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The season finale begins with a producing shebang.  I’ve never seen anything like this before.  They were able to tap right into a former flash forward, put it at the end of their catch up run, and continue the cliff-hanger fight between Jack and Kate that ended season 3.  In fact, it was that moment that caught us all off guard in the first place and taught us flash forwards.  Brilliant!  The writing by Calton Cuse and Damon Lindelof surely deserves more than the five stars on our rating system.

The action on the island begins with the Oceanic Six as far apart as possible and all in perilous condition: Sayid and Kate captured by the others, Hurley with Locke at the Orchid, Jack bleeding his way through the jungle with Sawyer, and Sun holding Aaron onboard the destined-to-explode freighter.  What proceeds is the best action sequence I’ve seen played out all year, maybe for the last three years, including everything I’ve seen on the big screen.  Sayid especially kicked some major booyah.

More congrats goes out to whoever thought of bringing Walter back in the flash-forwards.  Somebody in casting and producing thought through this five years ago and made some great decisions.  I’m excited to see the plan come to fruition in Hollywood and I’m excited for the producers that it worked.  I’m sure they only make it look effortless.

All of the actors brought their A-game, but then when did the cast of LOST leave it behind?  Even the newbies brought it with Charlotte learning she was born on the island and Daniel heroically shuttling disposable survivors to the boat.  And where did they end up?  That’s one of the big questions for next season.  Can I really wait that long to find out about my favorite quantum physicist?

Sawyers big jump made my heart pitter patter, but I felt extremely perturbed that Jin did not leave when the red line flicked on. I just don’t buy that he wouldn’t have rushed out to get Sun as far away as possible.  Why did the writers make him stay so long?  Sun broke my heart with her screams for Jin as they whisked her away.

With Christian Shepard coming to tell Michael he can go now, we are left with the idea that the people on the boat are no more dead than the others wandering around the island.

And the action just kept going and going.

There are details to be applauded as well. The production designers, headed by Jonathan A Carlson, put the name Halliwax on the coat that Ben donned to move the island.  The coat belonged to none other than the man from the video: Dr. Halliwax.  The set they built to move the island also made me shiver my timbers as it was reminiscent of the Black Rock, but the hieroglyphics dated it back even farther and into something otherworldly. But who didn’t know that this island emanated something from another world.  Details.  Details.  I love details. And how did the set designers seamlessly match all the connections between the flashbacks, flash-forwards and videos? Or did the producers shoot this whole season out of sequence so that everything would fit? I’m stumped. I want to go to the island and see how editors Henk Van Eeghan, Robert Florio, Mark J Goldman, and Stephen Semel do their job.

Baby Aaron once again added his superior skill to the acting as the Oceanic Six plus two made it out of the helicopter crash, not to mention the superb performances by Matthew Fox, Henry Ian Cusik and the rest.  “A” game, I’m telling you. One minute I think they’re going to kill off someone I adore and the next minute we get the conclusion to what my husband calls the greatest love story of all time. I still have to jump up and down as I watch it the second time. Geeze-Louise, I get too emotionally involved in this show, but the stories are so consuming.

A HUGE BOO goes out to our local ABC station, however, for misplacing a news promo directly in the way of the rescue boat. I screamed. It wasn’t even for a storm warning! Come on!  Another huge BOO goes out to my computer for not having HD capabilities. Watching it the second time for this review, I had to get by with uncoordinated sound and picture. Luckily, it was still engrossing.

The episode ends with a plethora of crisscrossing subplots, even more than we who follow LOST are used to.  The Oceanic Six are keeping the secret, but they certainly are not of one mind. They seem to be trapped in their own madness. Sun of course has become the most powerful, having taken over her father’s empire and aligning herself with Widmore. Does she do this to ruin him or to get even with Ben? Maybe it is Jack that she blames for Jin’s death. The islanders must not be happily-ever-after either since they are reaching out in desperation.

And we are left with more questions.  First of all, how do the Oceanic Six know Jeremy Bentham is his real name? Why did Kate apologize to Aaron after Claire scared the begeebies out of me? When will Jack make good on his promise to Desmond to see him in another life?  When John Locke states, “Well we’ll just have to see which one of us is right,” he introduces us to the final seasons.  Who is right?

I, for one, can’t wait until next season.  AAGGGHHH!!!

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