From Lostpedia
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"The thing that's cool about the Island is that the Island can sort of conjure up these images of great importance from your life. Then the characters on the show have to sort of deal with the consequences. Those visions often provide tests, and those tests are right along the axis of what is most important for the character." -- Carlton Cuse, DVD commentary for "The Man Behind the Curtain".
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In addition to flashbacks, many characters in Lost have had dreams and visions.
Occurrences
The following characters have had dreams or visions:
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Season |
Main article |
 |
Ben |
3 |
 |
Boone |
1 |
 |
Charlie |
2 |
Charlie's dream |
 |
Claire |
1,4 |
Claire's dream |
 |
Desmond |
3 |
Desmond's flashes |
 |
Eko |
2,3 |
Eko's dreams |
 |
Hurley |
2,4,5 |
 |
Jack |
1,4 |
 |
Kate |
2,4 |
 |
Locke |
1,2,3,4,5 |
Locke's dreams |
 |
Michael |
4 |
 |
Sayid |
2 |
 |
Shannon |
2 |
 |
Walt |
5 |
Details are listed below, sorted by episode.
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
- Locke undergoes a vision quest in which he is guided by Boone and instructed to save Eko. ("Further Instructions")
- Desmond has a series of flashes, in which he perceives possible instances of future eventualities:
- Locke giving a speech, saying he would go after Jack, Kate, and Sawyer. ("Further Instructions")
- Lightning striking Claire's roof, killing Charlie. ("Every Man for Himself")
- Charlie drowning trying to save Claire. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
- Charlie dying in the ocean from being slammed against rocks, while trying to catch a seagull for Claire. ("Par Avion")
- Desmond, Charlie, Hurley, and Jin trekking through the jungle; Charlie is killed by an arrow trap, and they find a parachutist. ("Catch-22")
- Charlie drowning while flipping a switch in a hatch; Claire and Aaron leaving the Island in a helicopter. ("Greatest Hits")
- Mr. Eko has a confrontation with what he thinks is Yemi. ("The Cost of Living")
- A young Ben sees his dead mother on the Island. ("The Man Behind the Curtain")
- Locke, in the mass grave site, receives instructions from what appears to be a vision of Walt, telling him he has "work to do". ("Through the Looking Glass")
Season 4
- Hurley has several visions of Charlie: once in a convenience store, in the LAPD interrogation room, and outdoors at the mental institution. On the Island, he also sees Jacob's cabin, which appears to follow him, then disappears after he wills it to disappear, much as he willed Charlie to disappear at the mental hospital. ("The Beginning of the End")
- Michael had two separate visions of Libby: once while in the hospital, and once just before he was about to detonate a bomb on The Kahana. Both of these appearances are connected to his guilt over killing her. ("Meet Kevin Johnson")
- Off the Island Jack sees visions of his father while inside his medical office. He seems to only be seen by Jack. ("Something Nice Back Home")
- Claire on the Island seems to be able to talk to her father, Christian. He seems to be able to pick up Aaron, so we know that her visions must be somewhat true. ("Something Nice Back Home")
- Locke has a dream in which Horace Goodspeed is building a cabin for himself and his wife. He then tells Locke that in order to find Jacob he must find Horace, who has been dead for 12 years. ("Cabin Fever")
- Kate has a dream with Claire telling her to not take Aaron back to the Island. ("There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3")
- Michael sees Christian, who tells him that "[he] can go now". ("There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3")
Season 5
Recurring themes
Seeing dead people
- See also: Mediumship
Many dreams and/or visions have consisted of characters interacting with dead characters:
- Jack saw Christian Shephard on the Island, and later heard his voice on the broken Hydra intercom. ("Walkabout"), ("White Rabbit"), ("A Tale of Two Cities")
- Mr. Eko and Locke both interacted with Yemi. ("?"), ("The Cost of Living")
- Mr. Eko interacted with Ana Lucia in a vision. ("?")
- Locke was guided by Boone in a vision quest. ("Further Instructions")
- A young Ben saw his mother on the Island at least twice, despite her being dead since he was a baby. They also interacted. ("The Man Behind the Curtain")
- After leaving the Island, Hurley sees Charlie several times, even though he died while on the Island. He eventually manages to speak with Charlie at Santa Rosa, where Charlie admits to being dead, but "also here". Curiously, a fellow patient, Lewis, is seemingly able to see Charlie. ("The Beginning of the End")
- Michael has brief vision of Libby both off the Island and on the freighter, although these may have been brought on due to his guilt over her murder. ("Meet Kevin Johnson")
- Locke meets Horace Goodspeed on a vision, the latter having been dead for the past twelve years. ("Cabin Fever")
Many visions of people who have died appear barefoot.
Asking to help others
In some of the visions where a dead person appears, he/she asks the one having the vision to help somebody:
Literary references to dreams and visions
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The following books seen and referenced on the show have a major surrealist/dream element to them.