Ten Greatest Lost Episodes - # 8 “Exodus”
Sticking with season one again this week, number eight on the countdown is "Exodus", the two-part, three-hour finale. "Exodus" is loaded with some of the greatest scenes thus far in the series and could be very easily ranked much higher if not for one glaring flaw. Now I understand the concept of a cliffhanger, but it was brutal of the writing staff to leave the big reveal of what the hatch contained for the beginning of season two. After months of speculation as to the contents of the hatch, it was widely, and understandably, believed that the end of the season would bring at least partial resolution. Instead, there is nothing but a broken ladder and a deep, dark passage of mystery.
On to the praise. It is incredibly difficult to pick one scene that stands out in this episode. There’s the shocking confrontation with the Others, the heart-breaking scene in which Locke is carried on to the plane, Sawyer telling Jack about his run-in with Christian, Arzt exploding, Locke and Jack’s “man of science, man of faith conversation” etc. All these scenes are memorable and fantastic in their own right. The launching of the raft though, to me, is right at the top of the list of the greatest few minutes we’ve seen in Lost thus far.
For the most part, the series has been a fairly bleak and depressing depiction of the survivors’ time spent on the island. Most, if not all of the flashback sequences, have been of each character’s dark past and how one way or another, they have screwed up their own lives or someone else’s. For a brief few moments though, as the raft sets sail, there is genuine hope for the survivors. The viewer feels it and the survivors themselves feel it. The score in this scene is incredible. As they boldly leave the beach and the intensity of the music builds, it finally feels like something positive is going to happen. Since their arrival on the island, they had seen their own people die and they have become murderers themselves. For a brief moment, all of that is forgotten and the feeling of home isn’t too far away. Unfortunately though, this is Lost and instead of rescue, the torment continues, Walt is kidnapped, the raft is blown up, and Sawyer is shot. It was nice while it lasted.
Perhaps it’s asking for too much, but had we seen a glimpse of Desmond in the hatch and cut to the title screen instead of being in the dark as to what the hatch contained, "Exodus" would surely be toward the top of the countdown. The way things play out just leaves an empty feeling that I believe brings it down a few spots.
What do you think? Is number eight high enough for "Exodus"? What was your favorite scene from the season one finale?
I can understand the frustration with not seeing what’s in the hatch, but on reflection, I think it’s almost perfect the way it is. Season 1 introduced some mystery, but didn’t really dive in. For the most part, it was very much a set-up intro season, the first chapter, which is perfect for a season 1. It was mostly about the characters and how they come together to live and survive on the island. With the closing of season 1, the first chapter came to its conclusion, leaving the opening moments of season 2 prime to really dive into the mystery, which it certainly did. I think the very last moments of Exodus did an amazing job of giving a sense of “going down the rabbit hole” by going down the hatch.
Comment by Devin — November 17, 2008 @ 8:58 pm
I have to disagree — I think the ending of Exodus is one of the BEST things about the episode, and any sort of glimpse of Desmond would have ruined both the cool ending, and the opening of Man of Science, Man of Faith, which is surely the greatest opening in the entire show.
Comment by John — November 17, 2008 @ 9:16 pm
I’m going to have to agree with Devin and John about the finale ending. Leaving us without any clue as to what was in the hatch left us with unlimited possibilities as to what could be down there. With Lost it’s all about the mystery, and leaving us with that big mystery for those months between seasons gave us something to ponder. Besides from what I remember JJ and Darlton had no idea what was even going to be inside the hatch at the time.
But if we would have been left with a scene of say… Desmond poking his head around the corner and looking back up at Jack and Locke it would have seemed kind of lame. Like Devin said; it left the opening of season 2 open for the writers to just completely dive in to what’s in the hatch, who’s in the hatch, what’s the hatch for, how did it get there? etc. I think it would have been kind of weak and even more frustrating to know that there was a crazy Scottish guy down there in a tan jumpsuit but not knowing why. And if the ratings are any indication then I think the writers made a very well calculated move showing only what they did in the finale. If I remember correctly the ratings were the highest they’d ever been at the very end of season 1 and at the very beginning of season 2. I personally was more frustrated about the first couple of episodes of season 2 and their lack of getting things moving.
I did think Exodus was an excellent episode though. There were definitly a lot of firsts in this episode. We finally got to see the mysterious Black Rock we had heard so much about (and who could have guessed that it would be a damned pirate ship in the middle of the jungle and not just literally a big black rock?). Looking back it was also kind of a big moment in Lost history due to the fact that it was pretty much the first and the last time Locke and Jack worked together on any kind of common goal (granted they both had different motives for getting inside the hatch). We also got our first glimpse of the Smoke Monster, which was an excellent scene. It was the first time we saw any of the others besides Ethan. Also the first time The Others showed any interest in Walt. I can’t remember for sure about this one but I think it was the first time the numbers showed up on the island as well. So many things that became complete staples for us in Lost reared their head around in Exodus.
Comment by B*Locke — November 18, 2008 @ 12:34 am
Well, it was a frustrated ending at the time. But what was in the hatch was too big to show in the cliffhanger, so it would be anti-climnactic.
Looking back, it is the perfect ending. All the stories of the Losties have led to the moment they got on the plane. So at the end we see them board, and now we know kinda what’s in store for them. It’s heartwrenching, especially Boone of course. But it’s the end of the first story, we now know the characters.
Diving into the hatch at the very end is sort of a way to say: now we will dive into the island. I love it now!
Comment by Robbert — November 18, 2008 @ 3:08 am
I think I might be one of the few people who liked the Season 1 finale even at that time. To me, I never had any assumptions about what the hatch was. I was kind of thinking it was just maybe a big hole in the ground, and once the doorway was open, we’d see what was in it.
To see that it actually extended down into the island was a huge revelation for me. Perhaps other people already knew this because it had been revealed on a website like this one, but I stay away from that information, so seeing that camera shot drop down the hole was a big deal for me. I thought the ending was great as it was.
(Not to mention that Season 2 was all about the hatch, so saving Desmond, etc. for season 2 made it much more self-contained.)
Comment by John Salerno — November 18, 2008 @ 6:30 am
I did not like the ending of Exodus. Waiting for months on end for a resolution what half of the first season was dedicated to, in my opinion is unreasonable. I just wanted any hint to give us something to discuss for the hiatus. Like watching Desmond rip out some curls and then we could go back and try to see what we could find when he met Jack at the track. I also hate cliffhangers though. I want resolution asap. How great was that scene with Hurley rolling through the airport on a rascal. My goodness he is hysterical.
Comment by PennysHusdband — November 18, 2008 @ 7:45 am
This has nothing to do with the topic but there was no where else to post my disdain. I just got the most recent email from the Dharma wants you ARG and it was the biggest waste of time in my life. They are canceling the whole thing and playing off as if it’s due to the current finacial crisis. Gay.
Comment by Geronimo Jackson Groupie — November 18, 2008 @ 10:11 am
I don’t think the ending of Season 1 could have been more perfect. If they had even revealed the slightest bit of information about what’s inside there, it would have totally ruined the amazing first scene of season 2. People would have been able to guess right away this man exercising, showering, and eating was in fact inside the hatch, and the reveal just would not have been surprising. I LOVE any moment that LOST makes us go: “Wait! What’s going on?! Why did he shoot them? What’s inside there? How did he get on the island? How can that thing rip trees out of the ground? Are they brother and sister? Why did they kidnap him?” I love these moments because the payoff is just that much greater when we finally learn the answers to those questions. LOST is all about the mystery and the reveal… and frankly, the show just would not be interesting if we always knew what was going on and how everything came to be.
Comment by Matt — November 18, 2008 @ 10:36 am
You consider the cliffhanger a flaw???
This was the first episode of Lost I ever saw. I was watching it on DVR at my grandma’s house with my cousins, who had followed it all season. As the episode progressed, it seemed interesting enough, but I probably wouldn’t have become a regular viewer; that is, until they open the hatch. The sheer suspense of thinking “oh my goodness, what could possibly be in this metal hatch on a tropical island” hooked me completely.
I would say that if it wasn’t for the cliffhanger, I might not be a regular viewer.
Comment by besch64 — November 19, 2008 @ 8:19 pm
Cliffhangers are my arch nemesis’
Comment by PennysHusdband — November 20, 2008 @ 12:04 pm
It was a good episode - at #8 is about right.
It had enormous high and lows. The venturing out with new character (Doc Arzt) to Black Rock was exciting for me at the time.
The tragedy of Danielle’s loss of a child was potent (although the timing of Sayid & Charlie’s journey to and from the fire was a bit lame.)
The hatch non-reveal didn’t bother me.
The ‘WALT!!!’ ending was what was disturbing for me - the taking of Walt was so cruel and viciously done etc.
I think that’s the real reason people complained about the ending of S1 - it was too many heavy emotions to deal with.
Comment by gwoss — November 20, 2008 @ 6:31 pm
Did anyone else want to slap Michael every time he yelled ‘walt’ and ‘my son’. Which is worse, ‘walt’ and ‘my son’ or charlies ‘the baby’.
I cannot pick. Both irritate me.
Comment by PennysHusdband — November 21, 2008 @ 12:54 pm