Charlie Hieronymus Pace was a survivor from the middle section of Oceanic 815. Before the crash, he was the bassist and principal songwriter for the rock band Drive Shaft. When Flight 815 crashed, Charlie was snorting heroin in one of the plane's bathrooms. His drug addiction and crippling self-doubt were the biggest obstacles in his life. Like many of the survivors, the crash provided Charlie with a fresh start. On the Island, he formed a relationship with Claire Littleton and her son Aaron.
After avoiding deaths foreseen by Desmond several times, Charlie finally died willingly to save the other survivors. He drowned on day 91, and after returning from the the Looking Glass station, Desmond told those on the beach of his death. After Hurley gets off the island, he is haunted by visions of Charlie, who tells him that he must return to the island.
Before the Island
Childhood
Charlie was raised a devout Catholic, and he served as an altar boy in his teenage years. According to a dream, he was given a piano by his mother for Christmas one year because she could see that he had special musical talent. Charlie's father, however, vehemently opposed the career choice, and believed that Charlie and his brother Liam should become butchers like him. ("Fire + Water") Despite this, his father did help Charlie learn to swim as a child. ("Greatest Hits")
Early musical life
Charlie in Desmonds time travel ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
Charlie honed his talents over the years, practicing and singing in the streets for money. He was doing this when he met Desmond in passing. The first time Desmond "lived this day," he did not notice Charlie, but when he relived his past after turning the fail-safe key, Desmond recognized Charlie, and told him they were both on an Island together. Charlie commented on his statement, saying "this is why we don't do drugs." ("Flashes Before Your Eyes").
On another occasion during his street performance phase, Charlie was playing when it started to rain and he hurried off the street and happened upon a woman being mugged. Charlie chased off her attacker, inspiring her to call him a "hero." ("Greatest Hits")
Drive Shaft
Charlie and Liam formed a band called Drive Shaft, for which Charlie wrote the music on his piano. ("The Moth") One day, on the way to a gig, a tire on the band's van went flat. Trying to change the tire in the rain, Charlie wasn't optimistic that the band would gain any attention and wanted to quit because their album wasn't selling. According to him they were a "bloody joke." Suddenly Roderick interrupted because their song "You All Everybody" was playing on the radio. They all started to laugh and celebrate; their hope was restored. ("Greatest Hits")
Drive Shaft quickly became a one hit wonder band, and the pressure of stardom consumed Liam, who turned to heroin. ("The Moth") During their second tour of Finland, Charlie was sleeping in a hotel room with two women when Liam suddenly entered the room. He wanted to give Charlie the D.S. ring as a Christmas present. Although Liam was the first born in the family, he wanted the ring to be safe and thought Charlie would be the right person to wear it because he didn't use any drugs. ("Greatest Hits") Charlie was strongly opposed to Liam using drugs, although the stress of being in Drive Shaft eventually got to him too, and he also tried some heroin, to which he formed an addiction. ("The Moth")
When Liam's daughter, Megan, was born, Charlie came to get the addicted father to go see his child. Karen, Liam's wife, was alone in the hospital.
Because of Liam's destructive habits, the band began to lose its magic. They even tried to earn some money by advertising Butties Diapers, with their new version for the hit song "You All Everybody," which became "You All Every Butties". This attempt failed because of Liam.
Back at his apartment, Charlie showed Liam their last chance to bring their band back to life - a song he had written called "Saved." Although Liam liked it and believed they could do it, he couldn't resist the heroin. Liam sold Charlie's piano for money to get a ticket to Australia, where there was a rehabilitation clinic. He wanted to turn his life around because his wife was threatening to leave him if he didn't. With Liam gone, Drive Shaft ceased to exist. ("Fire + Water")
Drug addiction
Sometime after Liam's departure, Charlie's drug dealer Tommy suggested he form a relationship with Lucy Heatherton, the daughter of a wealthy corporation owner, so he could steal from her to pay for his drugs. Charlie did so, but his feelings for her prevented him from betraying her. Lucy broke up with him, however, when she discovered Charlie's original intentions. ("Homecoming")
Charlie looks back at the flight attendants ("Pilot, Part 1")
Years after Drive Shaft's fall, Charlie flew to Sydney to convince Liam, who was now living happily with his wife and children, to reform the band. Liam refused and instead, offered to house Charlie while he attempted to end his drug addiction. Charlie scoffed at this and bought a plane ticket for seat 29C aboard Oceanic Flight 815. ("The Moth")
The night before the flight, a woman named Lily spent a night with him, pretending to be a big fan of Drive Shaft just so she could get her fix. The next morning, the two of them fought over the last of the heroin, which Charlie had been hiding from her. She left his room after their quick struggle, calling him pathetic. ("Exodus, Part 2")
On the plane, Charlie ran away from a flight attendant while searching for a suitable empty bathroom. Upon entering and locking the door, he snorted some heroin from a bag stashed in his shoe, then tossed the rest of his drugs into the toilet. Almost directly after this, the plane hit turbulence; Charlie quickly got himself into a seat at the front of the plane's mid-section and buckled up. ("Pilot, Part 2")
On the Island
Season 1 (Days 1-44)
Charlie, right after the crash ("Pilot, Part 1")
The first night after Oceanic 815 crashed, Charlie wandered about the wreckage of the plane. He noticed a pregnant girl named Claire Littleton and approached her. He offered her his blanket, though she had one already, explaining that she needed to keep warm for two. She accepted the offer and the two began to converse. Charlie joked around, asking Claire if this was her first plane crash. He assured her they would be rescued, cheering Claire's spirits a little and beginning their relationship. ("Greatest Hits")
When the initial aftermath of the crash had died down, Charlie's need for a fix asserted itself. He went with Jack and Kate into the jungle to find the cockpit to recover the transceiver from the plane. While Jack and Kate were busy looking in the ruined pilot's cabin, Charlie was in the bathroom recovering his heroin stash. ("Pilot, Part 1")
After the transceiver was fixed, Kate gathered a band of survivors, including Charlie. Together they climbed up one of the Island's steep cliffs where they were able to pick up Rousseau's distress call. During the hike, the group was attacked by a polar bear, which Sawyer killed. ("Pilot, Part 2")
On day four, Charlie noticed a woman drowning in the sea. He ran to Jack for help claiming he didn't swim. ("White Rabbit")
Charlie became friendly with many of the other survivors, including Sayid, Jack and Hurley. John Locke helped Charlie kick his heroin addiction by trading him his drugs for his guitar. ("House of the Rising Sun")
Charlie's choice regarding the heroin.
Charlie was initially thankful, but soon his withdrawal pains caused him to seek out Locke and demand his stash back. Locke told Charlie he could ask for his heroin three times, and the last time, Locke would give it back to him. Feeling the pains of withdrawal, Charlie argued with Jack and caused one of the caves to collapse, trapping Jack inside. Charlie volunteered to crawl into the cave to save him, because he was a loner and had nobody to lose, and succeeded. Later that night, he asked Locke for the third time for his drugs. When he had them again, he threw them into the fire and began the long road to recovery. ("The Moth")
Charlie quickly became friends with Claire, the pregnant survivor he had met on the first night. When half of the survivors move to the caves, Charlie moved with them while Claire stayed at the beach. He convinced Claire to move to the caves by bringing her pretend peanut butter, because he knew she loved it. Charlie began to feel an emotional attraction to her, which blossomed into genuine love.
After Claire had a series of extremely disturbing dreams and was apparently attacked in the middle of the night, Charlie defended her against everyone who said she was merely stressed and not in any real danger.
Jack tries to save Charlie's life ("All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues")
Charlie was correct in believing Claire; the next day Ethan Rom, an Other masquerading as a crash survivor, accosted Charlie and Claire. He attacked and kidnapped them, dragging them through the jungle. ("Raised by Another").
As a warning to the other survivors, Ethan hanged Charlie in the jungle by his neck and left him to die. Kate and Jack found his body hanging in the jungle and Jack was able to resuscitate him. Afterward Charlie refused to describe what had happened to him, and the actual events are still unknown. ("All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues")
With Claire gone, Charlie became withdrawn. He stopped talking, refusing to tell anyone what had happened and temporarily distancing himself from the other survivors. Rose helped Charlie come to terms with Claire's kidnapping after she told him she believed her husband was still alive, even though he was in the tail section when the plane broke apart in mid-air. ("Whatever the Case May Be")
As Locke and Boone were returning from a day of digging, Claire suddenly appeared, having no recollection of the events after the crash, nor of her friendship with Charlie. He did not tell her what had happened to her or why everybody was staring at her, but Claire later found out, with the help of Shannon. With Claire as willing bait, the survivors captured Ethan and planned to interrogate him. Their plan failed when Charlie murdered him by firing six rounds into his chest. ("Homecoming")
Charlie takes care of one-day-old Aaron ("The Greater Good")
Sayid checked up on Charlie and told him that "what happened with Ethan will be with you for the rest of your life." Sayid said Charlie was not alone and he should not pretend to be. ("Outlaws") Not long after, Claire went into labor and gave birth to a healthy boy named Aaron. ("Do No Harm")
A couple days after Aaron's birth, Danielle Rousseau showed up at the survivors' camp. She told them her daughter, Alex, had been taken away from her by the Others many years before. She came to the survivors' camp to warn them that the Others were coming to take Aaron. ("Exodus, Part 1")
Charlie and Sayid on the hunt for Rousseau ("Exodus, Part 2")
She attacked Claire and stole her baby, hoping to exchange him for her missing daughter. Charlie and Sayid went after her, after Charlie promised Claire that he would bring Aaron back. During their chase, Charlie was hurt by one of Danielle's traps. They came upon another plane that had crashed on the Island and Sayid revealed to Charlie that there were Virgin Mary statues containing heroin inside. That night, they finally caught up to Danielle and rescued Aaron. Charlie, in anger, told Danielle "you're pathetic," just as Lily had said to him. He and Sayid returned to the caves, and Charlie handed Aaron back to Claire. Their joyful reunion was marred, however, by the reveal of a Virgin Mary statue in Charlie's pack. ("Exodus, Part 2")
Season 2 (Days 44-67)
Charlie questioning Locke about the Swan ("Everybody Hates Hugo")
After rescuing Aaron and returning him to Claire, it seemed like Charlie had won her heart. In the caves, waiting for Jack to arrive with news regarding the Hatch, she treated his wound and commented on the statue Charlie had found in the jungle, not knowing its contents. When Jack returned, Charlie noticed Arzt was not with him and discovered from Jack that Arzt hadn't made it. Charlie argued with Shannon, who claimed she had seen Walt in the jungle. Charlie did not believe her and stuck with his belief that there were no "Others." ("Man of Science, Man of Faith")
After the Hatch was opened, Charlie was out of the loop, as no one, not even Hurley, told him what was going on. He followed Locke, and when he was discovered, decided to get some information. Locke told him about Desmond, the Swan, the computer and Hurley's task of organizing the food. Charlie immediately went to Hurley and asked him for some peanut butter from the Swan. Hurley declined, and Charlie argued with him, saying he thought Hurley was his friend. Eventually, after Hurley made the decision to split the food, Charlie got a jar of peanut butter and shared it with Claire. ("Everybody Hates Hugo")
After Eko found out Charlie possessed a Virgin Mary statue, he forced Charlie to lead him to the Beechcraft in the jungle. On their way, while Charlie was in a tree trying to get a better view, he witnessed the Monster confronting Eko. Charlie and Eko eventually found the body of Yemi inside the crashed plane, as well as all of the Virgin Mary statues. Before burning the plane, Eko gave Charlie a statue to replace the one he had broken before. Charlie hid it with a stash of other statues in the jungle. Claire, who had found out about the heroin inside the statues, believed Charlie was using drugs again and kicked him out of her tent, as she did not want him near her baby. ("The 23rd Psalm")
Charlie handing Aaron back to Claire. ("Fire + Water")
As Charlie struggled with his forced isolation, he had vivid dreams about having to save Aaron. Pulling further back into himself, he revisited his heroin stash. Locke, who knew about the other statues, surprised Charlie and took them and put them in the gun vault of the Swan. Convinced he had to baptize the baby, Charlie started a fire at the camp to create a diversion so he could grab Aaron and go down to the water. Claire spotted him, however, and tried to convince him that he was hurting her instead of helping. Charlie handed the baby to Claire and Locke punched Charlie repeatedly. Charlie was left alone in the water, abandoned by his friends. ("Fire + Water")
With Charlie's help, Sawyer gained possession of the heroin when he pulled a long con on all of the survivors to get the contents of the gun vault. In this long con, Charlie attacked Sun from behind, covered her head and dragged her into the jungle. It looked like fake attack by the Others, and forced Locke to suspect other survivors who wanted to use this "attack" to gain control over the guns. Charlie later claimed the only reason he helped Sawyer was to make Locke feel stupid. ("The Long Con")
It seemed like Charlie's new "mentor" and friend was Sayid. After capturing a man named Henry Gale, Sayid brought him to the Swan and interrogated him, believing him to be an Other. Although Sayid was sure he was right, Jack and Locke did not agree with him. After the interrogation, Sayid talked to Charlie on the beach, telling him that the other survivors had forgotten what these Others had done to them - how they kidnapped Claire and hanged Charlie from a tree. He then asked Charlie if he had forgotten, a question which seemed to bring Charlie closer to Sayid. ("One of Them")
Charlie at "Jennifer Gale's" grave.
Charlie was helping Sayid build a dining room when Ana Lucia interrupted and told Sayid the prisoner in the Hatch had drawn a map to his balloon as proof that he was not one of "them." On their way to the other side of the Island, Ana Lucia noticed Charlie was carrying a gun stolen from Sawyer. She advised him to give the gun to someone who knew how to use it. Charlie, full of grudge, answered that as he recalled, the last time she had carried a gun she had killed someone. He gave the gun to Sayid and the journey continued. ("The Whole Truth") ("Three Minutes") They eventually reached to the jungle where Henry said his balloon and his wife's grave would be. Sayid decided to split the area into three sections, and each of them explored one section. ("The Whole Truth") After three hours, during which they found nothing, Sayid blamed Ana Lucia for trusting Henry and giving him two days to plan his escape. Suddenly, Charlie called them, to the grave he had discovered. While examining the grave, Ana Lucia noticed it was not raining where they stood. They looked up and saw Henry's balloon hanging from a tree. ("Lockdown")
When they came back to camp, they met Kate and Jack, and told them they thought they had confirmed Henry's alibi, but continued to search the site. Inside the grave, they did not find Jennifer Gale, but a man - a man named Henry Gale. ("Lockdown")
After he returned from the adventure, Charlie saw that Eko was building something in the camp area. He asked him what was he building, but got no answer from Eko, who only asked him for help. Charlie eventually learned they were building a church. ("Dave") One night, Eko woke up, took his stick and disappeared from camp until the next day. ("?")
Charlie's redemption ("Three Minutes")
The next morning, Charlie handed Claire a box he had found in the supply drop, which contained a DHARMA vaccine for her and the baby. As he was about to ask her if she could forgive him, Michael, who had left camp two weeks prior to look for Walt, suddenly appeared. ("Three Minutes")
Charlie went to the Swan, where he found Eko entering the Numbers into the computer. Eko asked Charlie to bring his belongings from the beach to the Swan because he planned to live there and continue entering the numbers. He told Charlie he had a new task now, which was more important than the church. Charlie refused to help Eko and went back to the beach to build the church by himself.
Suddenly, Vincent appeared, holding in his mouth one of the statues. Charlie followed him to Sawyer's tent, where he found Sawyer's secret stash with all of the statues. He took all of the statues and threw them into the ocean, effectively ending his addiction. Locke viewed the incident from the beach. Later that day, at Ana Lucia and Libby's funeral, Claire held Charlie's hand. Suddenly, Sun noticed a sailboat not far from the Island. ("Three Minutes")
Charle, at the Swan, after Eko lit the fuse. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1")
Charlie witnessed Desmond's arrival on his sailboat. The next day, Charlie saw Locke weeping in the jungle, and informed him of Desmond's return. After Locke enlisted Desmond's help and locked Eko out of the computer room in the Swan, Eko begged for Charlie's help, claiming that if Charlie refused everyone on the island would die in 90 minutes. Charlie agreed to help him and brought Eko to the place where Hurley had hidden the remaining dynamite from the Black Rock. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1")
In the Swan, Charlie tried to talk Locke out of his plan to let the countdown timer tick down to zero, informing him that Eko was extremely upset and was going to blow up the blast doors. Charlie then tried to convince Eko to stop, but his pleas were ignored. As Eko lit the fuse, Charlie tried to escape, but was not quick enough and a fireball almost killed him. Charlie woke up, nearly deaf, to find the Swan in system failure mode. Desmond, looking for his fail-safe key, advised Charlie to run away from the station. Charlie took his advice, and tried to rescue Eko in the process, but Eko refused to run and commanded Charlie to escape. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1")
Charlie returned to camp partially deaf right after the discharge, which he had not witnessed. When he was asked by Bernard where Eko and Locke were, Charlie was surprised they were not back from the Swan. That night, Claire asked Charlie what had happened and Charlie asked her whether she wanted to know about him almost getting killed by the flaming fireball or the flying fork. Claire smiled and told him she wanted him to be serious. She told him about the sky turning purple and the strange noise, but Charlie just looked at her. Then, after a couple seconds of quiet stares, they kissed, beginning a new chapter in their relationship. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1")
Season 3 (Days 69-91)
Locke asks Charlie "to stand guard", outside the sweat lodge.
In season three, Charlie and Claire's relationship continued to blossom. They were shown holding hands and (in deleted scenes) kissing. ("Further Instructions")
After Locke became mute upon returning to camp from the implosion of the Swan, Charlie stood watch outside his sweat lodge at Locke's request. He went with Locke in search of Eko, who had been dragged into a polar bear cave. On the way there, they found that the Hatch had completely imploded. Locke managed to rescue Eko, and he and Charlie took him back to the beach. After this adventure, Locke and Charlie no longer seemed to be at odds with each other. ("Further Instructions")
The next day, Desmond ominously asked Claire to move out of her tent and to go down the beach for a while so he could fix her roof. Having been turned down, Desmond constructed a lightning rod with a golf club at its top near her tent. A rainstorm began to fall, breaking Claire's roof. Charlie ran in and sheltered her and the baby. Just then, lighting struck the rod. Charlie first looked around in shock, but then stared confused at Desmond. ("Every Man for Himself")
Desmond saving Claire, with Charlie assisting ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
When Sayid returned to the camp, Charlie and Hurley brought him to the injured Eko. When Eko's tent mysteriously burst into flames, Charlie and Hurley dragged him outside and rested him on the beach. They turned their backs for a moment, and then Eko ran off into the jungle. They tried to find him the next day, but were unsuccessful. ("The Cost of Living")
A couple days later, Charlie and Hurley were distributing the contents of Sawyer's stash to the other survivors, when Desmond ominously told both to come with him into the jungle. There, they met Locke and Sayid who informed them of Mr. Eko's death at the 'hands' of the Monster. Locke said that people would come to them after he broke the news and that it would be their job to keep the other survivors calm. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
Right then, Desmond started to look around wildly, and he ran off to the beach while the other four followed him. He dove into the water and rescued a drowning Claire. Charlie tried to help, but Desmond shoved him out of the way and took Claire back to her tent. Charlie did not understand how Desmond knew about Claire's drowning, but Hurley told him that in his opinion Desmond can see the future. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
Hurley and Charlie decided to learn how Desmond seemed to know future events. After receiving no help from Locke, they decided to get Desmond drunk on whisky and demand answers. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
Charlie learns of his fate. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
After partying into the night with Desmond, they began to ask him how he saved Claire from the lightning and from drowning. Desmond stubbornly avoided the questions and walked away. Frustrated, Charlie shouted after him, calling him a coward. Desmond immediately turned around and tackled him, screaming he does not want to know what happened to him after he turned the key. Hurley pulled him off and they disappointedly brought Desmond back to his tent. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
Charlie and Desmond apologized to each other, and Charlie asked Desmond one more time what happened. Desmond told Charlie that he constructed the lighting rod to save Charlie from being electrocuted and that he jumped into the ocean to save Charlie, not Claire (as Charlie drowned trying to save Claire in Desmond's initial vision), and he believed Charlie's imminent demise is a foregone conclusion. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
In the next couple days, Charlie fell into a deep depression about his fate. Hurley, seeing the trouble that Charlie was in, made several attempts to snap him out of it, the first several of which failed. ("Tricia Tanaka Is Dead")
Charlie confronted Desmond again, demanding to know when he was going to die, but Desmond did not cooperate and told him nothing. ("Tricia Tanaka Is Dead") When Hurley found the DHARMA van in the jungle, he attempted to convince Charlie and several other survivors to join him in fixing it, but only Jin came with him at first and Sawyer, bribed by an offer of beer, joined them later. Charlie seemed inconsolable until he saw how hopeful Hurley was. He decided to go with him, and test fate. ("Tricia Tanaka Is Dead")
Charlie, Hurley, Sawyer and Jin riding in the DHARMA van ("Tricia Tanaka Is Dead")
Charlie, Jin, Sawyer and Hurley pushed the van to the edge of a dangerously steep cliff. Hurley proposed to jump start the van by rolling it down the hill, and Charlie joined him in the passenger's seat. Just as it seemed they were going to crash into a pile of large rocks, Hurley succeeded in re-starting the car. Charlie and Hurley celebrated joyously and Jin, Sawyer and Vincent joined the duo in riding around in the van. Charlie went back to camp and rejoined Claire. ("Tricia Tanaka Is Dead")
Two days later, Charlie prepared an elaborate romantic day with Claire. He had Sun and Jin watch Aaron while the pair had a beachside picnic. Just as they were about to begin, however, Desmond ran over and not-so-subtly tried to get Charlie away from Claire so they could talk. Conveniently, Claire then got the idea to catch seagulls and attach a distress message to them. Desmond took Charlie aside and told him that if Charlie helped Claire, he would die.
This understandably shook up Charlie, who then made excuses to not take part in Claire's plan. At first, Claire was hurt and shocked at Charlie's odd behavior, but then she became suspicious of he and Desmond's conversations and hunted down Desmond to force him to tell her the truth.
Once Claire understood, she went back to Charlie and apologized for their fight. She told him that she would take care of him and that they would go through the ordeal together. Later that day, the two attached the note Claire had written to the seagull and released it. ("Par Avion")
Later, Charlie was involved in trying to find out what happened to Nikki and Paulo when they were bitten by medusa spiders and paralyzed. He, Sawyer, Jin, Sun and Hurley gathered evidence to learn what supposedly killed them. Sun mentions that the Others might be involved, since they were the ones who attacked her. Charlie obviously feels guilty and he admits to her that he was the one who attacked her and that Sawyer planned it. He was later seen at Nikki and Paulo's funeral. ("Exposé")
The next day, he was at Sawyer's feast with Claire. He heartily complimented Sawyer's cooking, and he inadvertently revealed to Sawyer that there was no vote to banish him in the first place. ("Left Behind")
The next few days passed peacefully for Charlie. He spent lots of time with Claire, and even started to compose music again. However, he received a shock when he found Claire deathly ill in her tent. He cared for Aaron and looked after her. When Juliet helped her recover, Charlie was overjoyed. ("One of Us")
Desmond asks for Charlie to accompany him on a mission ("Catch-22")
Later, Charlie was writing songs in a notebook from the Pearl when Desmond recruited him for a mission, claiming it was a camping trip. Charlie, however, suspected it was related to his flashes. Charlie accompanied Desmond, Hurley and Jin on the trip across the Island. Desmond revealed that he has experienced a vision in which someone arrives on the Island and the four set out to find and help this person. While at the cable on the beach, they witness the crash of a helicopter in the ocean and then notice the beacon from a parachutist. The four head inland, following the beacon. Desmond did not reveal that his vision also included Charlie's death from an arrow to the neck (presumably one of Rousseau's traps). At the last minute, Desmond warns Charlie and pushes him out of the way, saving his life once again. Charlie realizes that Desmond knew this would happen and confronts him about it. Desmond angrily retorted that he keeps saving Charlie's life, but that it is pointless for him to do so, leaving Charlie stunned as Jin locates the mysterious parachutist. ("Catch-22")
Charlie, Hurley, and Jin held open the parachute as Desmond cut her free. They caught her, and discovered that she was alive. However, they also discovered that she had been impaled by a tree branch on her way down, and that she would die very quickly if she didn't receive medical aid. With the aid of the newly-discovered Mikhail, they manage to stabilize her. ("D.O.C.")
Not trusting that Jack wasn't working with the Others, Desmond persuaded Jin, Hurley and Charlie to keep Naomi's presence in the camp a secret but it soon came out, first to Kate, then finally to Jack. ("The Brig")
Charlie began to write a list of the five best things in his life, #1 being The night he met Claire. While Jack explained his plans to combat the others, Charlie noticed Desmond showing signs of having had a
Charlie and Claire's last kiss. ("Greatest Hits")
vision. At first Desmond denied it, but later told Charlie that the vision showed Claire and Aaron getting aboard a helicopter, but Charlie would have to die for this to happen. Later, when Juliet told the castaways about the Looking Glass Station, Desmond told Charlie that he goes into the station, throws a switch, and then drowns. After being given this information, Charlie volunteerd to swim into the station. Later, Charlie put Aaron in his crib and told him to take care of his mum, that he loves him, and passed on his D.S. Ring. Claire asked Charlie why he didn't tell her that he was going down to the station. Charlie told her not to worry about him while he was gone. Knowing his fate, he gave Claire their final kiss. Charlie waked away as strong as he could, even though he looked like he was going to break down and cry.
As the castaways set their trap for the Others, and prepared to leave for the radio tower, Desmond and Charlie took Alexandra's canoe and followed the cable to the station. After Charlie finished his list, he gave it to Desmond. The Scotsman volunteered to take Charlie's place underwater; Charlie seemed to accept at first, but then knocked him out with an oar.
He dove down and found the moon pool opening into the station. He emerged to find the station hadn't been flooded after all. Gasping for air, he yelled in delight at being alive, only to be confronted by Greta and Bonnie. ("Greatest Hits")
Charlie gives Desmond his final message before drowning ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 1")
While the two women interrogated and beat Charlie, he revealed that Juliet told the survivors about the station. Ben then sent Mikhail to the Looking Glass, where he shot at Desmond, forcing him into the water. Desmond successfully made it into the station, only to have Charlie tell him to quickly hide. Mikhail dove down to the station and emerged from the moon pool minutes after Desmond. After radioing Ben, Mikhail was given orders to kill Charlie and the women. Mikhail then shot and killed Greta and wounded Bonnie. Before he could kill Bonnie, Desmond jumped from the locker and shot Mikhail in the chest with a spear gun. Charlie insisted they need Bonnie alive to give them the code for the jamming equipment, which she did. The code was the Beach Boys song "Good Vibrations" because, according to Bonnie, the Looking Glass was coincidentally programmed by a musician. Charlie successfully entered the code, ending the jamming.
Almost immediately, there was an incoming communication from Penny, who talked briefly with Charlie. When Charlie tells her about Naomi, and asked if she was on the freighter, Penny stated, "I'm not on a boat. Who's Naomi?" He started to yell for Desmond, but saw Mikhail, still alive, outside the window of The Looking Glass with a grenade. As Charlie heard Desmond running to talk to Penny, Charlie shut the communication room's hatch, locking himself in and Desmond out. In doing so, he sealed the room, thus saving Desmond from the explosion and preventing the whole station from flooding.
While Desmond looked into the room, Charlie wrote "Not Penny's Boat" on his hand, and showed it to Desmond. Charlie's last act was to make the sign of the cross before he drowned, fulfilling Desmond's vision. ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 1")
Post-death
Desmond returned to the beach with news of Charlie's death and his final message. The group then headed for the Radio Tower to warn Jack, unaware he had already made the call to the freighter. When the groups reunited, Hurley told a sorrowful Claire of Charlie's demise and it was his death that ultimately causes Hurley and Claire to side with Locke when the group divides in two. ("The Beginning of the End")
After Claire's house at the barracks was blown up by an RPG, Claire believes Sawyer is Charlie and calls out his name, as Sawyer carries her to safety. ("The Shape of Things to Come")
According to the official story of the Oceanic 6, Charlie was one of the three survivors who survived the initial crash, but died before the rescue (the others being Boone and Libby). According to Jack, he drowned shortly before the rescue. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 1")
Charlie and Hurley at Santa Rosa Hospital ("The Beginning of the End")
Sometime later, Charlie began appearing to Hurley, apparently with messages from beyond the grave. Hurley first saw him in a convience store, standing over by the Ho-Hos. Hurley was so startled by Charlie's appearance that he ran, panicked from the store in his restored Camaro. His flight turns into a full on car chase with the LAPD. The chase ended with Hurley crashing his Camaro and getting arrested. At the precinct, Hurley was interogated by Ana Lucia's former partner, Mike Walton. While left alone in the interogation room, Hurley had a hallucination of Charlie drowning with the words "they need you" written on his hand. This turn of events disturbed Hurley so greatly, he agreed to be taken back to the Santa Rosa Mental Institute.
Charlie, in a fully corporeal form, began visiting Hurley at the mental facility, possibly even visible to one of the other patients. Hurley pointed out that Charlie was dead, to which Charlie responded, "I am dead, but I'm also here." Charlie told Hurley that "they" need him, apparently referring to the people still on the Island. Hurley repeatedly said "You're not here" and closed his eyes while counting to five. When he opened them, Charlie had disappeared without a trace. ("The Beginning of the End")
Charlie's visits to Hurley became regular, with the two hanging around and conversing on an outside bench. One day, he told Hurley that Jack would visit him the following day. When Jack showed up as predicted, Hurley revealed to Jack that he had been visited by Charlie. Hurley then passed on a cryptic message to Jack, which Charlie made Hurley write down. Charlie told him, "You're not supposed to raise him" (the "him" most likely being Aaron). Hurley told Jack that he would soon be receiving a visitor of his own. ("Something Nice Back Home")
Trivia
General
- Charlie was the second character to have a flashback, and the fifth character to have a flashback episode (after Kate, Locke, Jack, and Sun).
- Charlie's episode count so far is 58. He was killed on his 57th episode appearance.
- Charlie, before his death, had met all of the main characters at the time.
- In the final moments of the first two Season Finales, Claire reconciling with Charlie is shown.
- Claire and Charlie were the last two main characters to be seen in Season 2.
Charlie wrote the word "FATE" on his fingers, which he later changed to "LATE". In, "Fire + Water" during the dream sequence, the letters on the bandages changed back to "FATE"
** This is also shown in the next-to-last episode of Season 3, sealed with a kiss and the last time they see each other; though it is not in the final moments, it is near the end of the episode. This is also the last episode in season 3 to feature flashbacks, so in many ways is more similar to the other two season finales than "Through the Looking Glass", which could be a watershed episode in the format of the show and mark a new beginning.
- "LATE" Backwards is "ETAL" which is a latin phrase short for Et Alia which means "and others".
- According to Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof, the character of Charlie is an homage to Larry Underwood, a character in Stephen King’s novel The Stand. [1]
- Larry Underwood also risks his life to save the world after kicking drugs.
- Charlie was the eighth main character to be killed.
- Charlie wears a ring with the initials "D.S." on the middle finger of his right hand. Initially thought to be a Drive Shaft ring since he pointed to it in the pilot while telling Kate that he's a member, the ring is actually a family heirloom, as revealed in "Greatest Hits". The initials stand for Dexter Stratton.
- During Charlie's heroin scenes actor Dominic Monaghan is actually snorting brown sugar.
- In the episode "The Moth", in which Charlie breaks his addiction, his shirt changes. In previous episodes, Charlie is wearing a striped shirt reminiscent of prison garb.
- The actor, Dominic Monaghan, has a tattoo on his left shoulder that reads Living is Easy with Eyes Closed, which is a lyric from The Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever". This tattoo has become an apparent part of Charlie's character, as well.
- The lyrics which follow this line are Misunderstanding all you see, and later, Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about. These lyrics are symbolic of the experience of the Lost survivors, and of Charlie in particular.
Charlie, Claire, and Aaron appearing as a family in Locke's vision
- Charlie changed the word from "LATE" to "FATE" on bandages around his fingers.
- Charlie is a fan of The Kinks.
- The Kinks song, "He's Evil" was sung by Charlie while he was fishing with Jin, in the episode "The 23rd Psalm".
- The band happens to have recorded a song called "The Big Black Smoke." The lyrics in this song have some similarities to the things that have happened on the Island, such as "the Monster" that often appears as black smoke and tries to drag someone down.
- Charlie's middle name is Hieronymus. Hieronymus is the Latin version of Jerome, which is Greek for "sacred name".
- It was St. Jerome who translated the Bible into Latin.
- It is also the first name of the Dutch surrealist painter Hieronymus Bosch, famous for his depictions of demons.
- Hieronymus is also the foreign variant of the name Geronimo, a reference to the band Geronimo Jackson.
- He had never heard of Geronimo Jackson.
- Charlie has a fear of bees.
- One of the first things Charlie does when he arrives on the island is write "FATE" on strips of tape around his fingers. The last thing he does on the island before he drowns is make the sign of the cross. The last thing he does before that is write "Not Penny's boat" on his hand and hold it up to the window for Desmond to see.
- Charlie was the only person who could have turned off the radio jammer after Bonnie was incapacitated, because he was a musician, was familiar with the Beach Boys "Good Vibrations" (probably played it a few times during his street musician days), and could quickly figure out the notes corresponding to a 16-tone keypad. Sun was also a musician, but might not have been familiar with Beach Boys' music. This might explain why Ben is so angry and surprised when he is told Charlie is in the Looking Glass, sends Mikhail to kill everyone there, and seems to change to his plans instantly by deciding to intercept the castaways with Alex.
- In both "Pilot, Part 1" and "Pilot, Part 2" Charlie speaks the last words, with a question that leads the episode on a dramatic cliffhanger - "Guys? How does something like that happen?" ("Pilot, Part 1") and "Guys? Where are we?" ("Pilot, Part 2")
- Charlie is the second character who saved Desmond's life.
- Locke broke down on top of the hatch over Boone's death, giving Desmond hope and resulting in Desmond giving up ideas of suicide
- Charlie died in an effort to prevent the Looking Glass from flooding and killing Desmond
- Charlie's checker-pattern shoe is or was on display at the ABC Commissary at the Disney-MGM Studio theme park in Orlando, FL
- In Hurley's vision (post-island) Hurley sees Charlie by the "Ho Ho's." Also when Jack and Hurley are playing "H-O-R-S-E" Jack gets to "H-O" and then ends. "H" is the 8th letter in the alphabet and "O" is the 15th. Which links back to the numbers 8 and 15 and also the flight number 815.
- Charlie's brother, Liam leads their band, Drive Shaft. In Flashes Before Your Eyes, Charlie is on the sidewalk singing Oasis' "Wonderwall." Oasis' lead singer and guitarist/songwriter are brothers; the lead singer's name is Liam.
- Charlie's appearance when he visits Hurley in the flashforward is very reminiscent of Tyler Durden's appearance when he returns to The Narrator in Fight Club. They both have shaved heads, fashionable clothes and large sunglasses.
- A DriveShaft CD was a clue for the Find 815 ARG
- Charlie's death was voted number 8 in the UK TV special 'Top 50 TV Endings'.
Charlie's Close Encounters with Death
Even before Desmond starts having premonitions of the possible downfalls of Charlie, he had many other close calls.
- The first and most obvious near-death experience for Charlie is he survived the crash of flight 815.
- In "Pilot, Part 1", Charlie is standing perilously close to the turbine just before Gary Troup is sucked into it. In the same episode, just a few minutes later, a piece of flaming wreckage lands right behind Charlie after the wing falls.
One of Hurley's post-island visions of Charlie.
- In "Pilot, Part 2", Charlie flashes back to the flight, when he hid in the first-class bathroom to escape the crew and take his heroin. He was originally seated at 29C (see Flight 815 seat numbers), and would likely have been sucked out when the Tail section broke off if he had not been in the first-class bathroom when the first turbulence hit. When he exits to find a seat, he apparently takes an empty one in the middle section, avoiding the fate of those in the Front section.
- When Flight 815 was crashing, Charlie avoided being hit by an accelerating cart on the plane. "Pilot, Part 2"
- Charlie steps on a large beehive in "House of the Rising Sun".
- In "The Moth", Charlie narrowly escapes being trapped in the cave with Jack. Later he reenters the cave to help Jack get out and they are both trapped again. On the brink of running out of oxygen, Charlie finds a way out.
- Ethan hangs Charlie from a tree in "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues"; Jack resuscitates him.
- Charlie is following Hurley across the suspension bridge in "Numbers" when it breaks. He has to climb up the side of the cliff to avoid falling.
- Charlie had a large bag of rocks fall on his head, a trap set by Rousseau, during his trek to rescue Aaron in "Exodus, Part 2".
- Charlie was near Eko during Eko's first confrontation with the smoke monster in "The 23rd Psalm".
- If Desmond had not intercepted, Charlie would've been electrocuted in the "Every Man for Himself".
- When Claire is about to drown, Charlie would dive in to save her, and drowned himself, had Desmond not rescued Claire first. "Flashes Before Your Eyes"
- Desmond reveals to Charlie that he would fall into the water and slam into the rocks if Charlie tried to catch a seagull for Claire. "Par Avion"
- Charlie almost died twice in the Swan in "Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1". First, he was in the entrance when the dynamite went off, and he was inside when the fail-safe key was turned.
Additional casting
The young Charlie Pace
- Jeremy Shada played the role of young Charlie in "Fire + Water" and "Greatest Hits".
Unanswered questions
| Unanswered questions |
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- For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Charlie Pace/Theories
- Will Claire end up receiving the ring and the letter?
- Was it really Charlie visiting with Hurley off the Island?
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