LOST is one of the best-written shows in television history, however, the show is not without its flaws. Over the six seasons of LOST, there were numerous storylines that were simply not entertaining and, in some cases, very annoying to watch as a viewer.

This list of the worst storylines in LOST was actually very difficult to write as many upsetting/annoying moments in the show are still very entertaining and incredibly written, so I have tried to only include plots which are both not very entertaining and somewhat poorly written in my opinion (usually from the perspective that the storyline didn’t lead anywhere or had wasted potential).

1. Sun Forgetting English / Losing Her Voice

Sun has a pretty rough arc in the last stretch of the show with her character pretty much walking about aimlessly for half a season with Ben and forgetting English.

Her whole storyline after returning to the island is pretty frustrating as she is kept around at a distance in order to provide for a more impactful and emotional reunion with Jin… which it does help achieve but at too much of a cost to her character’s storyline.

2. The Temple Arc

Most LOST fans would agree that the first few episodes of Season 6 – known as The Temply Arc – are some of the worst episodes of the show. The temple storyline provides little to no value to the overall storyline with the characters it introduces being killed off shortly after.

The storyline does tie up a few questions which the show had left open up to this point such as what the temple is and if ‘the sickness’ which lead Rousseau to kill off her fellow crew members was real. Having answers is great but the whole temple arc (including Sayid’s zombie era) all ultimately went nowhere and felt like something that could’ve been skipped or at least shortened.

3. Charlie’s Multiple Drug Addiction Relapses

Charlie is an addict who we see struggle with withdrawals on the island and then also struggle with handling his addiction when drugs are found on the island.

It is very realistic for an addict to relapse multiple times, however, having episodes centred around it multiple times did start to feel very repetitive and was not a very entertaining storyline for the viewer after a while.

4. The Others Being Nothing Special

Although arguably the most interesting storyline of the show, and therefore one of the best storylines of the show, The Others lose all allure as we get to know them when we see that they are not as special as once believed (or portrayed) making for a somewhat disappointing storyline.

Ben and Juliet are two of the best characters in LOST which is part of why The Others’ introduction is not all bad but besides that, the storyline of The Others as a ‘society’ of sorts pretty much ends when you find out who they really are.

The random departure of Otherville by The Others halfway through Season 3 destroyed the potential for any further exploration/expansion of The Others and the death or switch up of the main Others marked the end of The Others storyline really (with irrelevant remnants of the group hanging around the island in tents or at the temple throughout the rest of the show). I definitely feel like there was more potential for Otherville to spawn more primary Others characters and storylines… maybe even another Dharma station or two.

5. Desmond Having Visions of Charlie Dying And Not Having Any Other Visions After He Does

The storyline of Desmond seeing visions of Charlie dying made for an incredible TV moment – perhaps even the most iconic in the show – but Desmond’s lack of visions following this and the fact that Charlie makes this sacrifice for the vision to not even come to pass kind of makes the storyline feel a little pointless in the grand scheme of the show’s overall story.

6. John Locke Becoming the Leader of The Others

This is a plot point which quite literally meant nothing as John Locke just goes and gets killed when he leaves the island in the time between Season 4 and Season 5 – without really ever doing anything as the leader.

7. The Other People on the Second Oceanic Flight

When the Oceanic Six return to the island, they also bring a bunch of other people who are revealed to be Jacob worshippers… or something.

They pretty much all get blown up or do nothing at all which makes any screen time with them feel pretty pointless. Ultimately, it would’ve been better for the other passengers to simply be extras just as the rest of the passengers on the previous Oceanic flight were.

8. Ben Killing John Locke

This was a moment which didn’t really need to happen and saw the end to John Locke’s story (well in this life).

John Locke’s empty ending is very irritating as a viewer. However, it is ultimately important to the overall storyline of the show as it does set up the endgame plot of the show. I do feel like his character had wasted potential and would have preferred if he had remained part of the show’s endgame plot.

That wraps up this list of the worst storylines in LOST! Let me know in the comments below what your least favourite LOST storylines are in the comments below.