Top Ten Cases: All Time Top Ten Episodes of Lost - Introduction

To commemorate the fact that Lost will soon be coming to an end, I thought I would undertake a rather daunting task. In the ten days leading up to the May 23rd series finale, I will be ranking the Top Ten episodes of all time. This was an unbelievably difficult thought process, and in order to alleviate the pressure and to limit the backlash – as I’m sure many people will disagree with my ranking – I attempted to create a loose set of criteria. The first is the significance of the episode as it relates to the mythos of the series. Obviously, by nature, that heavily favors the first and final seasons (when many ideas are introduced and resolved, respectively). So in the opening, I will list any significant events or revelations that happened in that particular episode. I also considered what impact the episode had on the series as a whole. There are a few instances in which nothing monumental happened, but surely got the ball rolling for the rest of the season (I think you’ll find this to be the case with #10). For this same reason, a lot of “firsts” made it on the list as well. And, finally, was it an overall enjoyable and memorable hour? If an episode doesn’t stick with you after six seasons, can it possibly be considered an all time great?

One thing that I discovered after I finally settled on my list: Not a single episode from season two appears on it. I thought this was a bit unfair, but honestly I didn’t want to eliminate any of the episodes that did rank, for various reasons. Don’t get me wrong, I think a fair argument could be made that season two was the weakest season of the six, but I don’t want to judge it that harshly. I will admit, though, that several episodes from the series’ sophomore year did make my initial list for “significance” reasons, but were ultimately cut. So I present them to you as my honorable mentions, in no particular order.

“The 23rd Psalm” – I wanted to include this episode because it was the first full-on, physical appearance of the Smoke Monster. Yet, ultimately it was a moderately weak episode (despite focusing on the fun Mr. Eko).

“One of Them” – C’mon, the introduction of the man who arguably turned the series on its side, Mr. Benjamin Linus (Henry Gale at the time). But, again, the episode as a whole doesn’t necessarily warrant a position as one of the top ten of all time. Plus, the flashback stories was one of the most overused of the entire series (right up there with Michael fighting for Walt), namely Sayid as the reluctant torturer.

“Two for the Road” – I was going to include this because, in my view, this was the first time we had a genuinely shocking, unannounced death of a major character. And we got two deaths! By the hands of a one-time hero, for that matter. I’d say this episode showed that anybody could die at any time, without any warning.

“Live Together, Die Alone” – While this was unfortunately one of the weaker finales, in my view, it did provide one of the first answers to a significant mystery, as we learned that Desmond was responsible for the crash of Flight 815. And we also discovered that Ben is the leader of The Others, and not Mr. Friendly like most of us assumed (anybody else disappointed that we never found out what brought him to the island? And why he was named the unofficial spokesman?)

Also grossly misrepresented in this list is season five – a season I thoroughly enjoyed. And as a side note, this list covers the Pilot episode all the way up to season six’s “Across the Sea.”

Check back tomorrow (May 14th) for the episode that ranked in at #10....