This is the end...beautiful friend. We don't really break on through to the other side, and some of the character decisions don't really light my fire, but hey, people are strange. It's the last episode of the controversial second season of Lost: Jack leads an ill-advised trip towards Othersville, Locke leads an ill-advised trip into the Swan, and a certain Scotsman takes his place at the center of the show's mythological universe.

Earlier in the season, we saw an episode called "What Kate Did." This one very well could have been called "What Michael Did," or more accurately, "What Michael Did Dead Wrong." We also get the equivalent of the "Multiple Angle" feature on many DVDs, as we revisit several scenes from the season through Michael's perspective. In addition to that, frayed relationships are slightly mended, goodbyes are said, and final plans are laid as Lost draws to its season's close.

In this cornah: from Nigeria, a former drug-lord, current priest, and vision quester Eko! In this cornah: from the United States, currently crutched, and suffering a severe crisis of faith: Locke! Let's get ready to ruuummmbbblllleee! The two lynchpins of faith during the second season of Lost go in search of answers in the aftermath of Michael's bloodbath, and at least one of them finds what he is looking for.

Oh, Ana Lucia. We hardly knew ye. And most of us liked it that way. This is your Lost swan song, kiddo, and a lesson learned for all Lostaways: as soon as you achieve closure, be prepared to hit the road, Jack. Just don't hit the road after you've gone on a Christian Shephard-like bender: ABC tends to not like that very much.

Well, this ep really divides people. As many people love it (me) as hate it (ignorant, unwashed heathens). It's the calm before Hurricane Michael sweeps up everything in its path throughout the remainder of the season. So strap in, Lost fans, as we focus on two of the more beloved secondary characters on the show, Rose and Bernard.

The whole "is Lost real or just the figment of someone's imagination" question gets answered definitely in this episode. I personally never held that theory, thinking at the time everything hinged on a frozen elk wheel. (So damn close!) Hurley goes insane in the membrane, Sayid goes gun crazy, and Eko proves that he'd be a horrible designer on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Action-packed ep, y'all.

The blast door map in this episode got me thinking about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, specifically their hit song "Maps." After all, it's easy to think of Locke screaming, "Wait, they don't love you like I love you!" to Helen, isn't it? Or pleading, "Wait, why don't you love me like I love you?" to Anthony Cooper. This assumes, Lost fans, that you can imagine a musical episode of Lost. Which, while amusing in theory, is something I hope never occurs. I'm fine with frozen donkey wheels in my Lost cereal; I just don't want Rose and Bernard to go all Captain & Tennille on us.

Ah yes, the episode in which we learned Sun is a pathological liar, Jin is a romantic schmuck, and Henry Gale is one scary, scary dude. In fact, so many things are set in motion that it's hard to rectify episodes such as this with the general "nothing ever happened in Season 2" complaints that people (such as me) often lob at the show. I still say that momentum of Lost was at its slowest during this season, but I certainly was not bored watching this one again, I can assure you.

Strap in, kids: this is Lost at its best. It's Claire-centric, but it's so good I don't make one joke about the way that she says "baaaaybeeee" in my recap. It's a deft blend of character-based drama and delicious mythology. Oh, Lost mythology, if I could I'd drizzle you on my oatmeal on a daily basis. Now THAT'S a balanced breakfast, people. But enough about my morning routine: on with the recap!

This is Episode 1 B.L. (Before Linus). It's an episode long on character, short on mythology, and featuring a back story that really doesn't gain resonance for another season or so. But it's a crucial Lost episode, in that it exists to create the proper atmosphere of distrust and anger in which a future visitor can work his psychological mastery to perfection.  So all I can say it don't look back in anger at this episode: admire the darkness creeping on the edge of town.

Oh Charlie Pace. You know I dig you, right? I mean, in general, you're an alright guy, and your presence on the show is keenly felt. But dear Dharma did Lost deliver a stinker of an episode in this, an hour about you, your piano, and losing your religion. (In more ways than one, really.) This episode makes "The Hunting Party" seem like "Orientation." Translation: break out the adult beverages, people. You're gonna need 'em. Assuming you're an adult, after all. If you're not, break out the Sunny D.

Strap yourselves in, Lost fans. This is a bit of a rough one. But at least it features the first major dialogue scene with the Others since the end of Season 1, a scene that crackles with excitement and danger to this day. Gotta love those theatrically-minded Others, people. As a former techie myself, I appreciate the subterfuge inherent in their performance.

Has a flashback ever done so great a job at explaining an entire character so succinctly as the one in this episode? I think we've seen approximately seventy-four Jack Shephard flashbacks at this point, and we know less about him than we do about Eko after this one. Course, they did such a good job that the actor who played him forced the show to eventually fire him, but hey, Lost fans, we're not here to bury Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, but praise Eko, and this fantastic episode.

If you're like me and dreading this one, trust me: it's much better than you remember. Just make it through the back story and you're golden, as the on-Island stuff is top-notch for Lost fanatics. There's a little something for everyone: mythology, romance, horsies: you name it, this episode's got it. Except for "compelling flashback," naturally. Oh well, you can't have it all. Unless you're "Walkabout" or "The Constant."

They are the three scariest words in the English language: Ana Lucia flashback! OK, maybe not, but Ana Lucia's clearly up there with the Blunder Twins of Season 3 as the most controversial (read: loathed) characters in Lost history. Me, myself and I? I'd put Nikki and Paolo way higher on my personal list of most hated characters, but it's not as if I used to give an Aresnio Hall-esque Dawg Pound salute every time A.L. popped up onscreen.

OK, it's been a few rough episodes, Lost fans. I spent the first few episodes of this season seriously reconsidering my own semi-low opinions of this season, only to be brought back down to earth by the post-"Orientation" episodes.

Ready for a shocking death that will change everything you know about the Lost universe? Me too! Unfortunately, it doesn't happen in this episode. I know, bummer. What we get instead is the ignominious death of a character no one ever really liked, a victim not only of her own shortcomings as a character but a vicious attack on her screen time by those selfish Tailies.

You know how we all look forward to those Darlton-written episodes of Lost? Well, this is one of them, although you wouldn't know it. It features a few signature moments in the Lost universe, but doesn't hold up nearly as well to scrutiny as some of their others. But hey, not every episode can be a heart-wrenching, mind-blowing, brain-expanding extravaganza. Sure, I might make it seem easy here on the blog, but trust me, it's hard work.

Well, we've now got a button to push, a hatch to investigate, food to distribute, and most important, a shower to take! Yes, it's the follow-up to "Orientation," in which those involved with the inaugural Lostaway button pushing ceremony figure out how to keep as much information as possible from the rest of the survivors.

It's Shark Week here on Lost! That's right, the second episode of Season 2 bringing us an attack on the high seas as Michael and Sawyer struggle to cope with the events of the end of Season 1. Back in the hatch, Locke learns about snow men, Kate rediscovers junk food, and Desmond learns about the Lostaways timeline.

I honestly thought going into the We Have to Go Back project that this would be the toughest slough: the progression through Season 2. However, a lot of you have seem to have placed this season above the third one in your own estimation, which frankly surprised me. Continue reading »