14. “The Constant” – Lost, Season 4
It’s not exactly a Christmas special per se, but it does give us what’s easily one of the most emotional episodes of the series. It all comes to a dramatic and tear-jerking event on Christmas Eve, 2004.
This is actually the first episode of Lost that doesn’t rely on flashbacks to tell the story. Instead, we’re treated to the time flashes as Desmond experiences them between 1996 and 2004, and see just how much the Island’s electromagnetism has affected him. For a show that likes to push and pull the audience, this was a storyline we couldn’t wait to see come to fruition.
Christmas becomes more of a symbolic gesture in this episode for a couple that could never quite connect. There was a ton of buildup for Desmond to find Penny, the love of his life again, exemplifying the pain and heartbreak we sometimes are forced to face on our own journeys in love. What’s more amazing is that he knows he’ll find his ‘constant’ love again on the actual date he says he would. And what’s a more magical holiday than Christmas?
Of course, like any good Lost episode, there’s a ton more to this episode but we can’t get into all of it here. Longtime fans of the show say this is one that always causes the tears to flow, and even I can admit I cried upon rewatching it too.