Matthew Fox is the ostensible star
as Jack, the doctor who steps up
as group leader in the first episode, but it quickly settles in
as a dense ensemble show with characters who have vivid backstories: tough, raven - haired beauty Kate, whose fair looks
hide a rough
outlaw past (Evangeline Lilly), con man Sawyer (Josh Holloway) who
hides his bitterness under a country - boy voice and a suspicious smile, Iraqi communications specialist and Gulf war veteran (he fought on the other side) Sayid (Naveen Andrews), steely survivalist John Locke (Terry O'Quinn), who has a mystic, one might say miraculous, connection to the island, pregnant single mother - to - be Claire (Emilie de Ravin) running from a fortune - teller's prophecy, washed - up rock star and heroine addict Charlie (Dominic Monaghan), Korean couple Jin and Sun Kwon (Daniel Dae Kim and Yoon - jin Kim) with mob connections and no English skills (or do they?)
Gliding back and forth in time, Erdrich follows the long line of healers named LaRose, and reveals Landreaux's long -
hidden past tied to a boarding school designed to sever Native American children from their roots,
as well
as his volatile relationship with a fellow student named Romeo, now a brooding, plotting,
outlaw loner in the grip of substance abuse, poverty, and rage.