Skip to content
Answering Your Questions About Reactor: Right here.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter. Everything in one handy email.
When one looks in the box, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the cat.

Reactor

As the last ever episode of Lost approaches, Tor.com’s resident Losties, Bridget McGovern, Theresa DeLucci, and Rajan Khanna have compiled a list of their Top 15 Moments in Lost (because eight is never enough, and sixteen just seemed like one too many…). Check out the list of all-time favorite scenes below, presented in no particular order (with links, where possible), and please chime in with your own favorites!

#1. Desmond makes a phone call. Desmond Hume is one of Lost‘s best characters and for that reason, “The Constant” is one of the show’s best episodes. Fans waited two seasons for Desmond and his love Penny to be reunited, but Desmond waited much longer than that. In a brilliantly structured story, we watch as Desmond’s consciousness is buffeted through time and we learn that it’s only his love for Penny that proves powerful enough to save his life. We challenge anyone to not cry the minute Penny picks up the phone on Christmas Eve and hears her man’s voice for the first time in three years. [“The Constant,”  S4, E05]

#2. The light in the hatch. Locke’s defining characteristic during his time on the island was his faith, his strong belief that he had a purpose and that the island was worthy of devotion. The hatch was early evidence that this was true, but when he can’t open it, Locke’s faith starts to waver. The light (that we later find out is Desmond) is Locke’s answer and it continues him on his path. [“Deus Ex Machina,” S1, E19]

#3. Hurley, Sawyer, Jin, and Vincent go on a joyride. Lost is best known for its moments of suspense, double-crosses, and sheer head-scratching WTF-ness, but what really matters to the show are its characters. No one on the island is easier to relate to than Hurley. Big in size and heart, a geek, a good friend (even to Sawyer) and kinda unlucky, he is the mouthpiece for the audience at home. So of course we’re going to root for him when he takes on the daunting task of fixing an abandoned Dharma VW van. When he enlists Jin and Sawyer to help, it’s a rare opportunity for these three guys to let off a little steam and pop open some skunky Dharma brews. And when Hurley finally gets the van running, we cheered too. [“Tricia Tanaka is Dead,” S3, E10]

#4. Jarrah. Sayid Jarrah.” Picking a moment that exemplified Sayid’s bad-assitude was tough. This blog (okay, maybe just Theresa) has mentioned the violent beauty of Sayid killing redshirts with his legs and a dishwasher, but seeing Sayid seduce and shoot his way through a flashforward in a tux with a perfectly styled mane? The former Iraqi torturer cleans up nice enough to make 007 jealous. [“The Economist,” S4, E03]

#5. Mr. Eko vs. The Smoke Monster. Even if it didn’t ultimately end well for him, the first time the sorely-missed Mr. Eko stared into the black smoke—and lived—cemented his status as the best of the Tailies. It was also the first time we got up close to the monster that had been wreaking havoc all over the island. Oh, those halcyon days of the second season, when the muddled Jacob/Smocke mythology wasn’t even a glimmer in Carlton and Damon’s eye. [“The 23rd Psalm,” S2, E10]

#6. “A 12-year-old Ben Linus just brought me a chicken salad sandwich. How do you think I’m doing?” One of the best moments of Season 5—it was one of those lines that made you stop and appreciate the sheer craziness of the action and all of the complex issues in play without detracting from it in any way. Naveen Andrews delivery was so perfect, wry and understated, but also poignant. [“He’s Our You,” S5, E10]

#7. The night I met you. Before he meets his predestined end, Charlie finishes a list of the top five moments of his short life. What could have been a cheesy plot device became one of the shows most bittersweet moments as the list culminates with the night his relationship with Claire began, and makes his eventual sacrifice (the iconic “N0t Penny’s Boat” scene—another indisputably great Lost moment) all the more gut-wrenching. [“Greatest Hits,” S3, E21]

#8. Welcome to New Otherton. What devious activities were the Others up to before Oceanic 815 arrived? Holding a book club meeting at Juliet’s, of course! Complete with muffins and tea. It was a surprising slice of suburbia in sharp contrast to the meager survival the 815 passengers were eking out for themselves on the opposite side of the island. But like many events on Lost, the meaning of the moment changes depending on whose perspective we see it from. This friendly gathering is teeming with tension to Juliet, when even the choice of Stephen King’s Carrie is a tiny act of rebellion in the face of Ben’s control over her. [“A Tale of Two Cities,” S3, E01]

#9. Tom Friendly has a type. And his name is Arturo. When Michael shows up at Tom’s hotel room in New York City, we are briefly introduced to Tom’s companion for the evening: an attractive younger man who quickly leaves the room, kissing Tom affectionately on the cheek on his way out. It’s not so much that the subtle revelation of Tom’s sexuality that makes this a key moment in the grand scheme—it’s the fact that Tom and Arturo remain the only gay characters to ever appear on the show. This brief exchange is basically the only recognition of non-straight sexuality that’s ever occurred on Lost, and so it stands out precisely because it draws attention to a perspective that’s almost entirely absent from the rest of the series. [“Meet Kevin Johnson,” S4, E08]

#10. It’s Always Something With You People. Rose and Bernard (and Vincent!) are discovered livin’ the dream in the midst of all the Island intrigue and wacky time-travel.When they are discovered by Kate, Sawyer and Juliet, they firmly insist that they are retired, and have no interest running around trying to stop Jack from blowing everyone up. Rose’s feisty, no-more-drama stance is such a departure from the rest of the episode’s intensity and rapid pace (not to mention the occasional scene-chewing histrionics of Jack and Kate) that this brief detour away from the main plotline provides a sudden and completely new perspective on the action as a whole. [“The Incident, Part 1,” S5, E16]

#11. We should all get together for a beer sometime! Hurley facilitates a little awkward father-son bonding between Miles and Dr. Pierre Chang in one of the best episodes of last season. “Some Like It Hoth” is an example of Lost at its most quirky and character-driven, and Hurley’s attempts at connecting the witheringly sarcastic Miles with his taciturn father lead to one of the most enjoyable scenes of the series. Chang was introduced as such an enigmatic and almost sinister character in earlier seasons, when all we had to go on were the grainy DHARMA training videos—suddenly he’s a normal guy who likes country music and reading to his infant son?! Crazy. The whole storyline was playful and touching, and really capped the burgeoning Miles/Hurley buddy relationship that was a high point of Season Five. [“Some Like It Hoth,” S5, E13]

#12. Ben moves the Island with his mystical donkey wheel. No matter what your opinion on the dubious production values of the Cave of Mystery below the Orchid or the ice-covered donkey wheel ensconced within—the moment that Ben Linus turned that wheel and made the Island disappear totally blew your mind, for better or worse. You know you were yelling at your TV when it happened. We hope you’re happy now, Jacob! [“There’s No Place Like Home,” S4, E13]

#13. “Destiny, John, is a fickle bitch.” Ben Linus has had so many amazing lines over the course of the show, but perhaps none were delivered as vehemently as this embittered declaration, which has inspired song titles, bumper stickers, fan art and videos, and countless t-shirts. The moment ties together the key themes of faith, fate and free will in terms of the crisscrossing paths of the two characters, as Ben surrenders the role of the Island’s chosen protector to John (or at least, that’s the way it seemed in Season 4—check back next week and maybe we’ll know for sure. Or not). In any case, it sounded incredibly bad-ass. [“Cabin Fever,” S4, E11]

#14. “He wasn’t on the plane.Hurley’s dramatic, last-minute revelation that someone among the survivors didn’t show up on the flight manifest might seem hard to top, but then we cut away to a menacing Ethan Rom, sidling out of the jungle and staring menacingly at pregnant, vulnerable Claire, and BAM!—the creepy factor shoots all the way up to 11 in the final seconds of the episode. In a sense, this moment kicked off a whole roller coaster ride of twists, reversals of expectation and trust issues that continue on through the final episodes. [“Raised By Another,” S1, E10]

#15. We have to back, Kate! We have to go back!!! A double whammy of a “What?!” moment. All episode we thought we’d been watching a heretofore unseen rough patch in Jack’s past as, on the island, divided factions of castaways and Others fought to destroy or escape on Widmore’s freighter. Then, in the last scene, we learn that not only have we been watching Jack in a flashforward, but that the Oceanic 6 leaving the island was a huge mistake. But an awesome game-changer for the show. [“Through the Looking Glass,” S3, E22 & 23]

So, there it is—we hope you’ve all enjoyed this emotionally-jarring trip down memory lane, and we can’t wait to hear about the zillion other fantastic moments that we missed along the way. We’ll be back tomorrow with our regularly scheduled round table discussion of “What They Died For,” and of course we’ll be here next week for the epic aftermath of the series finale. Until then, namaste and good luck, Losties!


Theresa DeLucci is a graduate of the 2008 Clarion West Writers Workshop. Her fiction has appeared in Chizine.

Rajan Khanna is a graduate of the 2008 Clarion West Writers Workshop and his fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in Shimmer, GUD, and Steampunk Tales. He lives in Brooklyn with his two cats, Chloe and Muppet.

Bridget McGovern is a lit nerd, a film geek, and a complete pop culture junkie. She wants to crochet all of Ben Linus’s best quotes onto a series of commemorative throw pillows.

About the Author

About Author Mobile

Bridget McGovern

Author

Learn More About Bridget

About the Author

About Author Mobile

Theresa DeLucci

Author

Learn More About Theresa

About the Author

About Author Mobile

Rajan Khanna

Author

Learn More About Rajan

See All Posts About

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
12 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments