Fazzinchi

Would you trust this man?

The Other Viewer and I have finally got up to speed with the E4 broadcasts of Season Two of Lost. Episode 13, “The Long Con” was another strong episode, helped in no small part, and as ever, by Josh Holloway playing the role of island bad guy, Sawyer. Long cons, of course, are somehing that many UK viewers are more than familiar with, thanks to the BBC’s “Hustle” and so the plot of this episode was one that you expected to have plenty of twists and turns througout. It doesn’t disappoint because we see two cons in action… one on the island and one in flashback, as Sawyer seemingly reacts to the events around him while in reality, of course, it is he who has been manipulating them. The other point of note here is the development of Charlie, someone whose life was on a downward spiral even before the plane crash and is not getting much better now he’s stranded on the island. His heroin addiction is sympathically handled but the final scenes of “The Long Con” show a glimpse of how low Charlie is truly descending, and it might be this attention to characterisation (as opposed to its make-it-up-as-you-go-along plot) that keeps Lost at the top of the TV tree.

It’s The Final Countdown

Lost is back on the C4/E4 trail with the recent premiere of season two. We’re a few weeks in to it now and the mystery and magic is still there…. we’ve been down the hatch to find a Scotsman, a countdown clock and an old cinefilm about the Dharma Institute. On the other side of the island, Sawyer, Mike and Jin survived the attack by the Others (and an attack by a shark with the Dharma Institute logo on its fin…. huh?) only to be captured by the other Others who survived from the back of the plane. Walt is appearing to Shannon as some kind of ghost and everyone else is going through the mill as usual. Happily, the flashback scenes have also returned to cast more light on the antics of the islanders before the crash and these provide a great backdrop and balance to the stories. Where the first season had that compelling “What-the-hell-is-going-on?” factor, this time round I find myself a bit more comfortable with the concept and a bit more impatient to get some more answers. Still gripping stuff.