LOST: Joie's Impressions After Season Two.

I should've written this post a few days ago when I actually finished the season (after watching four discs of it in two days), but I've been busy with Christmas preparations and family stuff, so I'm a bit behind on ye olde blogging.  This will probably be a much shorter post than my Season One post.  (Edit:  Um, nevermind.)

Everyone has told me that most people hated Season Two; I loved it!  Yes, there were things that pissed me off, but in a good way if that's possible; I was frustrated in a way that let me know I was much more invested in the story than I had previously been.

*Spoiler Alert:  If you're not up to date on LOST, you might want to stop reading right about now.*

On Characters.
So John Locke and Hurley are still my favorites.  I was becoming incredibly fond of Libby and then, of course, they had to kill her off--heartbreaking!  And as much as I pretty much loathed Shannon, I still felt awful about her death for Sayid's sake--I love that kid almost as much as I love Locke and Hurley.  I'm also incredibly fond of Mr. Eko and can't wait to see more of his backstory.  (Unfortunately I don't know how much more I'll find out; the one time I saw a clip of any LOST show just happened to be a clip of what I'm pretty sure was Mr. Eko's very silly death.  I suppose I'll find out once I get through Season Three.)  Ana Lucía I hated even more than Shannon, and I spent most of my time up until her death wanting to smack her; it's evil, but I'm very glad she won't be around anymore.  Sawyer I just can't help but love no matter what stupid evil crap he pulls--it makes no sense!  I would hate him in real life, he is the perfect picture of a guy I would never ever go for... and yet I can't help but love him.  I'm strange, it's how I roll.  I'm loving all the crazy backstory with Jin and Sun (and loving them--they're fantastic); I was pleased to see some Rose and Bernard love; Michael annoys me as much as he ever did, if not more so (really, has he been in a scene where he wasn't throwing a tantrum?  I know dudeboy's got it tough, but seriously... calm down); and Claire and Charlie I'm mildly interested in, but eh.  I wasn't pleased with the "character development" of Charlie this Season.  It felt less like character development and more like character butchering.  Claire I really like, except she seems to have the same tendency as Michael--always screaming about something.  (See what happens when you have kids?  You throw more tantrums than they do.)  I'm very happy to see Desmond back in the picture, because he's just a cutie.  And I hate to admit it people, but I just don't care so much for Jack or Kate.  Kate's growing on me again, but Jack... he gets a bit too cranky/bossy for my taste. 

On Story.
How about that button.  I spent the entire season desperately wanting someone to let it go all the way down because I'm overly obsessed with those scary characters on the countdown.  I can't help but be amused, though--I'm pretty sure Season Two of LOST could hold the world record for Most Plot Time Allotted to Discussion and Pressing of a Button.
All this business with the "others" is becoming more and more intriguing.  I really enjoyed the episode dedicated to Claire's remembering of what happened to her, especially now that Alex is being incorporated into the story--I so want to know more about her.
Why is it that no one communicates on this damn island?  "Oh, we caught a guy that might be an other."  "Oh, he tried to kill Ana Lucía, so don't leave her alone with him."  "Oh hey, we visited another hatch where Claire was abducted and figured all sorts of shit out."  These people piss me off with their secrecy from one another, and that's why Jack is one of my least favorite characters--he's usually captain of the secrets team.  To be fair, Locke gets on my nerves about that, too.  How about, "We found a hatch, let's all work to get inside it."  Bah.

Genuine Frustrations with the Show:
(I label it that to distinguish from things about the characters that frustrate me--in other words, things that are supposed to frustrate you as opposed to things that I consider inconsistent or silly about the plot/writing.)
Seriously.  Where the hell is the fire coming from?  How does everyone make these torches that burn perfectly and never burn the stick down, not to mention never set surrounding grass on fire?
How has Jin picked up so much English in two months?  Maybe something will explain this later, but it's a bit ridiculous.  For that matter, how did Sun become fluent so quickly, and how is her vocabulary so expansive?  It seems like a stretch, but that's okay.
Why is no one emaciated or at least thinning or getting sick from malnutrition after two months of poor diet?

Despite all my bitching about some things, I'm totally addicted to this crap.  I can't stop watching.  In fact... I've spent enough time writing about it, and now I believe I'll get my Season Three on.