You may have noticed a little more LOST talk around these parts lately. Bex has recently started watching the show for the first time, and Proffitt is crying her way through a re-watch, so you’ll have to forgive us. It’s a great show and our site didn’t exist when it first aired. We’ve got some catching up to do.
In an effort to condense our LOST geekery and prevent it from taking over our entire site, we’ve decided to work together on “best moments” posts from each of the seasons as we watch them. As any Lost fan will appreciate, this isn’t an entirely easy task. Between the heartfelt reunion moments, the heartfelt confession moments, the WTF is happening moments, the heartfelt speeches moments and the heartfelt lesson moments, a girl could drive herself crazy trying to limit herself to a few from each season. Still, that is what we did. This means, of course, that we will make LOST fans mad by leaving out, say the kiss between Sawyer and Kate in season one (sorry, Skaters) or between Jack and Kate in season two (sorry, Jaters). Just remember: that passionate defense of your favorite moments as compared to ours is exactly what comments are for. We never get tired of talking about this, you know.
Of course: here there be spoilers
Here we go. G4′s favorite season 1 moments, in no particular order (show title listed as well):
1. Deus Ex Machina. There are a lot of WTF is happening moments in season one – the polar bear, the discovery of Rousseau’s message, creepy Ethan staring at Claire like a hungry zombie, the thumping creature in the woods, the exploding science teacher. These are good. These are solid, scary, confusing moments. Our favorite, however, is that damn hatch. Remember, in this season the big mystery was “what’s in the hatch!?” Sure, it turns out it was just Desmond, but at the time we were on pins and needles. The moment that most typifies the brilliant suspense building comes near the end of season one, as Locke screams and yells and teeters on the brink of loosing faith in this crazy island. He asks for a sign. He asks “What do you want from me?” Cue: blinding white light from the hatch window. That, my friends, was awesome.
2. That wacky, wild boar in Outlaws. This Sawyer centric episode has all the crazy ass LOST elements we love about season one – mystical animals, revelations of a tortured past that make someone you used to think was an asshole into a sympathetic character, a John Locke parable about a missing dog and his sister’s ghost. You know, the usual. Sawyer is plagued by a boar throughout this episode – his laundry is messed up, his sleep is interrupted – and he sets out with Kate to find and kill said boar by mid-episode. Our favorite moment comes when the boar, who we assume in some way represents Sawyer’s guilt over either the demise of his parents or his own subsequent nefarious deeds, comes up to Sawyer, ignoring Kate. There is something powerful in the moment. All of Sawyer’s anger seems to seep out of him, he lets the boar live, and even gives the guns back to Jack. The use of the creepy season one whispers are put to good effect in this episode as well, as the boar is preceded by the phrase “It all comes back around” a few times.
3. Walkabout- John Locke Rises. I think most of us have mixed feelings about Locke. He’s a complicated man who often finds himself locked horns with other complicated, frustrating characters on the show. Sometimes these confrontations bring out the best in him, sometimes the worst. But no matter what happens, no matter how often he looses his temper or descends into whining that would put a toddler to shame, we can’t forget that moment when we discover the significance of his toe wiggle in the frenetic opening sequence of the pilot. Walkabout not only reveals to us why Locke is so determined to do what he wants, what he wills, but also why he loves the mysterious and deadly island the rest of the castaways can’t wait to leave. Arriving in a wheel chair, having been told he is not capable of going on walkabout in Australia, we get to see the scene in which he stands and walks for the first time with new eyes and we love him a little bit for the joy in his heart. As an audience, it is a nice reminder that polar bears and ghosts in suits walking around the island aside, there may be a good kind of magic at work as well.
4. All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues. Jack saves Charlie. We know, we know – Jack may also partially responsible for Charlie nearly being killed by Ethan. Ethan did warn him, after all, that if Jack kept up the pursuit, he’d leave Ethan no choice. That doesn’t matter to us. What matters is that fire in Jack’s belly to “fix” people. He’s stubborn, he wants to control every situation, he puts people in danger in his efforts to always be brave and do the right thing, but it is hard to fault him for that when it is so clear he is a Hero. After finding Charlie hanging from a tree, blue and nearly gone, in spite of Kate’s pleas that he stop, Jack all but beats Charlie back to life. We love him for it.
5. In Translation. Sun speaks English. Oh man, how awesome is it when Sun finally reveals to the group, Jin included, that she can speak English?! We don’t know how they do it, but the writers/directors/actors manage to make the secrets between this couple as thrilling as the weird whispers and strange premonitions in these same episodes. Never do you feel more strongly for Jin, who already feels so left out, so misunderstood – he is in the middle of being beaten by Michael because Michael thinks he lit their raft on fire – and now it becomes clear his wife is in some way not on his side anymore. Or, at least she wasn’t before they boarded the plane. It’s a jaw-dropper that doesn’t need anything fancy or mystical – just the perils of marriage.
6. Confidence Man. Charlie and the invisible peanut butter. Ok, we know there is a lot to love about this episode, and most of it has to do with Sawyer and his emerging backstory as a Con man, but one of our favorite moments of the entire series comes when Charlie convinces Claire to move to the caves by presenting her with an imaginary jar of her favorite food ever, peanut butter. It’s just a sweet moment, indicative of his dedication to her in spite of hardly knowing her, his sense of humor, and his thoroughly decent heart.
7. Exodus (part 1) Sawyer does Jack a kindness. Jack and Sawyer have a few moments throughout the series that get to us. We are a sucker for men who learn to get along in spite of all their stupid pride. To be honest, Sawyer is miles ahead of Jack when it comes to compromise (no, really, it’s true! Think about it) and his first moment of real character comes when he and Jack have their awkward goodbye before Sawyer leaves in search of rescue on the new raft. As an audience, we know Sawyer spoke to Jack’s father, Christian, in a bar in Sydney before Christian’s death. In their conversation, Christian tells Sawyer he wishes he had the courage to call his son and tell him how proud he is of him, but that he is too weak. We also know that Sawyer has put together who Christian is. What we don’t know is if he will ever give Jack this bit of information. In this episode, he does. It is a really powerful, moving moment between two of our favorite LOST men.
That’s it for this installment. Remember: we’d love to hear your favorite season 1 scenes too! Be careful of spoilers for future seasons, however. Remember: Bex hasn’t seen them all yet!
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