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Bumpo

SeabassDebeste posted...

yeah, one thing about the way lost ended is how people say "it was all about the characters!"

i was always a character-first guy and the injustice it did to many of its characters was the worst part of it all

ben getting "redeemed" is really bad

bUt hEs NoT rEdEeMeD iN tHe FlAsH sIdEwAyS

SeabassDebeste posted...

sawyer getting fed up with the bulls*** is nice in S6. jack is actually even better for that!

Yes, though Jack goes the opposite route. "I'm fed up, so I am going to stay and superman punch the bad guy!" vs Sawyer's "I'm fed up, so I don't care what happens to anyone else as long as I get the fuck out of here finally."

Love the Sawyer love

Thanks Zen! Here is the final:

1. Sawyer
2. Desmond
3. Ben
4. Locke
5. Christian
6. Hurley
7. Man in Black
8. Charlie
9. Miles
10. Rose & Bernard
11. Sayid
12. Juliet
13. Frank
14. Jin
15. Faraday
16. Penny
17. Keamy
18. Jackface Line of Demarcation
19. Sun
20. Rousseau
21. Richard
22. Widmore
23. Dr. Chang Fodder Line
24. Jacob
25. Eko
26. Alex
27. Claire
28. Boone
29. Libby
30. Walt
31. Eloise
32. Shannon
33. Charlotte
34. Michael
35. Kate
36. Ilana
37. Paulo & Nikki
38. Ana Lucia

That's supposed to be this gif: https://data.whicdn.com/images/62487915/original.gif

oh well!

#1. James "Sawyer" Ford

After rewatching LOST ten years later, Sawyer skyrocketed up to the top of my list pretty quickly. I always somewhat liked the character, but to me he was kind of your basic Han Solo-type rogue with a fairly predictable arc. However, with each episode I watched, I began to appreciate his humor more and more and was endlessly entertained by the slow reveal of his backstory. But what absolutely set him over the top for me--wait for it...was season 6.

We all can probably agree that season 6 was a destructive run for the show that almost sucks all of the good out of the series as a whole. But despite all the awful twists and terrible endings for our beloved characters, Sawyer stands out as the shining beacon of hope that we are not alone in this.

Season 6 Sawyer perfectly encapsulates how I felt about the direction the series took. His lines are almost verbatim what I was screaming at my TV or uttering to my wife as we marathoned the series together. "Why the hell did they have to come back to the Island??" "They just ruined everything for no reason." "Son of a bitch."

Sawyer had completed one of the most satisfying arcs in the series by the end of season 5. The selfish bad boy with a secret heart of gold finally got over his demons and was able to build a great life for himself with a great girl, great friends, and great job as "LaFleur" in the 1970s. And then Jack and Kate had to come back and fuck everything up for him, literally nuking his current set-up so that...the Man in Black could have Jacob killed and almost everyone could die?

This entire plot direction made no sense to the audience and even less sense to Sawyer. And throughout season 6, he is just as pissed as we are about this, and therefore becomes the only character who acts rationally. With Juliet dead, Sawyer just stops giving a fuck. All he cares about now is getting as far away from the hellscape of the Island as possible, and he's willing to wheel and deal with anyone (good or bad) as long as it means he can put this misery behind him. It's the most relatable I have ever found a character on the show.

I don't mean to come across like season 6 was the only reason for Sawyer getting the top spot--he was certainly my #1 leading up to this for a number of reasons anyway (a super fun backstory, great humor that isn't too overdone, punches Jack a bunch, etc.). However, as my heart continued to sink in my rewatch of the decrescendo of the show, Sawyer stood out as a reason for me to keep watching. He was me at the end--beaten down, disappointed, wistful; but also able to remember the good times, and the crazy fun ride that LOST had taken us on.

#2. Desmond Hume


And here we have it! My second-favorite character from LOST is pretty widely regarded as a top-tier guy--and for good reason. Desmond is consistently amazing throughout the series and has given us some of the best moments the show has to offer. The discovery of The Hatch. "Not Penny's Boat." The phone call from "The Constant." Just when you start to think things are getting stale, a Desmond episode comes along to reignite the hype and that wonderful feeling that LOST can bring at its peak.

As you'll note in my write-up for Sawyer, I really enjoy the characters who have realistic reactions to the insanity of the events on The Island. It not only makes those characters more relateable on a human level, but it also grounds the show in a certain sense of realism that helps separate it from the SyFy channel schlock that it could have been. And Desmond exemplifies this perfectly in season 2. After spending years saving the world on a daily basis in The Hatch, Desmond is a broken man. The conviction he had in earnestly believing that something terrible would happen if he stopped pressing the button turns him into a lunatic, which is completely understandable. But when he starts to believe that everything about these past few years of his life was a lie, he does what any of us would probably do--drinks rum straight out of the bottle and stays hammered all day. How could you not love that?

As much as I love Desmond's little season 2 arc and how it serves as a microcosm for faith, he gets even better as the series progresses, culminating in season 4. Once he essentially is "unstuck in time," Desmond arguably becomes the most important character on the show. Time travel is a really precarious trope to introduce anywhere, especially in a series that is supposed to be somewhat grounded in reality, and the LOST writers are somehow able to make it work, all thanks to Desmond. I don't need to repeat this again, but "The Constant" is easily the best episode of the show, arguably one of the best episodes of television ever, and it is the very moment that most of us probably began to realize we care more about Desmond than any of the Flight 815 survivors, despite spending the whole series with them.

By the time LOST wrapped up, there's not a single person you want to see have a happy ending more than Desmond. In a way, his journey is the most grueling. He has been on the Island longer than most; he lives in the past, present, and future simultaneously; and all he really wants is to be left alone with his wife and son. And as much as I began to hate the series by its conclusion, I would totally watch another season where Hurley and Ben try to help Desmond get back to Penny again. And that says a hell of a lot.

I honestly had no idea Sawyer was this beloved. I knew Desmond was obvious though.

#3. Benjamin Linus


My former favorite from ten years ago, Ben didn't so much "fall" in my list as the top two had grown. But one thing has remained the same: Ben is the best villain in the series and completely saves the show from itself midway through.

I may be making a leap here, but I really do not think that the writers planned for "Henry Gale" to ever be the leader of The Others. After all, why in the world would Ben be doing grunt work on the main island, and why would he be dumb enough to stumble into one of Rousseau's traps? My assumption is that Henry was going to be revealed as an ordinary Other on a recon mission, but after seeing how insanely good Michael Emerson's performance was, they elevated Ben into a bigger role that would span the series. Whatever the story may be, it sure as hell paid off in dividends.

Let me pose it you this way: how many other characters can personally kill half of the cast and literally commit genocide and still be a fan favorite? That's just how great Ben is. His squirreliness is resourcefulness, his deceptiveness is his cunning, and you find yourself admiring just how many situations he's able to get himself out of with nothing more than some cuts and bloody noses.

Ben is also one thing that most others in the show are not: competent. When so many characters are just grossly inept--even the "all-knowing" Jacob--Ben seems to be one step ahead of everyone else. He knows where the trap doors are, he knows everyone's secret personal information; hell, he even seems to be the only one who knows how to move the Island, basically acting like a God.

Ben just provides that boss factor that is actually paid off in his actions. He's the smartest guy on the Island but never lets it on unless he needs to. He single-handedly saves the show, and I think was duly rewarded by (somehow) surviving through to the epilogue.

#4. John Locke


It's possible that Locke is one of the most divisive characters on the show. I remember some people absolutely worshiping him back in the day, whereas others completely despised him. In a way, both sides are right.

Locke is wrong about everything. He is a spiritualist who believes in fate and predestination and brushes off all mistakes as being out of his control. He is a wannabe survivalist who is constantly getting other people hurt, kidnapped, or killed. In the real world, he is a total loser--what some would probably call a "cuck" nowadays--who gets bamboozled, bullied, and completely screwed out of everything throughout his whole life.

But at the same time, Locke is right about everything. He is correct in his belief that there is a higher power controlling the destinies of everyone on Flight 815. He is right in believing that the Island needs their protection from an evil force. And he was truly transformed from his old self (both physically and spiritually) as soon as he crashed on the Island, which we learn in a scene that still gives me chills and can only be rivaled by the ending of "The Constant."

The fact that we're even having these kinds of arguments proves to me that Locke is an amazing character worthy of being near the top of this list. Although there are certainly some stumbles here and there given the incredible amount of screentime he has, Locke is a rich character full of depth and complexity in ways that almost no one else on the show really is written. If the creators simply made Locke out to be the hero who used to be a loser and now is a rugged champion of all things good, we'd be sick of him after a season. It's the fact that we as an audience know that he is right about the big picture, yet simultaneously wrong about the smaller things needed to get there, that makes for interesting tension, especially when compared with the more logical points of view.

Had the writers made Jack a more consistently rational presence (rather than a bipolar maniac), I think this dynamic and theme would have been much, much clearer. But after a second viewing, I'm able to see through the smoke and realize how necessary Locke really is.

Underleveled posted...

This was me before I watched through the show, but almost entirely because of Weezer.

I do like how you slipped the word "rotund" into his write-up. Nice little reference to a tiny moment that really sticks out to me.

Oh god I completely forgot Weezer named an album after him

How is everyone feeling about the top 4? I figured this is a fairly innocuous selection (regardless of order), but who knows.

#5. Christian Shephard


When I first drafted this list, I didn't think it would be fair to include the elder Dr. Shephard. I had to establish some guidelines for this bloated cast of characters, and one of them was "must be present on the Island." And technically, all of Christian's Island scenes are actually the Man in Black. But alas, you all made your voices heard, and now here we are.

Here's the thing with Christian: every single scene with him (yes, even the finale scene) is exceptionally good. Not only is John Terry probably the best actor on the show, but the character of Christian is just played so much differently than the others in the series. He's acting almost with a wink, like he knows how ridiculous the writing and other characters (particularly Jack) are, and he never lowers himself to that level. Let me explain.

Because Christian's flashbacks are primarily with Jack, he offers a really great counterpoint to our psychotic hero. When Jack is panicking, Christian is the calming voice. When Jack is being a maniac stalker, Christian is trying to get him help. Yet it is Christian who is the one who is supposed to be the unstable alcoholic, and it's a wonderful vehicle to highlight how insane the world is around him. It's almost like he realizes that the world and every other character on the show is so preposterously written that he is forced to drink himself into a stupor to hide from it. It's fucking awesome.

So yeah, this one may be a particular personal preference of mine, but Christian's on-camera moments are great 100% of the time, which I can't really say about anyone else on this list.

I knew this one would be unpopular! I'm sure one or two other decisions coming up will be as well...

Top 5 predictions encouraged!

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. Hurley
7. Man in Black
8. Charlie
9. Miles
10. Rose & Bernard
11. Sayid
12. Juliet
13. Frank
14. Jin
15. Faraday
16. Penny
17. Keamy
18. Jackface Line of Demarcation
19. Sun
20. Rousseau
21. Richard
22. Widmore
23. Dr. Chang Fodder Line
24. Jacob
25. Eko
26. Alex
27. Claire
28. Boone
29. Libby
30. Walt
31. Eloise
32. Shannon
33. Charlotte
34. Michael
35. Kate
36. Ilana
37. Paulo & Nikki
38. Ana Lucia

PrivateBiscuit1 posted...

I dunno, I thought the whole Man in Black thing was kind of stupid in general and I found it impossible to take that whole mess of things seriously, and I thought it made more sense when the smoke monster was just a terrible thing that shouldn't escape and not some almighty dude. The Man in Black will never be as cool as the Smoke Monster ever was.

But that's the thing--the Man in Black is the Smoke Monster, in all its season 1-2 coolness

#6. Hugo "Hurley" Reyes


Everybody Loves Hugo. And seriously, what's not to like about this character? He imbues the series with ton of heart and humor, especially when it was in desperate supply of both later on. He's possibly the most memorable of anyone on the Island--ask someone who never watched LOST to pick out a character and I guarantee you they choose Hurley. He's simply iconic.

If I were to give any reason for keeping Hurley out of the top 5, it would probably just be his lack of importance on the Island itself for most of the series. The standout episodes for Hurley are definitely the flashes--the lucky and the unlucky--and not so much the present-time plotlines. Perhaps the plan was to have him more involved with Walt (like he is the epilogue mini-episode), but who knows for sure.

I'd be shocked if anyone had a top 10 without our rotund friend, and I couldn't imagine the show without him.

#7. Man in Black


I have no idea if this is an unpopular opinion, but I thought the Man in Black made an exceptional archvillain, especially after my second watch-through. Think about it for a second: Smokey has it all for the bad guy in a fantasy show--he is all-powerful, all-evil, and actually has a clear plan that has stakes of epic proportions.

Where the MIB probably gets a bad rap is in the fact that he is the primary focus of what is easily the worst season of LOST. But despite all of the half-assed episodes and terrible twists, John Locke as MIB stands out as the brightest point in the season. "John" is completely revitalized as the MIB takes over, bringing a new energy and a sense of urgency to a dimming character, played exquisitely by Terry O'Quinn.

Unlike 90% of the show, we actually know what the MIB's motivations are pretty clearly. The guy hates Jacob, hates the Island, and just wants to fucking leave after 2000 years. The writers absolutely missed a golden opportunity to add some complexity to the ending--will the MIB actually bring evil to the world or is this just Jacob manipulating everyone into keeping him contained?--but that is no fault of the character himself. He is a strongly motivated figure who actually makes more sense than almost anything else in the series, and could have been the savior of the final season and show at large if the flash-sideways and a few other key events did not occur.

Long live the Smoke Monster!

#8. Charlie Pace


Charlie is the character I most closely associate with the positives of LOST. Maybe it's because he was killed off before the show got really terrible, but I think it might be more than that. Charlie, more than anyone else, just reminds me of what the show started off as--a modern shipwreck adventure with strangers fighting for survival together.

Like Miles, Charlie's real charm is in his interactions with the other survivors. He brings a sense of heart to the cast that few others, maybe even just Hurley, manage to capture. We all remember the peanut butter scene, which perfectly encapsulates what I mean by this. He is a stranger with next to nothing in common with most of Flight 815, yet the beauty of the early seasons is watching people like him start to form relationships and bonds with these people, as we watch their pasts unfold in the flashbacks. It's LOST in its purest before it became something entirely different (for better or worse).

Watching the Charlie episodes really warms my heart and made me weirdly nostalgic on my second watch-through, especially given how different the latter half of the series feels. With that said, the only thing keeping him out of my top 5 (or even higher) is that ridiculous and uncharacteristic subplot where he knocked Sun unconscious for whatever reason, which was promptly ignored thereafter. Other that this, Charlie is damn near perfect.

Also Miles is a surviving minority!

#9. Miles Straume


Miles is important to the show because he was really the one to take the sardonic comic mantle from Charlie at a time the series desperately needed some levity. But Miles is more than Charlie 2.0. While he has that same cheeky personality, he has a bit more edge to him. He's outwardly selfish--even through the imminent apocalypse, his main focus is Paulo and Nikki's diamond stash rather than the friends he's made over the past 3 years. And I really find that refreshing in a time when everything just gets so damn saccharine or so damn ridiculous.

Miles's backstory is interesting enough (and definitely more unique than even most of the main characters), but the real enjoyment of his character is how he elevates the others around him. He is the perfect partner for the roguish snark of Sawyer; he is one of the few who rightfully rolls his eyes at Locke and Jack; and his scenes with Hurley are some of the funniest in the series. My favorite line perhaps in the entire show is when someone asks if Hurley was able to track Jacob, and Miles says "Not unless he was covered in bacon grease." It's so incredibly rude but all the more enjoyable because we know that Hurley is one of his better friends on the Island.

Miles is just a great stand-out by looking at this sea of terrible personalities and deciding that he doesn't really need to care about anyone but himself.

PrivateBiscuit1 posted...

The only thing I'm touching with a ten foot pole in this conversation is to gently say not to use "latinx" since latin people hate that word and don't use it.

Aside from that, maybe we should leave this conversation elsewhere to not ruin the topic?

My next writeup will now be a 10,000 word tome on the ethnography of Hurley

#10. Rose and Bernard Nadler


This may seem like a strange placement for such a relatively minor duo, but I will contend that Rose and Bernard have the most complete and most satisfying story of any characters on the show. It's seriously amazing how beautifully they pull it off and how much they restrain themselves from ruining them in the latter seasons. It's perfect.

We first meet Rose, quiet and hopeful, almost quixotically still believing that he husband is alive somewhere. The other survivors let her be and we kind of forget about her for awhile. But lo and behold, season 2 comes around and we actually continue to thread this plot line through.

Bernard: "My wife, Rose...is she on the other part of the Island?"
Sawyer: "Black chick? Yeah, she's there."

The realization on Bernard's face is one of the most touching and memorable parts of the series, and you want nothing more than for them to reunite. And its pays off perfectly.

But they didn't just stop there. Rose, like Locke, understands the healing power of the Island. We see her journey with cancer unfold in her flashback as her relationship with Bernard also grows before our eyes. This soon becomes the silver lining to all of the absolute horror and misery of the Island--although they are hopeless to be rescued, it means that Rose and Bernard will be able to live out their days, together, and that's all that matters.

Bringing them back with Vincent in season 6 was a really nice touch. In the midst of the chaos and time travel, Rose and Bernard are still keeping on--and nothing can stop them from having a happy ending.

mnkboy907 posted...

lol I just realized one of the two characters you weren't even going to originally include is in your Top 10.

part of the reason why I didn't want to include him is that it's almost unfair that he is not tainted by any Island storylines

JJ Watt to never play in a championship game confirmed

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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11. Sayid
12. Juliet
13. Frank
14. Jin
15. Faraday
16. Penny
17. Keamy
18. Jackface Line of Demarcation
19. Sun
20. Rousseau
21. Richard
22. Widmore
23. Dr. Chang Fodder Line
24. Jacob
25. Eko
26. Alex
27. Claire
28. Boone
29. Libby
30. Walt
31. Eloise
32. Shannon
33. Charlotte
34. Michael
35. Kate
36. Ilana
37. Paulo & Nikki
38. Ana Lucia

#11. Sayid Jarrah


My relationship with Sayid has been a roller coaster. Besides Kate (obviously), he was probably my least liked of the season 1-6ers when I first watched the show 10 years ago. I couldn't even really tell you why--maybe it was the lame Shannon angle, maybe it was because of the dumb James Bond flash forwards, maybe because I had a hard time finding redemption in a career torturer. I don't know. But something changed upon by second watch-through.

Through all of the silliness of his B-stories, Sayid actually comes across as one of the only competent, logical people on the Island. It almost became a joke as I watched multiple episodes a day--practically every other scene consists of Sayid being asked to go on some mission in the jungle or solve a problem or do something otherwise important. All because everyone else from Flight 815 is a moron (Charlie et al), physically incapable (Hurley et al), or a raving lunatic who constantly makes horrible decisions (Jack, Locke, et al). Sayid is the only reliable person there, yet the worst things constantly happen to him and he just has to keep pushing ahead anyway. And I love it so much.

But then the roller coaster dips back down again. Season 6. Zombie Sayid. Without any exaggeration, Sayid in season 6 is the worst season for a character in the show. It is profoundly stupid. He dies and is resurrected as a "bad man," except he doesn't really do anything evil. He sort of just stares blankly in a comically idiotic manner and, I repeat, does nothing all season until he decides not to be evil and (in unintentionally racist irony) suicide bombs himself in the submarine. I don't think anyone even talks about him again after this. Literally. It's unbelievable.

It was a sad end for a character that really redeemed himself in my eyes, but I still enjoyed the journey.

It's about that part of the list when I'll be knocking off peoples' favs I guess

Did I get anyone's #1 yet? The only one I could see being at the top of a list is Faraday

#12. Juliet Burke


And here we are! Coincidentally my 32-year-old self's choice for Hottest on the Island is also the best (main) female character on LOST. And I mean this as no insult to Juliet, who is great, but it is a sad state of affairs when the best female lead they could write isn't even in the top 10.

Juliet is kind of a slow burn. She's a bit of a bitch and very untrustworthy when we first meet her, and we're unsure if her ploy to get Jack to kill Ben is genuine or simply a power move. But Juliet's backstory really helps turn her into a true protagonist. She is basically a prisoner on the Island, trapped in a never-ending series of miscarriages and death. It's incredibly miserable and makes you want her to get home more than half of the Flight 815 folks.

But where Juliet really shines is in her relationship with Sawyer. In many ways, she is the anti-Kate--someone who makes her partner better, keeps them out of drama, can take care of herself, and generally doesn't fuck everything up. And given how badly the writers destroyed these kinds of self-reliant characters in season 6, her death in the first episode seems more like a mercy killing.

SeabassDebeste posted...

this seems criminally low for jin given some of the people above him, including lapidus

that's how bad Jin's death was

#13. Frank Lapidus


Yaas, Daddy Frank! Post-rehab Mel Gibson in one season and then salt and pepper man hunk in the next. Truly one of the more astonishing twists in the show.

Anyway, Lapidus is one of the rare characters who comes in and gets shit done on LOST. Like a good version of Keamy in a way, he doesn't care about all of the weird nonsense going on in the Island or about any of the drama between the characters. He is there to prove that he was right about Widmore faking the crash of Flight 815, and then getting the fuck off the Island.

It's that refreshing take that ranks Lapidus as high as I have him. Sure, he may not have the most fully evolved backstory or the most to do there, but his one-note mission statement keeps the show moving and acts as a pretty hilarious foil to some of the more "serious" characters. He is just one of those guys you want to root for throughout the series, and one of the few true protagonists of the show.

#14. Jin Soo-Kwon


His very bad, no good, atrocious, pitifully written ending in season 6 aside, Jin has one of the more complete arcs of any character on the show. He starts out as an aloof, controlling husband who seems to get into fights with everyone on the Island; and through some interesting flashbacks, we slowly begin to understand why he is that way. And then over the course of a few seasons, we watch as Jin grows into a more loving partner and a loyal ally to the other survivors. It's pretty much exactly what a character arc should be.

If we are to take the creators at face value when they claim that LOST is "really about the characters," then I think Jin is the quintessential model for that claim. His flashbacks exclusively serve the purpose of fleshing him out into a multidimensional character, and his growth as a person in real-time is directly due to the actions that happen in the story. There's no mystical bullshit or heavy-handed ideas about "fate" woven in--Jin is a simple A to B story, where you hate him at first and then wind up rooting for him by the end.

But, as I mentioned in Sun's write-up, the end of Jin's story is just unforgivable and unfortunately keeps him out of the top 10.

Underleveled posted...

Is that Jack/Juliet's son? Because yeah, his existence literally makes no sense.

Yeah, this one blew my mind. Did they not plan for the ending when they conceived this idea? The whole thing is preposterous.

Underleveled posted...

Man, I thought that my list was top-heavy for the men, but only two women in your top 15?! And one of them is paired with a man (I think we all know that the woman carried that duo though, and she's the higher of the two on my list, with a few spots separating them to boot). Not that that's your fault. It's already been said, this show sucked at creating compelling female characters.

Haha yep, blame it on the writers. I tried!

#15. Daniel Faraday


Back in the day on board 8, I remember Faraday being a consensus top 3 guy. Looking back, one can see why he appealed to so many of the superfans here. He's an awkward genius with a hot girlfriend and, perhaps most importantly, he is the only character to have the mysteries of the Island figured out. So for the 20-year-old nerdy fans who spent their nights on forums piecing together theories about the show, Faraday was basically their God.

Now that I am older, Faraday has lost some of his initial appeal to me, but he's a pretty fascinating and unique character nonetheless. Him being a stand-in for the audience really still works even if it's not executed perfectly every time--but his intellectual obsession and need to figure out just what's been going on is a great meta narrative at the height of the LOST fandom.

If it's not pretty obvious yet, I am a sucker for Desmond-centric episodes, and that is where Faraday really shines the most. "The Constant" is the closest thing the show has come to successfully offering a scientific/rational explanation for the mysteries of the Island (as opposed to the spiritual/magical), and Faraday is the perfect vessel by which that is achieved. It's kind of a shame they did not do more with him throughout the series, and his death is one of about a dozen underwhelming deaths from season 6, but he will always rank in the top half for his role in the season 4 apex.

PrivateBiscuit1 posted...

Yeeeeah Keamy doesn't get enough respect as an antagonist. My Keamy rant is this:

In a show where everyone plays stupid fucking games of subterfuge and nonsense with magic island warfare, Keamy just comes along and very decidedly goes "I'm not playing your dumbass games."

So when Ben's like "lol ya i dont care u got my daughter i dont even love her" he just kills her, boom. No games. Doesn't give a shit if Ben is bluffing or not. He's here to get a job done. End of story. Just mows down Others no problem. Just makes it clear he's here to do his job and he's not listening to anything else.

Keamy is just terrifying and effective and such a good choice because he is absolutely against playing nonsense island games and was such a unique element to the show during that season, and it's a shame it was during the writer's strike because he could have had so much more too.

I agree with this and he definitely stands out more when you binge the show. So much of the drama is just circular nonsense that leads nowhere to pad the seasons, but Keamy is like "yeah I'm going to get a bunch of marines and will shoot everyone LOL."

#16. Penelope "Penny" Widmore


Contrasting with Keamy, who is probably the most unapologetically "bad" character on the show, we have the character who personifies "good" more than anyone else: Penny. Penny is one of many searching for the location of the Island; but unlike everyone else, her motivations are pure and are driven solely by the desire to find the man she loves and bring him home--not to use the Island for her own purposes.

And it's that relentless drive to find Desmond that makes Penny so likable. Her only real downside is that she has very little screentime compared to others on this list, the exception being in the hands-down best episode of the series "The Constant." If anything, that just goes to show you how fantastic that episode is--that we can be talking about a relatively minor character, by virtue of her involvement in that one 40 minutes of TV, as one of the better ones on the show.

oh hey I can embed picture now!

#17. Martin Keamy


Keamy is a really effective bad guy. I haven't done the research to confirm this, but I get the feeling that Keamy earned himself a bigger role on the show through sheer contrast against some of the other antagonists we've seen across the series. His motivations are clear; there is no ambiguity about his morality; and he actually succeeds in being someone you root against.

Keamy also doesn't overstay his welcome. He played his part exactly as long as was needed and didn't bloat his arc with some extended backstory. He was a badass mercenary who was there for one reason and, if not for the black smoke, he would have delivered. And yes, he also makes some good eggs.

More tomorrow

I am wasted right now and cackling thinking about jack scenes.

I really should have him at #1 to troll

VintageGin posted...

If I recall correctly they even cut to commercial break while he was midair and about to land his punch

Just so they could show it again after the break

Yessir. Hulu was perfect for recreating that experience for me.

MoogleKupo141 posted...

remember when Jack did a straight up Superman punch in season 6 (The finale, I think ?)

that ruled

Best part of the finale

I think I know who your #38 might be, and I think you might not like my placement!

FFDragon posted...

Locke is a sad man larping as a badass, manipulating people and making the lives of everyone around him worse.

That is true and part of what makes him an awesome character.

wallmasterz posted...

Recently I started feeling a bit nostalgic for Lost and thought about revisiting it. But this is just making me feel as if I need to enjoy the memories and leave this damn show buried. At least unless my kids want to give it a try or something.

It's definitely worth watching with someone who hasn't seen it before, if only to see their reactions to all of the nonsense

Recap so far:

18. Jackface Line of Demarcation
19. Sun
20. Rousseau
21. Richard
22. Widmore
23. Dr. Chang Fodder Line
24. Jacob
25. Eko
26. Alex
27. Claire
28. Boone
29. Libby
30. Walt
31. Eloise
32. Shannon
33. Charlotte
34. Michael
35. Kate
36. Ilana
37. Paulo & Nikki
38. Ana Lucia

FFDragon posted...

S6 Gives Zero Fucks Jack is his peak.

Season 6 is definitely Jack at his most likable but also Jack at his most pointless

#18. ===========The Jackface Line of Demarcation===========
<img src="https://decider.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/jackface-5.png?w=618">

Appropriately right smack in the middle of the list, separating the good characters from the bad, is the most polarizing and inconsistent character on LOST: Dr. Jack Shephard.

Jack is one of television's most schizophrenic personalities. At times, it seems as if there was a different writer writing his dialogue in each different scene and Matthew Fox just went for it. One episode, Jack will be the educated, thoughtful, calm surgeon; and in the next, he is a raving lunatic who is punching anyone and anything in his way, asking questions later. Jack has some of the most interesting flashes with his father in one episode, and some of the dumbest subplots with Bai Ling in another. The man is a riddle wrapped in mystery inside an enigma.

And you know what? Jack is pure fucking entertainment to me. In my second watch-through, I loved hating him. I loved hating his stupid facial expressions, I loved hating his irrational bursts of violence, I loved hating his asinine decisions to be an action hero (despite being the only doctor of the group). But does that make him a good character, let alone a good main protagonist?

Like much of LOST, it's impossible to say for sure. And in many ways, Jack is a microcosm for the show. I loved hating it sometimes, and it filled me with enjoyment and profound disappointment. Jack is everything that is good in the show and also everything bad about it. But after much deliberation, this is where he belongs--in the middle, but never mediocre.