Let's start at the start: the first image we see is on LOST is an eye. Eyes turn out to be a recurring theme on the show, and most of the time they demonstrate which character we will be seeing the episode through the eyes of. Pilot has no real centricity in the traditional sense, but at least it establishes Jack as the show's main character.
There's also lots of other important things in the first scene before we even get to the plane crash set. We start off in the jungle. Some say this will turn out to be significant come the end of the show. Personally, I believe the decision was made purely for the lush cinematography it creates.
Another strange instance is the white tennis shoe hanging from a tree. Is it just simply to show something bad has happened? Maybe not, as white tennis shoes will be seen again later (see White Rabbit). At the very least, it introduces a primary motif for the show – black & white, which is shown one again later on when Locke holds up two backgammon pieces of either colour.
When we get to the beach the fun begins. Loud, chaotic and exhilarating. Arguably the best scene in all of LOST, and it’s the very first scene of the very first episode. Jack pulling people out of the wreckage is the perfect character introduction because we instantly see his selflessness and great leadership. We also catch our first glimpse at the first halves of three pairs – Shannon shouting for Boone, Michael shouting for Walt and Jin shouting for Sun.
The survivors are just settling down after the chaos when they hear the sound of the Monster. It sets the tone for the rest of the series – the Island is very dangerous. The next day, Jack decides to go to the cockpit with Kate and Charlie to look for a transceiver. The shot of the broken cockpit is one of the best shots of the episode, and the climb up inside it has great atmosphere. It’s not long before the Monster claims it's first victim – the Pilot. With these scenes, the episode uses lots of elements of the horror genre: unseen threat lurking in the shadows, main characters running for their lives, gory death, even the old foot-gets-caught-on-something cliché.
The second trek is another great moment. It was a great decision to involve so many characters on it – it plunges them right into the action. Also an interesting decision to give the leader a rest, by having him work on patient Edward Mars. It gives more airtime to the odd couple, Sayid and Sawyer.
What about the characters left off trekking duty? Sun gets the least screen time, but the most development. We see that she’s being repressed by her husband, but her little act of defiance when she unbuttons her shirt is a subtle, but indicative moment of her unhappiness. Michael is looking for his boy, which he seems to do quite a lot over the course of the series. Hurley provides the humour – fainting at the sight of blood, squirming after seeing Claire having contractions. But also shows his sweet side – giving Claire the food. Claire has some of the worst lines of the episode. After the trees are torn down from the ground, she asks "Did anybody see that?." It seemed that they couldn’t find her enough lines so they ended up making her say stuff that was superfluous. But we do get a cute moment between her and Jin, when her baby starts to kick.
Walt makes a worthwhile discovery – handcuffs, which leads the survivors to suspect one if them was a prisoner. It immediately establishes recurring themes in LOST – lack of trust and dark secrets. And also, intriguing questions – but this not one the audience will have to wait out long to know the answer to.
Rose has a far more prominent role in this episode than usual – she is Jack's first patient on the Island, shares a flashback scene with him on the plane and is in the background for several scenes. One suspects she may have originally intended to be a main character, and it’s kind if a shame it didn’t work out that way.
Surprisingly it is Locke, one of the shows main characters, has the least screen time. It makes sense though, because it builds up his mystique. In Pilot he comes off as an oddball – orange peel smiles, standing in the rain – but also extremely wise – reciting the origins of backgammon.
We are also introduced to the second of three major mysteries – the polar bear, in a tropical surrounding. A shocking reveal no doubt – but not as shocking as the flashback moment where we see Kate is a prisoner. Just goes to show – nobody on LOST is who you expect. And the moment is even better because of clues that you can see in hindsight – Kate rubbing her wrists when we first see her and her reaction when she us handed the handcuffs.
And finally, the third major mystery is introduced in the last scene: the distress call. Sayid picks it up on the transceiver - a French message which Shannon translates to mean "It killed them. It killed them all". And, just like the first part did, it ends with Charlie asking a question – Guys, where are we?
10/10 – Brilliant seminal episode that makes use of all its characters and provides shocks and thrills like no other
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