Six years ago, I fell in love with a show. Before it even aired I found myself anticipating the premiere. The premise sounded fantastic, the mystery seemed intriguing, and the few actors I knew were all some of my favorite familiar faces. For two and a half seasons, I watched said show religiously. But sometimes life catches up on you and socializing becomes more important than television watching (lame, I know). So for the next few years I laughed at all my friends who were still obsessed and told them that their love was a little too extreme. That not every thing could be related to this show.
Well, I take all of that back. Because everything can be related to this show. What is the ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything? Nope, it’s not the number 42.…it’s Lost.
So in celebration of my new found re-appreciation of Lost…and in anticipation of the final season premiere on February 2nd, I will be posting 6 Best of Lost Lists over the next few days (twists, characters, deaths, seasons, episodes, and moments). Without further ado here is the first one (MAJOR SPOILERS):
Lost’s Top 20 Surprise Twists
20/ Michael is on the boat- During Season 4 Ben promises the lostaways that he has a man on the boat which has supposedly come to rescue them. While the majority of the crewmembers are actually there to kill Ben, one individual is here to rescue the losties. Surprise, it’s Michael!
19/ Who is Henry Gale? - When Rousseau brings a mysterious man back to the camp, the immediate question is whether or not he is an Other. After several episodes of torture and mind games, Ana Lucia fins the real Henry Gale dead and the mysterious captive is revealed as an Other.
18/ Another Other- Looks like the Tailies also had some surprise twists during their first month on the island. After taking charge of the group, Ana Lucia suspects that maybe Nathan was never on the plan. In typical Lost fashion, turns out her initial instincts were wrong and Goodwin is the Other.
17/ Lock Blows up the submarine- In an action packed third season, Jack saves Sawyer and Kate in exchange for his own medical services as the resident doctor for the Others. When Juliet faces trial for killing one of her own, Jack works his way into a detail that will allow him and Juliet a ride home. As Juliet and Jack prepare to board the submarine, Locke detonates it destroying their way back home.
16/ Sun Speaks English- This may not be the most pivotal twist but as one of the initial shockers in the series, Sun’s secret paved the way for an important direction of this show: believe nothing and doubt everything. It seems so silly now to say that Sun’s language is an excellent twist in comparison, yet it’s still a brilliant twist to this day.
15/ Locke was paralyzed- Locke is a mysterious character throughout the series, but the intrigue really began in the first season when we learn through a series of flashbacks that Locke was paralyzed. Two important plot points come out of this twist: the island has healing powers and Locke is somehow connected to the island.
14/ The man in the hatch- After finally breaking open the hatch, Kate, Jack, and Locke descend to find that a familiar man from Jack’s past has been living in their for years: meet Desmond.
13/ Charles Widmore was on the island- When the freighters admit to being hired by Widmore as assassins for Ben, it doesn’t take long until a few of them realize they’ve been on this island before. What’s even more shocking than this revelation is when we find out Penny’s own father has the ultimate connection to the Dharma Initiative as not only one of it’s members, but also as the father of Daniel Faraday.
12/ Charlie’s Final Destination- Once Desmond joins the castaways on the beach, he appears to be acting strangely after the hatch explosion. Charlie quickly becomes concerned after Desmond seems to be predicting Claire’s death or possible injuries. It takes a while before Desmond admits to knowing aspects of the future, but once he does the real shocker comes: he was never saving Claire but rather Charlie who should have died several times had it not been for Desmond’s interference.
11/ Juliet is a spy- The most intriguing character of season 3 is hands-down Juliet. Through flashbacks the audience is gains trust in this innocent woman who was forced unto the island and stuck as a prisoner under Ben’s rule. But even with these flashbacks, Juliet’s moral compass was a bit shady until she grew closer to Jack and was abandoned by her fellow Others. She devises a plan to win Kate’s favor and fails but this demonstration of her need to fit in once again gained her trust. As Juliet moves into the beach with the Ocean 815ers and helps Sun learn about her child, it finally feels like she may fully fit in with the group. That is until t he end of the episode when she reports her findings to Ben and the audience learns she was a plant all along. Luckily for us, Juliet admits her mistake and fully breaks ties with the Others shortly after.
10/ Ana Lucia kills Shannon- As the resident “bitchy” girl on the island, Shannon never gained much audience love until a glimpse of her past life showed her dreams being squashed by her loveless step-mother after her father’s death. Shannon seems to come full circle when she atones for her mistakes and begins to fall in love with a good man for once. The relationship, however, is cut short when Ana Lucia mistakes her for an Other and shoots Shannon.
9/ “We want the boy”- Jin, Sawyer, Michael, and Walt finally escape the island on their makeshift boat. They soon spot a neighbor vessel and the celebration begins to the tunes of some hopeful, uplifting movement. Things quickly go downhill once the mysterious crew refuses to save the group and instead apologies for having the take Walt. Gunfire ensues as a frightened Walt is taken away from his father and their hopes at rescue are shot.
8/ The Island Moves- At the end of season four, while the Oceanic 6 board the helicopter and prepare to return home, they look back to see the island has vanished. Little do they know it has changed both locations and time when Ben moves the island and is consequently banished from it.
7/ Not Penny’s Boat- Charlie finally gives into his death sentence after learning that his death will mean rescue for Claire. He follows Desmond’s orders and prepares to make way for Penny’s boat to rescue the group, but right before he drowns Penny makes contact with Charlie and he learns that the boat nearby does not belong to her. In a moment of panic, Charlie quickly scribbles a message to Desmond to let him know that all was for naught: “not Penny’s boat.”
6/ Locke is Jeremy Bentham- When Jack arrives to a funeral for someone he claims was neither friend nor family, the audience is left questioning whose body is in the casket. We eventually learn that one Jeremy Bentham is the dead stranger, but turns out he’s not so much a stranger: Jeremy Bentham is John Locke.
5/ Is Locke Dead?- Sure, the death of Jeremy Bentham/John Lock was pretty shocking. And sure, the resurrection of John Locke upon his second return to the island was shocking as well. But the best twist concerning the fate of Locke occurred in the last few minutes of “The Incident.” The 316 survivors open their mysterious box to show Richard what’s inside and it turns out the body of Locke was found in the trunk. Meanwhile, the supposed real Locke is preparing Ben to kill Jacob. Leave it to Sun to ask the real shocking question: “If this is Locke then who’s in there?”.
4/ Juliet detonates the bomb- After trying to make sense of their return to 1977, Jack follows the directions of Daniel and attempts to blow up the area about the Swan in order to stop the electromagnetic hot-spot from crashing Ocean 815 thirty years in the future. When he throws the bomb down, the impact wasn’t great enough and nothing happens. As the electromagnetic field pulls all the metal down into the ground, Juliet is dragged along and presumably killed. In the shocking final moments, Juliet is alive and uses her last strength to smash the bomb and everything goes white.
3/ Flashforward- There was always something fishy about Jack’s apparent flashbacks in “Through the Looking Glass” but it isn’t until he meets a certain familiar face that the reason becomes apparent. When Kate walks out of the car and into the “flashback” the entire Lost world is turned upside down when we realize that this is the future and some of the lostaways have been rescued.
2/ Tom Sawyer is Locke’s father- It was surprising enough when Mr. Locke showed up on the island. After years of tormenting his son and throwing him off the roof, it was kind of shocking that John refused to kill his father. Luckily for John, Richard had some vital information which Locke quickly passed along to a kidnapped Sawyer. In what seemed to be a dull and far too confusing episode, Locke’s capture of Sawyer makes perfect sense after the ultimate shocker was revealed: the man responsible for the death of James’ parents and the man whose name James took for years is none other than Mr. Locke himself.
1/ Michael Kills Two Tailies- No matter how many twists and turns occur each episode, nothing has ever lived up to the most shocking and unexpected surprise in season 2. Michael returns back to the beach after searching for Walt to find out that an Other is being held captive. Meanwhile, Ana Lucia struggles with her own past demons as she deals with a shooting in her past. When Michael asks Ana Lucia for a gun so he can finish off Ben once and for all, the initial assumption was that Ana may have learned her lesson and that guns don’t solve anything. Instead, after a moment of reluctance Ana hands Michael the gun. Michael apologizes to Ana before turning the gun on her and killing her. Less than a heartbeat later, Libby walks in holding blankets for her and Hurley’s picnic, and she surprises Michael who reacts by shooting a few bullets in her stomach. Michael then turns the gun on himself and frees Ben. Eventually, the lostaways learn that this was a deal he had to make to secure Walt’s return home, but this never makes the events any less shocking.
Well, I take all of that back. Because everything can be related to this show. What is the ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything? Nope, it’s not the number 42.…it’s Lost.
So in celebration of my new found re-appreciation of Lost…and in anticipation of the final season premiere on February 2nd, I will be posting 6 Best of Lost Lists over the next few days (twists, characters, deaths, seasons, episodes, and moments). Without further ado here is the first one (MAJOR SPOILERS):
Lost’s Top 20 Surprise Twists
20/ Michael is on the boat- During Season 4 Ben promises the lostaways that he has a man on the boat which has supposedly come to rescue them. While the majority of the crewmembers are actually there to kill Ben, one individual is here to rescue the losties. Surprise, it’s Michael!
19/ Who is Henry Gale? - When Rousseau brings a mysterious man back to the camp, the immediate question is whether or not he is an Other. After several episodes of torture and mind games, Ana Lucia fins the real Henry Gale dead and the mysterious captive is revealed as an Other.
18/ Another Other- Looks like the Tailies also had some surprise twists during their first month on the island. After taking charge of the group, Ana Lucia suspects that maybe Nathan was never on the plan. In typical Lost fashion, turns out her initial instincts were wrong and Goodwin is the Other.
17/ Lock Blows up the submarine- In an action packed third season, Jack saves Sawyer and Kate in exchange for his own medical services as the resident doctor for the Others. When Juliet faces trial for killing one of her own, Jack works his way into a detail that will allow him and Juliet a ride home. As Juliet and Jack prepare to board the submarine, Locke detonates it destroying their way back home.
16/ Sun Speaks English- This may not be the most pivotal twist but as one of the initial shockers in the series, Sun’s secret paved the way for an important direction of this show: believe nothing and doubt everything. It seems so silly now to say that Sun’s language is an excellent twist in comparison, yet it’s still a brilliant twist to this day.
15/ Locke was paralyzed- Locke is a mysterious character throughout the series, but the intrigue really began in the first season when we learn through a series of flashbacks that Locke was paralyzed. Two important plot points come out of this twist: the island has healing powers and Locke is somehow connected to the island.
14/ The man in the hatch- After finally breaking open the hatch, Kate, Jack, and Locke descend to find that a familiar man from Jack’s past has been living in their for years: meet Desmond.
13/ Charles Widmore was on the island- When the freighters admit to being hired by Widmore as assassins for Ben, it doesn’t take long until a few of them realize they’ve been on this island before. What’s even more shocking than this revelation is when we find out Penny’s own father has the ultimate connection to the Dharma Initiative as not only one of it’s members, but also as the father of Daniel Faraday.
12/ Charlie’s Final Destination- Once Desmond joins the castaways on the beach, he appears to be acting strangely after the hatch explosion. Charlie quickly becomes concerned after Desmond seems to be predicting Claire’s death or possible injuries. It takes a while before Desmond admits to knowing aspects of the future, but once he does the real shocker comes: he was never saving Claire but rather Charlie who should have died several times had it not been for Desmond’s interference.
11/ Juliet is a spy- The most intriguing character of season 3 is hands-down Juliet. Through flashbacks the audience is gains trust in this innocent woman who was forced unto the island and stuck as a prisoner under Ben’s rule. But even with these flashbacks, Juliet’s moral compass was a bit shady until she grew closer to Jack and was abandoned by her fellow Others. She devises a plan to win Kate’s favor and fails but this demonstration of her need to fit in once again gained her trust. As Juliet moves into the beach with the Ocean 815ers and helps Sun learn about her child, it finally feels like she may fully fit in with the group. That is until t he end of the episode when she reports her findings to Ben and the audience learns she was a plant all along. Luckily for us, Juliet admits her mistake and fully breaks ties with the Others shortly after.
10/ Ana Lucia kills Shannon- As the resident “bitchy” girl on the island, Shannon never gained much audience love until a glimpse of her past life showed her dreams being squashed by her loveless step-mother after her father’s death. Shannon seems to come full circle when she atones for her mistakes and begins to fall in love with a good man for once. The relationship, however, is cut short when Ana Lucia mistakes her for an Other and shoots Shannon.
9/ “We want the boy”- Jin, Sawyer, Michael, and Walt finally escape the island on their makeshift boat. They soon spot a neighbor vessel and the celebration begins to the tunes of some hopeful, uplifting movement. Things quickly go downhill once the mysterious crew refuses to save the group and instead apologies for having the take Walt. Gunfire ensues as a frightened Walt is taken away from his father and their hopes at rescue are shot.
8/ The Island Moves- At the end of season four, while the Oceanic 6 board the helicopter and prepare to return home, they look back to see the island has vanished. Little do they know it has changed both locations and time when Ben moves the island and is consequently banished from it.
7/ Not Penny’s Boat- Charlie finally gives into his death sentence after learning that his death will mean rescue for Claire. He follows Desmond’s orders and prepares to make way for Penny’s boat to rescue the group, but right before he drowns Penny makes contact with Charlie and he learns that the boat nearby does not belong to her. In a moment of panic, Charlie quickly scribbles a message to Desmond to let him know that all was for naught: “not Penny’s boat.”
6/ Locke is Jeremy Bentham- When Jack arrives to a funeral for someone he claims was neither friend nor family, the audience is left questioning whose body is in the casket. We eventually learn that one Jeremy Bentham is the dead stranger, but turns out he’s not so much a stranger: Jeremy Bentham is John Locke.
5/ Is Locke Dead?- Sure, the death of Jeremy Bentham/John Lock was pretty shocking. And sure, the resurrection of John Locke upon his second return to the island was shocking as well. But the best twist concerning the fate of Locke occurred in the last few minutes of “The Incident.” The 316 survivors open their mysterious box to show Richard what’s inside and it turns out the body of Locke was found in the trunk. Meanwhile, the supposed real Locke is preparing Ben to kill Jacob. Leave it to Sun to ask the real shocking question: “If this is Locke then who’s in there?”.
4/ Juliet detonates the bomb- After trying to make sense of their return to 1977, Jack follows the directions of Daniel and attempts to blow up the area about the Swan in order to stop the electromagnetic hot-spot from crashing Ocean 815 thirty years in the future. When he throws the bomb down, the impact wasn’t great enough and nothing happens. As the electromagnetic field pulls all the metal down into the ground, Juliet is dragged along and presumably killed. In the shocking final moments, Juliet is alive and uses her last strength to smash the bomb and everything goes white.
3/ Flashforward- There was always something fishy about Jack’s apparent flashbacks in “Through the Looking Glass” but it isn’t until he meets a certain familiar face that the reason becomes apparent. When Kate walks out of the car and into the “flashback” the entire Lost world is turned upside down when we realize that this is the future and some of the lostaways have been rescued.
2/ Tom Sawyer is Locke’s father- It was surprising enough when Mr. Locke showed up on the island. After years of tormenting his son and throwing him off the roof, it was kind of shocking that John refused to kill his father. Luckily for John, Richard had some vital information which Locke quickly passed along to a kidnapped Sawyer. In what seemed to be a dull and far too confusing episode, Locke’s capture of Sawyer makes perfect sense after the ultimate shocker was revealed: the man responsible for the death of James’ parents and the man whose name James took for years is none other than Mr. Locke himself.
1/ Michael Kills Two Tailies- No matter how many twists and turns occur each episode, nothing has ever lived up to the most shocking and unexpected surprise in season 2. Michael returns back to the beach after searching for Walt to find out that an Other is being held captive. Meanwhile, Ana Lucia struggles with her own past demons as she deals with a shooting in her past. When Michael asks Ana Lucia for a gun so he can finish off Ben once and for all, the initial assumption was that Ana may have learned her lesson and that guns don’t solve anything. Instead, after a moment of reluctance Ana hands Michael the gun. Michael apologizes to Ana before turning the gun on her and killing her. Less than a heartbeat later, Libby walks in holding blankets for her and Hurley’s picnic, and she surprises Michael who reacts by shooting a few bullets in her stomach. Michael then turns the gun on himself and frees Ben. Eventually, the lostaways learn that this was a deal he had to make to secure Walt’s return home, but this never makes the events any less shocking.
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2 comments:
Not Penny's Boat and Sun Speaks English take my top spots. Even though the Michael stuff was incredibly shocking I just hate him so much that I refuse to recognize his existence.
As someone who watched season 3 well after it aired, I know I enjoyed the flashforward twist a lot less because it had been so badly spoiled whereas I think it would have been SO cool to discover it when it aired. Were you spoiled on that? It's amazing if you weren't.
I definitely was spoiled on a few of those twists including the flash forwards. But I tried to make the list by deciding whether or not I would have seen it coming, and I frankly think that the flash forward was not something I would have necessarily predicting. I guess I'll never know, but it may have even been higher on the list.
At the time Not Penny's Boat obviously seemed important but I just expected something to go wrong so it didn't come as such a big shock. And were it not for the fact that Sun's language wasn't as huge of a plot twist it probably would have made my top 3.
I also hate Michael but I was never more shocked after watching that episode so I had to give him the number one spot.
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