Penny Widmore
Encyclopedia
Penelope "Penny" Widmore is a fictional character on the ABC
television series Lost
played by Sonya Walger
. Penny is introduced in the last episode of the second season of Lost as the long-lost lover of Desmond Hume
as well as the daughter of British
tycoon and antagonist Charles Widmore
. In spite of being only a recurring character
, she made notable appearances in three season finale
s of the show: "Live Together, Die Alone
", "Through the Looking Glass
", and There's No Place Like Home
. Penny and Desmond's relationship is generally liked by critics and fans alike. Commentators, such as those from Entertainment Weekly
have commended the writing of their storyline.
) and an unnamed woman in England
. She first met Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick
) sometime in 1994 at a monastery in Scotland
and asked him to help her deliver wine
to Carlisle, in which he gladly agreed. Two years later, they were living together, in spite of her father's disapproval. Even though both were happy together, their relationship appeared to be unstable due to the disparity between the wealth of the two characters, Penny was an heiress while Desmond merely worked at a theatre
company. It eventually turned the curve when Desmond was unable to pay for a photograph
forcing Penny to pay for it. Feeling ashamed by his inability, Desmond left Penny, regardless of what she thought, and joined the Royal Scots Regiment. Penny was disappointed that Desmond left her without any notice. When he abruptly visits her in 1996 and asks for her number, she was confused because he told her he would call her 8 years later. In spite of her frustration, she allowed him to have her number so that he could call her later. Despite these setbacks and heartaches, Penny continued to have feelings for Desmond. She wrote him a letter after she had learned that he was going to prison and hid it in the only book by Charles Dickens
that he had not yet read, Our Mutual Friend
. He, however, was unaware and didn't read it while he was there even after was released from prison and from the Army
, and instead kept the book where it was. Desmond also wrote letters but her father intercepted them believing that Desmond was unfit for his daughter. He then persuades Desmond to join a round-the-world sailing
race to prove his worth to Penny. Months after Desmond had begun his training for the race, they meet in Los Angeles
, she assumed that he had read her letter but was startled when he asked her when she was going to be married. She replied by saying "We haven't set a date". They, however, would not end up getting married because Desmond would suddenly disappear later.
Years after Desmond's mysterious disappearance, Penny was still determined to find him. Her hope increased when her listening station was able to find the coordinates of The Island
. Days later, she made contact with Charlie Pace
(Dominic Monaghan
), who asked her if she had sent a boat to the island. She replied that she hadn't. Before she could speak to Desmond, who was there with Charlie, the communication failed. On the Christmas Eve
of 2004, she received the call Desmond had promised her and was elated that he was alive. This event marked the first time they had spoken to each other in four years. Penny and Desmond would later be united at last when her boat, The Searcher, was able to rescue him, along with the members of the Oceanic 6, Jack Shephard
(Matthew Fox
), Kate Austen
(Evangeline Lilly
), Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia
), Sayid Jarrah
(Naveen Andrews
), Sun-Hwa Kwon (Yunjin Kim), and Aaron Littleton
, along with Frank Lapidus
(Jeff Fahey
).
Penny and Desmond's first child, Charlie, was born somewhere in the Philippines
, aboard the ship Our Mutual Friend
, after they went into hiding from her father. In 2007, Penny would face her father's nemesis, Benjamin Linus (Michael Emerson
), who threatened to kill her as a result of the murder of Alex
by Widmore's men. However, when he saw Charlie, he hesitated allowing Desmond to stop him.
notes the surname Milton connects her character to John Milton
, the English poet famous for writing Paradise Lost
, an epic poem about free will, good and evil. In the finale episode of the series, the alternate timeline is revealed to be a purgatorial
meeting place prior to the afterlife, after Penny's death sometime in her future. Penny and Desmond sit together in the church alongside the other main characters and "move on". For this episode, and in spite of scarce screen time, Walger was elevated to main cast status.
Penny and Desmond's relationship has been received positively by critics. In Entertainment Weekly, Alejandro Garay wrote, "One of my favorite episodes of 2008 was Lost’s 'The Constant.' It was a beautiful episode that made us fans fall in love with the show even more. The creators managed to build momentum with smart narrative, by using the romance card to develop such a complicated topic as time traveling. Maureen Ryan of The Chicago Tribune praised Penny and Desmond's phone call in "The Constant
", saying "a classic Lost moment" in Desmond and Penny's phone call. Verne Gay of Newsday
called it an emotional release, "I actually cried when Penny and Desmond finally... connected" and "there wasn't one, single, solitary false note". Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly
named the phone call between Desmond and Penny the best moment of the season excluding any moments from the then yet-to-air season finale.
Erin Martell of AOL
's TV Squad said that "The Constant" strengthened her love for Desmond and Penny's story, saying "my heart won't break if none of [Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Juliet] end up together [but] if Desmond and Penny don't reunite, I will be devastated." Jay Glatfelter of The Huffington Post
said Penny and Desmond had "the best love story on the show and dare I say on television today". Karla Peterson of The San Diego Union-Tribune
wrote that "[I was] almost as touched and relieved by the[ir] reunion as Desmond and Penny are"; however. Ben Rawson-Jones of Digital Spy
wrote that "a refreshing shift in Lost's tone enabled loyal viewers to have their hearts warmed by the long distance smoochfest between Desmond and his beloved Penny". IGN
's Chris Carabott praised the on-screen chemistry of Henry Ian Cusick
(Desmond) and Sonya Walger
(Penelope), stating that "their on screen chemistry makes the love between the two characters real and makes their inevitable breakup that much harder to handle.".
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television series Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
played by Sonya Walger
Sonya Walger
Sonya Walger is an English actress known for her roles in the ABC series Lost as Penelope "Penny" Widmore, and as Olivia Benford on ABC's FlashForward.-Education:...
. Penny is introduced in the last episode of the second season of Lost as the long-lost lover of Desmond Hume
Desmond Hume
Desmond David Hume is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost portrayed by Henry Ian Cusick. Desmond's name is a tribute to David Hume, the famous empiricist author and philosopher. Desmond was not a passenger of Flight 815. He had been stranded on the island three years prior to...
as well as the daughter of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
tycoon and antagonist Charles Widmore
Charles Widmore
Charles Widmore is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of over forty people after their plane crashes on a remote island somewhere in the south Pacific. He is primarily portrayed as an older man by Alan Dale; Tom Connolly and David S...
. In spite of being only a recurring character
Recurring character
A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in an episode, sometimes being the main focus...
, she made notable appearances in three season finale
Season finale
A season finale is the final episode of a season of a television program...
s of the show: "Live Together, Die Alone
Live Together, Die Alone
"Live Together, Die Alone" is the second season finale of the ABC television series Lost, consisting of the 23rd and 24th episodes of the second season. It is also the 48th and 49th episodes overall. The episode was written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, and directed by Jack Bender. It first...
", "Through the Looking Glass
Through the Looking Glass (Lost)
"Through the Looking Glass" is the third season finale of the ABC television series Lost, consisting of the 22nd and 23rd episodes of the third season. It is also the 71st and 72nd episodes overall. It was written by co-creator/executive producer Damon Lindelof and executive producer Carlton Cuse,...
", and There's No Place Like Home
There's No Place Like Home
"There's No Place Like Home, Parts 1, 2 & 3" is the season finale of the American Broadcasting Company's fourth season of the serial drama television series Lost, consisting of the 12th through 14th episodes. They are also the 84th through 86th episodes of the show overall...
. Penny and Desmond's relationship is generally liked by critics and fans alike. Commentators, such as those from Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
have commended the writing of their storyline.
Arc
Penny was born to Charles Widmore (Alan DaleAlan Dale
Alan Hugh Dale is a New Zealand actor. As a child, Dale developed a love of theatre and also became a rugby player. After retiring from the sport he took on a number of professions to support his family, before deciding to become a professional actor at the age of 27. With work limited in New...
) and an unnamed woman in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. She first met Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick is a Scottish-Peruvian actor of stage, television, and film. He is well-known for his role as Desmond Hume on the United States television series Lost, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination....
) sometime in 1994 at a monastery in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and asked him to help her deliver wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
to Carlisle, in which he gladly agreed. Two years later, they were living together, in spite of her father's disapproval. Even though both were happy together, their relationship appeared to be unstable due to the disparity between the wealth of the two characters, Penny was an heiress while Desmond merely worked at a theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
company. It eventually turned the curve when Desmond was unable to pay for a photograph
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
forcing Penny to pay for it. Feeling ashamed by his inability, Desmond left Penny, regardless of what she thought, and joined the Royal Scots Regiment. Penny was disappointed that Desmond left her without any notice. When he abruptly visits her in 1996 and asks for her number, she was confused because he told her he would call her 8 years later. In spite of her frustration, she allowed him to have her number so that he could call her later. Despite these setbacks and heartaches, Penny continued to have feelings for Desmond. She wrote him a letter after she had learned that he was going to prison and hid it in the only book by Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
that he had not yet read, Our Mutual Friend
Our Mutual Friend
Our Mutual Friend is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining psychological insight with social analysis. It centres on, in the words of critic J. Hillis Miller, "money, money, money, and what money can make of life" but is also about human...
. He, however, was unaware and didn't read it while he was there even after was released from prison and from the Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, and instead kept the book where it was. Desmond also wrote letters but her father intercepted them believing that Desmond was unfit for his daughter. He then persuades Desmond to join a round-the-world sailing
Sailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
race to prove his worth to Penny. Months after Desmond had begun his training for the race, they meet in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, she assumed that he had read her letter but was startled when he asked her when she was going to be married. She replied by saying "We haven't set a date". They, however, would not end up getting married because Desmond would suddenly disappear later.
Years after Desmond's mysterious disappearance, Penny was still determined to find him. Her hope increased when her listening station was able to find the coordinates of The Island
Mythology of Lost
The television show Lost includes a number of mysterious elements that have been ascribed to science fiction or supernatural phenomena, usually concerning coincidences, synchronicity, déjà vu, temporal and spatial anomalies, paradoxes, and other puzzling phenomena...
. Days later, she made contact with Charlie Pace
Charlie Pace
Charlie Hieronymus Pace is a fictional character on ABC's Lost, a television series chronicling the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island...
(Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan is an English actor. He has received international attention from playing Merry in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and for his role as Charlie Pace on the television show Lost....
), who asked her if she had sent a boat to the island. She replied that she hadn't. Before she could speak to Desmond, who was there with Charlie, the communication failed. On the Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
of 2004, she received the call Desmond had promised her and was elated that he was alive. This event marked the first time they had spoken to each other in four years. Penny and Desmond would later be united at last when her boat, The Searcher, was able to rescue him, along with the members of the Oceanic 6, Jack Shephard
Jack Shephard
Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and protagonist of the ABC television series Lost played by Matthew Fox. Lost follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Airlines flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to survive and escape, slowly uncovering more of the much broader...
(Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox (actor)
Matthew Chandler Fox is an American actor. He is mostly known for his role as Charlie Salinger on Party of Five, and for portraying Jack Shephard on the supernatural drama television series Lost.- Early life :...
), Kate Austen
Kate Austen
Katherine Anne "Kate" Austen is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly. She is the de facto female lead...
(Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as Kate Austen in the ABC drama, Lost.-Early life:...
), Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia
Jorge Garcia
Jorge García is a U.S. actor and comedian. He first came to public attention with his performance as Hector Lopez on the television show Becker and later for his portrayal of Hugo "Hurley" Reyes in the television series Lost. Garcia also performs as a stand-up comedian.-Early life:García was born...
), Sayid Jarrah
Sayid Jarrah
Sayid Hassan Jarrah is a character from the ABC show Lost portrayed by Naveen Andrews.-Season 1:Sayid fixes the transceiver recovered from the cockpit, and leads a group into the jungle in order to send out a distress signal. Instead, he picks up a looping message . He tries to locate the...
(Naveen Andrews
Naveen Andrews
Naveen William Sidney Andrews is a British American actor. He is best known for portraying Kip in the movie The English Patient and Sayid Jarrah on the American television series Lost.-Early life:...
), Sun-Hwa Kwon (Yunjin Kim), and Aaron Littleton
Characters of Lost
The characters from the American drama/adventure television series Lost were created by Damon Lindelof and J. J. Abrams. The series follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, after a commercial passenger jet crashes somewhere in the South Pacific...
, along with Frank Lapidus
Frank Lapidus
Frank J. Lapidus is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Jeff Fahey. Frank is introduced in the second episode of season four as a pilot hired on a mission to the island where Oceanic Flight 815 crashed. He aids the survivors of the crash against mercenary Martin Keamy ...
(Jeff Fahey
Jeff Fahey
Jeffrey David "Jeff" Fahey is an American film and television actor. He has portrayed Captain Frank Lapidus on the ABC series Lost and the title role of Deputy Marshal Winston MacBride on The Marshal.-Early life:...
).
Penny and Desmond's first child, Charlie, was born somewhere in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, aboard the ship Our Mutual Friend
Our Mutual Friend
Our Mutual Friend is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining psychological insight with social analysis. It centres on, in the words of critic J. Hillis Miller, "money, money, money, and what money can make of life" but is also about human...
, after they went into hiding from her father. In 2007, Penny would face her father's nemesis, Benjamin Linus (Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost and fictional serial killer William Hinks in The Practice.-Early life:...
), who threatened to kill her as a result of the murder of Alex
Alex (Lost)
Alexandra "Alex" Linus is a recurring fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Tania Raymonde. She was born 16 years prior to the crash of Oceanic Flight 815, but was taken from her mother, Danielle Rousseau by the Others. She was raised among them, believing her mother to...
by Widmore's men. However, when he saw Charlie, he hesitated allowing Desmond to stop him.
Afterlife
In the alternate timeline Penny's last name is Milton and she never met Desmond. She is jogging in a stadium when Desmond comes to meet her for the first time. When Desmond shakes her hand, he collapses. When he gets back up, he asks Penny if she would like to go have coffee and she agrees to meet him in an hour. She and Desmond smile back at each other. TimeTime (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
notes the surname Milton connects her character to John Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
, the English poet famous for writing Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse...
, an epic poem about free will, good and evil. In the finale episode of the series, the alternate timeline is revealed to be a purgatorial
Purgatory
Purgatory is the condition or process of purification or temporary punishment in which, it is believed, the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven...
meeting place prior to the afterlife, after Penny's death sometime in her future. Penny and Desmond sit together in the church alongside the other main characters and "move on". For this episode, and in spite of scarce screen time, Walger was elevated to main cast status.
Reception
The Constant
"The Constant" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the American Broadcasting Company's serial drama television series Lost, and the 77th episode overall. It was aired on February 28, 2008, on ABC in the United States and on CTV in Canada...
", saying "a classic Lost moment" in Desmond and Penny's phone call. Verne Gay of Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
called it an emotional release, "I actually cried when Penny and Desmond finally... connected" and "there wasn't one, single, solitary false note". Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
named the phone call between Desmond and Penny the best moment of the season excluding any moments from the then yet-to-air season finale.
Erin Martell of AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
's TV Squad said that "The Constant" strengthened her love for Desmond and Penny's story, saying "my heart won't break if none of [Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Juliet] end up together [but] if Desmond and Penny don't reunite, I will be devastated." Jay Glatfelter of The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
said Penny and Desmond had "the best love story on the show and dare I say on television today". Karla Peterson of The San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Union-Tribune
-Predecessors:The predecessor newspapers of the Union-Tribune were:* San Diego Sun, founded 1861 and merged with the Evening Tribune in 1939.* San Diego Union, founded October 10, 1868.* Evening Tribune, founded December 2, 1895.-Ownership:...
wrote that "[I was] almost as touched and relieved by the[ir] reunion as Desmond and Penny are"; however. Ben Rawson-Jones of Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
wrote that "a refreshing shift in Lost's tone enabled loyal viewers to have their hearts warmed by the long distance smoochfest between Desmond and his beloved Penny". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Chris Carabott praised the on-screen chemistry of Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick is a Scottish-Peruvian actor of stage, television, and film. He is well-known for his role as Desmond Hume on the United States television series Lost, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination....
(Desmond) and Sonya Walger
Sonya Walger
Sonya Walger is an English actress known for her roles in the ABC series Lost as Penelope "Penny" Widmore, and as Olivia Benford on ABC's FlashForward.-Education:...
(Penelope), stating that "their on screen chemistry makes the love between the two characters real and makes their inevitable breakup that much harder to handle.".