Saturday, April 25, 2009

SMALL TALK WITH DAVE: TOP FIVE SCENES FROM L O S T Season 4.

*Originally Posted May 1, 2008*

[obviously there are spoilers below]

The ratings may be down, but L O S T is better than ever. Since a new episode airs tonight, a decided to spend a few minutes it starts to rank the top five scenes from the season so far. Many were considered, but these made the cut.

5. Hurley's High Speed Chase from 4.01 "The Beginning of the End"
L O S T rarely fumbles the first and last scenes of a season, so season four's premiere came with a lot of high expectations, especially since Jack and Kate's nighttime reunion in the future. The opening scene of season four, this flash-forward reveal not only satisfied the fans who went nuts over the season three finale, it dropped a big juicy nugget of info regarding the fates of several castaways. The Oceanic Six (along with implied further use of ff's) instantly makes this a classic, setting the tone for a great episode (you'll find another scene from that episode on this list) and a great season.


4. Hurley's talk with Abaddon from 4.01 "The Beginning of the End"
L O S T doesn't just deliver on opening scenes, it hammers home opening episodes too. The show was coming off a longer than usual layoff after the third season, and fans were getting sick of the wait. The Find 815 game was okay, but ultimately real poor substitute for actual episodes. Anyway, the episode lived up to expectations and another scene makes its way up here. At this point, since we already know six people get off the island, everyone's wondering what the hell happened to everyone else. This scene addresses that in the slightest of ways, with the cool creepy guy Matthew Abaddon chatting up Hurely, who by the way went back to the nuthouse. His cryptic question "...Are they still alive?" definitely blew minds.


3. Sayid's conversation with Ben from 4.03 "The Economist"
Another ff episode, Sayid finds himself in Europe playing spy vs. spy with some hot european chick with large eyebrows. As their relationship develops, Sayid reverts to being a big lovedoofus and almost gets himself killed by his covert counterpart. In the aftermath of their bedroom duel, the wounded Sayid runs away crying back to his lair. Only his lair is a veterinarian's office in the middle of the night. He doesn't do self surgery to get the bullet out of his shoulder, he lets a some surgeon to do it. Only the surgeon is Big Ben! And we find out the Sayid has been working for the ubervillain since he got off of the island, rubbing out Ben's enemies in his game of risk against Chuck Widmore. This scene's punch hits perfectly. For Sayid Lovers, it meant that no matter how much of a pussy Mr. Jarrah was being after Shannon got gut shot, he rebounds in the future by landing the coolest of professions.


2. Desmond and Penny's Phone Call from 4.05 "The Constant"
This episode may have been L O S T at its sappiest, but it spotlighted a duo that everyone gets behind. The unrelenting shitfest that is Kate & Sawyer has a lot to learn from the classiest of couples. Pen and Des weathered fights & breakups, years of separation, and oceans of distance between each other. It all came down to a single phone call Desmond makes on Christmas Eve in 2004 using a phone number he secured back in 1996 on the advice of a physicist he first met in 2004. Yea, I can't believe it worked as well it did but it did, so watch it. It leaves every girl in tears and caps off the best L O S T episode in many months.


1. Alex Getting Blown Away & Smokey's Attack from 4.09 "The Shape of Things to Come"
Until now the latest episode to air, this Ben ff brought the blitz, squeezing lots and lots of story into 40 some minutes. Lots of scenes from this episode were considered for this list, but only this one made it; and it probably was the easiest one to pick. The scene is a couple of minutes long and begins during the end of negotiations between Big Ben Linus and Keamy the freighter deckhand-turned-Contra-Assault-Man. With hot daughter Alex held at gunpoint, Keamy lays down the ultimatum to Ben: give yourself up or Alex gets the JFK treatment. Ben makes his play, staying put suspecting a bluff (well, it's Ben so he probably knows for certain that its a bluff). Only, it's not a bluff, and Keamy plugs one one in her skull. Ben's reaction is the best thing he's done on the show yet. He walks into the secret room within his secret room and summons the elusive smoke monster for dinner. He tells Team Locke to make a run for it, but they all just pretty much gawk at the Katrina level destruction set loose on Team Freighter. I guess since L O S T does a 13 episode season as opposed to 24 episode season, the show can afford to spend more money on the special effects, and it sure showed in this episode. Smokey came in strong and fast like that fog that turns people inside out, and left with both Team Locke and fans very satisfied.




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