(S05E16/S05E17) "See you in Los Angeles." - Jack

I'm not really sure where to begin, but I think this is a pretty good starting point: holy crap. Just like every season finale before this one, Lost has once again left us all with our jaws on the floor and our brains on overdrive. This changes everything. The big question? How does it change everything? Is it January yet?

(S05E15) "I have a purpose now." - Locke

I can't believe how fast this season of Lost has gone by. There's probably a time-travel joke buried in that realization somewhere, but my head is still spinning from "Follow the Leader," so I'm not really in clever witticism mode. Honestly, I'm speechless. For the most part, this wasn't one of my favorite episodes of the season. But for me to be at a loss for words at one of Lost's sub-par installments - well that says something about the quality of this show. "Follow the Leader" was a lot of set up for next week's two hour finale and the events that have been set in motion (even though it seems they always happened) are mind-numbing.

(S05E14) "Well, I got some bad news for you Jack. You don't belong here at all. She was wrong." - Faraday

After listening to Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof ranting in last week's Lost audio podcast, I didn't expect "The Variable" to be this much of a game changer. Everything we thought we knew about the island, time travel, and course correcting - it all got turned upside down. I think it's safe to say that the 100th episode of Lost is going to be remembered for more than just its milestone significance.

(S05E13) "That douche is my dad." - Miles

I've been waiting for an episode like this. We've gotten close to nothing when it comes to backstory on the freighter folk and had it not been for the writer's strike, I'm guessing that "Some Like it Hoth" (or at least something Miles related) would have aired during season four. Last time we got any substantial info on Miles' orgins was "Confirmed Dead" and all that filled us in on was ghost whisperin' powers and his conscience - ripping people off doesn't come easy for him. We got a helluva lot more info this time around.

(S05E12) "Well... John, we don't even have a word for it. But I believe you call it 'the monster'" - Ben

Wow, I'm not quite sure where to begin. This wasn't one of the best episodes of Lost (for lack of a better term, it was safe), but I walked away from it feeling enlightened. It's not often that Lost leaves you with more answers than questions.

That being said, I still have a ton of f%#k&$g questions.

(S05E11) "Maybe there's something they can do." - Juliet

At the risk of sounding clichéd, I'm gonna say it anyway - all the pieces are coming together. While I didn't particularly care for any of tonight's flashbacks (personally, I've never really gotten into Kate at all), what happened on the island in 1977 was mesmerizing. It's looking more and more like the Oceanic 6 (plus Juliet, Miles, etc.) were directly responsible for, well ... everything.

(S05E10) "A twelve-year-old Ben Linus brought me a chicken salad sandwich. How do you think I'm doing?" - Sayid

Hands down, no doubt about it - best episode of the season. "He's Our You" was much more of a traditional Lost episode, in the sense that we had regular ol' flashbacks. There's been a lot of questions about Sayid (we haven't seen too much of him this season), and this was probably the most sensible way to do it - lay out his current predicament while flashing to all the moments that got him there. Who likes sandwiches?

(S05E09) "Dude, your English is awesome." - Hurley

We've had two weeks to stew on the events of "LaFleur" and maybe that's why I went into "Namaste" expecting so much more. That isn't to say that I was disappointed with the Oceanic Six/Left Behinders reunion. The simplest way to put it is that the nature of the narrative on Lost has forced the show to change so that these are the types of stories that are most organic to the plot now.

The flashbacks from the first few seasons are a distant memory at this point, and it's exciting because for a while now, we've been watching stuff that didn't already happen. Well ... technically it did since they're all in 1977 now, but you get what I mean. One thing is for certain - no matter how you slice it, three years is a long time.

(S05E08) "Yeah, thanks anyway Plato." - Sawyer

I think the best way to describe this episode was safe. Nothing crazy or out of place happened and you knew how it was going to end the second it began. Think of it this way - when we first started watching Lost, it was like dumping a giant puzzle onto the floor. At this point, the entire puzzle is assembled, and for the most part, we can almost see the big picture, save for a bunch of pieces that are still missing. "LaFleur" was one of those pieces.

Don't worry, their names aren't Nikki and Paolo.

Michael Ausiello over at Entertainment Weekly has the exclusive news about two new characters that are coming to the Lost world. No word yet on whether these characters will be on the island or off of the island, but they sound intriguing.

One is a man in his late 30s/early 40s named Caesar, who is described as "dangerous, physical, and extremely intelligent" and that he's "as skillful at charming people as he is at killing them." Sounds like an assassin type, no? The other character is Ilanna, a female in her late 20s/early 30s who is described as European, intelligent, dangerous, and "used to getting her own way." Except for the European part, that sounds like a lot of the women I've dated.

Lost starts filming its new season in less than two weeks, so we'll have the answers soon enough. And by answers I mean "more questions." This is Lost, after all.

HBO announced that the second season of Rome will be the last. Apparently, Rome was originally planned as a mini-series but HBO was so blown away by the quality of the first episode that it picked up an entire season. HBO says logistics of shooting overseas and a very high price tag--first season topped out at $100 million--were reason enough to shut down the show.

Season two is currently filming at the Cinecitta Studios in Rome and it premieres January 7 on HBO.