Season 2, Episode 1: Man of Science, Man of Faith

Welcome to the hatch, my friends. A new layer of intrigue is added to the show as a new character is introduced, Desmond. My first impressions of Dez weren't great as I recall, but I've grown to love the plucky Scotsman.

MAJOR PLOT POINTS

As Season 2 opens, we are in unfamiliar environs, watching Desmond — who originally was slated to be little more than a plot device in a few episodes but became a central character — wake up to a beeping computer that he must placate with a few keys strokes and the "execute" command. No sooner does he punch in the correct code, which we will later learn is the 4-8-15-16-23-42 sequence, the hatch is blown and Desmond arms himself.

The inside of the hatch door, which is a half-mile from the caves, reads Quarantine. All signs, thus, point to avoiding it. With a broken ladder as its only means of entry, clearly the hatch won't work for saving the survivors from The Others, whose attack is anticipated at any moment. Therefore, Jack wants to return to the caves to formulate a new plan for keeping the group safe. Locke, meanwhile, just wants to see what's in the hatch.

During a flashback, we see Jack choose to save Sarah, who was first to the ER after a car wreck, while another patient on a nearby table dies. Later, when Sarah comes to and Jack is detailing her injures, his matter-of-fact bedside manner draws criticism from his father, Christian, who urges him to dole out a little hope to his patients. Jack recoils at the notion of passing out false hope.

But as in-fighting and confusion overwhelm the group when it becomes clear to all that the hatch won't provide salvation, Jack steps in as a calming influence. He even goes as far as to promise that everyone will be safe. Kate appreciates his optimism, but when Locke decides to go explore the hatch anyway, she goes along with Locke. Since she's the lightest, Kate drops in first, but the line slips. On high alert inside the hatch, Desmond grabs Kate as a prisoner (and, no doubt, a welcome sight). Jack, who ended up following Kate to the hatch, arrives to find neither his love nor Locke.

Wrapping up the flashback, Sarah's fiancee, unwilling to stay with her if she's paralyzed, pretty much dumps her. Out of pity as much as anything, when she prepares for surgery saddened that she'll only be able to roll around at her wedding (which she doesn't know will be called off quite yet), Jack promises to fix her. Sensing he failed after the operation (and waiting for her to leave the recovery room), he flagellates himself by running stadium stairs and, when passed by a fit young Scot training for a race around the world, twists an ankle trying to catch up. That young Scot turns out to be Desmond. Of course, even though Jack doesn't believe in miracles, Sarah can, in fact, wiggle her toes. Jack eventually will test sensations in other parts of her lower extremities.

Rappelling down himself into the hatch, Jack cautiously advances through the maze of tunnels he finds, which have walls covered in graffiti that repeat the number 108 (the sum of 4-8-15-16-23-42). Something powerfully magnetic tugs at the gun-case key around his neck, but before he can explore that he stumbles into the room with the Apple IIe-looking computer from the opening sequence. He also runs into Locke, who is being held captive with a gun to his head. Insisting upon seeing Kate, Desmond uses the term brother, which Jack remembers from the conversation at the stadium and there's a flicker of recognition.

Back on the beach, Vincent goes missing and Shannon is determined to find him. Sayid agrees to help, but she gets separated from him when Vincent takes off into the underbrush. Shannon joins a select group when she hears whispers in the jungle. She also encounters a soaking wet Walt — we know he's already been kidnapped by The Others — who warns her to be quiet.

QUOTABLE

"Do you want some advise? You have to lift it up. Your ankle; you have to keep it elevated." — Desmond, a med school student at one time, offering Jack counsel for his twisted ankle (and life in general)