Mitch was a member of DHARMA Initiative security. When Stuart, Horace, Phil, and other personnel were interrogating LaFleur and Juliet about where Kate and Jack ran off to in the jungle, Mitch informed them that Kate, Jack, and Hugo were three last-minute additions to the sub manifest. He later escorted LaFleur and Juliet to the Galaga. („Follow the Leader„)
After the submarine went underwater, he passed out sedatives to the passengers. When he reached Juliet, she knocked him out and took his keys in order to free herself and the others from their handcuffs. („The Incident, Part 1„)
In the casting call Mitch was described as „Any ethnicity, 30s. A security man with enough intelligence and physical menace to be good at his job, but he’s not moving into management.“
A wedding ring is visible on the ring finger of her left hand during the school scene.
What appear to be wedding bands are seen on left ring fingers of Horace and Olivia when they pull over outside of Portland to help the Linus family in „The Man Behind the Curtain„.
Lindelof and Cuse refer to Olivia as Horace’s „friend“ on the official Lost podcast from February 5, 2009. Also, the Lost Encyclopedia stated that she and Horace were friends.
In the Mysteries of the Universe, Olivia’s DHARMA application form was shown, and her surname did appear on it. However, the video is too blurry for audience to identify the actual words, and all we saw was a blurred surname with 7 letters. So, no matter what the surname is, it won’t be Goodspeed, as it’s a 9 letters word.(Mysteries of the Universe)
Hector was one of the last members of the DHARMA Initiative. For twenty years, Hector had been working at the DHARMA Logistics Warehouse in Guam with his co-worker, Glen, organizing and distributing theperiodic resupply drop. During a normal day at work, while making sure the supply drops were ready on time, Benjamin Linus entered the warehouse and told them both that he was shutting down the station. When asked why, Ben explained that the DHARMA Initiative had been out of operation for years, and that the supply drops were being sent to an island in the middle of the Pacific. Both Glenn and Hector were given wallets filled with money, and the opportunity to each ask one question before they were to leave the warehouse. Hector questioned about the presence of polar bears on the Island, and then Ben showed the two the Hydra Orientation film, after which the three of them left Guam. („The New Man in Charge„)
When Charlotte grew older, she tried to mention the Island to her mother, but Jeanette replied that it was a figment of her imagination. („This Place Is Death„)
On the Island, Charlotte, while suffering from temporal displacement, noted that she couldn’t remember her mother’s maiden name. („The Lie„)
Glen was one of the last members of the DHARMA Initiative. For twenty years, Glen had been working at the DHARMA Logistics Warehouse in Guam with his co-worker, Hector, organizing and distributing theperiodic resupply drop. During a normal day at work, while making sure the supply drops were ready on time, Benjamin Linus entered the warehouse and told them he was shutting down the station. When asked why, Ben explained that the DHARMA Initiative had been out of operation for years, and that the supply drops were being sent to an island in the middle of the Pacific. Both Glen and Hector received wallets filled with money and the opportunity to each ask one question before they were to leave the warehouse. Glen questioned the location to which the drops were sent, but when he asked how can an island move, Ben refused to answer. After Hector asked about the presence of polar bears on the Island, Ben showed the two the Hydra Orientation film, after which the three of them left Guam. („The New Man in Charge„)
Alvar is of Old English origin, and its meaning is „elf or supernatural army, warrior“. From Aelfhere. Also possibly an Anglicized form of Spanish Alvaro, meaning „all guard“ in Old German.
According to both Scandinavian and English Wikipedias, the name Alvar originates from an area of the Swedish island of Öland, and means something like „treeless area on limestone“. „The Great Alvar“ is home to many rare plants, and on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
The name Alvar has an Scandinavian origin coming from the name for Elves in old norse, álfar. Today they’re called elver/alfer (danish), álfar (icelandic), alv (norwegian) and älvor/alfer (swedish). Indeed, the name Alvar is an norse name derived from elves.
The Alvars were 12 saints who helped revive devotional Hinduism through their hymns of worship to Vishnu and his avatars.
Neither Alvar nor Hanso are known Danish names. And the actor’s accent in the Sri Lanka Video is distinctly Swedish, not Danish.
According to Danish statistics only 12 people in Denmark (2008) has the name ‘Alvar’. None has the lastname ‘Hanso’.
The sanskrit word for „swan“ is hansa. Hindu spiritual leaders of lofty status are given the title of paramhansa, or „supreme swan.“ The title indicates being at home both in realms of matter and of spirit.
Despite Hanso not being immediately recognizable as a Danish name, by substituting the „O“ with the, uniquely Danish „Ø“, changes the name to Hansø. Although, not necessarily an actual name, this actually means „His Island“ in Danish, as the letter „ø“ means island. The Danish „Ø“ is the equivalent of the Swedish „Ö“, which is also the Swedish word for island. Hence, „Hans ö“ would mean „His island“ in Swedish as well.
There is a real Hans Island, or Hans Ø, located in the straight that separates Greenland from Ellesmere Island.
Approximately 300 kms south of Hans Ø, there is an island called Littleton Island, which was previously named Hans Ø.
Hanso could be a nod at the character Han Solo from Star Wars.
Alvar could be a variant of the name Halvar (Hallvard) meaning „Rock Guardian“.
There was some question as to why Alvar switched professions from wealthy munitions dealer to philanthropist interested in saving the world. Lost executive producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach, who was heavily involved in the Lost Experience, agreed on his blog to a questioner’s speculation that he had had a „Alfred Nobel moment“ (i.e. he decided to change his ways for a more lasting and positive legacy).
Lara Chang is Pierre Chang‘s wife and the mother of Miles Straume. She was a member of the DHARMA Initiative and lived on the Island in the 1970s. In 1977 Lara and her son were evacuated from the Island on the submarine Galaga. Off-Island, Lara came to reside in Encino, California.
After the name was first said by Pierre Chang in the Dharma booth video, much fan speculation arose as to what the name really was. Many believed the name to be „Jennifer,“ while others believed that he was saying „Stanislav“ (a reference to the psychologist). However, Francois Chau confirmed in an interview with Lostpedia that the name was indeed „Lara,“ which was further confirmed by the press release for „Some Like It Hoth.“
On their way off the island, Sawyer, Kate, and Juliet persuaded him to surface the sub in order for them to leave it. When he asked what to say toHorace if he called, Sawyer shot the radio. The Captain then provided them with a zodiac raft and surfaced. He then proceeded on course to Ann Arbor. („The Incident, Part 1„)
His jumpsuit only labeled „Sub Ops“, and without his name.
The casting call described him as „Any ethnicity, 40s-50s. Professional, military background, intelligent and able. Concerned about the safety of his ship’s crew.“
Casey was a gemologist of the DHARMA Initiative. She left the Island during the evacuation in 1977. She and Rosie appeared to be friends, as they were always seen together.
This character was officially credited as Dharma Welcomer in the ABC Medianet press release for „The Man Behind the Curtain„.
Gemology (gemmology outside the United States) is the science, art and profession of identifying and evaluating gemstones. It is considered a geoscience and a branch of mineralogy.
A different actress, Ja-ne de Abreu, portrayed Casey in Season 5, as seen in a filming report that confirmed the DHARMA jumpsuit’s nametag of the actress is Casey.
James Ford, better known by the alias Sawyer, and known to the DHARMA Initiative as Jim LaFleur, was one of the middle section survivors ofOceanic Flight 815. His rural Southern accent, selfishness, machismo, and folksy use of oft-abrasive nicknames belied his sophisticated and tender sides as an avid reader and a caring lover—elements of his personality that started to become more apparent as he spent more time on the Island.
On the Island, Sawyer used his skills as a confidence man to accomplish various ends. He hoarded material possessions to leverage power, leading to his involvement in several „A-missions„. His acts of rebellion led him to, at various times, become the most hated survivor on the island, though he still formed bonds with several survivors.
Sawyer developed a romantic relationship with Kate and later into a fully committed one with Juliet, and his jealousy sparked a rivalry with Jack.
In an early attempt at rescue, Sawyer left the Island along with Jin, Michael and Walt on Michael’s raft but was forced to return when Walt was kidnapped by The Others and the raft was blown up by the Others. They washed up on shore and met up with the previously unknown tail section survivors of Flight 815 and returned to camp. After pulling off a long con, he gained control of all the guns and a position of power over the other survivors. He was later captured by the Others, along with Jack and Kate, as a result of Michael’s betrayal. While with the Others, Sawyer and Kate were used as leverage to convince Jack to perform surgery on their leader, Benjamin Linus, until he and Kate eventually escaped. Sawyer was asked by John Locke to kill a man, Anthony Cooper, who was revealed to be the real „Sawyer“. After Jack called the freighter for rescue, Sawyer joined Locke and a small number of survivors sheltered in the Barracks.
When the Oceanic Six left in the helicopter, Sawyer heroically jumped into the ocean, when the chopper was running low on fuel. He and a small group of survivors underwent time shifts as a result of Ben moving the Island. He led the small group until a final time shift, where they were stuck in 1974. Sawyer joined the DHARMA Initiative and eventually became their head of security. He began a relationship with Juliet and they lived together during the 1970s until Jack, Hurley and Kate returned to the Island following the crash of Ajira Airways 316.
Sawyer joined the Man in Black upon meeting him, although he ultimately betrayed him while boarding Widmore’s submarine to escape the Island. The Man in Black however, had conned Sawyer into stealing the sub so that he could kill the remaining candidates with a bomb. After the explosion, Sawyer was knocked unconscious and brought ashore to safety by Jack. While Jack was preventing the Island from being destroyed, Sawyer managed to escape on the Ajira plane with Kate, Claire, Frank, Richard, and Miles.
In the flash sideways, Sawyer was a police detective rather than a crook. Eventually, he was reunited with his true love, Juliet Burke, and they moved on together with their friends.
Sawyer was the sixth character to ever have a flashback.
Sawyer was the seventh and last character to have a flash-forward. He was also the second character to have a flash-forward without being part of the Oceanic Six, and the first character to have an on-island flash-forward.
Sawyer is one of the seven characters to have a flashback, a flash-forward and a flash-sideways episode centered around them. The other six are Hurley, Sayid, Kate, Sun, Ben and Jack.
Sawyer holds the record longest gap between centric episodes of a living, lead character, with 38 episodes (two of which were two-hour episodes) aired between „Every Man for Himself“ and „LaFleur“ while still remaining a regular.
The name James „Sawyer“ Ford adds up to 15 letters.
Sawyer and Claire are the only main characters to get on the island in „Pilot, Part 1„, stay on the island the entire series, and then leave in „The End„.
Sawyer is responsible for the death of Locke‘s father and may have inadvertently contributed to the death of Jack‘s father. He strangled Anthony Cooper and purchased alcohol for Christian Shephard that may have contributed to his heart attack.
In his conversations with Jack and Locke’s fathers both joked about being in hell: Christian joked that Australia was as close to hell as you could get without being burned, and Anthony joked that they weren’t on an island, and were in fact dead, and that it was a „little hot for heaven“.
James Ford, ‘Satan’s Ferryman’, was a historical character from Illinois. He acted as civic leader but in reality was a Mafia Don-like criminal.[1]
James Sawyer is one of the people Edmund meets in the novel Edmund et les ours explosifs by Yaruch Bann.[2]
Sawyer appears to be a fan of the Star Wars films. On the raft he refers to Jin and Michael as Chewie and Han, in reference to Chewbacca and Han Solo. In „Not in Portland“ he mentionsThe old Wookiee prisoner gag. He also calls HurleyJabba and BenYoda at one point. Also, his second name, Ford, may be a reference to the actor Harrison Ford who portrayed Han Solo in the original trilogy. In „House of the Rising Sun„, in a conversation with Kate about moving to the caves, Sawyer’s line of dialogue: „well, that’s the real trick, isn’t it“ is the exact same line Han Solo delivers in Star Wars.
When he mentions that Sayid cannot join the group of people in MIB’s group that are leaving with out them in „The Last Recruit“ as he has gone over to the dark side. Hurley says „But, you can always bring people back from the dark side, like Anakin.“ He states „Who the hell is Anakin?“
This may be explained by the fact that the movie was released while the Oceanic Six were off the Island (2005), and therefore Sawyer had no knowledge of the story.
Sawyer is left-handed, writing, shooting, and smoking with his left hand, but as a child he wrote with his right. (Official Lost Podcast/April 23, 2009)
After the first 10 episodes of Season 1, Sawyer wasn’t seen smoking again. Either he ran out of cigarettes or he decided to quit.
Sawyer is the only character whose political affiliation is identified. In „Outlaws„, he tells Kate that he has voted, but never for a Democrat, implying that he is a Republican.
Sawyer says that he has never had a blood transfusion or taken pills for malaria, but he has paid for sex and received a sexually transmitted disease.
Sawyer is assumed to live with his grandparents after the death of his mother and father. We know they were alive because they are referred to by Mary Ford.
Or he could have been raised by the uncle who would later die of a brain tumor. When auditioning for the role of Sawyer the script stated Sawyer had been raised by his aunt and uncle and that he learned how to become a con man from his uncle. (Lost: The Complete First Season)
He seemed fairly close with his uncle Doug after his mother’s funeral.
Lived in a trailer-home and watched Little House on the Prairie as a child.
The report that Locke read that told him about Sawyer’s past included an Interpol report written in French.
An alternate ending scene for the Season 4 finale was shot featuring Sawyer in the coffin to deter spoilers.
At the end of Season 4, Sawyer is the last remaining member of the 14 original main characters to still reside at the beach camp set up in Season 1.
In almost all of his appearances Sawyer has worn a button up shirt with the sleeves slightly rolled up and top two buttons undone. He’s worn two t-shirts, two long sleeved t-shirts and one shirt without sleeves.
Sawyer is one of 22 main characters to have their names appear in a soundtrack title.
Sawyer is one of five main characters to survive the series, not counting flash sideways.
Sawyer is the only character to have his picture appear on the back of all 6 DVD cases.
Sawyer, along with Hurley, was one of two main characters who rarely used their real names.
Sawyer is the second one who visited the most stations from the survivors. Since Jin, Sun, Sayid and Locke are dead and Desmond isn’t a survivor, Sawyer is after Kate the most station explorer visitor.
Sawyer might have infact visited all the Dharma Stations as he worked in The Dharma Initiative as the Head of Security.
The name Sawyer is a reference to the character Tom Sawyer from Mark Twain’s literary works. Tom Sawyer was an orphan and budding con artist from the south. His earliest and best known con involved whitewashing a fence, in which he convinced the local boys to pay him for the privilege of painting a rather long and difficult fence. „He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it – namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.“[3]
James’s letter to Mr. Sawyer begins, „You don’t know who I am, but I know who you are.“ This echoes the opening line of Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: „You don’t know about me, without you have read a book by the name of ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,’ but that ain’t no matter.“
The name Sawyer may also be a reference to the fictional character Jack Sawyer who appears in the novels „The Talisman“ and „Black House“ by Stephen King and Peter Straub.
The names James and Ford may possibly be a reference to the infamous American outlaws, Jesse James and Robert Ford. James was a notorious member of the James-Younger Gang, who staged a series of successful robberies in the mid-19th century. Ford was a young upstart outlaw who befriended James, and later murdered him, collecting the $10,000 bounty on James’ head.
Interestingly, Robert Ford’s father was named James Thomas Ford.
Both are referenced in the Bob Dylan song, Outlaw Blues: „I might look like a Robert Ford, but I feel just like a Jesse James!“
Sawyer may be based on Ralph, a character from the famous classic, Lord of the Flies. Also many other characters share similarities with characters from the book.
LaFleur, a name that Sawyer adopts as his DHARMA persona, is also the name of a Buddhist scholar (William R. LaFleur) who wrote The Karma of Words: Buddhism and the Literary Arts in Medieval Japan. Dharma is a Buddhist concept, which seems to support the connection.
Biblical references
Two of Jesus’ apostles were named James.
One of these apostles had a brother named John. Along with Peter, the brothers James and John formed the inner circle of apostles.
Katherine Anne Austen, more commonly known as Kate, was one of the survivors from the crash of Oceanic Flight 815. Before the crash, Kate had spent many years fleeing the law after killing her abusive father. To achieve her goals, she would commit several other crimes and would turn to bank robbery, assault and seduction.
On the Island, she became an integral member of the survivors’ society, forming strong bonds and eventually romantic relationships with Jack andSawyer and also becoming close with Claire and Sun. Resourceful, quick-witted and mysteriously reclusive, she participated in many missions while attempting to hide her troubled past from the rest of the survivors.
Kate was captured by the Others along with Jack and Sawyer, but she eventually escaped the Island with five other survivors. Off the island, Kate consummated her feelings for Jack and they began a romantic relationship. Kate went on trial for her various crimes and, in desperation to resolve her issues with the law, accepted a ten-year probation order. Kate and Jack eventually moved in together and were briefly engaged, but Jack’s guilt about leaving the others behind finally caught up with him and manifested in drug and alcohol problems which ultimately ended their relationship. She raised Aaron Littleton as her son, but she finally decided to return to the Island to rescue his mother, Claire.
Once she returned to the Island, Kate was stranded in 1977 with the other survivors. She worked for the DHARMA Initiative and saved a youngBenjamin Linus‘s life. She then time-traveled to 2007, where she found an „infected“ Claire. Kate joined the Man in Black‘s side, but she did not trust him. She helped Jack to kill the Man in Black and said her final goodbye to Jack. They re-affirmed their love for one another before she escaped the island with Claire. Jack and Kate were reunited in the afterlife and moved on with their friends.
Kate was born sometime between May 21 and June 21, 1977 and grew up in rural Iowa. („Pilot, Part 2„) („Tabula Rasa„)She was raised by her mother, Diane and Sam Austen, the man that she believed was her biological father. Her actual father was a man named Wayne. Her parents divorced when Kate was five, and Kate lived with her mother. Diane married Wayne, even though he was an alcoholic and physically abused her. Wayne had occasionally leered at Kate during her childhood as well. („What Kate Did„)
The character of Kate was first intended to be the leader of the survivors, after Jack’s character was to be killed off in „Pilot, Part 1„. Later, the writers found that killing Jack in the first episode would raise feelings of betrayal and anger in the audience. They decided instead to have the pilot killed in Jack’s place.
In this depiction, Kate was written as an older woman traveling with her husband, whom she is separated from after he goes to the bathroom right before the crash. This idea was still employed, but with the characters of Rose and Bernard.
Kate, along with Claire, Rose, Penny and Eloise Hawking, is one of only five female main characters alive at the end of the series, not counting the flash sideways.
Kate is one of only two characters to escape the island twice, the other being Frank (who facilitated her escape on both occasions).
Kate is the only member of the Oceanic 6 to fly off the island on Ajira 316.
On her mugshot the subject file is: 00-0428-23-5607-01, which contains the Numbers 4, 8, 23 and 42.
Kate has visited five of the ten known DHARMA Initiative stations: the Swan, the Staff, the Hydra, the Flame and the Tempest. Kate, Jin and Desmond have visited the most stations. SinceJin is dead and Desmond isn’t a survivor, Kate has visited the most stations from the survivors.
Kate, while on the run as a fugitive, called Edward Mars on Catholic Holy Days of Obligation. („I Do„)
Kate seems to be a fan of American country singer Patsy Cline. She plays Patsy Cline records twice on the Island, once in the hatch in „What Kate Did“ and once at Claire’s house in „Eggtown„. Patsy Cline songs also play in Kate flashback scenes in „Tabula Rasa“ (in Ray Mullen’s truck), „Left Behind“ (in the tow truck) and „The Incident, Parts 1 & 2“ (in the grocery store she attempted to steal from). Kate also listens to Patsy Cline on the way to Cassidy’s house in her car in Whatever Happened, Happened. Interestingly, Patsy Cline was killed in a plane crash.
Kate is one of seven characters who has their real name in the title of an episode, in Kate’s case two episodes. („What Kate Did„) („What Kate Does„) The others are Sun, Hurley, Tricia Tanaka, Dave, Ji Yeon and Sawyer (as LaFleur).
Kate is one of 22 main characters to have their names appear in a soundtrack title.
Kate is one of the five original main characters still alive at the end of the series.
Kate is the only one of the Oceanic survivors and candidates whose candidate number is not one of „The Numbers“ or a multiple thereof. The only survivors on the list in addition to Hurley, Locke, Sawyer, Jack, Jin and/or Sun, and Sayid are Kate, Michael, and Shannon. Shannon’s number is 32, a multiple of 4 and 8 and Michael’s number is 124, a multiple of 4. Kate’s number is 51, which is not a multiple of any of the numbers.
Kate’s episode count so far is 108, as of „The End„.
Kate was the second character, after Jack, to appear in 100 episodes.
Kate was the central character of the first episode to contain the traditional flashback format. („Tabula Rasa„) In season 6, she was the first to receive an individual flash sideways. („What Kate Does„)
Until Season 5, she was the only character to ever have consecutive centric episodes, and maintained this position until „The Candidate„, only episodes before the series finale.
Kate was the third character to ever have a flashback.
Kate was the fourth character to ever have a flash-forward.
Kate is one of the seven characters to have a flashback, a flash-forward and a flash sideways episode centered around them. The other six are Hurley, Sayid, Sun, Sawyer, Ben and Jack.
Kate was the first character to do this.
Kate and Jack are the only characters to appear in every season premiere of the series.
Kate has had three instances of back-to-back centric episodes, although in both cases, one of these episodes was shared with at least one other person. In the first season, she appeared in the second of two flashbacks in „Pilot, Part 2“ before having the first traditional flashback in „Tabula Rasa„. Later in the season, she had a flashback in „Exodus, Part 1„, which followed Kate-centric „Born to Run„. In the sixth season premiere, Kate had flash sideways in both parts of „LAX„, following the first traditional flash sideways in „What Kate Does„.
Kate was the final Oceanic 815 character to have a flashback episode centered around them.
Kate was the main character who made the most episode appearances in Season 3.
Name
Kate has been referred to as or used the aliases Katherine Ryan, Katherine Dodd, Joan Hart, Maggie Ryan, Annie, Lucy, and presumably lived under the name Monica Callis during her marriage. Her father, Tom Brennan, and Jacob called her Katie. Her mother called her Katherine. Sawyer almost always calls her Freckles, but occasionally calls her Kate during particularly emotional or tense conversations.
She is called „Kate Ryan“ at the Oceanic-air.com seating chart.
„Joan Hart“ is a reference to Melissa Joan Hart, who starred in the television show Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Her co-star, Beth Broderick („Aunt Zelda“), plays Kate’s mother, Diane Janssen.
Kate’s name may be derived from that of a character from John Steinbeck’s Nobel Prize-winning novel East of Eden. Catherine is one of the main antagonists and, like Kate, sets her parents’ home on fire as a young girl (killing both of them, as opposed to Kate who just kills her step-father) and spends most of her life from that point forward running from the law. Catherine later changes her name to Kate to further avoid detection.
Lost 
