Only one season of Lost is ideal, according to Rotten Tomatoes

Perfection is hard to come by, as the word itself suggests. However, precisely because of how difficult it is to achieve, we often look for perfection when it comes to popular culture. The movie world these days is partly dominated by how well a movie does based on its scores on websites like Metacritic or the ever-present Rotten Tomatoes. This is not a new trend either; As far back When Toy Story 3 hit theaters in the summer of 2010, people paid a lot of attention to the question of whether or not some beloved films could score 100% on the aggregator site.. The dark side is when people get angry at critics for daring to go against the grain, even if it’s impossible to believe that someone might not enjoy the latest exploits of an anthropomorphic game series. A more recent example of this was when the deadpan and amiable Hugh Grant mocked a critic, two years after the release of the very cheerful film. ‘Paddington 2’ gives a negative review of the film just to change the outcome of the film 100%..

For now, of course, Rotten Tomatoes tabulates reviews of TV shows and other pieces of culture that don’t make it to the big screen. Not that this type of compilation is an exact science to begin with, but it’s particularly challenging with TV reviews — especially those for non-current series. This is true even for big-name shows, ones that were inescapably popular at the time and remain the subject of intense debate decades later, and there’s no better example of this than ABC sci-fi drama “Lost.” Before JJ Abrams brought both Star Wars and Star Trek to life on the big screen, and before Damon Lindelof earned the wrath of some people on the Internet with his interpretation of the Alien saga, there was Lost, a diverse band. A plane crash survivor attempts to escape a mysterious deserted island while also trying to discover its many puzzling secrets. The six-season series became almost as divisive as it was when it aired from 2004 to 2010, and ushered in a lot of copycat shows that blended sci-fi, adventure, romance, and other subgenres. And yes, it’s true: “Lost” boasts one season that received a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes, and if you know the series well, this isn’t the season you think it is. The first season, which established the series’ dramatic arcs and templates and earned an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series? No, season 4, which helped re-establish and focus the series finale? not quite. No, according to Rotten tomatoesThe “perfect” season of “Lost” is season two.

For those who don’t know “Lost” well (or at all), a very brief refresher: By the end of Season 1, two halves of the survivors are introduced. On the one hand, there was Jack Sheppard (Matthew Fox), a doctor with paternal issues who only believes what he can prove with science and facts. On the other hand, there was John Locke (Terry O’Quinn), who believed the island had a mysterious purpose for its survivors, largely because when the plane crashed, he had been inexplicably cured of the paralysis that kept him in a wheelchair. Luke was desperate to dig a strange hole buried in the woods, while Jack just wanted to go home and bring as many people with him as he could. The first season ended with the two reluctantly teaming up to detonate some explosives to open the hatch, looking down into a long tunnel.

Season 2 technically set out to answer some of the questions the audience had, but in doing so, it only created much, much more. a lot More questions. Yes, the hatch opened… revealing one man inside (Desmond Hume, played by Henry Ian Cusick) who was entering a bunch of numbers into an old-fashioned computer every 108 minutes, because he thought it would save the world. world. The main group of survivors also learned that the plane’s tail section had not been destroyed, but had landed elsewhere on the huge island, and that those who had managed to survive the crash had suffered much greater trauma. Some new characters are introduced, such as LAPD officer Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez), dentist Bernard (Sam Anderson) who is believed to be dead, the quiet but tough Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), and the leader of a group of new characters. The group known as The Others initially appears to be named Henry Gale (Michael Emerson).

In short, a lot Things It takes place in the second season of “Lost”. And while some of this stuff is memorable for good reason — the slow-motion scenes with Locke and “Henry Gale” are among the most suspenseful and effective the show has ever done — a lot of it is frustrating, maddening, and annoying. So, to return to the point of this article: Tfor him Was the only season of ‘Lost’ that had a perfect score? this? Now, to be fair, this fan of the series did not specify that the single worst episode to air in Season 2 of “Lost.” (No, that would be it “A stranger in a strange land” An episode so bad that it inspired the showrunners to explain to ABC that if they didn’t get a set end date, the quality of the show would be that bad because they would have to keep hooking the characters and the audience from before its secrets were revealed.) Not every “Lost” fan will say Season 2 is the lowest point, but the fact that this got 100 percent is kind of amazing.

Of course, context is important when we look at numbers and reviews like these. First of all, there are only 17 reviews on the site for Season 2 of “Lost.” When you compare this to films that were released around the same time, it’s easy to see that the show has far fewer reviews to compile, making it technically easier for the show to get a perfect score. (Fun fact: The second season of the series had the fewest reviews on the site, compared to the other five seasons.) Second, a TV series review is very different from a movie review. When you review a movie, it’s just one story. For television, a review can include an entire season or a single episode. To wit, if you even look at the quotes from the 17 reviews, it seems safe to assume that more than a few of them are specifically reviewing this season’s (admittedly excellent) premiere, “Man of Science, Man of Faith.” Would those same critics have argued that the season as a whole was as effective as that episode itself? It’s hard to know for sure, but for this writer, while some episodes and scenes are amazing, the season as a whole is among the weakest.

It’s a testament to the power of “Lost” that people can still debate its meaning after all these years. (No, the survivors weren’t in purgatory the whole time(And no, this is not a call to say they were.) It is a testament to the success of the show that any Of its seasons, it has a score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. If this kind of ranking were easy to achieve, this wouldn’t seem like such a big deal. (Ratings for other seasons range from 69 to 96 percent, with the final season ranked lowest; that’s not as much of a surprise as this season’s perfect score is a shock.) “Lost” was a unique show, merging familiar culture. tropes with unforgettable characters, amazing twists, and unforgettable images. It was an excellent show, with many perfect episodes. But the fact that its only perfect outcome came with one of the most up-and-down seasons is evidence of just how divisive the show really was.