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Libby (Lost)
Encyclopedia
Libby is a fictional character
on the ABC
drama
television series Lost
, which chronicles the lives of over forty people after their plane crashes on a remote island somewhere in the South Pacific
. She is played by American actress Cynthia Watros
. The character is first introduced as a member of the tail section survivors
in the second season episode "Everybody Hates Hugo", together with Bernard, and she ends her role as a "living character" in the episode "?
". Reception towards the character is generally positive, especially after her death, although controversy exists due to a traffic violation
by the actress that plays her. While no surname was given for the character in the show, a clip reel of deceased characters at Comic-Con 2009 presented her full name as "Elizabeth Smith".
Libby appeared in twenty-three episodes, twenty of them in the second season, one in the fourth
, and one in season six in "Everybody Loves Hugo". As of the end of the third season, she is the only main character
not to have a centric episode that details her past, though a flashback at the end of the episode "Dave
" focuses on her. She was supposed to have returned during the third season, but did not make an appearance. Her first appearance after the second season was in the fourth season episode, "Meet Kevin Johnson
".
" that she visited Vermont
, where she broke her leg in a skiing accident, and she attended medical school for a year before dropping out to become a clinical psychologist
.
It was shown in "Live Together, Die Alone" before she ends up on the island, she meets Desmond
(played by Henry Ian Cusick
) at a café. There, she tells him that she is from Newport Beach, California
, and when she learns about his intention to join a sailing race, she decides to donate her sailboat Elizabeth, a gift given to her and named after her by her late husband David (possibly the same "Dave" appearing to Hurley). She also stayed in the Santa Rosa Mental Institution, a place whose patients include Hurley (Jorge Garcia
), as well as Emily Locke, John Locke
's (Terry O'Quinn
) mother. Prior to boarding the Oceanic
flight, she intervenes during an argument between Mr. Eko
(Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
) and Charlotte Malkin (Brooke Mikey Anderson
) in "?
".
(Michelle Rodriguez
), Mr. Eko, Bernard (Sam Anderson
), Cindy (Kimberley Joseph
), Nathan (Josh Randall
), and Goodwin (Brett Cullen
). Paranoia
soon afflicts Libby and the remaining tail-section survivors causing them to speculate Nathan is not part of the flight and is an Other, which leads to his death. Eventually, she and the remaining survivors make their way to The Arrow, where they find a radio allowing them to make a brief contact with Boone
(Ian Somerhalder
). Goodwin, the real Other, tries to steal this radio, but Ana Lucia stops and murders him. Her group stays in The Arrow until Jin
(Daniel Dae Kim), Michael
(Harold Perrineau), and Sawyer (Josh Holloway
) arrive there in "Everybody Hates Hugo", when her group learns about other survivors.
Libby's group soon decides to leave and join the main group of survivors. But before their journey, Ana Lucia orders her and Michael to get some fruit ("...And Found"). Soon, Michael finds out, through her, where the Others are and decides to leave her in search for his son, Walt
(Malcolm David Kelley
). Mr. Eko and Jin find Michael, leading him back to Libby and the group and allowing them to start their journey. During their trek in "Abandoned
", numerous tragedies occur, including the mysterious disappearance of Cindy and the death of Shannon
(Maggie Grace
). Once she joins the main camp, she and Hurley start to become romantically involved, especially when she tells him that she remembers when he stepped on her foot in the plane. Aside from Hurley, Libby also becomes friends with Claire
(Emilie de Ravin
), whom she helps in unlocking the memories of Claire's kidnapping in "Maternity Leave
". She also tries to help out with Bernard's S.O.S.
but loses interest. In "Dave
", Libby helps Hurley solve his food addiction, but this fails when a food pallet coincidentally "falls from the sky" during a supply drop. Sensing something is wrong, she confronts him and eventually ends up on a cliff, where Hurley is about to jump. She tries to stop him, which leads to her professing her feelings for him.
As their relationship grows, Hurley decides to plan dates. In "Two for the Road
", he secretly plans a picnic for her but eventually confesses when he is caught with food. Once they arrive at the beach, he tells her that he forgot drinks and blankets, so she tells him to get Rose (L. Scott Caldwell
) and Bernard's bottle of wine while she gets the blankets. This turns out to be a fatal mistake for her, because she is accidentally shot by Michael
while getting them. Hours later, Libby is found unconscious alongside a dead Ana Lucia and an injured Michael, while "Henry Gale" (Michael Emerson
) is found to have fled. Jack
(Matthew Fox
) tries to save her but fails, so he decides to ease her pain with heroin. Once Jack has injected the drug, she stirs and says "Michael" but says nothing more. Jack assumes it is out of concern and tells her Michael is okay, but then she makes one last gasp and passes, dying with Hurley at her bedside. She is buried beside Ana Lucia, coincidentally during the reappearance of Desmond
aboard the Elizabeth. Two weeks later, Hurley visits Libby's grave and expresses how much he misses her before leaving a flower.
Off the island, Libby's presence continues to haunt Michael after her death. In one scene in "Meet Kevin Johnson", she appears to Michael in the hospital as a nurse with blankets on her stomach, representing the position she was in when she was shot. This turns out to be a dream. She even follows him in the freighter Kahana, where she tries to trick Michael into not pushing a button, which he pushes anyway. In an extended version of the Oceanic Six press conference, they say Libby was one of the eight initial survivors, but died during the first week.
was quoted in Variety
as saying the character "is going to bring a flavor to the show that doesn't exist right now. She's not as intense as some of the other characters. She's that person you want in the trenches with you who can take lemons and make lemonade."
Libby is seen by some as a beautiful blonde "Tailie" and Hurley's true love. She is often described as mysterious, especially since much of her backstory is yet to be revealed. IGN
'has described her as a "loose end" in the storyline due to the contradictions between what she tells other characters and the flashbacks viewers see about her, such as her profession as a clinical psychologist and her stay at a mental institution.
On the show, she is often seen as helpful to other people, such as Donald, Jin
, Claire
, Bernard, and Desmond
. One example of her exhibiting this virtue is when she assists Hurley in resolving his mental problems. Characters have often described her as a "shrink
" or as a "mega cute blonde chick" due to her profession and appearance. Sawyer, meanwhile, has used the nickname "Moonbeam" on her due to her upbeat hippie
-like personality.
American actress Cynthia Watros
portrays Libby in around twenty-one episodes of the series. Veteran actress Jennifer Jason Leigh
was originally approached to play the character, but Watros ended up playing the role instead. During her audition, Watros did not think she would be cast. When she learned she had been, she was excited since she was a fan of the show and moved with her twin daughters from Los Angeles
to Hawaii where Lost is filmed.
Libby was not originally going to be killed off, but since Ana Lucia Cortez
was considered an unpopular character, the producers thought her death would not generate enough sympathy from fans. They decided Libby, who was well liked, should also be killed for emotional impact. Additionally the producers and writers ran out of ideas for a compelling storyline for the character. According to Carlton Cuse
and Damon Lindelof
, the writers did try to develop her story through her romance with Hurley but they ran out of possible avenues for the character. The writers also thought her story was not as dramatic when juxtaposed with the other characters.
A few weeks before Libby was written out of the show, Watros and Michelle Rodriguez
were arrested for driving under the influence
in Kailua, Hawaii, in two separate incidents. This led fans to speculate that this was the cause of the two characters' deaths in the episode "Two for the Road
". The producers denied this claim, and Rodriguez confirmed the producers' comments and denied the relation between their arrests and their characters' deaths. Watros took the news of the death of her character badly and was sad about the decision. The producers felt sorry for her and tried to help her get a new job. She was cast in a pilot for a show on CBS
called My Ex-Life, although it was not picked up by the network.
Libby is the only main character not to have a centric episode detailing her life before the crash. The writers said a reason for killing the character was so they could explore her backstory in a mysterious and posthumous way. The producers intended to explore Libby's backstory through flashbacks in the show's third season, and later in the fourth season
, although her character did not appear. Although she appeared in "Meet Kevin Johnson", her backstory was not explored. In September 2008, the writers stated her backstory would probably be explored in the fifth season
; however, Lindelof revealed in May 2009 her story would not be explored any further, saying, "I have learned that if you kill someone off the show, they are less likely to cooperate with you". The producers said Watros was busy with other commitments, and they could not reveal Libby's story without her.
It is revealed in a deleted scene Libby had been married three times prior to the plane crash and she specializes in marriage counseling. Theories about unknown aspects of her life exist, including assumptions she was once a DHARMA Initiative
employee, an Other, a person planted by Desmond's flashback characters Mrs. Hawking and Brother Campbell, or The Lost Experience character Liddy Wales. Her name is also a topic of speculation and is assumed to have appeared on an official website of the show. Her surname was finally revealed as Smith during Comic-Con 2009 in an in memoriam clip show of Lost's major death scenes.
The producers brought the character back to the show in the second half of the final season. About the return of Libby, Cuse stated, "Finally, all of your questions [about Libby] will be answered", however, Lindelof jokingly responded, "No, they will not". Watros said about the reunion with Hurley and Libby in season six: "[It was] so sweet and honest. And I think, hopefully, when people see our scenes that they’ll get that feeling, too. [Libby and Hurley] are so incredibly real with each other. I was really grateful that I got to play those scenes and Libby got to sort of express herself in ways that she hasn’t been able to."
about five characters seldom seen on the show, she received the highest votes. Meanwhile, her romantic fling with Hurley was described by Entertainment Weekly
as "well-played" and "charming". Cynthia Watros
co-won the 2005
Screen Actors Guild Award for "Best Ensemble - Drama Series
. When she returned to the show in 2008, Watros was praised by the producers who said she "is a smart and engaging actor".
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
television series Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
, which chronicles the lives of over forty people after their plane crashes on a remote island somewhere in the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
. She is played by American actress Cynthia Watros
Cynthia Watros
Cynthia Michele Watros is an American television actress, who also starred in films and on stage. She is known for her roles as Libby on the ABC TV series Lost, Kellie in The Drew Carey Show, Erin in Titus, and Annie Dutton in Guiding Light...
. The character is first introduced as a member of the tail section survivors
Characters of Lost
The characters from the American drama/adventure television series Lost were created by Damon Lindelof and J. J. Abrams. The series follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, after a commercial passenger jet crashes somewhere in the South Pacific...
in the second season episode "Everybody Hates Hugo", together with Bernard, and she ends her role as a "living character" in the episode "?
? (Lost)
"?", typically pronounced "Question Mark" is the 46th episode of Lost and the 21st episode of the second season. The episode was directed by Deran Sarafian, and written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. It first aired on May 10, 2006 on ABC. The character of Mr. Eko is featured in the episode's...
". Reception towards the character is generally positive, especially after her death, although controversy exists due to a traffic violation
Driving under the influence
Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...
by the actress that plays her. While no surname was given for the character in the show, a clip reel of deceased characters at Comic-Con 2009 presented her full name as "Elizabeth Smith".
Libby appeared in twenty-three episodes, twenty of them in the second season, one in the fourth
Lost (season 4)
The fourth season of the American serial drama television series Lost commenced airing on the American Broadcasting Company Network in the United States, and on CTV in Canada on January 31, 2008 and concluded on May 29, 2008...
, and one in season six in "Everybody Loves Hugo". As of the end of the third season, she is the only main character
Characters of Lost
The characters from the American drama/adventure television series Lost were created by Damon Lindelof and J. J. Abrams. The series follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, after a commercial passenger jet crashes somewhere in the South Pacific...
not to have a centric episode that details her past, though a flashback at the end of the episode "Dave
Dave (Lost)
"Dave" is the 43rd episode of Lost and the 18th episode of the second season. The episode was directed by Jack Bender, and written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. It first aired on April 5, 2006 on ABC. In flashbacks, Hugo "Hurley" Reyes is in a mental institution, where he deals with an...
" focuses on her. She was supposed to have returned during the third season, but did not make an appearance. Her first appearance after the second season was in the fourth season episode, "Meet Kevin Johnson
Meet Kevin Johnson
"Meet Kevin Johnson" is the 80th television episode of the American Broadcasting Company's Lost and the eighth episode of the fourth season. It was written in October and November 2007 by supervising producer Elizabeth Sarnoff and co-producer Brian K. Vaughan, and directed in November by...
".
Prior to the crash
Little is known about Libby's life prior to the island. She states in "The Other 48 DaysThe Other 48 Days
"The Other 48 Days" is the 32nd episode of Lost. It is the seventh episode of the second season. The episode was directed by Eric Laneuville, and written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse...
" that she visited Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, where she broke her leg in a skiing accident, and she attended medical school for a year before dropping out to become a clinical psychologist
Clinical psychology
Clinical psychology is an integration of science, theory and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development...
.
It was shown in "Live Together, Die Alone" before she ends up on the island, she meets Desmond
Desmond Hume
Desmond David Hume is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost portrayed by Henry Ian Cusick. Desmond's name is a tribute to David Hume, the famous empiricist author and philosopher. Desmond was not a passenger of Flight 815. He had been stranded on the island three years prior to...
(played by Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick is a Scottish-Peruvian actor of stage, television, and film. He is well-known for his role as Desmond Hume on the United States television series Lost, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination....
) at a café. There, she tells him that she is from Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, south of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 85,186 at the 2010 census.The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings...
, and when she learns about his intention to join a sailing race, she decides to donate her sailboat Elizabeth, a gift given to her and named after her by her late husband David (possibly the same "Dave" appearing to Hurley). She also stayed in the Santa Rosa Mental Institution, a place whose patients include Hurley (Jorge Garcia
Jorge Garcia
Jorge García is a U.S. actor and comedian. He first came to public attention with his performance as Hector Lopez on the television show Becker and later for his portrayal of Hugo "Hurley" Reyes in the television series Lost. Garcia also performs as a stand-up comedian.-Early life:García was born...
), as well as Emily Locke, John Locke
John Locke (Lost)
John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after English philosopher John Locke...
's (Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
) mother. Prior to boarding the Oceanic
Oceanic Airlines
Oceanic Airlines and less frequently Oceanic Airways are fictional airlines used in several films and television programs.The most famous use of this brand is in the TV show Lost, where Oceanic Airlines is featured branded with a highly-stylized logo depicting an Aboriginal dot painting that...
flight, she intervenes during an argument between Mr. Eko
Mr. Eko
Mr. Eko Tunde is a fictional character, played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje on the ABC television series Lost. He is introduced in the second season episode "Adrift" as one of the plane-crash survivors from the plane's tail section. Flashbacks reveal that he became the leader of a gang of guerrillas...
(Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is a British actor, and former fashion model best known for his roles as Mr. Eko on Lost, Simon Adebisi on Oz and Nykwana Wombosi in The Bourne Identity.-Early life and career:...
) and Charlotte Malkin (Brooke Mikey Anderson
Brooke Mikey Anderson
Brooke Paige "Mikey" Anderson is an Australian actress, who has acted in two episodes of the series Lost....
) in "?
? (Lost)
"?", typically pronounced "Question Mark" is the 46th episode of Lost and the 21st episode of the second season. The episode was directed by Deran Sarafian, and written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. It first aired on May 10, 2006 on ABC. The character of Mr. Eko is featured in the episode's...
".
After the crash
Libby ends up in the tail-section with another twenty-one survivors. She immediately tries to help the injured, such as Donald (Glenn Lehmann), due to her background with medicine. Some, however, including Donald, die a few days later. Within days after the crash, the Others invade their camp and kidnap all the remaining survivors except her and six others: Ana LuciaAna Lucia Cortez
Ana Lucia Cortez is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Michelle Rodriguez. Ana Lucia made her first appearance as a guest star in the first season finale, and became part of the main cast for season two. After Oceanic Flight 815 splits in mid-air, the tail section...
(Michelle Rodriguez
Michelle Rodriguez
Mayte Michelle Rodríguez , known professionally as Michelle Rodriguez, is an American actress. Following on from her breakthrough role in 2000's Girlfight, she is best known for playing tough-girl roles and starring in Hollywood blockbusters such as The Fast and the Furious, Resident Evil,...
), Mr. Eko, Bernard (Sam Anderson
Sam Anderson
Sam Anderson is an American actor.-Early life:Anderson was born in Wahpeton, North Dakota. He is a graduate of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. During the 1970s, Sam taught drama at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, California.-Career:Anderson is perhaps best known for his roles...
), Cindy (Kimberley Joseph
Kimberley Joseph
Kimberley Joseph is a Canadian-Australian actress who is based in the United States. Joseph was born in Canada, raised on the Gold Coast in Australia, and educated in Switzerland. After returning to Australia, she began a degree at Bond University but dropped out at the age of 19 when she was cast...
), Nathan (Josh Randall
Josh Randall
Josh Randall is an American television actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. Mike Burton in the NBC sitcom Ed and the recurring guest role of Jake in Scrubs in 2005. He was married to Claire Rankin on 10 September 2000....
), and Goodwin (Brett Cullen
Brett Cullen
Peter Brett Cullen is an American actor who has appeared in numerous motion pictures and television programs. Early in 2007, he was cast as the role of an estranged father to one of the American football players, Tim Riggins , in the NBC drama series Friday Night Lights.Cullen was born in Houston,...
). Paranoia
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
soon afflicts Libby and the remaining tail-section survivors causing them to speculate Nathan is not part of the flight and is an Other, which leads to his death. Eventually, she and the remaining survivors make their way to The Arrow, where they find a radio allowing them to make a brief contact with Boone
Boone Carlyle
Boone Carlyle is a fictional character played by Ian Somerhalder on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the south Pacific. Boone is introduced in the pilot episode as the stepbrother of fellow crash survivor Shannon Rutherford...
(Ian Somerhalder
Ian Somerhalder
Ian Joseph Somerhalder is an American model, actor and producer, best known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama Lost and Damon Salvatore in the TV drama The Vampire Diaries.-Early life:...
). Goodwin, the real Other, tries to steal this radio, but Ana Lucia stops and murders him. Her group stays in The Arrow until Jin
Jin-Soo Kwon
Jin-Soo Kwon, better known as "Jin," is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Daniel Dae Kim.- Prior to the crash :...
(Daniel Dae Kim), Michael
Michael Dawson (Lost)
Michael Dawson is a fictional character played by Harold Perrineau on the ABC television series Lost. After losing a custody battle with Susan Lloyd , Michael does not see his son Walt for almost ten years. They reunite when she dies, but on their journey home, their plane crashes on a mysterious...
(Harold Perrineau), and Sawyer (Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway
Joshua Lee "Josh" Holloway is an American actor and model from Free Home, Georgia. He is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford on the American television show Lost.-Early life:...
) arrive there in "Everybody Hates Hugo", when her group learns about other survivors.
Libby's group soon decides to leave and join the main group of survivors. But before their journey, Ana Lucia orders her and Michael to get some fruit ("...And Found"). Soon, Michael finds out, through her, where the Others are and decides to leave her in search for his son, Walt
Walt Lloyd
Walter "Walt" Lloyd is a fictional character portrayed by Malcolm David Kelley in the American ABC television series Lost. The series follows the lives of over forty survivors of the crash of Oceanic Flight 815. Walt is introduced in the pilot episode as one of the survivors aboard the plane, which...
(Malcolm David Kelley
Malcolm David Kelley
Malcolm David Kelley is an American teen actor. He starred in the 2004 film You Got Served as "Li'l Saint". He also appears in the television series Lost as the character Walt Lloyd. A regular cast member in the show's first season , he has appeared only occasionally since due to a dramatic...
). Mr. Eko and Jin find Michael, leading him back to Libby and the group and allowing them to start their journey. During their trek in "Abandoned
Abandoned (Lost)
"Abandoned" is the 31st episode of the television series Lost, and is the sixth episode of the second season. The episode was directed by Adam Davidson and written by Elizabeth Sarnoff. It first aired on November 9, 2005 on ABC. The character of Shannon Rutherford is featured in the episode's...
", numerous tragedies occur, including the mysterious disappearance of Cindy and the death of Shannon
Shannon Rutherford
Shannon Rutherford is a fictional character played by Maggie Grace on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Shannon is introduced in the pilot episode as the stepsister of fellow crash survivor Boone Carlyle . She is...
(Maggie Grace
Maggie Grace
Margaret Grace Denig , best known as Maggie Grace, is an American actress. Originally from Worthington, Ohio, she dropped out of high school to move to Los Angeles with her mother after her parents' divorce. While struggling financially, she landed her first role as the title character in the...
). Once she joins the main camp, she and Hurley start to become romantically involved, especially when she tells him that she remembers when he stepped on her foot in the plane. Aside from Hurley, Libby also becomes friends with Claire
Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton is a fictional character played by Emilie de Ravin on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Claire is introduced in the pilot episode as a pregnant crash survivor. She is a series regular until her...
(Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin born 27 December 1981)is an Australian actress. She is commonly associated with her roles as Tess Harding on Roswell and Claire Littleton on the ABC drama Lost....
), whom she helps in unlocking the memories of Claire's kidnapping in "Maternity Leave
Maternity Leave (Lost)
"Maternity Leave" is the 15th episode of the second season of Lost,and the 40th episode overall. The episode was directed by Jack Bender, and written by Dawn Lambertsen Kelly and Matt Ragghianti. It first aired on March 1, 2006 on ABC...
". She also tries to help out with Bernard's S.O.S.
S.O.S. (Lost)
"S.O.S." is the 19th episode of the second season of Lost and the 44th episode overall. The episode was directed by Eric Laneuville, and written by Steven Maeda and Leonard Dick. It first aired on April 12, 2006 on ABC. The characters of Rose Henderson "S.O.S." is the 19th episode of the second...
but loses interest. In "Dave
Dave (Lost)
"Dave" is the 43rd episode of Lost and the 18th episode of the second season. The episode was directed by Jack Bender, and written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. It first aired on April 5, 2006 on ABC. In flashbacks, Hugo "Hurley" Reyes is in a mental institution, where he deals with an...
", Libby helps Hurley solve his food addiction, but this fails when a food pallet coincidentally "falls from the sky" during a supply drop. Sensing something is wrong, she confronts him and eventually ends up on a cliff, where Hurley is about to jump. She tries to stop him, which leads to her professing her feelings for him.
As their relationship grows, Hurley decides to plan dates. In "Two for the Road
Two for the Road (Lost)
"Two for the Road" is the 20th episode of the second season of the American drama television series Lost, and the show's 45th episode overall. The episode was written by supervising producer Elizabeth Sarnoff and producer Christina M. Kim, and directed by Paul Edwards. It first aired in the United...
", he secretly plans a picnic for her but eventually confesses when he is caught with food. Once they arrive at the beach, he tells her that he forgot drinks and blankets, so she tells him to get Rose (L. Scott Caldwell
L. Scott Caldwell
Laverne Scott Caldwell is an American actress known for her role as Rose on Lost.This Chicago native started her career in 1978 as a member of the famed Negro Ensemble Company, making her Broadway debut two years later in the Tony Award nominated play Home...
) and Bernard's bottle of wine while she gets the blankets. This turns out to be a fatal mistake for her, because she is accidentally shot by Michael
Michael Dawson (Lost)
Michael Dawson is a fictional character played by Harold Perrineau on the ABC television series Lost. After losing a custody battle with Susan Lloyd , Michael does not see his son Walt for almost ten years. They reunite when she dies, but on their journey home, their plane crashes on a mysterious...
while getting them. Hours later, Libby is found unconscious alongside a dead Ana Lucia and an injured Michael, while "Henry Gale" (Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost and fictional serial killer William Hinks in The Practice.-Early life:...
) is found to have fled. Jack
Jack Shephard
Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and protagonist of the ABC television series Lost played by Matthew Fox. Lost follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Airlines flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to survive and escape, slowly uncovering more of the much broader...
(Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox (actor)
Matthew Chandler Fox is an American actor. He is mostly known for his role as Charlie Salinger on Party of Five, and for portraying Jack Shephard on the supernatural drama television series Lost.- Early life :...
) tries to save her but fails, so he decides to ease her pain with heroin. Once Jack has injected the drug, she stirs and says "Michael" but says nothing more. Jack assumes it is out of concern and tells her Michael is okay, but then she makes one last gasp and passes, dying with Hurley at her bedside. She is buried beside Ana Lucia, coincidentally during the reappearance of Desmond
Desmond Hume
Desmond David Hume is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost portrayed by Henry Ian Cusick. Desmond's name is a tribute to David Hume, the famous empiricist author and philosopher. Desmond was not a passenger of Flight 815. He had been stranded on the island three years prior to...
aboard the Elizabeth. Two weeks later, Hurley visits Libby's grave and expresses how much he misses her before leaving a flower.
Off the island, Libby's presence continues to haunt Michael after her death. In one scene in "Meet Kevin Johnson", she appears to Michael in the hospital as a nurse with blankets on her stomach, representing the position she was in when she was shot. This turns out to be a dream. She even follows him in the freighter Kahana, where she tries to trick Michael into not pushing a button, which he pushes anyway. In an extended version of the Oceanic Six press conference, they say Libby was one of the eight initial survivors, but died during the first week.
Afterlife
Libby is still in the mental institution in the alternate timeline. One day she sees a Mr. Cluck's commercial with Hurley in it, and memories of her past life on the Island come flooding back to her. Later at a Mexican restaurant, Libby sees Hurley, and tells him she thinks they may be connected and be soul mates. Hurley later tracks her down, and she tells him of her visions and the fact in those visions Hurley was also in the mental institution. Hurley then invites her on a date. On the date they kiss and Hurley's memories of the Island come flooding back to him, and he assures Libby she isn't crazy. When the alternate time line is revealed to be a meeting place before the afterlife Libby reunites with many of the other characters in a church. She sits beside Hurley as they move on together into the afterlife.Personality
Libby is a mysterious character, seated at the tail-section of the plane. Her character was written to be in her late forties to early fifties, easy on the eyes, amicably maladjusted, and a compulsive liar so good at what she does, most people will not know she is not what she seems. Damon LindelofDamon Lindelof
Damon Laurence Lindelof is an American television writer and executive, most recently noted as the co-creator and executive producer for the television series Lost. He has written for and produced Crossing Jordan, and wrote for Nash Bridges, Wasteland, and the MTV anthology series Undressed...
was quoted in Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
as saying the character "is going to bring a flavor to the show that doesn't exist right now. She's not as intense as some of the other characters. She's that person you want in the trenches with you who can take lemons and make lemonade."
Libby is seen by some as a beautiful blonde "Tailie" and Hurley's true love. She is often described as mysterious, especially since much of her backstory is yet to be revealed. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
'has described her as a "loose end" in the storyline due to the contradictions between what she tells other characters and the flashbacks viewers see about her, such as her profession as a clinical psychologist and her stay at a mental institution.
On the show, she is often seen as helpful to other people, such as Donald, Jin
Jin-Soo Kwon
Jin-Soo Kwon, better known as "Jin," is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Daniel Dae Kim.- Prior to the crash :...
, Claire
Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton is a fictional character played by Emilie de Ravin on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Claire is introduced in the pilot episode as a pregnant crash survivor. She is a series regular until her...
, Bernard, and Desmond
Desmond Hume
Desmond David Hume is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost portrayed by Henry Ian Cusick. Desmond's name is a tribute to David Hume, the famous empiricist author and philosopher. Desmond was not a passenger of Flight 815. He had been stranded on the island three years prior to...
. One example of her exhibiting this virtue is when she assists Hurley in resolving his mental problems. Characters have often described her as a "shrink
Mental health professional
A mental health professional is a health care practitioner who offers services for the purpose of improving an individual's mental health or to treat mental illness. This broad category includes psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, psychiatric nurses, mental health...
" or as a "mega cute blonde chick" due to her profession and appearance. Sawyer, meanwhile, has used the nickname "Moonbeam" on her due to her upbeat hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
-like personality.
Development
Cynthia Watros
Cynthia Michele Watros is an American television actress, who also starred in films and on stage. She is known for her roles as Libby on the ABC TV series Lost, Kellie in The Drew Carey Show, Erin in Titus, and Annie Dutton in Guiding Light...
portrays Libby in around twenty-one episodes of the series. Veteran actress Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Jason Leigh is an American film and stage actress, best known for her roles in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Single White Female, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Georgia and Short Cuts...
was originally approached to play the character, but Watros ended up playing the role instead. During her audition, Watros did not think she would be cast. When she learned she had been, she was excited since she was a fan of the show and moved with her twin daughters from Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to Hawaii where Lost is filmed.
Libby was not originally going to be killed off, but since Ana Lucia Cortez
Ana Lucia Cortez
Ana Lucia Cortez is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Michelle Rodriguez. Ana Lucia made her first appearance as a guest star in the first season finale, and became part of the main cast for season two. After Oceanic Flight 815 splits in mid-air, the tail section...
was considered an unpopular character, the producers thought her death would not generate enough sympathy from fans. They decided Libby, who was well liked, should also be killed for emotional impact. Additionally the producers and writers ran out of ideas for a compelling storyline for the character. According to Carlton Cuse
Carlton Cuse
Carlton Cuse is an AmericanEmmy Award winning screenwriter and producer, most famous as executive producer andscreenwriter for the American television series Lost for...
and Damon Lindelof
Damon Lindelof
Damon Laurence Lindelof is an American television writer and executive, most recently noted as the co-creator and executive producer for the television series Lost. He has written for and produced Crossing Jordan, and wrote for Nash Bridges, Wasteland, and the MTV anthology series Undressed...
, the writers did try to develop her story through her romance with Hurley but they ran out of possible avenues for the character. The writers also thought her story was not as dramatic when juxtaposed with the other characters.
A few weeks before Libby was written out of the show, Watros and Michelle Rodriguez
Michelle Rodriguez
Mayte Michelle Rodríguez , known professionally as Michelle Rodriguez, is an American actress. Following on from her breakthrough role in 2000's Girlfight, she is best known for playing tough-girl roles and starring in Hollywood blockbusters such as The Fast and the Furious, Resident Evil,...
were arrested for driving under the influence
Driving under the influence
Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...
in Kailua, Hawaii, in two separate incidents. This led fans to speculate that this was the cause of the two characters' deaths in the episode "Two for the Road
Two for the Road (Lost)
"Two for the Road" is the 20th episode of the second season of the American drama television series Lost, and the show's 45th episode overall. The episode was written by supervising producer Elizabeth Sarnoff and producer Christina M. Kim, and directed by Paul Edwards. It first aired in the United...
". The producers denied this claim, and Rodriguez confirmed the producers' comments and denied the relation between their arrests and their characters' deaths. Watros took the news of the death of her character badly and was sad about the decision. The producers felt sorry for her and tried to help her get a new job. She was cast in a pilot for a show on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
called My Ex-Life, although it was not picked up by the network.
Libby is the only main character not to have a centric episode detailing her life before the crash. The writers said a reason for killing the character was so they could explore her backstory in a mysterious and posthumous way. The producers intended to explore Libby's backstory through flashbacks in the show's third season, and later in the fourth season
Lost (season 4)
The fourth season of the American serial drama television series Lost commenced airing on the American Broadcasting Company Network in the United States, and on CTV in Canada on January 31, 2008 and concluded on May 29, 2008...
, although her character did not appear. Although she appeared in "Meet Kevin Johnson", her backstory was not explored. In September 2008, the writers stated her backstory would probably be explored in the fifth season
Lost (season 5)
The fifth season of the American serial drama television series Lost commenced airing on the ABC network in the United States and on A in Canada in January 2009, and concluded with a two-hour season finale on May 13, 2009...
; however, Lindelof revealed in May 2009 her story would not be explored any further, saying, "I have learned that if you kill someone off the show, they are less likely to cooperate with you". The producers said Watros was busy with other commitments, and they could not reveal Libby's story without her.
It is revealed in a deleted scene Libby had been married three times prior to the plane crash and she specializes in marriage counseling. Theories about unknown aspects of her life exist, including assumptions she was once a DHARMA Initiative
DHARMA Initiative
The Dharma Initiative, also written DHARMA , was a fictional research project featured in the television series Lost. It was introduced in the second season episode "Orientation". In 2008, the Dharma Initiative website was launched. Dharma's interests were directly connected with fringe science...
employee, an Other, a person planted by Desmond's flashback characters Mrs. Hawking and Brother Campbell, or The Lost Experience character Liddy Wales. Her name is also a topic of speculation and is assumed to have appeared on an official website of the show. Her surname was finally revealed as Smith during Comic-Con 2009 in an in memoriam clip show of Lost's major death scenes.
The producers brought the character back to the show in the second half of the final season. About the return of Libby, Cuse stated, "Finally, all of your questions [about Libby] will be answered", however, Lindelof jokingly responded, "No, they will not". Watros said about the reunion with Hurley and Libby in season six: "[It was] so sweet and honest. And I think, hopefully, when people see our scenes that they’ll get that feeling, too. [Libby and Hurley] are so incredibly real with each other. I was really grateful that I got to play those scenes and Libby got to sort of express herself in ways that she hasn’t been able to."
Reception
Libby is a well liked character. After her death, her popularity increased due to the added mystery to her character. In a poll conducted by BuddyTVBuddyTV
BuddyTV is an entertainment-based website based in Seattle, Washington, which generates content about television programs and sporting events. The website publishes information about celebrity and related entertainment news through a series of articles, entertainment profiles, actor biographies and...
about five characters seldom seen on the show, she received the highest votes. Meanwhile, her romantic fling with Hurley was described by Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
as "well-played" and "charming". Cynthia Watros
Cynthia Watros
Cynthia Michele Watros is an American television actress, who also starred in films and on stage. She is known for her roles as Libby on the ABC TV series Lost, Kellie in The Drew Carey Show, Erin in Titus, and Annie Dutton in Guiding Light...
co-won the 2005
Screen Actors Guild Awards 2005
The 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony, honoring the best in film and television acting achievement for the year 2005, took place on January 29, 2006 at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center, in Los Angeles, California. It was the 10th consecutive year the ceremony was held at the...
Screen Actors Guild Award for "Best Ensemble - Drama Series
Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble - Drama Series
The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series is an award given by the Screen Actors Guild to honor the finest ensemble acting achievements in dramatic television.-1990s:...
. When she returned to the show in 2008, Watros was praised by the producers who said she "is a smart and engaging actor".
External links
- Articles Libby at the Lost WikiWikiaWikia is a free web hosting service for wikis . It is normally free of charge for readers and editors, deriving most of its income from advertising, and publishes all user-provided text under copyleft licenses. Wikia hosts several hundred thousand wikis using the open-source wiki software MediaWiki...
- Seasonal promotional photographs for Libby at Lost-Media
- LostpediaLostpediaLostpedia is a wiki-powered online encyclopedia of information regarding the American television drama Lost. Launched on September 22, 2005 by Kevin Croy, the site uses MediaWiki software to maintain a user-created database of information...
article on Libby - The Elizabeth, Libby's sailboat and a real-life ship in HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. Registered in Newport Beach, CaliforniaNewport Beach, CaliforniaNewport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, south of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 85,186 at the 2010 census.The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings...
.