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Life and death
From Lostpedia
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"It's sort of understood on Lost that that's what you sign up for. There's going to be constant character turnover, because the stakes on the Island are life-or-death." | ” |
Life and death is a commonly recurring issue on Lost, and according to Damon Lindelof, are two major themes on the Island. While naturally character death is a feature to a good narrative and adds to suspense, life has often been shown to[juxtapose with death, creating an intricate balance.
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Redemption and Death
Many deaths (especially those of main characters) have come soon after the characters overcome their issues on the island. While this could be seen as a way of progressing the story, it has also been seen by others as support for theories, such as that the Island is purgatory.
Ana Lucia
Almost from the moment she arrived on the Island, it was realized that Ana Lucia was an incredibly troubled young woman. She had suffered a miscarriage, and taken vengeance by murdering the man who had shot her, which caused the loss. After traveling to Australia with Christian Shephard, Ana resolved that she would face what she did and return to America, phoning her mother from the airport and telling her that she would be on Flight 815. ("Two for the Road")
Of course, Ana never made it to Los Angeles, and on the Island it became evident that her issues had not been overcome. Ana Lucia killed an unnamed Other in addition to Goodwin, and her deteriorating stability in response to the dangers on the Island led to her accidentally shooting and killing Shannon. ("...And Found") Later, Ana planned to kill "Henry Gale", but at the final moment decided not to. She tells Michael, "I couldn't do it. I couldn't even kill him. I looked at him and he -- I can't do this anymore." At is at this final moment, where Ana for a second time openly admits to everything she has done and wants to change and be redeemed, that Michael shoots her dead. ("Two for the Road")
Boone
Boone was also an example of one who died soon after his redemption. After being tied up by Locke while excavating the Hatch, Boone experienced a hallucination as the result of a paste being rubbed on his head. In his hallucination, he is forced to confront his major issue: love for his stepsister, Shannon. In his hallucination, he finds her dead, and as he later confesses to Locke, he felt "relieved." This eased his jealousy for Sayid, as well as freeing himself from his love for Shannon. ("Hearts and Minds") However, soon after his redemption, Boone climbed into a Beechcraft plane, but the plane fell from a cliff with him inside, killing him. ("Deus Ex Machina")
Shannon
Shannon's issues on the Island seem to center on the fact that no-one ever believed in her. In the episode "Abandoned", flashbacks show how Shannon tried to convince her step-mother to give her the money to pursue her opportunity with a dance company, pleading that she "just need to get to New York. I need just something -- something to get started. I'll pay you back." However, her step-mother refused to believe her, retorting "this week it's an internship -- last year it was what -- interior design? You'll never pay me back. Later, Boone offered Shannon all the money she needed, but she questioned his motives behind the loan, asking:
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SHANNON: Do you believe I can, or don't you, Boone? Boone pauses SHANNON: Okay, you know what, I really want you to just take your money -- go work for your mother -- I don't want it... | ” |
On the Island, Shannon saw Walt repeatedly, despite him being kidnapped by the Others. However, no-one would believe her, and even Sayid doubted the claim. Out in the jungle, Shannon eventually confronted Sayid, showing the true root of her complex:
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SHANNON: Why don't you believe me? [Sayid doesn't answer] I need you to believe in me! SAYID: I do believe in you. SHANNON: You don't! No one does. They think that I'm some kind of joke. They think I'm worthless. SAYID: Shannon, you are not worthless. | ” |
After Sayid truly believes in Shannon, Walt reappears, and this time Sayid can also see him. With this resolution to Shannon's problems, she proceeds to chase after Walt, and in the confusion of surrounding whispers, is shot by Ana Lucia.
Suicide
Suicide has been a theme on Lost. Many characters have attempted suicide, but the success of these attempts has varied from person-to-person. The cause of suicide is generally depression, but in the case of some, to simply escape, or even because of a mental illness.
Pre-Crash
During Desmond's time in the Swan with Kelvin, he had been told about Radzinsky, Kelvin's former partner who was responsible for many things in the hatch. Finally, after being questioned by Desmond, Kelvin revealed that Radzinsky had committed suicide, pointing out a bloodstain on the ceiling. ("Live Together, Die Alone")
After recieving orders from Mr. Paik to kill Jae Lee (whom Paik had seen having an affair with Sun), Jin set off to Jae's apartment, beating him profusely. However, instead of killing him, Jin offered Jae a chance to leave the country and never come back. However, as Jin was leaving and got into his car, Jae's body, clutching a strand of pearls he had offered to Sun, smashed down onto his car, as a result of Jae leaping from his hotel room window. ("The Glass Ballerina")
Another suicide occurred off the island, as Hurley and Ken Halperin were discussing Hurley's financial situation. Suddenly, behind Ken, a man was seeing falling to his death outside, having jumped off the building to commit suicide. ("Numbers")
Upon travelling to Australia in search of the source of the Numbers, Hurley met Martha Toomey, the wife of Sam Toomey, who had first heard the numbers. When asking about Sam's location, Martha stated that, in order to escape the numbers, Sam had killed himself several years prior to Hurley's visit. ("Numbers")
During Sayid's time in Australia, he worked undercover with the CIA in order to uncover a terrorist sect nearby. He was reunited with his college friend, Essam, and stated that he would orchestrate a suicide bombing with Essam, in order to locate the explosives. However, just before the bombing was about to occur, Sayid revealed to Essam his true mission. Essam, angered by the betrayal, held Sayid and gunpoint before turning the gun on himself. ("The Greater Good")
After the Crash
While in the hatch, a depressed Desmond contemplated suicide while drinking heavily and starting to read Our Mutual Friend. However, before he was about to commit suicide, however, he heard Locke, angered by Boone's death, pounding on the hatch door above, restoring his faith and making him lose the thoughts of suicide, knowing he was not alone. ("Live Together, Die Alone")
Hurley, almost a month later, soon became haunted by his imaginary friend, Dave. During his final meeting with Dave, Dave tried to convince him that the island wasn't real, and that it was all a figment of his imagination. Dave stated that if Hurley threw himself off a cliff, he would survive and wake up in Santa Rosa. However, Hurley was stopped by Libby, with whom he shared a kiss. ("Dave")
After leaving the island, Michael decided to reveal the fact that he had killed Libby and Ana Lucia to his son Walt. Walt then, however, wanted nothing to do with Michael, and opted to live with Michael's mother instead of Michael. Michael fell into a deep depression, and attempted suicide by ramming his car into a storage unit. While badly injured, Michael survived and quickly healed. After getting out of the hospital, Michael sold Jin's watch in order to purchase a revolver from the pawn shop.
Later, on the Kahana, Michael prepared to blow up a suitcase bomb given to him by the Others, which would kill him and everyone else on board. However, when he went to detonate the deadly device, a small flag stating "Not yet," popped up, giving Michael yet another failed suicide attempt. ("Meet Kevin Johnson")
Meanwhile, Ben had shot Locke and left him in a pit for dead. Locke, finding a revolver on the corpse of a nearby Dharma worker, held the revolver to his head and attempted to pull the trigger. However, before he could carry on with the suicide, he was stopped by Walt, who told him he had "work to do." ("Through the Looking Glass")
At the Looking Glass, Mikhail Bakunin, though thought dead by Charlie and Desmond, escaped into the moon pool with a grenade. While Charlie made contact with Penny Widmore, Mikhail tapped on the glass, showing Charlie the grenade in his hand while pulling the pin. The grenade exploded, with Mikhail effectively killing himself and drowning Charlie at the same time. ("Through the Looking Glass")
Sometime later, after Desmond and Sayid's arrival at the freighter, they witnessed a woman named Regina commit suicide by wrapping herself in chains and throwing herself off the side of the ship. Gault soon appeared, and informed them that Regina's suicide was likely the result of "cabin fever" that was going around people on the ship. ("Ji Yeon")
After the escape of the Oceanic 6 from the island, John Locke, using the alias of Jeremy Bentham, followed them, and approached each of them, telling them of the repercussions of their leaving, and warning them that they needed to return to the island. However, after visiting them all, he was found dead in his apartment, and the death was ruled as a suicide, though the validity of this ruling is as of yet unknown. ("There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3")
After reading about Locke's death, Jack fell into a deeper depression, eventually pulling over while driving on a bridge and preparing to jump off. However, before he could do so, a car accident occurred behind him, a result of a driver being distracted by Jack standing on the side of the bridge. Jack abandoned his suicidal mission and saved the passenger and her son instead. ("Through the Looking Glass")
List of "life moments"
Off the Island
- Jack saves Sarah's life. ("Man of Science, Man of Faith")
- Charlotte Malkin apparently returns from the dead after drowning. ("?")
- Claire refuses Christian Shephard's offer to help her mother die. ("Par Avion")
- Rachel survives cancer, and gives birth to a son. ("One of Us")
- Jin refused to kill Byung Han, and beat him to save his life. ("...In Translation")
- Jin was also ordered to kill Jae Lee, but beat him instead of killing him. ("The Glass Ballerina")
- Jack nearly attempts suicide after the Island by jumping off a bridge. ("Through the Looking Glass")
- Sun gives birth to a daughter Ji Yeon Kwon after leaving the island. ("Ji Yeon")
- Michael tries to commit suicide multiple times, but is stopped by the Island. ("Meet Kevin Johnson")
- Keamy shoots Michael twice on the freighter with his gun, but the Island stops him, and Keamy's gun jams. ("Cabin Fever")
On the Island
- Jack resuscitates Rose shortly after the crash. ("Pilot, Part 1")
- Jack saves Claire and Hurley by having them move from under the falling plane wing. ("Pilot, Part 1")
- Shannon tells Boone that she thinks the (now dead) man from the airport saved their lives by not letting them have their seats in first class. ("Pilot, Part 1")
- Jack tells Kate that he doesn't need to know what she did, saying, "It doesn’t matter who we were, what we did before this…three days ago we died; we should all be able to start over." ("Tabula Rasa")
- Jack saves Charlie's life after he's been hanged. ("All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues")
- Michael and Locke save Walt from a polar bear. ("Special")
- Locke saves Desmond from committing suicide. ("Deus Ex Machina") , ("Live Together, Die Alone")
- Claire has a baby boy, Aaron, on the Island. ("Do No Harm")
- Sawyer saves Michael's life after the destruction of the raft, by using CPR. ("Adrift")
- Sun is pregnant, and may eventually give birth to a new life. ("The Whole Truth")
- Hurley almost jumps off a cliff when influenced by Dave. ("Dave")
- Rose believes she was healed from cancer by the Island. ("S.O.S.")
- Charlie and Locke save Eko from the polar bear cave. ("Further Instructions")
- Desmond saves Charlie from electrocution. ("Every Man for Himself")
- Jack performed life-saving spinal surgery on Ben. ("Not in Portland")
- Desmond saves Charlie and Claire from drowning. In Desmond's vision, Charlie died while attempting to save Claire. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
- Desmond saves Charlie from being pummeled against rocks. ("Par Avion")
- Desmond saves Charlie being shot by a crossbow connected to a booby trap. ("Catch-22")
- Locke holds a gun to his head but is stopped by an apparition of Walt. ("Through the Looking Glass")
- Daniel saves Desmond from falling victim to "side-effects" of travel to & from the Island. ("The Constant")
- Ben says "Every living person on this island will be killed". (Why did he add the word 'living' - presumably one would have to be living in order to be killed. Maybe the island is home to both the living and the dead.)
List of "death moments"
Pre-crash deaths
- Magnus Hanso dies, and is buried near the Black Rock. (The Lost Experience)
- Based on estimates by Locke and Jack, Adam and Eve die around this time. ("House of the Rising Sun")
- Emily Linus dies shortly after giving birth to Ben. ("The Man Behind the Curtain")
- Sawyer's father kills his mother Mary and then shoots himself in a murder-suicide. ("Outlaws")
- Eko shoots an old man to save Yemi from having to do so. ("The 23rd Psalm")
- Two unnamed DHARMA members in the polar bear cave die of an unknown cause around this time. ("Further Instructions")
- Roger Linus is gassed to death by Ben. ("The Man Behind the Curtain")
- The other members of the DHARMA Initiative, roughly 40 in total and including Horace and Olivia Goodspeed, die in the Purge. ("The Man Behind the Curtain")
- Danielle Rousseau kills the other members of her Science team, including her husband Robert claiming that they had the "sickness". ("Solitary")
- Theresa breaks her neck while falling down the stairs. ("Deus Ex Machina")
- Sayid is part of a firing squad executing an unnamed would-be bomber. ("Outlaws")
- The man wearing red shoes is killed by falling scaffolding. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
- Sayid shoots Omar. ("Solitary")
- Sam Toomey commits suicide. ("Numbers")
- Peter Talbot is killed under mysterious circumstances, presumably by Anthony Cooper. ("The Man from Tallahassee")
- Radzinsky allegedly commits suicide by shotgun. ("Live Together, Die Alone")
- Libby says that her husband David died after an illness. ("Live Together, Die Alone")
- Adam Rutherford dies from injuries sustained in a car accident as a result of Jack choosing to save his wife-to-be, Sarah, instead. ("Man of Science, Man of Faith") ("Abandoned")
- Kate blows up Wayne Janssen while he sleeps. ("What Kate Did")
- Dr. Edmund Burke is hit by a bus. ("Not in Portland")
- Eko kills two Moroccan drug dealers. ("The 23rd Psalm")
- Yemi dies in the Army attack on Eko's gang, Olu dies as well. Goldie flies the plane, it crashes on the Island, where he dies. ("The 23rd Psalm")
- Emeka kills an unnamed blind woman. ("The Cost of Living")
- Eko kills Emeka and his gang with a machete. ("The Cost of Living")
- Tom Brennan is mistakenly shot by a security guard in the car Kate is using as a getaway vehicle. ("Born to Run")
- Jae Lee commits suicide. ("The Glass Ballerina")
- Sabine dies of complications in her pregnancy. ("One of Us") Juliet has seen 8 Other women, including Henrietta, ("The Other Woman") die of complications in their pregnancy. ("D.O.C.")
- Tito Reyes dies of a heart attack. ("Numbers") Father Aguillar is struck by lightning at his subsequent funeral (as reported by Hurley, not shown on screen). ("Numbers")
- Jack's operation on Angelo Busoni fails and Busoni dies. ("The Hunting Party")
- Tricia Tanaka and her camera man are killed when a meteorite strikes Mr. Cluck's Chicken Shack with them inside. ("Tricia Tanaka Is Dead")
- An unknown person commits suicide by leaping off the top of Hurley's accountancy firm. ("Numbers")
- Christian Shephard, performing surgery while drunk, severs pregnant patient Beth's hepatic artery, causing her to bleed to death. ("All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues")
- Assuming that the basis of Ben's fake story is true, the real Henry Gale crashed on the Island in his hot air balloon and soon dies. ("One of Them")
- Ana Lucia murders Jason McCormack. ("Collision")
- Susan Lloyd dies of a blood disorder. ("Special")
- Christian Shephard dies of a heart attack in Sydney. ("White Rabbit")
- Sawyer kills Frank Duckett, thinking that he's the real Sawyer. ("Outlaws")
- Howard L. Zukerman is poisoned by Nikki and Paulo. ("Exposé")
- Essam Tasir commits suicide. ("The Greater Good")
- Kelvin Joe Inman is accidentally killed by Desmond, an event which inadvertantly causes the crash of Oceanic Flight 815. ("Live Together, Die Alone")
Post-crash deaths
- Roughly 253 people die in the initial crash of Oceanic Flight 815. The only survivors are in the middle section, the tail and the cockpit, all of which land in different places. ("Pilot, Part 1"), ("The Other 48 Days")
- Gary Troup is sucked into one of the plane's engine and dies. ("Pilot, Part 1")
- Two unnamed Others are killed by Eko. ("The Other 48 Days")
- Captain Seth Norris is killed by The Monster. ("Pilot, Part 1")
- Three unnamed tailies die from injuries sustained in the crash. ("The Other 48 Days")
- Edward Mars, severely injured in the crash, is euthanized by Jack. ("Tabula Rasa")
- Donald dies from an infection of a leg injury. ("The Other 48 Days")
- Barbara Joanna Miller drowns in a riptide. ("White Rabbit")
- Ana Lucia kills an unnamed female Other. ("The Other 48 Days")
- Nathan is killed by Goodwin. ("The Other 48 Days")
- Goodwin Stanhope is killed by Ana Lucia. ("The Other 48 Days")
- Scott Jackson is killed, presumably by Ethan. ("Homecoming")
- Ethan Rom is shot by Charlie. ("Homecoming")
- Boone Carlyle falls in the drug smugglers' plane and dies of an internal hemorrhage. ("Do No Harm")
- Dr. Leslie Arzt is blown up while handling dynamite. ("Exodus, Part 2")
- Shannon Rutherford is accidentally shot by Ana Lucia. ("Abandoned")
- Ana Lucia Cortez is shot in the chest by Michael. ("Two for the Road")
- Libby is accidentally shot by Michael ("Two for the Road") and later dies from her injuries. ("?")
- Sawyer kills an unnamed Other. ("Live Together, Die Alone")
- Colleen Pickett is shot by Sun. ("The Glass Ballerina")
- Eko Tunde is killed by the Monster. ("The Cost of Living")
- Danny Pickett is shot by Juliet. ("Not in Portland")
- Bea Klugh is shot by Mikhail at her request. ("Enter 77")
- Nikki Fernandez and Paulo are accidentally buried alive, having been found paralysed and presumed dead. ("Exposé")
- Anthony Cooper is strangled to death by Sawyer in the brig of the Black Rock. ("The Brig")
- Three unnamed Others plus Ivan, and Diane are blown up in the ambush on the Survivors' beach camp by Sayid and Bernard.1("Through the Looking Glass")
- Matthew and Luke are shot by Jin. ("Through the Looking Glass")
- Hurley runs Ryan Pryce over with the DHARMA van. ("Through the Looking Glass")
- Sayid breaks Jason's neck with his legs. ("Through the Looking Glass")
- Sawyer shoots Tom, even though he had surrendered. ("Through the Looking Glass")
- Greta and Bonnie are both shot by Mikhail in the Looking Glass. ("Through the Looking Glass")
- Mikhail Bakunin is killed when he detonates a grenade outside the Looking Glass. ("Through the Looking Glass")
- Charlie Pace drowns as a result of the detonation. ("Through the Looking Glass")
- Naomi Dorrit dies of a stab wound inflicted by Locke throwing a knife in her back. ("Through the Looking Glass"), ("The Beginning of the End")
- Brandon dies after "acting crazy" when he and Minkowski attempt to reach the Island. ("The Constant")
- George Minkowski dies after experiencing the effects of time travel. ("The Constant")
- Regina commits suicide by jumping from the Kahana into the ocean. ("Ji Yeon")
- Karl is shot by Keamy or one of his men. ("Meet Kevin Johnson")
- Danielle Rousseau is shot by Keamy or one of his men. ("Meet Kevin Johnson")
- Doug, Jerome and an unnamed female crash survivor are killed by Keamy or one of his men. Steve Jenkins and an unnamed woman go missing and are presumably killed as well. ("The Shape of Things to Come")
- Alex Rousseau is executed by Keamy. ("The Shape of Things to Come")
- Mayhew is attacked by The Monster, ("The Shape of Things to Come") and later dies from his injuries. ("Cabin Fever")
- Doc Ray's throat is slit by Keamy, who throws his body into the ocean. ("Cabin Fever") It had washed up on the island two days before. ("The Shape of Things to Come")
- Captain Gault is shot dead by Keamy. ("Cabin Fever")
- Kocol, Lacour and Redfern are killed by the Others. ("There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3")
- Omar is blown up by a grenade. ("There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3")
- Martin Keamy is stabbed repeatedly by Ben and despite Locke's attempts to save him, he dies. ("There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3")
- Michael Dawson dies in the Kahana explosion. ("There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3")
- Jin-Soo Kwon presumably dies in the Kahana explosion. ("There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3")
- The remainder of the Kahana crew including Hendricks, Jeff and three unnamed crash survivors die when the boat explodes. ("There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3")
Post-island deaths
- Ben kills at least one of the Bedouins who attack him in the Sahara Desert. ("The Shape of Things to Come")
- Nadia is killed, allegedly by Ishmael Bakir under Charles Widmore's orders. ("The Shape of Things to Come")
- Ishmael Bakir is killed by Sayid. ("The Shape of Things to Come")
- Sayid works as an assassin for Ben and shoots Mr. Avellino on a golf course. ("The Economist")
- Sayid kills Elsa. ("The Economist")
- Sayid kills a man who had been watching Hurley at the Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute. ("There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3")
- Jack and Ben attend the funeral of John Locke. ("There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3")
Footnotes
Note 1: It is implied by Damon Lindelof during the August 2nd, 2007 podcast and in the World of the Others special that Isabel is also killed during this attack.
Main cast kill count
This lists the known direct kills committed by the main Survivors actually shown in an episode, whether on or off the Island. It does not include kills that are merely referenced in dialogue (for example, Sayid telling Charlie about how he was a member of a firing squad in Iraq). ("Outlaws")
| Main Character | Off the Island | On the Island | Total kill count |
|---|---|---|---|
Eko
|
|
| 9 |
Sayid
|
| 9 | |
Sawyer
|
|
| 4 |
Ana Lucia
|
| 4 | |
Ben
| 3 | ||
Bernard
| No known kills |
| 2 |
Jin
| No known kills | 2 | |
Michael
| No known kills | 2 | |
Kate
| No known kills | 1 | |
Locke
| No known kills | 1 | |
Charlie
| No known kills |
| 1 |
Hurley
| No known kills | 1 | |
Juliet
| No known kills | 1 | |
Desmond
| No known kills | 1 | |
Sun
| No known kills | 1 | |
Nikki and Paulo
| No known kills | 1 | |
Jack
| No known kills |
| 1 |
See also
- A-Missions
- Body count
- Car accidents
- Crimes of the Islanders
- Fights and attacks
- Funerals
- Last words on wikiquote
- Rivalries
- Weapons
