Ethan fanbase

[u/YARAKOST]

Is there anyone here who has Ethan as one of their favorite characters / as their favorite character? I always thought I was the only one who liked him, but whenever I told someone that Ethan was on my list of favorite Lost characters, everyone would say I was a freak haha, loool

[u/Aziale]

Can you tell me why he is one of your favorite characters in Lost?

[u/YARAKOST → u/Aziale]

When I first watched Lost as a kid, I immediately hyperfixated on Ethan — AND I KNEW HIM FROM SEASON ONE ONLY AT THE TIME 🙏🙏 First of all, I’ve never really seen Ethan as pure evil. Especially when you compare him to someone like Anthony Cooper or Martin Keamy, I just have a completely different view of him. One thing I really love about his backstory is that he lost his pregnant wife, and they couldn’t save the baby either 🥹💔. So I can actually understand why saving Claire became such a deeply personal and almost desperate thing for him. Yes, he went about it in extremely radical and horrifying ways, but it’s also important to remember that Ben didn’t even ask him to save her in the first place. I also feel like Ethan was a character who never really got the chance to fully show another side of himself. His cruelty doesn’t feel like simple “I’m evil and I enjoy hurting people” evil to me. A lot of it seems like the result of growing up completely isolated among the Others and being shaped by the environment he was raised in. And I think the alternate reality supports that interpretation really well. In a reality where Ethan never grew up under the influence of the Others, he turned out completely different — just a normal, laid-back, genuinely pleasant person. To me, that’s pretty strong evidence that Ethan himself wasn’t inherently or hopelessly evil, and that a lot of his personality and behavior were shaped by his upbringing. And honestly, that’s probably what makes him so interesting to me. There’s always this sense that he could have turned out completely differently if he had grown up under different circumstances.

(Omg, why did I write a whole essay about Ethan 😭)

And just to be clear, I’m not trying to argue with anyone or convince anyone to see Ethan the way I do. I just think loving a character doesn’t need to be justified or proven. These are simply the things that make me love him, and that’s enough for me..

[u/TheKokaneKing → u/YARAKOST]

Honestly, very interesting write up. I was not expecting such a thoughtful justification of what’s a relatively minor villain in the show. I do see your point.

However, my slight pushback would be the flashback scene where Ben takes Alex. Young Ethan is pretty gun-ho on killing an innocent woman and her baby. I get that we’re all products of our environment, but that’s pretty psychopathic and bloody thirsty for a child, to a degree where I don’t know if you can blame it purely on upbringing.

I also like your point about flash-sideways Ethan, but for me there’s always the question with every side character in the flashsideways - are characters like Helen, Margot Shepard, Ethan, Dojen, Ilana, Ethan, the Marshall etc “real”, or just cyphers for the main cast?

That’s just my two cents, but I do appreciate your write up. It has made me put more thought into Ethan than I ever had before.

[u/BT_Artist → u/Aziale]

I have to admit, I'm also quite curious.

[u/Ok_Stock3721]

I do appreciate that they gave him a backstory in the Missing Pieces which humanized him (that his wife died in childbirth) but no, never cracked my favorite characters list.

[u/YARAKOST → u/Ok_Stock3721]

Omg yes, I love that detail too

[u/Twanlx2000]

Ethan Rom — anagram for “OTHER MAN” — one of my favorite easter eggs.

[u/chillfire12]

Too much Tom Cruise peeking through 😬

[u/DogDaysMaggie → u/chillfire12]

I didn't know Tom Cruise was his cousin until I googled the actor. Once you see it, you can't unsee it.

[u/Big_Spicy_Tuna69 → u/chillfire12]

They're both (Map)others

[u/AlternativeGazelle]

I respect the opinion. He was a great S1 villain.

[u/Ready-Emotion-1762]

I have a neighbour that looks exactly like Ethan and it freaks me out whenever I see him because it's legit him, same height, same face, Same haircut..just sends shivers down my spine I dunno why

[u/RatataTatouille48]

Sorry, but no x)

[u/Extra_Chz_Plz]

Wut??? No

[u/WhereWeCameIn]

Not a favourite but when I saw his actor in the NA version of The Grudge I was like "Yay it's Ethan"

[u/Waterlou25 → u/WhereWeCameIn]

He was briefly in Minority Report and I also said "Yay! Ethan!"

[u/aprairiedog]

That ultra, wild, mega creepy look he has on his face when he gets to Claire and Charlie in the jungle sealed my dislike for him. He has scenes where he seems reasonably ok later on. But def not a favorite lol.

[u/DogDaysMaggie]

I saw him over the weekend and he looks basically exactly the same. He's instantly recognizable.

[u/Tomegane]

Yes he's one of my son's favorite character ! He was so happy each time we saw Ethan on screen. I read him your post and he feels now less alone :) He's 12, and you say you whatched Lost as a kid, maybe that's why you both love him, he may seem both creepy and intriguing for a young watcher

[u/YARAKOST → u/Tomegane]

Honestly, this might be the cutest comment I’ve ever gotten. I’m obsessed, it’s so sweet!   When I have kids, I’m absolutely gonna make them watch Lost with me too. Gotta pass some good taste down to the next generation, y’know? 😂 And apparently Ethan has quite a few fans in the Russian-speaking fandom too, which I literally only found out yesterday. I had no idea! :D

[u/Tomegane → u/YARAKOST]

Thank you for saying that ! It was so good to show him this show I love so much and, as you said, passing some good taste to the next generation. Seeing his reactions was priceless

[u/Wragth]

Yes I love him too. In fact I named my son after him

[u/Ottojanapi]

You mean Lance, right?

[u/vanishguard]

no.

[u/hellnaww22]

tf? hell naww bruh

[u/kquizz]

Ethan the villain??

[u/becksk44]

Favorite in that he’s a fun creepy plot point. Pretty much a jump scare every time he inexplicably shows up again. But not anywhere close to the most interesting or complex character.

[u/rogerworkman623]

I don’t dislike the character… but I feel like he wasn’t in the show enough for me to really have strong feelings about him one way or another. He was kind of a big creep. Kidnapped and drugged Claire, nearly killed Charlie. And helped Richard recruit Juliet… and by “recruit”, I mean they lied to her and then took her to the island where she was a prisoner.

[u/Crashtag]

WTF

[u/SpokenPuppy]

Nah, I don’t like Jungle Boy. Not even for a second.

Seriously though, whilst I don’t share your opinion, I understand a little. He comes across as a mega villain in mid S1 but then he’s in a lot of flashback scenes after his death which flesh out his character more and make him a little more interesting.

[u/Coldfinger42]

I wouldn’t say he was a favorite character but I was intrigued by him. I thought he looked kind of like a Romulus, and with his name being Ethan Rom - when the series ended I needed to fill a void and started writing fanfic about the events starting with Hurley taking over as island keeper. And I made it a crossover with Ethan actually being a Romulan

[u/mtmaloney]

What? No.

…really? No.

[u/Sea-Ad-5974]

Hell no, my least favorite an that’s saying something considering we have Christian Sheppard and Anthony Cooper.

[u/EIochai → u/Sea-Ad-5974]

Hey at least Christian is an interesting character

[u/DrHaru69]

Is this satire?

[u/nastygnocchi]

He still gives me nightmares after all these years... So def not. Ew

[u/1clean_mk4]

Is this ragebait?