Lost - Season 2 [DVD] [2005]

Season two of the television phenomenon that is Lost is where the questions, in many senses, started to be asked. Picking up directly after that first season cliffhanger, it sets off at a belting pace, continuing the adventures of a group of people stranded on a desert island following a place crash. Only, as becomes increasingly clear, the island is a mysterious place, and the survivors appear not to be alone.

In true Lost fashion, the second season of the show is far better at firing out fresh questions than resolving previous ones, although again, it delights in throwing out clues that the web-inclines can research across the legion of unofficial fan websites. For the viewer of the second series of Lost though, there’s plenty to like, and plenty to tear their hair out over.

On the downside, after an intriguing beginning, too much of the second series settles into a comfortable rhythm, conforming too rigidly to a recipe of plenty of backstory, and not too much advancement of the main narrative. It’s a device that worked first time round, but becomes tiring during the saggy middle episodes. It’s a fair argument too that things move far too slowly and for little good reason.

The upsides? Again, quite a few. There’s little doubt that the premise still holds intrigue, and the top and tail of season two are excellent. The last quarter, for instance, is both meaty and very entertaining, even offering clues to how the whole show may eventually end. So while even the Lost purest will surely conclude that season two is an uneven dish, there’s still much to feast on, albeit with the hope that season three gets round to answering a few more question. Please. --Simon Brew