(S06E09) That, my friends, is how you do a halfway point episode! Plenty of answers given, while reaffirming some of what we already knew about the two main players in this island drama. There was no need for an alpha-verse or a beta-verse this week as it was all Richard -- or Ricardo. Besides, there's no way he'd still be alive had he not gone to the island, so beta-verse 2004 must be Richard free anyway. We already know he's been on that island a long, long time.

Now we know just how long that's been. I think absolutely every question we had about Richard and his relationship with Jacob was answered this week. In fact, there were no new questions raised at all that I can think of. That must be a first for 'Lost.'

Nestor Carbonell proved with his performance here that he could easily carry the lead in a dramatic series of his own. With the caliber of acting we're seeing from our 'Lost' cast this season, I'm even more eager to see where their career trajectories take them next.

We've known this all along. The passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 aren't really on an island at all. They're in Hell.

"You wanna know a secret, Jack? Something I've known a long, long time?" said Richard Alpert. "You're dead ... we're all dead, every single one of us. And this? All this? It's not what you think it is. We're not on an island. We never were. We're in Hell."

See? Told ya. Hell. Otherwise known as 'Lost' (Tue., 9PM ET on ABC). Put the two together and they're Lost in Hell.

Watch the video after the jump.

(S06E04) The numbers! The numbers!

Lindelof and Cuse have been teasing us for a while now that they might not reveal the significance of the numbers. Without doing so directly, I think they gave us something huge connected to them tonight. Finally, after a lackluster episode last week we're getting some information we can sink our teeth into. Locke-centric episodes always seem to be good for that.

The character connections in the flash-sideways reality were really coming at us hard and heavy tonight, with appearances by several favorites as we discovered how John's life could have been. It would appear that some things have definitely gone better for our paralyzed friend, while in some other respects he's the same sad sack John Locke we came to know and love over the past five seasons.

(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.

We're only hours away from the premiere of the final season of 'Lost'. I'm excited, you're excited, and Richard Alpert himself, Nestor Carbonell, is right there with us.

I spoke to Carbonell recently about his role in the show's much-anticipated endgame. Needless to say, there are some big things in store for our favorite ageless Other, and Carbonell is looking forward to showing fans a whole new side of Richard (or should we call him Ricardus?).

He obviously couldn't spill all of the show's big secrets, but he was surprisingly candid about what we could expect from his character this year. Will we learn why Richard doesn't appear to age? Will his bond to Jacob be explored? Head after the jump to find out ... Minor spoilers follow.

(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.

Lost continues to impress me. I really do think it's one of the great TV dramas of all-time, and last night's episode was rock solid. Except for one thing I'm going to be nit-picky about.

OK, so Sawyer and Kate bring young injured Ben to the Others so they can save him, and Richard tells them that, yeah, I can save him, but he won't remember what happened to him and he'll lose his innocence. Up until now we (and Hurley and Miles, in one of the episodes best scenes) were wondering why Ben didn't remember that Sayid shot him as a kid when he became an adult. And the writers quickly solve this by just having his memory erased?

That seems really, really...lame.

Needless to say, this video contains possible spoilers.

So last week's episode of Lost ended with a little Ben delivering a sandwich to Sayid, who was caught by Jin and put in a jail cell. It's hard to say how this is going to play out. We do know that Sayid has always been an independent guy and doesn't like being all cooped up and confined. So will he screw up Sawyer's plans? Will he accidentally expose Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley, Juliet, and Miles? Will he try to escape? And how does junior Ben Linus fit into all of this? Is he already planning things at this age? Does he already know, somehow, about the Oceanic passengers and John Locke? And most importantly, does the kid playing Ben have that weird Michael Emerson stare down pat yet?

The answers after the jump, courtesy of Kristin over at E! It seems like all that camp has to eat are damn sandwiches.

(S05E01) "You're gonna have to die, John." - Richard Alpert

Time travel! The future is now! later! here! gone! beginning! ending! OK, I give up. Lost is back and the future is... well, we don't know what the future is. Or the past. Or the present. All we know is what they were, because now they're just one big time travelin' mess.

As with seasons past of Lost, the fifth chapter of TV's favorite mindf*ck opens by presenting an entirely new storytelling technique - one that demands equal parts patience, attention, and imagination. More than anything, it's a test for true fans because the casual Lost viewer (do they exist?) probably had a hard time moving from A to Z (worst metaphor ever - I know) in tonight's season premiere. That being said, this whole hour gave me my own bloody nose.