FRIENDSHIPS

We have discussed the topic of character friendships.

"Friendship and support from friends and family is so important to succeeding in life. We take friendship for granted." --- New England quarterback Tom Brady

In all the back stories, did we see any of the final candidates have any true friends?

In Jack's life, we never saw him outside the hospital setting doing activities (sports, social events) with anyone we could consider a "friend." Even at his wedding, he did not seem to have much personal interaction with his guests (which may have been more his parents friends and co-workers). We never saw Jack have a heart to heart conversation with a friend about any of his troubles, including his issues with his father.

In Jin's life, we never saw him in his village with any friends. Jin was so desperate to leave his fishing village to go to the big city. There were no people in his village that would have kept him there. We never saw Jin with a friend in his village. When he returned, he had a distant relationship with his own father.

In Sawyer's back story, we do not see him with anyone we would consider to be a friend. Sawyer hangs out with other con men or criminals, but they are not what we could consider friends. They were co-conspirators or means to the end. Sawyer just used people to get what he wanted, including his female marks.

In Locke's case, we saw him with no friends. He got alone with only a few co-workers on his lunch break to play games. But for the most part, it was to kill idle time. We did not see Locke with any buddies after work. The only time he found a true friend, Helen, he let that relationship crumble because of his obsession of his father's abandonment and betrayal.

In Sayid's life, we only saw a glimpse into his childhood, which seemed fairly normal. But as an adult, we only saw him a loner, and a cold blooded soldier. It is unclear whether his obsession with his dream girl, Nadia, was one of friendship or guilt (most likely the latter because of the series conclusion with Shannon).

In Hurley, we have someone who actually had friends that he would hang out with. We know he went to a tragic party at his friend's house (where the porch collapsed killing two people). Hurley claimed to have always had trouble getting a girlfriend. After he wins the lottery, he suddenly feels empowered to do as he pleases by quitting his job with his best friend Johnny and  then Hurley boldly asking out his crush, Starla, who works at the local music shop.  He makes sure to ask her out before he claims his lottery winnings because he has an uncanny feeling that the lottery money will bring many changes to his life, and he doesn't expect these changes to all be fortunate. Proving his feelings accurate, Hurley later mentions that after everyone found out about his winnings Starla ended up leaving him for his best friend, Johnny. That is why Hurley believes the Numbers cursed him.

Once they crashed on the Island, Jack, Sawyer, Jin, Locke and Sayid never shared any friendship stories with the other survivors. None of them longed to get off the island to celebrate with their friends. When the O6 arrived back in Hawaii, there were only a few family members present and not a great hoard of friends to welcome them home.

Hurley thought of only one friend during his island stay. But that friend was Dave, who was imaginary.

The lack of true friendship was the basis of all the characters major trust issues while on the island. Friendship is defined as the the emotions or conduct of friends; a relationship between people with common interests or goals; and a mutual trust and support between individuals. It could be said that throughout the series, there came to be a form of trust, friendship, support through the interactions, rivalry and arguments on how to survive in a dangerous place. Sawyer and Jin bonded well after the time skip to 1974 Dharma. Locke and Hurley got along. Sayid supported most of Jack's positions and they had a mutual connection on how best to keep the group together. Those ties may not have been the strongest friendships ever made, but for some of the characters it may have been their first true meaningful ones.