LOST: Season Recaps

Season One

It’s easy to forget now, but LOST’s formative year was spent a) developing characters through flashbacks and b) watching them battle the elements of the Island. Much of the show’s drama came from their day to day battle to survive.

Rating: 8/10

Season Two

LOST’s second season surpassed the first in almost every way. Taut from start to finish, Season Two answered plenty of questions while asking even more. Season Two balanced suspense, intrigue, character development, and action more efficiently than any other.

Rating: 9/10

Season Three

This is where things started to fall apart. The writers strike clearly took a toll on this season. The tension ratcheted up the first two seasons fell off a bit while The Island grew cloudier but no more enthralling. Solid performances from Josh Holloway, Evangeline Lilly, Elizabeth Mitchell, Michael Emerson, and Dominic Monaghan helped keep the ship afloat.

Rating: 7/10

Season Four

Season Four was an unmitigated disaster. Short and bitter, Season Four completely lost sight of the values that made LOST successful in the first place. The fourth season eschewed mystery for weaponry, intrigue for violence. It’s best to pretend Season Four never happened.

Rating: 4/10

Season Five

The Season Four debacle was quickly washed away by a surprisingly engaging 16-episode run through time. The smartest thing done in Season Five was minimizing the roles of some tired characters (Jack, Ben Linus) while bringing the more compelling/better acted ones (Sawyer, Juliet) to the forefront.

Rating: 7/10

Season Six

In the end, Season Six will be remembered only for the finale. Which might be a shame, because Six has been the series’ most consistently exciting season. Where other seasons wasted our time with pointless subplots or insipid characters, Six has eliminated the fluff and cut straight to the bone. But it will all come down to what happens tonight.

Rating: N/A