LOST: Pre-Game for “The Package”

Remember, too, that this was in 1996. We don’t know when Widmore left the Island, but it was after the Purge. All indications are that the Purge happened in ’92, which means Widmore couldn’t have been exiled for more than a couple of years at that point. He hadn’t had time to formulate a plan, so he was probably grabbing at whatever he could.