The Constant > Dr. Linus.

as much as people are freaking out about last night’s episode, and calling it better than what could be argued as the best episodic medium in the history of television, is just nonsense.

while last night was amazing in the sense of development of the flashsideways and Ben as a character after following him for so long, it didn’t do the single thing that The Constant did, and that’s validate the series.

last night, the writers validated Ben. which is great. he’s a fan favorite. we’ve followed his deceptions up and down and been even more confused by his motives than the bigger questions that the series tells of us. but last night was really about Michael Emerson’s acting, especially the confession to Illana. if he submits that episode for an Emmy nomination, let’s face it, he’ll get it.

however, where Dr. Linus differs from The Constant is that we all knew what we were getting into. The Constant did the biggest thing ever for LOST, and that was validate it as the sci-fi craziness that we always expected, but never got a true definition of. before The Constant, there were issues of big business, fate, money, family, and plain and simple, survival. but as Desmond jumped through time and Faraday explained what was happened, everyone went: “okay, well, this is what it’s all about.” time travel in itself raises a series of questions about paradoxes and alternate universes, but with The Constant, they were able to keep these questions null-and-void, none of them mattered, because we were based in Desmond’s love for Penny.

now, with the flashsideways, and the complete validation of the mindfucks that we come to expect from LOST, they really have nothing to lose in the sense of wrapping up characters and making sure that they all get the true storyline ending that they deserve. while Ben got his last night in the sense of character structure, we all know that it doesn’t mean he’s done messing around with people on the island. even though his supposed ‘last’ secret has been revealed, what’ll Locke do now that Ben has seemingly chosen his side and offer him the position that he always seemed to have wanted and tried to earn, especially now that Whitmore has decided to show up? that’s the true question of last night.

so plain and simple, while it was an above-par episode, i don’t think that anything will ever come close to not only what The Constant meant for the LOST mythology, but for television in general. it validated having something weird, sci-fi, non-linear, and episodic on basic TV. something that we would usually only expect from premium or cable shows, and even on those networks, when you mention the words ‘science fiction’, everyone gets all iffy. so yeah.

the final season of LOST has set itself up well to end, and while next week seems like a filler love episode for the whole Jack-Sawyer-Kate thingy, at least the week after that is a Richard focused episode, and after his reinstatement of faith in the Island last night and his enigmatic presence ever since the first season; THAT might be the episode we’ll all remember the most from the final season. just think about it.