US: Season 2 in retrospect [**SPOILERS**]

sephirosis

From those first notes of "Make Your Own Kind Of Music" to that final scene on the Pala Ferry, we have followed season 2 with great interest often picking apart episodes to digest every bit of information we can find. This season, though, seems to have pulled opinions apart on whether the quality of the show is decreasing, whether the writers are draggin it out for all it's worth, or if this is all part of the original plan. So I wanted to have a look at the season as a whole, look at just how much development happened, especially in comparison with the first season, how much the plot was driven forward, what characters developed, what questions were answered, what new questions were raised, how was the mythology developed etc etc. I'm just trying to get a fair evaluation of the series as a whole and get some
discussion going with the whole season in retrospect. Note that this will be fairly long and contain myriad spoilers for the whole of the second season (I'll try keep out anything to do with the ARG but it may very slightly creep in). Oh and apologies in advance for any
spelling mistakes

I should start with where we were left at the end of the last season. You'll all remember the final shot of last season, the heads of Jack and Locke peering down into the shaft of this "hatch". The big questions we were left with were (this will not be extensive as I'll probably forget one or two, but it should make a pretty good summation):
I -> What is in the hatch/what is its purpose?
II -> What is the "monster"?
III -> Who are the "others"?
IV -> Why did the plane crash?
V -> Are there more survivors/is Roses's husband alive?
VI -> Why is there a plane with a priest with Nigerian money?
VII -> Why is there a polar bear on the island?
VIII -> Why is the black rock there?
IX -> What is Rousseau's story?
X -> What is with the seeming connexions between the castaways lives?
XI -> What is so special about the island?
XII -> What happened to Claire when she was taken?
XIII -> Just what is the deal with Scott/Steve?
XIV -> Why can Locke walk again?
XV -> Why did the others take Walt?
XVII -> What is the significance of 4,8,15,16,23,42?? (thanks sarahn11)
So which of these were answered???

I -> What is in the hatch?
Almost totally answered. We saw ALOT of the hatch during the season, we found out about Desmond and the button, noticed the magnetic force behind one of the walls, the blast doors etc. It seemes in episode "?" the hatch may have been just an experiment, but this all changed in the finale when we found out it's true purpose. What remains to be answered is some of the connections seen on the blast door (to other hatches etc), I'd also kind of like to know HOW it does what it does (this is unlikely to be answered, but being a physics student I'm curious).

II -> What is the monster?
Yes and no. We still don't know what ate the pilot, but we saw what it was that goes around uprooting the trees, presumably what Locke encountered early in season 1 and what tried to drag him into a hole later in the season. We got a nice close-up of it when Eko met it, even got a look inside it. We still don't know exactly WHAT it is however, though at least we know it's not a dinosaur/giant robot chicken/whatever. While not definitively answered, we at least got significant development on the monster.

III -> Who are the "others"?
Again yes and no. We find out they are taking "good people" for some reason, that they pretend to walk about in rags, apparently occupied a medical hatch, are armed and dangerous. Come the end of teh season, we see that they have apparently set up a small village as a front, even with fake hatch doors. However, we still don't really know their motives, how they got there, what they are trying to achieve, why they are taking people, what do they want with Kate/Jack/Sawyer. The thing is most of these questions were raised by season 2 itself. So while we got alot of new information, there remains alot of background we need to find out. I mean we dont' even know if they're
"evil", or if they are working for a good cause. Hopefully, they will be a major focus of season 3.

IV -> Why did the plane crash?
Almost a definitive yes. We know what brought the plane down, but I would still like to know what caused it to go off course in the first place. Possibly just a regular old equipment failure, and it's not that big a deal.

V -> Other survivors/Roses husband?
Yes, obviously this was fully answered.

VI -> The small plane/Nigerian priest.
Mostly no. We know who the priest was, why they had the drugs, but still don't know WHY its on the island, how it got the whole way from Africa

VII -> the polar bear??
Kind of. We see a shark with a Dharma branding, so it seems it was something related to Dharma, and we know Dharma are involved in Genomic experiments, so we assume they were breeding a polar bear to survive in warmer climates. this is speculation though so we don'treally know.

VIII -> the black rock?
No. just no. Lets hope we get to see it again soon.

IX -> What is Rousseau's story?
Not really. We learn a little more about her, meet Alexandra (so we know she isn't COMPLETELY insane and imagining everything), and find out she helped Claire when she was abducted. Still don't know why she is around either though, and what exactly happened her and her team, especially since the sickness is apparently bogus.

X -> The castaways connexions in their earlier lives?
No. I don't know if we'll ever get an answer, now that the crash appears a little more coincidental than previously thought. i still really like the crossovers, but a little explanation soon would be nice.


XI -> What is so special about the island?
Seemingly answered. Appears it has unique electromagnetic properties. Could be more secrets?

XII -> What happened to Claire when she was abducted?
Yes. Given a whole episode.

XIII -> Scott/Steve?
Lol, ok no, this will likely just continue as a joke, who knows. Slightly bizarre conspiracy theories out there saying one took the others identity when the other was killed. Unlikely, but you'd never know.

XIV -> Why can Locke walk?
Yes(ish). The islands "healing powers". Still not quite sure exactly what they are, but at least we have an idea. A more burning question seems to be how he bloody well ended up in the wheelchair in the first place. this will be answered, it's just a matter of when.

XV -> Why was Walt taken?
Related to III above. Kind of. Apparently he can do things like "appear where he shouldn't" etc. Still no idea what use he could have been to them.

XVI -> THOSE numbers?
Would have to say no not really. We find they have a greater purpose with the introduction of the computer, but we still don't know WHAT THE HELL THEY MEAN! Why was that dude in the mental home repeating them? Why were they broadcasting from a radio tower on Rousseau's arrival? Hopefully we will get an answer to the latter two, though frankly I don't see it in season 3 (unless it is to be the last, but I doubt that). As for the first, I'm not sure we'll ever know if and/or what the meaning is beneath them.


Ok bit of a mixed bag in terms of answers from season one. I for one was happy enough with this in terms of continuity, of course if all the questions were answered this would have been nice but they need to continue some of the mysteries over numerous series, and I would be confident that things like the black rock will be investigated more thoroughly in future seasons.

sephirosis

So how much was the plot driven forward in comparison with the first season. The first thing that must be remembered is that the first season encompassed approximately 40 days, and the second approximately 24, so there would be some excuse for more happening in the first season. The first season took us from the initial crash up to the opening of the hatch, introducing the characters and building relationships. It also introduced concepts such as the monster, the hatch, and the others. the second took us from the opening of the hatch to the first major encounters between the survivors and the others, introducing concepts like the Dharma Initiative, the Hanso foundation, Widmore and the
preceived "fakeness" of the others appearance. I would be happy enough with the amount of plot progression on the island, as we got alot of new concepts and more information on the previously known ones. We know far far more about the purposes of the island and the others than we did at the start of the season. One of the biggest complaints however has been the flashbacks and I feel these were pretty poor on the whole. the idea was nice in the first season, introducing the characters, but it felt that the second seasons flashbacks were just telling us alot of what we already knew already and then enlightening us on one small personality point to illustrate a reason for a
particular characters actions. As such, they seemed boring and far more detached from what was going on on the island than season one's.

Character development was pretty good itself I thought. Most development was done on-island, but what characters developed and how (again I apologise as I'll probably miss some things, and note this is mainly my own opinion)?:

Jack -> One of the worst this season, despite numerous flashbacks, in terms of development. Still struggles to deal with responsibility of being a leader and struggles to always do what is right.

Kate -> Again pretty bad in development terms. Realises she is free to start again, but to me at least, is still stuck in her Jack/Sawyer dilemma and tries to impress them whenever she can.

John -> Very good character development. Frustrated at living in Jack's shadow. Starts off with ultimate faith in the island, goes through a conversion into desperation after the pearl, and comes out of it again in the finale it seems.

Sawyer -> Good development, shows how badly he responds to authority and how far he will go for power. Should be a thorn in his captors side next season.

Charlie -> Good development. Struggles with temptation continually, seems he is finally overcome the heroin addiction, shows a cruel streak and a petty side, as well as taste for revenge. Goes on a little bit of a spiritual path towards the middle of the season with the dreams, and his aiding of Eko and building the church.

Sun/Jin -> Good enough. Still reconciling their differences and have their arguments, but their love always wins out. Sun's pregnancy is an interesting twist.

Michael -> Average to good. Absent for alot of the seaon. Didnt develop much when he was with the tail survivors. When he returns from his absence we see his betrayal which was a huge development in terms of the lengths he will go. Further betrays his friends in the last episode. Room to either develop him further and redeem him next season or just forget him and let him go.

Shannon -> Average. Was useless to the group in season one, but starts to find her purpose and has a nice resolution before her untimely demise.

Sayid -> Very Good. We see his more tender side with Shannon at the start of the season and the depth to which he cares about her, and later the cruelty he can inflict and hatred he can hold. Gets it together again, first to suspect Michael and goes action hero in the finale. Could become the islands biggest hero or the survivors new leader.

Claire -> Average. Struggles with maternal responsibility and her relationship with Charlie. Becomes somewhat more assertive.

Hurley -> Good. Struggles with responsibility and being liked. We see a more tender side in his relationship with Libby, and his struggle to overcome his eating disorder and the hallucinations. Room for alot more development.

Ana -> Good. Wrapped her up in one season. Good development in the story of the other 48 days, as she asserts her authority and tries to do what she can to keep her group safe. Has to overcome her accidental shooting of Shannon and try integrate. Struggles with rage and revenge issues before being shot by Michael

Eko -> Average. Spends time atoning for his killing of some of the others. Has to come to terms with finding the drug plane but keeps his faith in God. Also continues to believe island is important after the pearl. Great character and there is alot more to be developed i just didn't feel there was enough time this season and he finshed fairly unchanged in personality from where he began.

Libby -> Wanted to leave this until last. hard to tell really. Alot more to find out. Not much development but this was possibly on purpose.


Overall, like I said, it was pretty good. Could have done Jack/Kate a bit better. Don't really know what else to say here. Thoughts?

sephirosis

Obviously, to develop the characters like they did, the writers need to have new ideas an situations to test them, and in Lost these often involve new mysteries, strange occurences and somewhat sinister figures. So what new mysteries and questions are raised by season 2 and which are answered for us withing the seaon? (in no particular order):
I -> What is Desmond's story/where has he gone?
II -> What does the button do?
III -> What is in the other hatches?
IV -> What is "quarantine" about?
V -> Who is Kelvin?
VI -> Who was Michael talking to on the computer?
VII -> Who are Dharma/Hanso?
VIII -> Why are the others in rags?
IX -> What is the meaning of the blast door map?
X -> Why is Shannon seeing Walt?
XI -> What is the meaning of the giant foot statue?
XII -> Why do the others want hurley, kate, Jack and Sawyer?
And what was answered?

I -> Desomnds story?
Yes pretty much. we know about his relationship with the Widmores and his reason for being on the island and about his time in the hatch. We also find out just where he went after he fled. Still possibly more to find out.

II -> What does the button do?
Yes

III -> What's in the other hatches?
Somewhat. We now know of the swan, pearl, arrow, and caduceus hatches. Still don't know what arrow was for or where the remainig two hatches are. debateable as to whether these will be important.

IV -> What is "quarantine" about?
Almost certainly just a lie on kelvin's part to keep Desmond inside the swan. Only thing that gets to me is the fact that it was on the door of the arrow too. Why? No idea.

V -> Who is Kelvin?
Yeah pretty much, at least i think we've gotten as much as we're going to about him. He's served his purpose, may appear in another characters flashback, but likely only as a minor role.

VI -> Who was Michael talking to on the computer?
Not really answered as such, but probably safe to assume it was a trick by the others.

VII ->Who are Dharma/Hanso?
Possibly biggest mystery of the whole season and/or show. Why did they put these stations on the island? What are their plans? Are they even maintaining a presence on the island? Are the others with or against them? Do they have a connection to Rousseau? As for Hanso ,this is where the ARG starts to come in as it begins to offer answers. i don't really want to go in to it, but suffice to say the enigmatic Alvar Hanso hasn't been seen in public for some time and the directors are shady to say the least. Will remain one of the shows largest mysteries in all
probability.

VIII -> The others in rags?
Answered i think. Would appear to be a front, a show for the survivors

IX -> The blast door map?
Destroyed now it would seem so we've possibly got all we are going to. Told us that there seems to be more than just hatches on the island, and gives further links to Hanso. The mysetrious "?" seems to have been revealed, personally i think the ? was the pearl, but other ideas exist out there.

X -> Why is Shannon seeing Walt?
Not answered. Apparently, according to Ms. klugh, he can "be in places he shouldn't be", but not really a satisfactory answer just yet at least. Also why did he choose Shannon to appear to (if it was Walt at all).

XI -> That giant foot?
Not answered. Only introduced near the end, so not surprising. Very mysterious. Next season will probably spread more light on it.

XII -> Why do the others want Hugo, James, Kate and Jack?
Not answered. Hugo it seems was just a messenger but no idea why the other 3 are important to the others.

Feel free to add your own questions here as I know I forgot some.

So what are we left with at the end of season 2? The big questions have to be what are the others going to do with Jack/Kate/James, what is with that foot, what are Sayid/Sun/Jin's plans, will Michael return, and still what is up with Dharma?

So are people happy with these unrexolved questions? i mean, is it an exciting cliffhanger and place to leave the story for 5 months? how does it compare to season one's cliffhanger? Personally i think I preferred season one's, simply because there was SO much build up to the opening of the hatch and just when we though we might see inside, *cut* and it was gone. This season's is still quite satisfactory i think, though, as it gives us a vast amount of stuff to ponder, and was full of drama.


Speaking of drama, it is worth considering the dramatic impact of the season. I think that this season was certainly comparable, and maybe even slightly better than the first season in terms of drama. the biggest dramatic moments were the deaths, and given that we get to know characters better, the deaths have more resonance, and this made Shannons's death, in my opinon, more dramatic than that of, say, Boone. This was heightened by her relationship with Sayid, and his heartache made it all the more emotional. As for the other deaths of the season these were especially dramatic due to the shock factor of Michael's betrayal, and the fact that two died together. That scene was possibly
the most dramatic of the show ever due to its shock value. the series was also filled with other dramatic moments such as the tense standoff in the hatch in the first episodes of the season, the scenes when Charlie abducts the baby, Libby and Hurley's moment on the cliff top, the deterioration of James' health as they move across the island, the revisiting of the actual crash from the tail survivors view etc etc. I believe there were more emotional moments as a whole in this season as the characters relationships deepen, there is obviously alot more emotional connection between them.

So that's about all i can think of for now. to sum up, as a whole i was quite pleased with the direction the season has taken, and althoguh the pace has slowed a little, i think some of the criticism levelled at the show has been a little unfair. the show has kept me watching, and although I'll readily admit it isn't perfect, it is cracking drama with a good mystery tied in and what more can I ask for? I am happy with the current state of the show and am really looking forward to the times ahead.

So what does everyone else think about anything I've said above? I know alot of people will strongly disagree with things I've said but be nice, it's just my opinion. And I hope I didn't wander too far from what I originally intended, a somewhat in depth, hopefully balanced,look at the entire season. Thanks for your time if you actually made it this far!

Ciaran500

Copy & paste?

If not good rundown on the season.

sephirosis

Heh i copy and pasted from notepad
it's all my own ideas.

Anima

Good idea, I think you've pretty much covered it

Sherifu

Good read man.
Think i agree with a lot of it.
Nice work.

Chong

Good job Sephirosis mate, ignore the critical folk.


Summed up very well.

Anima

ignore the critical folk

sarahn11

good outline..very thorough!!

but one thing you have forgotten which always stick out in my mind is the signficance of the numbers.....my theory is this is going to have something to do with how/why they all got to the island......remember Rousseau said that is what drew her party to the island...and hurleys crazy numbers friends wife said that he was in the navy and intercepted the unknown transmission! also we have seen alot of the island in this season, but no transmission tower was found playing Rousseau's message....


that always sticks out in my mind!

sephirosis

sarahn11 wrote:

good outline..very thorough!!

but one thing you have forgotten which always stick out in my mind is the signficance of the numbers.....my theory is this is going to have something to do with how/why they all got to the island......remember Rousseau said that is what drew her party to the island...and hurleys crazy numbers friends wife said that he was in the navy and intercepted the unknown transmission! also we have seen alot of the island in this season, but no transmission tower was found playing Rousseau's message....


that always sticks out in my mind!

Heh oops! Don't know how I let that rather large detail slip my mind. I'll attempt to edit it in somewhere for completion. Thanks for that.:cool:

sarahn11

everything else was spot on mate!! well done!!

The producers have said that the meaning of the numbers shall never be known for sure.

rip2roar

On the blast door map, that Radzinski and Kelvin made, there is this statement: "System Wide Failure of Dharmatel Intranet."

Directly under this, there are, what appear to be, three dates:

4.08.00
8.15.01
1.06.03

The Dharmatel Intranet would obviously include the computer in the Swan. When the button was not pushed the computer said: System Failure. Is the System Wide Failure of Dharmatel Intranet the same as the System Failure that occurred when Des did not push the button?

If so, the button was not pushed on these dates, and Desmond can be connected to the 8.15.01 date. He supposedly crashed on the Island in 2001. Was the button not pushed on 8.15.01 causing Des to crash? And then who arrived on the Island in 2000 and 2003?

OR it could just simply mean that their computer systems crashed.

?

steveland?

You mentioned the monster not being developed (or moreso that we've seen the cloudy thing, not what ate the pilot)

The statue that Sayid, Jin and Sun saw could help to answer this a little... it was the foot of something with 4 toes... This is one thing I can't wait to see answered!

sephirosis

steveland? wrote:

You mentioned the monster not being developed (or moreso that we've seen the cloudy thing, not what ate the pilot)

The statue that Sayid, Jin and Sun saw could help to answer this a little... it was the foot of something with 4 toes... This is one thing I can't wait to see answered!

Yeah good point I didn't think to link the statue to the monster. Although I'd lean towards whatever took the pilot being some form of winged beastie, since it attacked from above, and didn't leave any gigantic footprints in the ground. I had assumed that what they saw ripping up trees on the first night was old smokey ever since the eko encounter, but you're right that it could be related to this statue. Who knows really?

Smellyirishman

Good round up. I was just wondering the other day would the "monster" ever re-arise or was it over and done with, hopefully not.

the bird in the finale seemed a little ghostly/smokey right?

scojones

Smellyirishman wrote:

Good round up. I was just wondering the other day would the "monster" ever re-arise or was it over and done with, hopefully not.

the bird in the finale seemed a little ghostly/smokey right?

Yeah the bird looked somewhat transparent. Really bad CGI work it has to be said.

sephirosis

I'd say we should see the monster again pretty soon, they won't just drop it like that, but my guess would be we might not get an explanation for exactly what it is for a while at least. And yeah, that bird was pretty dodgy alright.

Anima

I think the whole bird thing was a joke. In the last episode of season 1 we saw the same bird afaik and people at the time were saying that it sounded like it said "Hurley" when it squawked (which it didn't really).

rip2roar

Also there was a bird on set which the cast joked that it was actualy saying "hurley".The purpose of it in the episode was for Michael to figure out that he wasnt loaded.

loon

the statue is going to have more to do with the islands location/history..

Bacchus

loon wrote:

the statue is going to have more to do with the islands location/history..

Obviously it has something to do with the islands history but what makes you think it has anything to do with its location?? I don't get the connection.

As far as I'm concerned we only got half-answers and hints at what's going on. The plane crash is a perfect examle of that.... which has been talked about in the finale episode thread.
1. The plane was off course for hours before it crashed, yet the counter was only at zero for about 30seconds.
2. We've had two seasons of flashbacks aluding to a theory that the survivors were purposly influenced to be on that plane. If Des missing the button by accident is the full answer then that theory is down the ****ter. There is definetly more to why the plane crash than we've been shown.

I'm happy with how the season progressed though. We've seen a lot of the Others, the hatch has been explained (though I still think there's more to find out - still haven't seen the full Orientation film yet), we've found out about and been shown the inside of other hatches. I wish we'd found out something about the smoke monster and the black rock but aside from that I'm happy.

Next season I really want answers to the history of the island, ie the Black Rock, Russoe(sp?), the statue. I'd love to see how Dharma started out on the island though I doubt we'll see that next season.... thinking about it, it'd be cool if they devoted a number of episodes to this kind of stuff, showing Dharma first finding the island, building the hatches, etc.
Obviously I'm dying to find out more about the Others, Dharma, Widemore and those Portugese guys up/down in the Arctic/Antartic. Roll on October.

loon

you people should study more... four toes on a statue usually depicts an animal deity.. mainly seen in ancient egypt and china.. although humanoid in appearance the god will have only four toes as it is an animal.. in terms of the greco-roman arguement (based on the sandal... omg).. ancient greeks and romans believed that the gods made them in they're own image.. and would only erect human statues to honour the gods... in my opinion its anubis... but i have said this since season one..

MIGWAR-DWP

For any one who's thinking about the colossus of rhodes, think again...

'To celebrate their victory and freedom, the Rhodians decided to build a giant statue of their patron god Helios. They melted down bronze from the many war machines Demetrius left behind for the exterior of the figure and the super siege tower became the scaffolding for the project.'

That foot didn't look too bronze to me...

Bacchus

loon wrote:

you people should study more... four toes on a statue usually depicts an animal deity.. mainly seen in ancient egypt and china.. although humanoid in appearance the god will have only four toes as it is an animal.. in terms of the greco-roman arguement (based on the sandal... omg).. ancient greeks and romans believed that the gods made them in they're own image.. and would only erect human statues to honour the gods... in my opinion its anubis... but i have said this since season one..

... and you should take a holiday. It's a TV show not a history exam.

MIGWAR-DWP

Bacchus wrote:

... and you should take a holiday. It's a TV show not a history exam.

It may only be a TV show but that doesn't mean people can spout poo all over the place and think they're saying something worthwhile.

Some people should really get a grip, or go back to watching 'the triangle'...

And for anyone who's interested, I think Loon maent something like this:

sephirosis

So let's say it is Anubis or something similar. What would ye think that means for the show? Is it the remains of a statue that was built millenia ago, or are Dharma/the others/someone else some form of egyptology cult? (á la Tad Williams Otherland books if anyone's read them?), or something completely different?

im...LOST

Maybe the statue fell into the see.Right?
So whats to stop them diving and exploring it.Sayid and co. may have the answers for us next season......