13 Characters on Lost

Thank you, Cindy. I'm loving this show! Billy and I have watched the first 16 episodes of season 1 over the course of the last week and a half. I'll be getting discs 5, 6, & 7 from the library tomorrow, so we'll be watching the last eight episodes of season 1 and perusing the bonus features disc over the next week or so.

For this week's Thursday Thirteen, I'm blogging about 13 characters from Lost. (Lost fans, keep in mind that I'm a newbie and don't fully understand all the characters and their relationships just yet. I'm just basing this on what I've seen so far. And please don't spoil any of the plotlines for me. Thanks!)

1. Jack - A surgeon in the real world, Jack is now the general practitioner and the leader of the survivors of the plane crash.

2. Kate - She's a criminal who's trying to turn over a new leaf on the island. She and Jack are friends, but he doesn't completely trust her, with good reason. She's shown some surprising skill in tracking and outdoor survival.

3. Charlie - He's a bass player for a defunct band and a drug addict who's managed to kick his habit while on the island. He's sweet and loyal, but has a poor image of himself.

4. Locke - Formerly paralyzed from the waist down from an accident 4 years earlier, he now walks and runs freely on the island. When Jack said something about the island having mystical qualities, he answered, "More than you know." He mentioned having been a scout as a boy, but he knows much more about the ways of the wild than a scout would. It's almost like he was in the CIA or something at one point. I like him, but sometimes the things he does weirds me out.

5. Sawyer - He's a jerk and a con-artist with a smart mouth and a southern drawl. Still, you can't help but like him. I keep waiting for him to do the right thing, but he just never quite crosses that line.

6. Sayid - An Iraqi who served in the Republican Guard during Desert Storm, he's guarded but friendly with the rest of the survivors. He's very intelligent and conscientious. The writers and the actor have done a great job portraying Sayid as a person and not a threat or a terrorist.

7. Claire - Alone and very pregnant, she was on her way to the US to meet a couple who would adopt her baby. She quickly finds a friend in Charlie. After being attacked and abducted by Ethan, she manages to escape and eventually rejoins the other survivors. She steps up to be bait so the group can capture Ethan and find out how he came to be on the island since he wasn't a passenger on the airplane. With all the stresses she's been enduring, how can she not have had that baby yet?!?

8. Hurley - I love Hurley! He's lovable and funny, and he really cares about the welfare of the people he's stranded with. From building a golf course so the survivors can have some fun to encouraging Sayid to talk with Charlie about killing Ethan, his heart comes through. And he's always got something funny to say.

9. Sun - A seemingly brow-beaten and controlled wife, this daughter of a Korean mobster can secretly speak English. Michael is the first one to find out, then Kate, but she asks them to keep it secret.

10. Jin - Sun's husband and her father's "associate", he is very controlling. He doesn't know Sun can speak English, but seems to be suspicious of her relationship with the other survivors. He's had some violent altercations, particularly with Michael, but there have been some kind moments, too.

11. Shannon - She's spoiled and selfish and will use anyone to get what she wants. She also has a poor self-image and thinks she's useless. At times I almost want to like her, then she does or says something to make me loathe her again. At least she's trying to help Sayid discover some things about the island by translating French from a distress call and from some island maps Sayid found.

12. Boone - Shannon's older step-brother, he's come to her rescue many times but also resents her. Through the use of a hallucinogenic paste he made in the jungle, Locke helps Boone comes to terms with his feelings for Shannon and seemingly frees him from her grip.

13. Michael - Separated from his infant son, he must now raise 10-year-old Walt, who never knew Michael was his father. He feels pressured to set a good example for his son and to protect him - all while living in a strange place with other survivors of the plane crash. He's not ready to take anyone's advice on how to raise his son, but he's not sure what to do with him, either.

13 1/2. Walt - His mother just died and he's been reunited with the father he hasn't known since he was a baby. Other people have noticed there's something "different" about him, but I'm not sure just what they're referring to yet.

Bonus: Rose - She was seated across the aisle from Jack and he tried to reassure her when the flight first got turbulent. She survived the crash, but has no idea where her husband is. (He was in the tail section of the plane when it broke off before the crash.) She's a believer and prayed with Charlie when he lost Claire and was nearly killed by Ethan. She's wise and soft-spoken, but firm. I really wish she were a more visible character.

Do you watch Lost? Who are your favorite characters and why?