Dylan Stone
Age: 11 (at the time of the series premiere)

Born in Miami, Florida to Alex Stone and Steve Kramer, Dylan's whole life growing up was spent mostly with only mom. Being a war correspondent and photographer, his father was gone a great deal.

When Alex and he moved to Hope Island, she assured Dylan that it was only temporary. He resents that they're still here, four years later. Dylan misses Miami and his life there--but, mostly, he misses his father. From the moment he got to Hope, all he could think about was going "home". He didn't bond with the other kids. In fact, he alienated them by telling them that he didn't like it on Hope, that Miami was a much cooler place, and that he was just waiting for his dad to show up and take them back. Unfortunately, that was the tone he set for himself and how the other kids saw him on Hope. He never managed to get away from being viewed that way. And even now, they torment him by asking where his father is, believing he simply made him up.

Dylan is extremely bright, which only manages to make him even more different from most of the other kids. He has a rich fantasy life. He especially dreams of his father coming back for him. He lives for letters from his dad, which come infrequently. Mom always reminds Dylan how much his dad loves him. She knows his pain first hand--having been abandoned by her father as a child--and tries to smooth over any feelings of abandonment that he has. But the relationship between mom and son is strained. She has trouble communicating with him and senses his deep sadness, but simply cannot get in there and get through to him. It will be through Daniel that Dylan and Alex will be able to mend their relationship.

Dylan wonders, as any kid would, if it's his fault that his dad isn't around. If he'd been smarter, funnier, more athletic--whatever--that would make his dad want to stay. It's not something that he articulates, it's just something that he carries around with him, and it makes him feel less than what he should be. He's closed off from the other kids and from mom--he lives through books, TV, his rich imagination, and the constant prayer that his dad will come back.

It isn't until Daniel comes along that something is sparked in Dylan for the first time in four years. Never having been a part of any faith, he finds in Daniel something to hold on to. An answer to his loneliness, a lifeline in this strange world he inhabits. Maybe it's because Daniel has the same feelings of abandonment from his own father, maybe it's because Daniel is a stranger, like he still feels he is, on the island, or maybe it's just the answer to Dylan's prayers.

By being Daniel's acolyte in the church and discovering faith and the joy it brings, Dylan will finally find his way in the world. For this, Alex is truly grateful, though it will not be a path she will follow.