From Lostpedia

This article has been marked for merging It has been suggested that this article be merged with prisoner and hostage situations - Discuss

Karl pulls an injured Ben along, after being captured by the Losties ("Through the Looking Glass")  (promotional still)

The characters in Lost are often literally or symbolically forced to deal with imprisonment, both on-Island and in their pasts.

Literal imprisonment

The following characters have been shown off the Islands literally behind bars or in custody.

		Location
	Desmond	Southway Garrison prison
	Jack	Local jail
	Kate	Custody of U.S. Marshal
	Sawyer	Federal prison
	Sayid	Imprisoned during war Interrogated by CIA
	Hurley	L.A. County Jail

The following list shows when any characters have literally been imprisoned.

Season 1

Sawyer in prison ("Every Man for Himself")  (promotional still)

• Kate was in federal custody overseen by U.S. Marshal Edward Mars. ("Solitary")
• Hurley was committed at Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute. ("Numbers")
• Sayid was imprisoned during the war. ("The Greater Good")

Season 2

• Ana Lucia used the tiger pit to first imprison Nathan, and then the raft group (Michael, Sawyer, Jin). ("The Other 48 Days")  ("Orientation")
• The castaways imprisoned Ben. ("One of Them")
• Michael was imprisoned at the Others fake camp. ("Three Minutes")
• Desmond was in a prison in the U.K. called Southway Garrison. ("Live Together, Die Alone")

Season 3

• Sawyer met Karl, who was also imprisoned by the Others. ("A Tale of Two Cities")
• Jack was arrested and bailed out by his estranged wife. ("A Tale of Two Cities")
• Jack, Kate and Sawyer were imprisoned by Ben, Juliet and the Others on Hydra island. ("A Tale of Two Cities")
• Sawyer and Kate were forced to work a day-shift there in the Quarry. ("The Glass Ballerina")
• An unconscious Eko was confined within the polar bear cave. ("Further Instructions")
• Sawyer was imprisoned for a con job. ("Every Man for Himself")
• Karl was held prisoner in Room 23. ("Not in Portland")
• Juliet was imprisoned by the Others for killing Pickett. ("Stranger in a Strange Land")
• Sayid and Kate were captured by the Others when they attempted to rescue Jack from the Barracks ("Left Behind")
• Anthony Cooper was held prisoner by the Others. ("The Man from Tallahassee") ("The Brig")
• Anthony Cooper was held prisoner in the Black Rock by Locke. ("The Brig")
• Jack captured Ben after believing he had killed Sayid, Jin and Bernard. ("Through the Looking Glass")

Season 4

• Jack allowed Ben Linus to go into Locke's custody. ("The Beginning of the End")
• Locke's group detained Charlotte Lewis. ("Confirmed Dead")
• Locke held Miles and Benjamin Linus prisoner. ("Eggtown")
• Kate was held without bail pending the outcome of her trial. ("Eggtown")
• Michael was imprisoned for destroying the engines on the Kahana. ("Cabin Fever")
• Richard Alpert and the Others took Kate and Sayid hostage ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 1")

Season 5

• Hurley was arrested and held at the L.A. County Jail. ("The Lie") ("The Little Prince")
• The Dharma Initiative imprisoned Sayid. ("Namaste")

Season 6

• Charlie was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport. ("LA X, Parts 1 & 2")
• Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sawyer, Miles and Sayid were captured by the temple guardians. ("LA X, Parts 1 & 2")

Symbolic imprisonment

Some may never be free of their pasts.

• Kate ran from the Monster and hid in a thicket of bamboo, reminiscent of prison bars--she was a prisoner of her own fear here, until she used Jack's method of counting. ("Pilot, Part 1")
• Locke was confined to a wheelchair before the crash. ("Walkabout")
• Jin was stuck working for Mr. Paik. ("...In Translation")
• Desmond ran off, so the castaways had to resume pressing the button. ("Orientation")
• The occupants of The Swan were forced to push the button, to prevent a disaster ("Orientation").
• Locke told Claire that babies, unlike adults, like the feeling of being constricted, but that only as adults, do we strive for freedom. ("Abandoned")
• Hugo escaped from Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute. ("Dave")
• Locke was a prisoner of The Swan, fearing what would happen if he no longer pressed the button. He was free of his imprisonment when he traveled to The Pearl and changed his view on The Swan. ("?")
• First Radzinsky and Kelvin, then Kelvin and Desmond were confined within the Swan station by duty and fear. ("Live Together, Die Alone")
• In their final episode Nikki and Paulo were paralyzed by poison and buried alive. ("Exposé")

See also

• Prisoner and hostage situations