Best Characters That Weren’t on the Plane

Summary

• Frank Lapidus, a pilot, initially missed flying Oceanic 815, but later joined Widmore’s team on a freighter and helped the Oceanic Six escape the island.
• Daniel Faraday, a physicist, arrived on the island with the freighter, and his connection with Widmore, Eloise, and Desmond made him crucial in understanding the island’s phenomena.
• Richard Alpert, a 19th-century Black Pearl crew member, gained immortality by asking Jacob for the wish to live forever, and served as an advisor to the island’s protector.

It doesn’t take long for the Oceanic Flight 815 survivors to realize they’re not alone on the island. Besides the Smoke Monster, there are other inhabitants and as Lost progresses, others make it onto the island as well. Some of these other characters end up being just as important on the show as the Season 1 survivors.

This list will name some of the best characters on Lost that came to the island but not in the same way as survivors. However, it does contain major spoilers for all six seasons of Lost, so proceed with caution.

Updated on December 28, 2024, by Ashely Claudino: While the initial Lost cast consisted of mostly folks who were on the plane, this quickly begins to change as the seasons progress. This list has been updated and now includes two characters who came to the island through other means: Eloise Hakwing and Danielle Rosseau.

8

Frank Lapidus

First Appearance: Season 4, Episode 2

Frank Lapidus was supposed to be flying Oceanic 815 on the day of the crash, but since he overslept, another pilot had to go instead. He could immediately tell that the plane found at the bottom of the ocean was fake and started voicing this. Not long after, he was recruited and joined the rest of Widmore’s team on the freighter.

He was in charge of piloting the helicopter used to fly between the island and the ship. At the end of Season 4, he helps the Oceanic Six escape the island’s grip. Fortunately, that’s not the last we see of Lapidus. He returns to the island later on, piloting the Ajira Airways flight.

7

Eloise Hawking

First Appearance: Season 3, Episode 8

Throughout the show, we get to see various depictions of Eloise Hawking, as the mian group time travels through the years. This makes it even more evident how familiar she is with the island, considering she lived on it for many years alongside Charles Widmore.

The knowledge she gains is crucial to the group later on, as she guides certain characters, such as Daniel Faraday and Desmond Hume, and then helps the Oceanic Six and Ben get back to the island. While she isn’t one of the most likeable characters on the show, she is one of the most important ones.

6

Daniel Faraday

First Appearance: Season 4, Episode 1

Daniel Faraday is a very intelligent physicist who comes to the island on Widmore’s freighter. His true intentions are hard to decypher when he first arrives on the island, but it becomes clear that he is nothing but fascinated with its scientific implications.

Farady is important because not only is he able to explain many of the phenomena that occurs on the island after Season 4, but he also has a special connection with Charles Widmore, Eloise Hawking, and Desmond Hume.

5

Danielle Rousseau

First Appearance: Season 1, Episode 9

Danielle Rousseau is one of the first off-plane characters that we meet on Lost, and she is very interesting. After losing her entire crew, this mysterious frenchwoman has remained on the island for the past 16 years, searching for her daughter, who was taken from her as a child.

While Danielle’s participation on the show deminishes significantly as the seasons go by, it’s satisfying to see how she eventually gets closure, even if she doesn’t get to be with Alex for long, and how we finally get to see what happened to the crew when the main cast goes back in time.

4

Richard Alpert

First Appearance: Season 3, Episode 7

Richard Alpert came to the island on the Black Pearl back in the 19th century. The Black Pearl was a slave ship that washed up on the island; the group goes back to it various times during the show to grab dynamite.

Alpert is seen multiple times throughout the show, and he always looks exactly the same despite the date. He works as an advisor to the island’s protector, which was initially Jacob. In exchange for this, Jacob granted him one wish; he asked to “live forever,” which prevented him from aging and being able to take his own life.

3

Juliet Burke

First Appearance: Season 3, Episode 1

While initially an Other, Juliet slowly gains her way into viewers’ hearts. After her first flashback episode, it becomes clear that she is just another person that’s stranded on the island and would like to return to her normal life. However, Ben has a hold on her through her sister and keeps her there.

It can be difficult to see past her actions at first, but as viewers’ trust in her increases, she becomes increasingly likeable and even develops a rather sweet relationship with an unlikely character.

2

Benjamin Linus

First Appearance: Season 2, Episode 14

Benjamin Linus is a character that most fans will probably dislike throughout most of the show. He constantly lies and manipulates people, namely John Locke. He envies how the island and the Others seem to consider Locke someone special; the island cured Locke whereas it made Ben sick, and the Others quickly started following him as their leader.

Even though Ben could have had a redemption arc, he always seemed to go back to his old ways in continuous selfish acts to obtain leadership of the island and compete with Charles Widmore. Despite his evil ways, he is one of the best characters on Lost, and one of the most important plot points during a major part of the show.

1

Desmond Hume

First Appearance: Season 2, Episode 1

Desmond Hume is one of the best characters on Lost. He’s such a great character that it feels like something is missing when you go back, rewatch the show, and notice that there’s an entire season without him in it.

Not only is Desmond an important character because he has a unique relationship with Charles Widmore due to his love affair with Penny Widmore, but he also gains a unique ability when the hatch implodes, which makes his involvement in the plot much more significant. On top of this, in Season 6, he helps his friends realize what is going on during the flash sideways.