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Show:		9.0
Picture:		10.0
Sound:		10.0
Extras:		10.0
Score:		10.0

Director(s):	Jack Bender • Stephen Williams
Writer(s):	J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Jeffrey Lieber
Starring:	Daniel Dae Kim • Dominic Monaghan • Evangeline Lilly • Harold Perrineau • Henry Ian Cusick • Jorge Garcia • Josh Holloway • Matthew Fox • Michelle Rodriguez • Naveen Andrews • Terry O'Quinn • Yunjin Kim
Genre:	Adventure • Drama • Fantasy • Mystery • Television
Release Date:	June 16, 2009

List Price:	Blu-ray - $48.99
Amazon:

Before we begin, if you’ve yet to watch the first season of LOST, just stop reading now. Reading this review won’t give you an edge when you finally go to watch the first season, it’ll just ruin some of the great moments. Do yourself a favor and go read the review for the first season or, if you already have, go watch the first season and then come back. With that said, you’ve been warned, because there be slight first season spoilers ahead.

As the first season came to a close, Locke (Terry O’Quinn), Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Hurley (Jorge Garcia) blew open the hatch with dynamite – leaving a gaping hole left to be explored. Meanwhile, the crew of the makeshift sailboat reel after the encounter with the mysterious boat whose occupants abducted Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), the son of Michael (Harold Perrineau). Reaching shore, Michael and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) reunite with Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) only to be taken prisoner by the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815’s tail section – whom they’d assumed had died in the crash. With a new settlement of survivors established, the seasons begins tying their stories back together with the introduction of new characters like Ana-Lucia Cortez (Michelle Rodriguez) whose personality puts her at odds with the established routines of the crowd we came to know in the first season.

The discovery of the hatch adds a new wrinkle to LOST’s story as Jack and Locke discovers the station’s original intent and Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick), a man who lived in solitude within the hatch, reveals the computer which requires a string of numbers to be entered at regular intervals lest disaster strike. The revelation of a safety mechanism keeping the island in order leads to the idealistic difference between Jack and Locke escalating and a rift in their friendship begins to grow. Another primary story in the second season is the addition of Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) whose true past and that what he reveals to the others differ wildly; yet he provides a steady hand to guide the increasing unstable Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) as his troubles with heroin and Claire (Emilie de Ravin) come to a head. Mr. Eko’s story easily receives the greatest attention of the new characters and his character follows a very interesting path.

The second season builds to strong climax, though not the strongest of the series, as the survivors capture a man named “Henry Gale” (Michael Emerson) who they believe to be a member of “the Others”. Their efforts to pry answers from the man create steep divides in the camp as Sayid (Naveen Andrews) toys with the idea of returning to his barbaric means of torture he learned as a soldier in Iraq. Henry Gale makes promises and decisions are made which will affect the lives of everyone on the island.

A great many elements from the lives of the survivors are revealed in the second season. While LOST typically teases the audience with minor revelations, every once in a while major breakthroughs are made casting characters in a light which sheds new meaning on past actions and alters your theories about what they’ll do in the near future. LOST has no qualms against messing with the audience; it manages to keep things consistent, but unlike the recent twists of M. Night Shyamalan, each and every answer to be found in the second season feels fully realized. Without its characters LOST would be nothing but a story about a bunch of people in a mysterious land; but by making the people as enigmatic as the setting, LOST grabs interest and never lets go.

Just like the first season, the second season is a testament to high-definition television. Thanks to the lush backdrop of Oahu, LOST’s set has a life no set could equal. The colors pop out of the screen and the sweeping panoramic shots of the island are phenomenal. The surround sound will blow your mind as it takes full advantage of the crazy events of the show and the life bristling from every branch in the wilderness around them.

Blu-ray Bonus Features

LOST: The Complete Second Season features many of the formatting pros and cons from the first season like a less-than-perfect menu setup overshadowed by the “SeasonPlay” feature which gives you the chance to watch the season with minimal distraction.

The minor extra features include additional flashbacks (and again I’d recommend you not watch them until you’re entirely caught up to the current season), deleted scenes, a gag reel and some fantastic audio commentaries. Filming on location in Oahu makes for plenty of interesting stories from the cast and crew which are relayed through the commentaries – so give ‘em a listen. There’s a feature similar to the additional flashback feature which lets you explore the connections of the characters before they arrived on the island. It’s a bittersweet featurette as it strips the viewer from having to remember and make the connections on their own; again this might be considered a better tool for the up-to-date LOST viewer looking for a quick refresher on the LOST mythos than for the newly-initiated.

Finally we have a “behind the scenes” featurette on the set of LOST and (like with the commentaries) there’s some material here that’s really interesting. Another production featurette “Fire + Water” takes a step by step look at the recording of the titular episode – fun to watch, though at times a bit bland, but hey, if you’ve never worked on a film set, boredom is actually part of the process.

The most interesting and worthwhile featurette on the set is “Mysteries, Theories and Conspiracies” which traces some of the symbolic connections feature unobtrusively throughout the two seasons thus far. It’s hard to recommend this one without giving you a specific point at which to watch it. Part of me says to watch it before starting the second season as it will make you more aware of the small things and help you keep track of the story. Another part of me says that, like with the other “connection”-based featurette, it might be best used as a review tool for the seasoned LOST viewer. To be safe, don’t watch it until you’re done, but after doing so you might consider going back to the specified episodes and having a look at the symbols in context.