If the “Greatest Hits” episode of Lost proved one thing, it’s that the writers of Lost are stealing my “Top 5 of Awesomeness” idea and incorporating it in their show.  Jealous much?  Fine, fine, you can make it up to me by having me write for your show.  Deal?

Maybe not.  Still, as the penultimate (and really, how often do you get the chance to use that word?) episode, it was a terrific way of setting things up for the big climactic two hour finale, which I’ll watch on TiVo right after I find out that Jordin won Idol.

In the meantime, who’s ready for five awesome things?

EVERYBODY GETS A LINE.  EVERYBODY!  - Well, except Locke.  People often gripe that such-and-such episode didn’t have such-and-such character in it, and I’m typically annoyed by that complaint.  I mean, there are roughly 108 people in the cast, so each one of them can’t really be front and center every week, otherwise each episode would be about 7 hours long.  Which wouldn’t be all that bad of a thing, considering what some of the networks are going to be putting on the air next season.

Oh, and side note to CBS: Your new show “Moonlight,” the one about the vampire who is a private investigator and hates other vampires?  Yeah, I would go back to whoever pitched that show and make sure he/she is not just copying scripts from the show “Angel,” which, if you didn’t see it, was on the WB and was about, hmm, how should I put this, THE EXACT SAME THING.  Come on.

Anyway, giving the complainers nothing to complain about, nearly every character was integrated into the storylines of this episode.  With the exception of Locke (and, if you have to get technical, Tom/Mr. Friendly), the following characters were part of “Greatest Hits”: Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Jin, Sun, Claire, Charlie, Hurley, Desmond, Sayid, Rousseau, Rose, Bernard, Aaron, Naomi, Richard, Karl, Ben, Juliette, Alex, and even Vincent the dog made an appearance.  That’s an awesome episode right there.

EVERYTHING’S COMING TOGETHER – When I was ten or twelve and played video games, my favorites were the King’s Quest-style, pick-up-stuff-and-you’ll-use-it-later type games.  And I always liked that, knowing that at some point this bucket and mushroom I’d picked up would have a purpose.

Where am I going with this, you’d rightfully ask?  Last week I was reminded of how satisfying it is, like those games, when the time comes where we’re drawing together all these little plot points into the last big episode.  Rousseau getting the dynamite from the Black Rock?  Part of the plan to get the Others.  Sayid swiping that binder from the Flame station?  He used that to figure out how to infiltrate the Looking Glass station (and more on that in a bit).  Sawyer and Kate befriending and saving Karl?  Integral to the survivors of flight 815 knowing that the Others were coming early.

I’ve been burned by trusting some TV shows (X-Files) and rewarded by others (Buffy) for putting my faith in the fact that the creators of a show know what they’re doing.  “Greatest Hits” made me believe that I’m going to be rewarded, and that feels awesome.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS – First off, I’m a sucker for the introduction of every new hatch.  With the exception of the Arrow (where the tail section survivors hung out, which was kinda boring), they’ve all been interesting structures full of surprises.  When we learned there was a new hatch, I’m sold.  Second, to get a payoff on what that electrical cable in the sand (something we saw in the first season) was fueling? Fantastic.  Take that, people who think the show doesn’t answer questions.  That there is some sort of radio wave jamming station would also go along way in figuring out how people from the outside aren’t running into the island on a regular basis (maybe the name comes from the reflection this station creates to make sure people don’t go “through the looking glass”).

But the best part of the introduction of the Looking Glass station was, well, seeing the station itself for the first time.  On a show that haa really distinctive visual style (most of it due to the fact that it’s filmed in Hawaii), the Looking Glass may have been the most elaborate station since the Swan.  It looked like a cross between a James Bond villain lair and the movie the Abyss.  The Looking Glass, you must agree, was pretty awesome.

CHARLIE’S REDEMPTION – I’ve been on the fence about Charlie for a few months now.  I know there are lots of Lost fans who are terrified of seeing him die, but I was always okay with it.  If it moved the plot along, so be it.  So it was really nice to see Charlie redeem himself for his past bad behavior with both a sacrificial act and a set of flashbacks that, for the first time maybe ever on Lost, focused on all the good things in a character’s past, and none of the bad ones.  To have Charlie list meeting Claire as the greatest moment of his life was a nice little cherry to put on the top of that list. 

Still, Charlie’s a weak enough character that I did believe, at least for a second, that he might let Desmond go in his place into the station.  When Charlie knocked Desmond out, you knew that maybe a pure, sacrificial death to save Claire and Aaron might be the best way for Charlie to go out.  (Oh, and by the way, Lost writers, often people who get hit on the back of the head with a blunt object say, “Oww, why’d you do that?” instead of getting knocked out immediately, as, oh, everyone on Lost does.  Just a minor quibble.)

Things didn’t go like Charlie planned in the Looking Glass, though, but whatever way he goes out (or doesn’t), the redemption of Charlie was well-deserved.  And awesome.

THE BIG CHESS MATCH – Finally, what the penultimate (there, I did it again) episode should do is get you ready and excited for the season finale, and “Greatest Hits” succeeded wildly at doing that, making it like a great chess match (or battle plan, if you prefer) heading towards the endgame.  All of the pieces are moving: Jack taking most of the castaways to the radio tower; Bernard, Jin and Sayid getting set for the Others; Charlie at the Looking Glass; and the Others coming early to take the women.  Except for the flashbacks, “Greatest Hits” was just plot barreling down, picking up speed, and throwing us into the final episode.  I’m excited, because it’s going to be awesome.

Okay, that’s it for me.  Looking forward to the big finale and then, sadly, no Lost for a while.  Somehow I feel “David’s Top Five of Awesomeness” about Celebrity Fit Club just won’t pack the same punch.  So let’s enjoy Lost while we can.