After they died, the main characters created a shared realm within which to find each other. They initially forgot post-crash events and imagined new situations for themselves, but they gradually awoke to their previous lives. Mild deja vu, pain, unconsciousness and brushes with death sparked initial memories. Eventually, each character awoke fully after interacting with something specific, often a loved one.
Initial memories[]
|
| ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picture | Character | Episode | Trigger | Memories | ||||||
 |
Jack | "LA X, Part 1" | Déjà vu | Vague memories of Desmond | ||||||
 |
Charlie | "LA X, Part 1" | Unconsciousness/near-death | Image of Claire | ||||||
 |
Kate | "What Kate Does" | Déjà vu | Vague memories of Jack | ||||||
 |
Claire | "What Kate Does" | Pain, déjà vu | Aaron's name | ||||||
 |
Desmond | "Happily Ever After" | Pain, déjà vu | Charlie's death and final message | ||||||
 |
Desmond | "Happily Ever After" | Electromagnetism | Charlie's death, meeting Penny, kissing her on the Searcher, Charlie Hume's birth | ||||||
 |
Daniel | "Happily Ever After" | Déjà vu | Feelings for Charlotte, equations in his notebook | ||||||
 |
Sun | "The Last Recruit" | Unconsciousness, seeing Locke next to her on a gurney | The Man in Black's depiction of Locke | ||||||
 |
John | "The Candidate" | Unconsciousness | Pushing the button, his suicide note | ||||||
 |
Ben | "What They Died For" | Pain caused by Desmond | Pain caused by following his attempt at murdering Penny | ||||||
 |
Jack | "The End" | Déjà vu | Looking down the Hatch with Locke | ||||||
 |
Jack | "The End" | Touched by Kate | Emotional events with Kate | ||||||
Full recollections[]
|
| ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picture | Name | Episode | Trigger | Shown Memories | ||||||
 |
Boone | N/A | Unknown | None | ||||||
 |
Rose | N/A | Unknown | None | ||||||
 |
Bernard | N/A | Unknown | None | ||||||
 |
Eloise | N/A | Unknown | None | ||||||
 |
Desmond | "Happily Ever After" | Physical contact with Penny | None | ||||||
 |
Penny | N/A | Unknown | None | ||||||
 |
Libby | N/A | Hurley | None | ||||||
 |
Hurley | "Everybody Loves Hugo" | Libby | Moments of Hugo and Libby's relationship | ||||||
 |
Ben | N/A | None shown on-screen. The original script for "The End" featured Ben "his eyes wet - PROCESSING something" as he looked on Alex's yearbook in the episode's opening montage.[1] | None | ||||||
 |
Sayid | "The End" | Physical contact with Shannon | Moments of Sayid and Shannon's relationship | ||||||
 |
Shannon | "The End" | Physical contact with Sayid | Moments of Shannon and Sayid's relationship | ||||||
 |
Sun | "The End" | Ji-Yeon's sonogram | Moments of Sun and Jin's relationship | ||||||
 |
Jin | "The End" | Ji-Yeon's sonogram | Moments of Jin and Sun's relationship | ||||||
 |
Claire | "The End" | Giving birth to Aaron | Aaron's birth | ||||||
 |
Kate | "The End" | Delivering Aaron | Aaron's birth | ||||||
 |
Charlie | "The End" | Physical contact with Claire | Moments of Charlie and Claire's relationship | ||||||
 |
Locke | "The End" | Moving his feet post-surgery | Significant moments and connection with the Island | ||||||
 |
Sawyer | "The End" | Physical contact with Juliet | Moments of Sawyer and Juliet's relationship | ||||||
 |
Juliet | "The End" | Physical contact with Sawyer | Moments of Juliet and Sawyer's relationship | ||||||
 |
Jack | "The End" | Physical contact with Christian's coffin | Significant moments on the Island, moments of Jack and Kate's relationship | ||||||
Trivia[]
- Of the people in the church, only Rose, Bernard, Penny, Libby, and Boone do not have their awakenings shown on-screen.
- Only Locke is seen awakening without coming into contact with a person or object.
- Ben and Desmond are the only characters seen to have brief flashes while not having their full awakenings shown on-screen.
- Only Jack is seen coming into contact with two sources that induce flashes, namely Kate and Christian's coffin.
- While many of the characters awaken through physical contact with a loved one, several characters are seen touching people they loved during their lives without awakening. For instance, Locke kissed Helen Norwood, Faraday and Charlotte shook each others hand, and Sayid came into contact with Nadia.