My Top Lost Season 2 Moments

Continuing to delve into my favorite moments of Lost, we go into season 2 where perspectives change, mysteries are unearthed, and new challenges arise that could go beyond simple survival against nature. Here are my Top Lost Season 2 Moments.

SPOILERS AGAIN!!!

10. Hurley against food

"Everything is going to change." - Dream Jin

When Hurley discovers the food storage inside The Hatch, he is at once stupified by the vast amount of food, but that fades as he is put in charge of it all for everyone. With this new responsibility of guarding the food, Hurley realizes that the decisions he makes to give and not to give will make him hated like he did when winning the lottery back in the real world. Not being able to take the pressure, Hurley decides the best course of action is to destroy the food storage room with dynamite. Rose, wise castaway and Hurley's partner in food rationing, comes along and talks him out of it however. Hurley decides to lift the burden by simply handing out food for everyone. In the end they all love him. I especially loved when Hurley tried to tell like it is to Jack, but Jack seemed totally okay with the food drive because Hurley was the one in charge of it. It was a good character subplot.

9. Season Opening

"Make your own kind of music, even if nobody else sings along!" - Mama Cass Elliot

A major plot point of season 1 was the mystery of The Hatch. At season 1's finale, a group finally managed to get the Hatch open, hoping to find shelter inside. Season 2 opens up in what seems to be an entirely new setting. A man wakes up in a really comfortable looking pad complete with oakwood furniture, tons of books, a kitchen, a workout area, everything. He also enters some familiar numbers into an old fashioned computer that sets a timer all the way back. Then his peaceful morning routines are interrupted when an earth shattering kaboom shakes his place. On a dime, he hops into a jumpsuit, opens up an armory and grabs some guns and uses an elaborate surveillance system that points to a mirror. The mirror reflects the image of our castaway heroes Jack Shepherd and John Locke, who have just blown up The Hatch and are looking at what was inside. This was a cool way to open your second season. Not two minutes in and we already have a new level of mystery to the Island.

8. Why we shouldn't trust Henry Gale

"Wow, you guys have got some serious trust issues around here." - Henry Gale

The castaways eventually find a man in the jungle named Henry Gale, who claims to have been alone on the Island for months. Some believe he is honest, some believe he is one of The Others, the Island's mysterious native group. After some brutal interrogation by Sayid and a reasonable talking to from new castaway Ana Lucia, Henry draws a map to where he crashed on the Island. At this point, Jack and Locke release him and allow him to eat in the Hatch. Here he finds out that they didn't know about the map and arrogantly proceeds to taunt them about the possibility that he really is an Other and if he is than maybe the map he drew was actually the spot of an ambush. At this point when Jack and Locke and the audience are totally on edge, Henry ends the episode casually asking: "You guys got any milk?" A surprising turn for a character I was seriously believing to be sincere beforehand. Considering what later becomes of Mr. Gale, this was just glorious.

7. Sawyer and Michael on the current

"Home, sweet home." - Sawyer

This is the second plot mainly focused on at the season's beginning, next to The Hatch exploration. During their attempt to find help in the open waters, the raft team (Michael, Walt, Sawyer, and Jin) were found by a small boat. The people on board turned out to be The Others, who proceeded to shoot Sawyer, take Walt, and blow up the raft. I thought all of the scenes with Michael and Sawyer on the raft wreckage was great (Jin disappeared after diving in). Michael is grief stricken over his failure to save his son; Sawyer digs a bullet out of his shoulder with his fingers; a shark attacks; they bicker like an old angry couple. My favorite part of course is when the current carries them back to the Island, where they get over their anger toward each other and decide that they will get Walt back. All of these scenes were gold.

6. Hiding from the Others

"Shh..." - Mr. Eko

After Michael, Sawyer, and Jin get back to the shore they are found by people from their plane (Ana Lucia, Mr. Eko, Bernard, Libby, Cindy) who crashed on the other side of the Island. Michael immediately breaks from the group to look for his son. Jin goes looking for him and Mr. Eko follows. During their search however, there are whispers. Eko silences Jin and they hide in the bushes. Here we get a ground shot of several pairs of dirty feet walking past. It is The Others. The last drags behind a tied up teddy bear. This makes for one of the creepiest moments of Lost. It's a hold your breath kind of moment. You just didn't know what to make of it.

5. Sayid interrogates Henry

"My name is Sayid Jarrah, and I am a torturer." - what he said

When they first find Henry Gale, who was just shot by resident crazy lady Danielle Rousseaue, Sayid is told that Henry is one of The Others and that he will lie for a long time. With the death of his beloved Shannon just recently, Sayid was already extremely unhinged and Henry was the perfect candidate to vent his rage. The interrogation of Henry Gale was a great way to introduce this character who is/seems unnerved, confused, and frightened. We get his backstory: a rich retiree from Minnesota who went for a casual hot air balloon ride with wifey when all of a sudden CRASH! Sayid ain't buying the story or the physical state of this man. He comes to a point where Sayid gets furious when Henry can't recall exactly how deep he buried his wife. When Henry tries to find out who he lost, Sayid goes berserk and begins beating him to a pulp before Jack stops him. At this point we are not sure whether Sayid did what he did out of anger over Shannon's death or his certainty that Henry is lying. His end episode conversation with Charlie answers the question: it's both.

4. The end of The Hatch

"I don't know what made you stop believing, but it's all real." - Desmond Hume

By the end of the season John Locke has unfortunately lost all sense of faith and purpose on The Island or for his life. Pushing the button in The Hatch to save the world, which he believed was destiny, for him now was a form of humiliation and slavery. But the other, unwavering man of faith, Mr. Eko, was not willing to stop pushing the button. Locke and Desmond, also tired of The Hatch, manage to lock Eko out while they let the timer drop to zero. While Eko and Charlie try to get inside, Desmond soon realizes that the one day he didn't push the button and everything in the Hatch went crazy was the day the castaways' plane had crashed. The still unconvinced Locke destroys the computer to push the button, forcing Desmond to go down below to flip the termination switch with an unspecified result. As Eko breaks in and the timer hits zero, Locke sadly realizes he was wrong. Desmond flips the switch and for a moment the whole Island is shrouded in a "purple haze" of what was probably electromagnetic energy. We don't know what happens to the boys in the Hatch. I liked this because there was great coverage of all characters linked to The Hatch: we discovered how disillusioned Locke was over his failures in pursuit of Island destiny; we discover Desmond is not a coward like everyone in his life thought; and we see just how far Eko will go for his faith.

3. Jack, Locke, and The Button

"It's why it's called a leap of faith, Jack." - John Locke

When they enter the Hatch and discover that pretty much all that was inside was a miserable Scotsman entering Hurley's cursed numbers into a computer to supposedly save the world, the two castaway leaders were divided in their opinions. Jack felt that the whole thing was some scientist's mind game and that nothing would happen if the timer counting down to the world's end hit zero. Locke felt that inside was the next step in his search for destiny and that the button to enter the codes must be pushed. After a long chain of events in which the computer is damaged and then restored at the end, a final confrontation is had between Jack and Locke. Locke enters the numbers but wants Jack to push the button to enter them. Jack refuses believing it is all crazy. Then there is a great line that symbolizes the "man of science, man of faith" duality between the two:

Locke: Why do you find it so hard to believe?
Jack: Why do you find it so easy?!
Locke: It has never been easy!

After this, Locke opens up and tells him he can't find his way without Jack's help and that he has to have an open mind and take a leap of faith. Jack finally pushes the button and the timer resets. And here truly begins the rivalry between Jack and Locke.

2. Eko vs. The Monster

"Tikatikatikatikatika..." - The Monster

Every castaway on Lost seems to be fighting two battles: one against their past, another against the forces on the Island. It would seem that Mr. Eko, a Nigerian priest and tail section survivor, was the first to face one of the Island's greatest and most violent forces: The Monster. This began when Eko forced Charlie to lead him to the downed Nigerian drug smuggling plane (sounds weird, eh?). During their trek, Eko made Charlie climb a tree to try to find the plane. Eko and Charlie both witness The Monster approach. It does it's usual thing, tearing down trees, making strange mechanical noises, and speeding through the jungle. Charlie urged Eko to climb the tree, but the prayer club wielding priest stood his ground as The Monster got in his face and a stare down ensued. Aside from Season 1 finale's brief glimpses, this is the first time we really see the Monster. It is, bare with me, what appears to be a huge floating column of black smoke. Then something even more mysterious than The Monster itself happens: in a 360 degree angle around Eko and Smokie, we see brief flashes inside The Monster. If played slowly, streaks of electricity and images from Eko's past can be seen. After a moment, The Monster leaves. This is also the beginning of The Monster's apparent attempts to lead Eko astray by various means. Considering what we now know about The Monster, I can't help but think that out of all of the castaways Mr. Eko was the one The Monster saw as its greatest obstacle.

1. Meeting The Others

"This is not your Island. This is our Island, and the only reason you're living on it is because we let you live on it." - Mr. Friendly

Michael goes searching for his son by himself soon enough. Jack, Sawyer and Locke go looking for him. At nightfall, Locke loses Michael's trail and as he and Jack argue. One of the main Others, nicknamed "Mr. Friendly", approaches the group. I just loved everything about this scene. To me it is the moment when Lost truly descended into action thriller territory. Jack demands to know what has happened to Michael and Walt. "Friendly" makes it very clear that the castaways are intruders and will be dealt with if they won't give up. When Jack states his belief that there are not that many Others, "Friendly" shouts "LIGHT EM UP!" And then over a dozen torches ignite in the trees surrounding them. "Friendly" draws a line dividing the Others territory and the castaways territory and demands that they surrender their guns and go home. When Jack stubbornly refuses, "Friendly" brings out Kate, who he captured when she followed Jack. The men give up their guns when "Friendly" threatens to kill her. I also loved Sawyer's line to "Friendly", who had shot Sawyer on the raft in Season 1: "You and me ain't done, Zeke." With that The Others leave. This is the first taste of Island warfare in the series and it was invigorating to see. Loved this scene.