They've already announced that they are going to start the season with the rest of the new shows, show 7 episoides in a row, then take a long break and start back in February with 15 consecutive episodes through the end of the season.

I agree that the writing quality was in general poorer this season. To me though, the show remained far superior to anything else on network tv.

I was also bamboozled by the last 15 minutes. Before that, I was thinking the episode was great. Like any fiction, to really enjoy it, you need to be able to suspend disbelief. Then during the last 15 minutes, I felt myself wondering if I was seeing a show jumping the shark.

Something else no one mentioned - I think Walt is one of the Others now, and he's setting his dad up. TAFKA Henry Gale even said at one point they got more than they bargained for "when Walt joined us". I really think Walt has turned.

Remember last week's episode, when in the flashback we saw Michael and Walt together for the first time? Walt wasn't surprised - he was acting. He supposedly blurted out "they aren't what you think they are", yet when he went over to give his dad a hug, he doesn't say a word about the others - the perfect time to do so. I think Walt's been acting like he's been "kidnapped" and he's actually part of the Other's now, staying under his own free will - just like Rousseau's daugher is.

Why else would the Others - with a commodity so valuable as Walt to have staged all of this nonsense - just let him go scot free?

Next season, Walt is going to bring Michael back, or he's going to lead the boat where it can be captured again.

Michael is ruined. I don't see how they can bring him back now, unless they make him a villain.

yeah, I don't think Michael and Walt will be back

???

I posted earlier that I didn't see why people don't like the show because it has ongoing storylines... you answered that by saying that the reason why is that the writing is bad.

I enjoyed this season a lot. I don't think the writing was bad. And I don't really understand most of the complaints people are making about the show.

For me, the part of this season I missed was the horror and suspense. It was still there at times, but not as much as in the first season.

I also enjoyed the last 15 minutes a lot. I thought it was a good season finale type finish. We got a limited answer to one of the major mysteries (where is the island), but not a complete answer. The writers certainly dispelled one of the major theories in that the island is really just purgatory.

I've enjoyed the ride with Lost so far and will keep watching. Eventually, I'm sure to be disappointed (as with all TV programs), but for now I'm very happy with the series.

Michael won't be a regular cast member next season, but he'll be back for guest spots... I guess similar to what they did with Walt this season. They still have some things to explain with those two characters...

The creators of the show debunked that theory in a media interview during last season...

I know, but many people believed it anyway. I normally don't believe what writers have to say either in a such with so many mysteries. But this time they were being honest.

This is called a season ending cliff hanger. See every single television drama since J.R. got shot on Dallas back in the 80's. You may hate television, but this is certainly nothing new. Hell, see last season w/ Walt getting grabbed, and the hatch opening up.

I really enjoyed this season, and I really enjoyed how they ended it. Now all summer I will wonder, Is Syiad going to find them? Did another plane now crash on the island? I am guessing that we will now start to see what is going on with the others, who they are and what they are doing? Lock and Desmond, will they go searching for all the hatches now? Did Echo survive, you assume he did or Charlie would have known. You now know that there is a real reason they have had people in the hatch, and why have they not sent the replacments knowing what will happen if thet dont push the button.

I will be anxiously waiting for season 3. This is still my favorite show on tv.

These guys have never out and out lied to us.

One thing is for sure: The producers sure gave themselves some great bargaining power with the cast in that episode. Michael and Walt can clearly be written out (and I fully expect them to be). Sawyer, Jack, and Kate ended the season with bags over their heads, so any stand in could replace them if the writers want to kill them off. Locke, Desmond, and Echo were all in the hatch that blew its top, so they could all be gone.

Really,of the original cast, it seems like only Hurley, Charlie, Claire, Sayid, Jin, and Sun are safe.

IIRC, most of the cast signed pretty decent contract extensions earlier this season. I think the ending is all about suspense, not at all about money. Most (all) the big names will be back.

Did anyone else notice some kind of lesion on Michael's face and hand? I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be a bruise or if it might be the mysterious infection.

FWIW, Jack explained they couldn't attack Michael because then the Others would know they were on to him. As to why they kept following him, I guess they bought into Jack's lame-o plan.

I definitely noticed that he had some lesions when he was off by himself "looking for firewood" and Jack come up to help him. It seemed like he had them on his face and hands. I thought about the infection, too.

But on the opposite side, it seemed like they went out of their way to point out that Kelvin was just using the infection to scare Desmond into staying in the hatch, since his suit was ripped and he took it off right after he got outside.

This infection?

"I wouldn't have risked your lives if I didn't have a plan!"

LOL. IIRC, it wasn't Jack's plan it was Sayid's. He couldn't even execute the plan well enough for it to work.

What was up with the statue with four toes?

Seriously that was rather weird. Maybe it was just another red herring though so people would start with the 'they must be four toed aliens' theories.

That statue scene was pretty creepy.

Or to make people think on the lines of "planet of the apes".

You maniacs! You blew it up!

why does everyone think walt will be written out?

he seems ultra-important to me. hes got "powers", and can teleport or something weird like that.

he was the ENTIRE plot of season 1 (the others wanting the kid...who we all assumed was aaron).

no way we are done with him.

michael? good riddance.

In a nutshell it's a tough task for the producer to handle a kid that noticeably ages several years when he's supposed to be on the island for only 45 days (or whatever it is).

So the writers either come up with a rapid aging excuse or simply write the kid out of the show. Tough to write the kid out w/out disposing of the dad, so bye bye Walt and Mike.

(that's speculation of course, I have no idea if they'll be back).

i see what you're saying, but i think they'll have to find a way. they've set him up as too important so far.

that said, i liked that the show confirmed that it's nov/dec '04 right now. i know we kind of knew, but i liked being reminded.

Micheal and Walt will be back because the have to come back, just like Desmond. No one can escape the island and its magnetic pull. That's why Penny has Russkies to search for the island and Desmond. It's also why the entire island is the Black Rock--in the sense of a black hole that no one can see. Didn't Desmond (or someone else?) say 'even God can't see this island?"

NotTheHenry had no problem letting Walt and Michael sail off. He knows they'll be back, just like everyone else on the island has tried to leave. you can't escape. Probably because the compass doesn't work near the island.

NotTheHenry had me convinced that Dharma and the Others were the same, but now I understand why he insists they are the good guys. Zeke, et al, are not Dharma, they came to the island much as the Losties, Desmond, real Henry Gale and Rousseau did. The bad guys are Dharma. They caused The Incident and everyone else suffers for it.

The last five minutes were needed to show that someone outside the island is actively searching for the survivors. That gives hope. Once a plane crashes in the Pacific, no one expects survivors to turn up.

There for awhile I thought I had won my bet with some friends. I said the writers would have the courage to make this the unannounced final episode of the entire series in which all is explained. When the magnet went off and the sky got wierd, I thought I might just be right. Instead I'll be bringing god-awful Diet Coke instead of Dr. Pepper to wargame night on Tuesday.

I don't know how they'll be able to bring Walt and Michael back, seeing as how Walt will be about 4 inches taller than his dad by the time next season rolls around.

I thought ive seen all the fan sites for lost, but this one is awesome... http://lostpedia.com

Couple more official Lost sites popped up too, http://www.HansoCareers.com and http://letyourcompassguideyou.com

and fwiw, the reasearchers werent speaking Russian, it was Portuguese.

I found the job for me!

Was that Matthew Fox as the foreign guy?

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g6...0210/artic.jpg

NO, and it looks nothing like him.

??

http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/05/25/no-i-am-not-jack/

There are a ton of hidden things in thehansofoundation.org. For one... in the source code to the main page, there is a comment with a url. hxxp://www.djdan.am

Check out the audio clip.

It's hard to tell which pages are created by ABC but since this one is referenced from the thehansofoundation.org, I think it is legit.

The whole thing had a very "Empire Strikes Back" vibe to it.
I think Jack clearly has a plan, as signified by his nod to Kate. He and Sayid have clearly worked something out, hell Micheal may be in on it to for all we know. I loved the fact that the answers only lead to more questions and I think we're in for a doozy of a 3rd season premiere.

I went to that http://letyourcompassguideyou.com site and found some tidbits. this Lost mystery clue internet stuff is fun:

http://letyourcompassguideyou.com/us...mail/memo2.png

fuck if i know what the hell that means.

wow guys, i found this video clip - tell me where this commerical is filmed doesn't look familiar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pna5kuVZDXE

Just rumors I heard, but Harrold Perrineau didn't sign up for another season of Lost, so he and Walt are gone for good. I think the others had figured out a way to evade the magnetic pull by going at a certain coordinate.

I do find it weird that they left Vincent and Walt didn't say anything about it. That dog was his life, and he's just going to say, ok, dog gone.

They'll swing by the beach, pick up the dog, and roll out.

Locke vs. Hume
 

We started out with John Locke and added Rousseau, two biggies of philosopy. This week we learned that Desmond is Desmond David Hume, booted out of a Scottish regiment.

David Hume was a Scottish philosopher, who argued against religion on the grounds it contains no experimental reasoning (gross simplification on my part, but it does not mislead).

The last episode contained a scene between Locke and Hume arguing over the power of prayer (pushing the button) in which the roles are reversed. That is, Locke says lets run the experiment (not push/pray) and Hume says I have reasons to push/pray based on my experience.

Eko, meanwhile, has taken the Pascal philosophy. Pascal famously argued that even if the probality of Heaven and Hell is tiny, the potential reward/punishment is so enormous that you'd be a fool to bet against it. That is, the expected value of being good is the overwhelming choice to make for any rationale being. That's why Eko wants to push the button.

It's this far-beyond-American-Idle subtext to LOST that keeps me coming back, even when it gets all Romance-novelly at times.

Now the question is when will Nietzsche show up and school them all about good and evil :)

Since we don't know NotHenryGale's real name, perhaps he has already.

I think the dialogue between the chess players at the end is interesting.

Why would you let me take your rook, are you playing to loose?
No I have a plan, you'll see.

Hmmmmm...that may parallel the look that Jack gave Kate.

New Lost figures from the people who make the Spawn comic books, and SportsPicks figures...

I thought it was going to have something to do with the Colossus of Rhodes.

So was the final ending to show us the island was visible again for a brief moment.

keep in mind - what very well could have happened is once jack, kate, sawyer and hurley were having that confrontation w/ Michael en route to the Others Camp, they could have come up with a new plan. Michael knew his cover was blown, at that point i'm sure he realized a new gameplan was needed. he could have told michael where sayid would be, so now you got Michael, sayid and jin as a sneak attack.

His plan was to kick over the table.

Genius. :)

What were the portugese chess players reacting to? The magnet turning on or off? or maybe michael hitting some coordinate as he left the island