You said in your opinion he's great, so why wouldn't he be a fan favorite? Everybody thinks differently. He's not my favorite character, but it was his connection with Desmond and the mysteries surrounding his life that draw me in. What did he experience when he tested his machine on himself? He obviously had temperal flashes at some point. What was his involvement in the DI off island? How did he know the exact moment when the pocket of energy would be hit? Was he the musician that programmed the Looking Glass? I'm certain he created the device Widmore used on Desmond. When and how did he learn that Eloise was an other? Does he know what time period Theresa is stuck in? Etc.