Libby’s Lost Story

Lost is a show that anyone can watch, but it demands that the viewers pay attention and be clever if they really want to get the most from it. Theories are prone to unraveling left and right while new ones are built as quickly as you can say “the Oceanic six”. (Cause seriously, who do you think the six people are?! And does that mean that only those six are alive, or that they’re the only ones who got off the island? If so, why is everyone else still there? I want to know!)

The character of Libby (Cynthia Watros) was seen first in the second episode of the second season, Adrift. By episode 20, she had been shot. One more episode, and she was dead. As in, no more Libby. That’s not a very long run for a character, and yet – she still matters.

She’s appeared in flashbacks of other character’s. And those flashbacks help let us know that there was more to her than we ever got to know. And her secrets were more intense than ‘I steal library books.’ (Also, who steals library books? That’s dumb. Don’t do that.)

Libby was aboard Oceanic Flight 815, in the tail section. She’d been on another part of the island since the crash, with the fellow people from the back part of the plane – the Talies.

Libby always seemed innocent and sweet. She said she was a clinical psychologist (Tom Cruise would have tried to kick her ass but in my mind Jack and Sawyer team up and defeat Tom, making him cry). It made sense that she liked to help people – like Hurley and Claire. Her nature seemed to be a gentle one. From early on, one may have thought nothing more of Libby. But Lavinia C.* (42) of California noted that what made Libby interesting to her was, “Her slightly nervous air.” That may have been evident from the first time we saw her, if you were paying attention. (Side note: Lavinia seems to be a fan of Buffy! Awesome. Remember guys, spread the word about the BTVS reunion.)

Kirstie J. (18) from California, was not a big fan of Libby. She said, “I was fairly indifferent toward her. She had nothing super interesting going on for her. … Also, the way she talked, especially to Hurley, but also to others, always sounded very patronizing.”

Emily P. (23) from England echoed that sentiment in her question of, “Why was she always so condescending?”Emily made it clear she was not a fan of Libby at all, “She was an uninteresting waste of space with an obnoxious personality. Once she became Hurley’s love interest, that was even worse.”

Of course, the romance that began between Libby and Hurley was put to a swift end when she died. Kirstie may not have been a fan of Libby, but she cared about her death because of Hurley. She said, “…she (Libby) grew on me a lot because Hurley liked her so much, and it broke my heart to see him grieving over her.”

My personal thoughts on Libby are better relayed in this statement by Josh M. (26) of Rhode Island: “I thought Cynthia Watros did a great job breathing life to the character of Libby. What makes her interesting is that she’s so shrouded in mystery. No backstory, came and went too soon, she really did take her secrets to the grave with her. The mystery around her would make you assume she was ‘bad’ with something to hide, but her compassion on the island from the moment the plane crashed made her likable.” Just what are those secrets he’s speaking of? Well…

While she never had her own flashback episode (and as such, was the only person with star-billing that didn’t get one), it was revealed to us that Libby had been a patient at Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute at the same time Hurley was there. But she never acted as though she knew Hurley. Hurley did not seem to know her, either.
Another curious fact is that after her husband (David) died, she donated a boat to Desmond. He named the boat Elizabeth. It is that exact sailboat that brought Desmond to the island when he was competing in a race around the world. Is this a coincidence?

I. Think. Not.

Lavinia was someone who was not phased by Libby’s death. She said, “Honestly, I would have saved Ana-Lucia and killed off both Libby and Kate.” Poor Kate! Libby-fan, Josh, even said that Libby had to die when she did. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to know more about her. He commented:

“I think she has more then a couple of pieces of the big lost puzzle that has yet to be revealed. Why was she in the mental hospital? Was it really her? Who was her husband? Why would she just hand over his boat to Desmond? What was she doing in Sydney? These are all questions we won’t know until we see her in a flashback.”

In an piece I’ll post later tonight, I’ll share with you some news I have about Libby and future plans concerning her on Lost. This is like my little teaser commercial snippet. *Plays cool music and flashes pictures on the screen* No, you did not just see a picture of a peanut butter jar flashed on the screen. But uh, if you did - that will be explained later.

Make sure to check back on Sofachip tonight for more Libby talk! In the meantime, if you have comments – let us know them here. ( Edit,  it’s here!)

To read more on Lost you can click the Lost tag and see the previous pieces I’ve written on Sofachip. You can also visit: Sirlinksalot: Lost
Until then,

Jessica

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