Even for a show that primarily focused on mysteries and strange things that occurred on the island, Lost had several engaging and well-written relationships in its six-season run. The series owes much of its success to its richly developed characters and the complex relationships they formed with each other during their time on the mysterious island.
When Oceanic Flight 815 first crashed, the survivors were complete strangers to one another, but quickly, the bonds they would form became one of the most intriguing aspects of the show. From the most endearing relationships to the most infuriating, and to love triangles that seemed to never die, let's review Lost's 5 best and 5 worst relationships.
10. PAULO AND NIKKI - WORST
This relationship and the entire storyline is one of the most infamous ever to take place on Lost, due to the fact that pretty much everybody hated it from the beginning. Nikki and Paulo were two random plane crash survivors that kind of just came out of nowhere one day, and proceeded to make pretty much everyone hate them with a passion, due to the fact that they hated each other so openly and loudly.
Their story was presented in a season 3 episode of Lost, and most fans felt that the entire storyline of this relationship was completely unnecessary. Nikki and Paulo were shown to have a very dysfunction, toxic relationship, and their constant fighting ultimately constituted their own deaths.
9. HURLEY AND LIBBY - BEST
Libby was a mysterious enigma of a character, but the obscurity that surrounds her and who she really is doesn't take away from the sweet relationship she had with Hurley. Being one of the most lovable characters on Lost, fans were happy when Hurley finally found some much-deserved happiness with Libby.
This was short-lived, but their romance was nevertheless endearing and adorable, and it was very satisfying to see Hurley being appreciated.
8. SAYID AND SHANNON - WORST
After an...extremely disturbing and weird romance with her stepbrother, Boone, and following Boone's death, Shannon and Sayid struck up a romance. Sure, this was preferable to her having a relationship with her own brother, but Shannon and Sayid's dynamic was simply distasteful.
With the fact that Shannon was quite a bit younger than Sayid, and the fact that the two of them had very different and incompatible personalities, their relationship just ended up feeling contrived.
7. SUN AND JIN - BEST
When Lost first aired on ABC in 2004, Sun and Jin were two of the first characters to be introduced, and the notion that their relationship would someday be an endearing and fan-favorite one, seemed quite unlikely. Jin was very controlling of Sun for the better part of their marriage, so much so that, before the plane crash, Sun had planned to leave him.
But throughout Lost's six seasons, Sun and Jin's relationship evolved into something healthy, compelling, and utterly beautiful.
6. JACK AND JULIET - WORST
One of Lost's most infamous storylines was the love quadrangle between Jack, Juliet, Sawyer, and Kate. This constant back and forth and on-again-off-again relationships these characters had, got old very quickly, but Lost kept up the romantic drama for much longer than would have been tolerable.
Jack and Juliet begin a romantic relationship in Lost's third season, and this storyline is often remembered as a very poorly written and messy one. The fact that the flash sideways revealed that Juliet and Jack had a son together and were once married, made even less sense.
5. PENNY AND DESMOND - BEST
Penny and Desmond's love story was one for the ages. It was one of Lost's most dramatic, poignant, and profound romances, and quickly became a beloved fan-favorite relationship.
Penny regards Desmond as her long lost love, and after he disappeared in 2001, she dedicated herself to searching for him. Desmond and Penny ended up reuniting, and were one of the few couples on Lost who actually got a happy ending.
4. KATE AND SAWYER - WORST
Kate and Sawyer had an ongoing romance throughout Lost. The two bonded from the beginning, growing close after their plane crashed. While this friendship had some endearing moments at first, it was when their relationship became romantic the Kate and Sawyer's bond became lackluster.
The drama became tiring and the on-again-off-again aspect got old fast. These two may have been one of Lost's most popular pairings, but that doesn't mean they were the best.
3. SAWYER AND JULIET - BEST
After the drama with Kate had finally concluded, the unlikely romance between Juliet and Sawyer began. This proved to be a good decision on the Lost writers' part, as this relationship was much more favorable than the others that were included in the quadrangle.
Sawyer and Juliet had been through a lot together and had grown close through all the trials they had suffered. This dynamic was a beautiful one, and although their relationship suffered some heartbreaking pitfalls, these two did get their well-deserved happy ending.
2. JACK AND KATE - WORST
Though it may have been a little better than Kate's relationship with Sawyer, her relationship with Jack was given the same unnecessary drama treatment, and therefore, felt a little too contrived by the end of the series. Lost put Kate and Jack at the center of the ridiculous quadrangle for several seasons.
It felt right when the two ultimately ended up together, after everything they had been through. But that doesn't change the fact that all of the exaggerated drama that Lost had injected into this relationship over the years, made the end result a lot less satisfying than it should have been.
1. BERNARD AND ROSE - BEST
A far too underrated aspect of Lost, Bernard and Rose had one of the most endearing, beautiful relationships on the show. The two were fairly minor characters, often taking a backseat to all the drama and goings-on of the main group of survivors, so the couple was often overlooked.
But Bernard and Rose's story is far superior to many of the others'; it's revealed in the only episode that is primarily dedicated to them, that they met later in life, while Rose was sick with cancer. Bernard was heartbroken by this and made several attempts to find a way to heal Rose. In the end, it's revealed that Rose was supposed to die of her cancer, but after their plane crashed on the island, her symptoms were gone. So at the end of the series, Bernard and Rose had built themselves their own little house on the island, living out their own well-deserved happily ever after.