We have to go back… to watching Lost. Every episode of the ABC series, which follows the survivors of a plane crash who land on a mysterious island (to severely understate the premise), is now available on Netflix. So get ready for renewed arguments about whether the series finale is good or not. Yay!(?).
The best way to watch Lost is to, well, watch every episode of Lost in order (no matter what some people claim). But if you only had time to watch a single episode — the one that’s considered the best — what episode should you pick? The pilot is a good place to start, obviously, but that’s not the top-rated episode, according to IMDb users. That honor belongs to season four’s “The Constant,” with a 9.7 rating. It’s not only the objectively correct best episode of Lost. It’s one of the best episodes of any TV show this century.
Written by showrunners Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, “The Constant” is an time-travel episode focused on Desmond (played by Henry Ian Cusick) whose consciousness keeps jumping from 1996, from before he was trapped on the island, to 2004, and back again. While in the past, he finds his ex-girlfriend (his constant), Penny (Sonya Walger), and tells her not to change her phone number as he’ll call her on Christmas Eve in the future. You will cry.
Composer Michael Giacchino didn’t have to go this hard, but he did. For us.
But seriously, start watching Lost from the beginning.