My LOST Moment

Yes, you do. You just don’t know it yet.

Exodus, Part 2 • season 1 • episode 24

Natalya, 16 — Brussels (Belgium) :

There are so many great scenes in Lost, that’s been hard to choose one moment but I would say one of my favorite scene is the dialog between Jack and Locke in the final episode of Season 1 : “Exodus”.

JACK: Look, I need for you — I need for you to explain to me what the hell’s going on inside your head, John. I need to know why you believe that that thing wasn’t gonna-

LOCKE: I believe that I was being tested.

JACK: Tested?

LOCKE: Yeah, tested.

LOCKE: I think that’s why you and I don’t see eye-to-eye sometimes, Jack — because you’re a man of science.

JACK: Yeah, and what does that make you?

LOCKE: Me, well, I’m a man of faith. Do you really think all this is an accident — that we, a group of strangers survived, many of us with just superficial injuries? Do you think we crashed on this place by coincidence — especially, this place? We were brought here for a purpose, for a reason, all of us. Each one of us was brought here for a reason.

JACK: Brought here? And who brought us here, John?

LOCKE: The Island. The Island brought us here. This is no ordinary place, you’ve seen that, I know you have. But the Island chose you, too, Jack. It’s destiny.

JACK: Did you talk with Boone about destiny, John?

LOCKE: Boone was a sacrifice that the Island demanded. What happened to him at that plane was a part of a chain of events that led us here — that led us down a path — that led you and me to this day, to right now.

JACK: And where does that path end, John?

LOCKE: The path ends at the Hatch. The Hatch, Jack — all of it — all of it happened so that we could open the Hatch.

JACK: No, no, we’re opening the Hatch so that we can survive.

LOCKE: Survival is all relative, Jack.

JACK: I don’t believe in destiny.

LOCKE: Yes, you do. You just don’t know it yet.

I thought this scene was very interesting when we consider Lost as an ensemble. This fight between Jack and Locke has been one of the major themes of Lost: during six seasons we’ve had this tension between faith and science, before faith finally overcome reason in the final episodes. And the last sentence of Locke couldn’t be more warning of Jack’s conversion to a man of faith.
In my opinion, this scene is very powerful: it’s incredible to see how Locke was right from the beginning. They were brought here for a reason: they were brought by Jacob because they were candidates. But it’s funny to hear Locke say “The path leads to the hatch.” Because the hatch was just a tiny thing, a tiny piece of the puzzle. And when Locke is going to realize there’s no hope in the hatch, that it is just a hatch, he will be broken. Beautiful scene.

You may not like your path, Desmond, but pushing that button is the only truly great thing that you will ever do.

Flashes before your eyes • season 3 • episode 8

Pacôme, 35 — Paris (France) :

At that moment, I burst into tears. Those tears weren’t of joy or sorrow. Those were tears of gratitude because at that moment, Lost wasn’t talking about human will anymore, about how men end up getting what they want, about the necessity to fight for what seems right, as in so many fictions. Lost was speaking about the impossibility to think History in conditional terms — the show was always about that, and season 6 is a long meditation on the fact that everything that we do matters, that there’s no shortcuts, no do-overs, that “whatever happened happened”.
Lost was speaking about the impossibility to think the human will independently from the totality of the world, and thus the submission of the individual opinion to the Law — the Dharma Initiative-centered Seasons 2 and 5 tried in any way possible to play with this idea. Lost was implying the superiority of contemplation over action and the necessity to submit action to knowledge (from Locke’s Michelangelo monologue in season 1 to the “non-action” of Jacob in seasons 5/6, the submission of action to contemplation will be a constant in Lost).
So at that moment, I burst into tears, because I understood the need to accept everything I had gone through so far, independently from what I reckoned to be right or wrong, because it was impossible to keep on thinking otherwise. At that moment, I felt like Lost was speaking to me directly, and would never stop speaking to me. I didn’t doubt I would go from one wonder to another, and I had already the nostalgia of the moment that had just passed, because Lost would eventually stop, and each episode would bring me closer to the end. Before that moment, Lost was an excellent series that fascinated me. From that moment on, Lost became a destiny.

You don’t have a son, Jack.

The End • season 6 • episode 17

Tony, 24 — London (United Kingdom) :

Each episode of Lost gave an example of great storytelling, whether it had to do with the mythology or the characters. But as Lost ended, despite me not wanting to believe what the writers were telling us, I had to agree the only bit that mattered in this show was the characters and their relationships with one another. Through seeing flashbacks every week for six years, we all became invested with what these characters had been through. The finest example of all those tragic backgrounds was John Locke.
The ultimate contrast and the driving force of the show was Locke vs Jack, Faith vs Science. As a man of science myself, perhaps I should have felt cheated and angry, like many other viewers, with the religious ending to the show, but I honestly thought it was perfect. I felt one scene in particular resonated with me. At this point in the finale we could see that the characters that had died in the island-time were waking up and remembering their lives. Now although deep down I knew what was coming, especially concerning Jack’s fate – because, let’s face it, being the hero, he had to die – I, like Jack, didn’t want to let go.
“What we need to do is go… Will you come with me?” John asks, to which Jack snaps back: “WE are not going anywhere.” The smile Locke then gives Jack was one of the saddest/happiest moments of the finale for me. He looked at him like it was the good old days, them disagreeing, a flashback to season one. Terry O’quinn, undoubtedly my favorite actor throughout the series, managed to display the sense of companionship and friendship Locke felt towards Jack. He was enjoying the fact they were still disagreeing even here, wherever here was. The fact that he wanted to go with Jack again was a really touching moment. And at the end of the scene, when Locke says “You don’t have a son, Jack“, I could see the signs that Jack himself knew this, that it was obvious he couldn’t deny what was happening for much longer, that he would remember and Lost WOULD end. This scene really sums Lost up for me.
At its best Lost was a story about love and friendship, about sacrifice and fate. I can understand some people NEED answers to every question but I don’t. I think what we all need to remember looking back on this show was what it was like to watch it at the time! The suspense and the not-knowing and theorising was the fun of it, but in “The End”, the characters’ stories needed to be concluded. True fans should be proud that the writers ended it on their terms and didn’t milk it for all it’s worth. No matter how much I want more, I hope they never make anything Lost related again. Then it will go down as one of the greatest television shows ever created.

We’re all convinced sooner or later, Jack.

316 • season 5 • episode 6

Taylor, 17 — Arcadia, Florida (USA) :

It is nearly impossible for me to pick one moment in this beautiful series. But this scene simply is too stunning to go unnoticed.
Ben Linus: Thomas the Apostle. When Jesus wanted to return to Judea, knowing that he would probably be murdered there, Thomas said to the others, “Let us also go there and we might die with him.” But Thomas was not remembered for this bravery. His claim to fame came later when he refuses to acknowledge the resurrection. He just couldn’t wrap his mind around it. The story goes that he needed to touch Jesus wounds to be convinced.

— Jack Shephard: “So was he?”
— Ben Linus: “Of course he was. We’re all convinced sooner or later, Jack.“

This story explains Jack so perfectly. “He just couldn’t wrap his mind around it.” This one scene show’s Jack’s growth, show’s how far he has come sense September 22nd, 2004. It gives me chills every time Michael Emerson delivers this line.

My name is Jack Shephard. I’m one of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815.

Through the looking glass • season 3 • episode 23

Erin, 21 — Southold, New York (USA) :

The season 3 finale of Lost leads us up to this moment that is as exhilarating as it is emotional. My heart was pounding from the moment where Kate, brimming with hope, exclaimed, “It’s gonna work! It’s happening, we’re gonna get off this island!” to the moment where Jack actually contacted the freighter with Naomi’s satellite phone, finding the means of rescue he had been working towards.
Matthew Fox was simply brilliant in this scene. You could nearly see the overflowing of both hope and pride in Jack, as he blinked back tears after the phone call to the freighter. At this exact moment, Jack finally relaxed. It was simply an amazing scene to watch, and I welled up as Jack accomplished the most amazing goal in his life.

Eko, run! Run!

The 23rd Psalm • season 2 • episode 10

Yannick, 24 – Dakar (Senegal) :

My favorite Lost moment is undoubtedly the first meeting between Eko and the Monster. The Smoke Monster was a total enigma, so just to see him from a close perspective was an event for me. Add this fact to the very ambiguous, mystical character represented by Eko and it was certain that this fascinating duel was a clue to solve the mystery of Lost. In this quietly spectacular face to face, Eko sees the monster comes, but instead of running, he decides to confront him. The look on Eko’s face shows fear thus, but mostly courage. Then, the camera makes a 180° turn, and we can briefly have a look inside the dark smoke. Finally, the cloud seems to disolve, and we’re seeing the monster go back while Eko stands on foot, the camera closely focused on his breathless face.
What Lost concepters were trying to symbolize here? Only them knows… There was no physical fight, no blood spell. It was a psychological duel. Not only on the Island, but mostly, inside Eko’s mind. In Nigeria, Eko was born to be a warlord, it was his fate and he followed it, in opposition to his brother, Yemi, who choosed to embrace religion. Like most of the crash survivors, he is tormented by his past. He experiences a revelation on the Island and find faith, a faith who needed to be tested by the Island. This scene shows a man who found hope and who decided to stop running away his past mistakes: he now faces them with courage, as he faces the smoke monster. While the camera makes a 180° turn, we can see inside the smoke cloud and the screen becomes almost entirely black, just like someone closing his eyes and facing his own conscience. In episode 3×05, “The Cost of Living”, Eko will be finally killed by the Monster… On the Island, past mistakes, even forgiven, are never forgotten.

You believe me? You still care about me?

The Constant • season 4 • episode 5

Andrew, 22 – Dallas, Texas (USA) :

In the craziness of the episode “The Constant”, there was one shining moment of wonderful clarity: when Desmond finally speaks to Penny on the phone.
In a show that was so much about longing, yearning, waiting, and hoping, this moment captured the feelings that resonated so deeply in me. We weren’t sure if the islanders would ever be safe or who would make it out alive, but we knew what Desmond knew when he talked to Penny, saying with desperate joy, “You believe me? You still care about me?” The waiting was worth it; the hoping was justified; the yearning and longing, for just a moment, were satisfied.

Lysa – New England (USA) :

I love Lost for so many reasons but the moments that still give me chills are all about, oh goodness me, the romance! For so long the story of Desmond and Penny was built up, built up, more and more. Well, once that scene happens, that scene when Desmond speaks to Penny on the phone for the first time since he had crashed into that damned island – I cried happy tears and lots of them.

Chris, 30 — New York (USA):

My wife and I have been together ten years (beginning our relationship shortly before the show started). We didn’t get into the show until a few years in but when we did, we immediately fell in love together (and with) Desmond and Penny.
The theme of “My Constant” echoed so true to us and has stuck with us ever since. The moment Desmond connects with his constant was one of, if not, the most powerful moment on television to us.
We would later go on to call each other one another’s constant in our own wedding vows, name our dog Penny and our son Desmond. We’ve had ten years with Lost and we wouldn’t be the same people without it. That moment is forever our favorite moment in the show — second to their finding one another again at the end of Season 4.
Here’s to the “Constants”.

That’s why the Sox will never win the series.

Outlaws • season 1 • episode 16

Dane, 24 – Gainesville, Florida (USA) :

I suppose this is tied to the aforementioned “Something tells me he never got around to making that call“, but this was the first time other than obvious watercooler moments (like Locke’s toes) that I was completely floored watching the show. It was spooky. It was surprising. It was chilling. It was also the first time I was enjoyably frustrated with the show (something I got very accustomed to over the years of Lost) when Sawyer remained silent and walked away.
I think viewers then, and sadly some now, felt the show was entirely about its mysteries and mythology, and every passing second that didn’t reveal the identity of the Monster was one to complain about. But I felt then and we learned ultimately this was a character-driven show, just set on an insane island. I feel so bad for those people that were missing out on what I was being blown away by, and this scene not only embodied that but revealed to me a show that was much more than what I even thought it was. The off-island connections were not coincidences. These characters were going to suffer, succeed, fail and ultimately, learn, even from the most unbelievable sources. If even lowly Sawyer held the promise of aid for mighty Jack, this show must have terrific things up its sleeve.I vividly remember the simultaneous smashing of Jack’s foot through the dried wood and the episode’s smash to black. That moment was so exciting and moving as well, much like so many others on this show, and I am very grateful for how much fun I had over the years.

I’ll have you.

Dr Linus • season 6 • episode 7

Ed, 44 — Colorado (USA) :

Near the end of the series, Iliana asks a broken Ben, “Where will you go?”
“To Locke,” Ben resignedly replies.
“Why?”
“Because he’s the only one that’ll have me.”
…
Ilana says, “I’ll have you.” And walks away.

Best scene of emotion encompassing the human need for belonging and acceptance I’ve ever seen. Still brings goosebumps.

Nice to meet you.

Jughead • season 5 • episode 3

Daniel, 22 – Tallahassee (Florida, USA) :

“Nice to meet you” – Locke to Young Widmore. It was wonderful because you could see all of Damon and Carlton’s pieces slowly falling into place. It was wonderful because you felt like you were being propelled towards answers we lusted for so badly. It was surprising and shocking and extremely funny. It answered questions. It was nice to see some of our heroes (in this case, Locke) make light of the time travel that was frustrating some viewers. More than anything it was nice to see someone we rooted for finally have the upper hand when we were so accustomed to both us and the characters being dragged along in the dark.