Top Ten Episodes #1: 3.08 "Flashes Before Your Eyes"

Quote:
I know your name as well as I know that you don't ask Penny to marry you. In fact, you break her heart. Well, breaking her heart, of course, is what drives you in a few short years from now to enter that sailing race to prove her father wrong. Which brings you to the island where you spend the next 3 years of your life entering numbers into the computer...until you are forced to turn that failsafe key. And if you don't do those things, Desmond David Hume, every single one of US is dead. So give me that sodding ring!

TV.com Rating: 9.2 (#28 overall)

Brief Recap: Desmond and Locke return and tell Hurley and Charlie that Eko is dead. :(

Desmond starts acting bonkers and going running off for the beach. Turns out, Claire is in the water and she's drowning. Charlie naturally freaks out, Desmond runs into the water "Baywatch" style and saves her. Charlie gives him the evil Hobbit eye, asked him how he knew she was drowning. Quoth the Hurley:

"I'll tell you how he knew. That guy...sees the future, dude.

Later on, Hurley and Charlie raid Sawyer's stash for a bottle of MacCutcheon Scotch in an attempt to get Desmond drunk and press him about his new ability. It works, they get sloshed, Charlie calls Desmond a coward. Des freaks, jumps all over Charlie:

"You don't want to know what happened to me when I turned that key! You don't want to know!"

And then the fun begins. We go back to the moment when Desmond turned the key and watch him as he travels back in time. He wakes up in his flat. Penny's there, having just moved in. Des is befuddled, but happy.

Desmond goes to see Penny's father, Charles Widmore, under the pretense of asking him for a job. However, he really just wanted to ask him for Penny's hand in marriage. Charles deftly swipes the Most Evil Father In The Lost Universe mantle away from Sun's dad by telling Desmond in no uncertain terms that he's a piece of garbage, unworthy of his daughter. Desmond's heart makes the sound of ultimate suffering. He exits, meets Charlie Hieronymus Pace on the street, recognizes him and realizes he's lived all this before. He predicts it will start to rain and it does.

Desmond goes to see a physicist friend of his to ask him about time travel. His friend thinks he's crazy. Desmond predicts something will happen in the soccer game, it doesn't. That night, Desmond realizes he has a chance to do everything over and decides to ask Penny to marry him anyway.

The next day, Desmond heads to an antique store to buy a ring. He asks the shopwoman, Ms. Hawking, to look at a ring and agrees to buy it. Ms. Hawking laughs and asks for it back. Desmond looks perplexed. Ms. Hawking then blows Desmond's mind with the speech above. Trippy cool.

Ms. Hawking then explains to Desmond, using a poor schmuck with bad taste in footwear as an example, that pushing the button is his fate and the universe has a way of "course correcting" should things go awry. Desmond refuses to believe her.

The next day, Des and Penny are walking along the street. A photographer stops them and takes their picture against a marina backdrop - the photo Desmond's been carrying around the world with him. Penny pays, Desmond freaks out, tells her he can't marry her. Desmond throws the ring into the river in a very, overly dramatic, "Lord of the Rings" way. (As an aside here, how much you want to bet we're going to see that ring again)

Later that day, Desmond's back in the pub. A soccer game is on and the team scores just like he predicted it would before. Desmond realizes he had wrong day and that he really is in the past. Much like Scrooge, he realizes that maybe he can change things... and then he gets whacked and ends up back on the island.

Back on the beach, Desmond's still strangling Charlie. He unfortunately stops, but then utters one of the greatest closing lines of any episode that ever aired on television:

"I'm sorry because...no matter what I try to do. You're going to die, Charlie."

L O S T

Why it's the best episode of LOST:

1. The "wrinkle"

Do you remember how you felt when it slowly dawned on you that Desmond's "flashback" might be real? I remember the episode was aired again the following week (right before "Stranger in a Strange Land" - how much of a downer was that) and I sat there watching every second, utterly fascinated as if I was seeing it for the first time.

Desmond's newfound abilities opened up so many cool theories on what's going on in the show. First off, to me, it opened up a potential explanation as to how all of these coincidences and connections happened on the show and how all these people with intertwined histories end up on the same island together: someone went back in time and arranged the whole thing. Time travel is the deus ex machina to end all deus ex machinas need an explanation as to how Jack and his half-sister both end up on the same flight back to L.A. together? Simple. Someone goes back in time and hires a fake psychic to put her on the plane. Need to correct something horrible that's going to happen in the future? Simple. Go back in time and make sure it never happens.

Maybe that's a bit of a cop out to some, but if used properly it can set up all sorts of wonderful plot lines, like what they did with Charlie last season. Not to mention, after several clunker flashbacks from the mini-series at the beginning of the season, Desmond's trip through time was a wonderful twist on the formula. Best to come along until the finale, anyway. :)

2. The best scene with the best evil father on the show

Desmond	Uh, with all due respect sir. I haven't come here to interview for a position in your company.
Charles Widmore	You haven't?
Desmond	No sir. I came here to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage. We've been together...2 years now and...Pen's moving in. And...I love her. Your permission would mean everything to me.
Charles Widmore	I'm impressed Hume. What a noble gesture.
	[Widmore gets up and crosses over to a wet bar by the wall]
Charles Widmore	You know anything about whiskey?
Desmond	Uh, no I'm afraid not sir.
Charles Widmore	This is a 60 year MacCutcheon. Named after Anderson MacCutcheon, esteemed Admiral from the Royal Navy. He retired with more medals than any man before or since.
	[Widmore gets 2 glasses and the bottle of whiskey and goes back to his desk]
Charles Widmore	Moved to the highlands to see out his remaining years. Admiral MacCutcheon was a great man, Hume.
	[Widmore places the 2 glasses side by side on his desk and opens the bottle of whiskey]
Charles Widmore	This was his crowning achievement.
	[Widmore pours a finger of whiskey into only one glass]
Charles Widmore	This swallow is worth more than you could make in a month.
	[Widmore drinks the whiskey]
Charles Widmore	And to share it with you would be a waste. And a disgrace to the great man who made it. Because you, Hume, will never be a great man.
Desmond	Mr. Widmore. I know I'm not...
Charles Widmore	What you're not...is worthy of drinking my whiskey. How could you ever be worthy of my daughter?

This scene is one of my favorites of the entire show.

Charles Widmore has currently usurped both Christian Shepherd and Mr. Paik in my book as the "father most likely to bring about the destruction of life as we know it." All three men are rich and powerful, with considerable influence. In one of my earliest theories, I thought Christian was still alive and orchestrating everything behind the scenes. We now know that isn't true (well, sorta) and that his body has likely been absorbed by the Monster (like it probably did to some others).

And while there are parallels between Charles Widmore's treatment of Desmond and Mr. Paik's treatment of Jin (both men look down on their daughter's choice of a lower class man), Paik's his motivations appear to stem more from business rather than spite. And Mr. Paik at least gave Jin his blessing to marry his daughter and gave him a position of responsibility within his organization. Charles Widmore has simply done everything humanly possible to destroy Desmond's life. You have to wonder if he was responsible for Desmond getting thrown into military prison too.

Now if you clicked on that third theory link I posted above, you know that there is thought going around that Charles Widmore is a course corrector. In other words, the only reason he's being so harsh with Desmond is to make damn sure he ends up on the island. Especially since he could have easily sent Penny to pick up the wine from the monastery so she'd meet Desmond for the first time.

While part of me could kind of see this, I'm more inclined to think he really is a bastard, and that innate quality is what the real course correctors were counting on. Regardless, in the two short scenes we've seen him, Charles Widmore has simply owned the screen. He's not quite Cigarette Smoking Man, but the potential is certainly there.

3. Ms. Hawking

Desmond	You're here to...to talk me out of marrying Penny. Well, it won't bloody work!
Ms. Hawking	Oh yes it will.
Desmond	No! There is no island. There is no...button. It's madness! I love her, she loves me. I'm going to spend the rest of my life with her!
Ms. Hawking	No, Desmond. You're not.
	[The scaffolding from the construction site suddenly collapses, burying the man with the red sneakers and killing him instantly]
Desmond	Oh my God!
	[Desmond turns and looks at Ms. Hawking]
Desmond	You knew that was going to happen, didn't you!
	[Ms. Hawking silently nods her head yes]
Desmond	Then why didn't you stop it! Why didn't you do anything!
Ms. Hawking	Because it wouldn't matter. Had I warned him about the scaffolding, tomorrow he'd be hit by a taxi. If I warned him about the taxi, he'd fall in the shower and break his neck. The universe, unfortunately, has a way of...course correcting. That man was supposed to die. That was his path. Just as it's your path to go to the island. You don't do it because you choose to, Desmond. You do it because you are supposed to.
Desmond	I'm going to meet Penny in an hour. I've got a ring. She'll say yes. I can choose whatever I want.
Ms. Hawking	You may not like your path, Desmond. But, pushing that button is the only truly great thing that you will ever do.
Desmond	How much for the ring?

Another of my favorite overall scenes. That's two in one episode.

The real question regarding this scene to me, and I've pondered this before, is if Desmond really has a choice or not? On one hand, as Mr. Red Shoes and Charlie seem to indicate, you can't escape your fate, especially if your fate is to die (of course, in that regard we ALL can't escape our fate). However, judging from Ms. Hawking's reaction in the shop it seemed like to me that Desmond certainly did have a choice, otherwise Ms. Hawking wouldn't have had to try and talk him out of it.

Desmond, of course, is a special situation. I imagine most course correctors simply have to nudge the proper people into place at the proper time, like when Desmond met Penny outside the monastery. But what happens when someone you worked so hard to get to the proper place suddenly gets a chance to do it all over again? Do the same fate rules still apply? Ms. Hawking certainly seemed to go out of her way to convince Desmond to leave Penny as he did before. After all, if he was truly fated to end up on the island, Ms. Hawking shouldn't have had to do anything - fate would have taken care of it for her, right?

I think Desmond had a choice. He could have destroyed the world if he wanted to, but instead...

4. Desmond's choice... and heartbreak

Please...let me go back! Let me go back one more time. I'll do it right! I'll do it right this time! I'm sorry Penny! [beginning to cry] I'll change it! I'll change it...

...he had his heart broken all over again. This scene was the second most emotional of the season for me, right behind Locke's first encounter with his wheelchair.

One of the things though that still puzzles me about this scene is how the time travel actually worked. It seems like Desmond's consciousness is what traveled into the past, triggered each time by a traumatic event (Hatch exploding - getting whacked with a bat). Of course, this is very similar to Days of Future Past, which I've talked about before in regards to the finale.

Regardless though, by heart broke along with Desmond watching this scene.

5. The best ending

"When I saw the lightning hit the roof...you were electrocuted. And when you heard Claire was in the water...you, you drowned trying to save her. I dove in myself so you never went in. I...I've tried brother! I've tried twice to save you but...the universe has a way of course correcting and...and I can't stop it forever. I'm sorry. I'm sorry because...no matter what I try to do. You're going to die, Charlie."

Daniel over at The Lost Diary often likes to say that Lost episodes should end "right." That is, when the big black screen with L O S T comes up at the end and the drum sounds, we should be shellshocked, jaws open, blown away and left begging for more. The entire first season did this pretty well, but season two, while there were some good episodes - "Lockdown" and "Man of Science" in particular - largely failed in this regard. Same thing with the season 3 mini-series; the "I Do" cliffhanger was simply awful.

But "Flashes" had the best ending of any episode on the show. Kudos to Dominic and Henry who simply knocked themselves out on the scene. And I simply can't deny that the fact Charlie was the one who was going to die held an incredible amount of evil pleasure for me.

But at that point, being promised Charlie's death was simply icing on the tastiest LOST cake of them all. Mmmm... DHARMA cake... *drool*

Summary: When I initially scratched out my list, this episode was #2 behind "The 23rd Psalm." But as I thought about it more and more, Eko's death in "The Cost of Living" bothered me. It made Eko's utterly incredible past basically seem shallow and meaningless. It made his seemingly genuine attempts at redemption feel false. And ultimately it dropped "23" down to #2.

And that's because everything I felt in "The 23rd Psalm" the first time I saw it, I felt tenfold in "Flashes." Desmond is a tragic character. He's flawed, but he has good intentions. And he's desperately in love with a woman that he ended up running away from rather than fighting for.

So what happens? He's given a second chance to do it all over again, a second chance to right the greatest mistake he ever made in his life. And he seizes it, he's going to do it. Going to do it right this time.

And then he's told that if he takes that chance, if he marries the love of his life, the world as we know it would end. And that he has no choice but to make the same mistake he made all those years ago over again.

So he sacrifices the only thing he loves, the only thing in his life that's ever bought him happiness, to save us all. L O S T

Best. Episode. Evar.

Whatcha think?

(As always, thanks to The Lost Hatch for their excellent episode transcripts)

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
#3: Walkabout
#2: The 23rd Psalm

Top Ten Episodes #2: 2.10 "The 23rd Psalm"

Quote:
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: For thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

TV.com Rating: 9.3 (#24 overall)

Short Recap: We get to see Mr. Eko's sordid past, as a group of Nigerian drug lords force him to kill an innocent man in order to save his brother's life. Eko goes on to become a feared drug lord himself while his brother goes on to become a priest and respected community leader.

Eko "purchases" a large amount of heroin from some fellow thugs, but he needs to smuggle it out of the country in order to sell it. Since the only private planes currently allowed in the air are for U.N. aid or Catholic missionaries, Eko turns to his brother for help. He asks Yemi to make him and his associates priests so they can smuggle the heroin out of the country in Virgin Mary statues further telling him that if he refuses, his associates will burn his church to the ground. Yemi reluctantly signs.

As the plane is about to take off, Yemi pleads with Eko to stay. The military then appears, guns a blazin'. Yemi admits to Eko that he tipped them off and ends up getting shot in the crossfire. The plane takes off with Yemi's body aboard and the military thinks Eko, disguised in priest's garb, is actually Yemi. Eko returns to the village in Yemi's place.

On the island, Eko notices Charlie's Virgin Mary statue while talking with Claire. He smashes it open to reveal the heroin inside. He finds Charlie and demands he take him to the Beechcraft. Charlie reluctantly agrees.

On the way to the crash site, Eko is confronted by the Monster who scans his brain for his memories. After a short standoff, it glides silently back into the jungle. Eko and Charlie find the plane and Eko finds the body of his brother. He takes the cross from around his brother's neck, gives Charlie a statue to replace the one he broke and together they burn the plane with Yemi's body inside.

Claire, noticeably upset with Charlie for lying to her, kicks him out of her tent. The episode ends with Charlie adding the Virgin Mary statue to a hidden cache of others he had secretly scavenged from the wreck.

Why it's a classic: The very best episodes of Lost generally give us the golden trifecta of plot advancement, character development and island mythology, served up with some savory acting and dialogue.

The 23rd Psalm does this better than just about any other.

I have to admit I loved Mr. Eko from the start. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje has one of the most tremendous screen presences I've ever seen; he completely dominates every scene and his vow of silence early on merely added to his mystique. So when this episode came along I think fans in general were pretty primed for his backstory.

Oh, and what a backstory it was.

By this point in the second season, generally considered the worst of the three my most Lost fans (although I have to admit I really loved it), the flashbacks of the main characters were already becoming repetitive and tepid. So the episode had an initial bonus going in of being something new. But I certainly wasn't prepared for just how powerful Eko's backstory would be.

Every segment was intense: Eko saving his brother by killing an innocent man, Eko brutally killing two fellow thieves with one swipe of his knife ("Go. Go and tell them that Mr. Eko let you live"), Yemi's death and Eko's guilt. We were left with a portrait of an extremely complex character, one capable of incredible brutality and evil despite the fact we recognize (and even sympathize with) his motivations. Interestingly though, Yemi does not share our sympathy. At all.

Mr. Eko	So I come to visit you for the first time in 3 years and you won't hear my confession? You know, Monsignor would have said he failed to raise a proper Catholic boy.
Yemi	Well, why waste your time confessing. It won't help you.
Mr. Eko	It won't?
Yemi	No, for confession to mean something you must have a penitent heart.
Mr. Eko	You and your guilt, Yemi. I've only done what I needed to do to survive. How is that a sin?
Yemi	You may live far from here, but that doesn't mean I haven't heard of who you are and what you have done.
	[Mr. Eko pulls the cross he wore as a boy out from under Yemis shirt]
Mr. Eko	Have you forgotten how you got that cross, brother... the day they took me? Is what I did that day a sin? Or is it forgiven because it was you that was saved?

When Eko says here that he only did what he needed to do to survive, we believe him. But is that really his only motivation? Do you think Eko enjoys his power and his ability to instill people with fear. Yemi does and tells Eko so. Later on he further tells him he will never be a priest.

Mr. Eko	I'm going to make this easy for you. You will make us priests and we will fly the drugs out ourselves.
Yemi	Make you priests?
Mr. Eko	Just sign these ordination documents and I will give you the money for the vaccines.
Yemi	Leave this church now, Eko. Go. Now.
Mr. Eko	Yemi, I understand that you live in a world where righteousness and evil seem very far apart, but that is not the real world. I am your brother and I would never do anything to hurt you, but my friends... if you do not do what I ask... they will burn this church to the ground. Is that worth less than the price of your name on a piece of paper? Think of the lives you will save.
	[After a mental struggle, Yemi grabs the papers and signs them]
Yemi	My signature does not make you a priest, Eko. You could never be a priest.

Obviously this conversation had a wee bit of impact on Eko. :)

At the time, this episode showed us a despicable man who was trying to turn his life around, trying to make up for the horrible things of the past (hullo thar redemption theme). And I don't know about you, but I believed Eko HAD redeemed himself at the end when he took his brother's cross.

The rest of season also followed in the same manner: Eko became the priest of the Lost community, baptizing Aaron (hmmm... in retrospect, did that baptism count), building a church on the beach and even telling Michael a handy parable as they sopped up Libby's blood (one of my favorite scenes of the show). The fact that it was later revealed Eko did even more horrible things, not feeling sorry for them in the least, is the only reason I did not make this episode #1, since it takes away a lot of the power Eko's backstory held (I discuss this more in the summary below).

But, of course, Eko's story isn't the only reason this one's a classic. There's also 1) Charlie's banter with Eko and 2) the first real good look we get of Smokey.

This episode actually marked the beginning of Charlie's decline, despite it giving him his most memorable dialogue of the series. Episode 2.12, "Fire + Water," is easily the worst episode of the season, if not the entire series. But here we see Charlie at his best, holding his own against Eko's intensity and uttering one of the funniest lines of the entire series:

Mr. Eko	Climb that tree.
Charlie	What?
Mr. Eko	Climb that tree and perhaps you will be able to get your bearings or see the plane.
Charlie	You climb it. What if I don't? You going to beat me with your Jesus stick? I find it a little odd that your scripture stick has dried blood on it.
Mr. Eko	Are you going to climb that tree or not?
Charlie	What kind of priest are you, anyway?

Simply awesome. Josh, my roommate at the time, and I were rolling. It was also touching to hear Charlie recite the 23rd Psalm along with Eko when they burned the plane, reminding us of Charlie's strong religious streak.

But the big reveal this episode was ol' Smokey. Whoever was responsible for convincing the brainless execs at ABC to keep Smokey a secret deserves a basket of fish biscuits because it was one hell of a surprise. So what did that one encounter tell us?

1) It really is a cloud of black smoke - Even though we saw Smokey in "Exodus," I still wasn't totally convinced Smokey was just a black smoke cloud; I thought it might be a shapeshifter (which it sorta is). But it seems the the smoke is, at least, its default form.

2) Smokey can read minds - One of the best TiVo moments of the series. We now know too that it doesn't just seem to read minds but it seems to be able to communicate telepathically too, at very least through dreams.

3) It comes from underground - You can dispute this if you want, but it looked pretty clear to me. When Smokey appears, trees and soil fly into the air and if you watch it as it leaves Eko, it clearly looks to me like it goes down into the ground, just like it did when it tried to drag Locke with it in "Exodus." Is there a Cerberus Vent near the Beechcraft? Seems so.

Looking back on the scene, I still don't quite understand what the Monster's motivation is. There's something it saw in Eko that made it spare him. His devotion to his brother, perhaps? Later, it asked Eko for his help in making Locke push the button. The fact that Eko failed in this regard might be partially why the Monster killed him (is the Monster capable of anger and retribution), but it seems more to do with the fact that Eko wasn't sorry for any of his sins. But if that's the case, why did it not kill Eko the first time it met him?

The only thing I can think of here is that Eko did indeed try to redeem himself at first. But the destruction of the Swan shook his faith and made him defiant again. Also maybe the Monster communicating to him as Yemi made him stubborn. Maybe the fact that Yemi felt so strongly about everything he had done made Eko react to the Monster the way he did. Since the writers have long said understanding the Monster is the key to understanding the island, we're probably going to have to wait awhile for a definitive answer.

Summary: I so wanted to make this episode #1. In fact, for a very long time it was my #1 episode. But as much as I tried to separate "The 23rd Psalm" from what the writers did to Eko's character down the road, I simply couldn't. Much of the power of this episode stems from the fact Eko was an unabashedly evil character who did some horrible things who finds redemption and closure on the island. But despite his evil deeds, you also sympathize with his actions because they all stem from his (good) motivation to save his brother's life. It certainly made me think Eko was a good man who merely did what he needed to survive (as he repeatedly professes).

But "The Cost of Living" essentially retconned this. They showed another horrible episode from his past, one where he did have a choice; He could have chosen to stay in Yemi's church and dealt with the warlords in a different way. He could have become, like Yemi, a true priest and a peaceful leader of the community. Instead he sold the vaccine (that would have been stolen anyway) to another warlord and used the proceeds to run away from his guilt and shame. And in the process he defiles Yemi's church, killing men inside and even washing his hands in the holy water basin. Then, much like he told Yemi so long ago, Eko told the Monster (in Yemi form) that he did not regret anything he had done:

"I did not ask for the life that I was given. But...it was given, nonetheless. And with it...I did my best."

While he certainly didn't regret saving his brother's life, he certainly regretted much of what he had done since then. While this discrepancy may seem trivial, it stained Eko's character and, to me, took away from "The 23rd Psalm" quite a bit. You mean all the time he had spent repenting during the second season was fake? I just can totally buy that. And while the episode today still retains much of it's power thanks to Eko's incredible origin, the Monster scene and his banter with Charlie, it gets demoted to #2.

As just a final word on Eko, there is one loose end in his story: We still don't really know how he got assigned to Australia. He was supposed to be heading to London after the events of "The Cost of Living"; we still don't know whether he even made it there. And furthermore, we really don't know why he was heading to L.A. either. I wonder if we ever will?

Despite all this, not only was "The 23rd Psalm" the best episode of Season 2 (for which it was nominated for a "Best Writing" Emmy) but to me it still stands alone as one of the best episodes of Lost. And for someone watching the show through for the very first time, I don't know how you can not vault Eko's character up your favorite character list after viewing it.

What say you? Was Eko one of your favorites? My #1 favorite episode review will be up sometime before Christmas. Yay!

(As always, thanks to The Lost Hatch for their excellent episode transcripts)

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
#3: Walkabout

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 #5: 2.01 "Man of Science, Man Of Faith"

Quote:

You're gonna be knowing
the loneliest kind of lonely.
It may be rough goin';
just to do your thing's
the hardest thing to do.

But you've gotta make your own kind of music
Sing your own special song,
Make your own kind of music - even if nobody
else sings along!

TV.com Rating: 9.4 (#20)

Brief Summary: In one of the best opening sequences ever imagined (and directed), we follow a strange man who appears to be starting his day, he wakes up to an odd beeping sound, hits a (very old) computer, puts on a Mama Cass record, makes breakfast, washes the dishes, exercises, showers, gives himself a strange injection... and then has his world rocked by an explosion. He puts on a suit, grabs a gun from what appears to be a locked armory, and peers into a (very old again) telescope, which, sure enough, takes his gaze up the dark shaft of the Hatch, taking us right back to the end of last season, with Jack and Locke peering down into the darkness.

With the ladder broken, Jack suggests they all go back to camp and wait out the night together. They all head back, but Locke gathers up some cable saying whatever Jack does, he's going in. Kate tells Jack she's going with him to the tune of "live together, die alone." Jack, hesitates knowing the camp needs him, but eventually follows them, concerned about Kate.

While everyone is waiting for Jack and the others to return, Shannon heads into the jungle with Sayid in tow to search for Vincent, who's missing. They finally see him, sitting creepily in the jungle darkness, but as they approach, he runs off. They get separated and Shannon trips and falls. She looks up and sees a vision of Walt, dripping wet and seemingly speaking some mangled form of Parseltongue. Sayid finds her and Walt disappears.

Amid all this, Jack thinks back to how he first met Sarah, who was in a terrible car accident with Adam Rutherford, Shannon and Boone's dad. Jack tells Sarah he's going to "fix her," something he doesn't really believe is possible. After the operation, Jack tries burn off his perceived self-failure by trying to complete a "tour de stade," in a nearby stadium. Desmond is also there training and they have a surreal, mystical sounding conversation about Jack, Sarah, and miracles. Afterwards, Jack heads back to check on Sarah and it turns out against all odds she can walk again.

Jack climbs down into the Hatch. Inside he finds a strange complex, which houses something rumbling and magnetic, magnetic enough to pull the key around his neck towards the wall, centered around a geodesic dome. He finds Locke held a gunpoint by an unseen assailant. He asks where Kate is and Locke tells him she's fine. Locke's captor tells him to put down his gun "or I'll blow his head off, brutha!"

At that point, Jack sees his face, recognizes Desmond, and says "You!"

Drum ending.

L O S T

Why it's a classic: Having just finished Harry Potter 7, the question that's been at the forefront of my mind since the very last page has been how often do you find something that not only meets, but exceeds your expectations?

Harry Potter was like that for me, as was Return of the Jedi, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, all of the Lord of the Rings films, and Wizard and Glass (the fourth book in Stephen King's Dark Tower series, which appeared five years after book three ended on an incredible cliffhanger). All of these I had been waiting for with an immense amount of built up anticipation, counting down the days until their release. And after viewing/reading/playing them, I was completely and utterly satisfied.

"Man of Science, Man of Faith" just about topped them all.

Granted, as I've mentioned before, I didn't have very long to wait for this one (I watched the whole first season on DVD). But there were so many ways the writers could have screwed this up and instead they hit one out of the park. Yes, I wanted more of the inside of the Hatch, but you can't deny how awesome was the ending of the episode. And I think, in retrospect, that's partially why "Adrift" was one of the worst episodes of the entire series - it rehashed "Man of Science" without adding anything new and made you wait two weeks to discover the computer, the Numbers, the Button, all while surrounding the meaningless plot with fairly meaningless flashbacks.

Speaking of which, not only did we get some great Jack flashbacks for a change, but the scene with Desmond probably provoked more speculation than just about any other scene in the second season, until Desmond showed up again in the finale and cleared things up.

Jack	Ow, damn it.
Desmond	You alright, brother?
Jack	I'm fine. I'm fine.
Desmond	Take it easy. Keep the weight off. Here, let me have a look. Does this hurt? You haven't sprained it then. I don't fancy your chances of catching up with me tonight, though.
Jack	I wasn't trying to catch up.
Desmond	Aye, of course you weren't.
Jack	What do you know about sprains anyway?
Desmond	I was almost a doctor once.
Jack	Small world.
Desmond	You a doctor then? So what's your excuse?
Jack	Excuse?
Desmond	To run like the devil's chasing you. My excuse. I'm training.
Jack	Training for what?
Desmond	For a race around the world. Impressive, I know. So your excuse better be good, brother.
Jack	Just trying to work a few things out.
Desmond	Ah, a girl, right?
Jack	A patient.
Desmond	Ah, but a girl patient. What's her name?
Jack	Her name's Sarah.
Desmond	What'd you do to her then?
Jack	Do to her?
Desmond	You must have done something worthy of this self flagellation.
Jack	I told her... I made her a promise I couldn't keep... I told her I'd fix her and... I couldn't. I failed.
Desmond	Well, right. Just one thing. What if you did fix her?
Jack	I didn't.
Desmond	But what if you did?
Jack	You don't know what you're talking about, man.
Desmond	I don't? Why not?
Jack	Because with her situation that would be a miracle, brother.
Desmond	Oh... and you don't believe in miracles? Right. Well then, I'm going to give you some advice anyway. You have to lift it up.
Jack	Lift it up?
Desmond	Your ankle. You've gotta keep it elevated. It's been nice chatting.
Jack	Jack.
Desmond	Jack, I'm Desmond. Well, good luck, brother. See you in another life, yeah?

"To run like the devil's chasing you"

"You have to lift it up"

"See you in another life"

Looking back now, it's actually a pretty innocuous coversation, but boy, didn't you think Desmond was some sort of mystic at the time? And, in retrospect, given that Desmond's already gone back in time once and seems to have his life pushed in certain directions, I do wonder if Ms. Hawking had a hand in setting up the conversation with Desmond and Jack. Remember, not only does Desmond meet Jack on that fateful evening, but he meets Penny as well and tells a pretty crucial bit of information: That he's going to enter her father's race.

Big props to both Matthew Fox and Julie Bowen here for some terrifically emotional scenes; this episode just overflowed with some quality Jackface. I still get verklempt at the end of the episode when Sarah asks Jack why she can feel her toes and he discovers to his amazement he really did fix her. He even had a great scene with his evil daddy, who chastised him in a very non-evil way for his putrid bedside manner. And that scene actually tied into the episode when Jack told everyone that everything was going to be okay. Holy relevant flashbacks, Batman!

Oh, and then there's "Make Your Own Kind of Music." Harry Knowles of AICN has a penchant for writing tiresome, juvenile, pedantic reviews. But he does know film exceedingly well and occasionally will have a somewhat novel bit of insight. Something he once wrote about "The Battle Without Honor or Humanity," now better known as the theme to "Kill Bill," has stuck with me over the years (forgive me for not being able to find the link, I'm paraphrasing here). Basically he was commenting on how independent pieces of music made into themes or incorporated into movies can become so associated with them it becomes impossible to listen to the pieces again in their original setting without thinking of the new scene.

Quickly, without thinking, what do you think of when you hear the following songs?

Stuck In The Middle With You (Reservoir Dogs)
In Your Eyes (Say Anything)
Don't Stop Believin' (Sopranos Finale)
Singin' in the Rain (A Clockwork Orange)
Puttin' On The Ritz (Young Frankenstein)
I Heard It Through The Grapevine (The Big Chill)

More than likely, most of these will remind you of a certain film or TV show (answers in invisotext next to each title, just highlight to reveal). The Kill Bill theme was taken from an obscure series of martial arts films Tarantino loved. Now should you ever happen to watch one of them, all you'll be able to think about is Uma Thurman and Vivica A. Fox dueling cutlery in the kitchen.

And to any Lost fan, Make Your Own Kind Of Music is, and forever will be, Desmond's Theme.

It was the perfect song at the time, a familiar blast from the past eerily emanating from a very strange place. But now, given what we know about Desmond, one wonders whether there's even more meaning behind it. Take a look at the verses again:

Nobody can tell ya;
There's only one song worth singin'.
They may try and sell ya,
'cause it hangs them up
to see someone like you.

So if you cannot take my hand,
and if you must be goin',
I will understand.

You're gonna be knowing
the loneliest kind of lonely.
It may be rough goin';
just to do your thing's
the hardest thing to do.

I get chills, I tell you, every time I hear it. It's almost like Ms. Hawking (or, perhaps, Penny) was singing the song to him. And remember, Desmond hears it again in "Flashes Before Your Eyes." It makes me think more and more that Desmond's going to have to sacrifice himself to save them all. Regardless, it was a simply inspired inclusion by the writers and something that will forever now be associated with Lost.

Other great scenes: Walt and Shannon in the jungle. Jack and Hurley talking about the Numbers ("your bedside manner sucks, dude"), Jack vs. Locke, Round 2.

But it all ends, and begins, at the Hatch. And, boy, was it worth waiting for.

Summary: There was no doubt this episode was in my Top 5. It really is such a shame that after such an amazing beginning to the season, they follow it up with the clunker ironically named "Adrift."

But, without a doubt, the writers came up huge here. We all wanted answers and we got them, to me anyways, in a perfectly satisfying way.

Previous Reviews:
#10: White Rabbit
#9: The Man From Tallahassee
#8: Exodus
#7: Numbers
#6: Lockdown

Top Ten Episodes #6: 2.17 "Lockdown"

Quote: "We did find your balloon, Henry Gale, exactly how you described it. We also found the grave you described... your wife's grave. The grave you said you dug with your own bare hands. It was all there. Your whole story, your alibi, it was true. But still I did not believe it to be true. So I dug up that grave and found that there was not a woman inside. There was a man... a man named Henry Gale."




TV.com Rating: 9.6 (#7)

Brief Summary: At the end of the last episode, Henry tells Jack and Locke that he drew a map to his alleged balloon for Ana-Lucia. Jack is pissed, but since they have a day's head start there's nothing they can do. They throw Henry back in the armory and Jack heads to the beach leaving Henry alone in the Hatch with Locke.

They both become trapped when it spontaneously undergoes the lockdown procedure. Locke becomes trapped under the blast door and needs Henr to crawl through the venting system to puch the button in time. While Henry is accomplishing the task, the Blast Door Map is revealed under blacklight at the end of the lockdown. Locke thanks Henry for pushing the button in time, but Henry says he didn't do anything - the timer simply reset by itself and the Hatch went back to normal.

Meanwhile, Jack plays Sawyer in poker for his medicine stash while they wait for Sayid, Charlie, and Ana-Lucia to return from the trek to the balloon. Astonishingly, the trio does find the balloon and the grave of his wife, just like he describes. Jack beats Sawyer at poker and heads back to the Hatch in the evening, he runs into Kate (who's looking for a hot steamy shower) and they both notice a strobe light in the jungle. It turns out to be a giant parachute with a food drop of DHARMA brand rations. But before they can contemplate anything, Sayid and crew pop out of the jungle and say they need to head to the Hatch.

Henry helps Locke up and asks for his protection. Locke reluctantly agrees as Sayid and Jack barge in. Sayid confronts Henry and tells him he dug up his grave - and that he found the real Henry Gale's body inside!

Why it's a classic: "Lockdown" is one of the brightest spots of the wildly inconsistent second season, but one which reminded everyone why they fell in love with the show in the first place. It had something for everyone: Significant plot movement on multiple fronts, with new information about the Hatch and DHARMA, a terrificly funny poker subplot, complete with Jack and Sawyer eye-candy for the ladies, a great Locke-centric episode with interesting flashbacks and a neat was-that-who-I-think-it-was character connection, and a jaw-dropping, evil trombone ending.

And then, of course, there's The Map.

What will quite possibly go down as the greatest TiVo moment outside of Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction, the Blast Door Map was a secret love letter to the fans of the show. It contained a plethora of information, not necessarily needed by the casual viewer, but vastly helpful for those of us obsessed with trying to untangle the show's mythology.

And that moment generated so much water-cooler buzz the day after, they re-aired the episode again on Saturday night just so people could go back and tape it to get a better (high-definition) look.

The week before the episode aired, ABC breathlessly exclaimed there would be five AMAZING reveals during the episode. Now the episode was so chock full of stuff, it wasn't really an exaggeration - in fact, I can pick out at least six, seven depending on your definition of AMAZING.

So what were they?

1. Blast Door Map - Just an incredible moment in the series. Too bad no one but Locke and Desmond actually know about it. I do wonder just how much more Desmond know about DHARMA that he hasn't mentioned to the group yet?

2. The Lockdown itself - Seeing the Swan actually DO something aside from beep was incredibly cool. It was also the first suggestion that it might be something more than just a psychological experiment. Of course, Henry further plays with our (and Locke's) mind in that regard later on in the episode.

3. "Henry Gale" is a liar - I love, love, love, love, love Sayid's monologue to close out the episode (the quote at the top of this post). It's Sayid at his very best. Did you get chills when we got the evil trombone ending? I did. The only ending since then that's made me feel the same way was when Juliet and Ben were talking through his plan at the end of "One of Us." Ben endings rock.

4. Henry Gale, however, is real - Sadly, ABC gave this one away in their episode preview. But it was still pretty spectacular to see. I still want to know what happened to the real Henry Gale and I hope that we'll get his story in one of Ben, Juliet, or Richard's flashbacks.

5. The Food Drop - Talk about a WTF moment. The food drop answered several pressing questions in one fell swoop: Why the food didn't run out, how Desmond survived down there for three years, and why the Hatch went berserk. It also set up some nice Hurley angst later on, not to mention providing a further excuse for him not losing weight.

Reveal 5a could be Locke meeting Sayid's love, Nadia, in Los Angeles, and 5b could be the suggestion that Anthony Cooper was a serious con man, serious enough to be THE con man everyone's favorite nicknamer. While there were already some minor whispers going around among theorists at that point that Anthony Cooper could be the real Sawyer, this episode real stoked those fires.

And if you're kinda non-discriminating, 5c could be the super-fun Jack-Sawyer poker subplot which also revealed that 1) Jack had gotten his tattoos in Phuket. Ironically, this reveal ultimately led to ABC hyping "Stranger in a Strange Land" in much the same way as "Lockdown," only with much less AMAZING results. :)

This was also one of the first real interplays between Locke and Ben. While they're not as good as in "The Man from Tallahassee," Ben playing with Locke's mind in this episode really solidified his status in my own mind as my favorite character on the show. Here's the scene:

Locke	What did you do... what did you do to end it... to make the doors go up?
Henry Gale	I did what you told me to. I punched in the code and pressed the execute button, but nothing happened other than that clock flipping back. I was climbing back into the vent when the lights went out. 10 seconds later the doors went up. I didn't do anything.
Locke	You think it was all just random?
Henry Gale	Don't look at me, it's your hatch.

Looking back on this exchange again, it really seems like Ben's motivation here is just to create some confusion and perhaps torment Locke a bit. He had no idea what would happen if the Numbers weren't entered, that was made clear later on when the Others were surprised by the effects of the Discharge. In fact, I think it's entirely possible he himself thought it was a stupid psychological experiment given that he knew of the Pearl and probably had viewed its Orientation tape. But Ben and the Others at this point were certainly aware of how the island healed Locke and Ben was probably already jealous at this point.

Given that Ben almost certainly could have escaped during the Lockdown, I think he stayed behind to gather information, size up Locke, and toy with him a bit. However, he underestimated Sayid, not thinking he'd dig up the grave. D'oh.

Lastly, while the poker scene is also one of my favorite light-hearted subplots of the entire series. Not only did it give Jack and Sawyer some face time, but it set up an important plot point too: Jack and Sawyer's face off over the guns:

Jack	10 mangos.
Sawyer	Okay, I'll call you with the aspirin and raise you with a bottle of Amoxicilin.
Jack	Do you even know what Amoxicilin is?
Sawyer	You may have been to Phuket, Doc, but I've been to Tallahassee. Let's just say something was burning and it wasn't from the sunshine.
Jack	I'm all in.
Sawyer	Well, that's the move of a man who wants me to lay it down.
Jack	You're not going to lay it down.
Sawyer	I'm not, huh? Why's that?
Jack	Because there's a bunch of people watching us right now and you don't want them to see you lose. Again.
Sawyer	Well alright, I call. What you got? Pair a 9s? You pushed in with a pair of 9's?
Jack	You got me. Let's see 'em. Guess it was enough, huh?
Sawyer	Son of a bitch.
Jack	I'll come get the meds later.
Sawyer	Hey, when I asked you what you wanted for stakes... why didn't you ask for the guns?
Jack	When I need the guns, I'll get the guns.

But you know an episode is a classic when it has a hilarious subplot which doesn't even contain the funniest exchange in the episode. That honor goes to Hurley:

Jack	Hurley, you seen Ana-Lucia?
Hurley	She took off into the jungle with Charlie and Sayid yesterday.
Jack	Yesterday. They say anything about where they were going?
Hurley	Well, that would like assume that anyone actually tells me anything. Maybe if I were in the loop I could be more helpful.
Jack	There is no loop, Hurley.
Claire	Excuse me, Jack... um... he's been really hot and fussy and do... do you mind having a look?
Jack	Yeah, sure, sure.
Hurley	Loop, dude, loop.

I love using "Loop, dude, loop" in the lab now whenever people don't tell me something like, for example, when we're out of a particular reagent. No more Trizol? Loop, dude, loop!

Summary: I was surprised at how high up this episode was on TV.com's list. To me this episode feels like a guilty pleasure. After all, the flashbacks, while good, didn't blow you away, but all the on island stuff is pure Lost gold - the map, the poker game, the balloon, the ending. It also felt too gimmicky to be on the Top 10 list. After all, causal viewers probably saw the Map and went "huh?" And I know many people who love the show who have never checked out the Map on the net. But to me, it's certainly Lost at it's best

So what do you think? Classic? Overrated? Cheesy ABC marketing ploy? Did the map make it too weird for causal watchers? Would this episode be in your Top 10? Have at it!

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

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