Minor motifs

Michael Giacchino's musical score for Lost makes use of numerous recurring motifs. This article covers motifs that recur rarely, appear on no soundtrack release or lack a character or setting association. For a comprehensive list of themes and motifs, see musical themes.

Crash Motif

"Crash Motif"
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Played	"Pilot, Part 1" "Tabula Rasa" "House of the Rising Sun" "316"

• Lost begins. ("Pilot, Part 1")
• Jack looks toward the wreckage before venturing in for supplies. ("Tabula Rasa")
• In a Previously on Lost recap, Charlie takes heroin in the plane and experiences the crash. ("House of the Rising Sun")
• Jack again wakes up in the bamboo grove. ("316")

Suspense Motif

"Suspense Motif"
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Played	"Tabula Rasa" "The Hunting Party" "Par Avion" "Jughead" "Sundown" "The Package"

• Jack sees Kate's mugshot. ("Tabula Rasa")
• Michael forces Jack into the Swan's gun vault. ("The Hunting Party")
• Desmond helps Claire catch a bird. ("Par Avion")
• Daniel suggests impersonating the military. ("Jughead")
• Keamy shakes Sayid's hand. ("Sundown")
• Keamy talks to Jin while tying him up. ("The Package")

Danger Motif

"Danger Motif"
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Played	"Walkabout" "White Rabbit" "Collision"

Full list of appearances

• Locke sees the monster for the first time. ("Walkabout")
• Jack struggles to pull himself onto the cliff ledge. ("White Rabbit")
• Sayid wrestles with Mr. Eko. ("Collision")

Bilingual motif

"Bilingual Motif"
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Played	"Hearts and Minds" "Something Nice Back Home"

This motif plays during two similar scenes involving characters' secret knowledge of languages.

• Kate discovers that Sun speaks English. ("Hearts and Minds")
• Jin confronts Charlotte about her knowing Korean. ("Something Nice Back Home")

Wreck motif

"Wreck Motif"
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Played	"Exodus, Part 1" "Exodus, Part 2" "Three Minutes" "Confirmed Dead" "Because You Left" "Dr. Linus"

The "wreck motif" plays when two wrecks are revealed - the Black Rock and Oceanic 815. It is a variation of the series' mystery theme.

• The survivors catch their first sight of the Black Rock. ("Exodus, Part 1")
• They discuss the ship. ("Exodus, Part 2")
• "Walt" tells Michael where to find the Others. ("Three Minutes")
• The Christiane I discovers the apparent wreckage of Oceanic 815. ("Confirmed Dead")
• Dr. Chang sees the area where the workers at the Orchid tried to drill into the wall. ("Because You Left")
  • Juliet discovers that the imploded Swan is once again the Hatch. ("Because You Left")
• Richard returns to the Black Rock. ("Dr. Linus")

Discovery Theme

"Discovery Theme"
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Played	"Adrift" "Orientation" "There's No Place Like Home, Part 2"

The Discovery Theme plays during several scenes in which the survivors discover new areas or objects.

• Kate discovers the food pantry in the Swan station. ("Adrift")
• Hurley discovers the same pantry. ("Orientation")
• Michael finds a canister of liquid nitrogen and explains his plan to freeze the bomb aboard the Kahana. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")

Meeting the Enemy

"Meeting the Enemy"
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Played	"Homecoming" "Enter 77" "D.O.C." "Ji Yeon" "Jughead" "LaFleur" "Sundown" "The Package"

This four-note motif characterizes the survivors' distrust of several enemies.

• Ethan threatens Charlie into turning Claire over. ("Homecoming")
  • Sayid watches for Ethan. ("Homecoming")
• Mikhail stitches Sayid and tells his life story. ("Enter 77")
• Desmond threatens Mikhail with a flare gun. ("D.O.C.")
• Juliet tells Jin that Sun had an affair. ("Ji Yeon")
• Faraday, Charlotte, and Miles are placed in a large tent by the 1954 Others. ("Jughead")
• Sawyer talks to Richard in 1974. ("LaFleur")
• Keamy introduces himself to Sayid. ("Sundown")
• Keamy talks to Jin while tying him up. ("The Package")

Arming Up

"Arming Up"
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Played	"The Beginning of the End" "Cabin Fever"

This action motif plays during a few preparation sequences.

• The beach camp survivors collect their guns. ("The Beginning of the End")
• The mercenaries collect theirs before boarding the helicopter. ("Cabin Fever")

Freighties' Search

"Freighties' Search"
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Played	"Confirmed Dead" "There's No Place Like Home, Part 1" "The Little Prince" "LaFleur"

This motif plays throughout "Confirmed Dead"

• Daniel tells Jack and Kate that their rescue isn't their primary objective. ("Confirmed Dead")
  • The group reach the coast near Miles. ("Confirmed Dead")
  • Juliet and Sayid disarm Miles. ("Confirmed Dead")
  • Charlotte frees herself from a tree. ("Confirmed Dead")
  • Frank phones the Oceanic hotline. ("Confirmed Dead")
• The survivors use the sat phone to eavesdrop on Frank and Keamy. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 1")
  • Jack and Sawyer talk to Frank at the helicopter. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 1")
• The other survivors tend to Charlotte. ("The Little Prince")
• Sawyer talks to Richard. ("LaFleur")

Frank's instructions

"Frank's Instructions"
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Played	"There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3" "Namaste"

This motif plays during two of Frank's action scenes.

• Frank yells instructions to the survivors so his helicopter can take off. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 3")
• Frank yells instructions to his co-pilot as he comes in for a landing. ("Namaste")

Ajira Mystery

"Ajira Mystery"
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Played	"Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1" "Cabin Fever" "The Little Prince" "Recon"

This mystery motif plays during a few scenes involving Ajira 316.

• Sun, Jin, and Sayid sail around the Island on the Elizabeth. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1")
• Lapidus and Michael see Omar strapping a device onto Keamy's arm. ("Cabin Fever")
• The survivors investigate their ransacked camp and discover an Ajira water bottle ("The Little Prince")
• Sawyer investigates the Ajira plane. ("Recon")

Ben and Widmore

"Ben and Widmore"
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Played	"Dead Is Dead" "The Variable" "Recon" "The Package"

This motif plays during a few scenes involving Benjamin Linus and Charles Widmore.

• Ben tells Widmore that if the Island wants Alex dead, Widmore should do it himself. ("Dead Is Dead")
  • As Ben sees Widmore off, Widmore warns him that he may end up being banished himself someday. ("Dead Is Dead")
  • Ben tells Sun that "dead is dead". ("Dead Is Dead")
• Widmore visits Daniel and offers him a job opportunity. ("The Variable")
• Widmore's people take Sawyer through the submarine. ("Recon")
  • Sawyer talks to Widmore. ("Recon")
• Zoe questions Jin about the DHARMA Initiative's maps of electromagnetic pockets. ("The Package")

Duel motif

"Duel Motif"
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Played	"The Incident, Part 2" "Across the Sea" "The End"

• Sawyer and Jack strangle each other. ("The Incident, Part 2")
• Jack prepares to enter the Swan site. ("The Incident, Part 2")
• The Man in Black reveals his plan to leave the island. ("Across the Sea")
• Jack and the Man in Black fight it out on the cliff. ("The End")

Kate's escape

"Kate's Escape"
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Played	"LA X, Part 2"

This action motif plays twice in "LA X, Part 2".

• Kate tries to pick her handcuffs open. ("LA X, Part 2")
  • She watches an airport employee enter a door's exit code. ("LA X, Part 2")

Temple motif

"Temple Motif"
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Played	"LA X, Part 2" "Sundown"

This rhythmic motif characterizes a few of the Temple's scenes in "LA X, Part 2".

• The survivors enter the tunnel beneath the temple wall. ("LA X, Part 2")
  • The survivors emerge from beneath the temple wall and see the Temple. ("LA X, Part 2")
  • They're led to the Temple to see Dogen. ("LA X, Part 2")
  • The group carry Sayid's coffin across the Temple courtyard. ("LA X, Part 2")
• Kate returns to the Temple. ("Sundown")

Temple suspense

"Temple Suspense"
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Played	"What Kate Does"

This motif plays during a few of the Temple scenes in "What Kate Does".

• Dogen tests Sayid. ("What Kate Does")
  • Jack goes past guards to confront Dogen. ("What Kate Does")

Dogen's theme

"Dogen's Theme"
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Played	"What Kate Does"

This sad motif characterizes Dogen.

• Jack asks about Sayid's torture. ("What Kate Does")
  • Dogen confronts Jack about not giving Sayid the pill. ("What Kate Does")
  • He tells him that Claire is infected. ("What Kate Does")

Medical emergencies

"Medical Emergencies"
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Played	"What Kate Does" "The Last Recruit" "The End"

This action motif concludes a few scenes.

• Kate and Claire arrive at the hospital. ("What Kate Does")
  • Jin sees Claire for the first time in three years. ("What Kate Does")
• In a flash sideways, Locke and Sun reach the hospital. ("The Last Recruit")
• Kate prepares Claire for labor. ("The End")

Claire's 2nd motif

"Claire's 2nd Motif"
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Played	"Lighthouse"

This plays during a few of Claire's scenes in "Lighthouse".

• Claire brings Justin to her tent. ("Lighthouse")
  • She interrogates him. ("Lighthouse")

Sayid's flash sideways theme

"Sayid's Flash Sideways Theme"
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Played	"The Substitute" "Sundown"

• The Man in Black tells Sawyer he is a candidate. ("The Substitute")
• Sayid arrives at Nadia's house and gives her flowers. ("Sundown")
  • She asks him why he never replied to her letters. ("Sundown")
  • Omer asks Sayid's help against his loan sharks. ("Sundown")
  • Sayid loads Nadia's children into their school bus. ("Sundown")
  • Nadia urges him not to take action against the loan sharks. ("Sundown")
  • Sayid explains why he pushed her to Omer. ("Sundown")

Man in Black's chase motif

"Man in Black's chase motif"
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Played	"Sundown" "The Package" "The End"

• Miles runs from the approaching monster. ("Sundown")
  • Ilana's group rush for the exit. ("Sundown")
• The Man in Black chases Sun. ("The Package")
• Jack and the Man in Black dive for the knife during their final showdown. ("The End")

Ben's second action motif

"Ben's Second Action Motif"
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Played	"Dr. Linus"

This motif plays during Ben's "Dr. Linus" action scenes.

• Ben flees the Temple following the massacre. ("Dr. Linus")
  • Ilana shackles Ben. ("Dr. Linus")
  • Ben runs for the Man in Black's rifle. ("Dr. Linus")

Sawyer's flash sideways theme

"Sawyer's Flash Sideways Theme"
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Played	"Recon"

This simple motif of two-note pairs that fall conversely to Sawyer's theme, offset with a four-note haunting piano lilt.

• Sawyer is revealed to be a cop in the flash-sideways. ("Recon")
  • Sawyer tells Charlotte why he became a cop. ("Recon")
  • She later rejects his flower. ("Recon")
  • He tells Miles about Anthony Cooper. ("Recon")

Claudia's theme

"Claudia's Theme"
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Played	"Across the Sea"

This motif plays during Claudia's scenes in "Across the Sea".

• Claudia walks on the Island. ("Across the Sea")
  • She talks to Mother. ("Across the Sea")
  • Her ghost leads her son to her people. ("Across the Sea")

Ford and Straume

"Ford and Straume"
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Played	"The End"

This motif plays during a few of Sawyer and Miles's finale flash sideways scenes.

• Miles phones Sawyer about Sayid's escape. ("The End")
  • Sawyer asks a receptionist about Mrs. Paik. ("The End")