Charlie Pace

For Desmond and Penny's son, see: Charlie Hume'' Charlie Hieronymus Pace was a survivor from the middle section of Oceanic Flight 815. Before the crash, he was the bassist and principal songwriter for the rock band Drive Shaft. He was addicted to heroin, but he kicked the habit on the island. He also suffered from self-doubt before the crash, but he formed new relationships on the island, including a friendship with Hurley and a romantic relationship with Claire Littleton.

Learning from Desmond he was fated to die, Charlie sacrificed himself to guide the survivors toward safety. After his death, Charlie has continued to guide his friend Hurley.

In the flash-sideways, he was reunited with his lover, Claire Littleton after she gave birth to Aaron, and along with their friends, they moved on.

Childhood
Charlie was raised a devout Catholic and served as an altar boy. According to a dream, his mother gave him a piano one Christmas because she sensed his special musical talent. Charlie's father, however, vehemently opposed the career choice, and believed that Charlie and his brother Liam should become butchers like him. His father supported Charlie in other arenas though, teaching him to swim as a child. Charlie claimed he later became Northern England's swimming champion.

Musical career and addiction
Charlie honed his talents over the years, practicing and singing on the street for money. During one performance of Oasis' Wonderwall, a stranger claimed they'd been on an Island together, and Charlie jokes that "this is why we don't do drugs." Another time, he chased off a mugger after performing, and the victim he saved called him a hero.

Charlie and Liam formed a band called Drive Shaft. They initially doubted their chances, but they heard their song "You All Everybody" on the radio one day, and the group gained hope. Their song then became a hit, and the pressure of stardom consumed Liam, who turned to heroin. During their second Finland tour, he gave Charlie an heirloom ring for Christmas, thinking that only drug-free Charlie could carry on the family legacy.

The band was a one-hit wonder. Losing popularity, they stooped so low to parody their song for a diapers commercial. Liam's addiction continued as well, and Charlie stood in for him at his daughter's birth. Charlie tried rejuvenating the band with a new song, but Liam sold Charlie's piano for an Australia rehab clinic. With Liam gone, Drive Shaft ceased to exist.

Despite Liam's expectations, Charlie eventually turned to heroin. A year after Liam left the band, Charlie started a relationship with Lucy, a wealthy businessman's daughter, so he could rob her to pay his dealer. He changed his mind and took a job from her father, but heroin withdrawal kicked in, sending him to the hospital. Doctors returned to Lucy from Charlie's pocket a stolen antique, still covered in his vomit.

Flight 815
Years after Drive Shaft's fall, Charlie flew to Sydney to try and convince Liam to reform the band. Liam, now living happily with his wife and children, refused and offered to house Charlie while he fought his addiction. Charlie, not wanting to deal with his brother anymore, scoffed at this and bought a plane ticket for seat 29C aboard Oceanic Flight 815.

He spent the night before the flight with a fellow addict who pretended to be a Driveshaft fan in a desperate attempt for his drugs. They fought physically over the last of his stash. On the plane, fearing a flight attendant's suspicion, Charlie threw his stash into a toilet, first snorting some of it. The plane then hit turbulence, and Charlie quickly buckled himself into a new seat.

Days 1-44 (Season 1)
When the crash's initial aftermath had died down, Charlie accompanied Jack and Kate to the cockpit so he could secretly recover his stash from the bathroom. The Smoke Monster chased them to through the jungle, and Charlie told the other survivors. Charlie joined a group the next day that picked up Rousseau's distress call. During the hike, the group was attacked by a polar bear. On day six, Charlie noticed a woman drowning in the sea. He ran to Jack for help claiming he didn't swim.

Charlie began using heroin again. John Locke helped him with the addiction by trading him his drugs for his guitar, but withdrawal pains made him soon demand his stash back. Locke told him he would return it the third time he asked. Still suffering, Charlie later argued with Jack, causing one of the caves to collapse on Jack. Charlie crawled in though and rescued him. Later that night, successfully retrieved his drugs from Locke, he threw them into the fire and began the long road to recovery.

Charlie quickly became friends with Claire, a pregnant survivor, first offering her a second blanket the night of the crash. When half the survivors moved to the caves, he convinced her to join them by offering a pretend jar of her favorite food: peanut butter. Charlie began to feel an emotional attraction to her, which blossomed into genuine love. After Claire began suffering from nightmares and possible attacks, Charlie defended her against those who disbelieved her. The next day, an Other masquerading as a survivor kidnapped Claire and left Charlie to die hanging in the jungle. Kate and Jack found and resuscitated him.

With Claire gone, Charlie withdrew from the others. Rose confided in him though about her missing husband to comfort him. When Claire returned the survivors used her as bait to capture her kidnapper. Charlie foiled the plan by shooting him before anyone could interrogate him. Sayid warned him the murder would take its toll on Charlie.

Not long after, Claire gave birth to a healthy boy. Charlie took on the role of surrogate father to the child and looked after him when Claire couldn't. Danielle Rousseau soon after though attacked Claire and kidnapped the baby, hoping to exchange him for her missing daughter. Charlie and Sayid went after her, walking into one of Danielle's traps on the way and coming upon a plane containing statues filled with heroin. They successfully rescued Aaron, and Charlie angrily told Danielle "You're pathetic!" as Lily had said to him. Charlie returned Aaron to Claire, but he'd brought something else back as well, one of the heroin-filled statues.

Days 44-67 (Season 2)
No one initially told Charlie about the newly-opened Hatch, but he eventually followed Locke and demanded answers. Learning of the Swan's food, he demanded peanut butter for Claire from Hurley, who eventually complied. Charlie and Claire's relationship was good during these days - Claire tended to Charlie's wounds and casually asked after his Virgin Mary statue, not knowing its contents. Eko knew though and told Claire. He then forced Charlie to lead him to the Beechcraft, which they burned. Claire banished Charlie from her tent, believe he was using again. Charlie in fact had stashed an entire collection of heroin statues.

As Charlie struggled with his isolation, he dreamed of having to save Aaron. Locke interpreted this as more evidence of drug use, which bothered Charlie, who'd earlier laughed off Shannon's visions. Charlie started a fire one night to distract the camp so he could "baptize" Aaron in the ocean. Claire demanded her baby's return, and Locke punched him repeatedly. Locke also confiscated Charlie's stash. Charlie retaliated by allying with Sawyer to humiliate Locke, attacking Sun to simulate the Others attacking and letting Sawyer control the Swan's guns.

Charlie's found a new mentor and friend though in Sayid. After interrogating a new prisoner Sayid told Charlie he remembered what the Others had done to him and Claire. The pair later followed a map to the prisoner's supposed balloon. Charlie took a gun along, and he refused to relinquish it to Ana-Lucia, but he gave it to Sayid. Charlie found the balloon, but buried beneath it, they discovered the body of the man the prisoner was impersonating.

After this adventure, Charlie began helping Eko build a church, and he continued alone once Eko moved to the Swan. Vincent led Charlie to the heroin statues in Sawyer's stash, and Charlie threw them into the ocean as Locke looked on. Charlie further redeemed himself by handing Claire a DHARMA vaccine from the supply drop. The two held hands at Ana-Lucia and Libby's funeral.

The next day, Charlie saw Locke weeping in the jungle and informed him of Desmond's return to the island. After Locke locked Eko out of the Swan's computer room, Eko enlisted Charlie's help to retrieve dynamite to blow their way in. Charlie tried to mediate between Eko and Locke, but Eko lit the dynamite, and a fireball almost killed Charlie. He awoke nearly deaf, and Desmond urged him to flee. Charlie did, though he first tried to rescue Eko. That night, he and Claire caught up, and they kissed.

Days 69-91 (Season 3)
After Locke lost his voice, Charlie stood watch outside his sweat lodge at his request. Together, they then saved Eko from a polar bear. Charlie and Hurley later led Sayid to the injured Eko, and when Eko's tent caught fire, they dragged him out. Eko then ran off into the jungle, and they failed to find him. A few days later, as Charlie and Hurley distributed Sawyer's stash, Desmond told them the Monster had killed Eko, and Locke warned them to keep the camp calm.

Desmond began experiencing visions of Charlie dying. He constructed a lightning rod to divert lightning from Claire's tent. He foresaw Charlie drowning trying to rescue Claire, so he saved her himself. Hurley and Charlie got him drunk, and Desmond admitted the premonitions. Charlie later failed to get further details out of him and became depressed. Hurley though recruited Charlie to drive the DHARMA van down a steep cliff, and the pair celebrated joyously when they succeeded.

Two days later, Charlie prepared a beach-side picnic, but Desmond dissuaded him, having foreseen another of his deaths. Charlie abandoned the picnic and belittled a new rescue plan from Claire, hurting and shocking her. Desmond explained the situation, and she told Charlie they'd face the ordeal together. Later that day, the two attached a note to a seagull and released it.

Charlie helped investigate Nikki and Paulo's deaths, and he confessed to Sun his earlier role in he attack. The next few days passed peacefully, and he spent lots of time with Claire, even composing music again. Hurley tricked Sawyer into sharing a feast with the camp the next day, and Charlie inadvertently revealed the con. Then one day, he found Claire deathly ill in her tent. He cared for Aaron and looked after her, and when Juliet helped her recover, Charlie was overjoyed.

Later, Desmond recruited him for a "camping trip," Desmond in fact was leading a mission to find a rescuer he'd foreseen. They followed a helicopter into the jungle, and Desmond saved Charlie from one of Rousseau's traps. Realizing Desmond had brought him to likely death he'd foreseen, Charlie lost his temper. They then found a parachutist though and stabilized her, and Desmond convinced them to keep her presence a secret.

Desmond had a final vision - Charlie dying by turning off the flooded Looking Glass station's signal jammer. Charlie accepted the suicide mission. He passed his ring to Aaron and kissed Claire goodbye. He went out in a canoe with Desmond, passing on a list of his life's best moments. The Scotsman volunteered to take Charlie's place, but Charlie knocked him out with an oar and swam to the station, discovering it wasn't flooded after all, but it was inhabited by two women who beat and interrogated him till Mikhail arrived and shot them. One gave Charlie the jammer's code before she died, and he entered it, successfully disabling it.

He then received an incoming message, revealing that Desmond's girlfriend Penny hadn't sent their "rescuers." Mikhail, still alive, then blew up a window, filling the chamber with water. Charlie passed on the message to Desmond and drowned.

Post-death
Desmond returned to the beach with news of Charlie's death and his final message. The group then headed for the radio tower to warn Jack, unaware he had already called the freighter. When the groups reunited, Hurley told a sorrowful Claire of Charlie's demise, and the death caused Hurley and Claire to side with Locke when the group divided. After Claire's house at the barracks was blown up by an RPG, Claire believes Sawyer is Charlie and calls out his name, as Sawyer carries her to safety.

After leaving the Island, Desmond and Penny had a son named Charlie. In 2007, upon returning to the island, Sun found Charlie's ring in Aaron's crib.

According to the official story of the Oceanic 6, Charlie was one of the three survivors who survived the initial crash but died before the rescue. According to Jack, he drowned shortly before the rescue. Oceanic Airlines rejected a petition from Drive Shaft fans, who wanted Membata's exact location so they could build Charlie a memorial.

Flash sideways
In the flash sideways world, Driveshaft saw far more success, and "You All Everybody" was the first of several hits. Charlie still was addicted to heroin. Classical musician Daniel Widmore hired him to come to Los Angeles to fuse rock and classical music for a benefit concert.

When Charlie saw a "cop" on Oceanic Flight 815, he fled to a lavatory to hide his stash. Turbulance caused him to choke on the heroin baggie, and he briefly remembered his life, including Claire. Half an hour later, staff enlisted Jack Shephard's help, fearing something was wrong. Another passenger kicked in the door, and Jack removed the heroin bag from Charlie's throat. Charlie awoke ungrateful and told Jack that he was "supposed to die." Police officers led him off the plane in cuffs when it landed. He remained in prison untill his brother bailed him out.

Desmond collected him from prison, and he crossed the street to a bar paying no heed to traffic. He told Desmond about his experience on the plane - seeing "the truth" - and refused to come to the scheduled concert. Desmond tried to convince him otherwise, but as they drove away together, Charlie mocked him and his superficial lifestyle. He then steered the car off a dock into a marina, making no attempt to escape. Desmond escaped and rescued him, but in the process remembered the last time he'd seen Charlie drown. They were both admitted to the hospital, and when Charlie regained consciousness, he fled, and Desmond chased him. He suggested Desmond pursue Penny, whom he'd started recalling.

Days later, Hurley tranquilized Charlie in his motel and left him backstage at the concert. Charlotte woke him up. Charlie performed with the band and Daniel, then he saw Claire in the audience and followed her backstage. Claire went into labor, and he left to find water and blankets. When he returned, Aaron had been born. He touched Claire and remembered his entire life. The two sat together with Aaron in the church later as a bright light washed over them.

Appearances to Hurley
Charlie also appeared to Hurley during his years off the island. Hurley first saw him in a convenience store and panicked, and his flight turned into a full on car chase with the LAPD. In the interrogation room, Hurley hallucinated Charlie drowning, disturbing him so greatly that he agreed to be taken back to the Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute. Charlie began visiting him regularly there, possibly even visible to one of the other patients. At an early visit, he told Hurley "they" needed him, apparently referring to the people still on the Island. Hurley closed his eyes and counted to five, and Charlie disappeared. On a later visit, Charlie said Jack would soon visit and gave Hurley two messages to give him. One: "You're not supposed to raise him". Two: Jack would soon receive a visitor of his own.

Character overview
What Charlie wanted most was to be useful, to be someone others would turn to. He tried unsuccessfully at first to help the others and be part of what he called the “Men” and later proved himself. He even died trying (and partly succeeding) to save his friends.

He suffered from drug addiction that caused him to be rejected by some characters and perhaps to have his visions. He fought and eventually lost this habit. Charlie was a successful singer and musician but his band didn’t last, to his great pain.

Charlie was cheerful and liked to make jokes to ease the atmosphere, like his friend Hurley. From the beginning, he fell in love with Claire and acted very kind and protective to her and Aaron. He says that the best moment of his life was when he met her.

Religion also played a big part of his life, having lost his faith due to his drug obsession and band crisis, but went on to regain it during his time on the Island and the trials he endured. His last action before death was crossing himself.

General

 * Charlie was the second character to have a flashback, and the fifth character to have a centric episode.
 * Charlie is the third character (after Jack and Kate) with most centric episodes in a single season, with 4 ("Pilot, Part 2", "The Moth", "Homecoming", and "Exodus, Part 2") in Season 1.
 * Charlie was the second former main character to appear in Season 6.
 * Charlie's episode count so far is 65. He was killed on his 60th episode appearance.
 * Four of his appearances were made solely by his flash-sideways counterpart.


 * Charlie is the tenth character with most appearances (with 65) and is also the tenth character with most centric episodes (with 7).
 * Charlie has met all of the main characters except Miles, Richard, Ilana, Lapidus, Pierre and Eloise.
 * Charlie had met all the main characters who were main characters at the time of his death.
 * Charlie met Christian, Charlotte and Daniel in the flash sideways.
 * Eloise and Miles saw Charlie performing in the flash sideways.
 * Pierre introduced Charlie to the stage in the flash sideways.
 * In the final moments of the first two Season Finales, Claire reconciling with Charlie is shown.
 * Claire and Charlie were the last two main characters to be seen in Season 2.


 * This is also shown in the next-to-last episode of Season 3, sealed with a kiss and the last time they see each other; though it is not in the final moments, it is near the end of the episode.


 * Hieronymus Pace is an anagram for "pious archenemy"
 * "LATE" Backwards is "ETAL" which is a latin phrase short for Et Alia which means "and others".
 * According to Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof, the character of Charlie is an homage to Larry Underwood, a character in Stephen King’s novel The Stand.
 * Larry Underwood also risks his life to save the world after kicking drugs.
 * Charlie was the eighth main character to be killed.
 * Charlie wears a ring with the initials "D.S." on the middle finger of his right hand. Initially thought to be a Drive Shaft ring since he pointed to it in the pilot while telling Kate that he's a member, the ring is actually a family heirloom, as revealed in . The initials stand for Dexter Stratton.
 * In the episode Exodus, Part 2, as Hurley is leaving his hotel, Charlie is a passenger in the overcrowded elevator. As Hurley heads for the exit stairs, Charlie shouts after him, "Some of us have a bloody flight to make!!"
 * During Charlie's heroin scenes actor Dominic Monaghan is actually snorting brown sugar.
 * In the episode, in which Charlie breaks his addiction, his shirt changes. In previous episodes, Charlie is wearing a striped shirt reminiscent of prison garb.
 * The actor, Dominic Monaghan, has a tattoo on his left shoulder that reads Living is Easy with Eyes Closed, which is a lyric from The Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever". This tattoo has become an apparent part of Charlie's character, as well.
 * In "The End", we see that the tattoo now has the complete lyric, Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.


 * Charlie changed the word from "FATE" to "LATE" on bandages around his fingers.
 * Charlie is a fan of The Kinks.
 * The Kinks song, "He's Evil" was sung by Charlie while he was fishing with Jin, in the episode.
 * The band happens to have recorded a song called "The Big Black Smoke." The lyrics in this song have some similarities to the things that have happened on the Island, such as "the Monster" that often appears as black smoke and tries to drag someone down.
 * Charlie's middle name is Hieronymus. Hieronymus is the Latin version of Jerome, which is Greek for "sacred name".
 * It was St. Jerome who translated the Bible into Latin.
 * It is also the first name of the Dutch surrealist painter Hieronymus Bosch, famous for his depictions of demons.
 * Hieronymus is also the foreign variant of the name Geronimo, a reference to the band Geronimo Jackson.
 * He had never heard of Geronimo Jackson.
 * Charlie has a fear of bees.
 * One of the first things Charlie does when he arrives on the Island is write "FATE" on strips of tape around his fingers. The last thing he does on the Island before he drowns is make the sign of the cross. The last thing he does before that is write "Not Penny's boat" on his hand and hold it up to the window for Desmond to see.
 * Charlie was the only person who could have turned off the radio jammer after Bonnie was incapacitated, because he was a musician, was familiar with the Beach Boys "Good Vibrations" (probably played it a few times during his street musician days), and could quickly figure out the notes corresponding to a 16-tone keypad. Sun was also a musician, but might not have been familiar with Beach Boys' music.  This might explain why Ben is so angry and surprised when he is told Charlie is in the Looking Glass, sends Mikhail to kill everyone there, and seems to change to his plans instantly by deciding to intercept the castaways with Alex.
 * In both and  Charlie speaks the last words, with a question that leads the episode on a dramatic cliffhanger - "Guys? How does something like that happen?"  and "Guys? Where are we?"
 * Charlie is the second character who saved Desmond's life.
 * Locke broke down on top of the Hatch over Boone's death, giving Desmond hope and resulting in Desmond giving up ideas of suicide.
 * Charlie died in an effort to prevent the Looking Glass from flooding and killing Desmond.
 * Charlie's checker-pattern shoe is or was on display at the ABC Commissary at the Disney Hollywood Studios theme park in Bay Lake, FL
 * In Hurley's vision (post-island) Hurley sees Charlie by the "Ho Ho's." Also when Jack and Hurley are playing "H-O-R-S-E" Jack gets to "H-O" and then ends. "H" is the 8th letter in the alphabet and "O" is the 15th. Which links back to the Numbers 8 and 15 and also the flight number 815.
 * Charlie's brother, Liam leads their band, Drive Shaft. In Flashes Before Your Eyes and Greatest Hits, Charlie is on the sidewalk singing Oasis' "Wonderwall."  Oasis' lead singer and guitarist/songwriter are brothers; the lead singer's name is Liam.
 * When Desmond saw Charlie playing the guitar on the street in England, Charlie was singing the Oasis song "Wonderwall". In this song the lyrics are, "Maybe you're gonna be the one that saves me". A precursor to Desmond saving Charlie from death multiple times.
 * Charlie's appearance when he visits Hurley in the flashforward is very reminiscent of Tyler Durden's appearance when he returns to The Narrator in Fight Club. They both have closely cut hair, fashionable clothes and large sunglasses.
 * A Drive Shaft CD was a clue for the Find 815 ARG
 * Charlie's death was voted number 8 in the UK TV special 'Top 50 TV Endings'.
 * Charlie is one of 22 main characters to have their names appear in a soundtrack title.
 * He is allergic to bees.
 * Dominic Monaghan based Charlie off of a Monkey.
 * Charlie is the first main character to die at a DHARMA station. The other is Juliet.

Charlie's close encounters with death
Even before Desmond started having premonitions, Charlie had several dangerous brushes with death:
 * During the flight of Oceanic Flight 815, he was originally seated at 29C (see Flight 815 seat numbers), and would likely have been sucked out when the tail section broke off if he had not been in the first-class bathroom when the first turbulence hit. When he exited to find a seat, he narrowly avoided being hit by an accelerating service cart and took an empty seat in the middle section, avoiding the fate of those in the front section.
 * He survived the crash of Flight 815.
 * He stood perilously close to the turbine just before Gary Troup was sucked into it; a few minutes later, a piece of flaming wreckage landed right behind Charlie after the wing fell.
 * He survived a perilous brush with the Monster shortly after arriving in the Island.
 * He stepped on a large beehive.
 * He narrowly escaped being trapped in the caves with Jack. Later he reentered the caves to help Jack get out and they were both trapped again.  On the brink of running out of oxygen, Charlie found a way out.
 * Ethan hanged Charlie from a tree; Jack resuscitated him.
 * Charlie was following Hurley across the suspension bridge when it broke. He had to climb up the side of the cliff to avoid falling.  Not very long after that, he and Hurley became shooting targets for Rousseau.
 * Charlie had a large bag of rocks fall on his head, a trap set by Rousseau, during his trek to rescue Aaron.
 * He had another near-miss brush with the Monster during Eko's first confrontation it.
 * Charlie almost died twice in the Swan. First, he was in the entrance when the dynamite went off, and he was inside when the fail-safe key was turned.

After Desmond started having premonitions, many involved scenarios in which Charlie would die:
 * If Desmond had not constructed a lightning rod, Charlie would've been electrocuted.
 * When Claire was about to drown, Charlie dived in to save her, and would himself have drowned, had Desmond not rescued Claire first.
 * Desmond tried to strangle Charlie after they get drunk.
 * Desmond revealed to Charlie that he would have fallen into the water and fatally slammed into the rocks if Charlie had tried to catch a seagull for Claire.
 * Desmond saved Charlie from being stabbed in the neck by an arrow that was fired as part of a trap set by Rousseau.

Additional casting

 * Jeremy Shada played the role of young Charlie in and.

Unanswered questions

 * How did Charlie end up with the middle section survivors, when he sat in the cockpit section of the plane at the time of the crash?