Reception
The original broadcast of "The 23rd Psalm" was on January 11, 2006 on ABC, being preceded by a clip show titled "Lost: Revelations". It was watched by approximately 20.56 million American viewers, being third in the weekly audience ranking, behind the AFC playoffs and Desperate Housewives.
Reviews for "The 23rd Psalm" were mostly positive. Entertainment Weekly's Jeff Jensen gave the episode an A, describing it as a "wonderfully strange parable about redemption and fate". Mac Slocum of Filmfodder.com considered the episode a worthy return after the two-month break, saying that Eko's "simple looks and simple phrases pummel the screen with gravitas and charisma". Ryan Mcgee of Zap2it considered highlights of the episode the scene with the Monster, and the flashback, which in his opinion " so great a job at explaining an entire character so succinctly". IGN's Chris Carabott gave the episode an 8.3 out of 10, praising the development of Eko's character and the flashback.
Writers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof's script for "The 23rd Psalm" was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. IGN ranked "The 23rd Psalm" 40th out of the 115 Lost episodes, calling the flashback "one of most action-packed and ambitious on the series". A similar list by Los Angeles Times ranked the episode at 49th, describing it as "a great first chapter that sadly never got a worthy follow-up."
Read more about this topic: The 23rd Psalm
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