(S06E03) "It's the Others, dude. They caught us ... again." - Hurley

As 'What Kate Does' unfolded, I couldn't help but shake the feeling that everything we're witnessing in the "post-Jughead worked" 2004 time-line is going to end up being very important. Of course, that could have been due to the fact that in this past week's Official 'Lost' Audio Podcast, Cuse and Lindelof essentially laid it bare for us -- there is no alternate reality happening here. What's going on in LA in 2004 and what's going on in 2007 on the island are both very real.

The question to ask is what effect actions in one time-line will have on the events in the other. As far as 'Lost' mindf#%ks go, this one is a doozie, because it's forced us to reevaluate everything we remember about these characters, right back to the pilot episode.

(S06E01/S06E02) "We're back." - Kate

Did you hear that? That was the collective sound of TV fans across the country all brain-farting in unison. 'Lost' is back for its final season and I've gotta be honest -- I'm not really sure what to think about 'LA X.' In four or five months time, once the series has concluded, I'm positive I'll think differently about it. However, right now, 'LA X' was easily one of the most confusing hours of 'Lost' yet, and despite ABC's promos promising that "questions would be answered," all it gave us was a jumbo-jet (literally) chock full of new ones. Whatever ... I still loved every second of it.

(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.

Despite the fact that news about Lost's 100th episode celebratory cake has been bouncing around the 'net since February, I thought it might be worth mentioning it again since the milestone episode ("The Variable", S05E14) airs next Wednesday, 4/29.

As you can see, the cake, created by Duff Goldman and his crew from Food Network's Ace of Cakes, features a ton of characters from the show as well as some iconic items that all Lost fans will recognize. To drum up some buzz for "The Variable," ABC recently released some more pictures from the cast party where the cake was presented.

(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.

If you're a sports fan, then you definitely have heard Al Trautwig's distinctive voice. Whether he's anchoring tennis coverage during the US Open or hosting the pregame show for the Knicks on MSG, it really doesn't matter what the guy is talking about - you can't help but pay attention to him. I'm a diehard Celtics fan, absolutely despise the Knicks, and still tune in for Trautwig's Knicks pre-game show. The guy is good.

For people that aren't huge sports fans, you'll probably remember Trautwig for his coverage during this past summer's Olympics. NBC used him for tons of stuff, including all of Michael Phelps' swimming events their gymnastics coverage.

Anyway, when he isn't calling a game, Al Trautwig is a huge Lost junkie. Apparently someone at MSG Network caught on and now you can see all of Al's theories in a weekly video podcast.

(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.

(S05E07) "I remember dying." - Locke

I was really excited for this episode. However, and it wasn't bad, but it turns out that the whole mystery surrounding John's alter ego Jeremy Bentham wasn't much of a mystery after all. The entire hour played out as a laundry list of confirmations - things that we either kind-of-sort-of knew based on past episodes or things that most avid fans of Lost assumed to be true anyway. If anything, it was a nice pat of the back because it's always a good feeling to think every now and then, "Hey, I do get this show!"

(S05E06) "We're not going to Guam, are we?" - Lapidus

Whether you've been prepared for it or not, Lost is becoming a very different show. I'm not bringing that up as a negative. I'm not bringing it up as a positive either. This is just the natural progression of what has become the most densely written sci-fi drama ever. Eventually, we were going to reach a point that just seemed utterly ridiculous even by Lost's standards.

Let me put it this way - for as far-fetched a show as Lost is (that isn't a bad thing), I've never really felt like I had to suspend my disbelief to buy into it. With this episode, I did.