They Had to Go Back

Ten years after Lost ended, and after re-watching it for the first time, I’m taking a look back at the moments and people that made the show great. Today, it’s a look at legitimate tearjerker moments. Previously: an overarching review of the show.

There were a rich array of personalities on Lost and as characters grew throughout the series we inevitably were drawn toward outcomes and reunions that hit the emotional valves a little harder than normal. No “a little dusty in here” or other expressions to avoid saying you were crying, these were the moments that brought a few water droplets to the eyes. Most come from the final season, which may not have satisfied any mysteries of the island, but did a remarkable job in providing poignant conclusions.

#5: Sawyer and Juliet at the vending machine

This was a relationship that seemed to develop out of necessity, when both were stranded on the island and finally deposited back in 1974. It arrived suddenly and off-camera, and from an on-screen standpoint their time together was relatively short. However, it was obvious these two were perfect for each other. Both were strong-willed, stubborn, (and always quick with a one-liner!) and softened the rougher parts of their counterparts personalities. And they were so unfairly ripped away from each other. The happiness that for the most part eluded Juliet on the island came to fruition here, as well as Sawyer’s sarcastic, tough exterior falling away when Juliet gives him the candy bar.

#4: Jin and Sun dying in the sub

This one would rank higher on my list of heartbreak if not for the fact that their reunion became a contrived and drawn out farce of trying to reunite. They conveniently were never in the same place once Sun got back to the island, even when the entire Oceanic 6 crew was sent back to 1977. Then when they got back to 2007 and were in the temple Sun wasn’t there, or she was and then Jin was conveniently off on an errand. The same thing happened when Jack’s crew combined with Locke…only for Jin to be the only one on Hydra Island. When they finally saw each other it didn’t have much of an impact but this death is one of the saddest moments to occur on the show. Sun trapped in the sub and Jin refusing to leave her, (even with a baby he will never get to meet) simply holding hands and embracing as they die together is as sob-inducing as it gets.

#3: The final scene

Maybe it’s the perfect tone of the score during this closing montage, or the finality hitting of a show coming to an end, but the final scene of Lost builds to the inevitable of Jack dying, interspersed with shots of warm embraces with everyone together in a way that stirs up plenty of emotions. These are the happy tears though, of a satisfying and robust conclusion to a whirlwind of a ride the series took us on. Simple and poignant as Jack finally lets go and comes back to the bamboo field where it all began.

#2: Charlie dies

These final two moments are the impetus for the idea to write this piece, to chronicle the moments from Lost that are so memorable and stick with you even more than a decade later. I had forgotten some plot points and back stories but this scene (along with the next one on this list) claws deep into your conscious and never leaves. Charlie dying is the single saddest moment on the show. It completes a character arc that saw redemption and a chance at a wonderful life which had eluded him prior to the island. He dives down to the Looking Glass, knowing beforehand that somehow he will die, completes the task and shuts himself in the flooded room so that Desmond can escape. Charlie had also become a surrogate father to Aaron, and the cruelty of him dying just as he and Claire had gotten to the strongest point in their budding relationship makes this one hurt a little more.

#1: Desmond and Penny phone call

In 2018 the Ringer named “The Constant” the greatest episode of TV in this century. There is room to debate that claim but an undeniable truth from the episode is the most uplifting and pure expression of love in the entire series. Desmond and Penny’s relationship is the reason these two became great characters on the show. There is nothing else that comes close to the bond these two have, (which as we learn transcends the physics of space and time) in keeping them together. Desmond’s tragic odyssey of scorn and nonacceptance from Charles Widmore drives him to essentially an exile on the island, three years spent pushing a freaking button, and the whole time Penny was still looking for him. The fact that they finally connect, eight years after Desmond tells her to wait for a phone call, anchors him back to reality and serves as the nod to the title of the episode. Throughout Desmond’s most ridiculous ordeal it always has been and always will be Penny who keeps him going.