Ranking Every LOST Episode, Part 1: #111-101

LOST. It may be the most fascinating and addictive television series ever created (besides Perfect Strangers, of course). It has something for everyone: drama, romance, comedy, action, sci-fi, you name it. That the show has a dedicated and sizable fanbase should astonish no one. With all the discussions out there about the best and worst episodes, I thought I'd attempt something even bigger: why not rank every single episode of LOST's six seasons? You might think I'm a complete nerd for undertaking a project like this (and you'd be right), but if you're a fellow list-maker you probably understand completely why I'd want to do it.

On what basis am I ranking them? Ultimately, the main criterion is how enjoyable I find the episode to be. It doesn't matter if it plays a crucial role in the ongoing plot or if it's a slow-things-down-and-get-to-know-the-characters outing. All that counts is how much it strikes my fancy. Sound good?

Another rule I ought to mention is that I won't be counting divided-up episodes separately. It seems silly to consider "There's No Place Like Home (Part 1)" a separate episode from "There's No Place Like Home (Parts 2 & 3)" just because they aired on different dates. Clearly all three parts are meant to be one unit, and it's easier to treat them as such. Altogether that gives us 111 episodes to rank.

Since these rankings are based solely on my opinion I can state the obvious up front: you will disagree with my list at times. It's OK, though. I welcome any discussions in the comments as long as they're civil and intelligent. One thing I'd like to note is that just because an episode is ranked near the bottom doesn't necessarily mean I consider it a bad episode. In fact, I'd say only the very lowest-ranked episodes would be worthy of that label. In most cases, a lower ranking simply means the episode wasn't quite as awesome as the ones ahead of it.

By the way, I'm aware that I'm not the first person to rank every episode of LOST. I did, however, think of doing it before I was aware of anyone else doing it (I'm no copycat), and I ranked them by re-watching the entire series from start to finish after the finale had aired. I'd like to think that I have the optimum perspective on each episode, independent blogger though I may be. If you'd like to see these other writers' rankings, check them out here.

Enough talk though. You're here to see my list! I've divided it up into 11 parts just so that it'll be easier to digest them all. Here we go with the first 11!

Part 1: #111-101
Part 2: #100-91
Part 3: #90-81
Part 4: #80-71
Part 5: #70-61
Part 6: #60-51
Part 7: #50-41
Part 8: #40-31
Part 9: #30-21
Part 10: #20-11
Part 11: #10-1

111. "Stranger in a Strange Land" (ep. 309)

There'll be plenty of disagreements with mainstream opinion on this list (just wait 'til you see what's at #2!), but you won't find any here in last place. I still remember my reaction when I first saw this episode. It felt like I'd just spent an hour (more like 45 minutes, since I'd viewed it online) watching nothing happen. I mean, stuff does happen, it's just that they drag it out needlessly and waste time with useless scenes. Sawyer and Kate take Karl back to the mainland and Jack remains in captivity. The only important character development to come out of all this is that Jack and Juliet bond over him saving her from execution.

That flashback of Jack's trip to Thailand? Yeah. Worst flashback ever. In addition to being weird and corny ("Well, I'm a very likable guy." Ugh.), it had nothing to do with anything. OK, we find out how Jack got his tattoos. Not exactly a crucial piece of information, and the story behind it left us with more questions than answers. I guess the marking given to Juliet by the Others was supposed to parallel Jack's skin graffiti. There's a word for that kind of tie-in: weak. Season 3's flashbacks tended to be filler that only existed to demonstrate a minor point, and this episode's is a prime example.

Also, is it just me, or does the acting in this episode seem to be a notch or two below par? Josh Holloway and Matthew Fox are both terrific actors, but if all you saw of them was this episode you probably wouldn't know it. Perhaps there's a good reason "Stranger in a Strange Land" was Paris Barclay's only directorial credit on LOST. The score montage at the end is also one of, if not the least-moving of those sequences in series history. Karl and Alex's longing to be together wasn't exactly something people were going to get emotionally invested in. Gotta say, LOST producers, not your best work here.

110. "The Other Woman" (ep. 406)

This episode is one big pile of not-doing-anything-for-me. Harper Stanhope, one of the series' most confusing characters, makes her only appearance here. She arrives and departs so suddenly that it's unclear from just viewing whether she's alive, dead, the smoke monster or what. The LOST Encyclopedia tells us she was in fact alive during her present-day meeting with Juliet, but little else. I suppose we have to grade some elements of Season 4 on a curve due to the writers' strike, but this episode has a lot more going against it than Harper.

The flashback explores Juliet's romance with Goodwin. Was anyone ever actually interested in that? The only twist is that we learn Goodwin was already married to Harper. For shame, Blondie! To make matters worse, they introduce this idea that Ben has (or had) a crush on Juliet. Was that ever even hinted at before? I'd never been under the impression that Juliet was anything more than one of Ben's chess pieces. Jack also reminds us of that irksome love rectangle by kissing Juliet. What's the point of all this? Does anyone really care? I know I don't!

The most interesting part is the subplot where Ben negotiates his way out of captivity at the Locke camp. It's funny to see Sawyer and Hurley amazed by their prisoner suddenly walking freely at the end. Otherwise, you watch this episode trying to find something worth commenting on, and you mostly come up empty.

109. "The Hunting Party" (ep. 211)

There's good slow-paced and there's bad slow-paced. This one falls on the bad side. The flashback is focused on Jack's overwork at the hospital and how it drives Sarah away from him. It's probably better known as the one where Jack kisses the Italian woman, a plot point that didn't even matter, because Sarah was already planning to leave him before she found out. I guess its purpose was to show that Jack's an honorable guy in spite of his flaws, but even so, I didn't really need that story to take up half the freaking episode (maybe it wasn't half, but it sure felt like it).

Meanwhile, back on the island, Michael's gone after Walt equipped with his new knowledge of shooting, and Locke, Jack and Sawyer set out to stop him. The part where they're tracking Michael drags too much, and the face-to-face meeting with Mr. Friendly goes from potentially cool to frustrating when Kate shows up. That moment when our heroes turn over their weapons helplessly leaves me wanting to wring Other neck (which I guess was the writers' intent, but still...it's vexing to watch).

Then there's the cliffhanger line of "how long do you think it would take to train an army?" A cool idea, one you'd like to see go somewhere. Once you've seen the next two episodes it's exposed as a temporary diversion, and the line has little impact on repeat viewings.

108. "Two For the Road" (ep. 220)

This one's mostly unmemorable except for the shocking final scene where Michael shoots Ana Lucia and Libby. It's interesting how the episode begins with Michael unconscious and by the end he's a dual murderer. I doubt too many people missed A.L. after her sudden death, but Libby? Come on, she was Hurley's girlfriend, and she was really nice too! How could those writers be so cruel?

The flashback where Ana and Christian travel to Australia together is pretty lackluster, even if it does answer some minor questions (and plant the seeds for the later revelation that Claire is Jack's half-sister). As difficult to like as Ana Lucia was, it was satisfying to see her reconcile with her mother over the phone before she left Sydney. Those semi-redemptive moments are the best some characters can hope for.

107. "Born to Run" (ep. 122)

Just one in a long line of forgettable Kate episodes, the title sums up Kate's entire raison d'etre in three words. In the flashback we learn more about that toy airplane from "Whatever the Case May Be" and how she killed the man she loved. I want to care. I really do. It's just...there's something so un-compelling about Kate.

We're shown that she's wanted to run away ever since she was young, but we aren't given a reason. Even though we learn it later in the series, the way this situation plays out only makes Kate seem selfish. She kisses her now-married-with-a-kid childhood sweetheart, then puts him in the line of fire because she refuses to surrender and crashes his car in the process (hey, his widow might need transportation). This heartbreaking story is also virtually forgotten after this episode, since Kate becomes so preoccupied with Jack and Sawyer that poor Tom gets relegated to the distant reaches of her memory.

Then there's the raft drama where Sun attempts to poison Jin and Michael drinks the water instead, blah blah blah, you know what happens. Sawyer reveals to everyone that Kate's a fugitive, though it doesn't seem to affect anyone's opinion of her after this episode. Just another moment that should be significant but ends up being inconsequential.

But hey! This is the episode where Dr. Arzt is introduced! He's a funny character! That's gotta count for something, right? Right? Ah, who am I kidding?

106. "Eggtown" (ep. 404)

Yep. Second Kate episode in a row. Truthfully, I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would, but there was still little to merit a higher ranking. The flash-forward, concerning Kate's trial, isn't all that exciting. The scenes with Jack taking the witness stand and talking to Kate afterwards (all meant to set them on the path toward hooking up, of course), are pretty lame. The twist at the end is clever, since they allude to the possibility of Sawyer and Kate's illicit encounters producing offspring in the island storyline, but one surprise doth not a great episode make.

To "Eggtown"'s credit, it has one of my favorite touches of humor on LOST: Hurley watching Xanadu. Come on, how is that not hilarious? One can only imagine what other classics are contained in the DHARMA video library.

105. "Confidence Man" (ep. 108)

Before he was Sawyer the lovable rascal he was Sawyer the angry antagonist. It's almost easy to forget that at one time our buddy James Ford was a rough-around-the-edges jerk who refused to cooperate with the other castaways. This was his first centric episode, where we discover he was a con man in his pre-island life.

The backstory is little more than a demonstration of the type of scam Sawyer would execute, and it's only interesting for the conclusion where Sawyer calls off the deal because he learns his dupes have a young son. Awww. So deep down, somewhere, this guy does have a heart. And that letter he carries around? Surprise! It wasn't that kid who wrote it to him, it was something he wrote to the man who conned his parents! Oh, those plot twists.

While this episode succeeded in making Sawyer sympathetic, it'd take a bit longer for him to become likable. Hey, just because you feel sorry for the guy doesn't mean you want to put up with his crap.

104. "The Cost of Living" (ep. 305)

This episode has a very rushed feel to it. If you know the real-life story, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje wanted off the show, so the producers were in a position where they had to kill off Eko. "The Cost of Living" comes across as an attempt to make him satisfyingly unsympathetic as quickly as possible in order to justify his death at the hands of the smoke monster. Unfortunately, they throw too much information at us and in the process destroy our view of a character who was previously very likable and fascinating. It's a shame, since the writers originally had much bigger plans for Eko.

In another noteworthy development, Nikki and Paulo start getting some significant screentime when they accompany Locke, Sayid and Desmond to the Pearl. Who the hell are these people?

103. "Par Avion" (ep. 312)

It's a nice way to pass the time, but this Claire-centric doesn't fall in the upper echelon of LOST episodes. On the plus side, there are plenty of closeups on Emilie De Ravin's face (which is quite lovely). On the not-plus side, there are some cheesy moments, like the montage of survivors set to Claire's reading of her letter. I should probably also deduct some points for that silly rehash of "Claire gets upset with Charlie and doesn't want him around her baby." Claire was originally such a sweet character, but by the third season she'd grown into a moody whiner. The stresses of motherhood'll do that to you, I guess. At least Chah-lie's back in Claire's good graces by the end after Desmond explains that her boyfriend's eccentric behavior is caused by his being marked for death.

We do get some new information from this one, like our first look at the sonic fences and the revelation that Christian is Claire's father. There's also some confusing talk about lists from Mikhail, which may or may not be consistent with the stuff we later learn about Jacob. In their defense, it was Season 3, when the show's timetable was still up in the air. Perhaps some leeway should be given for muddled details.

102. "Whatever the Case May Be" (ep. 112)

As I mentioned five episodes above, this whole storyline about Kate's toy airplane didn't exactly have a way of drawing in the viewer. It was pretty absurd that she staged a bank robbery all so she could procure some trinket from a safe deposit box. I mean...really? That was the super-secret motivation behind Kate wanting the Halliburton case? It may have belonged to the man she loved but...was it really worth all that trouble, especially when she'd just forget about it later?

This episode's not a total loss though. The scene where Sawyer and Kate go swimming is a fun, carefree romp. Charlie, still recovering from post-hanging trauma, finally opens up to Rose emotionally in a moment that's sort of touching. Sayid first reaches out to Shannon, in what will be the beginning of an odd, but apparently destined, coupling. Minor reasons for making it interesting, but reasons nonetheless.

101. "Left Behind" (ep. 315)

Wow. Four Kate episodes in the bottom eleven? You think she might be one of the weaker characters?

Like most Kate episodes, this one isn't particularly memorable. Here we have another case of the subplot being more interesting than the main one. Hurley, of all people, cons Sawyer into being nice to everyone. It's such a great payoff when you learn that one of the less quick-witted characters outsmarted the craftiest guy on the island. Talk about a victory for the (big) little guy!

As for the Kate-centric stuff...well, whaddaya want me to say? The flashback fills in why Kate's mother called for help when she saw her in the hospital (not the most important information), and makes a pre-island connection by having her team up with Cassidy (kind of cool, and an alliance that proves useful later). Kate and Juliet's excellent handcuffed adventure feels like nothing more than a stalling tactic. I'm glad it turned out to be part of a con, because it's pretty implausible that Juliet would've done something like that in order to gain Kate's trust. The most relevant thing to come out of that whole mess is that we learn the sonic fence keeps out Smokey.

Overall, this isn't a terrible episode, but it's one of the least essential.