My "Lost" marathon has brought me to the culmination of season two. While "Lost" fanatics puzzle over the new season (I have heard rumors of the dead wandering the island), I just cannot believe how far we have come by the end of season two. JJ Abrams and Co. have found creative ways to introduce new characters and even more ingenious methods of overlapping the characters' histories.
The writing crew has definitely put more time and thought into developing the inextricable intertwining of the characters. Unfortunately, this crossmojination of story-lines is not always necessary and appears forced throughout most of season two: Why does the Analucia-Jack's-Dad story even matter?
I suppose I should not bother with questions about writing logistics since, as I mentioned in "'Lost' Thoughts: Part I," the series is not necessarily bound by logic in story, in character development, or in dialogue.
On that note, here are a few random gripes with season two:
-Sayid's mourning of Shannon was entirely absurd. By the end of the season, the show depicts him praying to Allah on a mat yet he somehow falls for the one woman on the island that most closely embodies all that is not Islamic. He is a dedicated Iraqi with a history of strife with Americans. The romance was ridiculous; the mourning was even more ridiculous. But, this all comes about because Shannon dies, which relieves the viewers of one of the show's worst actors. So my gripe is cancelled out by the benefit.
-Why bother with putting Libby in the background of other people's back stories (ie in Hurley's mental hospital and donating her boat to Desmond)? Talk about loose-ends...
New addition Mr. Echo is also one of the show's strongest characters played by one of the show's more compelling actors. He adds an intensity to scenes already boiling-over and a complexity to characters' interactions. I still cannot watch him, though, without thinking about "Oz":
Hey! Wasn't that Michael...?
Questions left over from season one:
What's the deal with the moving black smoke?
What did the others want with Walt?
Are the others affiliated with the moving black smoke?
What is so special about the numbers?
What's with the polar bears?
Who are the others?
What did they want with Claire's baby?
What's the story behind the Black Rock?
What illness took Rousseau's people?
Where's the radio tower?
Where is this island?
What's with Locke's occasional paralysis and even more occasional feeling in his legs?
Why was Locke crippled?
What made him move to the box company?
What's with Jack's dad on the island?
What's with Jack's tattoos?
What is Walt's super power?
What's the point of Vincent?
What happened to Kate and her husband?
Unfortunately, the show's writers throw an absurd amount of questions at the audience in season two. Here is a sampling:
Why do people see a dripping wet Walt when he's not actually around?
What is he saying in said incidents?
Is there actually a disease on the island?
What is the significance of the hatch names?
Why was the electromagnetic facility built?
Why was it well-stocked with weapons?
What do the others do with the ones they snatch?
How do the others know names of Oceanic survivors?
What's with Kate's black horse
Was Sawyer really holding the spirit of Kate's dead dad?
Is this all going to be some sort of religious metaphor?
Why didn't the black smoke take Echo?
What was flashing in the black smoke?
Will Rousseau ever reunite with Alex?
What did the blacklit blast door say?
Why did the Dharma Initiative drop more food?
Why does Hurley start seeing Dave again?
Who is in charge of the others? Henry?
Why didn't Henry run away when the blast doors had fallen?
Why did the others want Locke?
Why didn't they have him on the list with Jack, Kate, and Sawyer?
What do the others do exactly?
How did Echo get to Australia and why?
Why did Desmond's sail fail?
Why was Desmond in prison?
What's with the big freak bird that seems to only show up once a season?
What's with the statue foot with four toes?
What exactly happened when Desmond turned the key?
What's with that EMP detecting squad in the snowy recesses of elsewhere and acting as liaisons to Desmond's ex?
The show is consistent in its spirit, writing, and tone. I appreciate that. I made predictions at the end of season one, but I will, instead, make hopes here:
1) I hope the show will not introduce more than two or three characters per season.
2) I hope the show will feature more ghosts.
3) I hope Michael fails at life.
4) I hope the survivors make a complex tree fort.
5) I hope the show will lean more towards Plato's cave of perception than towards a religious metaphor.
I still commend "Lost" for juggling an impressive number of balls, but I am hesitant. The more complexities introduced comes at a sacrifice of developed and satisfactory conclusions.
One last question: If you were stuck on a desert island with anyone person from "Lost's" tropical island, who would it be and why?
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