Top Ten - Lost Episodes - Part Two

And to continue the previous list.....oh and don't read if you aren't up to date on your Lost watching - plot points are revealed.

5. Pilot – Season 1, Episode 1 and 2 – The opening of the Lost pilot is probably the closest television has ever gotten to recreating the epic, big budget special effects feeling of a movie. Jack wakes up in a forest on a mysterious island and before long finds himself saving lives as he walks right in the middle of a horrifying plane wreckage (that he somehow survived). If that weren’t enough, Lost quickly informs the audience that this isn’t Survivor – Fiction Edition, as loud animal noises, shaking trees, a rampaging polar bear, bizarre audio transmissions, and a pilot-eating creature quickly spook the survivors. Thankfully the writers introduce a group of interesting, and layered characters to ground the otherworldliness.

Favourite Moment – Sure the plane crash is spectacular, but for me, the show proved itself when Kate first meets Jack and has to stitch up one of his wounds. It’s easy to do chaos, but much more difficult to create real sparks between actors. The quiet moment between the two of them is very well written and economically introduces everything we need to know about both (for the time being).

4. The Cost of Living – Season 3, Episode 5 – Sure it was shocking in season two to kill off Ana Lucia and Libby, but they certainly weren’t fan favourites. Cut to season three, where Mr. Eko, the intriguing Drug Lord turned priest, spends an entire episode trying to deal with his past sins, only to be viciously killed by the smoke monster when he doesn’t apologize for his crimes (cause as we kind of learn, the smoke monster can take on corporeal form – it’s Lost, so sure). I didn’t see that one coming at all, not even a little bit. Of course the death would be meaningless without a good story to go behind it, and Eko’s flashback dealing with his religious struggle after the death of his brother is great (watching the vicious warlord emerge from his spiritual façade is one of the more shocking moments of this pretty shock-full episode).

Favourite Moment – I’m going with the obvious moment on this one. Seeing Eko pummeled around like a rag doll was just plain shocking.

3. Live Together, Die Alone – Season 2, Episode 22 – As season two comes to a close many plot threads that had been dangling since the pilot are capped off excellently. We learn why the plane crashed, how Desmond found his way into the Hatch, what happens when you don’t push the button, and what the deal is with Michael and Walt. It’s all much more satisfying than season one’s anticlimactic finale (All that and we don’t even go down the hatch!), and ends with a curious epilogue that has yet to be touched upon again. Desmond’s backstory is fascinating as we learn about the love of his life, Penelope, and his long stay in the Hatch. It’s as emotional as it is informative, and sets the stage wonderfully for the so far excellent third season.

Favourite Moment – Seeing the destruction of the hatch is great. I enjoyed the whole button pushing storyline, but after 22 episodes I was ready to see what happens when the button isn’t pushed. This episode doesn’t disappoint, as electromagnetic fields cause mass chaos across the island.

2. Man of Science, Man of Faith – Season 2, Episode 1 – Corey’s (that's me) Internal Dialogue for the first five minutes of this episode “That Hatch better have something good in it….oh crap…what’s this…some guy listening to Mama Cass, washing dishes, and cycling on an exercise bike. This is painful! Whose flashback are we watching now? Wait, that was a dynamite explosion! This isn’t a flashback at all, it’s the HATCH!!! We’re finally inside!!! Hurrah!!” The rest of the episode keeps that excitement level going as Jack ventures down into the subterranean world of the island. Personally though, the reason why this episode places so high on my list is that the flashback is equally strong telling the story of how Jack saved Sarah’s (his ex-wife) life. Jack’s scientific beliefs are put to the test when seemingly miraculous and connected events catch him offguard.

Favourite Moment – I’m going to cheat and choose two. For excitement value nothing beats Jack’s first steps into the Hatch. When Mama Cass blares again, and bright lights start flashing it’s easily Lost’s creepiest scene. For emotional value though, nothing tops Jack’s discovery that Sarah’s spinal surgery so that she can walk again, which Jack believes failed, was in fact a success. Matthew Fox has never been better than he is in this episode, and in this moment in particular.

1. Walkabout – Season 1, Episode – For me this isn’t just the best episode of Lost, but one of the best episodes of television I’ve ever seen. I liked the pilot a lot, but I wasn’t convinced that the show could convincingly blend deep emotionally rich stories with its fantastical premise until Walkabout. John Locke, a mysterious and quiet middle aged man, finally finds his calling when the survivors realize they need to hunt for food. As he takes out his arsenal of knives, he immediately lets everyone know that he is a true hunter. However, the flashbacks slowly start to paint another picture, tearing down the strong image of Locke by showing him as a weak, games obsessed employee at a box factory. His one goal in life is to go to Australia on a Walkabout in order to find his purpose in life. The ending is just amazing as the rug is pulled out from the audience and Locke’s true secret is finally revealed. It’s a twist that completely blindsided me, but adds so much to Locke’s character and his purpose on the island.

Favourite Moment – Locke’s revelation (“Don’t’ tell me what I can’t do”) mixed with Michael Giacchino’s music and that quick flashback blend together to create one heck of a final scene.