Tom (Lost)

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Tom
M.C. Gainey as Tom
First appearance	Exodus: Part 2
Information
Name	Tom
Age	50's or 60's
Profession	Other
Portrayed by	M.C. Gainey

Tom is a recurring fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by M.C. Gainey. A member of the antagonistic and mysterious group known as "The Others," Tom acted as a liaison to the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 throughout the first two seasons. Before his name was revealed, he was called "Mr. Friendly" by the producers and writers but never on-screen. He has appeared in more episodes than any other guest star.

[edit] Fictional character biography

In "Maternity Leave", after Ethan Rom kidnapped the pregnant survivor Claire Littleton, Tom scolded Ethan in the DHARMA Initiative medical station, "The Staff," for not making a list of the survivors and for his abrupt and sloppy abduction of Claire and attempted murder of Charlie Pace. Tom worried for Ethan because of what their leader, Jacob might do to Ethan.

Tom is first seen in "Exodus: Part 2" when he leads a crew of Others on a motorboat to kidnap the ten-year old Walt Lloyd and destroy the raft which he was sailing away to safety with his father Michael Dawson, James "Sawyer" Ford and Jin Kwon. Tom wore a fake beard and old clothes to trick the survivors into thinking that the Others were primitive hillbillys. Tom continued to wear a fake beard and dirty clothes throughout the second season, whenever he met the survivors.

With the help of Alex Linus/Rousseau, Danny Pickett, Matthew and a few more Others, Tom captures Michael in "The Hunting Party" after he goes looking for his son in the forest. Michael was followed by Jack Shephard, John Locke and Sawyer, who in turn were being followed by Kate Austen. By putting a bag over her head, gagging and putting a gun to Kate, Tom was able to persuade Jack, Locke and Sawyer to hand over their guns and turn back. He also told them that the island belongs to the Others and that Jack should respect that. In "Three Minutes", Tom trekked to "Yurtville," with an angry Michael as his prisoner and handed him off to Bea Klugh, who interrogated him for the next ten days. A deal was made for Michael to bring Jack, Kate Austen, Sawyer and Hugo "Hurley" Reyes to the Others in exchange for his son Walt and the motorboat to return home with. In "Live Together, Die Alone", he takes Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley to Pala Ferry with the help of Ms. Klugh and Michael. He was called by Kate on wearing a fake beard with theatrical glue at which time he took it off and would not wear again for the rest of the series. The captives were knocked unconscious and drugged while they were transported to a small island off the coast of the main island.

In "A Tale of Two Cities" Tom is seen for the first time to be wearing clean regular clothes. He caught Karl when he tried to escape from his cage. In "The Glass Ballerina" he goes with Colleen Pickett to capture Desmond Hume's sailboat, the Elizabeth, from Sayid Jarrah, Sun Kwon and Jin, which he did, however Colleen was shot by Sun in the process.

In "I Do", Tom supervised Ben's operation by Jack and was blackmailed into letting Kate and Sawyer escape. He assisted with the surgery in "Not in Portland". In "Stranger in a Strange Land" Tom told Jack that Juliet was in trouble and played a role in her trial. He later left the small island on a boat to return to the main island.

In "Par Avion," he and Jack are later seen in The Barracks, where many of the Others live (possibly including himself), happily playing football. They have formed something of a friendship, further demonstrated by Tom telling Jack to be careful on what he says because the place is bugged. In "The Man from Tallahassee" Tom is shocked when Locke blows up the Galaga submarine.

[edit] Position in the Others' hierarchy

While not in charge of the Others, Tom does have some authority - shown in his conversation with Ethan about his dealings with Alex and Danny and also with the party that captures Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley and Michael. He acts as an unofficial spokesperson/enforcer for the Others, however is subordinate to Ben Linus and Isabel. According to Ben, Tom is of little importance compared to the real leader.

[edit] Trivia

• Tom is afraid of blood.
• His name is accidentally revealed by Ms. Klugh. Prior to that, M.C. Gainey was credited as "bearded man" and "Mr. Friendly" and nicknamed "Bluebeard" and "Zeke" by Sawyer.

Lost
Production:	DVD releases | Episode list | Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Soundtrack
Main characters:	Ana Lucia | Ben | Boone | Charlie | Claire | Desmond | Hurley | Jack | Jin | Juliet | Kate Libby | Locke | Michael | Mr. Eko | Nikki | Paulo | Sawyer | Sayid | Shannon | Sun | Walt
Supporting characters:	Alex | Bernard | Christian | Cindy | Ethan | The Others | Pickett | Rose | Rousseau | Tom
Organizations:	DHARMA Initiative | Hanso Foundation | Oceanic Airlines
Elements:	Crossover list | DHARMA Initiative stations | Flight 815 | Mythology | Thematic motifs
Miscellaneous:	Gary Troup | In popular culture | Lost Experience | Rachel Blake | Video game