they should tell yada yada.. and it seems like he gets annoyed, a little angry even, at the very fact that one of his people would bring this up. I guess this could go all the way back to '54, when Widmore came running out of the jungle into his camp, into Richard's camp, after escaping Locke and co., and Richard asks if he was followed. Charles snaps a little bit, saying something like "you think he could track me? you think he knows the island better than i do?" Maybe Widmore knew that he was meant to be leader, or he was just very enthusiastic about trying to get the position, but he was still no where near Richard status, still had much to learn about the island. As he grew up and he learned the secrets and came to understand the nature of the island better, probably meeting Jacob and all that good stuff, Richard knew that he would ultimately have to answer to Charles (and Ellie? Where does she fit in here? She's uncalled for.) and that didn't suit him too well, student becoming the master and whatnot. Maybe it goes so far as, when Ben supposedly tricked Charles into turning the wheel, Richard tricked Ben into tricking Charles into turning the wheel, and now he has fallen out of Jacob's favor (as someone mentioned in another thread I believe) and possibly losing communication with him. Maybe that's why he seems to be answering to Ben so patiently, like an assistant even, because he's not going to fight this leader for power (or Locke for that matter), hopefully to get back into Jacob's good graces.

[Baibe]

I love this question. Good one. Maybe Richard plays into the whole fate/destiny versus free will thing. He might be second in command (or IMO the island in human form) but he still has to let everyone make their own decsions but merely guide them in a direction they should be goin but ultimatly everything goes back to them and that is where course correction and all that jazz comes into play. Richard can make desicions but must let the leader lead. Maybe those are the rules for him being human and all knowing about the island.

[jessejames]

hey quick question... That episode I belive it was jughead when widmore escapes from Locke and Locke has the convo with Richard about visiting him when he is born, it was 1954 at that time, was this b4 the D.I because I remember ben telling Locke in one episode that the sub was their way off n on the island. If this is true (lol-ben-truth) how is Richard getting on n off the island ?

[Waitin4Godot]

Richard tricked Ben into tricking Charles into turning the wheel,

I really don't think Charles turned the wheel. Why? He didn't know the exit... He seems to have known how it worked and that there was an exit, but he didn't have the exit monitored until after Ben used it.

I think it was when Ben used it that folks Charles has monitoring for anomalies were able to ID the exit and the monitoring equipment was setup.

It seems Charles get's tricked into leaving the Island some other way... which would suggest he gets on the sub for some reason.

[etfrompo]

Richard tricked Ben into tricking Charles into turning the wheel,

I really don't think Charles turned the wheel. Why? He didn't know the exit... He seems to have known how it worked and that there was an exit, but he didn't have the exit monitored until after Ben used it.

I think it was when Ben used it that folks Charles has monitoring for anomalies were able to ID the exit and the monitoring equipment was setup.

It seems Charles get's tricked into leaving the Island some other way... which would suggest he gets on the sub for some reason.

I got the impression that Widmore put up the cameras after Ben arrived because Ben was able to escape from the people at the exit when he arrived. His discussion sounded like that was the case. The polar bear was found there by Charlotte also.

But, we all know what impessions are on LOST, so, it is possible that he didn't