WE'RE the survivors of Oceanic flight 815!

Here we come to the second post in my Lost marathon series. I finished season two a few days ago, and I've been itching to start season 3, but I decided that I have to have this post done before I continue, so here we go!

One of the interesting things about Lost is the timeframe of the show. The entire first season took place in 44 days. The second season takes place in 33. This means there really wasn't a lot of downtime on the island. There's always something going on. It also makes things harder for filming and production. It's very hard to make sure people look the same through an entire year of filming. The most difficult example of this would be Walt, and I think that's why he disappears from the show. Kids grow like weeds and go through so many changes that it would be hard to insist that only a few months have gone by after several years of filming.

This season started off immediately after last season ended. We find Jack and Locke at the hatch, the survivors still terrified about the impending invasion by the others, and the rafties adrift in the ocean, struggling to stay afloat on the wreckage.

The hatch turns out to be just as strange and mysterious as we all anticipated, if not more so. A combination of ordinary (bunker fitted with all the amenities the 70s had to offer) and the strange (a button that has to be pressed every 108 minutes, using the ever mysterious numbers), the Swan station of the Dharma Initiative (as we now know it) provides quite a bit of mystery, and we're also introduced to a couple of other stations throughout the season.

New characters also show up. Desmond Hume is introduced as a madman living in the hatch until the Losties break in and take over. Also of note is the fact that Jack has met him before off the island. The survivors from the tail section of the plane (that were hinted at in season 1 right before Boone plunges to his death) also show up, although by the time they make it to the other side of the island, there are only 4 of them left. And finally there's Henry Gale. He seems like he's just a little creep, but we eventually learn that he is a much bigger creep than we thought. And at the end of the season we get a hint that he's much more than what we originally thought.

I enjoyed the various reunions featured in this season. There's the Losties and the tailies. Jin and Sun (again, my favorite couple), Rose and Bernard (who are just too cute a couple too), Hurley and Libby (although the former doesn't remember, and the latter we're never really sure on), the rafties and the Losties, Michael and Walt, Jack and Desmond, Jack and Ana-Lucia, and Shannon and Boone (sad face).

I'm still somewhat amazed at how poorly received Ana-Lucia was as a character. She was hated by the fans of the show, and I just don't get it. She was one of my favorite characters of the whole run of the show! Most fans were happy to see her killed off, but I was pretty sad to see her go. I was also really sad to see Libby get killed off with SO many unanswered questions about her character, but they needed a death that would have impact, and since no one liked Ana-Lucia, she had to go too.

This season was also the first time we get a good look at the "Others." at first it seems like they are just savages living on the island, but as the season goes on you find out all isn't as it seems. A flashback of Claire's shows Ethan and several more of the "Others" in doctors' garb, and there are fake beards and costume materials found in the same location later on, so there's something up with their appearances. "Henry" clearly knows more than he lets on, and Goodwyn is way too good at infiltrating the tail section survivors. And in the final episode, there are more hints to the fact that the "Others" have a lot more going on than just huts and teepees.

Overall, I really quite enjoyed this season. There's so much going on, new interesting characters, new locales, new mysteries, and just a few answers to make it feel like I'm learning a little more about what's going on (even if it's just false hope). The character growth and interactions are interesting and exciting, and the cast does such a great job at making these characters feel like people I need to know. And with that, I bring part two to an end. Part three, coming soon!

4 - 8 - 15 - 16 - 23 - 42

Today I am bringing you the first of a series of six posts that will show up periodically over the next few months. The theme? Lost! Or, a look back at Lost, to be more precise. I recently completed my Lost DVD collection, so I've begun a Lost "marathon" of sorts. Now, "marathon" would usually imply watching the entire series from start to end in one go, buuuut 6 seasons of Lost would take me almost a week to watch, and with work, sleep, and life in general to get in the way, it's more of a series of mini-marathons.

Anyway, to the point. I finished the first season of Lost today, and so, first post. It's really interesting going back and watching the first season again after seeing how the series ends. I really noticed a lot of hints of things to come, and also noticed a lot of the hints to mysteries that never get explained.

I still absolutely love the opening scene to Lost. Starting with the eye opening, and Jack waking up in the woods, finding his way to the beach and seeing the chaos that is the planewreck in the sand. It was just amazing. I think that scene is what really hooked me. Even without knowing anything about what was to come, I was completely taken in by that scene, and the rest of the episode just sealed the deal.

The format of the show is something very original, too. We meet all of these characters, not just on the island, but off the island too in a series of flashbacks that give us a little bit of insight into who they are that their fellow castaways don't get to see. It would be easy for these flashbacks to seem out of place, but there is always something specific in the flashback that ties to what is going on. We also see that a lot of the flashbacks show the specifics of what led these people to get on that plane.

One major think that came to mind today when I was watching the last few episodes was the tragic story of Jin and Sun. I won't get into it too much because that would be spoilers, but they are my very favourite couple of the show. They will definitely come up in future posts, but the end with their goodbye as Jin gets on the raft just breaks my heart, even though I know what comes next.

There are so many elements introduced in this first season that I would love to touch on, but I could go on all day. The "Adam and Eve" in the cave, the Frenchwoman and her seemingly crazy stories, the whispers, the smoke monster, the Black Rock, the numbers and Hurley's curse, Walt's abilities, the "others", the hatch, the snatching of the baby, the cord on the beach, the radio transmission, and the radio message Boone hears before he dies. All of these things are just little clues, or tips of icebergs, of what's to come.

With so many mysteries unfolding, the season ends in a cliffhanger with the hatch open (despite so many things pointing to leaving it alone), the mysterious "others" kidnapping Walt and blowing up the raft, leaving Jin, Michael, and Sawyer for dead, and the rest of the Oceanic survivors fearing some sort of attack. I know what's coming, but I can't wait to go through and watch for all of those things that I never noticed the first time through, or whose significance I just didn't quite get until the series came to a close.