Welcome to the LOST retrospective, brought to you by the dynamic duo of Matt and Crit, who you know from the weekly articles reviewing and recapping each episode. LOST is arguably the greatest show of all time, and is definitely the one that will have the greatest impact from our generation of TV. With that in mind, we have decided to take a look back at each season of LOST, picking our favorite episodes and moments to share with you the reader. Each day of this week we will take a look at one season, each of us picking our five favorite episodes from the season. Will we pick the same episodes? Yes, most likely. But when it comes to LOST (and when it comes to Crit and Matt, really) there are bound to be purposeful coincidences.
So with the series now officially over, let’s take a look back at the show that has been so important since September of 2004. Follow us behind the cut for more, and let us know your thoughts about your favorite episodes/moments in the comments!
Episode 4: The Substitute
Crit: Locke is still with Helen and has a relationship with his father in the sideways universe. Fake Locke takes Sawyer to the cave and shows him the candidates names and numbers written on the walls. Great moment.
Matt: This is one of the biggest episodes of the last season. Why? Well, because before this episode were told that the numbers wouldn’t really be explained, but were rather a foreboding and connecting element of the show. Contrary to this, here was the explanation. All the names in the cave, some crossed out, showed us how connected each character was, and the ideas of fate became a huge part of the story. It was also a big moment for the Man In Black and his relationship with the other characters, because now we had no real idea of what to take of him. Was he really so villainous? Perhaps there’s more to this story than we initially believed.
Episode 6: Sundown
Matt: I’m beginning to feel like I might be the only one who truly loved this episode, but whenever me and my friends talk about season six, I bring this episode up. Why? Because this was one of the darkest and most real moments of the season that made you realize, “Wow. This is not going to end well.” The Man In Black can not be killed and can not be stopped, and the final sequence when he invades the temple and kills everyone, recruiting the survivors, and everyone walks out to Claire eerily singing, I sat there stunned. This was it. This is the end, and we’re going out with a bang.
Episode 9: Ab Aeterno
Crit: The Richard Alpert story was epic and well worth the wait to learn.
Matt: We had all wondered about Ricardos for a long time now, and seeing his origin was fantastic. Riding on a horse, arguing with the Man In Black, and having Jacob explain the island to us was all fantastic. LOST finds very clever ways of revealing certain elements of it’s mythology to us, such as the statue, Black Rock, and the island’s purpose, and this was a great way to show it off.
Episode 11: Happily Ever After
Crit: Desmond is back! The underwater scene where Desmond remembers was just chilling. It was nice to see old friends Charlie and Faraday (now Daniel Widmore) again.
Matt: Featuring the return of Desmond, Damon Lindelof said that “the conversation would change” after viewing this episode. He was right. A lot of us have been weary about the flash sideways, and while we still are to the end, this episode does do a good job of showing us the connection. Plus, this was the moment where we began to have our first real guesses as to Desmond’s true role in all of the events of LOST. He was supposed to be out, but no. Fate/Widmore keeps pulling him back in.
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Episode 14: The Candidate
Matt: It is impossible not to love this episode, for two reasons. For the first, we get our stark contrast with Locke and Jack, both in their new roles and with their original dynamics. The episode plays out so well because we get to see who the characters were in the “before the island” mentality, and we get to see who they’ve both come to be, as the new Jacob and MiB. On top of that, LOST once again proves no one is safe as Lapidus, Sayid, Jin and Sun all bite the dust. Jin and Sun themselves have one of the most moving deaths, at least since Charlie. It’s definitely a moment no one saw coming, and Sayid – after being a colossal dick all season – gets his final redemption. LOST reminds us of the general creed, and the reality of the finite time left in the show is made painfully clear.
Episode 15: Across the Sea
Crit: Some fans couldn’t stand it, and I agree that it could have been better, but for what it was, it worked. Thanks to this episode, we were able to gain some context for the Jacob/MIB battle if not the entire series.
Matt: “I thought polarizing was a good thing!” I know a lot of people are split on this episode, but you can’t deny that it did give us some huge revelations in terms of the battle between good and evil that has raged throughout the show. Yes, it does introduce a whole bunch of new questions, but ultimately that’s the great thing about LOST. While this episode reveals the possibility we are not get the nice and neat ending a lot of people hope for, it does remind us that what we love about the show is that there are always things to discuss, and elements to look at in different lights. It’s incredibly important to keep that mentality when watching the show, and two episodes from the final moments of LOST, we are reminded of the fact – and it helps get us ready for it all to end.
Episode 17: The End
The long and short of it is, we both loved it. Very much. For Crit’s write up on the finale, please click here.
