Lost: Each Main Character's First & Last Line

The first and last lines of the Lost characters show how they've grown over the course of the show - and what that growth means.

Part of what makes Lost such an iconic and beloved show (other than the controversial and much-maligned ending) are its characters and how they grew over the course of the show's 6 seasons. Fans became deeply invested in the characters, who felt like authentic and relatable individuals amidst the show's fantastical elements and many plot twists.

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Looking at each of the main characters' first and last lines in the series is an effective way of examining how they changed between the beginning and end of the story. Most of the main characters are introduced in the pilot episode in the immediate aftermath of the Oceanic Flight 815 plane crash while most of their stories culminated in the flash-sideways during the show's final season.

10 Ben Linus

"Help me! Hey! Over here!" - "And you were a great number one, Hugo."

Ben is first seen trapped in one of Danielle Rousseau's nets, claiming he is a man named Henry Gale and that he was traveling in a hot-air balloon that crashed on the Island. He portrays himself as a terrified, confused, and desperate man asking for help, even though in reality he is the conniving leader of the Others.

His last line occurs in the flash-sideways where he tells Hurley that he was a great number one after Hurley complimented him on being a great number two. Even though the audience doesn't get to see much of Hurley and Ben protecting the Island, this interaction is telling enough as it clearly conveys Hurley and Ben's wonderful partnership and success. Ben's last lines are filled with humility and gratitude, which shows tremendous growth from a character who was ruthless and self-serving for most of the series.

9 Charlie Pace

"Me? Charlie." - "Hey, Aaron."

Charlie speaks for the first time when Sayid asks him for his name. Still on drugs and reeling from multiple near-death experiences related to the plane crash, Charlie seems caught off guard by Sayid's question.

Charlie becomes a more responsible individual and learns to make better choices for himself as the story moves forward. He even becomes a father figure to Claire's son Aaron. That makes it fitting that his final line is in the flash-sideways where he remembers his life and is reunited with Claire and Aaron.

8 Jin-Soo Kwon

"Sun-Hwa!" - "We'll see you there."

Jin is one of the first characters that the audience sees amidst the wreckage from the Oceanic 815 plane crash. He is shouting for his wife, desperate to find her and make sure that she is safe.

In the flash-sideways, he and Sun remember their lives before their friend and fellow Oceanic 815 survivor Sawyer does. As Jin leaves the hospital with Sun, he tells Sawyer, "We'll see you there" which is a reference to the church where the survivors congregate before moving on at the end of the series finale. When Jin says these words, there is a sense of calm and pure happiness that he rarely exhibited during his life on and off on the Island.

7 Sun-Hwa Kwon

"I am sorry, but I don't speak English." - "It's okay. I am safe."

Sun speaks for the first time when Michael comes up to her and asks her if she's seen his son Walt. Sun is fluent in English and understands what Michael is saying, but she is hiding her English fluency from her husband, so instead, she says in Korean that she doesn't speak English.

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Over time, Sun and Jin mend their relationship and rekindle the love that brought them together in the first place. When a concerned Sawyer offers to protect Sun in the flash-sideways, Sun assures him that she is okay. Her last words fit not only in the context of the conversation with Sawyer but for her overall character and prove that after everything she endured, she is indeed okay and safe.

6 Sayid Jarrah

"Hey, you. What's your name?" - "Shannon."

After the plane crash, Sayid is one of the first to jump into action and pursue all potential solutions that will enable the survivors to be rescued. This includes getting to know the other survivors and recruiting them to help with various tasks. This becomes clear in his first interaction where he asks Charlie for his name and tells him to help build a signal fire.

In addition to his leadership skills, Sayid has always been a romantic. It is his romance with Shannon and reconnecting with her that allows him to remember his life in the flash-sideways.

5 John Locke

"Hey! Hey, hey, get away!" - "We've been waitin' for ya."

A lot of Locke's story involves him warning others of danger. The other characters often ignore Locke's warnings, even though Locke is usually right in the end. This is also true in Locke's first instance of dialogue when he warns a survivor to get away from the plane engine after the crash, but his warning comes to no avail as the passenger is sucked into the plane engine and dies, which causes a sizable explosion.

RELATED: 5 Times We Felt Bad For John Locke In Lost (& 5 Times We Hated Him)

Locke's last line is more about his faith being rewarded and his relationship with Jack. Locke greets Jack in the church and says they've been waiting for him, proving how much Locke and the rest of the group value Jack as they cannot move on without him.

4 Hugo "Hurley" Reyes

"Oh, you got to be kidding me." - "Thanks, dude. I'll see you."

Fans first meet Hurley when Jack enlists him to help attend to Claire. Jack tells Hurley to stay with Claire and gives him directions to get her away from the fumes caused by the plane crash, stay with her, and call out to Jack if her contractions get any closer than three minutes apart. Hurley's immediate response gives a good sense of the character's sense of humor and how he often doesn't believe in himself, even when others like Jack do believe in him. The foundation of trust built between Hurley and Jack in this first interaction develops further over the series and culminates in Jack making Hurley the new protector of the Island.

Hurley's last line shows the strength of the relationship he forged with Ben. Even though Hurley became the protector of the Island, he made Ben his "number two" and it is clear from their brief conversation in the flash-sideways that they worked well together and developed a great deal of fondness for one another.

3 James "Sawyer" Ford

"You want some more of me, boy?" - "Good to see you, too, Enos."

While Sawyer became a nuanced, fan-favorite character, when the audience first meets him, he seems to be little more than a bigoted, unlikable individual. He and Sayid have a physical altercation where they have to be physically pulled apart by Jack and Michael. Sawyer's taunts and referring to Sayid as "boy" is evident of his demeaning behavior at this point in the story.

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Even after his significant character development, Sawyer continues to frequently use nicknames when talking to or about other individuals. His last line is directed at Miles when Sawyer boards Ajira Flight 316. Sawyer and Miles developed a genuine friendship during the years they spent together in the Dharma Initiative and Sawyer is truly happy to see Miles again and know that they are finally going to leave the Island together.

2 Kate Austen

"What?" - "To leave."

Reeling from the plane crash and wondering what this means for her future given that she'd been on the plane as an arrested criminal, Kate has plenty to deal with when first she comes across Jack on the Island. He asks her if she has ever used a needle, a question that she is understandably confused by at first. She ends up sewing Jack's wound while he shares a personal story of how he deals with fear as a spinal surgeon.

This moment serves as the beginning of Jack and Kate's intimate relationship that develops further over the course of the series. It is fitting that she is the one to bring him to the church in the flash-sideways. She tells him that she is going inside of the church and that she and the others will be waiting for Jack to be ready. When Jack asks what he is supposed to be getting ready for, she delivers the simple response, "To leave." Kate's tone is calm, peaceful, and accepting, all of which demonstrates how she's grown from the character who was always running and struggling to reconcile with her past.

1 Jack Shephard

"Hey! Get over here! Give me a hand!" - "Where are we going?"

When Jack finds a man with his leg pinned under the plane wreckage, he shouts out for help. It's important that Jack is shown to be a decisive and competent leader from the very beginning. Even more significant is that one of the people he beckons to help him is John Locke. The relationship he forms with Locke becomes one of the most complex and impactful relationships in his life and in the lives of the other survivors.

This relationship leads Jack down the path that ultimately transforms him into a man of faith, eventually leading to the church in the flash-sideways where he reunites with his father and many other meaningful characters as they prepare to move on together. Jack's last line is the same question the audience has, but the answer isn't really important as Lost was always about the journey and not about the destination.

NEXT: The 11 Best Cliffhangers In Lost, Ranked

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