I know it’s grisly and morbid, but there have been some really good death scenes in LOST. And because it’s such a character-driven show, these scenes carry more pathos and emotion than the random deaths one is usually bombarded with in a typical action/adventure show/movie. So here’s my list of the best death scenes in the first five seasons:

5. Boone Carlyle (Season 1)
While I really didn’t like Boone all that much, as the death of the first major character on the series, the writers of LOST let us know that unlike every other show on TV, there was nothing keeping them from killing off main/fan-favorite characters if it served the purpose of the story.

4. Libby (Season 2)
Libby had a somewhat strange—and short—character arc in Season 2. As a tail-section survivor (a “Tailie”), she wasn’t introduced until Season 2, and from the get-go, I never quite trusted her character. But then she arrived back to “our” side of the island and seemed to fall in love with Hurley. But then, in one of Hurley’s flashbacks, we learned that Libby was a patient at the same mental hospital as Hurley and saw him there. We also learned at the end of that season that she gave her boat to Desmond—the boat he was sailing in a race around the world when he crashed on the island. Hmmm . . . who is/was Libby? Anyway, when Hurley tried to surprise Libby with a picnic on the beach, he forgot the blankets, so Libby returned to the Hatch to get some—and happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when Michael was freeing Ben and he shot her. The best part of her death scene are the reactions of all the other characters.

3. Daniel Faraday (Season 5)
Season 5 was a test of faith for LOST viewers, what with the “flashes” and the time travel. But we stuck with it, because we knew we were going to get great storytelling. And we were richly rewarded for suspending our disbelief. We learned that Eloise Hawking, the white haired lady from Desmond’s dream/flashback in “Flashes Before Your Eyes” is Daniel’s mother—and we learned that she’d been on the island for a very long time, from before 1954 until at least 1977, the year in which Daniel’s death takes place (ironically, the same year he was born). So that’s what made Daniel’s death scene all the more important.

2. Mr. Eko (Season 3)
Mr. Eko is my third favorite character, behind Desmond and Charlie. Eko’s introduction as a Tailie in Season 2 injected a new level of discussion of faith and fate vs. coincidence (one of his best lines: “Do not mistake coincidence for fate.”) One of the recurring themes on this show is that when a character has come to terms with/resolved the issues from their past, they die. This seemed to be the case with Eko. But his death brought about a couple of disturbing story questions (more on questions next week). Who/what was appearing to Eko in the guise of his long-dead brother, Yemmi? And what did Eko mean when he whispered to John, “You’re next”?

1. Charlie Pace (Season 3/Opening Episode Season 4)
I’ve already mentioned that Charlie is one of my favorite characters and that the three episodes at the end of Season 3 comprise one of my favorite storylines: Charlie’s farewell and death. His death carried repercussions on into the first episode of Season 4 and, again, it’s the characters’ reactions to his death that make it my favorite death scene in Lost.

And here’s a fan vid I found that pays tribute to not only the great death scenes throughout the show, but to Michael Giacchino’s fabulous, stirring score: