Anyone else notice that when the others said they captured Kate and Sayid they used different names for them? Does this mean the survivors were on the island before and left? forgot everything? and had different names in our world???

Tom called them by their last names -- Jarrah and Austin.

they called them by their last names, Austin and Jarrah. They did the same thing when they captured Shepard, Austin, and Ford.

That definitely was one of those "what did he just say" moments for me......

thanks for clearing that up

The Others prefer calling the Losties by their last names. Interesting that they don't refer to each other by their last names.

The Others prefer calling the Losties by their last names. Interesting that they don't refer to each other by their last names.

Probably as a family lineage grouping thingy.

They know the losties histories, family members and connection between losties so it wouldn't be odd if during their briefing they would refer a certain group of people as the Sherpards or the Reyes.

Characters on this show just like to call each other by their last names :)

It's just a way of distancing themselves from their "subjects." If they called them by their first names, then they'd have to think of them as real people.

Remember that we were given clues back in Seasons 1 and 2 that the all the projects on the Island might have been military-related. Calling people by their last names is a definite military thing. I was in the Marines, and got so used to calling everyone by their last names that I usually forgot to call them by their first names when we were in a social setting.

When I heard them call them by their surnames, a few thoughts sprung to mind. One, chances are, not all the others/hostiles/etc know the losties by their first names, or chances are, theres more than one kate on the island. Could there be a kate who's an other, another group of people on the island with a kate, or what? Although, I dont get them calling sayid by his surname. How many sayids can there be on island?

I felt there was a military angle hint to this too.

If they have a file on everyone, they would be filed last name first, so when getting a file you would ask for the Shepard file or the austin file. It just shows how organized and informed they really are...

They seem to only use first names when they want to appear 'friendly'.

Ben calls Locke "John" right off the bat, but then again, Ben seems to be the most informal of them all towards the Losties. He usually uses first names. Pickett, Tom, and most others don't.

Klugh also called Hurley "Hugo" on the docks.

But there certainly is a strict, military-esque feel to the hierarchy of the Others (Hostiles). Maybe partly because they've been in 'crisis mode' ever since the 815 crash. Klugh telling Mikhail "You know what to do... that's an order!" certainly adds to that.

Not being mean; i just found it ironic / amusing that the original poster was suggesting that the characters had their memories erased, when really it is them who forgot the names of the characters :biggrin: season 3 - we've had long enough to remember their names surely

But, I did take from it that they named Juliet with her first name, and I imagine that signifies something? She has come across in more recent episodes to just be a tool of the Others, but Ben says 'Juliet', which suggests to me that she is an accepted part of the group, in a way at least.

they called them by their last names, Austin and Jarrah. They did the same thing when they captured Shepard, Austin, and Ford.

It's Austen, actually. :)

The Others prefer calling the Losties by their last names. Interesting that they don't refer to each other by their last names.

Well, you usually call people that you don't know too well by their last names. I don't see why they would say "Sayid" or "Kate" when they're talking about them. Not without a relationship, no.

I don't know many people who use people's last names. That's for military / official work stuff / school. I don't think it's an everyday thing. It is a cold / unfeeling way to refer to someone, that's how I've understood it.