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Knowing what we know now, 5 most pivitoal episodes

ThunderAeroI

Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
As the tile says, Knowing what we know now, what are the 5 most pivitoal episodes in the telling of the LOST story.

There are probably more than 5, but let's try to keep it to a minimum of really focused on the story we know now.

I'd assume for starters

PILOT
*
*
*
THE END
 
This is pretty pointless with a series as complex and interconnected as LOST. It is one big story. You need the Pilot to set up the story and characters. YOu need the finale for "closure". A lot of the Ben episodes were KEY episodes providing Key pieces for the Mythology like "The Shape of Things to Come", "The Man Behind the Curtain", "Dead is Dead" for instance.

Desmond had a mini arc of sorts with his timetraveling episodes etc/
 
In terms of what was needed to convey the main arc of the story:

1. Pilot
2. Across the Sea
3. Ab Aterno
4. What they died for
5. The End
 
In terms of what was needed to convey the main arc of the story:

1. Pilot
2. Across the Sea
3. Ab Aterno
4. What they died for
5. The End


Which all but one come from season 6. I do not disagree with your list either, it is just sad that nothing from the easrlier seasons mattered in the end.

I bet if you expanded it to the 10 most important episodes, you stil wouldn't start touching on early lost.
 
In terms of what was needed to convey the main arc of the story:

1. Pilot
2. Across the Sea
3. Ab Aterno
4. What they died for
5. The End


Which all but one come from season 6. I do not disagree with your list either, it is just sad that nothing from the easrlier seasons mattered in the end.

I bet if you expanded it to the 10 most important episodes, you stil wouldn't start touching on early lost.

I might include White rabbit or Walkabout.
I might also include Live Together, Die Alone, Flashes Before your eyes and the Constant.

But yeah, in general the early seasons had little to do with the endgame.

Season 1 the scope is very narrow.........everyone's just trying to survive the elements and the smoke monster and we're just trying to learn who these characters really are and gain any insight into the island.

Season 2-3 the scope is pretty much the same except now the threat of the others is real.

Season 4 marks the transition into a bigger picture but still no real hint until the donkey wheel gets turned and we realize the Island is far more special than some of considered.

Even Season 5 has very little to do with the endgame until the last 5-6 episodes.

I guess the point of the earlier seasons was to watch the struggle the characters went through that drew them closer together so they could be prepared to do what it took when they finally got to the endgame.
 
And see, the beauty of Lost is that I have quite a different take on what would make for a pivotal episode. The fact that strong emotional moments, especially relational ones, are what tie these characters together, trigger their memories, and bring them together in the afterlife mean that you could say the most important episodes for the show are the ones that establish these relationships.

So my pivotal episodes, excluding the Pilot and The End are, in no particular order:
1. Walkabout, for establishing Locke's character so beautifully.
2. Do No Harm, for being essential for the relationships Boone and Shannon, Sayid and Shannon, showing Jacks' need to fix things, and the Kate/Charlie/Claire birth scene.
3. Ji Yeon, which is my favourite Sun and Jin episode (though you could also pick ...In Translation, IMO)
4. LaFluer, for establishing Sawyer and Juliet
5. Greatest Hits, for the Charlie and Claire moments
6. The Constant, for Desmond and Penny. This episode may also be the best in really illuminating the importance of relationships and love in Lost, by introducing the idea of having a constant. One could say that everyone in The End found their own constant, triggering their memories the same way the phone call to Penny triggered Desmond back in season 4.

I couldn't limit it to five. I also am tempted to add more, as episodes focusing on Ben, Daniel, Charlotte, Hurley, and others are missing on that list.
 
And see, the beauty of Lost is that I have quite a different take on what would make for a pivotal episode. The fact that strong emotional moments, especially relational ones, are what tie these characters together, trigger their memories, and bring them together in the afterlife mean that you could say the most important episodes for the show are the ones that establish these relationships.

So my pivotal episodes, excluding the Pilot and The End are, in no particular order:
1. Walkabout, for establishing Locke's character so beautifully.
2. Do No Harm, for being essential for the relationships Boone and Shannon, Sayid and Shannon, showing Jacks' need to fix things, and the Kate/Charlie/Claire birth scene.
3. Ji Yeon, which is my favourite Sun and Jin episode (though you could also pick ...In Translation, IMO)
4. LaFluer, for establishing Sawyer and Juliet
5. Greatest Hits, for the Charlie and Claire moments
6. The Constant, for Desmond and Penny. This episode may also be the best in really illuminating the importance of relationships and love in Lost, by introducing the idea of having a constant. One could say that everyone in The End found their own constant, triggering their memories the same way the phone call to Penny triggered Desmond back in season 4.

I couldn't limit it to five. I also am tempted to add more, as episodes focusing on Ben, Daniel, Charlotte, Hurley, and others are missing on that list.

a very nice way to look at things. And, you are probably correct. Those intereactions are what forged their ability to meet up in the sideways afterlife.
 
I don't know all the ep. titles, but......

1. The Pilot
2. The light comes on in the hatch
3. Ben and Juliet watch 815 fly overhead and crash
4. "We have to go back, Kate!"
5. Jacob and MIB and Mama
 
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