Lost/Timeline Explanation

This article contains information that may not be official or not part of a show's canon. If you are aware of differences explicitly mentioned in official documents, please help out by editing it.

The timeline up to and including "... In Translation" can be considered official canon for the show. However, episodes after up until "Deus Ex Machina" are open to many interpretations and as such information is being provided via this article to provide a list of reasons as to why certain events have been placed at certain dates.

The show's creators have confirmed September 22, 2004 as the date of the plane crash in Live Together, Die Alone.

Information garnered from Jin's résumé is in error, and is not considered canon. Information from the Lost Diary on ABC's site conflicts with the day-night cycle witnessed in actual episodes, so the Lost Diary was not taken as fact.

Explanations for the Tail Section Survivor's timeline have been omitted because the exact days events happened on were given with on-screen subtitles.

Explanations for Season 2 have been omitted, since evidence suggests that each episode directly follows the next one, and there is no possible room.

Explanations for Season 3 have been omitted for the same reason. Episodes 3x02 and 3x03 have been confirmed to take place on the same day, and Benjamin Linus confirms that day as day 69.

Updates

November 16, 2005 Using information from 2x07 - The Other 48 Days, the timeline through Deus Ex Machina has been updated.

March 1, 2006 Using information from 2x15 - Maternity Leave, the timeline form Special through Numbers has been corrected.

Timeline

On Island	Events	Episode(s)
Day 1	Start of Pilot (1). The plane crashes in the late afternoon. Upon waking up, Jack sees Vincent in the jungle. At night, Jack checks the Marshall and tells Kate offscreen that if he takes out the shrapnel the Marshall will die. The monster makes noise near the camp. End of Day 1.	1x01 - Pilot
Day 2	Jack goes to look for the cockpit bright and early. They find it, the pilot gets eaten. End of Pilot (1). Pilot (2) picks up minutes after Pilot (1) left off, because Jack et al didn't wait for a day and night in the jungle of the cockpit. They return to the beach by early afternoon and wait while Sayid fixes the tranceiver. The hike group leaves to try and send the signal. Jack rummages through bags looking for medical supplies, and tells Michael that he saw a dog in the jungle yesterday. The hike picks up the French Woman's transmission. End Pilot (2). Tabula Rasa starts at night. Sawyer doesn't want to camp, indicating that the hike group hadn't camped before. End of Day 2.	1x01 - Pilot (1), 1x02 - Pilot (2), 1x03 - Tabula Rasa
Day 3	The hike group returns. At night, Jack euthanizes the Marshall. End of Day 3.	1x03 - Tabula Rasa
Day 4	In the morning, Locke gives Michael Vincent, and Michael takes Vincent to Walt. End of Tabula Rasa. At the start of Walkabout, at night, Boars rummage through the fuselage. End of Day 4.	1x03 - Tabula Rasa, 1x04 - Walkabout
Day 5	Jack organizes a firewood drive to burn the fuselage. Locke leads a hunting expedition and sees the monster. That night, the fuselage is burned. End of Day 5. End of Walkabout.	1x04 - Walkabout
Day 6	Start of White Rabbit. In the morning, Joanna drowns. Jack comments that they've been here 6 days and he never spoke to her. He goes off into the jungle, and stumbles into the caves. He finds water, and returns to the camp at night, where he says that it's been 6 days, and tells the group that he'll lead some people into the valley and the caves. End of Day 6. End of White Rabbit	1x05 - White Rabbit
Day 7	Start of House of the Rising Sun. Jack leads people to the caves. Charlie gives Locke his drugs before he gets a chance to have a fix. Some survivors move to the caves, others stay on the beach. End of Day 7. End of House of the Rising Sun.	1x06 - House of the Rising Sun
Day 8	Start of The Moth. Charlie starts suffering from heroin withdrawal. Kate says that it's been 8 days. Jack is trapped in the caves. Charlie goes in after him. Charlie tells Jack that it's been a day and a half since he had a fix. Charlie and Jack escape from the caves. Someone hits Sayid on the back of the head. At night, Charlie throws his heroin into the fire. End of Day 8. End of The Moth.	1x07 - The Moth
Day 9	Start of Confidence Man. Sawyer catches Boone going through his stash and hits him. Sawyer refuses to hand over Shannon's asthma medication. At night he goes to the caves for some water and Jack hits him. End of Day 9.	1x08 - Confidence Man
Day 10	In the morning, Sayid hits Sawyer and drags him off for torture. Sawyer gets stabbed. Just before sunset, Sayid leaves the camp, ashamed of what he has done. End of Confidence Man. End of Day 10.	1x08 - Confidence Man
Day 11	This day passed off-screen.	—
Day 12	This day passed off-screen.	—
Day 13	Start of Solitary. Sayid finds a wire on the beach. Kate says that it's been two days since Sayid took off on his own. Sayid follows the wire and gets caught in a trap. At night, Rousseau finds him. End of Day 13.	1x09 - Solitary
Day 14	Sayid learns Rousseau's story, fixes her music box and escapes. In the evening, he hears whispering in the jungle. End of Solitary. End of Day 14.	1x09 - Solitary, 1x10 - Raised by Another
Day 15	Start of Raised by Another At night, Claire wakes up screaming. (This could be after midnight and hence early on day 16). End of Day 15.	1x10 - Raised by Another
Day 16	Kate tells Jack that Sayid's been gone almost a week. At night, Claire becomes convinced that she was attacked in her sleep. Hurley decides to start a census. (This could be after midnight and hence early on day 17). End of Day 16.	1x10 - Raised by Another
Day 17	Jack tries to give Claire sleeping pills, she takes off to the beach angrily. Sayid returns as Hurley announces that there was someone who wasn't on the plane. End of Raised by Another. Start of All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues. Claire and Charlie are taken by Ethan. Jack brings Charlie back. Locke and Boone find the hatch. End of All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues. End of Day 17.	1x10 - Raised by Another, 1x11 - All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues
Day 18	This day passed off-screen.	—
Day 19	This day passed off-screen.	—
Day 20	This day passed off-screen.	—
Day 21	Kate and Sawyer discover the Marshall's case in a pool near a waterfall. The tide starts seriously washing things away. Shannon says that Locke and Boone have been leaving before dawn and coming back after sunset for the past 4 days. At night, Kate tries to steal the case from Sawyer. End of Day 21.	1x12 - Whatever the Case May Be
Day 22	Kate asks Jack to help her get the case. He agrees, they get the key from the Marshal's corpse, and the case from Sawyer, and the case is opened. Jack demands that Kate tell him what that's about. At night, Kate playes with the toy plane on the beach, and Shannon sings "La Mer" while Boone watches from the background. End of Whatever the Case May Be. End of Day 22	1x12 - Whatever the Case May Be
Day 23	Start of Hearts and Minds. Locke drugs Boone. At night, Boone makes his way back to camp. End of Hearts and Minds. End of Day 23	1x13 - Hearts and Minds
Day 24	This day passed off-screen.	—
Day 25	This day passed off-screen.	—
Day 26	This day passed off-screen.	—
Day 27	This day passed off-screen.	—
Day 28	Start of Special. Michael warns Locke to stay away from Walt. At night he talks with Sun about Walt. End of Day 24.	1x14 - Special
Day 29	Jack, Shannon and Sayid are discussing Rousseau's maps when Michael declares that he's going to start building a raft. He starts gathering materials, and threatens Locke that he'll kill him if he catches him with Walt again. Walt is menaced by a polar bear. At night, Michael shows Walt the letters he sent him. Locke and Boone find Claire wandering in the middle of the jungle. End of Special. End of Day 25.	1x14 - Special
Day 30	Start of Homecoming. Claire is returned to the camp by Locke and Boone in the early morning hours. Charlie is threatened by Ethan, who wants Claire back.	1x15 - Homecoming
Day 31	Sometime during the night, Scott is murdered. Claire volunteers to be used as bait to prevent more deaths. Ethan is captured, then promptly shot dead by Charlie. End of Homecoming. Start of Outlaws. Sawyer is awoken by a boar in his tent, and he hears whispers. End of Day 27.	1x15 - Homecoming, 1x16 - Outlaws
Day 32	Sawyer is attacked in the jungle by the boar. Kate makes a deal to track the boar for him in exchange for carte blanche to his stash. Charlie and Hurley bury Ethan. They play a game of "I never" at night. End of Day 28.	1x16 - Outlaws
Day 33	Sawyer finds the boar, but decides not to kill it. He then returns the gun to Jack. End of Outlaws	1x16 - Outlaws
Day 34	Michael and Jin get into an argument on the beach. Sun slaps Michael. At night the raft burns down. End of Day 30.	1x17 - ... In Translation
Day 35	Sawyer brings Jin to the beach. In the ensuing confrontation, the survivors learn that Sun speaks English. Jin moves to the beach. At night, Shannon tells Sayid that she wants to have a fresh start, and Locke asks Walt why he burned the raft. End of Day 31.	1x17 - ... In Translation
Day 36	Jin starts helping Michael build a new raft.	1x17 - ... In Translation
Day 37	Start of Numbers. Hurley gets a look at Sayid's papers. At night he goes to Sayid's tent and steals some of them. End of Day 34.	1x18 Numbers
Day 38	Sawyer is shown suffering from a headache. Hurley finds Rousseau, learns why she's on the island, and gets a battery for the raft, which is given to Michael when they return at night. End of Numbers. End of Day 34	1x18 Numbers
Day 39	Start of Deus Ex Machina. (This is Day 38 instead of Day 35, because dialogue from subsequent shows leaves this as the most likely spot for extra days.) Locke and Boone try to use a trebuchet to enter the hatch. Locke discovers that he's losing feeling in his legs. End of Day 39	1x19 Deus Ex Machina
Day 40	Locke and Boone start salvaging the pieces of the trebuchet. Kate tells Jack about Sawyer's headaches. That night, Locke has a nightmare and wakes up. End of Day 40.	1x19 Deus Ex Machina
Day 41	Sawyer tells Jack that he's been having the headaches for a few days, maybe a week. (This supports the idea that the missing days happened between Numbers and Deus Ex Machina). Sayid manufactures a pair of glasses for Sawyer, then takes Shannon out on a date. Locke and Boone explore the jungle and find the Beechcraft plane. Boone goes up and is badly injured when it crashes down. Locke takes Boone to Jack and runs off in confusion. Start of Do No Harm Claire starts going into labour. End of Day 41.	1x19 Deus Ex Machina, 1x20 Do No Harm
Day 42	Early in the morning, the hatch window lights up as Locke is sobbing above it. End of Deus Ex Machina. Boone dies and Claire's baby is born. (These events could possibly have occurred before midnight on Day 41.) When daylight comes, Jack tells Shannon that her brother is dead, then takes off Looking for Locke. End of Do No Harm. Start of The Greater Good. Locke shows up at Boone's funeral, and an enraged Jack attacks him. Sayid interrogates Locke and is taken to the plane wreckage. Kate gives Jack a sleeping-pill induced nap, and Shannon steals the key to the gun case. Shannon tries to kill Locke. At night, Sayid tells Locke to take him to the hatch. End of The Greater Good. End of Day 42.	1x19 Deus Ex Machina, 1x20 Do No Harm, 1x21 The Greater Good
Day 43	Start of Born to Run. Sayid takes Jack to the hatch. (The Lost Wiki Team is of the opinion that Sayid would not wait four days after Locke takes him there to tell Jack.) Arzt tells the survivors that they should launch as soon as possible. Michael decides to launch tomorrow. Michael falls ill. Sawyer forces Kate to confess that she is the fugitive. That night, Sawyer says that they are going to launch the raft tomorrow. End of Born to Run. End of Day 43.	1x22 Born to Run
Day 44	Rousseau shows up and warns about the coming of the Others. Michael says that he was hoping to launch today, that and the shirts he and Walt were wearing at the very start of the episode indicate that Born to Run happened the day before. Jack et al head for the Black Rock, while the raft gets launched. End of Exodus (1). Start of Exodus (2). Arzt dies at the Black Rock. Jack et al get some dynamite and head back. Rousseau steals Claire's baby. End of Day 44.	1x23 - Exodus (1)
Day 45	Early in the morning, Charlie and Sayid return with Claire's baby. Jack et al blow open the hatch. At sea, Walt is kidnapped and the raft is destroyed. End of Exodus (2). Start of Man of Science, Man of Faith. Start of Adrift. After returning to the caves briefly to announce that it will be light in just a few hours, indicating that it is well past midnight, Kate, Locke and Jack return and enter the Hatch separately. Kate and Locke are held prisoner by Desmond. Locke puts Kate in a closet, and talks with Desmond. Locke tells Desmond that they crashed 44 days ago. (This is true if you interpret it as 44 mostly full days ago.) Jack enters the hatch. End of Man of Science, Man of Faith. Start of Orientation. Desmond accidentally shoots the computer. Kate goes to fetch Sayid. Locke and Jack watch the Orientation video. Jack tells Desmond that they've been on the island for more than 40 days and no one has gotten sick. Desmond breaks the computer and flees. Sayid and Kate return to the hatch with Hurley. Jack gives Locke the correct code. Michael, Sawyer and Jin drift back to the island and are captured by the tail section survivors. (The subtitle from The Other 48 Days gives the day as Day 45.) End of Adrift. Ana-Lucia is put in the prison pit with S., M. & J., and learns that they are survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 as well. End of Orientation. End of Day 45.	1x23 - Exodus (1), 2x01 - Man of Science, Man of Faith,2x02 - Adrift, 2x03 - Orientation
Day 46	Start of Everybody Hates Hugo Charlie tells Hurley that he's been at the bunker for a day and night. After a short discussion with the other survivors, Sawyer et al are released from the prison pit. (The subtitle from The Other 48 Days gives the day as Day 46.) Ana-Lucia comments that it is getting dark. (This happens during Everybody Hates Hugo, however there are several more scenes during that episode which are not dark. The Lost Wiki team no longer thinks that means anything.) Sawyer et al are taken to the Arrow bunker. Hurley almost blows up the food before Rose stops him. Claire and Shannon give the washed-up bottle of raft messages to Sun. That night, the middle section survivors feast on the food from the bunker. Sun buries the bottle of messages and loses her ring. End of Everybody Hates Hugo End of Day 46.	2x04 - Everybody Hates Hugo
Day 47	Start of ... and Found Ana-Lucia decides that everyone is going to go find the fuselage survivors. (The subtitle from The Other 48 Days gives the day as Day 47.) Michael runs off into the jungle looking for Walt. Jin and Eko go after him, finding a dead body and witnessing a group of mysterious people pass by. Sun realizes that she has lost her wedding ring and starts to frantically search for it. They find Michael and convince him to come back with them. Kate finds Sun's ring when she and Sun dig up the bottle of messages. End of ... and Found. Start of Abandoned. At night, Sayid and Shannon have sex. Shannon sees an image of Walt. Eko, Michael and Jin catch up with Ana-Lucia. End of Day 47.	2x05 - ... and Found, 2x06 - Abandoned
Day 48	Shannon sets off to search for Walt. The tail survivors keep pressing forward.( The subtitle from The Other 48 Days gives the day as Day 48.) Eko decides to cut inland to save time. Sawyer collapses, and Michael and Eko build a crude stretcher to carry him. Cindy vanishes. Shannon and Sayid see Walt. Shannon accidentally gets shot by Ana-Lucia. End of Abandoned. Start of Collision. Sayid tries to kill Ana-Lucia, but gets tied to a tree. Eko takes Sawyer into the jungle and finds Jack and Kate. They all go to the bunker. Ana-Lucia lets everyone but Sayid go, then lets Sayid go. Ana-Lucia and Sayid meet up with Jack and Eko. End of Collision. End of Day 48	2x06 - Abandoned, 2x08 - Collision
Day 49	Start of What Kate Did. Sayid finishes digging a grave for Shannon. Kate sees a black horse while gathering fruit for Sawyer. Shannon's funeral. Kate and Jack kiss. Locke and Eko add a film splice from the Arrow bunker into the DHARMA "Orientation" film. Sawyer wakes up. Kate and Sawyer see the black horse. Michael receives a message on the Swan bunker computer from someone claiming to be Walt. End of What Kate Did.	2x09 - What Kate Did
Day		2x