Classic Moments: Nikki and Paulo's demise in 'Lost'

After two seasons on the island, the producers of Lost suddenly felt it right to give a voice to two of the initial plane crash survivors. Viewers had become so accustomed to the world of Jack, Kate, Locke and Sawyer that this new blood wasn't readily accepted. In the cut-throat world of US television, if new characters don't cut the mustard sharpish, then their days are numbered. But the final moments of Nikki and Paulo were surely some of the show's finest times...

The Context

The characters of Paulo and Nikki were introduced to us early in the third season and met with an initially dismal response from many fans of Lost. They soon seemingly disappeared amongst the other plan crash extras but came back with a vengeance in the episode 'Exposé'. Nikki was pronounced dead at the start of the episode after collapsing on the beach while seemingly muttering 'Paulo lies' – and her boyfriend's body was soon discovered in a similar state. However, the flashbacks of their jewellery-pinching lives quickly explained what led to their predicaments and contained a shock twist…

The Moment

We witnessed Nikki unleashing a poisonous spider onto Paulo in a bid to retrieve the stolen diamonds for herself. However, the same naughty arachnid gave her a nibble too. But the bite wasn't a fatal one, instead paralysing the victim and making them appear dead. The first scene of the episode is then repeated and we realise that Nikki was in fact saying 'paralysed', not 'Paulo lies'. A moment later the action cut to the present and we see Nikki's eyes open just as she and Paulo are in the process of being buried. Her other functions impaired, she was helpless and ended up buried alive. But at least her beloved diamonds were alongside her after Sawyer tosses them into their grave…

The Aftermath

Lost never shied away from killing off far more prominent cast members than Nikki and Paulo, but arguably never in such a jaw-dropping and cleverly structured manner as this. A nice moral lesson was learnt too, for the couple's material greed was ultimately the cause for their demise. Suddenly, their much maligned characters were redeemed after being labelled irrelevant by many following their debut on the island.