Given that we have no ability to change the fact that we're in the middle of a lengthy hiatus from Lost due to the effects of the writers' strike, maybe it's best we embrace it. You know, take lemons and make Dharma lemonade. Take the ill effects from traveling through an electromagnetic anomaly and find one's constant.  That sorta thing.

I've already taken this break to establish a longer-term project here on the blog: week-long looks at important topics raised within the season so far. Make sure to read up on my endeavor and vote for the topics you'd like to see discussed during this informed interim. I'll tally up the votes at the end of the week and start dropping those the way unseen forces drop pallets of food on the Island.

In the meantime, I have a short-term project, one that spans two days to be exact. We've seen eight of the thirteen episodes that compose Season 4, and I thought it would be an interesting exercise to try and rank these episodes from worst to best. After all, it's not like we have a whole lot else to do, correct?

Today I'll list my least four favorite episodes, from "worst" to "bleh" to "meh." Now, these rankings all come with a curve, and that curve is the quality of show that Lost has consistently put out over every episode. That's an important thing to remember, especially in terms of the final score I've assigned each episode below. I'm not judging the quality of any particular episode against any other form of popular entertainment outside those already-aired episodes of television.

Anywho, I just wanted to lay that all out before someone yells at me for ranking an episode of Lost in the same way I might rank an episode of The Big Bang Theory. It's just not my intent. And in terms of my personal Top 8...obviously, that's insanely subjective as well. But that's why they pay me the big bucks here, and by big bucks I mean "not big bucks": to put my neck out on the line with insanely subjective responses that inflame the masses.

With that all said, on to today's list. My recap to each episode is handily provided at the beginning of each for historical reference. What follows are my thoughts having seen the eight as a whole, with time to dwell on each, seen their ramifications downstream, and rearrange their worth as parts of the incomplete puzzle that is Season 4.

***

#8)    Eggtown

The good. Miles' grenade sandwich. Jack's mythologically rich testimony. The unknown whereabouts of Claire. The large figure of money Miles requests.

The bad. The worst criminal proceedings ever seen on television. Kate's continuing schizophrenia when it comes to Sawyer's affections. The complete inertia of beach activities. Did I mention the ridiculous trial?

The ranking. Not only the worst episode of this season, but up there with one of the worst episodes in Lost history. I don't think it's a coincidence that the same people who wrote this episode also wrote "Stranger in a Strange Land," my all-time least favorite episode of Lost. The very fact that the episode's primary twist (Aaron is Kate's son as well as one of the Oceanic 6) was also only half-successful shows how ineffective this episode truly was. I think Miles' blackmail will reap huge narrative rewards down the stretch, and Claire's future absence is a compelling mystery, but these do not save the episode from the bottom of the barrel.

Final Score: 3.5/10.

#7)   The Economist

The good. Faraday's rocket. Ben's secret room. Murder on the back nine. Sayid's future boss.

The bad. Every future element leading up to the twist. The awfully convenient way in which Sayid retrieves Charlotte.

The ranking. This is an episode that is largely saved by the truly shocking ending and Faraday's experiment. Sayid's flash forward largely just sits there after the excellent golf-course sequence, with Ben's appearance having the initial effect of making everything beforehand seem more important than in truly was. This, coupled with the season premiere, established major, deadly stakes for the show post-Island, but could have achieved that with a much better episode.

Final Score: 5.5/10

#6)    The Beginning of the End

The good. The return of Jacob (and Christian!). Jack pulling the trigger. Abaddon. "I think it wants us to go back!" The establishment of the Oceanic 6.

The bad. The way-too-rapid split between Team Locke and Team Shephard. Naomi's hamfisted death scene.

The ranking. Given how gang-busters I went over this episode initially, you might be surprised to see how low this is ranked. But honestly, that's much more to do with the overall quality of episodes since it initially aired. The character of Matthew Abaddon gave a face to the danger the Oceanic 6, forced to lie for reasons still unknown about how they left the Island. And Papa Shephard's appearance sent mythology freaks like me into a tailspin from which we've only now started to recover. But as with most season premieres in the Lost universe, it answered nearly no questions while opening up a few hundred. Look back and see how many of the questions in this episode have since been answered. Exactly. That's my point.

Final score: 6.5/10.

#5)   Meet Kevin Johnson

The good. The logical explanation for Michael's existence on the boat. Mama Exposition. Mr. Friendly returns! The other possible reason for the faked wreck. The Island's power keeps Michael alive. The scene between Ben, Danielle, Alex, and Karl, palpably brimming with subtext. No new "WAAAAAAAALT!" screams.

The bad. Sayid's betrayal of Michael is understandable but out of character. The creepy way in which Lost decided to CGI Season 1 Walt's face onto that kid in the window.

The ranking. I'm choosing to look at this episode not as the last episode in this particular block so much as merely the midpoint of Season 4, as originally intended. As such, the cliffhanger's lack of oomph doesn't bother me so much. Overall, a strong episode that wisely chose to ignore more fantastical explanations for Michael's appearance on the boat in favor of one that rings emotionally true. The notion that the Island can keep people alive who still have "work to do" completely fascinates me and I can't wait to see where it goes. And even though I can't understand why Sayid was so quick to sell Michael out to Gault (cold, Sayid, cold), the show's never truly figured out how to make the majority of us emotionally invest in Michael. A few might pity him, but most of us keep an emotional arm's distance from this character, which makes his flashback compelling from a narrative perspective, but only from that perspective. Michael's character may yet be redeemed, but not just yet.

Final score: 7.0/10.

***

With that all said, leave your personal rankings below, ranging from #8 to #5. Feel free to simply list the episodes, or provide backup if you want. Come back tomorrow for my own Final Four. And make sure to email me questions/comments for this week's Letters from The Flame, or leave your thoughts below with a big ol' WAAAAAAAALT! at the top.

Ryan also posts every 108 minutes over at Boob Tube Dude.

Comments

I would rank them
8). Ji Yeon (back and forth off-island action not effective, killing off Jin without revealing heroic death stupid)
7). Meet Kevin Johnson (I didn't miss Michael)
6). The Other Woman - (Ryan's recap said answers and cleavage. I noticed cleavage and a lack of story)
5) Eggtown (Kate's backstory continues to lack interest)
4) Confirmed Dead - (No anticipation to backstories)
3) The Economist - (Sayid makes going to the opera interesting)
2) The Beginning of the End - (oceanic six jack sans beard, big reveal of Hurley)
1) The Constant - BEST EPISODE YET

David | Mar 24, 2008 7:17:27 PM | #

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Wait, where does it say that Walt's face was CGI?!?!?

Mark O. Estes | Mar 24, 2008 7:24:41 PM | #

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Oh, my bad, lol!

8) Eggtown
7)The Economist
6) The Beginning of the End
5) The Other Woman
4) Confirmed Dead
3) Ji Yeon
2) The Constant
1) Meet Kevin Johnson

I picked Meet Kevin Johnson over The Constant for #1 because I was drawn to the characters of Michael and Walt and always wanted to know what happened to them once they drove off on that boat. That episode satisfied me and then some.

The Constant is just good WAAAALLLTTT writing all around and I love that it was sort of a continuation of "Flashes". Again, this reminds me of every season of Buffy where Joss Whedon writes the best episode on the middle of the season (The Wish, Hush, The Body, etc.) On LOST, when a Desmond episode comes up you can't help but know that a great hour of television is headed your way.

Mark O. Estes | Mar 24, 2008 7:33:54 PM | #

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It's great that everyone's jumping the gun here, but if you keep spilling all eight we'll have nothing to discuss tomorrow!

Ryan | Mar 24, 2008 7:39:25 PM | #

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8) Eggtown (Kate's lackluster performance and lazy courtroom scenes. Aaron. Please.)

7) Ji Yeon (not knowing Jin's true fate and fast-forward/flash-back trickery)

6) The Economist (Sayid's flash-forward was just boring, until the end)

5) The Other Woman (Not bad, but I'm growing tired of the Jack/Juliet/Kate/Sawyer love quadrangle)

Shaggysteve | Mar 24, 2008 7:53:38 PM | #

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sorry ryan... :(

Mark O. Estes | Mar 24, 2008 8:21:36 PM | #

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I know that The Other Woman gave us some answers which was nice, but it also had some of the most cringe inducing dialogue this side of a Lifetime movie in it as well.

Easily the worst episode of the season.

Tim | Mar 24, 2008 10:34:47 PM | #

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I actually really didn't like Eggtown either.

My rank is:

8) Eggtown
7) Meet Kevin Johnson
6) Confirmed Dead
5) The Beginning of the End

I liked the latter 3 eps, but when compared to the remaining 4 eps (which we'll discuss tomorrow, or later today I probably should say at this point) they don't hold the same weight.

I could just as easily have flipped Confirmed Dead and The Beginning of the End, but I probably ranked them the way I did simply b/c: a) I didn't want to cop out and say I had a tie; and b) I used the premiere ep's added excitement for the return of Lost as the tiebreaker as I can safely say while I did anticipate every ep this year, the premiere was "the first present I opened."

I clearly liked the Economist more than most on here as I think I probably like the Sayid character more than most. Also, I think the reveal that Sayid was working for Ben was the biggest shock of the season to me thus far, as a result I hold the ep is higher regard.

Now I'm going to start to think about how to rank the other 4 eps. I'm going to have some serious inner monologue going there ;) I hope I don't let my mind wander at the wrong time tomorrow :D

Rishi | Mar 25, 2008 1:34:05 AM | #

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Just got caught up on all the posts since the last episode, and I (like the Klingon in Errand of Mercy) am most refreshed to see all the good, honest hatred of the Eggtown trial -- which I wrote about in detail shortly after that episode aired.

And yet, I'd still have to say that the worst episode -- due to the pure waste of a good ten minutes of screen time just for the sake of tricking the audience -- goes to "Ji Leon" (or whatever the Walt the name of the baby/episode was).

I think my favorites are obvious (hint: not a variable but a..), but in deference to Ryan's rules I'll wait to post them.

By the way, regarding this week's episode (which I liked a lot) I initially assumed it was the commandos who shot Karl and Danielle (flown to the island, reluctantly, by Frank), but after watching the episode a second time and seeing how the camera (Ben's POV) so lingers on how Karl is caressing Alex I'm no longer so sure. This, to me, is the primary question to be resolved in the next episode (or so).

"concerned" | Mar 25, 2008 2:02:13 AM | #

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Forgot to mention in my previous post: kudos to Ryan for the great good/bad overviews of each episode! Makes me want to watch all of them yet again...

And good catch about "Eggtown" being written by the same writers as "Stranger in a Strange Land" (the one episode I'll never watch again). Explains a lot.

"concerned" | Mar 25, 2008 2:13:05 AM | #

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Eggtown was just slightly better than Stranger in a Strange Land, but not much.

Being prone to light spoilers, Kristin at E! Online got my hopes up for this episode with proclamations of Lily's best acting ever and even saying it was an award-worthy performance. Now, I don't like or even trust Kristin very much at all, but was hoping she may be on to something. She wasn't.

My ranking:
8) Eggtown
7) Ji Yeon
6) The Economist
5) The Other Woman

Jeff | Mar 25, 2008 7:03:47 AM | #

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8) Eggtown- Kate's trial, lack of surprise at outcome and Aaron

7) The Other Woman- The Tempest is the least intriguing DHARMA station ever

6) Ji Yeon- I liked the trickery, but it didn't add much to the overall story

5) Confirmed Dead- Not an easy choice, but the disjointed flashbacks of the Freighter's left me wanting more (and not in a good way)

Will discuss faves tomorrow.

Blue Sean | Mar 25, 2008 7:20:51 AM | #

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Let's see...

#8 - Ji Yeon. DDK and YK do exceptional work as Jin and Sun, as always, but this episode left me all kinds of dissatisfied. The Jin flashbacks were a complete waste of time in every sense.

#7 - Eggtown. Not that I liked this episode better than Ji Yeon - I did not - but at least the flash-forwards actually moved the plot forward (or at least were intended to), no matter how poorly written they were. Unlike the flashbacks in Ji Yeon, which contained no useful information whatsoever and existed for no other reason than to try and trick the audience.

#6 - Meet Kevin Johnson. Got some answers - very nice - but I'm no fan of Michael. At least it wasn't a Jack epsiode, though. And having Sayid turn Michael in on the spot like that seemed so out of character it was jarring. If Michael had been the one to shoot Shannon, I could see it, but otherwise...

#5 - The Economist. Picking the bottom 3 was easy, now it gets harder. I liked this episode, but I think I liked the remaining 4 better, so this gets the No. 5 slot. And, really, the Sayid-works-for-Ben twist was the main great thing about this episode that I recall.

DanC | Mar 25, 2008 7:26:26 AM | #

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"The Tempest is the least intriguing DHARMA station ever."

Really? The Arrow was pretty devoid of intrigue as well. Except for the glass eye that haunts my soul to this day.

Jeff | Mar 25, 2008 9:19:30 AM | #

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The Arrow's pretty weak, I'll give you that. I think Coldplay said it best:

"I built a hatch...
I built a hatch for you...
With nothing there to do...
And it was called Arrow..."

Ryan | Mar 25, 2008 9:26:39 AM | #

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first off, im so glad you didnt put 'the other woman' in your least favs ryan - i loved that episode. it had some problems but that elizabeth mitchell is just phenomenal. i felt like i was the only one who liked it! that said:
8-Meet Kevin Johnson
7-The Beginning of the End
6-The Economist
5-Eggtown

Tonester | Mar 25, 2008 9:33:30 AM | #

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Tonester, I loved the Other Woman. Elizabeth is a goddess and always a joy to watch.

Jeff | Mar 25, 2008 9:49:04 AM | #

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Jeff- I don't really count The Arrow because we don't really know what it is. I have a feeling we will visit again at some point and find out more about it. Whereas we know most everything about The Tempest and it doesn't seem too intriguing.

If we never visit The Arrow again, then I agree that it is less intriguing than a poison-gas station.

Ryan- I hate you SO much for getting that stupid song stuck in my head!

Blue Sean | Mar 25, 2008 11:08:06 AM | #

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8)The other woman (love Elizabeth Mitchell didn't like the episode)
7)Meet Kevin Johnson (seemed rushed to get everything out in one episode)
6) Ji Yeon (saw the flashback twist coming from the first scene)
5)Eggtown (I liked info it gave but like most thought the trial was very bizzare)

Dee | Mar 25, 2008 11:17:12 AM | #

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Blue, for my sanity's sake, I truly hope we do revisit the Arrow.

Jeff | Mar 25, 2008 11:31:44 AM | #

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8) Eggtown--The only one I truly didn't like. (Was it ever revealed why that was the title, or did I just miss it?) I was shocked by the twist at the end, but I still did NOT enjoy that Kate was present for more than 10 minutes of the episode--especially since it involved Sawyer. (I love Sawyer, but when you put those two together, it's pretty easy to find their faults.) No me gusta nada Kate.

7)The Other Woman--I liked bringing back Goodwin and the Jack/Juliet (Jacket?) kiss, but Ben was kind of creepy with the whole "YOU'RE MINE!!!" thing and then they showed a rotting Goodwin. Yuck.

6)Confirmed Dead--I guess it wasn't too good because I don't remember much about it. Oh, there was some plane wreckage in the ocean. Oh! and it was flashbacks of the Chopperettes. That's about it. I don't even remember all the flashbacks.

5)The Beginning of the End--this is more by default just because I liked the remaining episodes better. It had Charlie, though--I miss that rock god so much right now. It was also a nice opener because I had been on new "Lost" withdrawal for 8 months or so. Hurley was good old (pscyho) Hurley, Abbadon was creepy, and Rose and Bernard were actually in the episode. I cried when Hurley told Claire that Charlie died though.

Lauren B | Mar 25, 2008 2:40:29 PM | #

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I don't think it was out of character for Sayid to rat out Mike. He's on the ship because he wants to get the 815ers off the island. Mike is preventing that. Sayid does not want to get in the middle of a Widmore/Linus P*ssing match. Of course, this will end up being a bad decision....

Puff | Mar 25, 2008 8:19:44 PM | #

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i couldn't disagree more about the Economist. It was my second favorite episode after the Constant. Sayid-centric episodes are always some of the best. I also would rank Hurley's episode third best so far.

steve | Mar 26, 2008 8:44:37 AM | #

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I can't believe so many of you hated Ji Yeon. It took the flashback-flashforward format and threw yet another twist into it.

And I think so many of you hated Eggtown because you still refuse to accept that Aaron is one of the Oceanic 6.

The Other Woman was the worst of the season thusfar, and I love Juliet. I mean, so little of interest happened.

Corey | Mar 26, 2008 9:20:29 AM | #

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The Other Woman was not only the worst episode this season, but I think the worst ever on LOST. Juliet is the other woman, the wife is a b**ch (talk about un-original), and Ben is suddenly obsessed altho we have seen no sign of this in past episodes. Definitely cringe inducing. On the flip side, the Constant was the best this season, and is definitely one of the best epis ever. Original story that played true to the characters history, with a very well written and powerfully acted ending.
Ann Marie

Ann Marie | Mar 26, 2008 2:35:50 PM | #

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Wow your really don't know what your talking about. "Meet Kevin Johnson" was great.

Kyle T | Mar 26, 2008 4:20:11 PM | #

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8) The Other Woman - a weak episode compared to past Juliet-centric stories; even the on-island storyline had no point

7) Eggtown - the Sawyer/Kate parts were the worst, but overall, I did like this episode

6) The Economist - Exciting but I didn't like the twist of Ben being in control in the future

5) Beginning of the End - Solid episode but disappointing as a season starter; didn't find the split of the group convincing (I was torn between this episode or another episode as #5)

Jared | Mar 26, 2008 9:08:28 PM | #

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Actually, Sayid's selling out of Michael is incredibly in character. He now identifies Michael as "one of them" and so he has no sympathy and no hesitation in taking whatever opportunity to make an "other" suffer.

Matt | Mar 27, 2008 6:02:20 PM | #

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I'd be curious to hear how they handled Walt's appearance in the last episode. I've heard speculation ranging from CGI to people insisting that it's just a different kid. I think it's probably special effects, but probably just reusing footage of the actor they shot three years ago.

I don't think Sayid was out of character. Michael shot Ana Lucia and Libby and set Ben free. Then he led Jack, Kate, and Sawyer to be captured. Why wouldn't Sayid screw over Michael at the first chance he got?

milo | Mar 28, 2008 12:40:29 PM | #

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