By Katelyn
Lately I have been realizing how much daddy issues play into the story line of Lost. Usually once a story line has been used you will never see it again but that is not the case with these daddy issues. These reoccurring plots are making me think that maybe they are of some importance.
Here are some of the daddy issues I’ve picked up on (in no particular order).
Kate Austen – Kate finds herself on Oceanic Flight 815 after being caught on the run in Australia for killing her step-father. Some time after killing her step-father she finds out that he was her actual biological father.
Kate blows up her father's house while he's inside.
Daniel Faraday – We found out late in season 5 that Daniel Faraday’s biological father is Charles Widmore, who is also the father of Penelope Widmore. While studying at Oxford, Daniel only knew of Widmore because of the research grants he received from him and of the offer he received to do research on this island. His mother is Eloise Hawking, who accidently shoots and kills Daniel in 1977 (her past and his future). I find it weird that Daniel shares neither of their last names, even though he was raised by his mother, and neither of their accents.
"He was my son too, Eloise."
James “Sawyer” Ford – James became a confidence man after being orphaned as a child when his father killed his mother, who had been conned for all their money, then himself. His mother had been conned by a man named Sawyer, which James adopts as his own name.
a young Sawyer hids under the bed while his father turns his gun on himself
Penelope Widmore – Penny is the daughter of Charles Widmore, one of the most dreaded character in the series. It became known that her father did not want her in a relationship with her one true love, Desmond Hume. After Mr. Widmore denied Desmond’s wish to marry Penny so he entered into Widmore’s sail boat race to prove himself worthy. Desmond then becomes shipwrecked and stuck on the island (which could be seen as Charles Widmore’s doing). Penny never gives up searching for him despite her father’s hatred of Desmond.
awwww true love! I'm jealous...
Jin-Soo Kwon – Jin’s daddy issues are simple… he is embarrassed of his past. Born to a prostitute who abandoned him as an infant and a fisherman, Jin dreamed of a way out of his social class. When he fell in love with Sun, a rich heiress, he disowned his father and claimed he was dead.
Jin visiting his father with news of his new bride
Sun-Hwa Kwon – I think the second scariest man to Charles Widmore is Sun’s father, known just as Mr. Paik. He is a hotel owner and the owner of a automobile manufactuer… oh yeah, and the Korean mob boss. Mr. Paik gives Jin a job and allows him to marry his daughter even though Jin is not up to their social standards. As repayment, Jin becomes Mr. Paik’s personal assistant and does his dirty work. It is because of this dirty work that Sun and Jin are on Oceanic Flight 815 on that fateful day. So when Jin doesn’t make it off the island Sun blames her father and therefor buys a majority share of her father’s company with her Oceanic settlement.
Sun breaking the news to her father that he now works for her
Benjamin Linus – I think the more we learn about Ben the more we start to feel sorry for the fellow. Ben was born off the island but after his mother died during childbirth his father, Roger Linus, takes a job in the Dharma Initiative. Once on the island his father starts drinking heavily and verbally abusing poor young Ben who then develops a hatred for the Initiative, later joins the “Hostiles” and becomes the man we all love to hate.
young Benjamin and his father being welcomed to the island by Horace
Alex Rousseau/Linus – Alex was born on the island after her mother Danielle Rousseau became shipwrecked during a scientific excursion–16 years before the Oceanic Flight 815 crash. After all of her fellow scientists died, Charles Widmore ordered Benjamin Linus and Ethan Rom to kill Danielle and her baby daughter. Instead, Ben neglected Widmore’s orders and kidnapped Alex and raised her as his own. Sixteen years later when some mercenaries sent by Widmore come to take Ben off the island, they take Alex hostage and threaten to kill her if Ben will not surrender himself. Of course, he refuses and she dies knowing her adopted father didn’t try to save her.
Alex moments before being killed because he "father" refused to save her
Claire Littleton – The only memory Claire had of her father was a lullaby he would sing to her as a child. Her mother had always told her he had died when she was young. But indecently her father is Christian Shephard, who she met shortly after her mother was hospitalized and in a coma. Christian is also Jack Shephard‘s father who died just days before the plane crash but came back to life on the island. Oh, and did I mention she went awol and abandoned her newborn baby, Aaron, to hang out with Christian in some creepy cabin in the jungle?
a younger Claire and her real father
Jack Shephard – Jack has the most obvious daddy issues. His father, Christian Shephard, was a top surgeon and expected nothing less of Jack but to be the same. Even though he was the chief of surgery, Christian was an alcoholic. Jack turned him in for operating under the influence, which is when Christian flew to Australia (to visit his “other family” including Claire Littleton) and soon died. Jack was bringing his alcoholic father’s body home when Flight 815 crashed on the island. Soon after the crash, Jack started seeing Christian roaming around on the shore and in the jungle. And once he was home he began seeing Christian again–like sitting in his hospitals waiting room. This (plus his incredibly sad breakup with Kate) lead to Jack becoming drug addicted, alcoholic who attempts suicide. Like father like son?
Jack and Christian were always in disagreement
Hugo “Hurley” Reyes – As a child, Hurley was abandoned by his father for no apparent reason while they were restoring an old Camaro. Hurley’s belief that his father’s act of leaving was his fault caused him great sadness and self-doubt which in turn caused him to gain a great deal of weight. But surprise, surprise… his father returned home after hearing about Hurley’s $114m lottery win.
gold digger
and lastly…
Walt Lloyd – Walt is Michael Dawson‘s son who was taken away by his mother, Susan, when Walt was a baby. First they move to Amsterdam, where Susan marries some guy, and then Rome, and finally to Australia where the new happy family decided to permanently call home. After a long custody battle, Susan’s husband, Brian Porter, became Walt’s legal guardian. To say the least, Walt gave Brian the creeps. So after Susan died when Walt was 10 years old, Brian begged for Michael to take Walt back. On the island, Michael and Walt had their ups and downs (I think he loved his dog, Vincent, more than his father) but ultimately Michael saved Walt and got them both off the island. Walt now lives in New York City–without his father. Michael became suicidal once leaving the island but after realizing it is impossible for him to kill himself (due to island magic) he agrees to go back to the island because it is the only way he can die and thus he leaves Walt once again.
a rare sight of happiness between the two
I’m sure there are probably more daddy issues among the rest of the characters. I guess we’ll have to wait for the sixth and final season of Lost to see what the flashbacks have in store.
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