Releasing Henry Gale

Best ending to an episode of Lost ever? It’s a tough call because it’s a crowded field of competitors all vying for the crown. It comes down to personal opinion and, for me, this takes the prize. The absolute jaw-to-floor interface the moment Michael takes the gun off Ana Lucia could be described and discussed for how much impact it generates, but better is to just watch the thing and see it for yourself.



How I watched this scene was like this: Back in Season 2, here in the UK we were well behind the air-times of the US. It’s all changed now, but back then pretty much an entire Season of Lost would have been shown in the US before it was shown in this country. I didn’t know or care about that back during Season 1, but once I realised the US was well into Season 2 whilst I was still sitting around waiting for it was truly an annoyance. (I wanted to know what the hell was down the hatch!)

So began the beginning of my downloading Lost before it was shown here and watching it on my computer. It’s a practice I still continue with, even though it’s shown in the UK just a few days after the US now. But back then I downloaded stacks of episodes and watched them all in my spare room, computer monitor pointed towards me. My girlfriend at the time, she didn’t care for watching television on the computer and was happy to wait for Lost to come on TV ‘properly’. So I invariably watched it alone.

When I watched the episode Two For The Road it was late on a Saturday night. I had no idea what I was in for. And then that scene played out, and the screen went blank and the episode was over. Past midnight, the house quiet and the world dark, I went to bed and could not sleep, mind reeling from the shock and astonishment at what Michael had done, and what was potentially going to happen next (had he killed himself as well!?).

No other episode ending of Lost has had such a profound effect on me, which is why I consider it the best of them all. I’d be happy to hear about your own particular favourites, though, and the reason why.