When you watch television, do you ever wonder why you should be watching a show in the first place? Not the passive consumption that constitutes the majority of television viewing experience, but the active engagement good programmes illicit from their viewers?

I've been a long time fan of LOST, and the episode, "The Constant" reaffirms my belief that the not only is this series an exemplar of modern epic story-telling, but that it approaches what can only be defined as Art. At the heart of all compelling modern fabrications is an archetype formed from our "collective unconsciousness", as Jung put it. All of the main characters in LOST exhibit this characteristic. Kate, embodies the proverbial "Girl-Next-Door", Sawyer embodies the "Bad-Boy", while Locke is "Prophet" archetype.

Desmond, the character whose story is revealed in this episode embodies one of our most important collective archetypes; the "Hero". We've corrupted the idea of "Hero" with muscle bound stereotypes devoid of the essential character of what "Hero" means. The physicality of the "Hero" is obviously important, for it allows our idea of "Hero" to surmount worldly obstacles, but the obstacles themselves are existential in nature. We associated the superhuman to the "Hero", but by embuing the archetype with a power rooted in the human experience as Desmond is, allows him to use it selflessly instead for self-aggrandizement.

The fact that Desmond's power is over time itself gives context and scale to the depth of his achievement.

For the "Hero" archetype to truly achieve universality, the "Hero" must also embody the idea of sacrifice. In Desmond's case, his sacrifice was Penny.

The Desmond in the past that was aware of the Future and the 2004 Desmond that was aware of only 1996 understood the circumstances of his displaced selves and accepted the unfolding years without hesitation. The realization that the apparent contradiction could only be resolved through 8 years of journey only made his sacrifice even more heroic in proportions.

Heroism is confronting an unequivocal outcome and having the courage to accept it. Desmond's story resonates for this reason; at the heart of all heroic acts is the promise of Hope. That the creator's of LOST managed to capture this essence of this conflict and express it in a 38 minute television episode is sheer artistry.