Entertainment Weekly's 10 Critical Episodes

Tonight's the night! I'm super pumped for the new episode.

Special satellite phone shout out to Amber and all of her email subscribers. Welcome to the LOST Loophole, thanks for stopping by!

In other news, last week a character named Bram was impaled with a stake, which killed him. Bram=vampires=stakes to the heart Oh, the irony. I love you LOST.

Down to business. I often get the question, "I want to start watching LOST, but I feel like it it too late. What episodes should I watch so I can understand the show?". Entertainment Weekly's February 5th edition, took a stab at answering that question with their list, 10 Episodes You Need to Watch to Catch Up. Here's the list.

1. Season 1, Episode 1/2, Pilot

2. Season 1, Episode 4, Walkabout

3. Season 2, Episode 3, Orientation

4. Season 3, Episode 1, A Tale of Two Cities

5. Season 3, Episode 20, The Man Behind The Curtain

6. Season 3, Episode 22, Through The Looking Glass

7. Season 4, Episode 5, The Constant

8. Season 5, Episode 3, Jughead

9. Season 5, Episode 7, The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham

10. Season 5, Episode 16, The Incident

A few of my favorites made the list, including Through The Looking Glass (Not Penny's Boat!), The Constant (I cried a million tears when Penny and Dez spoke on the phone), and The Incident (I can't get enough of the opening scene with Jacob and the Man in Black).

How about you? Any episodes you think are essential that didn't make the list? Any favorites or least favorites? Let me know with a comment below!

Okay, we're all ready for episode two, airing tonight. I thought I'd kick it back to the 42 questions and list a few that I'd really like to hear about tonight.

Here's my thinking. Tonight's episode is titled: (highlight for text, this section has been SPOILER-PROOFED!) "What Kate Does". According to TV Guide: "Kate's on the run while Jack must do something that could jeopardize the life of a friend." (Does Jack have any friends left? So we're looking at a Kate centric episode. Below are the 7 questions I'd like to dip into tonight. I don't except that the creators can fully dip into 7 questions in 1 hour, but I'd like to at least get some pieces.

1. The numbers – First appearing in Episode 18 of Season 1 (Numbers), 4-8-15-16-23-42 have been part of LOST folklore from the very beginning. They help Hurley win the lottery, they must be typed into the hatch computer every 108 minutes or the world will end, they appear on Danielle’s map, they are the serial number on the door of The Swan, and they drive Leonard crazy, but what are their origins? With the Losties stuck in 1977, could Hurley actually be tied to the origin of the numbers that later drive him mad?

2. Claire Littleton – Our favorite island mother has been missing since Season 4, Episode 10 (Something Nice Back Home). We know she saw her father, Christian Shephard, leaves Aaron behind, and wanders off in the jungle night with her dead dad but we don’t know why! What happened to Claire that could take her from doting mother to jungle wander? Why did she leave Aaron behind? We see her in Season 4, Episode 11 (Cabin Fever) seemingly relaxed and Aaron-free sitting in Jacob’s cabin with Christian, but again we receive no explanation of why she’s left her child behind. Let’s hope Season 6 gives us some Claire related clarity!

7. Richard Alpert – If you have a pulse and are a fan of LOST, you’ve got to be wondering what the heck is going on with Richard Alpert (and I’m not talking about his guyliner)! He claims that Jacob gave him the ability to never age (can I get that in a bottle?), but we’re still not sure why. What brought Richard to the island? Why did Jacob select him to be his ‘advisor’? Does he have a relationship with Jacob’s nemesis? How old is this guy? One of my burning Richard-related questions comes from Season 3, Episode 20 (The Man Behind the Curtain). Richard meets young-Ben in the jungle, and this is the only time Richard’s appearance is different. His hair is long, his clothes are disheveled – what’s up with this? Why isn’t he clean cut Richard we’ve seen ever since? Weird. Let’s hope for some Alpert back story in Season 6.

14. Love quadrangle – Who ends up with who? – Don’t pretend you don’t want to know. Are you a Jate (Jack and Kate), a Skate (Sawyer and Kate), a Suliet (Sawyer and Juliet), or a Jacket (Jack and Juliet)? Whoever you’re rooting for, let’s hope this complex love story gets wrapped up in Season 6.

20. Aaron Littleton – is he meaningful to the island? – Born on the island in Season 1, Episode 20 (Do No Harm) Aaron Littleton has had a rough life. Bound for adoption, injected in-utero with the weird Dharma vaccine, kidnapped by Danielle, left in the jungle by his mother, taken back to the United States to be raised by Kate and Drunk-bearded Jack, and now in the loving care of Claire’s mother, rumors abound that Aaron is a very special little boy. Biblically speaking, Aaron is the son of Jacob, making him a significant piece of the island puzzle. Some even think Widmore is Aaron’s paternal grandfather, making the island connection to Aaron even stronger. Others speculate that Aaron died in-utero and was “resurrected” by Jacob’s nemesis. Still others think he’s the Adam of Adam and Eve. Much speculation for such a little boy!

33. The Horse from Kate’s Past – In Season 2, Episode 9 (What Kate Did) Kate encounters a horse from her past on the island. She thinks she is crazy, but when she sees the horse again later in the episode, Sawyer is with her and confirms that there is, in fact, a black horse in front of them. While this moment is seemingly unimportant, the creators keep revisiting the moment in clip shows, the kind that are meant to help viewers ‘catch up’ with the important moments of LOST. Does the horse mean something more than we first thought?

40. Who’s coming? - When Jacob bites the dust at the hands of Ben in Season 5, Episode 16 (The Incident) he’s last words to Flocke are “They’re coming”. Then he burns to death. I’ve got no idea who’s coming, do you?

How about you? Any questions you'd like to see answered tonight?