15 Unanswered Lost Questions That Totally Have Explanations
11. Why Was Libby In A Mental Institution?
The Season 2 episode Dave ends with the reveal that Libby was actually in a mental institution before the crash; the same one as Hurley, in fact. Why was she there? Was she secretly insane this whole time?
The Explanation: The show never provides a direct followup, mostly because Michael had to go be a jerk and shoot Libby (and Ana Lucia), but there is a pretty simple explanation that was confirmed by the writers.
Libby shows up again in a Desmond flashback where she gives him her husband's boat. It's revealed that her husband passed away, and as a result of the loss, Libby went to a pretty dark place. Co-creator Damon Lindelof explained, "Although there were some more thought out specifics there, the answer to the question is Libby's husband died, she went crazy, and she spent some time in the mental institution. She was released from the mental institution and then gave Desmond her boat. That's the story."
This is also mentioned in the Lost Encyclopedia which reads, "Unable to cope with the grief, Libby became unhinged psychologically." Lindelof admitted it's something of a mundane explanation, but it works, and given how often the characters on Lost are showing up in each other's backstories, the fact that Libby and Hurley are in the same mental institution isn't totally out of the ordinary.