First time I'm actually going to attempt a grand theory...
We've seen that Eloise and Widmore are at odds, much like Widmore and Ben. These points aside, they (read: former leaders of the others) are enemies working towards a common goal: ensuring that whatever happened, happened. On the island, before the incident, Eloise and Widmore talked to Jack, Kate, and later, (speculation) when he returns, Desmond, so as to make sure they get where they belong. This way, Abaddon gets Locke where he needs to go, and Eloise shows up in Desmond's life when it "Flashes Before His Eyes" to make sure that he does what he needs to do to push the button to save the world.
The common goal, as the goal of the Others, is to preserve the miracles of the island. As Widmore recently told Locke in "The Life and Death of Jeremy Benthem," there's a war coming, John, and you need to be there so the right side wins. After the Incident, where the 1977 survivors try to change the future but inadvertantly cause it, they will return to the present where John Locke leads the others in a war for the island against Ilana and her people--a resurgence of the Dharma Initiative in 2007. There are a few things that lead me to this claim. First, at Comic-Con, Pierre Chang made a video (may be canon or non-canon) that someone needed to reform Dharma. Furthermore, Ilana's faction belongs to neither Widmore nor the others. When her people grabbed Miles, they told him explicitly not to work for Widmore. Furthermore, had they been members of the others, they would have handled Locke and Ben much differently.
As we've seen in the end of every season, there has been a preview of the focus of the season-to-come. We worked with the hatch near the end of season one. Were truly introduced to the others near the end of season two. We met Naomi near the end of season three, bringing the Kahana into play. All of the flashforwards hinted at the focus of season five. And now, the Dharma Initiative has been highlighted along with Ilana's group. This war for control of the island and its uniqueness (healing, aging, miracles, etc. etc.) will be the highlight of the final season, where John will try to protect the island and Sawyer et al will deliberate which side to fight for, the people that the worked with for three years in the 1970s or the survivors/others they met first.
We've seen that Eloise and Widmore are at odds, much like Widmore and Ben. These points aside, they (read: former leaders of the others) are enemies working towards a common goal: ensuring that whatever happened, happened. On the island, before the incident, Eloise and Widmore talked to Jack, Kate, and later, (speculation) when he returns, Desmond, so as to make sure they get where they belong. This way, Abaddon gets Locke where he needs to go, and Eloise shows up in Desmond's life when it "Flashes Before His Eyes" to make sure that he does what he needs to do to push the button to save the world.
The common goal, as the goal of the Others, is to preserve the miracles of the island. As Widmore recently told Locke in "The Life and Death of Jeremy Benthem," there's a war coming, John, and you need to be there so the right side wins. After the Incident, where the 1977 survivors try to change the future but inadvertantly cause it, they will return to the present where John Locke leads the others in a war for the island against Ilana and her people--a resurgence of the Dharma Initiative in 2007. There are a few things that lead me to this claim. First, at Comic-Con, Pierre Chang made a video (may be canon or non-canon) that someone needed to reform Dharma. Furthermore, Ilana's faction belongs to neither Widmore nor the others. When her people grabbed Miles, they told him explicitly not to work for Widmore. Furthermore, had they been members of the others, they would have handled Locke and Ben much differently.
As we've seen in the end of every season, there has been a preview of the focus of the season-to-come. We worked with the hatch near the end of season one. Were truly introduced to the others near the end of season two. We met Naomi near the end of season three, bringing the Kahana into play. All of the flashforwards hinted at the focus of season five. And now, the Dharma Initiative has been highlighted along with Ilana's group. This war for control of the island and its uniqueness (healing, aging, miracles, etc. etc.) will be the highlight of the final season, where John will try to protect the island and Sawyer et al will deliberate which side to fight for, the people that the worked with for three years in the 1970s or the survivors/others they met first.
