Spoiler Alert: If you have not seen any episodes of LOST, do not read this, as it includes details about various episodes throughout all six seasons. You have been warned.
What do you want? It’s the end of an era! Of course I’m going to milk these final 72 hours before the LOST series finale to write about the greatest television show of our time. Sorry, Clarissa Explains It All fans, you’re just going to have to settle for second best.
The title of this post, “Greatest Hits” is an homage to the Season 3 episode in which Charlie comes to terms with the fact that he might have to die in order to save his friends, and Jack and Juliet plan a surprise attack against the Others as they prepare for their own attack on the beach camp. It was a very good episode, but then again Season 3 didn’t start getting good until the eighth episode (“Flashes Before Your Eyes”) so there were a lot of duds to begin the season.
That said, here’s my list of LOST‘s greatest hits. These are, in my opinion, the ten best episodes of the series. Feel free to debate, constructively criticize, or call me a fucking moron. What’s missing from the list? Is something you didn’t personally enjoy ranked abnormally high? What about you, do you have your own list of the ten best LOST episodes? If so, share it in the comments section or shoot me an e-mail. I’ll post whatever you send tomorrow.
The Top Ten Episodes Of LOST
10. “Ab Aeterno” (Season 6, Episode 9) – LOST fans met Richard Alpert for the first time in the Season 3 episode “Not In Portland.” His importance and mysterious origins remained unknown for over three years. Finally, mid-way through the show’s sixth and final season, we were provided with his life story. The episode was both informative and touching. We learned island history while watching early interactions between Richard, Jacob, and The Man In Black. The fate of the Black Rock was revealed. Hurley presides over an emotional reunion between Richard and his wife Isabella. Fans had to wait years to learn the backstory of one of the island’s oldest living inhabitants, and it was most certainly one of the show’s finest hours.
09. “The Man Behind The Curtain” (Season 3, Episode 20) – Similar to the above-mentioned episode, the show’s 69th hour was devoted to the life and times of Benjamin Linus. He began as a trapped “Other” and inevitably transformed into one of the show’s brightest and most intriguing characters. I remember watching this for the first time and, upon learning that the child born in the woods at the start of the episode was indeed Ben, literally freaking out about how I was finally going to learn his story. What’s more, the on-island action turned out to be even more amazing than Ben’s history. On the beach, we find out that Juliet and Jack have a plan for when the Others come to attack the castaways. At the ruins, Ben tells Locke about Jacob and they travel to his cabin. At the cabin, strange paranormal activity is followed by the “Help me!” plea. The next morning, we see the mass grave filled with DHARMA’s dead, and Ben shoots Locke in the abdomen. Unbelievable.
08. “What They Died For” (Season 6, Episode 16) – Answers, answers, answers. For the duration of LOST we wondered and theorized about why the survivors of Oceanic 815 were brought to the island. In this episode, Jacob does a great job of answering this question. In the sideways flashes, Desmond continues to bring the Oceanic 815 passengers together in order to help them “let go.” Also on the island, two more deaths increase the Season 6 bodycount, and we learn that the Man In Black now intends to use Desmond to “destroy the island.” As far as setting up a season (or series) finale is concerned, this was about as good as it gets.
07. “Orientation” (Season 2, Episodes 3) – Remember when the hatch and DHARMA were the keys to unraveling all the mysteries on LOST? Look how far we’ve come since then. It’s truly been an amazing, wild ride. This episode was not the first time we see Desmond, but it was our first real introduction to the character. And, oh man, how many times did you re-watch the Swan orientation film after that episode aired? That video was the moment The DHARMA Initiative entered the lexicon of LOST. Did you freak out about the missing segment of tape too? And what about Sawyer, Jin and Michael being take captive by the five people called “The Others” who we’ll later learn are the surviving tail section of the plane! Ana Lucia is introduced. In flashbacks, we learn more about the Locke/Helen relationship, which always made for great episodes. Five stars.
06. “Flashes Before Your Eyes” (Season 3 Episode 8) – Seriously, I think when LOST ends and people decide to return to the beginning and watch the series again, this will prove to be one of if not the single-most important episode of the series. Maybe my high ranking stems from the fact that Season 3 started out on a really sour note and — after the twelve week hiatus — this was the first episode that made me feel like I was watching LOST again. The only true flashback, if I remember correctly, was to the hatch timer counting down to zero. Everything after that was mind travel between 1996 and 2004. There hasn’t been a single subpar Desmond/Penny episode in the entire series. This one was packed with amazing intel and action both on and off the island. I’m telling you, if you go back and watch this episode right now you’ll realize it’s one of the best hours LOST produced.
05. “Pilot” (Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2) – I remember sitting on the arm of a couch at Nicci and Nate’s house one night, returning to the living room from an evening of playing music in their garage. We were going to go out and drink somewhere that night, but Nate had decided to introduce an ailing Sari to LOST. I eventually moved from the arm of the couch onto the couch, and I remained there for hours watching the first two discs of the show. From there I finished the first season in another day. I didn’t have a job, I don’t remember eating, I just remember living and breathing the first two seasons of LOST for about a week. This is where it all started. The best pilot episode of any program I’ve ever seen.
04. “Through The Looking Glass” (Season 3, Episodes 22 & 23) – For all the flack Season 3 got, it’s the most-represented season on this list. I guess it couldn’t have been all that bad after all…so yeah, say goodbye to the flash backs. This season finale subtly-yet-amazingly introduced us to the flash-forward. Days 90 and 91 on the island are jammed with action. The others engage the survivors at the beach. Jack leads his group to the radio tower. Charlie tries to finish his mission at the Looking Glass station underwater. So much more happens…Locke awakens in the mass grave and prepares to kill himself, until Walt appears and tells him he has “work to do.” Rousseau meets her daughter for the first time. Hurley drives the DHARMA van onto the beach and saves his friends. Charlie succeeds in his mission but dies trying to escape. Oh yeah, and the satellite phone works, linking the survivors with the freighter off shore for the first time. Then, of course, the fucking flash-forward reveal. Unbelievable.
03. “The Incident” (Season 5, Episodes 16 & 17) – I was having a conversation with friends the other night, and we decided that had “The Incident” actually been LOST‘s final episode, it would have been a perfect ending for the show. If you want to know what kind of episode I am hoping to see Sunday night, look no further than Season 5’s finale. It started with our first ever look at Jacob and the Man In Black. It showed us Jacob’s off-island travels as he interacted with all of the Oceanic 815 survivors. Later, Locke convinces Ben to kill Jacob. Ilana and Bram reveal to Richard Alpert the contents of their giant case: the body of John Locke. In 1977, the plan to detonate a nuclear bomb plays out to its conclusion, that amazing moment with Juliet in the well where everything fades to white. That shit was like The Hurt Locker to infinity. Seriously. If that had been the final shot of the series, we all would have died. It was an utterly amazing moment.
02. “The Constant” (Season 4, Episode 5) – Season 4 totally kicked ass. The pace was amazing, it was action-packed, and “The Constant” became the episode de jure for LOST fans around the world. Desmond. Penny. The love story to end all LOST love stories, one that space, time and consciousness could not destroy. That heartwarming scene at the end even made me a little teary-eyed. I’m not ashamed of that one bit. I don’t know how else to describe it. Perfection.
01. “Walkabout” – Flashback to that night at Nicci and Nate’s: I’m sitting on the couch, and I’ve watched the first two parts of the pilot episode and “Tabula Rasa.” I could tell something was definitely cool about this show, LOST, but I was also waiting for something to catapult it into a new dimension of awesomeness. Then “Walkabout” happened. I swear to God, the instant I saw that reveal in the last minute I realized I was watching the kind of television show that comes along once in a lifetime. Upon repeat viewings I’ve nearly been overcome by emotion as I get to relieve the shock and awe of that first night watching LOST. Equal parts nostalgia and excitement threaten to overtake me. Since I started watching this show, I have told friends and family that if they can make it to the end of the show’s fourth episode without getting hooked, it will probably never happen. I say this knowing that pretty much anyone who follows the first four hours up to the end of John Locke’s first episode will have their jaws dropped. It’s true. I can rattle off a dozen names of people I’ve told to watch this show that cite “Walkabout” as the moment they realized they had seen something special. I wouldn’t be writing this today if it weren’t for “Walkabout,” the single best episode of LOST.
