Season Two: A
For those who haven’t checked out season one or any other Lost seasons may want to read my review of season one first as the rest of this write-up may be full of spoilers.

The second season of Lost takes it up another notch as it begins with Locke and Jack sitting atop the hatch door having blown it wide open. What awaits for them is the key to the entire season and escalates the level of danger on the island, but it’s nothing compared to what the rest of the season has in store. Michael, Sawyer, and Jinn make it back to the island after being ambushed by the Others out at sea, but land on the other side and are captured by another group of people who appear have been on the island for a long time. Have the Lost version of the three stooges been captured by the Others or some other tribe? Michael has lost Walt again, and becomes an unstable force this season.

The hatch is actually some type of underground scientific bunker equipped with modern amenities such as a bathroom, kitchen, an armory of weapons, and a computer room where every 108 minutes a numeric sequence must be typed into a computer as follows, “4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42” and a clock resets once that code is executed. These numbers have been coming up in conversations and flashbacks from season one and has once again appeared in a maddening task that may or may not ensure the safety of those on the island.

Aside from what information could be gathered from the orientation videos, the function of the button is unknown. But what happens if the number sequence is not entered? Is it just a test to see if people would perform a task on the mere suggestion of its importance? The hatch also serves as a test to those who spend time in it. The worst comes out of those who spend any duration in the hatch, physical or mental. And the hatch becomes the most important character in the second season. It’s purpose and possible link to flight 815.

The raft captors turn out to be the few survivors of the tail of the Oceanic Air 815, Michelle Rodriguez plays Ana Lucia, a hot-headed former cop, and Adewale Akinnoye-Agbaje plays Mr. Eko a former drug lord turned priest who is connected to one of the major finds in season one. The “Tailies” have been thinned out by the Others and have led a much different month and a half compared to the survivors we’ve been following. Trust, and a lack of it is a big theme in this season and a reason why the Tailies act the way they do, practically enslaving Michael, Jinn, and Sawyer. Kate’s sketchy past is in full bloom as we discover what got the authorities hot on her trail, and tensions build between Kate, Sawyer, Jack, and Locke. Faith is another theme that weighs heavily on the Lost cast which goes hand-in-hand with trust. Locke has faith that he’s meant to push those numbers but when he is tested, how strong is his faith? Jack, who is a man of science has no faith in what Locke believes, only what he sees and knows what is right. Mr. Eko plays a priest whose faith in continually tested. Locke’s ability to walk isn’t the only miracle on the island. And the reunion between spouses may bring a tear to the kind-hearted.

Connections between survivors are slowly revealed, unbeknownst to the characters and this adds more levels of questions to the show. Many of them have met prior to the crash or have come into contact with a common acquaintance. How many more are there? If that wasn’t enough, a powerful body blow was delivered in Henry Gale (Michael Emerson) who is captured and suspected as being one of the Others. He claims to be another survivor from a hot air balloon crash but Sayid thinks otherwise.

The performances of season two was another fearless signature. Rodriguez, and Akinnoye-Agbaje were exciting additions and stole every scene that they were in but Emerson’s turn will stiffen your spine. Evangeline Lilly, Matthew Fox and Jorge Garcia also made good on opportunities to shine. Guest starring roles by Julie Bowen as Jack’s ex-wife, Henry Ian Cusick as Desmond, the hatch station agent in waiting were good too. By season’s end, a majority of the questions going into this season have been answered but the higher stakes gave way to a whole new set of questions that rope you into season three. Lost surrendered the information you wanted, but they dictated pace and then took that satisfaction away from you by leaving you at the altar crying. But there’s no reason to be sad, because you can watch it over and over and over.

Video: A+
The wrinkles in season one have been ironed out in this 1080p AVC-encoded transfer in 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Having been to Hawaii I can attest to the stunning signs of the different terrains and landscapes. Seeing all of it in high def was almost as good as being there. I found no poor contrast ratio or grainy night scenes in this box set. The colors were just full of intricate range, skin colors warm, pores present, stubble-VERY present. This is what I expected out of the first season but there’s nothing to groan about this transfer. No muddy scenes, no edge enhancement or the fading Textures reproduced very well, shadow delineation was good as were the contrast and details. It’s a sparkling gemstone of a transfer and is enough reason to upgrade to blu-ray because it’s certainly better than what’s seen on digital downloads and previous DVD transfers.

Audio: A+
The English 5.1 Uncompressed DTS-HD master audio track is again, another spectacular audio mix. The same great jungle and atmospheric noises from season one are present in this track as well, but there’s a lot more gunfire being shot and some blaring sound effects like the alarm in the hatch to enter the numbers can get on your nerves. One particular episode that shows Claire remembering her abduction from the first season has noises that quickly flash and is grating after awhile inducing a migraine so believe me when I say that this thing is mixed darn well because the effect worked. Much like the video, the audio mix is notched up a bit and you almost don’t notice it as much because you’re sucked into the show so intensely but there’s so much attentive detail to the surrounding channels. It’s just a perfect mix on all fronts (and backs). Also included are English and French 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks, a Spanish 2.0 Dolby Digital track, and subtitles for practically every major language.

Extras: A
Season Play is a blu-ray exclusive where multiple users can view the season and follow the show at their own pace and pick up wherever they leave off. I don’t see why this is such a big deal, as it’s a feature that should be on all blu-rays (the resume function anyway) but I do like the idea of having different profiles because it’s easy in a family to get ahead of someone or fall behind but it will always remember where each person off. It unfortunately does not carry into subsequent seasons.

For owners of the DVD box set, there’s a coupon inserted which is a Mail-In certificate that will rebate you $20 for upgrading to blu-ray. A small incentive for stepping up and double dipping. Of course the likelihood of anyone who still has the original receipt I’m betting is slim. Still, it’s a nice offer. And to those who do have the DVDs will see most of these extras are the same ones ported over and unfortunately are still in 480i standard definition.

There are five Audio Commentaries spread throughout the first six discs on episodes “Man of Science, Man of Faith” with Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, Bryan Burk and Jack Bender; “23rd Psalm,” with Lindelof, Cuse, and Burk, “Dave” with Bender, Jorge Garcia and Cynthia Watros; “What Kate Did” with director Paul Edwards, cinematographer Michael Bonvillain, and Evangeline Lilly; and “The Whole Truth,” with staff writers Elizabeth Sarnoff, Christina Kim and actors Daniel Dae Kim and Yunjin Kim. These range from an hour full of chatting in the “Man of Science, Man of Faith” ep full of observations and what the producers and writers wanted to establish in the second season to absolute torture in “Dave” where it Bender was pulling teeth to get Garcia and Watros to fill the dead air with real conversation.

Disc Seven holds the remaining extras which are split into three sections once again, carrying the theme of the Dharma Initiative videos into the menu and selection options. Disappointingly, most of the extras are in standard 480i definition and stereo 2.0 but subtitles are available for all the extras in several languages.

Phase 1: Observation

Fire + Water: Anatomy of an Episode (31:46) – The episode that rocks the relationship of Claire and Charlie gets broken apart piece by piece from the on-location pre-production, to shooting, color correction, and adding in post-production dialogue.

Lost: On Location (1:02:00) – is another excellent extra broken up into 13 parts and like in other seasons reveals behind the scenes challenges, themes and important moments episode by episode. Actors, producers, digital effects crew, and many others contribute entertaining interviews and personal experiences that pertain to that episode although Michelle Rodriguez seems to say the same thing over and over.

The World According to Sawyer (4:31) – Sawyer’s awesome catch phrases are highlighted here.

Phase 2: Conditioning

The Lost Flashbacks SD : The Wake, The New Au Pair and Locke’s Father are three character flashbacks that were kept out of the final cut for episodes: Abandoned and Lockdown.

19 Deleted Scenes SD (22:55) – show what was left on the curring room floor which is mostly side conversations or some other story telling devices.

Lost Bloopers SD (4:05) – I normally hate bloopers because they’re worth viewing again but this I found myself laughing pretty hard and would consider revisiting at a later date.

Channel 4 UK Promo Directed by David LaChapelle (1:06) – Another sexy and slick short commercial by music video extraordinaire, LaChapelle. It shows you the voice and style you can have as a director when you take the same characters and settings and give a completely different vibe.

Phase 3: Conclusion

Lost Connections HD – is a useful organizational chart of who is connected to who and how. The six degrees of Jack is amplified in this follow-up season and this chart is based on the theory of centrality in that strangers cross paths multiple times in their life.

Mysteries, Theories and Conspiracies SD (10:17) – Show producers and writers and yes, even fan groups form their theories and cases of mythology that surrounds the show.

Secrets from the Hatch SD (15:47) – Take a deeper look into the big arcs in season two. Not only is what happened inside the hatch set talked about here, but also the designing and creating it, and what manifested out of the main characters as a result from this major plot element.

Easter Eggs
There are as many as ten easter eggs that I found by navigating around in the menu. It’s hard to pick up from all of the artificial “distressed film” but the cursor dot jumps around when you push up/down/ or diagonal from the Phase 1, 2, or 3 position. Of the ones I found are Bernard up in the air (1:11) Kraft services dishing Dharma cookies on the set (1:16) and very brief diagram of island sweat (0:36). On the Beach with Evi (4:28) is an interview with Evangeline Lilly who is asked about the second season preparation and her character. Dominic Monaghan with a joke (0:26) Walt getting wet (1:12) a deleted scene of Hurley and Rose (0:29) Jack with a bleep-worthy outtake (0:50) Lilly with the baby who plays Aaron (0:31) and season 2 rain delays (1:12).

Overall Shock Value: A+
This season of Lost started by going against the grain of what made the show so good, but that proved that the Damon Lindelof and the rest of the writers/producers were not afraid to shake it up. By the end this season was even better than the first revealing even more about each castaway, sometimes giving more doubt about certain characters who many so blindly rooted for in the first season. The connections between passengers/survivors create even more intrigue and mystery than before and despite all of the guess work that’s involved, Lost is headed towards somewhere and not just spinning its wheels. There was lots of new energy brought forth with new cast members and the dynamics that came from the hatch. With a truck load of extras, high definition video and audio, Lost: The Complete Second Season is another must-buy package. Namaste!