The Top 25 'Lost' Characters

Interesting that Locke is at #2 and Jack is at #6, since Locke maintained his importance in season 6 (Locke-not MIB) because of what he taught JACK throughout the series. It all seems to come back to Jack, I think so I would've thought he'd be higher on a "Most Important Characters of the Lost SERIES" list. I'm just suprised though, not saying it's wrong!

I've read you blog for SO long.. I'm having a lot of the same feelings I had on May 23! Thanks for doing this. I've really enjoyed it!

some bold choices, ryan. good for you! this list, like destiny, is a b*tch; kudos to you for taking it on; i'm sure plenty will disagree; i might as well begin ;)

as much as i love juliet (and i like her an awful lot), i think jack should rank higher; if anyone can be said to be the central protagonist of the show, then it must be jack; his growth was as a character was phenomenal; just think about where he started from; when he said in the finale to the mib (and i paraphrase): you dishonor [Locke's} memory by wearing his face, it showed how much jack's worldview changed..for the better. i think jack should be in the top three with locke and ben

i think it's really interesting that you picked a character that was not in season one to be the number one on this list; as i said before: a bold choice

my top three in order would be jack, locke, ben

I am with splinter- also I am shocked -no Eloise Hawking???

This is the first time I think I'm going to comment on an entire list like this. My comments carry Ryan's usual caveats - there is no correct absolute universal ranking of characters so my perspective on the show leads me to explain how I agree and disagree with Ryan's placement.

25. Jacob: I think he should be higher. That's more a complaint about the show than a complaint about the list.
24. Penny: I think your Desmond-centric world view is showing through, Ryan! For me it's not just that she didn't have much screentime, it's that she didn't do much when she was there. What can you say about her? "She looked for Desmond."
23. Claire: forgotten for a season or so and kind of a disjointed character (not just from the crazy) when she returned. I'm starting to think a Memorable Characters list should be 15, not 25...
22. Rousseau: not that major a character, but her death felt like it was too early and uneventful, so she gets in on the Eko Rule
21. Holland Manners: Another non-major character. He and Rose were a touching side-plot with longevity, but in the end they were more notable for the things they represented (choosing not to be part of the conflict) than for anything they actually did. I don't see how Sideways earned him any bonus points. His one scene there was just an obligatory appearance for the character and a small bit of filler for the plot. See my comment in the 25 Quotes post: I guess he and Rose get in on the Symbolism Rule.
20. Lapidus: A joy but definitely a minor character
19. Christian Shephard: Minor character, unless you are including all of the presumably Smokey-apparitions
18. Richard: Another one, like Jacob, that would have been much higher if the show had delivered on its promise. ALLCTWT.
17. Rose: See Holland
16. Charlie: Seems about right. I wanted to say he could have been more but for his early demise, but maybe not. He was just right.
15. Miles: Plot importance negligible, even with talking to dead people, but I cannot argue with the Comic Relief Rule.
14. TMiB: Should be top 5 I think. I'm trying to explain why but I keep running into the gaping holes in the meaning of the show. Why did Ben and Widmore have a falling out and why did neither have a relationship with Jacob if Richard was around the whole time? It will have to suffice to say that if we include probable apparitions then he had the most influence on the events of the series. Everybody on the show wrestled with their own personal demons, but his shook the very foundations of the Island.
13. Eko: I agree that this a great character so in my book he gets a rule named after him, but in terms of untapped potential I don't think he surpasses Richard or Jacob or Widmore.
12. Kate: Love to see her this low! Not a hater of the character, just what they did with her (pointless drama and odd decisions) after the first couple of seasons. I guess I should add her to the untapped potential list above.
11. Jin: Love your summary of him, Ryan. I still think his best quote is from Angel, though: "One note, repeated badly."
10. Sun-Hwa: It seems like she and Jin had to die because somebody dying would make that episode more dramatic. I don't see any reason why they couldn't have been on the Ajira round trip along with the rest.
9. Sayid: Good spot. His character development was not as interesting as the Kwans, but he had far more of a part in the Island's business.
8. Faraday: I would put him at around 20. He *was* a useful tool for exposition, but trying to use "physics" as an explanation for everything didn't accomplish anything that "magic" wouldn't have.
7. Desmond: I want to make him a member of the untapped potential club. Not because of what he could have done (he already did enough) but because everything would have more meaning if he wasn't so conveniently in the right places at the right times. Maybe I should just accept the entire show as more coincidence than fate.
6. Jack: Well placed, Ryan. One of several gutsy calls. Like Kate, he really lost his way in the middle seasons. His reluctant return to leadership was a little too rote, but he ended well so like the show I'll give him a Pass.
5. Juliet: Definitely one of my personal favorite characters, but I see her here and think maybe you forgot to put in the disclaimer that this list is not in any particular order? Somewhere between 10 and 15 seems about right.
4. Sawyer: Right on. Leonard Nimoy was kind of stuck after playing Spock. I wonder if we'll ever be able to watch any of these actors again after such memorable performances here?
3. Hurley: Loved him (didn't Everybody?), but I can support this spot only on account of him being the last Island guardian (that we know of, dude)
2. Locke: Oh wait, I need to go back and add this guy to my untapped potential list. Look at it this way - if MiB had taken a different final form would Locke be this high?
1. Ben: BFL might be my favorite of the many memorable quotes from your posts over the years, Ryan. Like the show, he really lost his way at the end. And like the show, it's not so much that his end was bad, it was that not enough was shown to explain why everything that had already happened was important. I get the message that there is probably/almost/largely a possibility of atonement even for the terrible things he did, but in the end I see him as less of a character than a force of nature (or force of man, if you will). They come. They fight. They manipulate. They double-cross. (Emerson is going to be another one that will have a hard time topping this role. I'd give Cadaver Cadabra a chance, though)

I was going to say that I didn't see Ben as #1, and come up with a quick top 3 as some other posters have, but I think, perhaps as a result of my lingering dissatisfaction, that I can't come up with 3 characters that deserve to be top 3!

It's been said that character trumped consequence, which I don't find acceptable. But today I realized that the show's symbolism may be what I need to move past the flaws in its execution along other lines. I don't have time to do a thorough analysis to see if even the symbolism holds together; hopefully somebody else will. I'm sure there will be many books written about this show. Will yours be one of them, Ryan? It wouldn't be the only one, but I think it would be a good one.

With a few more minutes to think, I'll throw in a few more thoughts:

I'll put Eloise Hawking on the untapped potential list, along with WAAAAALT, but I don't see them as top 25.

The substitutions I would suggest are along family lines: Charles Widmore (although still untapped - NO BACKSTORY??? REALLY??) is in and Penny Widmore is out. Alex is in and Rousseau is out.

And I can't give my personal top 3 but I can give my personal top 2. Looking at the list it's more clear than ever that the show is an ensemble cast, but I would say:

2. TMiB
1. Jack

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CD: "@Op/Con I'm going to miss reading your comments more than I'm going to miss Lost! You should consider your own blog."

Wow! Thanks! (Although for now I should probably go back to focusing on my plays and screenplays... if I ever have any major success I'll be sure to shout it from the [virtual] rooftops!)

FIFTYPENCE: "Hmmm, Eddie, not sure I'd go as far as to say 'exactly right' though."

I, and I think most of the epiloggers, agree that we were far from "exactly right" -- although I understand the frustration that people like Eddie (or was it Eddie9?) feel regarding how those (such as Mo I believe) -- who were so sure that the sideways universe was created by TMIB and would "bleed through" and disappear BEFORE the end of the island story -- never really admitted that they were a lot more condescending toward the epiloggers than they should have been.

JEFFC: "I gotta say what I'm most disappointed in is the bloody prev/next links on the blog comments. 9/10 times I hit next, it just shows a loading icon and never shows the comments..."

About a week ago I was having that problem too, no matter which one of recent blog entries I pulled up. After about an hour I gave up... but fortunately the next day it was fine.

(Oh -- be sure to have javascripts by zap2it dot com enabled or it will never work. But I assume you do or I don't think you'd be able to post your comments. In fact, I've noticed that most scripts [doubleclick dot net, etc] have to be enabled in order to post.)

FIFTYPENCE: "Damn I love LOST."

Well put! (And I also especially like the dock scene. There are just so many great moments to choose from!)

DEBBIE: "Also, I think the scene with Jack dying and Vincent lying down next to him was more emotional and better done than the "move on" scene (just the inconsistencies/problems of who was present in the church and who wasn't immediately bumps it off my list)."

I agree completely.

MARTIN: "I'd like to see a list of the top 25 great scenes that became meaningless due to the fact that they had nothing to do with the ending."

Now that's one list I could really get into! (Not Yet Measured has made a good start.)

MARTIN: "Your title for #21 makes me go Huh? Wish someone could explain it to me with some logic. Desmond "wakes up" in the Sideways world. Yeah right. Your number 7 would be my #1 worst moment in LOST.

Agreed. I also agree with those who said that the fall of the temple and the church light door moments don't belong in the top 25, considering how many other great moments there were. (And I still don't think the "got milk" moment is all that great compared to so many other great moments.)

SPLINTER: "ryan, i don't mean to beat a dead horse but....i was thinking about something you said throughout season six: that you wanted the cycle of island protectors to end; simply having a new person take over for jacob wouldn't be enough; i don't think i've heard you comment on that..."

I second that, Splinter. (Maybe together we can beat a dead horse back to life!)

RYAN: "As sharp as the writing often was for the show, these actors took nearly everything on the written page and made it sing."

Agree one hundred percent!

SPLINTER: "As I write this I just had an epiphany of sorts..."

Interesting thoughts, Splinter.

Finally, I just have to say that I agree with Fiftypence and others that it is a travesty not to include "Hugo, why is there a dead pakistani on my couch?"!

OP/CON: "Although for now I should probably go back to focusing on..."

Although as I said previously, I hope Ryan will do as Fiftypence and others have requested and leave an "afterlife" thread operational that we can use to post our theories regarding the loose ends of the main storyline -- and revelations we have when we go back and watch an old episode. (Even if that revelation is as simple as something like "Wow! I never realized how great that "I never" scene between Kate and Sawyer was!")

I'm sure that I'll be watching old episodes regularly, on and off, for a long, long time to come. And I imagine many others here will be too.

Ryan,

Excellent list! I like your comment about Danielle, but personally, I'd LOVE to see Sideways Ben, Alex, and Danielle play "Risk" -- and I bet Alex would win.

I'd have added Michael and left Penny or Lapidus out, but mostly I agree with your list.

Glad you had Hurley so high up - he was just so.............. great. :)

Great list, but I think people tend to slightly overrate Ben.

Jack or Locke should be number one, and MIB should be higher. The whole concept of MIB was so unique and so well done.