(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.

(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?

Am I crazy, or is this the first time they've ever done this for Lost?!? Nine episodes into the show's fifth season and ABC has released an updated cast photo. The only cast member killed off so far this season is Rebecca Mader's Charlotte (she finally succumbed to time-travelitis four episodes back in "This Place is Death") and as such, she's the only one omitted from the new photo while Daniel Dae Kim, who was MIA at the beginning of the season, has been added. I'm as big a Lost fanatic as the next guy and I love new stuff like this to analyze the hell out of, but was this really necessary?

(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.