Lost: A Mysterious Journey
Lost is a series of TV shows that centers on the survivors of a plane crash that left them on a tropical island. The surviving passengers, including spinal surgeon Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox), fugitive Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly), and lottery winner Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia), soon discover that the island is inhabited by a series of mysterious, malevolent entities. They are also threatened by a "Smoke Monster" that roams the jungle and is able to control other inhabitants' minds.
The First Season: Surviving the Unknown
The first season of the show centered on the survivors' attempts to survive on the island. They were also surrounded by a number of mysterious elements such as the Smoke Monster, a group of malevolent inhabitants known as "The Others", a scientific organization known as the Dharma Initiative that placed several research stations on the island, and personal connections (synchronicity) between characters who often have no knowledge of each other's past or present.
A Shift in Cast and Intriguing Additions
As the show progressed, many of the original cast members were replaced by newer actors. A couple of the series's most notable replacements included Naveen Andrews, who played former Iraqi Republican Guard Sayid Jarrah and Alan Dale, who portrayed corporate magnate Charles Widmore.
An Island of Secrets and Surprises
In addition to the main cast, Lost features a number of recurring guest stars, who play members of the Dharma Initiative or other scientists who work on the island. These include Dr. Pierre Chang (Francois Chau) and married couple Rose Nadler and Bernard Nadler, who were separated on opposite sides of the island and appear in flashbacks with the main cast members.
Season 2: The Conflict Intensifies
Season 2 focuses on the growing conflict between the survivors and the Others. A power struggle between Jack and John Locke over control of the guns and medicine located in the hatch develops, resolved in "The Long Con" by Sawyer when he gains control of them. Walt and Michael also find themselves in the midst of a conflict between the island's caretakers and the Others when they are ambushed on their raft by the Other.
Escaping the Island and Altered Lives
The series continues with a third season that follows the survivors' lives after they have escaped from the island. This season, a series of flash forwards is seen, where several of the characters have changed their lives for the worse or better. Some of these changes are attributed to the death of Jacob, while other characters seem to have lived completely different lives on the island than they did before.
An Epic Battle between Good and Evil
Another timeline is shown in which the Oceanic Flight 815 never crashed on the island. In this timeline, the Man in Black, who is a human alter ego of the Smoke Monster, takes over the island and forces a war between the good and evil survivors.
The Final Season: A New Story Unfolds
In the final season of the series, two timelines are merged to create an entirely new story. In the first timeline, the survivors are stranded on the island after the death of Jacob and are manipulated by the Man in Black into thinking that they are the last-of-a-kind candidates for protection.
