Plotlines

This statement, which I’ve come across multiple times during my research, that you have to “fight your way” through the first season and that it only really gets going in the second, makes less and less sense to me.

All the key characters who are important for the rest of the series, aside from those introduced in the second season, are introduced here. But they’re not just introduced; you’re immediately given an overview of the characters, parts of their backstories, whether they’re trustworthy, and what led them to be on board Oceanic 815.

Please forgive me if I harp on this a bit, but for me, such a simplistic statement is simply inexplicable. Even if the ending of the series may seem strange at first glance, from a writing perspective, it’s incredibly well-executed, especially regarding twists, the integration of past events in the characters’ lives, and their earlier encounters (which are increasingly explored from the end of Season 2 into Season 3).

Let’s move on to the characters. Once you’ve absorbed these initial bits of information, you can immediately start questioning them. You quickly realize that almost no one tells the full truth about themselves, only fragments are revealed, and details are often deliberately left out. Apart from Boone and Shannon, nearly everyone is surrounded by an aura of secrets, mistrust, and even a subtle mysticism that will only deepen as the story progresses.

I was surprised to see that the Smoke Monster appears as early as the first episode. I didn’t remember it showing up so soon, or rather, you don’t actually see the Smoke Monster at this point; you only hear it. The group assumes it’s a polar bear, which is shown later in another scene. But when Mr. Eko eventually appears, and after an update to its sound design (the Smoke Monster sounds more mechanical), we finally get to see it.

One character I haven’t mentioned yet is the island itself. Initially not very prominent, it quickly becomes clear, especially if you observe Locke closely, that this island is not just a piece of land in the ocean. There’s much more to it, and I know that in later seasons this will become very evident, particularly when it comes to the two brothers. But more on that later—we don’t want to rush things!

Of course, there are also criticisms, as there always are. With LOST, they’re relatively sparse but still present.

Regarding Locke, I don’t have so much criticism as a small observation. His character is fascinating and reinforces an idea I’ll mention further below, that the first season might be allegorical for something larger.

However, that’s not my main point here. As we later learn, Locke spent four years in a wheelchair. After four years with no movement, his leg muscles would essentially be nonexistent. This was impressively depicted in Avatar (2009) when Jake Sully is shown sitting in his wheelchair with completely atrophied legs (thank you, James Cameron, for your attention to detail).

And yes, I can already hear some people shouting that the island could make such recovery possible, and I can understand that argument to some extent, but it still feels like an itch in my brain that I can’t scratch. (And no, Leonard Hofstadter, I will not use a thin wire!)

Claire strikes me as odd for two reasons: first, because she’s heavily pregnant yet somehow allowed to fly, a rarity among airlines, and second because she can be quite exhausting as a character. To be fair, she serves as a plot device to advance the story and cast “the Others” in a particular light.

As I write these lines, it occurs to me that this series might also be allegorical for entirely different things, similar to some cases in House. However, I’d limit this theory mostly to the first season, since Season 2 has much less to do with the crash itself and focuses more on the Dharma Initiative and its former members.

The title already hints at this, it’s about some kind of search because they are lost, stranded, cut off from the world. But I also think it’s about processing all the hardships they’ve experienced before, the group has certainly endured plenty, and finding their purpose. While this theme is revisited later on, I feel it’s particularly prominent in the first season. Perhaps that’s why I like this season so much.

I’m looking forward to everything that’s yet to come, to refreshing my memory and seeing how certain things develop. The fragments becoming clearer in my mind need to be pieced together—and that’s something I always find especially exciting and thrilling during a rewatch.