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Welcome back to "Lost" Lists. Last time, I wrote about the show's most overused cliches and the best and worst deaths that we've seen so far. Today, I'll be running down the best seasons and the worst and best twists the show has given us thus far. Without further ado...
"Lost's" Worst To Best Seasons
While the overall story of "Lost" is one that continues throughout the entire show, each season has had its own little miniarcs that carve out a special place in the overall mythology. Some of these miniarcs have been great, others... eh, not so much. Here are my thoughts.
5. Season Five
Arc: "TIME TRAVEL, YOU GUYS! TIME TRAVEL! ALSO, LOVE TRIANGLES."
Like every season of "Lost," this one sure had its moments. It was nice that they finally came out in the open about the time travel elements of the the show, and there was some high adventure, but three things in particular dragged it all down. The first thing is that the time travel episodes in the beginning were quite similar and also disorienting, making it hard to understand what was going on. I know I wished for a constant a few times.
The second problem was the Jack/Kate/Sawyer/Juliet love triangle. Some viewers probably loved it. I, however, was bored to tears by it. Don't get me wrong, "Lost," like any truly good science fiction, only works when it cares about its characters. The only problem is that I don't care about these characters. Jack is a fine protagonist and Sawyer is very good, but I hate Juliet and Kate, and even if I didn't I wouldn't care about which one is dating which and who feels particularly angsty about it today. Geez, it's like a teen drama, and it chewed up screen time, relegating great characters like Sayid, Desmond, Hurley, Miles, Faraday and others to much more minor roles.
The final problem was that it was just all so melodramatic. This started a little bit in season four, but it really reared its ugly head when 2009 rolled around. Back when Ben was in his heyday, he wouldn't just shrug off the deaths of a plane's innocent passengers. He'd make you think it was all your idea. Dramatic one liners abounded, intended to create tension but actually revealing laziness. It was as if the writers got too wrapped up in how awesome their high concept show was and sometimes forgot to make it high concept.
Hopefully, some of these problems will be fixed this year.
4. Season Two
Arc: "So, there's this hatch..."
The first time I watched this season through, I considered stopping altogether. The second time through was much more interesting, but it still suffers from a few key problems.
First, the good. This season stops messing around with Season One's proclivity to shove smoke monsters and numbers and polar bears in your face with absolutely no explanation, hoping that you'll just go "Oh my gosh! So weird! So different! I'm blown away!" Instead, some method starts to be injected into the madness by way of the Dharma Initiative, beginning with the hatch, the first of Pierre Chang's mysterious films and, in the season finale, the capsule dump, one of my favorite unanswered questions thus far. You were still confused, but it was a much more organized confusion.
Also, some of the character drama was really good. Mr. Eko was always fascinating, and the Charlie/Locke conflict really heated up. And, of course, I can't leave out the most important character addition in season two: Benjamin Linus, the scheming, double-dealing, Machiavellian leader of the others.
Now, the bad. Well, first there's Ana Lucia. Gosh I hated her. Annoying, two-dimensional, and she wears the same clothing the entire time she's on the island. Gross. Besides her, however, the should they or shouldn't they debate with the button got a little old by the end of the season, as did Jack and Locke's faith vs. science shtick. Lastly, we can't forget Kate's downfall from a relatively interesting manipulative fugitive into a weepy, petulant nuisance (to be fair, this does start in season one, when she spends many of her flashback episodes attempting to retrieve a toy airplane).
On the whole, it's an interesting season, but it's not without its setbacks.
3. Season One
Arc: "There is some pretty weird stuff going on on this island."
The best things about this season are, of course, the best things about any opening season to a good drama: the premise and the introduction to the characters. "Lost" proved its quality in both of these areas, introducing the engrossing flashbacks (indeed, the season one flashbacks often upstage the events on the island) and creating a pilot that sucks you into the plot faster than that one guy got sucked into 815's engine.
The weaknesses are not really weaknesses, nor are they anyone's fault. The writers had to establish that weird shenanigans were about to go down, and they did so nicely. However, the first season was, from a mythology angle, all about setup, and "Dude, it's a polar bear! Weird, right?" is inherently less interesting to me than "Why is there a polar bear hanging around?" This is all OK by me, however. The first season isn't supposed to be the best.
2. Season Three
Arc: "Wait... I really don't understand the Others at all."
While this season certainly has its fair share of bumps in the road (Nikki and Paulo, too much time spent in the cages, Nikki and Paulo, Jack's tattoos, Paulo and Nikki), it took the hints of conspiracy and mystery that season two introduced and turned them into full-blown, head scratching craziness with the revelation that the Others live in a town just like regular people, if regular people lived in the middle of an island fueled by strange and hellbent forces that no mortal could begin to understand. The narrative strength also increased, particularly in the long, bittersweet road towards Charlie's death.
Besides the already mentioned hiccups, Juliet wasn't always the most interesting, and the death of Mr. Eko made it clear that basically the entire reason the tail section existed is for Rose and Bernard to be together. However, these things are forgivable. The positives already mentioned, along with the introduction of Desmond as a central character and the flashforward twist in the finale, made for a great season.
1. Season Four
Arc: "Well, if it's not Penny's boat, whose is it?"
While I enjoyed many of the more non-essential episodes of the first three seasons (a particularly fun one is "Tricia Tanaka Is Dead," more commonly known as "the one where Hurley finds the van"), I also loved the writers' decision to buckle down in season four and make it all about plot. The flashforwards were innovative and exciting, and Jack's bearded moments may be Matthew Fox's best acted scenes on the show so far.
The on-island action was gripping as well. The four freighter folks were introduced (my favorite? Faraday), Michael came back, Ben was vengeful and manipulative as heck and the whole drama was given additional urgency by the menacing Martin Keamy. It wasn't short on mythology either, as time travel began to be revealed in full force, particularly in "The Constant" and at the end with the frozen wheel.
This is an almost perfect season, perhaps marred only a little bit by the absence of Charlie and a bit of a slide into melodrama. Even with these small concerns, it is definitely "Lost" at its best.
Now, for today's second list:
"Lost's" Best Twists
One of the key dramatic devices used in "Lost" is the plot twist, turning everything we thought we knew on its ear. Sometimes these revelations have added to the show, and sometimes they haven't. Let's take a look.
Note: For the purposes of this article, a "plot twist" shall mean a new, unknown and unexpected revelation or action meant to advance the plot.
5. Daniel gets shot by his mom
Episode: "The Variable"
While Faraday's odd, about-face insistence that the survivors can indeed change the past irks me, the reveal that his destiny has, in essence, been set in stone since before he was born hits you like a sucker punch, particularly because of the person who kills him: Eloise Hawking, Faraday's mom.
That she knew throughout Faraday's whole life that she would kill him recontextualizes the forgetful physicist's entire journey on the show, and it casts Eloise's motives and intentions even further into doubt going into the final season.
4. Michael shoots Ana Lucia and Libby
Episode: "Two For The Road"
Sorry that my first two twists are also two of the best deaths, but "Lost" can pack a lot of good into one action - or, in this case, two actions. While I've always loved Michael, he was a bit... whiny in season two, and the writers didn't give him much to do besides having him say "I've gotta find my son" over and over (he sounds like a regular Tom Jane after a while). However, his murder of Ana Lucia is shocking and something that most viewers wouldn't think Michael capable of. When he instinctively offs Libby moments later, it hits us: he can't come back from this.
The gamechanging nature of this moment also serves as one of the more potent (and one of the first) reminders that, on "Lost," no one is safe. The tension is ratcheted up because Cuse and Lindelof aren't afraid to kill fan favorites. While Shannon and Boone died before the two tail section occupants, this is when we knew that the writers meant business.
3. The Others are civilized and live in a town
Episode: "A Tale Of Two Cities"
Clair's flashbacks and the abandoned Dharma hospital had already given us glimpses into the idea that the Others might be more than just savages, but the wide shot of Dharmaville nestled in the middle of the island was something else entirely. It was the establishing shot of season three, the season when we found out much more about the Others than any season before or since.
Besides the unexpected fact that the Others behave like normal folk when they aren't terrorizing the survivors, this twist also gets props for its stellar setup. The first time I watched the episode, I assumed that Juliet was another survivor whose backstory was being fleshed out for the first time. Then the house starts to shake, the camera looks up to see the plane breaking apart, and BAM! It's Ben! Good work, guys.
2. "We have to go back!" is actually a flashforward
Episode: "Through The Looking Glass"
This one was actually spoiled for me, but it can't be discounted. The flashforwards took one of the most beloved parts of "Lost" and changed it into an even more unique storytelling device, one that gave immediate context to many on-island plotlines and saved a lot of exposition that would have otherwise had to be done in season five. That they at first lead the viewer on to think that it's just another episode in Jack's sob story is just good writing.
1. Locke really is dead
Episode: "The Incident, Part 2"
Somehow, the writers managed to turn Locke's death into three separate twists. The first is in the finale of season four, when you find out that he's the one who's been in the coffin the whole time. It's nice, but not completely shocking or anything. After all, you knew it had to be one of the main characters.
The second twist is when he comes back to life. Yawn. I saw that coming from the moment Ben suggests that Locke be used as a substitute for Christian. It was the third twist, however, that caught me unaware.
Again, here is a twist that recontextualizes the things that came before it. Now you know why Locke has been acting a little more terrible than normal. Now you know why he hasn't whined for the last half of the season. Now you understand why he's been spouting all of this villainous verboseness. You still don't understand what he means, but you understand why he says it.
Also, as is important for any good twist, this one was completely unexpected. I'm guessing that almost all "Lost" fans thought that the island had healed Locke and made him a cocky jerk to boot (in fact, this is one reason why I wasn't as big of a fan of season five). Then, just like season two, when the show needed a shot in the arm, Cuse and pull this one out.
"Lost's" Three Worst Twists
One of the pitfalls with something like "Lost" (or really any quality, popular media icon) is that the people responsible for content can get a little too caught up in how awesome the product is and begin to think that anything they do will be the best thing ever. This is why we have things like the "Pirates of the Caribbean" sequels, season four of The Office and most of John Lennon's post-Beatles career. Here are three times when the writers were wrong about what would play well.
3. Dr. Chang is Miles' dad
Episode: "Some Like It Hoth"
This one isn't terrible so much as it is mediocre. It currently makes little difference to the show that Chang and Miles are related, unless you think that changing Miles from a snarky smart-alec into a emotional, misunderstood adolescent is a major plot improvement.
Indeed, the main problem with this twist is the melodrama (a problem which, as previously noted, plagued season five). Miles' contrived "You need me?" when Chang asks him to do something for him is one of the top three worst anythings to appear on the show.
2. Nikki and Paulo actually discovered The Pearl station first
Episode: "Expose'"
I understand why the writers needed to do this episode, and it even has its moments now and then, but I really didn't like the retconning of a major moment in the plot. Such a revelation is pointless, and it retroactively takes away from Locke's discovery of the station later on. Oh well. At least those two are dead now.
1. Juliet's parents are divorced
Episode: "The Incident, Part 2"
This only qualifies as a twist because the writers chuck it at you out of the blue as an explanation for Juliet's suddenly irrational and inconsistent behavior (by the way, have you ever noticed how the flashback doesn't even make sense with the rest of the episode? Everyone else is having significant Jacob moments, and all of the sudden Juliet's parents just pop up for no reason).
Her decision to help Jack blow up the bomb, based only on a supposed "look" that Sawyer gives Kate and the sudden announcement that "hey guys, she's got issues from her childhood," is by far the most contrived plot point that has occurred on the "Lost" thus far. Let's hope season six can't top it.
Stay tuned for more "Lost" lists!
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