(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.

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.