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Twenty years ago, Ocean Flight 815 crashed on prime-time television and permanently altered viewers expectations of the medium.
More than 18 million people tuned in to that debut, and a pop-culture phenomenon was born.
Throughout six seasons,Losthad its ups and downs in quality.
that they sometimes couldnt see the whole forest (jungle?)
Many of them are flat-out great.
But all are crucial to understanding what made, and still makes,Lostsuch a singular viewing experience.
20.The Incident (season five, episodes 1617)
20.
Does their future-altering plan work?
The episode ends without telling us: classicLost.
19.The 23rd Psalm (season two, episode ten)
19.
18.Abandoned (season two, episode six)
18.
It was surprising in the first season when principal character Boone Carlyle dies after sustaining injuries from a fall.
Shannons death results in enormous heartbreak for Sayid, who had fallen in love with her.
17.The Variable (season five, episode 14)
17.
This episode demonstrates just how deep into time-travel theory season five was willing to go.
Very few shows of the time were able to integrate lofty scientific principles so organically into their story lines.
16.Ab Aeterno (season six, episode nine)
16.
And they implied it would probably be good if we got them a little present.
Regardless of whatever was going on in the writers room, the onscreen result was terrific.
15.The Candidate (season six, episode 14)
15.
Twitter was full of distraught people that night.
14.Live Together, Die Alone (season two, episodes 2324)
14.
13.The Beginning of the End (season four, episode one)
13.
12.Expose (season three, episode 14)
12.
11.Orientation (season two, episode three)
11.
10.One of Them (season two, episode 14)
10.
Lostwasnt shy about killing off characters, but it also wasnt afraid to turn small roles into bigger ones.
(He won a Supporting Actor in a Drama Emmy, too.)
9.Exodus (season one, episodes 2325)
9.
But the very end was what got people talking.
Some viewers were annoyed and thought this was a cop-out; others appreciated the sense of mystery.
Those divided fan factions would continue to battle for the entirety ofLosts run.
8.Numbers (season one, episode 18)
8.
7.Man of Science, Man of Faith (season two, episode one)
7.
It also earned the highest ratings of anyLostepisode, with more than 23 million viewers.
6.LA X (season six, episode one)
6.
(It didnt.)
Just dont talk about the stuff that involves the temple; its very boring.
5.The Constant (season four, episode five)
5.
Many consider this the finest hour ofLostever made, and its tough to say theyre wrong.
4.Walkabout (season one, episode three)
4.
BecauseLosthad not yet trained us to expect such surprises, this was a genuine gasp inducer.
3.The End (season six, episodes 1718)
3.
You didnt like it at first buthave recently reassessed it.
Just yo, lets all agree, once and for all, that they arent dead the whole time.
2.Pilot (season one, episode one)
2.
Guys, where are we?
Dominic Monaghans Charlie famously asks in this episode.
Viewers might have asked themselves the same question.
TheLostpilot was mainstream television with an ambitious self-assuredness we had rarely seen before.
1.Through the Looking Glass (season three, episodes 2223)
1.
Twenty years later, were still going back.
