...In Translation
But care I do and I was definitely excited that Terry O'Quinn won. He certainly deserved it and he does probably give a better performance that Michael Emerson as Henry Gale. But which is my favorite character? I am still not ready to say.
With that, let's roll ...
00:01 -- Jin has been on screen for about a minute and I already regret only putting him 5th on my list of Top 5 "Lost" Characters Not Named Locke or Henry Gale. I have shamed myself but not ranking him higher on my list.
00:02 -- Sun's dad is evil, and watching him now, when we didn't know he was evil, just makes even more evil.
00:03 -- I love that Jin still has the handcuff on his wrist. And what a look Michael gave Sun after she slapped him. A lot going on between those two at that point.
00:04 -- Ok, if you had to rate the people on the island based on who could look the most menacing and the sweetest, wouldn't Jin be at the top of both lists? How does he do it? And he doesn't even speak English! My shame knows no limits.
00:06 -- Lord, and how good does Sun look?
00:08 -- Does Hurley understand that people who don't speak English do not understand people when they are speaking English?
00:09 -- "Maybe we should get some rope, spend our Saturday alone together, and see what happens." -- Shannon. I just started liking Shannon more.
00:11 -- Sun vs. Kate: I think if you factor in personality, I gotta go with Sun. Kate is liable to get you killed.
00:12 -- Ah, the mystery of the raft fire. The least of the mysterious things that would happen.
00:13 -- Jin has been promoted to be special assistant to his father-in-law. The beginning of the end. 
00:15 -- Watching Jin in that man's house, you can almost pinpoint the exact moment he catches on.
00:17 -- If I had a sister, I would set her up with Sayid.
00:18 -- Sawyer is a dick.
00:19 -- "Should I be writing this down?" -- Locke. He's had two lines and he steals the episode.
00:20 -- Everyone gets a new life on this island, Shannon. Maybe it's time you start yours." -- Locke. Seriously, he just keeps stealing the show.
00:21 -- Every scene Sawyer is in reminds me how much I used to hate him. He really is an asshole.
00:22 -- Note to self: never "deliver a message" for a menacing Korean man.
00:23 -- Note to self: never "deliver a message" with a menacing Korean man either.
00:24 -- "I do whatever your father tells me." -- Jin
00:26 -- Great choice by the show to mess with the dialogue and put us in Jin's shoes.
00:27 -- I can't understand what Jin is saying, obviously, but it sure sounds insulting.
00:28 -- Hey, honey. Oh yeah, about that. Um, I can speak English. Remember how we were at the airport in Sydney? Well I was going to leave you there and hide in America. I'd been taking English lessons for months in preparation. Oh and I was banging my English tutor too. Honey?
00:29 -- "They've attacked us, sabotaged us, abducted us, murdered us. Maybe it's time we stop worrying about us and start worrying about htem. We're not the only people on this island AND WE ALL KNOW IT!" -- Locke. I'm sorry, I forget: Who is the man? Oh, that's right, Locke is.
00:31 -- Great scene between Michael and Walt. Michael wasn't yelling, for a change.
00:32 -- Apparently now Sun has forgotten that people who don't speak English don't understand English.
00:34 -- "I was ashamed of you." -- Jin. Finally, I thought we were going to go a whole episode without shame or honor.
00:36 -- Great scene between Jin and his dad. Somehow, Jin's asshole side seems much forgivable than Sawyer's. Must be my inherent racism towards caucasians.
00:37 -- GET SOME, SAYID!!!
00:38 -- "Do you have a dad?" Walt to Locke. Well, that's a long story, Walt. See it all started when my dad stole my kidney ...
00:39 -- "Why did you burn the raft, Walt?" As William Forrester might say, not exactly a soup question, is it?
00:40 -- "I like it here too." -- Locke
00:41 -- "Boat." -- Jin
00:42 -- "Son of a bitch." -- Hurley
I wrote the Diary on Wednesday night and have saved this part until Thursday morning so that I could sleep on it a little bit. I keep coming back to the same conclusion: this is my new favorite episode of "Lost" ever. I know, even I can't believe it.
Let me ask, what didn't this episode have in it? Great flashback? Absolutely. Great revelations (Jin learns Sun can speak English)? Definitely. Little bit of mystery? Walt burned the damn raft! Did Kate/Jack ruin the episode? Nope, they were hardly in it.
This episode hit on every cylinder. Were any of those elements I mentioned the absolute best ever? Absolutely not. But I think that any episode that gets a least a B+ in every possible category is an A+ in my book. I mean, even Shannon was good in this one!
Alright crew, I need help here. Is this worthy of the title of Best "Lost" Episode Ever?
Comments
Damn, I hate being the first commenter. I am wracking my brain, and I'll have to think about it and get back to everyone on the "best ever" ep. I know the Ep when Hurley wins the $$ is at the top of my list, and so is his "Dave" episode because of Libby at the end. The Ep from last season were Sawyer and Kate hook up is near the top ... I am going to have to research on that. This one, again, is pretty damn good for all the reason's you stated.
Posted by: Janelle | September 20, 2007 11:20 AM
Best episode? Nope, its really good but its not best episode. That one would have to go to "Through the Looking Glass". ~Best Ending~ I would give to the episode where Kate, Locke and Sayid go rescue Jack from the Others and find him playing football!
I'm glad you mentioned the distortion in dialog during the fight at the beach. I noticed it too and had to rewind it. Pretty weird feeling when you don't understand what they are saying but you could pretty much figure it out by the tone and its delivery. Jin did an excellent job insulting Michael, and whatever he said sounded REALLY bad!
There was so much mention of SECOND CHANCES and STARTING NEW.
Posted by: Janice | September 20, 2007 11:47 AM
Okay Janelle, this is getting freakier by the week. "Dave" is one of my favorite episodes. "in Translation" ranks pretty high as well as the "Man of Science, Man of Faith" and "Flashes Before Your Eyes" episodes. You cant beat the simplicity of season one, though.
Posted by: sarah | September 20, 2007 12:19 PM
A little off topic because I am a few episodes behind but I have a question. How long after the english tutor gets thrown from his window is the plane crash? And you can't use Sun's prenancy as your measuring stick. Thoughts? Something about the Korean time continum seems off to me- tutor affair, then potential runaway, then plane crash-it doesn't jive with me for some reason.
Please tell me at the end of all this some genius will put together everyone's storylines in the order they occurred so we can watch it that way. I would totally buy that. And if it is one of you all I have already claimed it as intellectual property and I get half of the profit!
And Libby in the insane asylum was a great wtf ending. I second janelle's observation.
Posted by: jen | September 20, 2007 12:21 PM
Ryan Seacrest did a horrible job. He wasn't funny. No one can compare to Conan O'Brien. He did a awesome job.... and I was so happy for Terry O'Quinn!!! You can definately think that Jin is the meanest character and then in the next episode think he is the sweetest character.. It's amazing. I've always loved this episode. The way Locke acts is awesome, and I've always loved the Michael/Sun storyline. It's just great. I don't think it's the best episode, but it is definately one of the best.
Posted by: hersheygal | September 20, 2007 01:15 PM
Ever notice that Daniel seems to have his own little harem going here? Where are the men posters who used to stop by?
Sarah, I think we fall into the love/hate relationship with Locke group who happens to love/love Sawyer and Hurley, too.
Posted by: Janelle | September 20, 2007 01:34 PM
Ha! Janelle you are so right! What ever happened to all those guys? Maybe thats why everything is so peaceful now. Although I do miss the posts by Daniels dad. :-)
I think everyone's idea of the best episode of Lost will differ because I think we all like different aspects of the show. Personally, it doesn't get any better than "Walkabout" (Locke was in a wheelchair, WHAT!?!?) and "Raised by Another", not just because of what the psychic says to Claire, but also because of Hurley's realization that Ethan wasn't on the plane. You all might disagree but those are two moments that define what Lost is all about for me!!
Posted by: Stefanie | September 20, 2007 02:36 PM
I love this episode too but my favorite of season 1 would have to be "Do No Harm"...no contest. Even though Jack plays a major part of that episode and I HATE Jack it puts you through every emotion possible in one hour and then ends with a death and a birth.....awesome television.
And about the people who don't speak english not understanding english: Is it just me or do people tend to talk louder and slower to try and get them to understand? I've even noticed people (even myself) suddenly develope an accent to try and help them understand.
Posted by: Angel | September 20, 2007 03:28 PM
I knew Ryan Seacrest was going to be a bad choice. I don't think anyone thought he would be funny because that's not his thing, he's not a comedian. But I'm not really sure what the producers thought he had to offer that made them choose him.
Anyway, I too enjoyed this episode a lot. I think I liked the end with Locke and Walt. Locke knew he burned the raft and we see that they both want to stay on the island. Their connection is becoming more and more clear. I'm still hoping this will come up next season.
Posted by: sus | September 20, 2007 06:15 PM
Daniel, I think the Sun and Jin episodes from each of their perspectives are unique and definitely rank up there. Jin is also the most unique character in that he can do so much with his expressions. Not to mention the fact that he is HOT! "Walkabout" and "Man From Tallahassee" are tops for me because, as I always say, LOCKE ROCKS! And what episode had more great lines than Tallahassee? Ok, no honor or shame, but still!
And the lines that Jin hears? They are the actual lines run backwards so they sound like jibberish.
Posted by: cathead67 | September 21, 2007 07:06 AM
Oh, and good point about the guys! Where are you?
Posted by: cathead67 | September 21, 2007 07:48 AM
While I love love Sun and Jin's flashbacks and have said many times they are my favorite, and this one was just heart wrenching for me with the airport scene and all, I don't know about best EVER. Very very high up, but it's missing the OMG - island revelation that makes a perfect show for me. Could be best flashback story, second to Locke's of course. :)
Maybe the guys don't feel like talking about the old shows. At least we don't have nasty comments now, not that I blame just guys or anything, but you gotta admit..... by the way, I finally caught part of the TMZ show at my sister's house and I said to her, leave it here I want to see if I can pick out Daniel the Lost guy. She thought I was crazy but I don't think I saw you Daniel. They showed a lot of that blond guy with the long hair. Cute and all, but not much going on upstairs.
Posted by: Carly | September 21, 2007 11:53 AM
Ladies, your male poster has arrived.
This episode is very, very good, but like Carly said, it's missing the "OMG island revelation" to make it the best for me.
"Flashes Before Your Eyes" was a favorite because it stands out in a season when the flashback reveals started to get exceptionally boring (Jack in Phuket, Hurley's dad, Desmond meeting Penny) or predictable (Jack and Claire are siblings, the woman blackmailing Sun was Jin's mother, Locke's dad is the real Sawyer).
Up there for me "One of Us" (mostly because I
Posted by: Ryan | September 22, 2007 09:54 AM
im really happy that you liked this episode..i think it is one of the most underrated episodes of season 1. most people forget about it because it was a sun and jin episode. but yea, its a pretty great episode..the scene where sun reveals her english and locke gives his speech has to be one of the most intense lost moments ever. and then it ended with a nice music montage and then the cd player breaking..lol. it is a very solid episode, so i guess it could be ONE of the greatest
Posted by: kevin | September 22, 2007 11:04 AM
All the men seem to be posting at the bottom here. I doubt anyone will read any of this now that it's been up for so long, but here goes! I watch all my lost episodes on the weekend, and now with the new season of shows starting, I hope I don't fall behind. I have to agree with Angel that "Do no Harm" is my favorite. It does have a lot of emotion, I never expected (or wanted) Boone to die, so It had that kind of suspense to it. The moment where jack struggles on weather or not to cut Boone's leg off...my word! I'm looking forward to seeing that one again!
Side note: Terry O'Quins win was the highlight of the show. I was so happy, though I was rooting for Micheal Emerson. The emmy's pleased me also in that Sally Field and Katherine Heigl also won. Two of my favorite ladies of Drama!
Posted by: George | September 23, 2007 12:49 PM
My favorite episode of season 1 has to be Walkabout because of the twist with Locke in the Wheelchair. My favorite episode out of season 2 has to be The Other 48 Days, because it showed us what the tailes were up to. My favorite episode out of season 3 is The Man Behind The Curtains.
Posted by: Bigdog | September 23, 2007 04:26 PM
This is one of my favorite episodes as far as character interractions. I don't think it's the best episode though. I think Numbers was better for season 1.
My season 2 favorites are the one where we learn about Ecko's past (i can't remember the title), and Lockdown.
Season 3 favorite by far is The Man Behind the Curtain
Posted by: Jenz | September 24, 2007 06:27 AM
I watched a scratchy copy online while frosting 48 cupcakes - and I liked it so much that I want to go and rent an actual clear copy. Michael continues to drive me bananas and really, it's ALL HAROLD'S FAULT! I don't think it's the writing. Really love Yunjin Kim as Sun - I think she's very underrated. Excellent episode. If you want a "Lost" giggle, follow this link to Ack's latest re-caps. She always makes me laugh. http://ack-attack.livejournal.com/428714.html#cutid1
Posted by: Polly M | September 24, 2007 12:32 PM