Re-watching LOST season 1

Due to the surprising success of the Gilmore Girls posts (they have good numbers), we’re going to do the same thing with one of our other all-time favorites, LOST. We are also going to make the remaining Gilmore Girls posts even better and pay more attention to making them worthwhile. Before we start LOST, we want to have a disclaimer: The LOST episodes will be graded compared to other LOST episodes. We can’t give them all A+s, or that wouldn’t be any fun. Except for Stranger in a Strange land, which would get a C- when compared to regular TV.

That means we will give some episodes Fs and Ds, but know that we think every episode of LOST is better than 99% of the other stuff we’ve seen. We kind of tend to do this with all the shows we watch. We grade them against themselves and the other shows that WE watch, not all shows out there. Assume that we think all the shows we watch are As and Bs compared to other shows, because if they drop below that, we just stop watching them. Just know that nearly every episode of this show deserves an A. The same with Gilmore Girls (well, until seasons 6-7, anyway).

Pilot Part 1/Pilot Part 2

Oceanic Flight 815 crashes on a deserted island on its way from Sydney, Australia, to Los Angeles. There are 48 survivors. Surgeon Jack, friendly Kate, and ex-rock star Charlie go into the jungle to look for the cockpit and find the pilot (Greg Grunberg alert!), who is soon killed by some unseen force. They bring the transceiver back to the beachfront, and Iraqi Sayid tells them that they need to get to higher ground to send a distress signal. Kate, Charlie, Sayid, redneck Sawyer, spoiled Shannon, and eager Boone go inland, but the signal they attempt to send is blocked by a French woman’s ominous message that has been playing on a loop for 16 years. Doctor Jack stays with a wounded federal marshal, who wakes up and asks about Kate. Via flashback, we find out that she was a criminal being escorted back to the states by the marshal. We also find out that Charlie is a heroin addict.

Leeard always emphasizes the brilliance of this pilot. It may be the perfect start to a show, especially one this difficult to begin. The pilot had to establish its ensemble right off the bat, as well as give us mystery. It was worth every dollar spend on the crash. It was exciting and gave us the show’s first surprise because who really expected Kate to be the fugitive? On any other show, it would have been Sawyer. We also see our first polar bear. Did you know that the writers intended to kill Jack at the end of the pilot? The network wouldn’t let them because they felt it would alienate viewers. Game of Thrones, eat your heart out. LOST tried to do it first. We kind of wish the show had let them...Even if we were Team Jack in the Kate/Sawyer/Jack love triangle. Ern wasn’t yet addicted, but the first Locke episode would take care of that. While this isn’t the best episode of LOST, for a pilot, it was a triumph.

Episode grade: A

Tabula Rasa

In flashbacks, we see Kate living on an Australian farm until she is betrayed by the farmer and captured by the federal marshal. She forgives the farmer and wants to make sure he receives his reward. On the island, Jack is unable to fix the federal marshal, and everyone wonders when Jack will put him out of his misery. Jack doesn’t want to euthanize him, in case rescue comes, and because that’s just not Jack. Sawyer shoots the marshal, but he only punctures his lung. An angry Jack smothers the marshal to finish the job.

If you are wondering whether to catch up on this show, you should watch this episode just to see what we’d give a “D+” to in comparison to the other episodes. You’ll be thinking, “What the heck? I was entertained.” That’s how good the A episodes are. We get to see that Kate is a good person, despite doing something really bad. We don’t get to know what she did yet, because this is LOST. That’s one of the weaknesses of the episode. It leaves viewers frustrated and thinking they will know her crime soon. Not so. Once again, this is LOST, and we must wait for answers. We love the title of this episode and the show’s theme of second chances. We loved the Marshal’s death. It’s the first truly dark moment on the show. Kate episodes are hardly ever good, and this one has too many slow spots to put it up with the greats.

Episode grade: D+

Walkabout

In flashbacks, we find out that Locke was in a wheelchair before the crash, and after landing on the island, he was able to walk again. He was in Australia trying to go on a walkabout, but he was sent home due to his handicap. The plane’s wreckage is penetrated by wild boars, so Locke goes boar hunting. He succeeds and brings back meat. He sees the monster that killed the pilot, but he doesn’t tell anyone about it.

This was the show’s first jaw-dropping moment. Everyone wondered about the strange Locke, especially after he started hunting. To find out that he lived a sad, un-mysterious existence befriending phone sex employees and working at a box company defied our preconceptions. But, again, that’s LOST. This was the episode that sucked us in. The show kept the secret of Locke being in a wheelchair from us until the very end of the episode. The reveal and flashback to Locke’s healing was accompanied by music that perfectly matched our feelings when watching for the first time. Locke episodes are never bad or boring. This episode also established that this island has some kind of magic…and possibly a purpose for the crash’s survivors.

Episode grade: A+

White Rabbit

In flashbacks, Jack looks for his father in Australia and finds that he has died. Jack must bring his father back to L.A. for burial. On the island, panic sets in when the water supply goes down. Rage sets in after someone (Boone) steals the last bottles in an attempt to ration it. Jack is sleep deprived and hallucinating (?) his dead father in the jungle. Jack follows his father and discovers caves with fresh water. Jack officially steps up as the victims’ leader.

This is the first appearance of daddy issues on LOST. Lots of people on this show have daddy issues, including the writers, and this affects the show greatly. This is an important episode, but after the great episode last week, it wasn’t as entertaining. Also, viewers don’t know how much of the episode was real, so it might seem like a waste of time to them on first watch. Jack episodes are sometimes dull and repetitive. Jack’s famous “live together, die alone” speech at the end of the episode is a great, powerful moment that’s often referenced later in the series. Overall though, the episode is a little “meh” compared to other offerings. Sidenote: Jack is hot. A lot of guys on this show are hot.

Episode grade: D

House of the Rising Sun

In flashbacks, we see that Jin had to work for Sun’s father in exchange for his blessing on their marriage. After they are married, Jin comes home covered in someone’s blood. Sun doesn’t like the man her husband has become and secretly plans to run away from both Jin and her father. She learns English and decides to move to America, but she changes her mind right in the airport when Jin does something sweet. On the island, a rift grows between the survivors as some decide to move to the caves, because they are safer, and some want to stay at the beach, to wave to possible rescuers. Locke finds Charlie’s guitar for him and uses it to get Charlie to give up his heroin. Korean-speaking Jin attacks Michael because Michael accidentally stole his watch. Sun tells Michael what happened and asks him not to tell anyone that she can speak English.

The first romantic episode of LOST was touching and totally worked. We spent five hours of this show thinking that Sun didn’t love Jin, that he was controlling, that she was uneducated, that she was trapped, and that he was a monster. This episode showed that they once had a healthy, respectful relationship, but a controlling, criminal father poisoned them. There’s still some love there, but there are also secrets. This is the most complicated backstory so far, and it’s even incomplete, as we will soon see. That’s a weakness, but it’s also impressive that the show managed to make the abridged version work in this episode. It’s a different backstory than what the show has given us as of late and shows LOST’s diversity.

Episode grade: B-

The Moth

In flashbacks, we see Charlie beg his brother Liam to start up their band again, with no success. Liam is a normal family man now, shocked to find out that his little brother is still an addict. We find out that Liam is the one who got Charlie hooked on drugs. On the island, Charlie suffers from withdrawal and asks Locke for his heroin. Locke tells Charlie that he must be sure he really wants it, and that it would be better if Charlie chose to give it up rather than eventually run out of it and be forced to. Jack is trapped in a cave-in, and Charlie saves him. Charlie then asks Locke for the heroin and throws it into a campfire.

This episode loses points for being totally cheesy. Thank the Lord this show cut that crap out after season one. Did we really need to know how a rock star got into drugs? We being insulted by your addict brother really a reason to throw your life away? The cave-in thing seemed contrived. The whole thing was overly manipulative and beneath this show. We see too many moths, and it all comes across as heavy-handed. The only plot-advancing thing was Sayid getting hit over the head by an unseen attacker, destroying Sayid’s chance to send for help. Also, the Kate/Jack/Sawyer triangle is touched on a little, as Kate is obviously panicked when Jack is buried.

Episode grade: F

Confidence Man

In flashbacks, we see Sawyer try to con a husband and his wife (who Sawyer is sleeping with), but Sawyer drops the scam when he sees that they have a young son. On the island, Shannon’s inhalers are missing and everyone thinks Sawyer has it. Shannon has a series of asthma attacks, so Sayid tortures Sawyer, with Jack’s help, to get the location of the inhalers. Sawyer offers the truth in exchange for a kiss from Kate. After she kisses him, Sawyer tells her that he doesn’t have the inhalers. Kate punches Sawyer. Kate finds out that “Sawyer” is a fake name. When Sawyer was a kid, a man with that name conned his parents. When his father found out what happened, he killed Sawyer’s mother and then himself. Sawyer wants revenge on the man who ruined his life. Sayid, feeling shame over what he did to Sawyer, leaves the camp to be alone.

We can’t decide if it’s contrived or poetic that Sawyer became the man who ruined his life. We like that Sawyer walked away from the con after seeing the kid though. This episode hugely developed the Sawyer/Kate relationship, and it shows Jack and Sayid make a grave mistake. The cheesiness of last week is gone, so that’s good. We liked seeing Sun’s healing abilities present themselves early so that when she becomes Jack’s nurse, it feels natural. We liked Kate protesting the torture and Jack saving Sawyer’s life, even though Sawyer growled that if the tables were turned, he’d let Jack die. We’re not torture fans, but this was a good episode to precede Sayid’s backstory, which comes next week.

Episode grade: C-

Solitary

In flashbacks, Sayid is with the Republican Guard in Iraq and must torture a childhood friend, Nadia. When he is ordered to execute her, Sayid helps Nadia escape. On the island, Sayid follows a cable into the jungle and is caught in a trap set by the French woman, Rousseau. Rousseau tells Sayid that she was part of a science team that crashed on the island. She tells him that there are Others on the island and says that her team caught a sickness from them and died. Sayid escapes and hears whispering that Rousseau talked about and said came from the others.

This episode is great because Sayid’s backstory with Nadia is nothing short of epic. Also, it introduces the idea of the Others and Rousseau. The whole thing was a great way to get the audience emotionally attached to Sayid while moving the show’s mythology forward. We like the actress they picked for Nadia, and Rousseau is appropriately crazed. This was an entertaining, dark episode that could have been awful, but pulled off everything it attempted. The golf stuff provided much-needed levity.

Episode grade: B-

Raised by Another

In flashbacks, Claire finds out she is pregnant, and her boyfriend convinces her to keep the baby. Later, frightened of the responsibility he has taken on, Claire’s boyfriend leaves her, and she decides to put the baby up for adoption. Claire visits a psychic who says great danger surrounds the baby and is adamant that Claire not let another raise her baby. On the island, Sayid returns to camp and tells everyone about Rousseau and the Others. Claire wakes up screaming, thinking that someone is stabbing her in the stomach and trying to hurt her baby. In response to these attacks, Hurley starts a census of the survivors and discovers one of them, Ethan, wasn’t on the plane. Jack thinks Claire’s attacks are all in her mind. Claire realizes that the psychic orchestrated events so that she would end up on the island and have to raise her baby. The episode ends with Ethan standing in front of Charlie and Claire, looking creepy.

This is our favorite episode since Walkabout. It’s the scariest so far. The psychic portions and the flashbacks were eerie, and Ethan is like a monstrous Tom Cruise. When Hurley realizes they’ve been infiltrated by one of the Others, the audience is like, “Well, s*** just got real now.” It was all appropriately spooky. Also, it was high time for Claire to get her own flashback. We had no idea that it was going to be this good. We also got to see Sawyer being helpful, for once, and found out that Hurley’s name is “Hugo.” It’s about time for a backstory on Hurley, right show? Anyway, this one was thoroughly entertaining. We love when this show tries to creep us out. It usually can, with just a line and some music. 

Episode grade: B+

All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues

In flashbacks, Jack rats his father out for operating while intoxicated. On the island, Charlie and Claire are taken by Ethan, so Jack, Kate, Locke, and Boone go after them. Jack catches up to Ethan first, and Ethan kicks his ass. Jack and Kate find Charlie soon after, hanging by his neck from a tree. Jack performs CPR, and just when it looks like Charlie is dead for good, he regains consciousness. Boone and Locke find a metal structure buried underground.

At the time, this was episode was thrilling. In hindsight, the chase didn’t matter much and there were better hunts in the show’s future. The Charlie character annoyed us so much in season three that it’s tempting to wish he had died here. The flashback was necessary to show why Jack and his father parted ways. Jack did the right thing. We would have done it too. A pregnant woman died because Jack’s father made a drunken mistake. Family pressure is real, and Jack was strong enough to stand up to it. The fight scenes and chase were pretty good. This is the first of many Claire disappearances and the introduction of the hatch. We like that the show gave Kate tracking skills so that she could be more useful on hunts. We actually don’t hate Kate. She’s brave, nice, motherly, and played by a capable actress. It’s not her fault Kate backstories are often ridiculous. Boone works for a wedding planning company. Tee hee. Man, Ian Somerhalder is so much more likeable, more confident, and hotter on The Vampire Diaries.

Episode grade: C

Whatever the Case May Be

In flashbacks, Kate robs a bank in order to get a toy airplane. On the island, Kate and Sawyer go for a swim and find the Marshal’s locked case. Sawyer wants to know what’s in it, so he and Kate spend the episode fighting over it and trying to get it open. Inside, there are guns and a toy airplane. The toy belonged to a man Kate loved and killed. Shannon helps Sayid translate Rousseau’s maps that Sayid stole. They get no useful information.

This is the most skippable episode of the season. It started the Shannon/Sayid connection, which felt so forced and inauthentic. We don’t think anyone shipped them. It wasn’t exactly rewarding to spend a whole hour wondering what was in the case, only to have it be a keepsake. A toy. Kate’s backstory raises lots of questions and eventually delivers answers like these: answers that aren’t worth the wait. All you need to know about this one is that there are now more guns on the island.

Episode grade: F

Hearts and Minds

In flashbacks, Boone tries to pay Shannon’s abusive boyfriend to leave her, but he finds out that Shannon has been using bad boyfriends to scam him out of money. Then they have sex. It’s okay though, because they are not blood related. No, it’s not okay. It’s still creepy. On the island, Shannon and Sayid grow closer, making Boone jealous. Boone wants to please Shannon by telling her about the hatch, so Locke drugs him. Boone goes on a drug trip and hallucinates Shannon’s death. He feels relief when she is fake dead and lets go of his attachment to her, much to Locke’s approval. Locke feels the island gave Boone the experience he needed to have.

This one was just weird. We don’t much care about Shannon and Boone and are left wondering why Locke is sometimes so psychotic and odd. Did the show not realize that Claire is still missing? Aren’t there more important things to be worrying about than almost-incest? Most of the episode was a hallucination to boot, making it even more of a time waster. We hate the “it was all a dream” reveal. With such a useless episode, it’s surprising and impressive how entertaining and satisfying it actually is in the execution. Still, it was time for this show to speed things up.

Episode grade: F

Special

In flashbacks, Walt’s mother separates him from his father in order to take a lucrative overseas job and start a new relationship. Years later, she dies and Walt’s stepfather doesn’t want him because Walt is “different.” Michael comes to Australia to get his son. On the island, Michael doesn’t want Walt spending so much time with Locke, so they fight. When Walt is trapped by a polar bear, Michael and Locke team up to save him. Michael decides to build a raft. The episode ends with Locke and Boone finding Claire walking out of the jungle, looking dazed.

This was a decent episode that set up things that didn’t pan out later in the series. Walt was supposed to have more of a role on the island, but the kid playing him shot up like a weed and ruined the writers’ plans. The Walt character was pretty much written out after season two, except for a few appearances later. The whole part where Locke and Michael save Walt was boring and felt like a way to fill the episode and give the present an arc. Plus, the special effects were horrid. The episode was really all about the flashback and the relationship between Walt and Michael. It was cool to see that Michael really wanted to be a good father. This episode made us hate Cam on Bones. We liked when Walt made the bird crash into the window, but we never got attached enough to Walt and Michael to love this episode years later.

Episode grade: D+

Homecoming

In flashbacks, Charlie steals from a rich girl to get drug money, but he ends up sort of liking her and trying to get a regular job in order to continue courting her, with disastrous results. On the island, Claire has no memory of anything after the crash. Ethan goes to Charlie and threatens to kill one man every day until Claire is returned to him. He makes good on his promise, so Jack, Kate, Locke, Sawyer, and Sayid use Claire as bait to catch Ethan. They use the guns from the briefcase to trap Ethan so that they can take him alive and question him, but Charlie steals one and kills Ethan.

A great episode is ruined by a poor ending and stupid flashbacks that make us start to hate Charlie. He put his rage and desire for revenge above everyone else’s safety and need for knowledge. Plus, it wasn’t fun watching him con that nice woman for drugs. This episode was supposed to lead to something, like the revelation of more of the Others or information about them. Instead, it abruptly closed off the Ethan arc. We get that the show didn’t want us to know about the others yet, but this stalling for time after such an exciting episode beginning is frustrating. The flashback stuff was never again mentioned.

Episode grade: F

Outlaws

In Flashbacks, Sawyer mistakenly shoots the wrong man when he tries to get revenge on the person responsible for his parents’ deaths. He also briefly meets Jack’s father in a bar. On the island, a boar raids Sawyer’s tend, so he enlists Kate’s help in finding it. When they catch the boar, Sawyer decides not to kill it and instead gives his gun to Jack.

The best things about this episode are the flashbacks and the scene where Kate and Sawyer play “I Never.” Sawyer’s meeting of Jack’s dad in the bar pays off in a great emotional way at the end of the season. The boar metaphor is okay, but we hate when season one of LOST does stuff like that. The flashbacks here are better than the last Sawyer-centric offering.

Episode grade: C

…In Translation

In flashbacks, we find out that Jin planned to take Sun to America to get away from her father and start fresh. We also find out that the reason he was covered in blood was that he had to beat a man up in order to save his life after Sun’s father ordered his death. On the island, Michael’s raft is getting pretty big and has one available spot left. When the raft burns in a fire, everyone thinks Jin set the fire. Michael beats Jin up, and Sun stops it and reveals to everyone that she speaks English. Blame is then placed on the Others. Michael restarts building, and Walt tells Locke that he burned the raft because he wants to stay on the island.

So Jin isn’t such a bad guy. Okay, show, we believe you. We guess that’s kind of sweet and necessary in order to further this romance that some viewers got really attached to. We weren’t as into it. We were Desmond/Penny people, and we were also into LaFleur’s romance. We still don’t know everything there is to know about the man Jin beat up in the flashbacks, but that will come. We kind of don’t like that full story and wish it didn’t happen, but we’ll get to that later. It was so sad when Sun yelled to Jin, in English, “I was going to leave you!” We liked the burning of the raft and the reveal that it was Walt. We don’t want the castaways to leave the island just yet either.

Episode grade: C+

Numbers

In flashbacks, Hurley wins the lottery using numbers that a fellow patient in a mental hospital muttered over and over. The money brings him terrible luck. Hurley traces the history of the numbers and finds that they came from a man who overheard a radio transmission. He had bad luck too. On the island, Hurley sees the numbers on some of Rousseau’s papers and sets off to find Rousseau. He finds her and she tells him that her party was drawn to the island by the same radio transmission that was sending out the numbers. Hurley is gratified that Rousseau believes the numbers are cursed. She is the first to believe him.

This is one of our favorite episodes in season one because of the flashbacks. They are light, yet just as creepy as Claire’s psychic backstory. Hurley is one of the most beloved LOST characters, and his first flashback episode really delivered. We had no idea he’d be this interesting….or a millionaire. We wondered why he was ever in a mental institution. The numbers are one of the most fun things about being in the LOST fandom. Most of us can recite them on command. The numbers are frequently referenced in the series and obviously have some sort of magical or energetic connection to the island. The whole idea is just cool and well-executed. It was the perfect, crazy introduction for them. We never get an exact explanation of what the numbers are and why they are that way, but it’s one of those things we don’t feel like we need spelled out for us. They are probably cursed. That’s good enough for us. When an episode can be funny, twisted, and spooky at the same time, you know you have a winner.

Episode grade: A-

Deus Ex Machina

In flashbacks, foster care-raised Locke meets his birthparents for the first time, and his father cons him out of a kidney. On the island, Locke’s legs start reverting back to their useless state and the island gives him visions. Locke and Boone find a small plane on the edge of a cliff, and Boone climbs up to find a radio. Using the radio, he contacts survivors from the tail end of the plane. The plane falls, seriously injuring Boone. Locke regains the sue of his legs and carries Boone back to the camp. He lies about how Boone got hurt and then takes off back into the jungle. Locke bangs his fists on the hatch and screams at the merciless island, his god that hurt his friend. A window on the hatch lights up.

Obviously, the kidney incident is important to the show and Locke’s story. Locke’s daddy issues are the worst of all. This episode is a gamechanger, because it shows that there is probably someone living underground in the hatch, and it also has a major character critically injured. The visions were spooky and right on. This episode foreshadowed the fact that Locke will see the hand of fate where fate is not actually acting. Locke thought that meeting his father was meant to be, but it led to great loss and suffering. We also got to hear that Rose was right about there being other survivors. Yep, this pretty much confirmed that Bernard was alive. Exciting, dark, scary, tragic, emotional, not cheesy, and plot-advancing. What more could you ask for?

Episode grade: A-

Do No Harm

In flashbacks, Jack marries a former patient named Sarah. On the island, Boone tells Jack about the secret hatch. Jack tries for the whole episode to save Boone, but is finally forced to let him die. Shannon and Sayid have a romantic picnic dinner. Jack tells Shannon about her step brother’s death and she cries. Claire has a baby boy, with Kate and Jin’s help. The episode ends with Jack angry at Locke for lying about the hatch and Boone’s injuries. Jack blames Locke for Boone’s death.

Okay, it’s kind of lame that when one person on the island dies, another is born. The whole circle of life/exchange thing is cheesy. But we loved the contrast of Aaron’s birth and an emotionally traumatized Jack putting Boone through hell because he won’t let him go. Aaron’s birth was so emotionally effective. Boone’s death was mildly horrific, especially for Jack, but we are glad it happened. He was a dead weight character, and his death really got things going on the show. This is one of the only episodes in season one where the on-island action is better than what’s going on in the flashbacks. There are a lot of Jack flashbacks in season one. Watching Boone get medical attention is a heck of a lot more exciting than watch Jack and Sarah play Heart and Soul. And how cheesy were his vows? “I didn’t fix you; you fixed me.” BLECK. Other than that, this was a season highlight.

Episode grade: A  

The Greater Good

In flashbacks, Sayid works with the CIA and the Australian government to investigate a terrorist cell, because Sayid was once friends with a member, Essam. The CIA promises to disclose Nadia’s location in exchange for Sayid’s help. Sayid betrays Essam after the CIA threatens Nadia, convincing Essam to become a suicide bomber after Essam was having doubts. When Essam finds out, he kills himself. On the island, Jack attacks Locke and Kate forces Jack to take a time-out. Locke apologizes to Shannon, but she wants revenge. Sayid prevents Shannon from shooting Locke and then orders Locke to take him to the hatch.

Sayid’s flashback was effective in that you felt for both him and Essam. On this show, it’s not black-and-white who the good guys and bad guys are. We like the start of the rift between Jack and Locke. Locke is kind of a liar, but that doesn’t stop him from being our favorite character, bar none. It’s no surprise that Shannon failed to kill Locke. She really can’t do anything. We wanted her to die since day one. We like the actress though. Shannon is just annoying, and she screams and cries too much. Is she just there to make Kate look good? The on-island plot dragged this episode down by postponing the raft launching. Still, it’s a LOST episode, so we love it.

Episode grade: D+

Born to Run

In flashbacks, a fugitive Kate goes to visit her dying mother in the hospital, with the help of her childhood friend and doctor, Tom Brennan. Tom is married now, but the two share a kiss. At the hospital, Kate’s mom starts screaming for help when she sees her daughter. Tom and Kate have to run for it, but Tom is killed in the chase. On the island, Sayid and Locke show Jack the hatch. Walt warns Locke not to open it. Kate tries to take Sawyer’s spot on the raft, but Sawyer reveals to everyone that Kate is a fugitive. Michael is poisoned and everyone thinks it’s Sawyer for a while, but it turns out to be Sun trying to stop Jin from leaving on the raft. Walt tells Michael he set the fire.

This might be our favorite Kate flashback. It’s a lot better than the last two. Still, it comes at an unwelcome time. The season is about to end and the raft is about to launch. That’s the time we care about Kate the least. Tom was pretty cute and didn’t deserve to die or be left like that by Kate. He shouldn’t have gotten involved with her. It’s cool that we got answers about the man she loved and KILLED early, but she didn’t really kill him, now did she? Sawyer was a real ass, outing her like that. Just when we were starting to tolerate him too. We were surprised that Michael took the news that Walt poisoned the raft so well. He’s a decent father, even if he is willing to go too far for Walt. Yes parents, there is such a thing. Some things take precedence over your kids, believe it or not. This was filler, but the finale and hatch opening came next week.

Episode grade: C-

Exodus Parts 1 and 2

In flashbacks, we see the passengers of Flight 815. On the island, Rousseau warns the losties that the Others are coming. Rousseau also tells them that they can get dynamite to open the hatch at the Black Rock. A team follows Rousseau to the Black Rock, a slave ship that crashed centuries ago, gets dynamite and carries it back. Arzt explodes. They are attacked by the monster, which turns out to be a column of black smoke. They make it to the hatch and blow it open. They look down on a deep hole with a broken ladder. Rousseau steals Aaron, and Sayid and Charlie get him back from her. They find the drug smugglers’ plane and it’s full of heroin. The raft launches and comes across a boat. The boats crew turns out to be Others who take Walt and destroy the raft. Sawyer is shot.

The best thing about this finale is Walt being taken by the Others. It’s scary and surprising. The second best thing is the dynamite suddenly blowing up Arzt. (Arzt means “doctor” in German.) The smoke monster disappointed a lot of people, but we never hated it. Its most magnificent appearance is in season four though. Whether it comes across as stupid usually depends on whether it appears at nighttime and how good the special effects were. The most disappointing thing about the finale was the cliffhanger ending where we didn’t get to see what was in the hatch. We also thought Rousseau stealing Aaron was a waste of time. The launching of the raft was really cool and touching. The story really begins here. Season two changes things and doesn’t waste as much time as the first season did. Season two is nerdier and full of Others and violence and experimental episodes. We love it. But season one wasn’t bad.

Episode grades: B+