The Sweet Sixteen have now officially been selected and here they are in their pairings as we continue on to find out the greatest episode of LOST of all time.
First up is the Richard Alpert flashback episode
Ab Aeterno. A number one seed from the final season.
Jacob does not take Richard trying to kill him very kindly.
Hurley "reunites" Richard with his wife Isabella who died centuries ago.
VERSUS
Another season 6 episode this time it is
The Candidate a 5 seed. Jack operates on John after he is run down by Desmond in the flash sideways.
Claire and Jack find out they are related.
The four people Michael was told to bring back with him. Coincidence?
Ben Linus had so far been somewhat of a mystery to us by way of his web of lies. This was his first flashback which gave us a rather different back-story than we had first expected.
Ben shows John the mass Dharma grave.
VERSUS
A surprise 11th seeded episode from the fifth
Because You Left. Here we see Pierre Chang filming the orientation film for the Arrow station.
Hurley looking all tough holding a gun outside of the "safe house".
And so begins the time travel bloody nose trippiness.
Here we have a great pic from the number one seeded finale from the second season.
Live Together, Die Alone brought Desmond back to the island.
During the episodes flashback we saw that Kelvin, the same man who taught Sayid how to be a torturer, also painted part of the blast door map that Locke saw in Lockdown.
At the end of the episode Claire and Charlie shared their first kiss.
VERSUS
Exodus the 4th seeded season finale from the first season. We saw the Black Rock for the first time.
Locke encountered the smoke monster again. This time is seemed Locke felt differently about the entity.
The ensemble cast were all given flashbacks that showed what happened to each them just prior to boarding Oceanic 815
Our next pair to do battle will be
The Shape Of Things To Come. A number two seed from the 4th season. Vincent calls attention to the body of Ray, the freighter doctor, that has washed up on shore.
Meanwhile over at New Otherton; Sawyer saves Claire from the house she was in after it blew up.
Through the flash-forward we see just how Ben was able to get Sayid to work for him after the two left the island.
VERSUS
Just offshore we were able to see The Black Rock before it crashed onto the island.
The beginning of the "Dear Mr. Sawyer" letter that Jacob actually helped a young James Ford finish writing when he gave him a new pen.
Sun finds Charlie's Drive Shaft ring. This and more occurred in the 6th seeded episode titled
The IncidentMan Of Science, Man Of Faith is a 7th seeded episode that is also the second season premier. Here we see Desmond inject himself with some sort of vaccination.
After Locke begins to lower Kate into the hatch, he suddenly drops her and shortly after a bright light is seen coming from inside the hatch.
In the flashbacks we see how Jack was able to fix Sara's spine injury.
VERSUS
Cabin Fever is another surprise entry into the Sweet 16. An 11th seeded episode took us bedside to witness the birth of John Locke.
We see that John Locke was supposed to come to the island a lot sooner than he did.
"We're going to have to move the island.", was the advice Locke received from Christian, who may or may not have been speaking for Jacob. It could have been the MIB speaking through Christian.
Desmond switches consciousness with his past self as the helicopter he was traveling in passes through something that makes him go a little off kilter.
In the flashback we see Desmond meet Daniel Faraday at Oxford. Daniel tells Desmond about his experiments with his rat named Eloise.
At the end of the episode Desmond and Penny share a touching moment over the phone as Desmond's consciousnesses switch back. Something that could only happen if he was able to find
The Constant. A number 1 seed from season 4.
VERSUS
The number 4 seeded episode
Walkabout. John Locke woke up on the island after it crashing is flight 815. What we didn't know until the episodes flashback is Locke was paralyzed and in a wheelchair before the crash.
Hurley and Charlie try to catch fish.
Locke watches the fuselage burn and considers throwing his wheelchair into the fire.
The season 4 season finale
There's No Place Like Home is a number two seed. Here we see the moment when Sawyer decided to sacrifice himself so the rest of the group could make it back to the freighter.
After getting off of the island, Kate has nightmares about Claire coming to tell her not to bring "him" back to the island.
The Oceanic 6 are rescued after they were already rescued once by Penny.
VERSUS
Another surprise 11th seed that made it to the Sweet 16.
Jughead, from season five, brought about the birth of Charlie Hume.
Sawyer and his group met up with a very young Charles Widmore while time traveling on the island.
Desmond discovered the dangers associated with Faraday's experiments.
The final pairing brings us first; the one seeded
Through The Looking Glass. The season three finale was ground breaking in it was the first episode to feature a flash forward.
Yet another "we're all moving together to another part of the island together" moment. You'd know the music that accompanied scenes like these too if you are a real fan.
Taller ghost Walt tells Locke he has more work to do just before Locke was going to try and kill himself.
VERSUS
While on the exercise bike inside of the hatch, Locke hears a weird sound coming from the speakers as the hatch literally goes into lock-down mode.
In the episodes flashback we see Locke doing some dirty work for Anthony Cooper again. Cooper is supposedly dead but in order for him to really get "ghost" he needs John to get him his money. Locke agrees and it ends up costing him the love of his life, Helen.
VOTE: The Elite 8 will be announce by the weekend. Here's hoping that March Madness will be over before May gets here.