Plotlines

An entire season, and we’re talking about 25 episodes here, not 8 or 10 episodes per season like is common nowadays, we basically see only green or beach and green. Suddenly, without any warning or anything, we see someone starting their day in a relatively normal way. A bit of exercise, something to eat, and then suddenly an alarm shatters this calm.

Welcome to the second season of LOST!

It’s a very unusual beginning, but at the same time it sets a new tone, because you quickly realize, especially due to the tense situation at the start, that this is no longer just about the survivors of a plane crash on a deserted island. If you hadn’t understood that before, it should be clear by now.

No, with the start of the second season, a door opens to a very exciting story, which is told in a very layered way and always with such a high number of gaps and different narrative structures, that in the following seasons there is always enough room for creative ideas that can be placed into these gaps without causing the whole construct to collapse.

And I believe that this is exactly one of LOST’s strengths. Because it doesn’t have to constantly retell the past, as is the case in other series. No, only parts of the past are told, and the gaps are always filled with new events. Yes, I have to admit at this point that this is sometimes a bit complicated, especially towards the end, when you try to figure out when the events being shown are actually taking place. But there are always clues.

Unfortunately, we also have to deal with Ana Lucia again, and of course, the character changes little if at all. I think I already got ahead of myself a bit in the last article, please forgive me. Sometimes the boundaries between seasons blur, especially when it comes to a character who is introduced at the end of a season and is only around for a few episodes.

What particularly stood out to me at the beginning of this season is the music, as well as the transitions from scene to scene (when the location changes). Here you can see a signature style that later appears again in FRINGE. This is partly because some of the team behind the camera, especially Michael Giacchino (music), are the same.

These similarities become even stronger later, and except for the unnecessary lens flare, you sometimes almost feel like you’re watching a long-lost episode of FRINGE.

Not only “the Others,” but also the Dharma Initiative now come to the forefront of the story. What is it? What is its purpose? And who is Desmond Hume anyway?

If you’re hoping to find an immediate and direct answer here, well, I’m afraid I have to disappoint you. It will take a few more episodes before we get any answers to these questions, and even then, you can’t be entirely sure. Because as already mentioned, there are always a few gaps left to fill, and I can reveal this much: not all of them will be filled by the last episode. But one thing at a time!

Things get a bit vague at the beginning, because you’re no longer sure who the so-called “Others” are. Are they people who already live on the island and are kidnapping the passengers? Or are they the passengers from the tail section of the plane, who are on another part of the island? This game with the individual stories of different people may seem confusing at first, but it also helps to make the “Others” more and more of a mystical entity.

And if you think about it, this actually continues until the end of the series, or at least into the last season. Because the boundaries between the passengers, the Others, and the Dharma Initiative keep blurring.

This is also an important point in Michael’s development, because since his son was kidnapped by the Others, he is, in fact, no longer a member of the group, but more of a free agent. Against all common sense, he keeps going off on his own to find his son.

The development of the characters is very much in the foreground in the first part of the second season. You can see this quite well with Sun and Jin, because through the loss of her wedding ring and Jin’s absence, we learn more about their marriage and how it came to be. However, we also learn more about Charlie and his drug addiction. Kate and her conflicts with the law, as well as Mr. Eko and his past in Nigeria.

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but if you pay close attention, you’ll quickly notice that the flashbacks and stories always have something incomplete about them. Gradually, these gaps are filled in bit by bit, which keeps the characters from ever becoming uninteresting. Because it’s precisely the filling of these gaps that repeatedly helps the viewer understand why a character acted the way they did.

The flashbacks also show us how hard the passengers from the tail section had it, because they landed much deeper in the territory, or near the territory, of the Others, and as a result, they were treated much worse by them. Compared to the passengers from the beach, their first days on the island were much different, much more brutal, and a much harsher fight for survival.

Through Desmond and his station, which belongs to the Dharma Initiative, we get to know the Initiative as well, and we’re also happy that the passengers are now supplied with food. However, this will also lead to problems later on, and Hurley will be at the center of it, though not in the way you might first expect.

My post may have many loose ends and only touch on various aspects, but that’s simply because that’s exactly what the beginning of the second season is like. A lot of new and fresh things are introduced, so you stay engaged and want to know more. What’s the deal with the station under the hatch? Who is this Desmond anyway? Why does he keep talking about Penny, and what does Leonard Hofstadter think about it?

Many questions are raised, and as far as I’m concerned, I’m as excited as a school kid on their first day, eager to discover the mysterious contents of my school cone.