‘Lost’: All 6 Seasons Ranked, From Worst to Best
Lost crashed onto TV screens with a high-concept premise — a disparate group of Oceanic 815 survivors banding together to stay alive on a mysterious island — before evolving into a philosophical rumination on, among other themes, the cost of living and the power of redemption. Then there were the Others, the DHARMA Initiative, the Widmores, Jacob, the Man in Black, and all the other mythological elements that sent fans to the forums in frantic efforts to figure out each episode’s revelations.
Even now, 15 years after Lost’s May 23, 2010 series finale, new viewers are getting hooked. But as much as Lost was a crowd-pleaser in Season 1, the series started alienating fans in its latter seasons as it delved deeper into the island’s mythology and as flashbacks became flash-forwards and then flash-sideways. But Diehard Losties stuck around until the polarizing ending, us included.
Now, after years of retrospect, we’re ranking Lost’s six seasons. (Massive spoilers ho!)
6. Season 5
Whatever happened, happened, yes — but this season is certainly a mixed bag. The island becomes unmoored in time after Ben (Michael Emerson) turns a frozen wheel deep under the Orchid station, leading to all sort of temporal disorientation. Some survivors end up in 1974, some end up in 1977, and some stay in 2007, and poor Faraday (Jeremy Davies) is slain by his mother’s younger self. At least the season went out with a bang, as Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) sacrifices herself to set off a nuclear bomb in hopes of preventing the electromagnetic incident that got everyone into this whole mess.
5. Season 4
Speaking of time-travel, Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) absolutely shreds space-time fabric in the Season 4 episode “The Constant,” which turns out to be the most romantic installment of the series. But the rest of this strike-impacted season isn’t as compelling: The reveal that the freighter crew is not there to rescue the castaways leads to a protracted battle between Ben and Charles (Alan Dale) for control over the island. Meanwhile, Michael (Harold Perrineau) returns as Ben’s spy aboard the freighter but dies before reuniting with Walt (Malcolm David Kelley).
4. Season 6
More than a decade later, we’re still going back and forth on that series finale, which offered emotional closure as much as it left mythological threads dangling. Still, it’s hard not to tear up as the flash-sideways versions of our heroes reconnect, find their island memories flooding back, and realize their destiny is to “remember and let go.” Other highlights include “Ab Aeterno,” the origin story for Richard Alpert (Nestor Carbonell), and “The Candidate,” a heartbreaking sendoff for Sun (Yunjin Kim) and Jin (Daniel Dae Kim).
3. Season 3
Lost’s third season was full of highs, and the occasional low was quickly rectified. (Remember how quickly Kiele Sanchez’s Nikki and Rodrigo Santoro’s Paolo were killed off?) The castaways’ war with the Others escalates as Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly), and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) are imprisoned not just at a different DHARMA station but on a different island altogether. The arrival of a freighter offers hope of rescue for all the Oceanic 815 survivors, but just before Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) dies a heroic death to restore communication to the outside world — thus adding another “greatest hit” to his life — he discovers it’s “Not Penny’s Boat.” But the real surprise came in the closing minutes of the season, when what we thought was another Jack-centric flashback turned out to be the show’s first flash-forward.
2. Season 2
The mythology of the island goes deeper — as in, underground — in Season 2 as the castaways find Desmond living in the subterranean DHARMA station under the hatch and pressing a button every 108 minutes to save the world. Also, Oceanic 815’s fuselage survivors reconnect with the “tailies,” who’ve had an even worse time of it on the island. Lost’s sophomore season is packed with thrilling moments, including the castaways’ encounters with the Others, and Ben, in particular; the tragic deaths of Shannon (Maggie Grace), Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez), and Libby (Cynthia Watros); and Eko’s (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) face-to-face with the Smoke Monster.
1. Season 1
Lost became an overnight sensation not just by getting viewers’ adrenaline surging — with the plane crash and the ensuing fight for survival — but by piquing their curiosity with more questions than the show would ultimately answer. Why did Oceanic 815 fall out of the sky on a crystal clear day? Why does a polar bear live on a tropical island? Why is a French woman’s distress call being broadcast on a loop? Why is there a glowing hatch in the jungle? And what is that Smoke Monster that’s picking off survivors? Along the way, flashbacks revealed watercooler-worthy backstories about the survivors. Kate is a fugitive! Sun knows English! Locke (Terry O’Quinn) was paralyzed before the crash! And the launching of Michael’s (ill-fated) raft remains one of the most uplifting, touching scenes of television to date.
Naveen Andrews
Nestor Carbonell
Emilie de Ravin
Michael Emerson
Jeff Fahey
Matthew Fox
Jorge Garcia
Josh Holloway
Daniel Dae Kim
Kim Yun-jin
Ken Leung
Evangeline Lilly
Terry O'Quinn
Zuleikha Robinson
Malcolm David Kelley
Henry Ian Cusick
Jeremy Davies
Elizabeth Mitchell
Harold Perrineau
Maggie Grace
Michelle Rodriguez
Cynthia Watros
Ian Somerhalder
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Dominic Monaghan
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