How does Boone die in ‘Lost’?

Long before Ian Somerhalder was the bad brother in The Vampire Diaries, he was in a little thing called Lost. The series was arguably the biggest phenomenon on television at the time, no matter what its legacy remains today.

This fact has to do with profound storytelling, and the connections the characters make. Even those characters fans spent little time with endeared themselves to the audience, and their respective deaths hit like a punch to the gut. Boone Carlyle (Somerhalder) was the first big death of the series which was the direct result of one of the other characters. For a large part of the season, Boone and island devotee, John Locke (Terry O’Quinn) sneak off the jungle to uncover the truth behind a mysterious hatch.

On one such occasion, while tromping in the jungle, they come upon a small Beechcraft airplane crashed precariously in the trees. Locke is having a bout of temporary paralysis, and convinces Boone to investigate the craft. While inside, Boone finds a radio and is so intent on calling for help, he is unable to escape the plane when it crashes to the ground. But that isn’t what signs his death warrant. His fate is sealed when Locke carries him back to the beach, and lies about how Boone sustained his injuries.

Jack (Matthew Fox) does what he can when Locke tells him Boone only fell from a great height. But later, about the time that Jack is considering amputating Boone’s leg, is it obvious this is a lie. Had Jack known that Boone was crushed, he could have come to this treatment plan earlier. Instead, Boone succumbs to his internal injuries. Most devastating of all are Boone’s final words to the doctor. Jack has a compulsion to fix everything and promises he will fix Boone. But the young man understands in the final minutes of the episode that this is impossible, telling Jack:

“I know you made me a promise. I’m letting you off the hook.”

This was the first major casualty of the series, and only a precursor of what is to come. Lost is full of characters we all love who die in the most devastating ways. And it all started with one little white lie.