Lost: Oh, My Papa!

I don’t know if you’ve noticed this… but if you have been following Lost for the last four seasons, you must have sensed that a considerable amount of stories run around one central theme; one that involved deep underlying issues with their fathers. 

Consider the following:

JACK’s dad was an alcoholic. He and his father never really had a close relationship, but for some reason, Jack also ends up becoming a surgeon like his father. Christian Shephard was his mentor, but their relationship is often marred with professional and personal issues.

KATE killed her biological father, Wayne Janssen. For years, he thought he was her step-dad and has even made sexual advances towards her.  The father she has come to know, Sam Austen, serves in the army and Kate hasn’t heard from him in a long time.

SAWYER’s father murdered his mother out of jealously and then committed suicide thereafter. And for years Sawyer was out to find the man who was the cause of this tragedy.  He only know this man by the name which he now carries (Sawyer). Growing up, Sawyer became a problem child and was often into conning people. Just like the man he is looking for.

LOCKE learned who his biological father is when he was already an adult. Anthony Cooper, conned him into donating part of his kidneys.  He’s also the reason why Locke became paralyzed because father of the year pushed him off a building. In the island, Locke finds his father there, through Ben (who wanted his dad killed for some reason). Locke would later enlist Sawyer’s help and to the latter’s surprise — Locke’s dad was who Sawyer had been looking for all his life.

HURLEY’s father, David Reyes, abandoned his family when Hurley was still a child. He was gone for 17 years. He only came back upon his Mother’s request, after Hurley wins the lotto jackpot. Daddy was supposed to convince his son his winning the money isn’t cursed but fails to do this and drives Hurley away.

JIN told everyone, especially his rich girlfriend, his father was dead. But Mr. Kwon was in fact well and alive, living as a fisherman. Jin didn’t want people to know of his family ties, since he was also the son of a prostitute.

SUN had an overbearing father, who somehow takes control of her life even after she’s married. He is also a very shrewd businessman. Mr. Paik employs Sun’s husband, Jin, who does questionable errands for his father-in-law.

CLAIRE grew up without a father all her life. She doesn’t know that Jack’s father and her dad are one and the same person. 

WALT was just about to get to know his father, Michael, when their plane had crashed. 

BEN took care of his father, Roger Linus, who was also a drunkard like most of these characters’ fathers. Ben never knew his mother, since she died giving birth to him. And this has caused resentment between his father and himself. Because he never really had a good relationship with him, Ben sought for a father figure elsewhere and became allied with a group of people in this island his Daddy worked. Eventually, he participated in a wide operation with this group, that meant he also have to kill his father.

PENNY’s relationship with her father isn’t clear at this point. But it is a fact that Mr. Widmore doesn’t like her boyfriend Desmond. 

CHARLIE acted as Aaron’s daddy on the island. Except Aaron will never know of him anymore.

JACOB sort of acts as the Father for the Others. They trust his word and believe in him.

It isn’t clear why there’s such a fixation on Lost and Daddies. The show has so many of those interconnections between characters, but this thing with fathers isn’t the one most explored.

What do think all of these mean? 

In an interview several months ago, Damon Lindeloff, one of the show’s producers, has said:

"I think, mythically speaking, all great heroes have massive daddy issues. Hercules. Oedipus. Luke Skywalker. Indiana Jones. Spider-Man. It all comes with the territory. We dig flawed characters on Lost, and a large part of being flawed is the emotional damage inflicted on you by your folks.'’

[snipped]

"bad parents, corrupt institutions, f—ed up philosophies. I believe Lost shares those same thematic concerns. The show is an allegory about a new millennia yearning for a new hope but still haunted by the despair of the era past; about a culture burdened by the crushing weight of our dead fathers and forefathers. We want the clean slate of John Locke, but dammit if the awful chalk scribbles of our stupid teachers can’t be erased. Lost, then, isn’t about burying the past, but finding the grace to live with it."

Yeah. Right. Pretend I understood what that meant. If Lost was a literary piece from ten or so centuries ago….this would have to be something Shakespeare has written!

Interview source: Entertainment Weekly