Every Lost Character Still On The Island When The Show Ended

Summary

  • Jack saw Ajira Flight 316 leaving the island, but by that point, most characters had left the island or died.
  • Hurley became the island’s protector, and Ben became his “Number Two.”
  • Other characters, like Cindy, Zack, & Emma adapted to the Others.



This article contains spoilers from Lost.

By the end of the present-day timeline in Lost, most of the characters had either left the island or died there, but some were still alive and on the island. Before Lost‘s Jack Shephard died in the same spot where he awoke in the jungle years earlier, he saw the repaired Ajira Airways Flight 316 flying away from the island. The plane was flown by pilot Frank Lapidus, and its passengers included Kate Austen, James “Sawyer” Ford, Claire Littleton, Miles Straume, and Richard Alpert, all of them successfully leaving the island and returning to civilization.

While most of Lost‘s characters were no longer on the island by the time Jack died and Ajira Flight 316 flew away, several important characters still remained. Most of the characters still on the island at that point chose to stay, whether it was to protect the island or because the island brought them peace the regular world couldn’t provide. For others, they were still on the island by circumstance and not by choice.


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7 Hugo “Hurley” Reyes

Hurley Became The Island’s Protector

Hurley remained on the island because he was chosen to be its new protector. Jack volunteered to inherit this role from the island’s longtime protector, Jacob. After Jack was mortally wounded while saving the island and his friends in Lost‘s series finale, Jack made Hurley the island’s new protector, emphasizing that the compassionate Hurley always knew how to take care of other people, making him a perfect fit for this position moving forward.


In “The New Man in Charge” epilogue, Hurley was seen outside the Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute in Los Angeles, waiting for Walt Lloyd to come back to the island with him and to give him a job. Even though Hurley physically left the island, he was still its protector, and only left briefly to recruit Walt. Hurley’s scene with Benjamin Linus in the flash-sideways also suggested Hurley stayed in this role and on the island for many years, with Ben fondly telling him, “You were a great number one, Hugo” as they bid farewell to each other.

6 Benjamin Linus

Ben Became Hurley’s “Number Two”


Even though Ben had a chance to leave the island via Ajira Flight 316, he refused this opportunity, insisting that if the island was going to go down, he would go down with it. After the island was saved, Hurley asked Ben if he could help him in his new role, as Ben possessed many years of leadership experience and extensive knowledge about the island. Ben was honored and gladly accepted Hurley’s offer as he stayed on the island with a renewed sense of purpose.

Ben wasn’t born on the island, but he had lived there since he was a boy when his father joined the Dharma Initiative.

As per Hurley’s instructions, Ben later traveled to Guam to shut down a warehouse still sending Dharma Initiative food drops to the island, and went to Los Angeles to recruit Walt. He then returned to the island with Hurley and Walt and presumably continued to thrive in his position as Hurley said to Ben in the flash sideways, “You were a real good number two.” Ben was loyal to Hurley in a way he’d never been loyal to anyone else.


5 Desmond Hume

Desmond Probably Didn’t Remain On The Island For Long

Soon after removing the cork from the Heart of the Island, Desmond became unconscious, and he remained in this state as Ajira Flight 316 flew away. When Hurley was overwhelmed and unsure of how to begin his job as protector of the island, Ben suggested that Hurley start by making sure Desmond returned home. Hurley was initially concerned about the suggestion because people hadn’t been allowed to leave the island in the past, but Ben encouraged Hurley that he could now run things in a different and better way.


While Desmond was technically still on the island the last time he was seen in Lost‘s present-day timeline, he probably didn’t stay there for long. Hurley and Ben likely ensured that Desmond left the island and returned home to his wife, Penny, and their son, Charlie. Desmond refused to willingly go back to the island with the Oceanic Six on Ajira Flight 316 and only returned after Charles Widmore kidnapped him, meaning he definitely wouldn’t want to stay there and would want to be reunited with his family.

4 Rose & Bernard Nadler

They Agreed To Never Leave The Island

In season 2, episode 19, “S.O.S.,” Rose and Bernard agreed that they would never leave the island because the island had healed Rose of cancer. They didn’t want to risk leaving as the cancer might come back, so they chose to stay on the island where they could live a healthy and peaceful life. They stood by their word, building a cabin for themselves when the island sent them back to the 1970s, and made an effort to stay out of the drama happening elsewhere on the island.


They broke their rule to help pull Desmond out of the well during Lost‘s series finale, and were threatened by the Man in Black, but Desmond agreed to go with him as long as Rose and Bernard weren’t hurt. The Man in Black left with Desmond and this was the last time Rose and Bernard were seen in the present-day timeline. They presumably spent the rest of their lives on the island.

3 Vincent

Everyone On The Island Loved Vincent


Walt’s dog, Vincent, was last seen next to Jack in his final moments on the island, bringing the series full-circle, and proving that, despite Jack’s frequent phrase, “Live together, die alone,” he didn’t have to die alone. After Jack’s death, Vincent probably returned to Rose and Bernard, as he lived with them when they time-traveled alongside other Lost characters, and when they returned to the present. Many people looked after Vincent on the island, but Rose and Bernard looked after him the longest.

With Walt choosing to return to the island in the series epilogue, Vincent probably was able to reunite with Walt as well. This would certainly help Walt feel at home again on the island. It could also ensure that Vincent would have someone to look after him when Rose and Bernard passed away, and while Hurley probably would’ve been happy to do it, it would be more fitting for Walt to be the one to do so.

2 Cindy Chandler, Zack, and Emma

They Came A Long Way From Being Taken By The Others


Cindy was a flight attendant on Oceanic Flight 815 and was among the tail section survivors, as were the young Zack and Emma, who were traveling on the plane without their parents. Zack and Emma were taken by the Others on Lost‘s island, and Cindy was also later taken. In season 3, it was revealed that Cindy, Zack, and Emma had acclimated well to being among the Others and were now part of their group.

Cindy, Zack, and Emma reemerged in season 6 at the Others’ Temple, where they’d been living for the last several years. They left the Temple when the Man in Black threatened to kill all who stayed behind, and later survived Charles Widmore’s team attacking their camp. Cindy, Zack, and Emma remained on the island after the Man in Black was defeated and Hurley took over as the new protector.


1 Michael Dawson

His Spirit Was Still On The Island

Even though Michael died when the Kahana freighter exploded, his spirit remained trapped on the island afterward, joining the ranks of Lost‘s whispers. Hurley saw and communicated with Michael’s ghost in the season 6 episode “Everybody Loves Hugo.” Michael also told Hurley that if he saw Libby Smith’s ghost, he wanted Hurley to tell her that he was sorry, a reference to the unresolved guilt he felt for shooting and killing her in Lost season 2.

Michael intended to kill Ana Lucia Cortez as part of a desperate plan to get Walt back from the Others, but he never intended to kill Libby.


When Ben went to see Walt in Los Angeles in Lost, he told Walt that Michael needed his help. Walt didn’t understand how he could help his deceased father, and Ben didn’t explain, but when Walt returned to the island, he likely helped his father’s spirit move on. This would also give Walt and Michael a chance to have the reconciliation they never received in the series.