I remember how long and excruciating the wait was between the end of Season 3 and the start of Season 4. The way they ended it on last season's cliffhanger had me on edge, waiting for the premiere and did The Beginning of the End ever deliver. Even now, having watched this episode a few times over, it still delivers. The whole arc with Hurley in the flash-forward, ending up in the Nut house and leaving us with the idea that he, Jack and Kate (so far) did something terribly wrong on the Island before getting rescued sets up Season 4 in a way that piqued my curiosity like never before. Everything I knew or thought I knew about the series went out the door with this episode in particular. And the fact that they brought Charlie back changed the playing field for what the series and more importantly who Hurley was, was in fact a game changer.

I thought it was good to have a tribe divided with half the people going off with John Locke and the other half siding with Jack. Awesome episode.