The 20 Most Significant Episodes of Lost

Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: ABC

Twenty years ago, Ocean Flight 815 crashed connected prime-time tv and permanently altered viewers’ expectations of the medium. When Lost debuted connected ABC connected September 22, 2004, it was uncommon to spot a serialized enigma connected web TV. It was adjacent much uncommon to spot an occurrence made with arsenic overmuch ambition and cinematic scope arsenic the pilot, which, astatine the time, was the astir costly archetypal occurrence successful tv past astatine a outgo of astir $13 million. More than 18 cardinal radical tuned successful to that debut, and a pop-culture improvement was born. Fans picked isolated each occurrence week by week, relishing the accidental to lick the mysteries surrounding the land and the Dharma Initiative that erstwhile called it home.

Throughout six seasons, Lost had its ups and downs successful quality. The work of a section astir the show successful Maureen Ryan’s 2023 publication Burn It Down revealed what a challenging, cutthroat workplace it had been for immoderate of the writers and actors who felt bullied and demeaned due to the fact that of their contention oregon gender. It’s challenging to ticker oregon rewatch the amusement present (something that tin beryllium done arsenic of this week connected Netflix) without reflecting connected the behind-the-scenes baggage Lost carries with it. But the transition of clip besides liberates america from the expectations viewers had during the show’s archetypal tally erstwhile everyone was truthful rabid for answers to its astir insignificant questions — “I inactive don’t cognize however oregon wherefore Walt made that vertebrate clang into a model successful play one, occurrence 14, and I request closure!” — that they sometimes couldn’t spot the full wood (jungle?) for the trees. Even allegedly pointless episodes tin beryllium fascinating to revisit successful the discourse of Lost’s interaction arsenic a bid that raised the barroom for tv conscionable arsenic the Peak TV epoch was opening and societal media was adding pitchy substance to conversations astir popular culture.

Obviously, it’s champion to ticker each occurrence of Lost successful order, arsenic the Smoke Monster intended, but if you’re trying to retrieve oregon recognize wherefore it was specified an important and captious series, these 20 episodes should enactment that successful perspective. Many of them are flat-out great. Some are not. But each are important to knowing what made, and inactive makes, Lost specified a singular viewing experience.

After mentioning him for aggregate seasons, Lost finally introduces Jacob, fundamentally the deity of the island, whom we yet larn has spent thousands of years trying to support it from his duplicate brother, the Man successful Black. “The Incident” is besides a reminder of however consistently strong Lost’s play finales are; successful this cliffhanger, the survivors, led by Jack, go determined to acceptable disconnected a atomic weaponry that volition alteration the trajectory of events and forestall Oceanic Flight 815 from crashing. In an affectional closer, Sawyer lets spell of Juliet’s manus arsenic she falls underground — she survives the autumn but repeatedly beats connected the weaponry with a stone until it seems to detonate, seemingly sidesplitting Juliet successful the process. Does their future-altering program work? The occurrence ends without telling us: classical Lost.

Introducing caller characters is simply a tricky happening connected a well-established bid (see the Nikki and Paolo–related point connected this list), but Lost mostly did a coagulated occupation adjacent if the characters don’t ever instrumentality around. “The 23rd Psalm,” which focuses connected the circumstances that brought onetime cause runner turned self-anointed clergyman Mr. Eko to the island, serves arsenic a testament to that. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje gives a commanding, delicate show arsenic the hr flashes backmost to Eko’s narration with his member and his transportation to the tiny level Boone and Locke recovered connected the island. In a nonaccomplishment for the series, Akinnuoye-Agbaje yet asked to beryllium written disconnected the amusement due to the fact that helium reportedly didn’t privation to enactment successful Hawaii, wherever accumulation took place.

It was astonishing successful the archetypal play erstwhile main quality Boone Carlyle dies aft sustaining injuries from a fall. It was adjacent much shocking when, conscionable a fewer episodes into the 2nd season, Boone’s stepsister, Shannon, is accidentally changeable and killed by Ana Lucia, 1 of the recently introduced “Tailies,” the radical successful the backmost of the level whom we larn successful play 2 besides survived the crash. Shannon’s decease results successful tremendous heartbreak for Sayid, who had fallen successful emotion with her. Whether you were for oregon against the Sayid-Shannon romance (not everyone was onboard erstwhile Sayid was supposedly inactive pining for the emotion of his life, Nadia), Shannon’s decease doubles down connected the committedness made by Boone’s demise: Anyone connected this land tin spell astatine immoderate time.

This occurrence demonstrates conscionable however heavy into time-travel mentation play 5 was consenting to go. At 1 point, Daniel Faraday, the idiosyncratic played by Jeremy Davies, delivers an extended monologue astir physics and however to perchance alteration the aboriginal that really makes consciousness and sets the array for the season-five finale (“The Incident”) and the crippled of play six. Very fewer shows of the clip were capable to integrate lofty technological principles truthful organically into their communicative lines. I mean, The Big Bang Theory was nerdy, but Lost was “Let’s speech precise earnestly astir technological principles for 10 consecutive minutes” nerdy.

It’s an understatement to accidental the last play of Lost was not universally good received, but this occurrence was the exception. By flashing wayyyy backmost to 1867 to explicate however Richard Alpert landed connected the land and yet achieved immortality, “Ab Aeterno” proves that, adjacent adjacent the end, this bid knew however to usage its time-jumping supernatural model to illuminate characters successful astonishing ways. Written by Melinda Hsu-Taylor and Greggory Nations, the hr reveals Richard archetypal came to the land arsenic a enslaved connected the Black Rock, a vessel that has been portion of the show’s mythology since play one. The occurrence besides caused behind-the-scenes hostility when, according to Ryan’s book, showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse expressed resentment that Hsu-Taylor and Nations were the credited writers connected specified an acclaimed script. Hsu-Taylor recalled that they “basically [told] america however overmuch we owed them for letting america person our names connected that script. And they implied it would astir apt beryllium bully if we got them a small present.” Regardless of immoderate was going connected successful the writers’ room, the onscreen effect was terrific.

Lost’s astir ruthless objection of its willingness to bump disconnected cardinal characters comes successful this installment, erstwhile 3 of its beloved principles — Sayid, Sun, and Jin — dice connected an exploding submarine. The country successful which Sun and Jin garbage to permission each different arsenic they drown is wrenching and beautiful, but it’s hard not to announcement that each 3 victims are radical of colour who dice successful specified speedy succession that each idiosyncratic doesn’t consciousness afloat honored. The occurrence particularly does not springiness the assemblage the due abstraction to process and mourn the nonaccomplishment of Sayid, the uncommon Muslim main quality connected prime-time television. Twitter was afloat of distraught radical that night.

This inactive holds up arsenic a thrilling two-part play finale, implicit with a dynamite detonation successful the Hatch, a kidnapping of 4 cardinal characters, the uncover of the Others’ leader, and a twist ending that would haunt the imaginativeness of Lost fans for a full summertime (as good arsenic compel them to enactment successful The Lost Experience). But what’s astir important astir this episode, which traces Desmond’s acquisition successful the Hatch earlier the Flight 815 crew’s arrival, is that it really does reply immoderate captious questions, thing Lost was often accused of not doing. After 20-plus episodes of watching the survivors input the numbers (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42) into an past machine each 108 minutes to support the satellite from ending, “Live Together, Die Alone” confirms determination was a valid crushed for doing it. Not lone is the land affected by electromagnetic forces, but those forces are apt what caused Oceanic Flight 815 to crash. This occurrence besides establishes that Desmond’s narration with Penny, whose household turns retired to beryllium much connected to the land than we knew, volition beryllium cardinal to however Lost’s communicative reaches a resolution.

After a season-three finale that blasted unfastened the show’s full communicative structure, Lost’s viewership deed 16 cardinal for its season-four premiere, the highest it would scope for the remainder of its run. “The Beginning of the End” races up with the flash-forward premise hinted astatine successful the last moments of the 3rd season, peeking into a aboriginal wherever six of the survivors marque it location and are dubbed the Oceanic Six. By uncovering a caller space connected its well-established flashbacks vs. present-day structure, Lost enthusiastically tapped into a ton of caller storytelling potential, thing it would bash again successful seasons 5 and six.

In the Fan Service Hall of Fame, this occurrence has its ain imperishable exhibit. “Exposé” kills disconnected the precocious introduced, little-loved Nikki and Paolo, a reflection of the antithetic narration betwixt Lost’s showrunners and its fans. Cuse and Lindelof became nationalist figures to an antithetic grade astatine the time, hosting their ain play podcast astir each occurrence and making it wide that they were absorbing feedback and genuinely trying to delight fans. That’s not terribly antithetic behaviour now, but backmost past it was a novelty, arsenic was the writers’ determination to bump disconnected Nikki and Paolo, whom viewers openly disliked. (The brace were expected to person been connected the level and the land the full time, adjacent though we ne'er spot them until play three.) The hr felt similar filler, but it’s really a amusive departure episode that riffs connected the TV thriller genre. It’s besides rife with meta comments and wrong jokes. Hurley: “Nikki’s dead.” Sawyer: “Who the hell’s Nikki?”

The Dharma Initiative, an enactment that began studying the technological properties of the land successful the 1970s, is explained (sort of) for the archetypal clip erstwhile Locke and Jack beryllium down to ticker an predisposition video designed to bid the radical moving wrong the Hatch, a.k.a. Dharma’s Swan Station. This infinitesimal not lone introduces tons of land past and mythology but is besides a preview of each the Dharma details and Easter eggs fans would obsess over.

Lost wasn’t shy astir sidesplitting disconnected characters, but it besides wasn’t acrophobic to crook tiny roles into bigger ones. The champion illustration of this is Michael Emerson’s Benjamin Linus, the manipulative person of the Others, who appears for the archetypal clip successful “One of Them” arsenic a antheral named Henry Gale who crash-landed connected the land successful a hot-air balloon. Emerson was primitively slated to look successful 3 episodes, but helium gave specified an aggravated and slippery show that Lost’s producers signed him up for much and yet made him a regular. (He won a Supporting Actor successful a Drama Emmy, too.) You tin spot wherefore arsenic soon arsenic helium shows up successful this episode, sliding betwixt unfortunate and villain with specified easiness you’re ne'er definite wherever to spot him.

The three-part season-one finale is an exquisite, suspenseful postulation that includes immoderate of the astir chilling moments successful the show’s past (“We’re going to person to instrumentality the boy”) and the astir moving (Vincent swimming aft Walt connected the raft inactive gets me). But the precise extremity was what got radical talking. The past changeable gives america a presumption of Jack and Locke peering into the Hatch, an underground bunker that is simply a enigma for overmuch of the season. But the occurrence ne'er shows america what’s really down there, forcing the assemblage to hold until the adjacent play to find out. Some viewers were annoyed and thought this was a cop-out; others appreciated the consciousness of mystery. Those divided instrumentality factions would proceed to conflict for the entirety of Lost’s run.

4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42: Those numbers look implicit and implicit connected the island, but they’re archetypal introduced successful this episode, with a flashback focusing connected a bid of catastrophes that befall Hurley aft helium wins the lottery with them. Not lone are the numbers important to the island’s mythology, they’re besides an aboriginal denotation of however overmuch the amusement would trust connected embedding deeper meaning into symbols and signs. This is besides the occurrence successful which Hurley emerges arsenic a richer quality with a backstory we could not person anticipated — he’s really a millionaire and not conscionable the comic feline who ever says “dude”?

Season 2 opens with 1 of the large TV quality reveals of each time: flashes of idiosyncratic waking up, typing connected a computer, moving out, showering, making a smoothie, and, ohio yeah, injecting themselves with immoderate benignant of medicine portion listening to “Make Your Own Kind of Music,” by the Mamas & the Papas. We can’t spot the person’s face, and it’s not adjacent wide precisely wherever this is happening until the camera pans down a hallway and up, wherever Locke and Jack are peering down the Hatch — exactly wherever we near them astatine the extremity of play one.

This series confirms that the Hatch is so a moving bunker and determination is astatine slightest 1 idiosyncratic surviving successful it. That idiosyncratic is Desmond Hume, who volition go arsenic cardinal to the dynamic connected the land arsenic the survivors we met successful play one. So overmuch of what made Lost Lost is represented successful this episode: the statement referenced successful its rubric astir religion vs. skepticism, the etchings successful the Hatch partition that shriek retired to beryllium deciphered connected connection boards, the uncover that Jack and Desmond have, successful fact, seen each different successful different life, brother. It besides earned the highest ratings of immoderate Lost episode, with much than 23 cardinal viewers.

Lost was specified a nationalist obsession up of its sixth and last play that the White House had to reassure fans that Barack Obama’s archetypal authoritative State of the Union code would not preempt the premiere. (It didn’t.) “LA X” introduces the flash-sideways for the archetypal time, a mentation of events successful which Oceanic Flight 815 ne'er crashed, everyone lands successful L.A., and their lives proceed to advancement and intersect from there. It’s yet different caller mode for Lost to messiness with chronological storytelling, and it gave the amusement caller foodstuff successful its last stretch. Just don’t speech astir the worldly that involves the temple; it’s precise boring.

Many see this the finest hr of Lost ever made, and it’s pugnacious to accidental they’re wrong. “The Constant” takes a challenging communicative premise involving Desmond mentally hopscotching betwixt 1996, 2004, and the contiguous and turns it into an accessible, elegant emotion communicative that should beryllium regarded arsenic a how-to usher for anyone trying to archer an emotionally resonant time-travel communicative connected film. It besides provides the astir satisfying payoff successful the show’s past erstwhile Desmond yet successfully makes interaction with Penny via a telephone telephone connected Christmas Eve 2004. Kleenex are required.

Lost’s archetypal truly large twist doubled arsenic an announcement that this bid would usage its flashbacks to alteration the audience’s perspective, not lone regarding the characters but the land itself. “Walkabout” saves this flashback disclosure until adjacent to the extremity of the episode, revealing that John Locke was wheelchair-bound and paralyzed from the waist down anterior to the crash. Because Lost had not yet trained america to expect specified surprises, this was a genuine gasp inducer. It besides suggests close retired of the gross that the land could beryllium a root of healing arsenic overmuch arsenic a haven for scary fume monsters.

You hated the Lost finale. You loved the Lost finale. You didn’t similar it astatine archetypal but have precocious reassessed it. However radical whitethorn consciousness astir the wildly hyped decision of the series, they person decidedly talked, joked, and argued astir it since it archetypal aired successful 2010. For amended and worse, “The End” is 1 of the astir debated and (by some) despised endings successful tv history, and the speech astir it volition nary uncertainty proceed arsenic agelong arsenic quality beings tin sermon television. Just please, let’s each agree, erstwhile and for all, that they aren’t dormant the full time.

The thought for Lost originally came from ABC president Lloyd Braun, who wanted a scripted bid with the aforesaid vibes arsenic the world deed Survivor mixed with a spot of Lord of the Flies and Gilligan’s Island. The conception yet landed with J.J. Abrams, who was assigned Lindelof arsenic a penning partner, and the 2 rapidly developed a aviator publication and amusement book that outlined wherever the bid mightiness spell successful aboriginal seasons. Given its origins and the rushed timeline successful which it was developed and shot, it’s singular that Abrams, Lindelof, and the remainder of the formed and unit made a aviator truthful groundbreaking and instantly compelling. A two-parter, it establishes the show’s flashback approach, makes the assemblage consciousness instantly invested in the archetypal and truthful highly recognizable characters, and prompts anyone watching to wonderment what’s truly happening connected this island. “Guys, wherever are we?” Dominic Monaghan’s Charlie famously asks successful this episode. Viewers mightiness person asked themselves the aforesaid question. The Lost aviator was mainstream tv with an ambitious self-assuredness we had seldom seen before.

If idiosyncratic wanted to ticker lone 1 occurrence to get a consciousness of what Lost was about, this is the choice. The series’ astir heartbreaking finale sends Charlie to the underwater Hydra presumption truthful helium tin unjam the awesome that volition let the survivors to pass with the extracurricular satellite and hopefully beryllium rescued. Charlie achieves what helium sets retired to bash but drowns successful the process, creating 1 of the astir iconic images successful Lost past and — sure, I’ll accidental it — television past successful general, placing a manus with the words “Not Penny’s Boat” written connected it against a solid model to pass Desmond that the radical connected a adjacent freighter whitethorn not beryllium their saviors aft all.

But what truly takes this occurrence to the adjacent level is the ending, which gives america possibly the astir iconic infinitesimal successful Lost history: Jack Shephard, disconnected the land and wracked with guilt astir leaving, shouting to Kate, “We person to spell back!” His breakdown confirms that what we thought was a Jack flashback was really a flash-forward, a goosebump-inducing twist made each the much breathtaking due to the fact that it came astatine the extremity of a bumpy 3rd play that took a three-month hiatus. The finale besides aired 2 weeks aft ABC announced Lost would reason with play six, an incredibly uncommon declaration for a broadcast TV amusement to marque backmost then. By the clip “Through the Looking Glass” aired, fans knew determination was an endgame successful sight, making the flash-forwards that overmuch much breathtaking to contemplate. Even though immoderate were acceptable to constitute disconnected the amusement conscionable weeks earlier, Lost proved it had immoderate large storytelling near successful it. Twenty years later, we’re inactive going back.