"Lost" The Constant (2008)

While watching "The Constant", it was the best television episode I'd ever experienced, bar none. Then I remembered the 7th episode of Twin Peaks' second season, the likes of Darin Morgan and Vince Gilligan's best episodes of The X Files, etc. and I calmed down a little bit. I'm writing this twenty-one minutes after watching the episode and my brain is still in overdrive.

If there was ever any doubt that Lost is a science fiction series, I sincerely hope that has been cleared up. Lost is not only the standard for quality television at this time, it is also the standard for mainstream media in terms of intriguing sci-fi concepts. The variety of 'time travel' used in this episode (and possibly much of the remainder of the series) is not entirely original, but it's most certainly different and it's pulled off in such a fascinating way. For an avid reader of science fiction literature, this episode represented the re-introduction into mainstream television of the sort of intelligent, concept-based literary science fiction we rarely see outside of novels.

There's no point trying to recap this episode- so much happened. The episode puts a magnificent spin on the 'flashes' concept introduced in "Flashes Before Your Eyes", creating an original timeline which cannot be manipulated but at the same time contains many concurrent events. There are no paradoxes at work here, but boy oh boy is this a packed and complicated timeline.

This is the first episode of Lost ever not to have two separate narratives going at once. The 'flashback/flashforward' aspect is brought directly into the 'island events' and it makes for a thoroughly captivating, mold-breaking episode. This alone makes for a unique hour of television. The Desmond/Penny relationship always felt the most genuine, and never descended to kitsch like certain other romances on Lost, and the emotional payoff for the buildup over the past two seasons is very much worth it.

Back to my opening paragraph. I said "The Constant" was possibly the greatest television episode I'd ever seen. I don't know for sure if this is true, but it is most definitely one of the best ever written. So rarely has any series rewarded fan investment as well as Lost has with this episode. I can see this episode being criticized by some for its clearly and plainly stating that Lost is a science fiction series. Well, maybe they should have stopped watching when the ever-manifesting and summoning Walt, a freakin' smoke monster, 'cursed' numbers, etc. showed up.

Where was I? Oh yes, an absolute triumph. There will be people talking about this episode 30, 40 years in the future. This episode has forever cemented Lost as legendary.

10/10, no question