Season 1, Episode 2: Pilot Part 2

We begin to get into the guts of Lost as the in-fighting picks up and the personalities of the main characters come into sharper focus.

MAJOR PLOT POINTS

Charlie's demons extend well beyond his own drug use and the lying associated with. For example, his denial that he tossed his cookies in the bathroom as the episode opens. He believes himself to be a coward, which helps explain later brave action taken in an effort to save the group.

We also meet pampered (but ultra hot) Shannon and her brother Boone, who were on Oceanic Flight 815 from Sydney to Los Angeles in first class. Shannon doesn't want to participate in the group's effort at constructing some sort of civilization, because she's convinced rescue is imminent.

The fisticuffs first fly between Sawyer and Sayid, who takes umbrage to the con man's assertion that he crashed the plane. The stage is being set for Sawyer to be viewed as the meat-head, relying on his hillbilly prejudices as the basis to accuse the Arab passenger of crashing a plane. Tough man Sawyer appears to be getting the better of Sayid when the fight is broken up.

Shortly after, the first of Sawyer's many nicknames — Lardo, which is directed as Hurley — is trotted out.

Next, we see Kate bathing in the ocean in a sort of Bathsheba moment. The kings of the island — Jack and Sawyer — will come to covet the bathing beauty. She's alternately divide and unite the two, involving herself to varying degrees and at varying times with both suitors. Her desirability and the openness with which she struts is contrasted by Sun, whose domineering husband Jin frowns upon so much as an undone button. We also begin to see the seeds of Sun's discontent with her husband's possessive and jealous side, which will be expounded upon in later episodes. Bottom line: Sun is prepared to defy Jin.

I'm still not sure what to make of the Spanish comic book with a polar bear on the cover. But it seemed important enough to take note of, considering the prominence polar bears will come to play. Walt is enthralled with the comic book.

But he's also taken in by John Locke. The two are seen playing backgammon with dice made of bones, which Locke calls the oldest game in the world and notes its development 5,000 years earlier in Mesopotamia. The foreshadowing isn't yet clear, but given Mesopotamia's history as the cradle of civilization — and the fact we later see Jacob and his unnamed nemesis sitting on the same beach — the symbolism is striking. Black versus white, dark versus light — the iconic portrayals of the struggle between good and evil. It seems to suggest the inhabitants of the island are pieces in a game. The notion is reinforced in subsequent seasons.

Claire's baby kicks for the first time on the island after Jin serves her some food. We learn two things from the exchange: a baby will be born and Jin's not such a bad guy.

Later, on a venture into the jungle, Sawyer protects the group by shooting a charging polar bear. Of course, just how he came by the gun becomes a point of contention.

We also discover that Kate was a prisoner in the custody of a U.S. Marshal, who was seriously wounded by shrapnel during the crash and labors in and out consciousness.

Sayid also discovers Rousseau's signal, which has been playing for 16 years and 5 months, adding a new level of intrigue to the island and what's in store.