Tom Friendly

Season: 1-4, Episodes: 20, Faction: The Others

Overview

Tom Friendly was a member of the Others who was loyal to Ben. In the Flight 815 survivors’ first encounters with the Others, he acted as a menacing spokesperson and appeared as their leader. He wore a fake beard during his early encounters with the survivors, as a part of the Others’ facade. While in captivity, Ben (as Henry Gale) said that Tom was “no one” compared to the real leader, although it is unclear whether Ben was referring to himself or Jacob. While not technically in charge of the Others, Tom did have some authority, as shown in his conversation with Ethan, in his dealings with Alex and Pickett, and with the party that captured Hurley, Jack, Kate, and Sawyer. Tom was one of few Others known to have left the Island; he visited Michael to recruit him onto the Kahana. Tom headed the attack on the survivors before he surrendered to and was executed by Sawyer on December 21, 2004 in retaliation for shooting him a month earlier.

Fertility (Water)

Fertility (Vegetation)

Fertility (Earth)

On the Island (2001)

4×06 – The Other Woman

Tom was an Other living on the Island in 2001. It is unknown how and when he joined the Others. Just after Juliet’s arrival on the island, Tom was sent by Ben to retrieve her from Harper’s office, so that Ben could reveal her new house. While doing so, Tom jokingly stated that Harper made him “cry about his daddy.” (“The Other Woman”)

Days 16-44

2×15 – Maternity Leave

When Claire was being held in the Staff station, Tom—beardless and wearing regular clothing—scolded Ethan for not making a list before bringing Claire. After hearing Ethan’s explanation, he replied, “You know what he’s going to do when he finds out.” (“Maternity Leave”)

4×06 – The Other Woman

Ben mentioned Tom going scouting with Pickett, and he was the one who happened upon Goodwin’s body. When they tried to find the tailies, they were unsuccesful in this. (“The Other Woman”)

1×24 – Exodus, Part 2

Tom made his first appearance as a passenger on a boat with three more Others: a pair of men and an older woman. Jin, Sawyer, Michael, and Walt were sailing on the raft, attempting to find rescue assistance when the boat appeared on their radar screen. Sawyer forced Michael to shoot their only flare and the boat turned around to encounter the raft. Tom’s initial contact brought joy to the raft passengers, who believed help had finally arrived.

However, the mood quickly soured when the real intentions were made clear with Tom’s declaration that he was “going to need to take the boy”. Michael furiously refused, Sawyer grabbed his gun, and the Others attacked. They shot Sawyer in the shoulder who then fell into the water, punched Michael and threw him from the raft, and grabbed Walt. While Jin dove into the water trying to save Sawyer, Tom and the Others returned to their boat, blew up the raft, and drove away. (“Exodus, Part 2”)

Days 49-67

3×14 – Exposé

A few days later, it is understood that Tom went to the Pearl station for some reason, as Juliet comments on Day 49 in the station “Tom was in here a couple of days ago.” (“Exposé”)

2×11 – The Hunting Party | 2×22 – Three Minutes

After the three raft survivors were reunited with the main camp, Michael set off to find Walt. Tom and some of the Others overtook Michael, captured him with bolas, and took him hostage, warning him not to make a sound. When Jack, Sawyer and Locke finally caught up with Tom, he came out from the shadows and warned them not to cross “the Line”, meaning that they were not to explore the northern part of the Island. He said that doing so would change the situation from a “misunderstanding” to “something else.”

During this encounter, Tom revealed to the three survivors that Walt and the others they took, including Emma and Zack, were still alive. He referred to Walt as “special”. He quoted Alvar Hanso, saying: “You know, somebody a whole lot smarter than anybody here once said ‘Since the dawn of our species, man’s been blessed with curiosity”, and asked Jack if he knows the other one about curiosity, referring to the statement “curiosity killed the cat.”

When Jack accused Tom of not having any real strength, instead having to rely on spies like Ethan to infiltrate the survivors’ camp and learn their names, Tom called that an “interesting theory”.

He suddenly yelled “Light ’em up,” after which numerous torches were lit, implying that Jack’s party were surrounded. Tom then called for Kate to be brought out, revealing they captured her when she followed them in their search for Michael. Tom held what appeared to be a WWI or WWII-era German Luger Parabellum P08 or Walther P38 pistol to Kate’s head, which made Jack, Sawyer, and Locke surrender their guns. (“The Hunting Party”) (“Three Minutes”)

2×22 – Three Minutes

Tom then brought Michael to the Others’ camp, where he left him to Ms. Klugh to take care of him for the next 10 days. (“Three Minutes”)

2×24 – Live Together, Die Alone, Part 2

13 days later, after Michael helped the Others capture Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley, Tom acted as spokesperson for the group. Kate said that she knew his beard was fake, but she was gagged so Tom didn’t understand her. Ms. Klugh explained: “she says she knows your beard’s fake, Tom.” Tom removed his beard, commenting how much it itches, and sarcastically thanking “Bea” for revealing his name. After the exchange of Walt for the four people on Klugh’s list, Tom helped take the prisoners away to the Hydra Island. (“Live Together, Die Alone, Part 2”)

Days 68-74

3×01 – A Tale of Two Cities

Tom was in charge of getting Kate ready for her breakfast with Ben. When Kate told him that she wouldn’t take a shower in front of him, he said “you’re not my type.” He led her to a beach where Ben was waiting for her.

At the cages area, where Sawyer was being held, another prisoner named Karl escaped from his cage and freed Sawyer. Karl was captured by several Others, including Tom, who made him apologize to Sawyer for using him as a diversion for his own escape. He was then taken away for an unknown punishment.

After Kate’s breakfast, Tom led her to the cage that used to be Karl’s. During this scene, a ring is visible on Tom’s hand, located specifically on his left finger.Sawyer showed him the fish biscuit he got after figuring out their “complicated gizmos.” Tom noted that it only took the polar bears two hours. (“A Tale of Two Cities”)

3×02 – The Glass Ballerina

Following the prisoners’ first day on the Hydra Island, Tom and Danny took Kate and Sawyer to a rock clearing quarry. While they were going to the labor area, an Other named Colleen approached them, kissed Danny and enlisted Tom for her strike team which was sent by Ben to capture the survivors’ sailboat. They reached the boat without being seen by Sayid or Jin, who were guarding it, possibly using the “Galaga”. On the boat, Sun shot Colleen in the stomach, and tried to escape. Tom and Ivan opened fire, and Sun escaped. (“The Glass Ballerina”)

3×04 – Every Man for Himself

When the strike team returned with an injured Colleen to the Hydra island, they all hurried to the operating room, where Juliet tried to save her life. Tom on the other hand went with Ben, Matthew, and Jason to the underwater section of the Hydra station, where they tortured Sawyer. After Sawyer was released, Tom went back to the operating room, where Jack helped Juliet with Colleen’s surgery, which eventually failed. (“Every Man for Himself”)

3×06 – I Do

Tom supervised Ben’s operation, in which Jack purposely made a small incision in Ben’s kidney sac, giving him an estimated one hour to live, and demanded Tom hand over his walkie-talkie so Jack could speak to Kate. Tom complied and contacted Danny, just in time to save Kate and Sawyer’s lives. (“I Do”)

3×07 – Not in Portland

Jack revealed to Tom Juliet’s plan to kill Ben during the surgery, but Juliet denied it. After Juliet left, Tom asked Jack if it was true, and Jack confirmed it. When Juliet started to cry during her talk with Ben, Tom commented that they have a history together.

As Juliet left to help Kate and Sawyer escape, Jack enlisted Tom’s help with finishing the surgery. Tom seemed to have problems with blood, and made the mistake of revealing this to Jack, who subsequently showed him the bloody tumor he removed from Ben’s spine. Tom also listened to Kate’s confirmation story, the same story Jack told her when she stitched him up after the crash. While listening to this story, Jack completed the surgery.

Tom has twice referred to “when the sky went purple.” The first time was in regard to communications (“Every Man for Himself”), the second time was when Jack asked why they didn’t take Ben to a proper facility for his spinal surgery. Tom began his explanation, but he was cut off before he could fully explain it. (“Not in Portland”)

3×09 – Stranger in a Strange Land

After Ben’s surgery, Tom had an intense conversation with Jack, who believed that the Others would kill him, since they didn’t need him anymore. Tom asked for an explanation, and Jack replied that people who abduct a pregnant girl and hang a guy from a tree are not good people, prompting Tom to respond with a quip about glass houses. Once Jack was transferred into Sawyer’s cage, Tom gave him food, and discovered that Jack knew about the video surveillance.

After Jack and Alex stopped Juliet’s trial, Tom grabbed Jack by his shirt, demanding to know why he was there. Isabel calmed him down, and read a note from Ben, who ordered to stop the surgery, and to mark Juliet instead of killing her. Later that day, Tom and the Others left the Hydra Island on the yacht. (“Stranger in a Strange Land”)

Off the Island (Days 75-79)

4×08 – Meet Kevin Johnson

Tom found Michael in a Manhattan alleyway, about to shoot himself, and distracted him by asking him the time. Tom revealed himself and remarked to Michael, “we let you leave one island and you just go to another”. They fought, ending with Michael holding a broken champagne bottle to Tom’s throat, and Tom holding a gun to Michael. Michael begged him to pull the trigger. He surmised Michael’s deathwish was because he had revealed to Walt that he murdered Ana Lucia and Libby to save Walt. But he said that the Island wouldn’t let Michael kill himself, and returned his gun to let him find out for himself. Tom told Michael he had more work to do, and once he figured it out, to see him in the penthouse at the Hotel Earle.

After seeing the news bulletin on Flight 815 in the Sunda Trench, Michael visited Tom at the hotel, surprising him with how quickly he arrived. Tom was there with a man named Arturo, who correctly guessed that Michael was the guy who hit Tom with a champagne bottle; Tom admitted he “had it coming”. Tom asked Arturo to let him talk to Michael alone, and Arturo left, kissing Tom on the cheek. Tom asks Michael if he would like a drink, to which Michael declines. Tom explained that he didn’t make it to the mainland often, so when he did he liked to indulge himself (alluding to the food and drink, and perhaps sexual indulgence).

Tom said that some of the people on the Island can just come and go, and explained the plane at the bottom of the Ocean, claiming that Charles Widmore staged the whole wreck, so no one else would find the Island.

When Michael demanded proof of this Tom showed him photos of a cemetery in Thailand whose bodies have been exhumed for the crash, the purchase order for the 777 through a shell company, and the shipping logs for the freighter that dropped the plane into the Sunda Trench. He told Michael that Widmore had located the Island, and that Michael would have to join the crew of the freighter leaving from Fiji to find it, under the name Kevin Johnson as a deckhand. He said that if Widmore found the Island, he would kill everyone on it, and preventing this would be Michael’s chance to redeem himself, by killing everyone on board the freighter.

After Michael got to Fiji, Tom directed him to wait a few days until he was in open sea, and warned him not to get cold feet after meeting some of the crew, naming “Sun, Sawyer, Jack, Claire, her baby…” as those would die if he didn’t follow through. He warned Michael that he would have to explain to Walt how he let all of them die too. (“Meet Kevin Johnson”)

Back on the Island (Days 80-91)

3×12 – Par Avion

After returning to the island, Tom was seen by Sayid, Locke, Kate, and Danielle playing football with Jack at the Barracks. (“Par Avion”)

3×13 – The Man from Tallahassee

That same night he informed Ben that Kate and Sayid had been captured and were being held at his place; Ben ordered Tom to separate them. Later, Tom took Jack to where Kate was being held and told him that the place was bugged. Following Jack and Juliet’s “farewell” to Ben, Tom escorted them to the dock, where he witnessed the destruction of the submarine.

Tom was present when the bound and gagged Anthony Cooper was revealed to Locke, and promptly shuts the door to the room before too many questions were asked. (“The Man from Tallahassee”)

3×19 – The Brig

Later, Tom was again present at the Others’ camp, seen packing up and leaving with them after Locke’s failure to kill his father. (“The Brig”)

3×20 – The Man Behind the Curtain

Locke startled Tom and the rest of the Others when he turned up at their new campsite with his father’s body on his back, asking Ben to take him to the mysterious Jacob. Mikhail was punched repeatedly after disagreeing with Locke’s decision while Tom watched neglectfully. Along with the other Others, Tom gazed in disbelief at Ben and Locke, who set out on a trek to talk to Jacob. (“The Man Behind the Curtain”)

3×22 – Through the Looking Glass, Part 1

Tom participated in the raid on the beach camp, survived the explosions which killed seven Others, and helped capture Sayid, Jin, and Bernard. Although Ben ordered him over his walkie to kill all three captives, Tom fired his gun into the sand instead, making it sound like he’d killed them.

When Pryce questioned this decision, Tom stated that he’d been following Ben’s orders, but that they should have killed them (if it were up to him). After Hurley intervened and the other two members of the strike team were killed, Tom surrendered.

Sawyer, however, shot and killed Tom anyway. Sawyer stated, “That’s for takin’ the kid off the raft,” (i.e. the kidnapping of Walt). When questioned by Hurley, Sawyer said he didn’t believe that Tom’s declaration of surrender was genuine. (“Through the Looking Glass, Part 1”)

4×01 – The Beginning of the End

Juliet buried Tom’s corpse with the other camp raiders next to the jungle. (“The Beginning of the End”)

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Related Character Images

Associated DHARMA Stations

Decoded Season 1 Characters

Molotov Woman

The Twins

Walt Lloyd

Michael Dawson

James Sawyer

Jin-Soo Kwon

Decoded Season 2 Characters

Beatrice Klugh	Ben Linus	Alex Rousseau	Danny Pickett	Matthew	Kate Austen	Claire Littleton
Ethan Rom	Jack Shephard

Decoded Season 3 Characters

Juliet Burke	Colleen Pickett	Ryan Pryce	Jason	Isabel	Luke	Diane
Richard Alpert	Mikhail Bakunin	John Locke	Anthony Cooper

Key Episode(s) to Decoding the Character

1x24 "Exodus, Part 2"

2x23 "Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1"

3x01 "A Tale Of Two Cities"

3x22-23 "Through the Looking Glass"

4x08 "Meet Kevin Johnson"

Hapy is the God of the Nile, or, more strictly, of the Nile’s annual flood or inundation, which was responsible for Egypt’s agricultural productivity. Not to be confused with the son of Horus with the same name (Hapi). Hapy is depicted anthropomorphically, with blue skin or other color symbolic of the Nile, with drooping male breasts and sometimes a pot belly, wearing a skimpy loincloth, generally with a clump of papyrus reeds on his head and often carrying bundles of papyrus and lotus or trays piled with offerings, representing the bounty of the Nile. Sometimes representations of Hapy bear the facial features of the reigning monarch, identifying the monarch as the source of the land’s prosperity, not merely through the performance of his ritual duties, but also through his just governance. Sometimes Hapy appears doubled, wearing the heraldic papyrus of Lower Egypt and sedge of Upper Egypt and tying these two plants together around the hieroglyph for ‘union’ to symbolize the role of the Nile in uniting Egypt’s north and south. The Nile’s inundation was attributed to a quantity of water being released, at divine behest, from twin subterranean caverns in the vicinity of Elephantine (although these caverns, like the exact moment at which the inundation shall commence, are paradigmatic in Egyptian thought for that which is secret); hence, in the Great Hymn to the Aten, the Hapy of Egypt, who emerges from the underworld, is contrasted with the “Hapy from heaven for foreign peoples,” that is, the rain upon which Egypt’s neighbors depended for their agricultural production (Lichtheim vol. 2, p. 99).

Reference is also made to ‘Hapy of the Sky’ as maker of rain in a spell for water in the Book of the Dead (60). Hapy’s emergence from these subterranean caverns is the source of Hapy’s affirmation, in CT spell 318, that he fashioned the netherworld himself. In these caverns Hapy slumbers during the off-season, rejuvenating himself: “It is the house of sleep of Hapy, he grows young in it in his time,” (Lichtheim vol. 3, p. 97). Hapy’s flooding of the fields, which are personified as the Goddess Sekhet, is envisioned sexually: “Bounding up he [Hapy] copulates, as man copulates with woman, renewing his manhood with joy,” (the ‘Famine Stela’, in Lichtheim vol. 3, p. 97). The extent of the inundation, whether adequate, insufficient, or excessive, symbolized in Egyptian thought the very concept of the limit or boundary and of the limits placed upon human life by such inscrutable phenomena as the variability in the inundation; hence in the ‘Instruction of Ankhsheshonq’, it is said that “When Hapy comes he sets limits for everyone,” (Lichtheim vol. 3, p. 173) and by the same token “One sets no limits for him,” (‘Hymn to Hapy’, in Lichtheim vol. 1, p. 207). Every year, it is said that Khnum fashions Hapy anew, that is, the ‘body’ of the inundation is a different one each time, both regular and variable, comparable and incommensurable because it is only the present inundation which truly matters to the people and other animals who depend upon it. Inevitably, the quantity of the inundation was taken as an index of the virtue present in the population and in the government: “When free men are given land, they work for you like a single team; no rebel will arise among them, and Hapy will not fail to come,” (‘The Instruction Addressed to King Merikare’, in Lichtheim vol. 1, p. 103). Since all the produce which goes to the Gods as offerings depends upon Hapy, it can be said that he “gives sacrifice for every God,” (‘Hymn to Hapy’, in Lichtheim vol. 1, p. 206) or even that he has “made the Gods … all the Gods live according to <his> decree,” (CT spell 321). Furthermore, since books are written on papyrus “all books of godly words … exist through him” (ibid., p. 207). In spell 317 of the Coffin Texts, a ‘transformation’ spell which allows one to become Hapy, Hapy is said to be older than the primeval Gods of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad, and perhaps in connection with this reference is made here to eight Hapys. In CT spell 320 Hapy affirms that he is “in charge of births,” because of his general function of providing sustenance and/or because of an analogy between the Nile’s inundation and the waters of birth.

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Further Info

Other Names: Hapy, Hapr

Patron of: the Nile and its inundation.

Appearance: A fat bearded man with breasts, wearing a crown of reeds and lotus blossoms.

Description: Hapi was the personification of the Nile. He was believed to dwell in a great cave near the cataracts. There he was aided by a retinue of crocodile gods and frog goddesses, who ensured that the Nile ran cool and clear. Each year he would increase the Nile so that it flooded, depositing rich soil on the farmlands.

Worship: Worshipped throughout Egypt.

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Wiki Info

Hapy was a deification of the annual flooding (inundation) of the Nile River in Egyptian mythology, which deposited rich silt on its banks, allowing the Egyptians to grow crops. His name means Running One, probably referring to the current of the Nile. Some of the titles of Hapy were, Lord of the Fishes and Birds of the Marshes and Lord of the River Bringing Vegetation. He is typically depicted as a man with a large belly wearing a loincloth, having long hair and having pendulous, female-like breasts. The annual flooding of the Nile occasionally was said to be the Arrival of Hapy. Since this flooding provided fertile soil in an area that was otherwise desert, Hapy, as its patron, symbolised fertile lands. Consequently, although male and wearing the false beard, Hapy was pictured with a large belly, as representations of the fertility of the Nile. He also was usually given blue or green skin, resembling that of Nu, representing water. Due to his fertile nature he was sometimes considered the “father of the gods”, and was considered to be a caring father who helped to maintain the balance of the cosmos.

It may be the case that originally, Hapy (or a variation on it), was an earlier name used for the Nile itself, since it was said (inaccurately) that the Nile began between Mu-Hapy and Kher-Hapy, at the southern edge of Egypt where the two tributaries entered the region (its sources are two lakes, one of which is Lake Victoria). Nevertheless Hapy was not regarded as the god of the Nile itself but of the inundation event. He was also considered a “friend of Geb” the Egyptian god of the earth, and the “lord of Neper“, the god of grain.

Other attributes varied, depending upon the region of Egypt in which the depictions exist. In Lower Egypt, he was adorned with papyrus plants and attended by frogs, present in the region, and symbols of it. Whereas in Upper Egypt, it was the lotus and crocodiles which were more present in the Nile, thus these were the symbols of the region, and those associated with Hapy there. Hapy often was pictured carrying offerings of food or pouring water from an amphora, but also, very rarely, was depicted as a hippopotamus.

When pairing of deities began to occur in the Egyptian pantheon, occasionally a token wife, named Meret (simply meaning beloved), was given to him. However, more usually, since the Nile was tied to the land, later, Hapy was said to become the husband of the patron of the land, which in Upper Egypt was Nekhbet, and in Lower Egypt was Wadjet. After a while, he became identified with Nun, a paired deification created for the primordial waters, Naunet, in the late Ogdoad cosmogony. Thus, Hapy gained her as wife also, since Nu was created to make a pair for Naunet.

He was thought to live with a cavern at the supposed source of the Nile near Aswan. The cult of Hapy was mainly located at the First Cataract named Elephantine. Here, many temples were built that were dedicated to him. His priests were involved in rituals to ensure the steady levels of flow required from the annual flood. At Elephantine the official nileometer, a measuring device, was carefully monitored to predict the level of the flood, and his priests must have been intimately concerned with its monitoring.

During the Nineteenth dynasty Hapy is often depicted as a pair of figures, each holding and tying together the long stem of two plants representing Upper and Lower Egypt, symbolically binding the two halves of the country around a hieroglyph meaning “union”. This symbolic representation was often carved at the base of seated statues of the pharaoh.

The Hymn to the Flood says:

Lightmaker who comes from the dark

Fattener of herds

Might that fashions all

None can live without him

People are clothed with the flax of his fields

Thou makest all the land to drink unceasingly, as thou descendest on thy way from the heavens.

The name Hapy can be spelled either Hapy or Hapi, but not to be confused with Hapi, one of the Four sons of Horus.

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