Sayid

Season 2 analysis: Sayid is interesting because he has two very clear and distinct agendas that could possibly come in conflict with each other.  More than anyone else, he wants off the island to find the woman who gave him a chance at redemption.  Also, more than anyone else, he wants to kill every damn "Other" on the island because he feels that they are responsible for the murder of the woman he loved. It would be interesting to see whether he would choose a one way ticket to Los Angeles or putting a bullet in the back of the head of whoever "Him" turns out to be.  He's also the resident soldier, and if the Losties are headed for a showdown with "The Others", he'll have to be in the vanguard.  It also makes him dangerously expendable by the writers because his death would make life difficult for the Losties to match "The Others" which they may want, in order to make them more of an underdog than they are now. 

Season 3 analysis: Turns out Sayid did end up playing a key role in the confrontation with The Others.  However, the thing about Sayid is that since the death of Shannon, he hasn't had much of a story arc.  It looks as if his season three flashback was designed to set up his decision to not kill Mikhail, so that was more of an elaboration of a previously established character point; that he is a changed man since his days as an Iraqi "communications officer."  But other than kicking ass, taking names, and being sensitive about it, there doesn't seem to be a clear sense of where he is going as a character or how he fits into the main storyline dynamic.  He almost seems too bad ass for everyone else.  On top of that, he's another character whose story has to be resolved off island with his search for and reunion with Nadia.  How would that jive with the Island madness?

(Yes I realize that in being a slacker this has been posted after the third episode of season four which seems to answer my last question.  All I have to say for now is: I guess that'll work )

Sun & Jin

Season 2 analysis:  Unlike Clare and Michael, the writers have done a very good job of creating characters that are as interesting on their own as well as they are in their relationship with each other.  Separating the two towards the end of season one was a wise move, because it gave them time to stretch as individuals and make their reunion that much more interesting.  Even without the pregnancy, it's a relationship that has continued to evolve.  Who would have thought that about the foreign married couple?  Even as we explore their relationship with each other, they also have the potential in the overall story with Sun's foreboding father and Jin's work as one of his henchmen.  This has plenty of possibilities in terms of flashbacks, and now it seems like the writers are weaving Sun's father in to the greater fabric that is the Hanso Foundation/Dharma Initiative.  There maybe some temptation to kill one half of the couple for dramatic purposes, but I think the producers are pleased with their success with Jin and Sun, and are hooked on making this couple an integral part of the show.  I'm not sure about this pregnancy.  Sun is one of the stronger actors on the show and I can't see them saddling her with a plot device that's already being played out by another character.  It is possible that we may not see it play out completely considering the pacing of the show.  It would be nice to see Jin speak more English.  It would not be too unrealistic for him to gain some limited competency in such an immersive environment.  Kind of ironic for an actor whose first language is English, and needs to be tutored in Korean.

Season 3 analysis:  Yunjin Kim really broke out with her episodes this year.  She displayed an amazing range that I hope the writers will take advantage of in future episodes.  Plotwise it was good to see the writers integrate the nature of Sun's pregnancy with the overall plotline.  On the other hand, I sound like a broken record at this point, but these characters especially need to get off the island and have a final showdown with Sun's father.  They've been building on it for three seasons now, and it needs to be paid off.  I suppose they could pull a Cooper and magically bring Mr. Paik to the island, but what makes the challenge interesting is struggling against the Korean mobster's power and reach in addition to his domineering personal relationship with the couple. 

The course of the three seasons has effectively altered the audience's initial perceptions of the couple.  Rather than being the stereotypical submissive co-dependent, Sun is a woman who can be very proactive, if short sighted.  Her affair with Jae led to his suicide, and her plan to keep Jin safe from the secret of his own mother got him trapped into working for her father's less legitimate endeavors.  That in turn worsened the relationship with each other.  Despite the difficulties they have overcome on the island, there's still the issue of complete honesty that stands between them. 

Jin is relentlessly dedicated to his wife, and will do anything for her.  What will he do to save Sun and their baby, and more importantly, how will he react if he finds out about all of Sun's secrets and how they condemned him to be the terrible person he was becoming before they crashed on the island?

Hurley

Season 2 analysis:  The everyman of the series.  I believe that he is one of the characters with the highest chance of survival to the end of the series.  He gives the audience a voice in the proceedings and helps ground the series in reality.  His death would only signal that the show would be turning to a direction that could not be justified paired with Hurley's practical and humorous commentary.  Hurley also represents the Losties in the grand scheme of things as he has been unwittingly caught up in forces that he doesn't understand, but he still does his best to live a normal life.  I'm not sure what Libby's death would do to him, and I'm not sure that the show would benefit from a drastic shift in his character or perspective.  The show is pretty dark already, and it would be a shame to extinguish one of the few brighter characters.  Where does he go from here?  He's dark, and he might be bad luck.  That's nice, but what is he actually going to do?  The current possibility would make him the resident driven, avenging action hero, but we already have plenty of those. (Jack, Sawyer, Kate, Sayid, Eko)  Why did "The Others" want him?  Why are they just sending him back?  Did they realize his significance, but then change their minds because they figured out his propensity to bring bad mojo to people around him?  At the very least, sending Hurly across the island on his own could be interesting.

Season 3 analysis:  As a generally supporting character, Hurley still serves an important role on the island as morale officer, providing a pragmatic and humorous running commentary to the island bizarreness.  That didn't prevent him from playing a spectacular role in the finale. 

Again, another character with no overall arc.  I guess he's "cursed," but I'm not sure how exactly he's supposed to deal with that.  It seems to be a manifestation of a connection to the island, and may provide some fertile territory to explore storywise.  He also could prove to be an interesting player in exploring the show's theme of free will whose flip side of destiny was played out with his friend Charlie in season 3.  Plot wise, he would have an interesting role to play in post island life with his fortune assuming someone hasn't stolen it from him yet.  Lord knows there's no shortage of con men and other assorted disreputable characters running around the Lost universe. 

He is a definite contrast to the main characters of Ben, Locke, Jack, Sawyer, and Kate in that he is the most genuinely selfless character in the series, and because of that, not very much bad has happened to him directly this season.  (You know, other than crashing on that freakish island)  Maybe that's one of the lessons of the Island: Scheme for your own benefit and you're only screwing yourself.  Put other people first and the Island won't mess with you.  Live together, die alone?

Upon reviewing the 3^rd season on DVD, I decided that his flashback episode, "Tricia Tanaka is Dead," is one of my favorites mostly because he made a good point about the Losties winning one for a change. Looking back over three seasons, this is the only upbeat episode since the end of the first season.  Try watching every season back to back and you'll realize how important it is in breaking up the oppressive atmosphere that pervades Lost since then.

To be continued . . .