Thursday, July 19, 2012

LOST: The Final Tally








Well, the re-watch is done, and I can say that the show is still every bit as satisfying on re-watch as it was the first time through.

One thing that my wife and I did this time through was to tally up several aspects.  You can see my ragged tally list in this picture.  One tally list records how many flash back/flash forward/flash sideways episodes a certain character got.  That is, how much time did the show spend developing certain characters.  Here is the list in order of episodes each character got.


  1. Jack: 12 episodes (7 flash back, 2 flash forward, 1 present, and 2 flash sideways)
  2. Locke: 10 episodes (9 flash back, 1 flash sideways)
  3. Kate: 9 episodes (7 flash back, 1 flash forward, 1 flash sideways)
  4. Jin and Sun (counted together because they could not be separated): 8 episodes (6 flash back, 1 flash forward/flash back, 1 flash sideways)
  5. Sayeed: 7 episodes (5 flashback, 1 flash forward, 1 flash sideways)
  6. Desmond: 7 episodes (6 flash back, 1 flash sideways)
  7. Sawyer: 6 episodes (5 flash back, 1 flash sideways)
  8. Hurley: 6 episodes (4 flash back, 1 flash forward, 1 flash sideways)
  9. Charlie: 4 episodes (4 flash back)
  10. Ben: 4 episodes (2 flash back, 1 flash forward, 1 flash sideways)
  11. Walt and Michael: 4 episodes (4 flash back)
  12. Eko: 3 episodes (3 flash back)
  13. Juliette: 3 episodes (3 flash back)
  14. Claire: 3 episodes (3 flash back)
  15. Ana Lucia: 2 episodes (2 flash back)
  16. Boone: 1 episode (1 flash back)
  17. Shannon: 1 episode (1 flash back)
  18. Rose and Bernard: 1 episode (1 flash back)
  19. Richard: 1 episode (1 flash back)
  20. Daniel: 1 episode (1 flash back)
  21. Miles: 1 episode (1 flash back)
  22. Jacob and Smokey: 1 episode (1 flash back)
  23. Nikki and Paulo: 1 episode (1 flash back)
Notice the number 23?

Other characters on the show with significant roles but no dedicated episodes: 
Libby
Rousseau
Alex
Charlotte
Lapidas
Penny
Widmore
Eloise
Ilana
Christian
Cassidy
Nadia

Does this list by number of dedicated episodes fairly depict the importance of the characters in LOST?

Some surprises to me: That Desmond jumps ahead of both Sawyer and Hurley, that Daniel, whom I feel fairly connected to, only had 1 flashback, that Nikki and Paulo ever deserved an episode.

Monday, July 9, 2012

"Losties" vs. "Others": Body Count

So, Brooke and I are doing another lost re-watch.  We started one which sputtered out last year, but this will be the first re-watch of the entire series, and the first time we have re-watched season 6 at all.

Several things have struck me during this re-watch, but what I want to post about here is the actual body count of "Others" vs. "Losties."

Lost is a great example of how point of view/perspective can shape our realities.  In Lost, we are, at least for the first 3 seasons, given the point of view of the "Losties."  From their perspective, the "Others" are a brutal and malicious group of practically wild savages, while the "Losties" themselves are a reasonable and logical group of people merely defending themselves.  Yet, one surprising statistic might be all that is needed to show how perspective can change everything.

<> At the end of season 3, the body count of the "Losties" is 18, to 3 for the "Others."  That is, the Losties have killed 18 of the "Others" while the "Others" have only killed 3 of the "Losties."  That statistic might sound surprising to those who have watched the show, but I have kept a fairly rigid count during this re-watch. I have not counted some kills such as "Losties" on "Losties," like Ana Lucia's killing Shannon, Michael's killing of Ana Lucia and Libby.  Nor have I counted "Others" on "Others" kills such as Juliette killing Danny or Mikael killing the two women in the Looking Glass station.  Beyond season 3, keeping a body count becomes pointless as the groups have essentially dissolved or been realigned. 

Some notable kills:

"Others":
1) Ethan kills Scott or Steve, can't remember which.
2) Goodwin kills Nathan
3) Mikael kills Charlie

That was all the "Others" kills in the first three seasons.  Sure, Ethan tried to kill Charlie, Danny would have shot Kate and Sawyer, but I am going with actual kills.

"Losties":
Charlie kills Ethan
Eko kills two "Others" on the beach in self defense
Ana Lucia kills an "Other" on the beach during a raid
Ana Lucia kills Goodwin
Sun kills Danny's wife on the boat
The grand killing spree comes in the finale of season three when 7 "Others" are killed on their beach raid trying to take the pregnant women and are blown up with dynamite.  3 more "Others," including Tom and Ryan, are killed subsequently as Hurley runs over Ryan, Sayeed snaps the neck of another, and Sawyer shoots Tom at point blank range.
The other 2 kills are of "Other" extras during various skirmishes, one as Kate, Jack, Sawyer and Hurly are on their way to the "Others'" camp, and one during Kate and Sawyer's escape attempt.

So, which group is more malicious, bloodthirsty, and brutal?