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Whereas season 1 of Lost brought this wide range of characters together, season 2 not only thickens the plot and the mysteries of the island, but from a character standpoint, it isolates them. This season takes the characters and boils them down to their cores. In a way, it even tortures and pushes many of them to the edge, an edge we did not know existed back in season 1.

New characters are introduced when Michael (Harold Perrineau), Sawyer (Josh Holloway), and Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) wash ashore on the Tailies’ beach and trek across the island to reunite with the rest of the Oceanic 815 survivors. These new characters include Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez), Libby (Cynthia Watros), and Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). Unfortunately, these new introductions to the cast instigated the abrupt death of Shannon (Maggie Grace), when Ana Lucia mistakenly shoots her in the jungle. Bummer.

I can’t say I really liked Shannon, but in a lot of ways I felt she good have been really great had she stuck around. With so many characters having  long back stories, it would have been interesting to see a younger character on the show significantly grow and change in the context of the events, and the spoiled leggy blonde growing into a tougher and more useful character would have been a good opportunity for that.

Personal thoughts aside, Shannon’s death triggered a great deal of season 2 events. Ana Lucia spent much of the season as an outcast dealing with the blood on her hands.  And as for Sayid (Naveen Andrews), he grew into a darker character as he became hell bent on getting revenge against the Others. Meanwhile, Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) grapples with his addiction again becoming an outcast in his own respect, and Michael sacrifices everything to get Walt (Malcolm David Kelley) back…becoming a traitor.

Yup, the Henry Gale arc in which Jack (Matthew Fox) and Locke (Terry O’Quinn) hold a man hostage in the hatch who is potentially an Other (Michael Emerson). They question him, torture him, and for episodes on end the story makes us waiver back and forth believing he is just another survivor who landed on the island by some misfortune, or an Other. This was no doubt one of Lost’s most intense storylines, and it culminated in Michael returning from a trip across the island in search of Walt, only to come back and let Henry Gale free, killing Ana Lucia and Libby in the process. The revelation that this man is in fact an Other is crucial to the season from both a story and character viewpoint, in that the real crux of the season is driven home when Sayid is talking to Charlie on the beach just after torturing Henry, and his desperation and thirst for revenge against the Others is made abundantly clear.

The divide between Jack and Locke grows as they push a button in the hatch that supposedly saves the world every 108 minutes. Locke is certain that they are supposed to do this, and there’s a greater purpose for it, but as he learns more about the island his faith falters, and the mysterious and easily one of the most unique and  complex characters from the show, Mr. Eko, steps in to press the button.

The button aside, Mr. Eko really brings something to the show. He becomes the man of faith when Locke’s faith seems to falter. Furthermore, his flashbacks are really interesting because he’s not at all what he claims to be. He’s a Nigerian warlord, but he is a prime example of these characters getting new life on the island as he lets on that he is actually a priest. Oh yeah, and it’s through him that we get our first full glimpse at the as-yet-unseen monster, which is a black column of smoke that he stares down fearlessly.

The season comes to a head when Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick), the man who they had found in the hatch at the beginning of season, returns, and Locke enlists him to help stop Eko from pressing the button and ultimately destroy the hatch. Meanwhile, Michael leads Jack, Kate (Evangeline Lilly), and Sawyer into a trap set by the Others, so he can finally get Walt back and leave the island.

This finale was one hell of a cliffhanger as a lot of fates really hung in the balance. It wasn’t quite clear just what happened when the hatch was destroyed, and more importantly it was uncertain what the Others specifically needed Jack, Kate, and Sawyer for. The real upshot of it was that it looked like season 3 would finally give us some insight as to who the Others are and what they’re doing on the island.