Lost: What Stays Behind
Still not the big meta Lost retrospective talking about the series an an overall narrative, but a preliminary study, aka scenes and episodes from six years that without having done any rewatch are alive in my memory (and not in a "omg what a horrible viewing experience that was" kind of way). I only used Wiki to check the episode titles, but otherwise am writing from memory, so if I put a scene in the wrong episode, feel free to correct me.
from the pilot: Sawyer, attempting to be the cynical tough competent guy, shoots the cop and promptly manages to make everything way worse because he "only" hits the stomach. As neat a deconstruction of a certain tough guy trope as I've ever seen.
Walkabout: forget the polar bear, the moment when the episode revealed John Locke had been in a wheelchair was the jaw-dropping twist when I became hooked. Terry O'Quinn's acting throughout the episode is awesome, and the tears in his eyes when the island has given him back his ability to move remained an iconic moment througout the show for me. Arguably David Fury's best script (counting his Jossverse episodes, and there were a lot of those I'm very fond of).
House of the Rising Sun & ...In Translation: aka the original Sun and Jin episodes. During the last two seasons, Lost didn't quite know what to do with Sun and Jin anymore, but they didn't distort their characters, either, and they remain a fantastic example of narrative twist of expectations and cliché subverted, in this case "submissive Asian wife and cold, domineering man". The two episodes compliment each other but work individually as well as an example of narrative layers being revealed, how something strong and positive - the love two characters have for each other - can be used against them to poison their relationship and trap them - but also how they can eventually break free from this. Fantastic performances from both actors, and a tv innovation of sorts as most of the dialogue is not in English but in Korean.
Solitary: introducing Danielle Rousseau and highlighting Sayid for the first time. Another good David Fury contribution. I remember being amazed I had no problem not thinking of Delenn when watching Rousseau, and also that Sayid's history was a responsible use of torture, as opposed to 24 shenanigans.
Deus ex Machina: in which Locke gets screwed over by his father in the past and screws over Boone in the present. Sort of. It's a tad more complicated than that (given that Anthony Cooper knows very well what he's doing when he's conning his son out of a kidney and Locke has visions but doesn't know for sure what will happen to Boone if he keeps up with his quest), but the emotional equation is there, both for the audience and for Locke himself who does feel he sacrificed Boone to the island in an Abraham/Isaac fashion (see also Dead!Boone's appearance to Locke in s3). Highlights the darker side of Locke's "man of faith" characterisation. That Locke temporarily looses the ability to move his legs again and only regains it after Boone has had his accident is ambiguous at the time (could be psychosomatic, i.e. Locke doing it to himself, could be actually caused by an exterior force - the island/Jacob/Smokey); I actually like we never got a definite explanation that it was either the one or the other, but that it was left ambigious. I have a soft spot for characters who do appalling things to characters they have affection for while believing this to be for a greater good, so instead of putting me off Locke, this episode made me more fascinated.
Exodus: Sun giving Jin the exercise book and Locke, crying, beating on the hatch untl the light is switched on are the enduring images there for me.
The Other 48 Days: in which things go to hell for the Tailies in general and Ana Lucia in particular. I thought Ana Lucia was a fascinating character, and this episode, which does the Lost trick of presenting a character previously shown in an unsympathetic, antagonistic light, explaining her reasons and putting us in her pov, is one big reason why. The moment when we catch up with the present again and Ana Lucia shoots (and hits Shannon) is powerful and tragic because after seeing what happened to her, you understand why she does it.
What Kate Did: I remember being most of all utterly relieved that the show finally broke the pattern of "we're going to make you think Kate did something dreadful, but look, she didn't, she's totally innocent!" and what came across to me as wanting to have their cake and eat it, i.e. Kate as an outlaw but one without any victims or actual crimes. So finding out she really killed her adopted father who also was her biological father (and in fine Lost tradition an abusive bastard) made Kate more, not less sympathetic and real to me. (Little did I know it was also the last episode about Kate for several seasons which wasn't about her relationships with Jack and Sawyer. I bet Evangeline Lilly was ready to yell "hallelujah" when the show finally gave her other stuff to do again in some of s4 and most of s5 & 6.) The scene with her mother was painful in a way that stuck with me; Kate was one of the few characters on this show who had Mommy issues more than Daddy issues, why is one reason why her eventual storyline with Aaron and Claire really worked for me.
The 23rd Psalm: aka the Mr. Eko story. I do wish the actor hadn't quit after one season, because this episode establishes him as a fascinating character. Oh, the interactions he could have had with Sayid, Ben or Jacob & Smokey, all of whom he shares bits and pieces of parallel history with! The death of his brother is another of those emotional punches in the gut the show does well, and makes the Damaskus moment for Eko believable.
One of Them: in which the one and only Michael Emerson shows up as a certain Henry Gale... or so he says, aka my other favourite Lost character makes his debut. Ben Linus is mesmerizing from the start, even when pretending to be harmless Henry, and we get a good illustration of a) the Benjamin Linus takeover method, which involves a lot of physical pain and getting oneself beaten up, being underestimated by everyone and playing the folk ostensibly in power against each other, and b) how far Our Heroes are willing to go by now. Torture is still handled responsibly and doesn't accomplish anything (other than setting up a lot of bad karma for Sayid, because this is probably when Ben marks him as a future useful tool).
Lockdown: first episode to really showcase the terrific chemistry between Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson (btw, have they already managed to get a project for themselves by now?). They had some scenes together earlier, but not many; here said scenes are the central focus of the episode, setting up (some) of the intense relationship between their characters. There's also more of Locke's backstory, and the cut between Helen and his father leaving him and "Henry"/Ben returning to him in the present is one of the most efficient present/past uses of the show. For first time viewers, it's also a long mindgame - is "Henry" telling the truth or isn't he? - with the whiplash of "Henry" coming back to save Locke being followed by the news Ana Lucia, Sawyer and Sayid bring.
Dave: aka the one where everything might take place in Hurley's head. Speaking of mindgames, that was a nasty one. It also showcased how damaged Hurley was/is, in an intense and painful way, especially his usual upbeat demeanour and function as the heart of the show. Awwww, Hurley.
Two for the Road: more Ana Lucia. Her scene near the end of not killing Ben was one of the best show, not tell ways of demonstrating a character having learned from the past (though yes, they told us anyway as well), and Michael shooting her and Libby at the very end was one of the biggest shocks of the show to me, though I had expected something to be up with Michael at that point.
A Tale of Two Cities: the opening teaser is not only an efficient introduction of Juliet (dissing people who diss Stephen King, which is one of the geekier things our writing team did on this show) but another great mind game on the part of the show for first time viewers, who assume they're in someone's past in the US and only at the end of the teaser figure out they're in the more immediate past on the island, and we're seeing the plane crash from the Others' pov. The soundtrack use of Downtown is so marvelously ironic that I love it both here and in the repition later this season. Mind you, the rest of the episode I have mixed feelings about, but I do love that teaser.
Further Instructions: in which Locke temporarily loses his voice, has visions of Boone and other dead and living castmates, finds his faith again and saves Eko. (For two more episodes. Poor Eko.) Not one of the all time greats, but I'm a sucker for surreal visions and Locke episodes, so I love it anyway.
Flashes before your eyes: Desmond starts time-travelling and meets Eloise Hawking. Both are nifty to watch.
Tricia Tanaka is dead: Awwwwww, Hurley. The sequence when he gets the van driving again with Charley & friends is one of the most mad and joyful Lost scenes ever. Also, Roger the Workman as a skeleton is a good example of the show's black humour, in retrospect.
The Man from Tallahasee: and here the rest of the Benjamin Linus/John Locke/The Island relationship gets established as they reencounter each other, this time with Ben as Ben. I can quote most of those dialogues by heart ("and here you are, John, striding out of the jungle to make my dream come true"), and love it to mindgamey, rivalry/connection/snark/revelationary bits. Plus, I've said it before and will say it again, best cast chemistry ever. As for the flashbacks, we finally learn just how Locke got crippled. It's the scene leading up to the actual event that kills me, Locke telling his father when the later demands what's so wrong about a con - "because you make people love you". The thing is, even as late as that point, you get the impression he still would have forgiven his father if only Anthony Cooper had shown that he cared; call it neediness or dumbness, but that capacity for affection and forgiveness is there to balance Locke's anger and longing to be special. (Which is why I could believe what he tells Ben re: a certain s5 event in the show finale.)
Exposé: not a popular ep, but I find it hilarious and great in-show meta on the show itself. Lots of dark humour. It also cracks up that we actually got the particular loose end of the buried diamonds resolved later on.
The Man Behind the Curtain: wow, thought I when first watching this and getting the first flashback to young Benjamin Linus, Ben was Harry Potter! Complete with glasses, and abusive Muggles around him. This Harry definitely chose Slytherin, though. The kid they picked to play young Ben is excellent, both here and later in s5, and so is the writing, making young Ben symathetic while already giving him traits that will later be showcased in the ruthless Machiavellian we know; witness Ben using his beloved bunny to test whether he managed to deactivate the sonic system, for example. The present day offers more Ben & Locke, trecking to Jacob's cabin (which turns out to be most likely Smokey's cabin, but that's another issue) and trading mutual sharp personal insights until Ben tries to kill Locke for the first time. It's just their thing.
Greatest Hits: I never loved Charlie the way many another viewer did, but he could be pretty endearing, and this episode sums up why while bringing the season long "Desmond keeps seeing Charlie die" plot to a logical conclusion. "Not Penny's boat" indeed. Aw, Charlie.
Through the Looking Glass: aka the first Jack-centric episode(s) on the entire show I really liked, with another great mindgame for first time viewers; I really didn't figure out we were watching flashforwards instead of flashbacks until the last scene, though I should have, given that what we saw didn't jell with Jack's history as established. (But then, I hadn't paid that much attention to Jack's history.) Having Jack, man of science and most affirmed "leave the island, leave it now!" proposer yell "we've got to go back!" was not only jawdropping but also part of a great creative renewal. Until this point of the show, most viewers, including yours truly, assumed Our Heroes would only leave the island at the very end of the show and that therefore previous efforts felt more and more pointless since we knew they wouldn't succeed anyway. Also, everyone's backstories seemed to have been exhausted, at least of the old regulars (this being the season of the infamous Jack's tattoo origin story). And now suddenly this game changer - flash forwards instead of flashbacks, some characters evidently did leave the island, and Jack of all the people did a 180% and wanted to go back. This was better than any explosion to keep me hooked.
The Beginning of the End: in which we find out Hurley post-island prefers an asylum to freedom. Awww, Hurley. The scene with Hurley seeing dead Charlie coming to him in the police station freaked me out big time.
The Economist: the only problem with pulling off a dramatic Ben reveal the show had both here and in a later s6 episode is that Michael Emerson has such a distinct voice that you know it's him before the camera deigns to reveal his face. Still, this episode, showcasing post-island Sayid as a professional assassin, with the curse of people who have sex with him prone to die soon after still active, and the final reveal that he works for post-island Ben was very smoothly pulled off and deliciously evil.
The Constant: aka most people's later seasons favourite. Not mine, though I like it well enough and remember the final Desmond/Penny phonecall as incredibly touching. This episode was also the reason why I was never seriously worried about Desmond or Penny from this point onwards, because it was clear the writers planned them as the shows embodiment of romantic hope and the love story with a happy ending. Also notable for introducing the concept of the island moving differently in time. (Daniel Farraday figures out that time on the freighter is ahead of time on the island.)
Meet Kevin Johnson: aka, how Michael atoned. Harold Perrineau does a great job here, the scene with Tom, the original scary Other, being an affable man about town with his visiting lover is a nice touch, Ben is in fine scheming form, and Sayid manages to collect more bad karma when he pours scorn over People Who Volunteer To Work For Benjamin Linus.
The Shape of Things To Come: now that's my personal favourite episode of s4. Script by Brian K. Vaughan and "Ultimate" Drew Goddard, it's downright Shakespearean, The Life and Times of Benjamin Linus, as Ben on the island in a fatal case of hubris for once overestimates his ability to play people and thus gets his daughter killed. The death of Danielle Rousseau an episode earlier was upsetting because it appeared pointless and a waste of an intriguing character; the death of Alex here was even more upsetting but for opposite reasons; it was the ultimate logical consequence of the tragedy that started when her father stole her from her mother and simultanously began his power struggle with Charles Widmore. The scene itself, with Ben pretending indifference, Alex pleading and then Keamy just shooting her, and Ben's blank face, is one of the most painful death scenes of the show. IMO as always. The flash forwards showing Ben's arrival on the mainland, acquisition of Sayid as a minion (the scene where he does so is classic Ben because of the way he handles it, telling Sayid to walk away, with Sayid promptly demanding more names to kill - "Benjamin, where do we start?" never had such a sinister ring - and Ben only giving a hint that it was manipulation at the very end, with that small smile) and exchange of threats with Charles Widmore are their own mini spy movie, and I only regret nobody wrote an Alias crossover yet in which Ben during his three years off the island crosses paths with the First Gen spies and Sydney.
Cabin Fever: in which Locke, Ben and Hurley trek through the jungle and, retrospectively speaking, Locke sort of seals his fate by talking to dead people and believing them. The scenes with Ben and Locke are as intense and ambigous as ever (note that Locke is the only character who expresses pity and sympathy re: Alex to Ben, but of course the competition is ongoing), and Hurley sharing chocolate with Ben is a marvelous silent scene.
There is No Place Like Home: neatly tying to the start of the season, we see how the Oceanic Six became the Oceanic Six, and that's all well done, but what sticks to my mind best, to no one's surprise, are the Ben and Locke scenes, including Ben killing Keamy, but especially their farewell. And then we get the shocker of Locke's body in the coffin back in Los Angeles in a cryptic encounter between Ben and Jack. Say what, show, thought I, say what? Must watch further.
Because You Left: Juliet and Sawyer watching the freighter explode is for some reason in my mental eye, and the island starting to do the time warp for everyone, with Daniel Faraday beginning his increasing slapworthiness by not telling Charlotte and the others just what's going on. Meanwhile, Ben enlists Jack in "Project Go Back To The Island" and insists they take along Locke's body. (Little did he know, etc.) Notable as the first example of the last two season trend of Jack being actually comfortable with letting other people be in charge, both in charge of himself and in charge in general. As for Living!Locke on the island, he gets presented with that smuggler plane crash with fatal long term results and a revisit to himself and Boone before even more bizarre encounters with Ethan and Richard ensue. When we later find out all that happens to Locke from this point onwards is a causality loop - Richard gets his direction from who he thinks is Locke but is really Smokey, it makes me nickname the episode "the infernal machine".
The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham: Speaking of. Oh, John. There is the black humour of Hurley being comfortable talking to him as long as he thinks Locke is a ghost but freaking out when he realizes Locke is alive (oh, IRONY), the sad tenderness of his visiting Helen's grave (and btw, should have paid attention to the fact Helen is dead in regards to s6) and the emotional whiplash of the climactic scene at the end, with Ben talking him out of suicide, complete with kneeling and hand clasping, and then killing him, cleaning up after himself and then that quiet "I shall miss you, John" (one of the worse ironies of Ben's life is that he keeps destroying the people whom he has a genuine connection with), but surprisingly, my favourite scene, at least right now, is Locke's encounter with Walt. It's the one meeting that isn't about pleading any cause or believing in a purpose or anything like that; it's simply John Locke looking up a boy he had developed affection for on the island, wanting to make sure that boy is doing okay. And then sparing Walt the guilt of Michael's death, and, when Abaddon presses, refusing to involve him in the whole island quest. It's a quiet and touching scene, and I love it very much.
LaFleur: At this point, I realised to my surprise I actually had come to like Sawyer, and not just in a mildly tolerating kind of way. The fact that Sawyer & Co., as opposed to the Oceanic 6, did just nicely with their lives, thank you very much, and that Sawyer the conman made a good new life in the 70s with the Dharma Initiative as their security chief was a great twist. Sawyer/Juliet I was also on board with, not least because it meant that upon Jack's inevitable return to the island, Juliet would not go back to The Other Woman mode. Miles as Sawyer's sidekick was fun, and the show got a lot more mileage out of that than I expected by the way things played out in s6.
He's Our You: In retrospect the last great Sayid episode, though also the one where I have the least sympathy for him. Yes, he had a crappy life, and people kept using the worst of him instead of the best. But he still has the ability to choose, and here, when presented with a young Ben Linus who might already show signs of being smart and calculating but also is an abused (in front of Sayid, no less) child ready to help and trust a stranger, he chooses not to help that child, which possibly would change the boy's life, but to kill him. The scenes between young Ben and Sayid in his cell on the one hand, and adult Ben and Sayid in the flashbacks on the other are sharp and terrific. (Also, I'll never stop regarding the fact Sayid didn't quit his assassin-for-Ben-job but was dismissed with some Schadenfreude because so many viewers expected the opposite.)
Dead is Dead:
From the teaser (in which Ben wakes up to find a very much alive Locke - or so he thinks - watching him, and immediately goes "I knew it!") onwards, it was clear this was going to be one of my favourite episodes. The only thing that takes a bit away from it in retrospect is that we're not really dealing with John Locke here, which means one of my former scene favourites, Fake!Locke stating "how about we talk about the elephant in the room" etc. in Ben's office, doesn't count anymore, but on the other hand, moments such as Ben trying to summon the smoke monster again only to have "Locke" step out of the jungle instead gain a "show, you're evil" momentum. Also, as an investigation of Ben's psyche both in regards to Alex' death (the self-punishing wish to be judged) and Locke's death (his jealousy is still there, but he also first produces and discards an opportunity to kill Locke again) it's still valid, and of course there is a lot of flashback revelation goodness, from Ben (compete with teenage sidekick Ethan, who cracks me up) taking baby Alex from Danielle Rousseau to his showdown with Charles Widmore over that to Widmore's exile to the tracking down of Desmond and Penny, with Ben's inability to kill Penny even before Des gets up again a replay of the Rousseau and Alex situation.
Some Like it Hoth: or, the one with Hurley, Miles and a dead body in the car. The news that Miles has daddy issues as well isn't exactly original on this show or island, but the Hurley and Miles present day interaction is so golden that it doesn't matter, from Hurley showing off about his superior talking-to-dead-people skills to Miles discovering Hurley is writing the script for Empire Strikes Back from memory (with revisions!) to send to George Lucas. I love you, show.
The Incident: is actually one of my least favourite season finales because Juliet's sudden ooc behaviour burns, and so does her death, but Jacob's death at Ben's hands and by Smokey's prodding still is memorably mythic, and the revelation of Locke's dead body and Smokey's real identity is a reliable shocker.
LA X: start of the reboot/sidewaysverse/castaway limbo/whatever you want to call it, in which our heroes mostly work out their issues in a good manner, though not all of them, while on the island everything goes to hell a bit faster. (Also the start of a not-annoyed-by-Jack episode run that lasts till and including the show finale. I mostly wasn't through s5 but the season finale with Jack taking up Faraday's plan and briefly getting back into leader position brought back my old irritation, though in retrospect that's mostly because Juliet goes along with this due to ooc behaviour.) Predictably, the Locke and Jack encounter at the lost luggage facility is my favourite, setting up the season theme of people healing each other in the sideways verse.
What Kate Does: Love the Kate and Claire interaction throughout. Kate outside the most annoying love triangle this side of Battlestar Galactica is a character I really enjoy watching, and while the Kate 'n Claire/Aaron has two Mommies spin-off isn't as high on my list as the Ben and Locke High School Tale we're about to get in the next episode, it's certainly there, along with the James Ford and Miles Straume, Buddy Cops at Large story.
The Substitute: Awwww, John Locke, genuine article. Awww, Helen. Awwww, Rose (I love you, Rose!), finding the ideal job for Locke. ZOMG it's Ben in the teacher's room (of course it is, see Michael Emerson's unmistakable voice), ranting about coffee. Do we have a canon high school AU for my two favourite Lost c haracters? Yes, we do! What can I say: one of the eps that has me as putty in their hands.
Dr. Linus: Awwww, Ben and Alex. LOL sidekick Artzt. ZOMG it's Ben choosing Alex over ambition. Hey, is that a tad too much woobification in the island, with the grave digging? Never mind, we get a burial scene that has both black humour (Frank Lapidus) and a genuinenly heartfelt eulogy for John Locke (at last!) from somebody, and it's fitting that this somebody is Ben, using the opportunity for a confession at the same time. And for all that Ben's such a well-versed liar, you know he means every word this time. Yes, this episode is a favourite as well.
Recon: the James Ford/Miles Straume double act is endlessly entertaining. (BTW, the fact they evidently want to be together in the hereafter as cops should totally justify a 'ship to rival Sawyer/triangle members. On the island, he asks after Miles, too, when the showdown in the temple occurs.) Also I love Indiana Jones! Charlott, her unimpressedness with Sawyer/James Ford when things go pear-shaped, and the fact she does the sane thing and not involves herself in a relationship with a baggage-ridden man.
Everybody Loves Hugo: well, who doesn't? THIS IS TRUE. A Hurley love fest is always good to watch, even if post-enlightenment Desmond is a creep without the writers meaning him to be. But what can I say, Hurley and Libby so deserve finally having that picknick together.
The Candidate: Teacher!Ben driving with the Desmond-injured John Locke to the hospital (the emphasis on Ben saving the lives of both Alex and Locke is a huge giveaway that this is real Ben trying to make up for past deeds, not a genuine alternate Ben who never did said deeds) is great, Jack and Locke interaction with both of them admitting to their difficulties of letting go continues to be excellent, the finale revelation works with the revelation in this episode (because Locke never stopped both loving and hating his father, so he's unable to imagine a scenario where they're just fine and dandy with each other AND he's healthy, but a state of affairs where his father never took his kidney or used him in later cons which ruined his relationship with Helen because while they were still in the bonding-and-doing-sports-together stage, there was an accident that crippled them both is something his psyche would come up with). I also enjoyed the sibling bonding between Jack and Claire, which they never got to do on the island. On the island, Smokey trapping Our Heroes with his successful bluff re: plane and submarine is as evil and smoothly executed a plan as there ever was, and the ensuing deaths of Jin, Sun and Sayid would have left me numb were it not for the fact I had seen them in the sideways verse throughout the seasons and was at this point reasonably sure these people were somehow the same ones we've been following, not alternate versions, so I didn't feel I had "lost" those characters, if that makes sense. Still, it was a shocker, and Smokey's most villainous act throughout the season. Which is why the ensuing episode pulled off, for the last time, that veryLosttrick, revealing a character's background to explain him/her.
Across the Sea: my favourite season 6 episode, and much of fandom hated it. (I'm still sulking over the fact that the - IMO, IMO, I know - horribly mediocre Ab Aeterno is popular and this little masterpiece is not.) Love Alison Janney as Mother, killing trusting women after they've given birth and messing up her kids For Their Own Good. Loved Future Smokey (Esau, Samuel, whatever you want to call him) being not the evil twin but a bright and curious child who questions authority and wants to leave. Loved Jacob not being the saintly twin but a somewhat resentful and simultanously clingy one, unable to let anyone go and being emotionally blackmailed into a task he only half understands. (Figures this would be the guy to draw hapless strangers to the island who keep re-enacting his family drama and aren't allowed to leave.) Loved the self-created tragedy that ensues (Mother makes Future Smokey into her killer by destroying his means of escape and the people he's lived with, Future Smokey dooms himself by killing her, Jacob makes his brother into his personal nemesis by inflicting a fate worse than death on him and transforming him into a monster). Loved the final revelation of Adam and Eve as Mother and Brother, and the cross cutting between Jacob entombing Mother and Brother on the one hand and Jack, Kate and Locke finding them in s1 on the other; as
wee_warrior pointed out, it draws a great parallel between the triads - dubious good guy, ambiguous mother and tragic bad guy - which will be repeated in the showdown with Smokey in the finale.
The End: Speaking of: the Smokey/Jack fisticuffs did nothing for me, any more than Sisko vs Dukat in the DS9 finale or Kirk vs Soren in Generations did, but Kate getting that shot was awesome. (I say this while still wishing Smokey had been given Mother's last words.) So were Kate and Sawyer jumping into the sea, and Kate persuading Claire to give life another shot and come with her. (I ended up really liking Kate, did you notice? Ahem.) So was Miles professing his belief in duct tape. So was Hurley ending up as Island Protector, and Ben signing up as his number 2. So was, and I say this as someone who started the show indifferent to Jack, with periods of outright dislike through much of s2 and s3, Jack's death sequence, watching the plane leave, dying not alone but with Vincent at his side, and his eye which opened the show closing. Of the sidedawys/reboot/limbo scenes, the only one which didn't make me go "awwwwwww!" was the Daniel Faraday/Charlotte encounter, and I was much relieved that this ended not in True Love's Kiss but just a social call. (Sorry, I just think Charlotte is better off being Indiana Jones elsewhere than with Daniel being creepily obsessed with her.) Whether it was Jin and Sun seeing their child together, Hurley seeing Charley again (and promptly rendering him unconscious For His Own Good - that's what years as an island leader enable you to do *g*), Locke reexperiencing the wonder of his healed body (and restored memories) and thanking Jack, Boone allowing himself to get beaten up for his sister's sake one more time or Ben and Locke having their real, genuine, memory-restored encounter in front of that church, I'm just stuck at awwwwwwww even thinking about it. Which is why I'm not yet in a sensible state of mind to write critical show meta, I suppose. :)
from the pilot: Sawyer, attempting to be the cynical tough competent guy, shoots the cop and promptly manages to make everything way worse because he "only" hits the stomach. As neat a deconstruction of a certain tough guy trope as I've ever seen.
Walkabout: forget the polar bear, the moment when the episode revealed John Locke had been in a wheelchair was the jaw-dropping twist when I became hooked. Terry O'Quinn's acting throughout the episode is awesome, and the tears in his eyes when the island has given him back his ability to move remained an iconic moment througout the show for me. Arguably David Fury's best script (counting his Jossverse episodes, and there were a lot of those I'm very fond of).
House of the Rising Sun & ...In Translation: aka the original Sun and Jin episodes. During the last two seasons, Lost didn't quite know what to do with Sun and Jin anymore, but they didn't distort their characters, either, and they remain a fantastic example of narrative twist of expectations and cliché subverted, in this case "submissive Asian wife and cold, domineering man". The two episodes compliment each other but work individually as well as an example of narrative layers being revealed, how something strong and positive - the love two characters have for each other - can be used against them to poison their relationship and trap them - but also how they can eventually break free from this. Fantastic performances from both actors, and a tv innovation of sorts as most of the dialogue is not in English but in Korean.
Solitary: introducing Danielle Rousseau and highlighting Sayid for the first time. Another good David Fury contribution. I remember being amazed I had no problem not thinking of Delenn when watching Rousseau, and also that Sayid's history was a responsible use of torture, as opposed to 24 shenanigans.
Deus ex Machina: in which Locke gets screwed over by his father in the past and screws over Boone in the present. Sort of. It's a tad more complicated than that (given that Anthony Cooper knows very well what he's doing when he's conning his son out of a kidney and Locke has visions but doesn't know for sure what will happen to Boone if he keeps up with his quest), but the emotional equation is there, both for the audience and for Locke himself who does feel he sacrificed Boone to the island in an Abraham/Isaac fashion (see also Dead!Boone's appearance to Locke in s3). Highlights the darker side of Locke's "man of faith" characterisation. That Locke temporarily looses the ability to move his legs again and only regains it after Boone has had his accident is ambiguous at the time (could be psychosomatic, i.e. Locke doing it to himself, could be actually caused by an exterior force - the island/Jacob/Smokey); I actually like we never got a definite explanation that it was either the one or the other, but that it was left ambigious. I have a soft spot for characters who do appalling things to characters they have affection for while believing this to be for a greater good, so instead of putting me off Locke, this episode made me more fascinated.
Exodus: Sun giving Jin the exercise book and Locke, crying, beating on the hatch untl the light is switched on are the enduring images there for me.
The Other 48 Days: in which things go to hell for the Tailies in general and Ana Lucia in particular. I thought Ana Lucia was a fascinating character, and this episode, which does the Lost trick of presenting a character previously shown in an unsympathetic, antagonistic light, explaining her reasons and putting us in her pov, is one big reason why. The moment when we catch up with the present again and Ana Lucia shoots (and hits Shannon) is powerful and tragic because after seeing what happened to her, you understand why she does it.
What Kate Did: I remember being most of all utterly relieved that the show finally broke the pattern of "we're going to make you think Kate did something dreadful, but look, she didn't, she's totally innocent!" and what came across to me as wanting to have their cake and eat it, i.e. Kate as an outlaw but one without any victims or actual crimes. So finding out she really killed her adopted father who also was her biological father (and in fine Lost tradition an abusive bastard) made Kate more, not less sympathetic and real to me. (Little did I know it was also the last episode about Kate for several seasons which wasn't about her relationships with Jack and Sawyer. I bet Evangeline Lilly was ready to yell "hallelujah" when the show finally gave her other stuff to do again in some of s4 and most of s5 & 6.) The scene with her mother was painful in a way that stuck with me; Kate was one of the few characters on this show who had Mommy issues more than Daddy issues, why is one reason why her eventual storyline with Aaron and Claire really worked for me.
The 23rd Psalm: aka the Mr. Eko story. I do wish the actor hadn't quit after one season, because this episode establishes him as a fascinating character. Oh, the interactions he could have had with Sayid, Ben or Jacob & Smokey, all of whom he shares bits and pieces of parallel history with! The death of his brother is another of those emotional punches in the gut the show does well, and makes the Damaskus moment for Eko believable.
One of Them: in which the one and only Michael Emerson shows up as a certain Henry Gale... or so he says, aka my other favourite Lost character makes his debut. Ben Linus is mesmerizing from the start, even when pretending to be harmless Henry, and we get a good illustration of a) the Benjamin Linus takeover method, which involves a lot of physical pain and getting oneself beaten up, being underestimated by everyone and playing the folk ostensibly in power against each other, and b) how far Our Heroes are willing to go by now. Torture is still handled responsibly and doesn't accomplish anything (other than setting up a lot of bad karma for Sayid, because this is probably when Ben marks him as a future useful tool).
Lockdown: first episode to really showcase the terrific chemistry between Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson (btw, have they already managed to get a project for themselves by now?). They had some scenes together earlier, but not many; here said scenes are the central focus of the episode, setting up (some) of the intense relationship between their characters. There's also more of Locke's backstory, and the cut between Helen and his father leaving him and "Henry"/Ben returning to him in the present is one of the most efficient present/past uses of the show. For first time viewers, it's also a long mindgame - is "Henry" telling the truth or isn't he? - with the whiplash of "Henry" coming back to save Locke being followed by the news Ana Lucia, Sawyer and Sayid bring.
Dave: aka the one where everything might take place in Hurley's head. Speaking of mindgames, that was a nasty one. It also showcased how damaged Hurley was/is, in an intense and painful way, especially his usual upbeat demeanour and function as the heart of the show. Awwww, Hurley.
Two for the Road: more Ana Lucia. Her scene near the end of not killing Ben was one of the best show, not tell ways of demonstrating a character having learned from the past (though yes, they told us anyway as well), and Michael shooting her and Libby at the very end was one of the biggest shocks of the show to me, though I had expected something to be up with Michael at that point.
A Tale of Two Cities: the opening teaser is not only an efficient introduction of Juliet (dissing people who diss Stephen King, which is one of the geekier things our writing team did on this show) but another great mind game on the part of the show for first time viewers, who assume they're in someone's past in the US and only at the end of the teaser figure out they're in the more immediate past on the island, and we're seeing the plane crash from the Others' pov. The soundtrack use of Downtown is so marvelously ironic that I love it both here and in the repition later this season. Mind you, the rest of the episode I have mixed feelings about, but I do love that teaser.
Further Instructions: in which Locke temporarily loses his voice, has visions of Boone and other dead and living castmates, finds his faith again and saves Eko. (For two more episodes. Poor Eko.) Not one of the all time greats, but I'm a sucker for surreal visions and Locke episodes, so I love it anyway.
Flashes before your eyes: Desmond starts time-travelling and meets Eloise Hawking. Both are nifty to watch.
Tricia Tanaka is dead: Awwwwww, Hurley. The sequence when he gets the van driving again with Charley & friends is one of the most mad and joyful Lost scenes ever. Also, Roger the Workman as a skeleton is a good example of the show's black humour, in retrospect.
The Man from Tallahasee: and here the rest of the Benjamin Linus/John Locke/The Island relationship gets established as they reencounter each other, this time with Ben as Ben. I can quote most of those dialogues by heart ("and here you are, John, striding out of the jungle to make my dream come true"), and love it to mindgamey, rivalry/connection/snark/revelationary bits. Plus, I've said it before and will say it again, best cast chemistry ever. As for the flashbacks, we finally learn just how Locke got crippled. It's the scene leading up to the actual event that kills me, Locke telling his father when the later demands what's so wrong about a con - "because you make people love you". The thing is, even as late as that point, you get the impression he still would have forgiven his father if only Anthony Cooper had shown that he cared; call it neediness or dumbness, but that capacity for affection and forgiveness is there to balance Locke's anger and longing to be special. (Which is why I could believe what he tells Ben re: a certain s5 event in the show finale.)
Exposé: not a popular ep, but I find it hilarious and great in-show meta on the show itself. Lots of dark humour. It also cracks up that we actually got the particular loose end of the buried diamonds resolved later on.
The Man Behind the Curtain: wow, thought I when first watching this and getting the first flashback to young Benjamin Linus, Ben was Harry Potter! Complete with glasses, and abusive Muggles around him. This Harry definitely chose Slytherin, though. The kid they picked to play young Ben is excellent, both here and later in s5, and so is the writing, making young Ben symathetic while already giving him traits that will later be showcased in the ruthless Machiavellian we know; witness Ben using his beloved bunny to test whether he managed to deactivate the sonic system, for example. The present day offers more Ben & Locke, trecking to Jacob's cabin (which turns out to be most likely Smokey's cabin, but that's another issue) and trading mutual sharp personal insights until Ben tries to kill Locke for the first time. It's just their thing.
Greatest Hits: I never loved Charlie the way many another viewer did, but he could be pretty endearing, and this episode sums up why while bringing the season long "Desmond keeps seeing Charlie die" plot to a logical conclusion. "Not Penny's boat" indeed. Aw, Charlie.
Through the Looking Glass: aka the first Jack-centric episode(s) on the entire show I really liked, with another great mindgame for first time viewers; I really didn't figure out we were watching flashforwards instead of flashbacks until the last scene, though I should have, given that what we saw didn't jell with Jack's history as established. (But then, I hadn't paid that much attention to Jack's history.) Having Jack, man of science and most affirmed "leave the island, leave it now!" proposer yell "we've got to go back!" was not only jawdropping but also part of a great creative renewal. Until this point of the show, most viewers, including yours truly, assumed Our Heroes would only leave the island at the very end of the show and that therefore previous efforts felt more and more pointless since we knew they wouldn't succeed anyway. Also, everyone's backstories seemed to have been exhausted, at least of the old regulars (this being the season of the infamous Jack's tattoo origin story). And now suddenly this game changer - flash forwards instead of flashbacks, some characters evidently did leave the island, and Jack of all the people did a 180% and wanted to go back. This was better than any explosion to keep me hooked.
The Beginning of the End: in which we find out Hurley post-island prefers an asylum to freedom. Awww, Hurley. The scene with Hurley seeing dead Charlie coming to him in the police station freaked me out big time.
The Economist: the only problem with pulling off a dramatic Ben reveal the show had both here and in a later s6 episode is that Michael Emerson has such a distinct voice that you know it's him before the camera deigns to reveal his face. Still, this episode, showcasing post-island Sayid as a professional assassin, with the curse of people who have sex with him prone to die soon after still active, and the final reveal that he works for post-island Ben was very smoothly pulled off and deliciously evil.
The Constant: aka most people's later seasons favourite. Not mine, though I like it well enough and remember the final Desmond/Penny phonecall as incredibly touching. This episode was also the reason why I was never seriously worried about Desmond or Penny from this point onwards, because it was clear the writers planned them as the shows embodiment of romantic hope and the love story with a happy ending. Also notable for introducing the concept of the island moving differently in time. (Daniel Farraday figures out that time on the freighter is ahead of time on the island.)
Meet Kevin Johnson: aka, how Michael atoned. Harold Perrineau does a great job here, the scene with Tom, the original scary Other, being an affable man about town with his visiting lover is a nice touch, Ben is in fine scheming form, and Sayid manages to collect more bad karma when he pours scorn over People Who Volunteer To Work For Benjamin Linus.
The Shape of Things To Come: now that's my personal favourite episode of s4. Script by Brian K. Vaughan and "Ultimate" Drew Goddard, it's downright Shakespearean, The Life and Times of Benjamin Linus, as Ben on the island in a fatal case of hubris for once overestimates his ability to play people and thus gets his daughter killed. The death of Danielle Rousseau an episode earlier was upsetting because it appeared pointless and a waste of an intriguing character; the death of Alex here was even more upsetting but for opposite reasons; it was the ultimate logical consequence of the tragedy that started when her father stole her from her mother and simultanously began his power struggle with Charles Widmore. The scene itself, with Ben pretending indifference, Alex pleading and then Keamy just shooting her, and Ben's blank face, is one of the most painful death scenes of the show. IMO as always. The flash forwards showing Ben's arrival on the mainland, acquisition of Sayid as a minion (the scene where he does so is classic Ben because of the way he handles it, telling Sayid to walk away, with Sayid promptly demanding more names to kill - "Benjamin, where do we start?" never had such a sinister ring - and Ben only giving a hint that it was manipulation at the very end, with that small smile) and exchange of threats with Charles Widmore are their own mini spy movie, and I only regret nobody wrote an Alias crossover yet in which Ben during his three years off the island crosses paths with the First Gen spies and Sydney.
Cabin Fever: in which Locke, Ben and Hurley trek through the jungle and, retrospectively speaking, Locke sort of seals his fate by talking to dead people and believing them. The scenes with Ben and Locke are as intense and ambigous as ever (note that Locke is the only character who expresses pity and sympathy re: Alex to Ben, but of course the competition is ongoing), and Hurley sharing chocolate with Ben is a marvelous silent scene.
There is No Place Like Home: neatly tying to the start of the season, we see how the Oceanic Six became the Oceanic Six, and that's all well done, but what sticks to my mind best, to no one's surprise, are the Ben and Locke scenes, including Ben killing Keamy, but especially their farewell. And then we get the shocker of Locke's body in the coffin back in Los Angeles in a cryptic encounter between Ben and Jack. Say what, show, thought I, say what? Must watch further.
Because You Left: Juliet and Sawyer watching the freighter explode is for some reason in my mental eye, and the island starting to do the time warp for everyone, with Daniel Faraday beginning his increasing slapworthiness by not telling Charlotte and the others just what's going on. Meanwhile, Ben enlists Jack in "Project Go Back To The Island" and insists they take along Locke's body. (Little did he know, etc.) Notable as the first example of the last two season trend of Jack being actually comfortable with letting other people be in charge, both in charge of himself and in charge in general. As for Living!Locke on the island, he gets presented with that smuggler plane crash with fatal long term results and a revisit to himself and Boone before even more bizarre encounters with Ethan and Richard ensue. When we later find out all that happens to Locke from this point onwards is a causality loop - Richard gets his direction from who he thinks is Locke but is really Smokey, it makes me nickname the episode "the infernal machine".
The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham: Speaking of. Oh, John. There is the black humour of Hurley being comfortable talking to him as long as he thinks Locke is a ghost but freaking out when he realizes Locke is alive (oh, IRONY), the sad tenderness of his visiting Helen's grave (and btw, should have paid attention to the fact Helen is dead in regards to s6) and the emotional whiplash of the climactic scene at the end, with Ben talking him out of suicide, complete with kneeling and hand clasping, and then killing him, cleaning up after himself and then that quiet "I shall miss you, John" (one of the worse ironies of Ben's life is that he keeps destroying the people whom he has a genuine connection with), but surprisingly, my favourite scene, at least right now, is Locke's encounter with Walt. It's the one meeting that isn't about pleading any cause or believing in a purpose or anything like that; it's simply John Locke looking up a boy he had developed affection for on the island, wanting to make sure that boy is doing okay. And then sparing Walt the guilt of Michael's death, and, when Abaddon presses, refusing to involve him in the whole island quest. It's a quiet and touching scene, and I love it very much.
LaFleur: At this point, I realised to my surprise I actually had come to like Sawyer, and not just in a mildly tolerating kind of way. The fact that Sawyer & Co., as opposed to the Oceanic 6, did just nicely with their lives, thank you very much, and that Sawyer the conman made a good new life in the 70s with the Dharma Initiative as their security chief was a great twist. Sawyer/Juliet I was also on board with, not least because it meant that upon Jack's inevitable return to the island, Juliet would not go back to The Other Woman mode. Miles as Sawyer's sidekick was fun, and the show got a lot more mileage out of that than I expected by the way things played out in s6.
He's Our You: In retrospect the last great Sayid episode, though also the one where I have the least sympathy for him. Yes, he had a crappy life, and people kept using the worst of him instead of the best. But he still has the ability to choose, and here, when presented with a young Ben Linus who might already show signs of being smart and calculating but also is an abused (in front of Sayid, no less) child ready to help and trust a stranger, he chooses not to help that child, which possibly would change the boy's life, but to kill him. The scenes between young Ben and Sayid in his cell on the one hand, and adult Ben and Sayid in the flashbacks on the other are sharp and terrific. (Also, I'll never stop regarding the fact Sayid didn't quit his assassin-for-Ben-job but was dismissed with some Schadenfreude because so many viewers expected the opposite.)
Dead is Dead:
From the teaser (in which Ben wakes up to find a very much alive Locke - or so he thinks - watching him, and immediately goes "I knew it!") onwards, it was clear this was going to be one of my favourite episodes. The only thing that takes a bit away from it in retrospect is that we're not really dealing with John Locke here, which means one of my former scene favourites, Fake!Locke stating "how about we talk about the elephant in the room" etc. in Ben's office, doesn't count anymore, but on the other hand, moments such as Ben trying to summon the smoke monster again only to have "Locke" step out of the jungle instead gain a "show, you're evil" momentum. Also, as an investigation of Ben's psyche both in regards to Alex' death (the self-punishing wish to be judged) and Locke's death (his jealousy is still there, but he also first produces and discards an opportunity to kill Locke again) it's still valid, and of course there is a lot of flashback revelation goodness, from Ben (compete with teenage sidekick Ethan, who cracks me up) taking baby Alex from Danielle Rousseau to his showdown with Charles Widmore over that to Widmore's exile to the tracking down of Desmond and Penny, with Ben's inability to kill Penny even before Des gets up again a replay of the Rousseau and Alex situation.
Some Like it Hoth: or, the one with Hurley, Miles and a dead body in the car. The news that Miles has daddy issues as well isn't exactly original on this show or island, but the Hurley and Miles present day interaction is so golden that it doesn't matter, from Hurley showing off about his superior talking-to-dead-people skills to Miles discovering Hurley is writing the script for Empire Strikes Back from memory (with revisions!) to send to George Lucas. I love you, show.
The Incident: is actually one of my least favourite season finales because Juliet's sudden ooc behaviour burns, and so does her death, but Jacob's death at Ben's hands and by Smokey's prodding still is memorably mythic, and the revelation of Locke's dead body and Smokey's real identity is a reliable shocker.
LA X: start of the reboot/sidewaysverse/castaway limbo/whatever you want to call it, in which our heroes mostly work out their issues in a good manner, though not all of them, while on the island everything goes to hell a bit faster. (Also the start of a not-annoyed-by-Jack episode run that lasts till and including the show finale. I mostly wasn't through s5 but the season finale with Jack taking up Faraday's plan and briefly getting back into leader position brought back my old irritation, though in retrospect that's mostly because Juliet goes along with this due to ooc behaviour.) Predictably, the Locke and Jack encounter at the lost luggage facility is my favourite, setting up the season theme of people healing each other in the sideways verse.
What Kate Does: Love the Kate and Claire interaction throughout. Kate outside the most annoying love triangle this side of Battlestar Galactica is a character I really enjoy watching, and while the Kate 'n Claire/Aaron has two Mommies spin-off isn't as high on my list as the Ben and Locke High School Tale we're about to get in the next episode, it's certainly there, along with the James Ford and Miles Straume, Buddy Cops at Large story.
The Substitute: Awwww, John Locke, genuine article. Awww, Helen. Awwww, Rose (I love you, Rose!), finding the ideal job for Locke. ZOMG it's Ben in the teacher's room (of course it is, see Michael Emerson's unmistakable voice), ranting about coffee. Do we have a canon high school AU for my two favourite Lost c haracters? Yes, we do! What can I say: one of the eps that has me as putty in their hands.
Dr. Linus: Awwww, Ben and Alex. LOL sidekick Artzt. ZOMG it's Ben choosing Alex over ambition. Hey, is that a tad too much woobification in the island, with the grave digging? Never mind, we get a burial scene that has both black humour (Frank Lapidus) and a genuinenly heartfelt eulogy for John Locke (at last!) from somebody, and it's fitting that this somebody is Ben, using the opportunity for a confession at the same time. And for all that Ben's such a well-versed liar, you know he means every word this time. Yes, this episode is a favourite as well.
Recon: the James Ford/Miles Straume double act is endlessly entertaining. (BTW, the fact they evidently want to be together in the hereafter as cops should totally justify a 'ship to rival Sawyer/triangle members. On the island, he asks after Miles, too, when the showdown in the temple occurs.) Also I love Indiana Jones! Charlott, her unimpressedness with Sawyer/James Ford when things go pear-shaped, and the fact she does the sane thing and not involves herself in a relationship with a baggage-ridden man.
Everybody Loves Hugo: well, who doesn't? THIS IS TRUE. A Hurley love fest is always good to watch, even if post-enlightenment Desmond is a creep without the writers meaning him to be. But what can I say, Hurley and Libby so deserve finally having that picknick together.
The Candidate: Teacher!Ben driving with the Desmond-injured John Locke to the hospital (the emphasis on Ben saving the lives of both Alex and Locke is a huge giveaway that this is real Ben trying to make up for past deeds, not a genuine alternate Ben who never did said deeds) is great, Jack and Locke interaction with both of them admitting to their difficulties of letting go continues to be excellent, the finale revelation works with the revelation in this episode (because Locke never stopped both loving and hating his father, so he's unable to imagine a scenario where they're just fine and dandy with each other AND he's healthy, but a state of affairs where his father never took his kidney or used him in later cons which ruined his relationship with Helen because while they were still in the bonding-and-doing-sports-together stage, there was an accident that crippled them both is something his psyche would come up with). I also enjoyed the sibling bonding between Jack and Claire, which they never got to do on the island. On the island, Smokey trapping Our Heroes with his successful bluff re: plane and submarine is as evil and smoothly executed a plan as there ever was, and the ensuing deaths of Jin, Sun and Sayid would have left me numb were it not for the fact I had seen them in the sideways verse throughout the seasons and was at this point reasonably sure these people were somehow the same ones we've been following, not alternate versions, so I didn't feel I had "lost" those characters, if that makes sense. Still, it was a shocker, and Smokey's most villainous act throughout the season. Which is why the ensuing episode pulled off, for the last time, that veryLosttrick, revealing a character's background to explain him/her.
Across the Sea: my favourite season 6 episode, and much of fandom hated it. (I'm still sulking over the fact that the - IMO, IMO, I know - horribly mediocre Ab Aeterno is popular and this little masterpiece is not.) Love Alison Janney as Mother, killing trusting women after they've given birth and messing up her kids For Their Own Good. Loved Future Smokey (Esau, Samuel, whatever you want to call him) being not the evil twin but a bright and curious child who questions authority and wants to leave. Loved Jacob not being the saintly twin but a somewhat resentful and simultanously clingy one, unable to let anyone go and being emotionally blackmailed into a task he only half understands. (Figures this would be the guy to draw hapless strangers to the island who keep re-enacting his family drama and aren't allowed to leave.) Loved the self-created tragedy that ensues (Mother makes Future Smokey into her killer by destroying his means of escape and the people he's lived with, Future Smokey dooms himself by killing her, Jacob makes his brother into his personal nemesis by inflicting a fate worse than death on him and transforming him into a monster). Loved the final revelation of Adam and Eve as Mother and Brother, and the cross cutting between Jacob entombing Mother and Brother on the one hand and Jack, Kate and Locke finding them in s1 on the other; as
wee_warrior pointed out, it draws a great parallel between the triads - dubious good guy, ambiguous mother and tragic bad guy - which will be repeated in the showdown with Smokey in the finale.
The End: Speaking of: the Smokey/Jack fisticuffs did nothing for me, any more than Sisko vs Dukat in the DS9 finale or Kirk vs Soren in Generations did, but Kate getting that shot was awesome. (I say this while still wishing Smokey had been given Mother's last words.) So were Kate and Sawyer jumping into the sea, and Kate persuading Claire to give life another shot and come with her. (I ended up really liking Kate, did you notice? Ahem.) So was Miles professing his belief in duct tape. So was Hurley ending up as Island Protector, and Ben signing up as his number 2. So was, and I say this as someone who started the show indifferent to Jack, with periods of outright dislike through much of s2 and s3, Jack's death sequence, watching the plane leave, dying not alone but with Vincent at his side, and his eye which opened the show closing. Of the sidedawys/reboot/limbo scenes, the only one which didn't make me go "awwwwwww!" was the Daniel Faraday/Charlotte encounter, and I was much relieved that this ended not in True Love's Kiss but just a social call. (Sorry, I just think Charlotte is better off being Indiana Jones elsewhere than with Daniel being creepily obsessed with her.) Whether it was Jin and Sun seeing their child together, Hurley seeing Charley again (and promptly rendering him unconscious For His Own Good - that's what years as an island leader enable you to do *g*), Locke reexperiencing the wonder of his healed body (and restored memories) and thanking Jack, Boone allowing himself to get beaten up for his sister's sake one more time or Ben and Locke having their real, genuine, memory-restored encounter in front of that church, I'm just stuck at awwwwwwww even thinking about it. Which is why I'm not yet in a sensible state of mind to write critical show meta, I suppose. :)