“Lost” Lists: The Best and Worst Episodes

Note to readers: Spoilers throughout. Also check out the list of Lost’s 10 Mysteries Yet to Be Solved.

Murder. Intrigue. Heartache. Affairs. Paternity surprises.

Sound like a soap opera? What if you throw in some of these? Time travel. Monsters. Polar bears. Hydrogen bombs.

Well, there’s no doubt now. We’re talking about “Lost.”

When it debuted in 2004, ABC’s science fiction drama was a lot of things. Thrilling, mysterious, character driven and weird would all be good adjectives (although perhaps not science fiction – yet). As the season premiere of the final season rapidly approaches, “Lost” remains all of these things, but it’s also become something more.

For one thing, that it is a science fiction show is now beyond argument, as the Dharma hatches, electromagnetism jibberjabber and aforementioned time travel have all shown. For another thing, it’s taken on its own mythology, most prominently in the season five finale, when we finally get to meet Jacob. Finally, it has taken all of those attributes which I had previously ascribed to it and blown them all up into something huge.

“Lost” has become big in every way that matters. It has one of TV’s most rabid fan bases, it can boast perhaps the most puzzling conundrums, and its willingness to not only delve deep into the pasts of its characters but to kill them off when it helps the story displays a narrative integrity not often seen in primetime.

Thus far, “Lost” has aired 103 episodes, most of them filled to the brim with intriguing story and compelling characterization. This article narrows down the 10 best, but first, just to keep Executive Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse humble, here are this usually wonderful show’s five worst episodes.

5. The Little Prince

Central Character: Kate

I had to get a Kate episode in here. While her on island moments are interesting at times (mostly because of the other people in them), her flashbacks are almost uniformly bad. This one isn’t as bad as some of the others, but, as the fourth episode in Season Five, it does get a little tiring.

“This Place Is Death” excluded, the “time jump” episodes get a little old, primarily because they’re nearly indistinguishable. In the past, crazy time travel shenanigans are taking place. In the present, dramatic declarations and teary eyed arguments are the norm. It all seemed like filler until the Oceanic Six finally crashed down yet again.

Worst Moment: While this episode does have a few bright spots, the weird “oh, so you don’t know that Aaron’s your grandson” moment is a bit much, and Kate’s teary eyed demeanor is annoying throughout.

4. Hearts and Minds

Central Character: Boone

In the five seasons “Lost” has aired so far, it has often been jokingly suggested that “Hey, maybe all of this is just Hurley’s crazy dream!” While the writers (fingers crossed) have thus far seemed to reject such a conclusion, they couldn’t help but use it in this Season One episode, when Boone thinks that Shannon has been killed by the Smoke Monster. Whoops! Turns out that Locke was just being a jerk by intentionally cleaning his head wound with a psychotropic drug.

There are a few redemptive moments about this episode, but only a few, the biggest one probably being that first brief glimpse inside of Locke’s unstable psyche. The bad moments, however, are there for the picking. It’s just too bad this was Boone’s only episode before he kicked the bucket.

Worst Moment: It’s a tossup between the entire premise of the episode (ie, “it didn’t happen”) and the uncomfortable stepsibling romance going on in the flashbacks.

3. Dave

Central Character: Hurley

Don’t get me wrong; some of the more hallucinatory elements of “Lost” are plain good fun, but the previous entry and this Season 2 outing fit better into the lame category. Dave, you’ll remember is Hurley’s (irritating) imaginary friend from his mental hospital days. He now is hanging out on the island, apparently trying to convince Hurley to commit suicide.

This all gets a little too silly, with Dave hurling shoes and coconuts and Hurley disgustingly shoving peanut butter into his gob. Also, the resolution with Libby seems a little bit contrived, leaving the audience wishing that they could know more about what’s happening back at the hatch, where Ben has finally admitted that he’s not Henry Gale.

Worst Moment: While all of Dave’s appearances on the island are a little dumb, the winner here might have to go to the flashback “twist” that Libby was in the mental hospital. I might take it back if it’s ever revealed why she was there, but I kind of doubt it.

2. Outlaws

Central Character: Sawyer

This one pains me to mention, as it contains one of “Lost’s” better flashback arcs, but the on-island plot is never as dumb as this Season One clunker where Sawyer seeks revenge on a gallivanting boar. The attempts at slapstick fall flat, the chase itself is pretty boring, and only the revelation of why Sawyer was in Australia keeps you from skipping out.

And let’s not forget the ultimate sin, shall we? Is the audience really ready to believe that the boar represents the spirit of Frank Duckett? Are we truly to imagine that Sawyer’s ultimate refusal to shoot this smelly Pumba absolves him from the guilt he feels over killing an innocent man? Once again, Locke is shown to provide very questionable advice.

Worst Moment: I can’t decide if it’s Sawyer’s willingness to pursue a boar into the jungle in the first place “because he messed up my stuff,” or if it’s his smarmy decision to show it mercy in the end.

1. Stranger In A Strange Land

Central Character: Jack

This episode is almost universally cited by fans as the series worst, and guess what? The fans are absolutely right. While the on-island events (Kate and Sawyer fight, Jack tries to keep Juliet alive, many meaningful romantic looks are exchange by all) are something of a snoozer to begin with, they can’t even begin to compare with the wild bout with inanity faced by Jack’s Thailand flashback.

Was there really anyone out there who was dying to know where and why Jack got his tattoos? Even more relevantly, is there anyone out there who cares about any minor mystery so much that they would willingly sit through a hackneyed, nonsensical and faux-“exotic” flashback arc like this one and then say “totally worth it”? I think not.

Does anyone really even understand what happened in this episode? Jack is apparently vacationing in Thailand, then he meets a cute and mysterious girl with whom he has sex, then he suddenly becomes inexplicably angry and demands she give him a tattoo, and then he is beaten savagely by some natives. An explanation for these events is not forthcoming.

Worst Moment: Jack’s bullheaded demands that Achara tattoo him.

OK, now onto the more positive part of this list.

Here now are the 10 best episodes of “Lost’s” mostly illustrious run. Hopefully Season Six can carve out a few places here, too. Think I missed a good one? Tell us so in the comments section!

10. There’s No Place Like Home, Parts 1, 2 and 3

Central Character: Ensemble

I was going to fill this spot with the Season Five finale, “The Incident,” and indeed a list of “Lost’s” greatest moments seems lacking without the episode when you find out Locke really is dead, but there’s no better season finale than Season Four’s three-part clincher.

Meant more than any other episodes to be watched back to back, “There’s No Place Like Home” is a movie length climax to “Lost’s” best season, and there’s no shortage of gripping moments. From Michael’s heroic end to Jin’s supposed death to Desmond’s reunion with Penny to Ben’s murder of Keamy and moving of the island to every single flashforward, this episode is packed with wonderful payoffs to all the characters we loved and hated. This is an episode clearly written with the fans in mind, and its overblown epic quality is a suitable end to one Season Four’s slowly building run.

Best Moment: Either Desmond’s reaction to Penny’s boat or Christian telling Michael, “You can go now.”

9. Walkabout

Central Character: Locke

This Season One episode is one of “Lost’s” best self-contained stories, ending with the reveal that everyone’s most loved/hated boar hunter was in a wheelchair before 815’s unceremonious end. At this point in the show, “Don’t tell me what I can’t do!” had not yet become the ultimate cliché, and Locke’s struggle with his more independent desires was truly touching to watch.

This episode also gives us some of our first insights into what a sometimes pathetic character lies beneath Locke’s balding-yet-buff exterior. His desire to be special first rears its seemingly innocuous head at the cardboard box company, and the first hints of Helen are seen here. This is a benchmark episode for the standalone shows that occasionally marked the first three seasons.

Best Moment: While I grew to hate Locke as the show went on, you can’t help but feel good when he realizes he can wiggle his toes again.

8. Greatest Hits

Central Character: Charlie

While this episode serves mainly as a segue into another episode further down on this list, Charlie’s predeath wake shows the character at his strongest. His realization that he has never wanted to die less than he does now coupled with his knowledge that his death is the sacrifice he must make could have been an exercise in rote melancholy, but it instead puts Dominic Monaghan’s acting chops on full display, giving us Charlie at his very best (well, besides that one episode further down). Desmond also provides the audience with some of his most conflicted acting to date.

The writers’ choice to counterpoint the sadness with Charlie’s note to Claire makes for a perfect emotional balance, as the DriveShaft rocker is shown, finally, on the road to redemption. Charlie’s journey on the show is one of the most complete and the most interesting; that it was done in only three seasons makes it a bit sadder for fans, but also a bit better.

Best Moment: Either when he writes down “The night I met you” (Awwww!) or when he makes his ultimate decision to go through with mission by knocking Desmond out with the paddle.

7. ?

Central Character: Mr. Eko

While Eko’s two other flashbacks (as Nigerian warlord and renegade priest) contain a lot more action, the story of his investigation of a resurrected girl provokes the most interest. It’s an out of place moment for Eko, who usually responds to problems by beating them up. He’s not sure what to think or believe about what he has seen, and it foreshadows the faith he finds on the island.

It also features the discovery of the Pearl station, which, coming at the end of Season Two, only serves to add to the mystery of the Dharma Initiative while making Locke’s resolve to keep pushing the button even weaker. It’s also the first episode post Ana Lucia’s death, so you gotta love it, right?

Best Moment: Hands down, The bloodcurdling scream on the autopsy tape.

6. This Place Is Death

Central Character: Jin

This great episode is a relief after a string of relatively monotonous (if sometimes entertaining) Season Five time jump episodes. This time, we get to see what Jin has been up to, and it turns out that what he’s been doing is a lot more interesting than getting nosebleeds and creating compass-based time paradoxes. Namely, he’s been hanging out with Rousseau in the past, and we finally get to see what really happened when “the French chick” made it to the Island.

While the filling in of show lore is interesting enough, Jin’s bewilderment (remember, he’s not traveling with the physicist) and loneliness add a nice touch to things. This is simply a story well-told.

Best Moment: So many. Jin’s witnessing of Danielle’s slip into insanity (not to mention the rotting severed arm), Charlotte’s warning to Jin and the odd case of the disappearing well spring to mind.

5. Orientation

Central Character: Locke

While the flashback (Locke meets Helen) is good and the Michael/Sawyer/Jin arc is serviceable, this episode will always be remembered as the one when things really started to get weird. First you get Desmond, who gets even more freaked out than he already is when the computer gets shot. Then, however, you get the doozy.

All of the Dharma orientation films have been fascinating, but none so much so as the first appearance by Dr. Marvin Candle, later known as Pierre Chang. His calm demeanor while describing the bizarre circumstances with which the survivors are faced adds another layer to the surreal proceedings, and his allusions to the initative’s former functionality (not to mention the first mention of The Incident) opened up a whole new facet of the show.

Best Moment: The video.

4. The Constant

Central Character: Desmond

This episode is probably “Lost’s” trippiest, and it also marks one of the show’s first outright forays into its then-little-addressed time travel themes. Desmond’s time switches were dire, odd and confusing, building and building to the climactic do-or-die scene in the freighter’s communication room.

However, this episode would be nothing without its superb characters, and Desmond, Faraday and even Sayid are played perfectly here. Desmond is the character I most want to see happy when it’s all said and done, and hearing Penny’s voice was happy for the audience, too.

Best Moment: The phone call and Desmond’s strange conversation with past Faraday.

3. The Long Con

Central Character: Sawyer

Sawyer’s character has always been one of the most layered, and nowhere is his duality more on display than in this Season Two tale of how he gets all the guns. His mean-spiritedness and self-flagellation are readily apparent, and the audience is made to realize what a terrible life Sawyer has lived. It’s a story that inspires both pity and revulsion, and Josh Holloway makes it work with his excellent portrayal of the conflicted con man.

This episode also contains one of the best integrations of flashback into the on-island story, as his meeting and eventual reluctant conning of Cassidy mirrors his unexplainable thievery and alienation from the rest of the survivors. There’s really not a note out of place here, making it more than deserving of a top spot on this list.

Best Moment: Of course, I have to give the best moment to the surprise twist at the episode’s end, when it’s revealed that Charlie was in fact the mysterious Other who attempted to kidnap Sun. I defy anyone to tell me they saw that coming.

2. The Shape Of Things To Come

Central Character: Ben

This Season Four episode has everything that “Lost” is known for. You’ve got the manipulation in Ben’s flashforward conniving, a mythology update with the revelation that Ben can summon the smoke monster, some great character moments centering around the death of Alex, and, of course, the action.

Oh, the action! This might be “Lost’s” most visceral episode of all time, with Keamy’s attack on Dharmaville, the smoke monster’s decimation of the extraction team, and, of course, the future havoc Ben wreaks around the globe. His domination of the two Bedouins (while wearing the at-the-time mysterious parka) is one of his finest moments.

Best Moment: “Oh, so you do speak English?”

1. Through The Looking Glass

Central Character: Primarily Jack, but it’s Desmond and Charlie’s episode too

Once again, I must defer to the general fandom on this one. “Through The Looking Glass” is one of the most emotional, action-packed, character-driven and just plain watchable episodes of “Lost,” and it never misses a beat. All four arcs (Jack and the survivors, Sayid/Jin/Bernard/Hurley, Jack flashforwards and Charlie and Desmond) are engrossing and well done, and the final moments of two of those arcs have served as defining moments for the series.

It really is a great point/counterpoint to juxtapose one of your most unexpected plot twists with an event that had been foreshadowed throughout all of Season Three, and both Charlie’s death and the show’s first flashforward are handled so well. For an episode so gloomy to be so universally lauded takes genuine skill on the part of the writing, acting and production team, and everyone responsible for this one deserves a standing ovation (or at least a firm handshake or something).

Best Moment: If this was a normal episode, it would clearly be Sayid’s breakdancing neck snap move, but this is not a normal episode. Between the flashforward reveal and Charlie’s death, I’ll have to go with Mr. Pace. It is unquestionably “Lost’s” best fatality so far, and even the toughest of us might find it hard to keep our eyes from watering.

For more Lost lists, check out Ryan’s blog.