Boy is that title depressing. Well, I just got done watching the season finale of Lost. While not as good as last year, it was very well done. As always, my thoughts here are in no particular order, but I want to start off with two main issues I have now with Lost:

1) The Oceanic 6 were trying to return to the Island when it moved. Now their lives are crap and they all have to return. Now while they did want to escape, especially Jack, they were trying to go BACK!

So what - they left the Island - and it's not really their fault - and the Island is making their life hell? That seems a bit unfair if you ask me. I mean whats the point here. The Island brings them down. The Island is a "place of miracles", but if you dare leave without permission you get screwed?

Maybe I'm taking this too personal - but the Island is really pissing me off here.

2) Claire is now... something. A spirit? Whatever - she seems to be one with the Island now. So why in the heck would she tell Kate (in a dream) to not bring the baby back? Maybe the whole "You all have to return" thing doesn't include the baby? If so... meh. I mean, ok, shouldn't be a big deal. Well, Kate has risen this child as her own - she basically adopted the child - and giving up the child would be just as hard as a birth mother giving her child up, so that could be a point of contention, but I really do hope that isn't the major thrust of the next season. If the theme is, "Jack rounding everyone up to return" I'm going to be a bit disappointed.

Ok, so random notes:

1) Locke is dead. Man, that sucks. It was bad enough when Ecco died, but Locke? Of course, even with his death he can be around for the rest of the show.

2) The "Science vs Faith" argument really came to a head. I loved Hurleys reaction when Jack refused to believe the Island moved. I also enjoyed the last discussion Jack and Locke had.

3) Time traveling bunnies. I love it. That whole scene was dead on perfect, especially Locke watching Ben put the metal objects in the room. I think we also got a really good idea about what Dharma was doing. They weren't evil per se - but they treated the Island like a science fair. The Island didn't appreciate that (hence the mass murder), but really their experiments now seem more silly then anything else.

4) There was a new fake commercial - Octagon something or another. I'm sure it will be on Lostpedia later. Anyone remember the URL? I guess it's another ARG.

5) Why would Sun want to help Widmore? The only possible thing I can think of is that she figured out Ben killed Keamy which led to the boat blowing up and her husband's death.

So.... this has been a good season I think. I like how the show is growing. I can't believe I have to wait till 2009, but I'm definitely hooked.

Sorry for the delay. Last night was a late night for me so I'm a bit behind today.

As it stands - last nights episode was another filler episode - but a really darn good one. A few things really stood out for me:

Look at the faces of the 5 people on the airplane. Everyone but Jack is pissed. Not sad. Not afraid. Pissed. This to me implies that Jack makes some kind of decision that gets them off the Island, but not in a way they like. It also implies that people are still alive. If everyone had died I think they would be filled with despair, especially Sun.

The Others: Is this who Ben who signaling? Or was it someone else? What do the Others have in mind? I am completely at a loss on this one.

Sun: While I thought the confrontation with her father was cool, I can't imagine Oceanic giving them enough money for her to buy a major corporation. (Or what I think is a big corporation.)

Hurley: Ok, I love this guy. Really. I especially love how he asks the questions we (viewers) ask. I loved the "If we move the Island and the bad guys are on the Island, don't they just follow us" question. I mean seriously. I've been asking the same thing myself.

So that's it for me. I mean I liked the episode - but that's all I really want to comment on. (Plus I got 3.5 hours of sleep so my RAM is a bit low.)

I was talking to Boyzoid about how I was worried that two more years would stretch it a bit - but you know - if they spend a whole year or two years on the Oceanic 6 trying to fight off Widmore and rescue the remaining survivors, I think it would work.

Impressive. Any episode focusing on Locke is a good episode, and this was no exception. I don't think any episode has shown such a wide variety of timelines. We see from John's birth to his childhood, his time in highschool, and some time during his therapy after falling from the building. Most interesting though are the people who visited him.

First off - we see Richard again, who appears to be ageless. It is strongly implied that Richard was Locke's father. Why? When Locke's grandmother sees him, I swear I saw a look of contempt on her face. She definitely seemed to recognize him. If he is the father, then Richard is certainly more than a ghost.

Later on in Locke's life, we see him interact with the black man. Ok, the 'black man' is not a great name, but I'm not aware of his name on the show. (At least I've finally remembered Richard's name.) He offers Locke some helpful advice - and that's what's really eating at me.

Earlier in the show Richard visits Locke and seems disappointed when Locke didn't pass a test. The African American gentleman - who works for Widmore - seemed to be happy with Locke. If Richard represents the Island - this seems... odd.

More and more we seem to have the Island being represented as a sentient force. Locke asks Christopher at the cabin what he should do to protect the Island. And the answer - move the Island - implies some sense of self-protection.

So let's think about it. The Island has drawn an old slave ship. It drew in the Dharma Initiative. It drew in the airplane. It's certainly drawing Widmore. The Island then is obviously very special. Very powerful. And it wants to protect itself. It slaughtered Dharma. It brought down the airplane to help defend itself against Widmore. It's alive. I just know it.

Anyway I'm rambling now. Next week looks to be great.

Smoke Monster for the win! And not just the normal Smoke Monster, but the big giant one. Sweet. Ok, so as always, here are my observations in no particular order.

1) It was nice to see how Ben "snatched" Sayed.

2) It was also nice to see Ben kick some major butt. He not only has the psychological skills down he can also fight well.

3) When Ben went into the "other" room, not the first hidden room, but the other room, did anyone get a good screen grab of the door? It almost seemed Mayan.

4) The Smoke Monster has been described as a security system and it looks like it can indeed be controlled, somewhat. Ben seems to be able to call it, but he did seem to be worried about it as well. So maybe its almost like an animal - they can summon it and let it go wild, but they to be careful with it.

So the big thing I want to discuss is the Widmore/Linus conversation. Widmore said a few interesting things.

First - Ben couldn't kill him.

Second - He said he knew 'what' Ben was. Ok, that may not mean anything ominous (like Ben is a vampire) but that Ben is more than he seems.

Third - Widmore said Ben got everything from him.

Also - Ben made mention of 'rules'.

So what is the game? Ben has the Island, and Widmore wants it. We kinda new that already. But apparently the 'fight' has been going on for some time. I almost had the impression of two old business rivals.

Don't forget that Lost returns to TV tonight. The episode looks to be pretty darn exciting. I'll have my review up as soon as the episode ends.

This will be a somewhat brief review as I'm sitting in the airport and watched the episode half asleep. It was very nice to see a complete part of the puzzle (what happened to Michael) solved. I had forgot how good Michael's role was, and it's nice to have him back. Frankly, if my kid had been on that island and he had been taken away, I probably would have done the same thing, so I definitely feel for him. Now for the questions/observations:

1) The Other dude (I forget his name, but I love his character, the big guy) told Michael that Widmore is the one who faked the plane crash. I thought the boat captain said that Ben did it? Is that right? If so - then we have a mystery.

2) A minor thing - but if they dub up the bodies from Thailand, how is that the news report in one of the earlier episodes shows a white guy? Cuz the helicopter pilot recognized him and had just noted that he was missing a ring or something. Of course, there can be white people buried in Thailand, but still.

3) I liked that the Other dude referred to the Island. As you guys know, I keep saying that the Island itself is a force, a sentient force of some sort, and I think his words add weight to that. Especially with the power it seems to hold over people.

4) Sayid's reaction was great. Perfect.

5) Oh, and I'm so glad Ben's daughter's boyfriend died. He annoyed the heck out of me. But I'm sad to see the crazy French chick dead.

6) The Temple, I think, is one of the last places we haven't seen yet. For some reason, I imagine it Greek like - and perhaps related to the big foot statue we saw way back in S1.

7) The Other said that "some of them" can leave the Island when they want. As you know, there is some question as to the nature of some of the Others. Some, like Juliet, are definitely 'normal', but others, like the Latin guy (yes, I know I suck with names), may be something else since he appeared to Ben as a child. So I wonder if this is related?

That's it for me. What do others think? And thank god BSG is almost here!