The Shape of Things To Come

Over the weekend, I worked up the beginnings of two drafts for future posts--a list of my favorite/least favorite LOST characters, and a top 10 list of my favorite episodes. Both may need some refinement as I continue my re-watch, and both contain information that could amount to spoilers for those who have not caught up to LOST Standard Time.

I'm not sure what the best way to proceed would be. I suppose I could start by ranking the episodes of the first season, and encouraging others to submit their lists as well, for comparison. Crowdsourcing!

I guess that sounds like the best way to go. So, here I'll go ahead and throw in my two cents about each of the episodes from Season One. Any such exercise for Season One will be difficult, due to the general format of the episodes, and determining how much weight to place on the competing qualities of the single-episode arc and their significance to the series larger. For example, "Pilot, Parts 1&2" could be considered one of the greatest episodes of television of all time, due to its sheer enormity, the cinematic wonder that is the opening scene and the metaphorical Pandora's Box it opens up, setting the stage for every episode thereafter. On the other hand, the main arc of the episode revolves mostly around fixing and using the transceiver, which proves to be of little consequence to the rest of the series.

Most of the rest of the season's episodes function as introductions to the back-stories of individual characters. All are more or less equal, therefore, in larger purpose, so judgment must be made on the crafting of the storytelling and a fair amount of subjective like or dislike of that particular character. And there is always the conundrum of season finales, which inevitably leave you on the edge of your seat, burning for more. Depending on your personal outlook, this could be incredibly thrilling or incredibly frustrating, and such reactions either way could cloud one's judgment of the episode as a whole. Anyway, let's make our best effort and get to it.

1. "Walkabout"
-As I discussed at length in my post on Locke, this episode is one of my favorites of the series. Locke's backstory is well-crafted and unfolds beautifully, building to one of the biggest reveal moments of the series. A perfect, poetic model for flashback episodes that follow, though none do it quite as well.

2. "Exodus, Parts 1&2"
-I know it's a bit of a cop-out to put the season finale this high, but this one is extremely well done. The convergence of all of the impending conflicts--the alleged coming of the "Others" and the black smoke, the launching of the raft and approaching monsoon season, the struggle for dynamite and unveiling of the Hatch, as well as the comedy-drama of the scene at the Black Rock and the juxtaposition of the hopeful departure of the raft against true impending doom on the Island is poetic. The real reason the episode rules, though, is the total WTF moment when the raft is encountered by the mysterious ship of Others. Seriously an epic, jaw-dropping, eye-exploding moment.

3. "Deus Ex Machina"
-It may show my bias to put another Locke-centric episode this high, but again, I think it is justified. Finding the Beechcraft and hearing the mysterious radio transmission is intriguing unto itself. But the true genius is in the absolutely gripping and heart- (or more appropriately, kidney-) wrenching story of Locke's father ruthlessly conning him out of an organ. Brilliant. The sealer is the moment when Locke is pounding on the Hatch, defeated, when the ethereal light shines from below and toward the heavens. Compelling, and rich.

4. "Pilot, Parts 1&2"
-Again, slightly cop-outish, but less so than putting the season finale so high. This was one of the most highly impactful pilot episodes in the history of TV. The classic opening eye shot, the immediate jump to the chaos of the crash scene, brilliantly set up and filmed. The other snippets of foreshadowing I find less amazing--the polar bear, the "monster," Charlie's heroin issues--but the moment of Sayid's recognition that the French woman's distress call has been on loop, unanswered, for 16 years, is chilling.

5. "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues"
-Jack's flashback storyline of struggling with a decision to rat out his father for malpractice, essentially ending his father's career, is compelling and emotional. On the island, the revealing of Ethan in the storm and then his manhandling of Jack is shocking, scary and awesome. I am less impressed than others with the heart-pounding scene when Jack revives a hanged Charlie by beating on Charlie's chest and rather prefer the dialogue between Boone and Locke while on the hunt. I especially like when Boone describes his feeling like a red-shirted ensign from Star Trek, explaining to Locke that on the old show those insignificant figures were always lost to dangerous missions led by the heroic captain. Locke's reply: "Sounds like a piss-poor captain." And, of course, the ultimately important development is the discovery of the Hatch.

6. "Numbers"
-Hurley, apparently, has my second-favorite flashback story. It is probably the case that such a preference is based on my personal liking of the character and the actor who portrays him, Jorge Garcia. I care less about the events that Hurley thinks occur due to his "curse" and more about the story of how he came to the numbers and what they mean. Generally, the setting of a mental asylum as a place from which significant information comes is a tired technique for fiction, but it still works for this story. It's really the sheer weirdness of the idea of the numbers and the intrigue posed by figuring out their true nature, which is continued throughout the series, that makes this episode appealing.

7. "Confidence Man"
-Sawyer's backstory is interesting. This episode provides insight into how he used to operate, his trade, and also reveals his first moment of real humanity, calling off his con when the couple's son walks in. That, of course, foreshadows the revealing the true source of his torment, when Kate reads his letter. The torture sequence with him, Sayid and Jack is appropriately disturbing and gritty. We see the entire complex aura of Sawyer in this episode, from vile manipulator to vulnerable victim, nails-tough misanthrope to charismatic charmer.

8. "Outlaws"
-As I was writing this list, I had this episode much lower, but after going through nearly the entire exercise, I moved this up at least five spots. I think the main reason I initially had it so low is the heavy-handed metaphor of the boar that Sawyer chases, the demon he is trying to exorcise. Meh. Upon re-examination, this truly is a formative episode, as we witness the very powerful scene from his childhood that changed Sawyer's life forever, from his perspective under the bed. But it's really two other scenes that are iconic to me from this episode--the drinking game he plays with Kate, revealing their similar rough-and-tumble pasts, and the flashback to Sawyer sitting in the Sydney bar with Jack's father, a mental realization Sawyer makes at the end of the episode. As for seeing Sawyer being conned into killing the wrong man, I don't like it much other than the poignancy inherent in realizing that it was Jack's father who ultimately gave him the last push to pull the trigger.

9. "White Rabbit"
-I also originally had this episode lower, but similarly, upon re-examination, it became tighter and more pleasing. I think it initially was Boone's lameness in stealing the water and his lifeguard FAIL that turned me off. Matthew Fox (Jack) turns in a better performance here than I originally gave him credit for. And the mysterious appearances of his father are creepy and interesting, though Jack's tumble down the hill and clinging to a root off the edge of the cliff is silly. Of course, it is significant that Locke appears, angelic above, to save him, and later to encourage him to "finish what he started." Finding his father's coffin empty is also an interesting point. The culmination in the famous "live together, die alone" speech is ok, but a little corny too.

10. "Raised By Another"
-The on-island action of this episode takes a different slightly pace from the previous episodes, more to a pyschological thriller, with Claire's (imagined? real?) attacks, and the ultimate revealing that Ethan is not one of them. The real winner of this episode, though, is Claire's backstory and the ultra-creepiness of psychic Richard Malkin. This storyline has never been flushed out to the extent that I'd hoped, but perhaps it will resurface in some way in the final season.

11. "Tabula Rasa"
-The revealing to some of the other LOSTies that Kate is the criminal paired with her backstory with farmer Ray Mullen is generally a nice match. More importantly, we see the beginnings of the bonds formed between Jack and Kate, Michael and Sun, and Locke and Walt. I don't care for the mini-arc of Sawyer's failed attempt to euthanize the marshal and Jack's being forced to finish the job, though it is significant in pitting those two against each other. I also like the unspoken explanation, later flushed out, that Sawyer possibly missed with his shot due to his hyperopia. The most significant conversation, which set off rampant blogosphere theorizing that the LOSTies were in purgatory, or heaven, or hell, is between Jack and Kate, when he tells her, metaphorically, that they all died in the plane crash. The closing, hopeful montage featuring Joe Purdy's "Wash Away" is a nice, if classic, J.J. Abrams touch.

12. "Solitary"
-This episode, clearly, is most significant in introducing Rousseau, the first character seen on-island whom we know is not one of the survivors. This obviously makes her a point of intrigue, and Sayid's torturer past makes a nice counter-story, but in all, I was less moved by this episode than others. It makes the top twelve for its significance to the series larger.

13. "Whatever The Case May Be"
-Kate's flashback in robbing the bank is New Mexico is truly well-done, and took me off-guard the first time I watched it. If I was drawn in more by the action on-island in this episode, it would rank higher on this list. I remember watching this initially and finding the struggle for guns off-putting and Kate's obsession with the toy plane trite. There are some nice scenes, namely the comedic interlude of Sawyer's struggles to open the case and the clever interplay between Kate and Jack in retrieving the key from the buried marshal. The ending with Rose and Charlie adds an aftertaste of stale cheese.

14. "Hearts and Minds"
-It's a little amazing that a storyline prominently featuring Boone and Shannon isn't in the lowest level of the basement for me, as both of them are fairly lame characters. But this story actually made me feel for the first time something other than ambivalence toward Shannon. Of course, that feeling is near-hatred for her when she cons Boone out of $50k. The better part of the episode is Locke's friggin' sweetness in forcing Boone to hallucinate, again showing his divine, sage awesomeness.

15. "...In Translation"
-This is the bookend to the earlier episode "House of the Rising Sun," which is even lower on this list. I like this one better for providing context to the scene, shared between the two episodes, when Jin comes home to Sun frazzled, angry and bloody, now seen to come after he "delivered a message" for Mr. Paik. On island, Sun finally reveals to Jin that she can speak English, to save his life, ultimately leading to their split. I find this almost wholly unmoving, as she could have done it sooo long ago and avoided further conflict between her and Jin, and among Michael, Jin and her. The ending with Sun venturing into the water freely in just a bikini is fine, but just way too straight-out-of-The-Awakening for me. Once again, Locke, briefly, shows his awesomeness in both counseling Shannon to get over Boone and revealing to Walt that he knows Walt actually burned the raft.

16. "Born To Run"
-This episode is technically well-crafted, with several mini-storylines wound through it that are tied up neatly at the end, but all of them failed to reach me on a personal, emotional level. The time capsule scene and hospital tragedy including Kate's ex, Tom, just doesn't get there for me, leaving me mostly with a distaste for Kate, when I should be feeling poetic sympathy. On island, I find Kate and Sawyer's struggle to get the last spot on the raft petty and uninteresting. The closest thing to interesting drama comes when it is revealed Sun poisoned Michael, accidentally, in trying to prevent Jin from leaving. Again, it's just so-so for me.

17. "House of The Rising Sun"
-This is the ultimate episode in establishing Sun's lameness to me. It shows the dramatic scene of Jin coming home, bloodied, with the reason why later revealed in "...In Translation," and that is fine. But the fact that she was ready to leave her apparently abusive husband at the airport and changes her mind because he shows her a flower is ultra-lame. Again, she could have avoided the meteorically insignificant Jin-Michael battle over a watch by simply revealing that she can SPEAK ENGLISH! I think the scene when she finally does so in "Translation" might have been better if we, the audience, didn't already know she could. What is significant and good from the episode is the discovery of "Adam and Eve." What is further lame is Charlie re-emerging as a "serious artist" (gag) and the conflict over going to the caves because some people don't want to leave the beach and the possibility that a boat comes. Why don't you just post people there to tend a signal fire in shifts? Wow, that was difficult.

18. "Do No Harm"
-While I do kind of like the scene between Jack and his father at the hotel pool on his wedding eve, the whole Jack's marriage thing doesn't touch me in any significant way. His wedding vows, ending that 'he didn't fix his wife, she fixed him' is especially stomach-retching. I was similarly unmoved by both Boone's death and Say-annon's romance. The juxtaposed medical-drama scenes of Jack trying to save Boone with his own sweat and blood with Claire's giving birth is ok. But the ending with Jack's indignant rage against Locke, calling him a "murderer," is ultra-lamezore.

19. "The Greater Good"
-The flashback story with Sayid being forced to turn on his terrorist friend, though predictable, is decently powerful. The actor portraying the naive, unstable friend puts in a very notable performance. It is poetic that the reason Sayid is on flight 815 is because he had to take a later flight to claim his friend's corpse, but in all, it really just left me feeling sad. On island, the action quickly devolves into a hate/doubt fest against Locke, which, as you can probably guess, I find irritating. It is reminiscent to me of every episode of House, M.D., when it is patently clear that House, as always, is right, yet everyone else stupidly doubts and tries to thwart him, before eventually having their faces drenched with several omelets' worth of egg.

20. "Homecoming"
-The most prominent theme of this episode is that Charlie is an idiot. The flashback shows him being an idiot. On island, he once again proves his idiocy. I am left wholly unmoved by a flashback which might else have been ok because of the fact that the object he steals from his innocent victim is, idiotically, THE MOST obviously prominent piece in her father's entire collection. He then proceeds to ruin a perfectly good scene when Sayid, Jack, Kate and Sawyer trap and subdue Ethan by idiotically shooting and killing him. Revisiting he and Claire's revolting peanut butter fetish at the end is unnecessary.

21. "Special"
Despite its being well-received by critics and significant foreshadowing, I find this episode boring and unpleasant. Harold Perrineau, portraying Michael, is struck with another flare-up of his chronic overacting condition. On island, Michael is again shown to be stupid, far-looking and unobservant, coming down on Locke again for being around Walt. The polar bear scene is made farcical by the cartoonish appearance of the CG animal. It is stunning, though, when Claire emerges from the jungle.

22. "The Moth"
-This is a mostly throwaway episode, showing Charlie's initial delving into the world of illegal drugs. It does an ok job at establishing his initial innocence, but I feel no sympathy for his own stupid actions later. While Locke is again shown to be friggin' sweet in his counseling and rehabbing of Charlie, the metaphor of the moth and cave-cocoon is absolutely overbearing. And I do not think that Charlie's "saving" of Jack from the cave is redeeming for his earlier childish, annoying tantrum, which causes the cave-in to begin with. Entirely forgettable.

*Image credit: http://xfe.xanga.com/3f4c16e233233146716650/z108848393.jpg