LOST: Season 2

4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42.

Have I got your attention yet?

Good. Since I recently jumped on the LOST bandwagon, I've found there is much to enjoy and surprise in this show. I was worried this season's review would be a bit shorter, and looking back over it, I'm afraid I'm right.

Here goes. LOST: Season 2 lives up to Season 1's potential, taking some unanswered questions and answering them by way of making you ask another question. The show whirls you around, constantly going in different directions and dealing with different mysteries. Here's the thing, though: it works. It still holds together remarkably well, and by all accounts it should have fallen apart rapidly.

There's little left to say. The high production values, quality of acting, and head-scratching goodness of the scripts are back in spades, and it doesn't disappoint.

Some favorite episodes of mine:

Man of Science, Man of Faith: It's high time we found out what was inside the hatch, and that is the very first thing we see in Season 2. But, of course, it's not what you expect. It's not even close to what you expect.

The Other 48 Days: Guess what? There are more survivors of the fateful crash of Oceanic Flight 815. But their month and a half has been a little less positive than the one experienced from the survivors of the fusilage. And that's saying something.

Lockdown: Trouble in the hatch. A blast door shuts on Locke and he needs to depend on a prisoner to save him. He gets much more than he bargained for, though, and stumbles upon a major clue.

Two for the Road: A betrayal. An escape. And two murders. This is where the real end game of the season begins, and it's really quite shocking. Really.

?: Yes, that's the full title of the episode. Locke, with the help of Mr. Eko, makes good use of the clue he found, but what he finds at a strange DHARMA (not explaining that here) location will test his faith in the Island and drastically change his perspective.

Live Together, Die Alone: In this double-length season finale, Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hurley follow a known traitor into a trap. Meanwhile, at the hatch, Locke works with a familiar face to make a potentially cataclysmic decision regarding the hatch. And wow, does it have a whopper of a cliffhanger.

I'll admit, I've heard that this show hits a bit of a slow spot midway through the series, but LOST: Season 2 is not it. This is relentless, mysterious entertainment at its best, and something that will surely be remembered for a long while.

My rating: 10/10

Coming Soon: Fool Moon (Book Two of the Dresden Files).