After a shaky first six episodes, Lost's second season gets onto steadier footing in the second quarter, rallying with two remarkably tense installments, followed by three episodes with useful flashbacks, emotional swells, and actual forward momentum on the island. (And then? A total dud…but more on that in a minute.) As I mentioned last week, my sense is that the Lost writers froze up a bit at the start of Season Two, unsure how much of the master-plot to dole out with so many hours left to fill. By the middle of the season, they seemed to have figured out the trick: Focus on the episodes themselves, and write a bunch of really good scenes, charged with tension and pathos and mystery. I guess they thought there'd be plenty of time later to sort out what really matters.
First though, how about an all-time classic Lost episode, full of edge-of-the-seat excitement and new additions to the mythology? "The Other 48 Days" is the first Lost installment to ditch the conventional flashback structure, for a straight, chronological retelling of the Tailies' journey from crashing to killing Shannon, complete with the mistaken imprisonment of one of their own (alas, poor Nathan), and so much more direct engagement with The Others than our main cast ever saw over their first six weeks on the island. (What, is the beach just too far to walk for Ben's cronies?) "The Other 48 Days" is fast-paced and frequently terrifying, and it succeeds in making Ana-Lucia seem more tragically heroic…for a time anyway.
I'd forgotten how good the episode that follows is too. "Collision" deals with the aftermath of Ana-Lucia's Shannon-shooting, as she compensates for a series of bad choices (stretching all the way into her flashback) by tying Sayid to a tree and trying to bully her former allies into sticking with her. Meanwhile, back at the beach, everyone's playing games and settling into a domestic routine. The contrast between the two groups of survivors is almost painfully poignant, and culminates in a moving series of reunions: Michael with Vincent, Rose with Bernard, and Jin with Sun. I almost don't hesitate to mention that in terms of moving the plot along, "Collision" only takes us a little bit past where we were at the end of the sixth episode, because in terms of the story–which is different from the plot, as I hope you all understand–"Collision" is a winner.
Next up? Three straight episodes where the flashbacks largely carry the day: "What Kate Did" finally solves the mystery of why Kate's a fugitive (as well as introducing some complicated new parent/child issues); "The 23rd Psalm" at the time made Mr. Eko my new favorite character by recounting the heart-wrenching story of how he became a criminal to spare his brother, and then inadvertently led that brother to an untimely death; and "The Hunting Party" details the dissolution of Jack's marriage, as well as the end of his run as a miracle worker. (Interestingly enough, this is the last Jack flashback episode of Season Two.)
My only complaint about these three episodes? In retrospect, the actual island business sets up a lot of potential conflict/coolness that eventually just peters out. Eko gives Locke the missing piece of the orientation film! (But it just warns not to use the computer to communicate with the outside world.) Michael apparently chats with Walt via computer! (But we never find out how, or even if it is Walt.) Jack and Sawyer and Locke have a sit-down with Mr. Friendly! (But it never occurs to our heroes to ask The Others any questions about who they are, why they're here, or what the island is.) Jack talks to Ana-Lucia about forming an army to go after The Others! (But nothing will come of this either.) Charlie's hoarding heroin! (But he's not using it, and his stash is quickly discovered by Locke, and Claire, and Eko, and pretty much everyone else.)
And oh yeah, all that Charlie business leads to what may be the worst episode of Lost I've seen in this trip back through the series. As bad as "Adrift" and "Hearts And Minds" are, ladies and gentlemen can I interest you in "Fire + Water," the episode in which Charlie kidnaps Aaron in order to baptize him, all while flashbackin' to the last days of Drive Shaft, when the band was reduced to doing a commercial for Butties Diapers, and his brother apparently made enough money from selling Charlie's old piano to start a new life in Australia? (So did the piano have heroin in it, too?) Nary a redeeming moment in this one folks, outside of the continuing parallels between Charlie and Eko, both of whom are the only remaining people on the island at this point with "brother issues" instead of "daddy issues." (Though I'm betting the Lost folks aren't done with the brother theme.)