Lost: "Greatest Hits" Review

The penultimate episode of Lost this season had Charlie running to, not away from, his date with death. Meanwhile, Jack unveiled is plan to dynamite The Others to hell, but a monkeywrench was thrown into that idea when Karl, Alex's boyfriend, came to shore to reveal that The Other's attack was coming sooner rather than later. Ben seems even more out of control and losing his grip on reality after his duel with Locke. A modification to the survivor's plan was needed, Jack was now going to take the survivors to the radio tower that Rousseau once manned and three men, Jin, Sayid, and Bernard volunteered to stay behind to help set off the dynamite.

Charlie's role was to swim out to a previously unknown hatch, The Looking Glass, and flip a switch so that Ben wouldn't be able to jam any outgoing radio signals. Problem is, the station is flooded, being underwater, and Desmond has forseen that Charlie will drown after he accomplishes his task. His death does pay the way to having Claire and Aaron rescued, says Desmond, and Charlie decides to sacrifice himself for that noble end.

As Charlie prepares for his death, he makes a list of his favorite memories. Among the list is his saving Sayid's love Nadia from a mugger, in an interesting crossover. But, at the top of his list, is his first meeting with Claire. The episode definitely pulled on the heartstrings of viewers, with Charlie's motivations and supposed destiny. In the end, Charlie survives getting into the hatch, but is then surrounded by some gun-toting bad mommas.

This was a strong set-up episode that will lead nicely into the season finale. Excuse me, the two hour season finale! It will be interesting to see if the the final episode of this season lives up to the hype!

4 Young Charlies out of 5.