Lost premiered in the fall of 2004 on ABC and would leave viewers on the edge of their seats for six seasons. Created by JJ Abrams, Damon Lindelof, and Jeffrey Lieber, Lost was a show with a mysterious island, smoke monsters, polar bears, and an amazing cast of characters. The show began with a giant plane crash on a strange island and used flashback sequences to explain the survivor's backstory.
The passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 would start out as strangers but as the story was fleshed out more, it's revealed that many of the survivors are more connected than they knew. The two-part pilot was the most expensive show made at the time, using advanced CGI and flying in metal parts of a plane to establish its realism. The show featured a lot of mysterious elements that kept fans coming back each week for six years, however, it was the characters that fans truly invested in. There were many vital characters over the course of the show but some played larger roles than others.
10 Ben Linus/ "Henry Gale" - Leader Of The Others And A Lifelong Islander
"Henry Gale" first appeared in the middle of the second season, claiming to be a survivor of an air balloon crash that killed his wife. However, the group discovers that "Henry Gale" is actually Benjamin Linus, a lifelong islander, and leader of the Others. Ben is a master manipulator who kidnaps Jack, Kate, and Sawyer at the end of Season 2. He forces Jack to operate on him and remove a cancerous tumor.
Ben started out as an innocent child but his father was an abusive DHARMA Initiative janitor, leading him to become an angry and murderous adult. Although there are times when Ben doesn't seem as dangerous, he usually reverts back to his psychopathic behavior. Ben was instrumental to the Lost series, serving as the main antagonist for most of the show.
9 Danielle Rousseau - The French Woman Who Was Stranded After A Shipwreck
Danielle Rousseau is first heard at the beginning of the series on a transmission that had been playing on a loop for sixteen years. In the middle of Season 1, Sayid follows a cable from the beach into the jungle, setting off one of Rousseau's traps. She believes Sayid to be one of the Others but later befriends him when he fixes her music box. Danielle shows up at the end of Season 1 to warn Sayid and the survivors of an imminent attack on their camp by the Others. Although she seems a little out of touch, due to her being alone for sixteen years, Danielle is a good-natured person and only cared about finding her daughter, Alex.
8 Desmond Hume - The Man Beneath The Original Hatch
When the hatch is finally blown off, it's revealed that Desmond had been living there for several years. His main job was typing numbers into a computer for the DHARMA Initiative and had been alone for a while. Desmond accidentally kills his partner, Kelvin, and his mistake is what brought Oceanic Flight 815 to the island. He lived under the original hatch, the Swan station, when Jack and Locke blow the top of it open at the end of Season 1.
Desmond's life always seemed to end in failure, which leads him to Charles Widmore's sailing race and ending up shipwrecked on the island. Despite his repeated failures, Desmond is a good man who can see into the future and is only concerned with getting back to his love, Penny Widmore.
7 Charlie Pace - A Rockstar Drug Addict Who Had A Lot Of Ups And Downs
Charlie Pace had a rollercoaster of a ride while stranded on the mysterious island. He's featured heavily in the Pilot episodes with his flashbacks revealing he was in a rock band and had a serious drug problem. John Locke helps Charlie quit his drug addiction but he's tempted later on when a small drug-running plane is found on the island. Despite his erratic behavior, Charlie falls in love with Claire and serves as a father figure for her baby. He would make some mistakes, like scaring Claire and kidnapping Sun, but Charlie means well and is good-natured. Charlie makes the ultimate sacrifice when he drowns getting information to Desmond, which will ensure everyone else's survival.
6 James "Sawyer" Ford - The Bad Boy Who Would End Up Like A Good Man
Sawyer started off as a wise-cracking tough guy who loved stirring the drama on the island. He also ransacked the plane and kept a stash of booze, medicines, and any other salvage he could use to trade or ask favors for. Even though he rubs most of the survivors the wrong way, he forms a bond with Kate and later gets romantically involved with her. However, Sawyer's flashbacks reveal him to be a con-man who tries to swindle money from husbands of girls he's involved with.
He backs out of one of the con's when he finds out a young child is involved, something that happened to him when he was a young boy. When he finally lets his guard down, James "Sawyer" Ford becomes a vital part of the group and one of the most beloved characters on Lost.
5 Jin-Soo Kwon - An Overprotective Husband Who Goes From Being Disliked To Being Loved
Jin easily had the best redemption arc of any character on Lost. He didn't speak any English and seemed overprotective of his wife, Sun. His flashbacks reveal that he was a hitman for Sun's father and would do anything to keep them together. Jin attacks Michael when he thinks Michael stole his watch and the two continue to banter until the end of Season 1 when they work together to build the raft. Even though he is hurt Sun didn't tell him she spoke English, they eventually make up and rekindle their love for each other.
Most of the camp misunderstood Jin's overbearing nature but he becomes a beloved member of the camp when he helps Claire have her baby and works extremely hard to build the raft. It's safe to assume all was forgiven when everyone was saying goodbye to the people on the raft and Jin gently touched baby Aaron's head and gave him a kiss on the head.
4 Sayid Jarrah - A Republican Guard Officer With A Heart Of Gold
Sayid Jarrah may have been the strongest and most capable person from the Oceanic flight. He served in Iraq for the Republican Guard as a communications officer and was often brought in to torture enemies. However, he quickly became a leader on the island and used his skills for the greater good. Sayid fights against Sawyer early on, even torturing him to get Shannon's inhaler, but the two eventually squash their beef and work together.
During his flashback, Sayid is tasked with killing Nadia, a woman he loved and knew since childhood. He shoots his superior officer and himself, allowing Nadia to get free and providing a reason for the escape. He later falls in love with Shannon and is completely devastated when she is accidentally shot and killed by another group of survivors.
3 Kate Austen - A Wanted Woman Who Was Always On The Move
Kate is first introduced in the Pilot and helps Jack stitch up an injury from the plane crash. There was a U.S. Marshall on the plane who was accompanying Kate after being arrested in Sydney. The Marshall ends up dead but not before Jack finds Kate's mugshot and Walt finds a set of handcuffs that belonged to Kate. Her flashbacks reveal that she has a checkered past, usually using a fake name and manipulating a man to get what she needs.
However, she's wanted for murder, when her childhood sweetheart is accidentally shot and killed in a car she was driving. Kate forms strong bonds with a lot of the camp, especially Jack and Sawyer, and is always willing to risk her own life for the betterment of the group.
2 Jack Shephard - The Heroic Doctor Who Was Far From Perfect
Jack Shephard is the main hero of Lost, but that's not to say he didn't make mistakes. Sometimes he even comes off brash and a bit arrogant, yet, he always wants to help the other survivors and goes to great lengths to protect the camp. Jack is the first character to be shown on screen and at the end of the series, he's the last character shown. Being the only medical doctor on the island, Jack's importance couldn't be overstated and he becomes the true leader of the Oceanic survivors.
Although he has disagreements with Kate, Sawyer, and the rest of the group, he always does what he thinks best for everyone. Jack may be far from perfect but as Rose says early in Season 1, "you have a nice way about you." Most Lost fans would agree that if Rose says something positive about another character, it's most likely the truth.
1 John Locke - The Island Found Him, Fixed Him, And Became Him
John Locke is definitely the most complex character on the show, seeing as one minute he's building Claire a crib for her baby and the next he's lying about Boone's death. Locke's flashbacks reveal that his real father manipulated him into giving him a kidney and later shoves him out of a window, leading to his paralyzation. However, when John wakes up on the beach after the crash, he has full use of his legs and believes the island to be special.
Despite his occasional creepiness, Locke was a good man but seemed troubled and never wanted to leave the island. Jack was a "Man of Science" and Locke was a "Man of Faith", which caused the two of them to butt heads. He eventually leaves the island but Ben ends up killing him and his body is consumed by the dreaded Smoke Monster.
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