Top Ten Episodes #3: 1.04 "Walkabout"

Quote: "Don't tell me what I can't do!"



TV.com rating: 9.5, #14 overall

Brief Summary: Lost at its best. The first time we find out anything about the strange, orange-eating, secret-telling man who apparently has a trunk full of knives.

The episode has two simple threads: The funeral and the boar hunt.

The fuselage has to be burned because the decomposing bodies are attracting some renegade pork which, in turn, gives Locke the idea to get some chops for the camp. Kate and Michael go with him, the former to try and use the transceiver that Sayid fixed and the latter to, well, be a manly dad or something.

Michael is injured during the hunt and Kate drops and breaks the transceiver during a Monster scare. Locke comes face-to-face with the Monster and saw something "beautiful." He also manages to bring a boar back to camp, earning the respect of all the hungry Losties.

Meanwhile, Claire gathers up all the info on the dead for a eulogy at the funeral. She asks Jack to speak, but he wants nothing to do with saying goodbye, especially since it seems to usually involve whacking coffins with a sledgehammer. Claire reads off the names of the dead as they burn the fuselage.

Other minor plot points include, Jack getting Rose to talk, in which she informs him her husband's still alive, Shannon manipulating Charlie into catching a fish for her, and Jack seeing what he thinks is his dad standing in the water.

But the biggie this episode is Locke's flashback, the contrast between the confident, skilled leader shaman we see on the island and the meek, downtrodden, pathetically beaten man we see beforehand.

Oh, and the fact he was paralyzed before he fell out of the sky. Yeah, that too.

Why it's a classic: Well, duh.

Oh, you mean you actually want me to talk about the episode? :)

I was actually surprised how low Walkabout was on the TV.com listings considering, I think, most "Lost" fans would consider it the best episode of the show. And it really hasn't lost any of its luster over time either; you still get goosebumps when you see Locke in the wheelchair, when you see said wheelchair sitting by the burning fuselage, when you see Locke staring up at the Monster.

"Walkabout" was the best of the character introductions, not just because it was the best revelation of all the characters, but because 1) it was a perfectly written and paced episode and 2) Terry O'Quinn has done a masterful job of portraying a complex character both as powerful and tragic as John Locke. Let's take a look at the first season character surprises (only the surprises here, not the episodes themselves) and see how they stack up, not counting this one, my favorite.

2) Hurley's a cursed multi-millionaire
3) Walt's the second coming of Franklin Richards; his dad can barely deal with a normal child
4) Kate's a fugitive who did something really, really bad
5) Sawyer's a con man with a tragic past
6) Sun can speak English and her husband works for the Japanese mob
7) Sayid's a torturer who helped his true love escape from execution
8) Jack's a brilliant surgeon with daddy issues
9) Charlie's a druggie rocker
10) Boone and Shannon do the nasty

Looking back at these, the thing that stands out to me is how much more powerful the revelation was when it dealt with something that was happening on the island. Charlie's a drug addict? Ho hum. Hurley won the lottery with the same freakin' numbers on the Hatch? Whoa! Can't wait for next week!

The revelation that something about the island allowed Locke to walk again was really the first real notion, aside from the Monster and a brief glimpse of Christian Shepherd, that perhaps there was something magical or paranormal about the island. The moment we saw Locke in the wheelchair in the Australian office it made us think that maybe, just maybe, this show was a bit more than a glorified "Cast Away" on the small screen. It changed the dynamic, and genre, of the show in one moment and greatly contributed to its popularity; Locke is still arguably the most popular character and any episode featuring him seems to drive up the ratings.

If you have a friend who has never seen an episode of "Lost" before and just wanted to show him one episode that perfectly encapsulates why the show is so enjoyable, I'd argue that "Walkabout," not the Pilot, is the episode you show him or her. What more can you say about that?

Summary: Okay, before y'all kill me for not making this #1, let me just say that the hardest decision I had to make was the order of my Top 3. I love all these episodes and I think they're all terrific.

I put "Walkabout" at #3 because, while I loved the episode and I think it's probably THE most representative episode of Lost at its best, the other two episodes above it on my list 1) are also terrific episodes and 2) I like them for very different, subjective reasons than most people would probably give.

Is "Walkabout" your #1? Do you even think it's the best Locke episode (notice it's my third Locke episode in my Top 10). Would "Tallahassee" or "Lockdown" give it a run for your money? What say you!

Previous Reviews:
#10: White Rabbit
#9: The Man From Tallahassee
#8: Exodus
#7: Numbers
#6: Lockdown
#5: Man of Science, Man of Faith
#4: The Pilot

Top Ten Episodes #4: 1.01 "The Pilot"

Quote: "Guys, where are we?"


TV.com Rating: 9.46 and 9.43 for Parts I & II respectively (#16 and #22 overall)

Brief Synopsis: Let's do this "We Didn't Start The Fire" style, eh? Any attempt to sing this is thoroughly discouraged by the author. Bold are flashbacks.

Jack. Vodka. Vincent. Beach. Claire falls. Locke walks. Turbine Man. Wing crashes. Boone finally brings the pen.

Jack and Kate, Sewing drapes, 1-2-3-4-5. Marshall down, Monster roars, Cindy brings Jack a drink.

Cockpit hike, Charlie sings, Pilot wakes up. Transceiver found, Charlie high, 1,000 miles off course.

Monster attacks, pilot gets snatched, 1-2-3-4-5 (again!) Jack is safe, Charlie's fine, Pilot's in a tree.

Cindy chases Charlie, Sawyer fights Sayid, Hurley makes a friend, Republican Guard.

Hike number II, Kate's coming too, Jin serves up some urchin. Shannon and Boone, Shannon's coming too, Sawyer joins in the fun.

Walt and Locke, Oldest game in the world, Do you want to know a secret? Radio check, growling attack, "I just shot me a polar bear!"

Marshall's still out, Hurley's bad with blood, Sawyer has the badge. Kate's says she's bad with guns, but an excellent liar, the radio finally works.

Shannon translates, sixteen years, all of them are dead.

Guys, where are we?

Why it's a classic: Think back to all the first episodes of television series you've seen. How many of them stand out in your mind? Furthermore, compared to the overall quality of the rest of the series, how many of them are among the best the series has to offer?

Not many.

When you generally think of first episodes, you think of raw, stilted dialogue and actors trying to find their character and their chemistry with each other. Here are a few famous ones that stand out in my mind:

1. Seinfeld - As great a show as Seinfeld was, the pilot was a poor representation of the series as a whole and an example of a "true" pilot - an example of an unrefined concept. Not terribly funny, no Elaine, Kramer's called "Kessler." Many of the elements of the show are here, but it's still trying to find it's footing, like it was through much of the first season.

2. Cheers - Better than Seinfeld here - the show is fairly established and it felt like a true episode of the show. It also introduced the series well - setting up Diane's predicament when she's dumped by her boss and betrothed.

But it's still not perfect. Who knew Cliff Claven would become such a TV icon from his couple lines as a throwaway extra? The writers certainly didn't yet. And Sam and Diane hadn't quite gotten their rhythm and banter down. But it still felt like an episode of "Cheers," albeit an ordinary one. In fact, if it wasn't the first episode, there wouldn't be anything remarkable about it at all.

3. Star Trek: TNG - I remember watching this with my parents and brothers the night it premiered. We were all so excited to have another Star Trek series on the air. And it was an event - a big budget, well-hyped show with a thorough plot. "Encounter at Farpoint" introduced Q, one of my favorite Star Trek villains and had a clever, interesting (albeit predictable) plot. A refined introduction to the series to be sure, and one that intended to suck viewers in.

But I remember afterwards thinking how the show could be good, but it didn't really inspire me to watch the rest of the series. I thought Picard was stiff and boring compared to Kirk, Riker was a smarmy, arrogant idiot, and Wesley was just annoying. Granted, I was comparing it to the series that came before (and, for the record, I'm not a Trekkie at all - I just enjoy good sci-fi on TV. Buck Rogers, Bionic Man, etc...), but I really didn't think at the time that ST: TNG would become the phenomenon it eventually grew into. And again, compared to the series as a whole, it was a rather ordinary episode and one that even feels a bit awkward when viewed in conjunction with later seasons.

Complete aside here: If you love ST:TNG and haven't seen the Episode Guide Song, I highly recommend checking it out. :)

But the reason I'm bringing all these up is because I think you could make a case for the Pilot Episode of "Lost" being one of the greatest Pilots (or first episodes) in the history of television.

Yes, it has the advantages of a monster budget and a terrific cast. But let's face it, "Lost" could have flopped from the very start. With weaker writing and acting, "Lost" could have turned into an unfunny "Gilligan's Island" and been canceled well before they even found the Hatch.

Instead, however, not only did the show become a tremendous hit, but in some ways "Lost" has spent it's entire run trying to live up to its first episode. The writers set the bar so incredibly high, it makes you appreciate how good that first season was all the way through. The first real clunker of an episode for me wasn't until the aptly-named "Adrift," the second episode of Season 2.

And while I don't think I was totally hooked on the show until "Special" and "Numbers," when more of the seemingly fantastical aspects of the show reared their psychic and numerical heads, I certainly wanted to keep watching to find out where that transmission was coming from (and give the writers credit here - they answered that question within the first ten episodes).

You also have to give props to the cast, who gelled together quicker than any I can think of in my couch potato history. Of course, filming in a tropical island paradise may help matters there - or, perhaps, force them. Heh.

But there was so much to like about the Pilot as a "Lost" episode itself - the initial scenes between Jack and Kate, Sawyer and the polar bear, the Monster and the pilot, and Danielle's transmission, to name a few.

The Pilot makes my Top 10 list because not only do I think it's one of the best pilots ever made, but because in the context of the show it doesn't feel like a pilot - it simply feels like an excellent episode of "Lost" and one that easily makes my Top 5.

Here's hoping when I rewrite this list after Season 6, the final episode is here alongside it.

Summary: It felt almost cheesy having the first episode on this list. I almost took it out because it was the first episode, but I simply couldn't in retrospect. The Pilot is one of the few episodes I've watched more than twice - it's simply a spectacular 80 minutes of entertainment - one that still gives me chills each time I view it.

So whatcha think? Is The Pilot one of Lost's best or am I simply being just too nostalgic and gooshy? (a definite possibility, BTW)

Barring disaster at work - next week #3!

Previous Reviews:
#10: White Rabbit
#9: The Man From Tallahassee
#8: Exodus
#7: Numbers
#6: Lockdown
#5: Man of Science, Man of Faith

Top Ten Episodes #7: 1.18 "Numbers"

Quote: "You shouldn't have done that! You've opened the box!"



TV.com Rating: 9.5 (#14)

Brief Summary: Michael starts to build a new raft in the wake of the first's destruction. Hurley suggests they get a battery from Danielle to power a transceiver, but when they go to ask him if he would get one from her, he refuses on grounds that she's insane.

Hurley spots the Numbers he used to win the lottery - 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 - on one of Danielle's notes that Sayid had taken. He decides to set off after her to both get a battery for the raft and to confront her about them. When the others figure out where he had gone, they set out after him.

Through flashbacks, we see how Hurley won the lottery playing the Numbers, but ran into great misfortune as well. His grandfather dies, his new house burns down, he's arrested for being a drug dealer. Plus, he triples his wealth through misfortune - a tropical storm hitting Florida sending orange futures skyrocketing, his insured sneaker company in Canada burning down, killing eight people.

We learn he first heard the numbers from Leonard Simms, a fellow inmate in his insane asylum who repeats them over and over. He asks Lenny where he first heard the Numbers and tells him he used them to play the lottery. Lenny looks up and tells him he "shouldn't have done that" and he's "opened the box!" Lenny then tells him that he and Sam Toomey heard them while stationed in the South Pacific and that Sam now resides in Australia.

Hurley heads to Australia to find Sam Toomey's widow, who's living in a desolate cabin in the middle of nowhere. She tells Hurley how, like him, Sam won a bean counting contest using the Numbers and was beset with great misfortune afterwards. She says Sam committed suicide because he was convinced he was cursed. Hurley is distraught, but Mrs. Toomey comforts him saying we all make our own luck, despite her husband not believing it.

Hurley finds Danielle who tells him how her team heard the Numbers transmission when they first came to the island. When she found the radio tower, she changed the transmission to her distress call. Hurley tells her his story and she agrees with him that he's cursed. She also gives him a battery for the raft.

Locke also builds the cradle for Claire this episode.

Why it's a classic: To many fans, I think, this was the episode that hooked them for good. I mean, yeah, it was neat that there was an island with a Monster, polar bears, some mysterious "Others" who kidnap pregnant chicks, and crazy French women running around. And it was intriguing that there were all these odd connections between this seemingly random group of people.

But the closing shot of this episode - the Numbers on the Hatch - sealed the deal for many people, including myself. Not only did they establish the foundation of Lost's expansive and addictive mythology, but if people weren't obsessed with the Hatch before, well they just HAD to know what was inside now.

And there was really no buildup at all to this episode - it just came out of nowhere. Hurley was the last of the main characters to get a flashback in the first season. In fact, Jack, Kate, Charlie, Jin/Sun, and Sawyer had all already had their second by the time we were treated to Hurley's story. And, really, what had been Hurley's big contribution been to the group at that point?

He built a golf course.

I know, I know. Hurley was the one who found Ethan out by checking everyone in the manifest. Fine. But really, up until "Numbers" aired, Hurley was merely the stereotypical, wise-cracking fat guy whose sole purpose on the show was comic relief. He was the buddy, the pal. The guy everyone liked because he usually got all the good lines, but had no depth to his character at all.

Boy, how that all changed.

Hurley went from being comic relief to a tragic figure with deep psychological scars and, at the time, appeared to be central to the mystery of the island. After all, it couldn't just be coincidence that the Numbers were on the Hatch, was it? He couldn't have crash landed on the island by accident, could he?

Well, actually, now we know that it probably was a coincidence. We know how he ended up hearing the Numbers and it seems it really was an accident that he ended up on this island (although that coincidence was so shocking, it did cause his hallucination of Dave to reemerge).

But at the time, we didn't know any of this. All we had were the stories of everyone who had come in contact with the Numbers and the fact they were on the Hatch, a revelation that couldn't help but give you chills after hearing Hurley's conversation with Lenny:

Lenny	4 8 15 16 23 42...
Hurley	Hi, Lenny. Remember me? Hugo. Hurley. Well I was... was just, you know, in the neighborhood, and um... Look, Lenny, I've got to know, what do the numbers mean?
Lenny	4 8 15 16 23 42...
Hurley	C'mon, Lenny, give me something. Anything. Where'd you get the numbers. Is that why you're here, Lenny? Is it because of the numbers. Did they do something to you? Because I think they did something to me. I think they turned me into a... a jinx, bad news to everyone around me. And when I tell people I think I'm the cause they... they... they look at me like I'm nuts. They don't believe me. But I know, ever since I won the lottery with those numbers.
Lenny	You used those numbers to play the lo... lottery?
Hurley	Uh, yeah.
Lenny	Well, you shouldn't have done that. You've opened the box!
Hurley	I what?
Lenny	Ah, you shouldn't have used those numbers.
Hurley	Why not?
Lenny	It doesn't stop! You've got to get away from those numbers! You've got to get far, far away!
Orderly	Alright, hey, hold on. Lenny, Lenny. Calm down. Lenny.
Lenny	Do you hear. No, don't you understand? You've got to get away from it or it won't stop!
Orderly	Try and calm down.
Hurley	Wait a second, I need some answers.
Orderly	Sir, you need to step away.
Hurley	Those numbers, where'd you get them?
Lenny	Sam Toomey. He heard them.
Hurley	Who's Sam Toomey?
Lenny	He heard them in Kalgoorlie.
Hurley	What's Kalgoorlie?
Lenny	It's a town where he used to work.
Hurley	It's a town where?
Lenny	In Australia! Oh God!

That scene still gives me chills.

"You've opened the box!"

"It doesn't stop!"

The Hatch is later referred to "Pandora's Box" by Locke, but you first got the analogy here. You couldn't help but think the Hatch contained all sorts of horrible things (and hope) waiting to be unleashed after hearing that exchange. And it did, really. The horrible thing was the Discharge, which has already wreaked havoc on the Others and the island (and poor Eko), but the hope was Desmond, who may end up being the salvation of all the remaining survivors.

Lost has some of the best character development of any show I've ever seen. But Hurley's is, by far, leaps and bounds over everyone else. The fact that the jovial character we all had come to know and love ended up one of the most tortured and angst-filled of the entire show was an absolute treat.

So you got the final backstory of the major castmembers, some significant plot development, and a absolute bomb of an ending. Could it get any better? YES! How?

You get the delightful subplot of Locke building a cradle for Claire.

This was mystical Locke in his prime. Cool. Confident. Nothing he couldn't accomplish. The Shaman. Did you realize it was a cradle before he turned it over? I didn't. But I grinned like a Cheshire Cat when he did. It may seem like a small thing, but it just shows how every single moment of this episode featured quality. And that's something truly worthy of a Top 10.

Summary: "Numbers" could have fallen anywhere in my 6-10 group. I had it at #10, moved it to #6, then settled it at #7 (my Top 5 are pretty set in stone at this point).

What say you? One of your favorites? Should it be Top 5? Do you like Hurley and his backstories? Were you as blown away by the ending of this episode as I was? Have at it! :)

Previous Reviews:
#10: White Rabbit
#9: The Man From Tallahassee
#8: Exodus

Top Ten Episodes #8: 1.23 "Exodus"

Quote: "Do you really think all this is an accident that we, a group of strangers survived, many of us with just superficial injuries? Do you think we crashed on this place by coincidence... especially, this place? We were brought here for a purpose, for a reason, all of us. Each one of us was brought here for a reason."


TV.com Rating: 9.5-9.6 (Part one is 9.5, #13; Part two is 9.6, #9)

Brief summary: Oh, jeez. So much happened, where do I begin? Well, basically this is three separate stories:

1) The trek to the Black Rock to get the dynamite to blow the Hatch
2) The launch (and very short voyage) of the raft
3) Packing up the beach, and getting Aaron back from Danielle

Through these stories, we saw the Black Rock for the first time, learned a lot about the Monster, met some more Others, and blew open the Hatch.

And these three epics were all sandwiched around flashbacks behind the individual stories of how everyone boarded their fateful flight. In these, we learned why no one noticed Locke was paralyzed before (he was carried onto the plane before anyone else), that Jin was threatened in the airport bathroom, how ironic it was that Shannon turned her future boyfriend into airport security, and how Hurley's "bad luck" allowed him to board in the nick of time. We also even met Ana-Lucia for the first time, giving us our first hint that Rose's prediction of Bernard being alive was true (since she made a point of mentioning to Jack that she was in the rear of the plane).

And, of course, it ended with a terrific (depending on your point of view) double cliffhanger.

Why it's a classic: I have to admit, I had a slightly different viewing experience of "Exodus" than many Lost fans. My roommate at the time, Josh, and I bought the season 1 DVD set two weeks before the season 2 opener, watched 3-4 episodes per day and finished them up about four days or so before it aired. Our total waiting time for "Man of Science, Man of Faith" was about 96 hours.

Obviously, doing it this way will slightly color your opinion on things. We were both stoked after watching "Exodus" - what a fantastic finale, can't wait until Wednesday when we get to see what's in the Hatch!

As opposed to everyone else who were forced to wait six months.

But even if you were pissed at having to wait, one can't deny how incredible the finale was, simply packed with now-classic scenes. "Exodus," in my humble opinion, was the best of the three season finales. Yes, it was technically three hours as opposed to two. But really, "Greatest Hits" was the prelude to "Through The Looking Glass" and I think "Exodus" blows them both out of the water. Interesting too that TTLG went back to the Exodus formula with the intertwined but separate storylines with the entire cast that was (somewhat) abandoned in "Live Together, Die Alone."

But what puts Exodus above TTLG in my book is that there are so many more classic lines and moments which I still remember today after only one viewing two years ago. GH & TTLG, while both great episodes with an equally good cliffhanger, just isn't as quotable or iconic.

Still disagree? Let's count down the top 10 moments from "Exodus, Parts 1-3."

As always, thanks to The Lost Hatch for their invaluable episode transcripts.

10) The Hurley Bird

We start with what's become a Lost inside joke. On the trek to the Black Rock, Hurley sees a huge bird of prey flying overhead which seems to screech his name. This prompts him to say that naming this place the Dark Territory was "genius."

While it seemed like nothing at the time, the Hurley Bird proved to be so popular he made a re-appearance in the season 2 finale as well.

And I have to say, I was greatly disappointed we didn't see him in "Through the Looking Glass" too.

9) Shannon and Walt

Walt	Why are you folding the clothes?
Shannon	Because I'm anal. Is there something you want?
Walt	I think you should take Vincent.
Shannon	Are you serious?
Walt	He'll take care of you.
Shannon	What's makes you think I need a dog to take care of me?
Walt	Vincent took care of me when my mom died and nobody would talk to me. They pretend like nothing happened. So I had to talk to Vincent. He's a good listener. You could talk to him about Boone if you want.
Shannon	Alright, but only until you get us rescued, okay.

I greatly disliked Shannon from the start, but this moment with Walt was one of the of the most touching of the series. It was also the only interaction her character had that felt genuine. Maybe it's just me, but I really couldn't feel any chemistry between her and Sayid at all.

But Walt's gesture was as genuine as they come, and it set up several very creepy second season scenes as the bond they forged on the beach with Vincent manifested itself literally in a dripping vision of Walt in the jungle. Cool.

8) Hurley in the Airport

Hurley's run through the airport was just a terrific scene, capped by his thumbs up to Walt when he finally makes his flight. There wasn't much done with Hurley's "curse" in the third season, really nothing since Libby was shot (which of course Hurley blames on himself). But I always thought it was neat the way the writers made Hurley almost miss Flight 815, only to "luckily" make it in time.

But his crazy run was also notable because it was so chock full of well-placed numbers, including quite possibly the best easter egg of the series: The girls soccer team. Check it out:




7) Stop me if you've heard this one: Con man and a surgeon walk into a bar

Before the raft launched, Jack approached Sawyer in the jungle and gave him a gun. Sawyer was so touched by this expression of manly testosterone, he broke down and told Jack his story about meeting his dad in a Sydney bar.

It was a great scene with a great setup several episodes before and, much like the payoff we got earlier this year with Ben showing Jack the Red Sox World Series clip, it didn't disappoint.

Jack	Lumberjack.
Sawyer	Excuse me?
Jack	I never asked you what you did back in the real world, so I'm taking a wild guess lumberjack.
Sawyer	Something I can help you with, Doc, because I've got work to do.
Jack	I've got something for you. You're the only one on the raft who knows how to use one.
Sawyer	What do I need a gun for?
Jack	Just in case.
Sawyer	You think we're going to run out of food or water? Am I supposed to put the kid out of his misery?
Jack	Just in case.
Sawyer	What are you doing with the rest of them?
Jack	I'm giving them to Sayid.
Sawyer	Going into the jungle after the boom sticks, huh?
Jack	Yeah.
Sawyer	By the time you get back we'll be in the water. Guess this is pretty much goodbye, then.
Jack	Yeah, I guess it is. Good luck, Sawyer.
Sawyer	Jack. About a week before we all got on the plane I got to talking to this man in a bar in Sydney. He was American, too. A doctor. I've been on some benders in my time, but this guy he was going for an all time record. It turns out this guy has a son... his son's a doctor, too. They had some kind of big time falling out. The guy knew it was his fault even though his son was back in the States thinking the same damn thing. See, kids are like dogs, you knock them around enough they'll think they did something to deserve it. Anyway, there's a pay phone in this bar. And this guy, Christian, tells me he wishes he had the stones to pick up the phone, call his kid, tell him he's sorry, that he's a better doctor than he'll ever be... he's proud and he loves him. I had to take off, but something tells me he never got around to making that call. Small world, huh?
Jack	Yeah.
Sawyer	Good luck, Jack.

6) Launching the Raft

Lost has had it's share of touching cast montages, the best of which was when the Tailies arrived back on the beach with Sawyer, Michael, and Jin. But this was second best with everyone gathered on the beach to see the raft off. Vincent getting left behind, Sun and Kate saying goodbye.

And at the time, you really didn't know how the writers were going to resolve it. Obviously they couldn't have four starring members of their cast leave the show (although that doesn't sound quite as strange now given their propensity for killing off cast members), so you knew they'd have to end back up on the island somehow. But didn't you have a bit of fear in the back of your mind that something bad was going to happen? I did.

Touching and sweet with just a dash of dread. Just how I like it.

5) Smoke Monster: Enter Stage Right

Kate	What was that thing?
Danielle	It's a security system.
Jack	Security system? What does that mean?
Danielle	It's purpose is that of any security systems... to protect something.
Kate	Protect what?
Danielle	The island.

Uh, what the heck was that!?

Remember the first time you saw the black smoke? A little wisp of a thing fluttering through the jungle. When I first saw it, I really didn't think it could be the Monster. In fact, it was about as far from what I expected the Monster to be as anything.

Of course, then it uprooted a couple trees and tried to drag Locke into a gaping hole and I thought "Hey, this could work." :)

And Danielle's comment that it was the island's "security system" also suggests that she knows more about it than she's letting on. I know she's a few spark plugs short of a full engine, but the fact no one has ever questioned her fully on this is beyond maddening. Maybe next season she'll have a little pow-wow with her daughter and we'll finally get her backstory (which happen to be the one Lost thing I want to know most of all).

There was a review of "Jurassic Park" that sticks with me from my old hometown paper, the Albany Times-Union. Basically, the critic complains about the first hour of the film, how slow it was to build. But then he says when the T-Rex came on the screen "talk about charisma. He bares his teeth and the show comes to life for a rollicking hour."

That's how I feel about Smokey. :)

4) The Black Rock

Danielle: The Black Rock is not far. This is where it all began... where my team got infected... where Montand lost his arm. We must move quickly.

Raise your hand if you were expecting the Black Rock to be a giant pirate ship sitting in the middle of the jungle. No? Me either.

Of all the WTF moments Lost has given us, this has to be one of the top five. Curious too that this is where Danielle says her team got infected. Granted, I still think that DHARMA's sickness is a hoax. But that doesn't mean her men didn't become sick from something else.

3) Arzt

Arzt	You know what I'm... I'm sorry, I'm sor... I'm sorry that I'm not cool enough to be part of your merry little band of adventurers.
Hurley	What?
Arzt	I know a clique when I see it. I teach high school, pally. You know, you people think you're the only ones on this island doing anything of value. I've got news for you. There were 40 other survivors of this plane crash. And we are all people, too.
Hurley	Okay.

Arzt was really one of the great bit roles we'll ever see on television. Think "Andy, Andy" from the early seasons of "Cheers." Arzt was the writers' way of parodying themselves and voicing all the grievances fans had during the season:

"Why don't we see any of the other survivors?"
"Why doesn't Hurley lose weight?"
"Why so few people get to do all the cool stuff on the island?"

Of course, the fact they blew him up in mid-grievance could also be a way of them telling us to stop complaining and just enjoy the ride. And Hurley's now classic, "Dude, you've got some Arzt on you" line is still one of the funniest of the show.

2) Man of Science, Man of Faith

Locke	That's why you and I don't see eye-to-eye sometimes, Jack because you're a man of science.
Jack	Yeah, and what does that make you?
Locke	Me, well, I'm a man of faith. Do you really think all this is an accident that we, a group of strangers survived, many of us with just superficial injuries? Do you think we crashed on this place by coincidence... especially, this place? We were brought here for a purpose, for a reason, all of us. Each one of us was brought here for a reason.
Jack	Brought here? And who brought us here, John?
Locke	The island. The island brought us here. This is no ordinary place, you've seen that, I know you have. But the island chose you, too, Jack. It's destiny.
Jack	Did you talk with Boone about destiny, John?
Locke	Boone was a sacrifice that island demanded. What happened to him at that plane was a part of a chain of events that led us here... that led us down a path, that led you and me to this day, to right now.
Jack	And where does that path end, John?
Locke	The path ends at the hatch. The hatch, Jack... all of it... all of it happened so that we could open the hatch.
Jack	No, no, we're opening the hatch so that we can survive.
Locke	Survival is all relative, Jack.
Jack	I don't believe in destiny.
Locke	Yes, you do. You just don't know it yet.

Absolutely the best Jack/Locke, science/faith exchange, I still get chills hearing it. And it's this exchange that later led Jack to warn Kate of their potential "Locke problem." Does Jack have a destiny on the island? I think he does, but I also think there's a logical explanation for why that is.

Interesting that their path doesn't end at the Hatch, though. The Hatch is really where it begins.

1) "Only, the thing is we're gonna have to take the boy."

Did you get chills when that line was spoken by the man we'd eventually come to know and love as Tom? Did you see it coming? In retrospect, I probably should have but I certainly didn't at the time. I remember thinking "oh crap, oh crap, oh crap" as Sawyer was shot, Walt was yanked, and the raft was blown up. And even though it wasn't funny at the time, it was the first time we ever heard Michael say "Waaaaaaaaaaaaalt!"

The ending of this episode reminds me of the ending of Stephen King's "The Waste Lands," part of his Dark Tower series that undoubtedly influenced the writers. The end of TWL has one of the best cliffhangers I've ever read, one which left you thinking "Good lord, how could they end it there? I need to know what happens NOW." King published TWL in 1992. We didn't get the next book until 1997. For any of you jealous that I didn't have to suffer with "Exodus," be comforted in the fact that I do know what suffering is.

The other thing that makes this episode so fantastic is how "Exodus" makes me want to share it with someone. Imagine sitting there watching it with someone that's never seen it before. You want to see the look on their face when the raft explodes, and watch them squirm as the camera pans down the Hatch's shaft. To me that's one of the things that really makes the episode great - that it makes you want to share these moments with someone. Other Lost episodes do this, but this one has more than just about any other.

Summary:

Before the second season began, Stephen King wrote a terrific Entertainment Weekly column on Lost, basically saying that the show should tell its story and end rather than drag on and get stale. He recommended two or three seasons at most and, truth be told, "Exodus" felt like it was the end of the first novel in a trilogy, much moreso than the other two finales to me at least.

It could have been higher on the list, no question. But the real question is how can I like this finale better than the other two? And what do all of you think? Is "Exodus" the best of the three finales? Or do you like Future Jack from "Through The Looking Glass" or all the Desmond-y goodness of "Live Together, Die Alone?"

Previous Reviews:
#10: White Rabbit
#9: The Man From Tallahassee

Top 10 Episodes, #10: 1.05 "White Rabbit"

Quote: "Last week most of us were strangers. But we're all here now. And God knows how long we're gonna be here. But if we can't live together...we're gonna die alone."



TV.com Rating: 9.0 (not in the Top 50)

Brief synopsis: Jack saves Boone from drowning as Joanna Miller dies after being pulled out into the ocean by a riptide. After blaming himself for not being able to save two people at the same time (typical), Jack sees his father standing at the edge of the water. A moment later, the vision disappears.

He later sees his dad again in the jungle and chases him. Locke goes after Jack and possibly saves his life after he runs off a cliff. Jack has a sit down with Locke, who tells him he needs to catch his "white rabbit" because, like it or not, he's a leader and the people on the beach need him.

Jack follows his father to the water-laden caves where he finds his father's coffin, empty. In a rage, he destroys it and heads back to the beach to tell everyone what he found.

Why it's a classic: A lot of people don't like this episode because it's filled with angsty, "Party of Five" Jackface. But to me, this episode not only establishes Jack as the central hero of the show, it begins the show's pervasive Science vs. Faith theme with a terrific scene between Jack and Locke (thanks to the Lost Hatch for their invaluable episode transcripts):

Jack	How are they, the others?
Locke	Thirsty. Hungry. Waiting to be rescued. And they need someone to tell them what to do.
Jack	Me? I can't.
Locke	Why can't you?
Jack	Because I'm not a leader.
Locke	And yet they all treat you like one.
Jack	I don't know how to help them. I'll fail. I don't have what it takes.
Locke	Why are you out here Jack?
Jack	I think I'm going crazy.
Locke	No. You're not going crazy.
Jack	No?
Locke	Crazy people don't know they're going crazy. They think they're getting saner. So, why are you out here?
Jack	I'm chasing something. Someone.
Locke	Ah. The white rabbit. Alice in Wonderland.
Jack	Yeah, wonderland, because who I'm chasing... he's not there.
Locke	But you see him?
Jack	Yes. But he's not there.
Locke	And if I came to you and said the same thing, then what would your explanation be, as a doctor.
Jack	I'd call it a hallucination. A result of dehydration, post traumatic stress, not getting more than 2 hours of sleep a night for the past week. All the above.
Locke	All right, then. You're hallucinating. But what if you're not?
Jack	Then we're all in a lot of trouble.
Locke	I'm an ordinary man Jack, meat and potatoes, I live in the real world. I'm not a big believer in magic. But this place is different. It's special. The others don't want to talk about it because it scares them. But we all know it. We all feel it. Is your white rabbit a hallucination? Probably. But what if everything that happened here, happened for a reason? What if this person that you're chasing is really here?
Jack	That's impossible.
Locke	Even if it is, let's say it's not.
Jack	Then what happens when I catch him?
Locke	I don't know. But I've looked into the eye of this island. And what I saw was beautiful.
Jack	Wait, wait, where are you going?
Locke	To find some more water.
Jack	I'll come with you.
Locke	No. You need to finish what you've started.
Jack	Why?
Locke	Because a leader can't lead until he knows where he's going.

Not only is this the first time Jack and Locke have really squared off, but it the first time we hear Locke describe the Monster as being "beautiful." It's also the start of John's wise man/shaman role that he maintained so well throughout all of first season and subsequently lost when he found the button. I still get goosebumps watching them square off for the first time.

It's also interesting to point out here the parallels between Jack's vision of his father and young Ben's vision of his mother. First of all, remember that Richard considered Ben very special for seeing a vision on the island. I wonder what he would say if he knew Jack saw his dad?

Furthermore, Jack's vision is one of the only true visions seen on the island aside from Ben's. Lostpedia has an excellent list of all the dreams and visions we've seen. Looking through them, the only ones that aren't dreams or otherwise artificially induced (such as Boone and Locke's drug and steam induced hallucinations) are:

1) Jack's Dad
2) Kate's horse
3) Dave
4) Yemi (not in Eko's dream, but right before he was killed)
5) Shannon seeing Walt
6) Locke seeing Walt

Now Kate's horse could be real (the Others have horses), Dave could simply be in Hurley's head, and Yemi was likely the Monster. And if those visions were created by the Monster (like Yemi with Eko), why did it react so violently with him. Was it because he failed to help John and allowed the Swan to implode? Or was it because he refused to admit his sins?

The visions of Walt could actually be Walt himself (remember Bea Klugh's question to Michael: "Has he ever appeared in a place he wasn't supposed to be?") We know Walt has some sort of psychic powers and connections to both Locke and Shannon (remember Shannon was taking care of Vincent at the time). But looking at these objectively, really the only for certain, on-island while awake visions for which we have no other plausible explanation are Jack's dad and Ben's mom.

But it seems reasonable to assume that the same entity created both of their visions given their similarity. Was it the Monster? Was it Jacob? Was it the island itself? And in both cases, their visions seemed to want to help them. Jack's dad led him to his coffin and the fresh water that the camp so desperately needed (this episode also featured Boone stealing the case of water for "safekeeping"). Ben's vision kept him from running away and getting fried by the fence. We know Locke and Ben are special because they can hear Jacob, but the events of White Rabbit make it seem that Jack is just as special as either of them.

This was probably the best series of Jack flashbacks too. We get to see Christian Shepherd telling Jack he hasn't got "what it takes," Jack finding his dad's body in the morgue, and the great scene in the airport that we see again and again where Jack tells Chrissy that he needs his father's coffin to be on this plane because he needs it to be over:

Jack: No! I want you to listen to me, okay. Because I'm asking you a favor, Crissy. I'm standing in front of you in the same suit that I'm wearing to my father's funeral and I'm asking you a favor. In 16 hours I need to land at LAX, and I need that coffin to clear customs because there's going to be a hearse waiting there. And I need that hearse to take me and that coffin to a cemetery. Why? Crissy, why can't I just bring him to a funeral home and make all the arrangements? Why can't I really take my time with it? Because... because I need it to be done. I need it to be over. I just... I need to bury my father.

The disappearance of Christian's corpse is also one of the most debated mysteries of the entire show. There are three primary theories here:

1) Screwed by the airline: The body itself may never have even gotten on the plane, left behind by the airline who couldn't (or didn't want to) honor Jack's impassioned request.

2) Faked Death: Likewise, Jack's dad could have faked his own death. He could have known the mortician and had him fake his records. Jack only took a teary, casual glance at the body. The airline then loaded an empty coffin on the plane.

3) The Island Made It Disappear: Dead bodies have a strange habit of disappearing on the island. We know Yemi's body disappeared for certain. But what about Kelvin (if he's really dead)? And as morbid as it sounds, has anyone ever checked all those graves? This, to me, seems like what the writers want us to think now, given how overt Yemi's body's disappearance was presented.

Lastly, this episode ends with Jack's now classic "live together, die alone" speech.

Jack: It's been 6 days and we're all still waiting. Waiting for someone to come. But what if they don't? We have to stop waiting. We need to start figuring things out. A woman died this morning just going for a swim and he tried to save her, and now you're about to crucify him? We can't do this. Every man for himself is not gonna work. It's time to start organizing. We need to figure out how we're gonna survive here. Now I found water... fresh water up in the valley. I'll take a group in at first light. If you don't want to come then find a way to contribute. Last week most of us were strangers. But we're all here now. And God knows how long we're gonna be here. But if we can't live together...we're gonna die alone.

From here on out, Jack became the leader of the Losties and their scientific, logical center. Despite everything he saw that day, he still remained the Man of Science - refusing to believe anything out of the ordinary happened to him. Think about it, you spend a day chasing a vision of your dead father through a jungle, who happens to lead you not only to his empty coffin, but to the water and shelter everyone needs, and you chalk it all up to dehydration and lack of sleep? Now, of course, that's a completely reasonable explanation, especially taking coincidence into account. But now, given all we've seen on the island, it seems much more plausible that someone or something on the island was leading him to what he was searching for.

This episode makes my Top 10 list because it sets up Jack as the antithesis to Locke, establishing his character not only as the hero of the show, but as its logical, rational center. While this has not served Jack altogether well on the island (and from the finale it looks like it's led him to a disastrous decision too), I believe that both Jack and Locke need each other to balance themselves out.

White Rabbit is one of the foundations of Lost, not only delving into one of its central characters for the first time, but establishing one of the central themes of the show. And, even if you dislike Jack, you can't deny how classic several of the scenes ended up being to the series as a whole.

According to the LOST fans at TV.com, White Rabbit is one of the worst episodes in the series. Of course, worst is all relative since it still scored a 9/10, but it certainly didn't compare with many of the other pivotal episodes of Season One to the watchers at large.

So what do you think? Is White Rabbit a LOST classic? Would it make your Top 10 list? Or have I seriously overrated it? :)