Lost Season 3 Finale (spoilers)

When I first started watching LOST a few years ago, I stopped mid-way through the first season because the suspense was driving me insane. When Season 2 came around, I didn't give it a second thought until Jon wanted to start watching LOST on DVD. He got me back into the show. I finished watching season 1. Then we watched season 2 together. Once we were all caught up, we watched this recent season as it was happening. So far, Season 3 has been the best. Answers from Seasons 1 and 2 have been answered for the most part but enough new questions were introduced to make sure viewers continue to watch.

Last night's episode was no exception.

JACK
The show started with a Jack flashback. This flashback was different. We could tell Jack was falling apart, because he had an ugly beard and seemed drunk and stoned. First he's drunk on a plane, then drunk in a car. Some obituary he saw in a newspaper made him stop on a bridge so he can jump to the pavement in a bloody suicide attempt. But someone crashed into his parked car and he was compelled to rescue them. Through the rest of the flashback, he travels down his spiral of despair and hits rock bottom when he breaks into the hospital's medicine chest for some Oxycodone. The flashback ended with a desperate meeting between him and a mysterious person he'd been trying to reach throughout the story. Who was his meeting with? His meeting was with Kate. Where did they meet? By an airport runway. What does he tell her? That they shouldn't have left the island.

And that, my friends, is how the producers keep you hooked on this show. Instead of a flashback, they gave us a flash-forward. The flash-forward answers the question that we've been asking for three seasons. Will these people get off of this weird island? But it leaves you wondering what the hell happened to Jack.

Meanwhile back at the island, lots of things happened.

LOCKE
Locke was rescued by what I can only assume was the smoke monster manifesting himself in the form of Walt. In spite of having been fatally shot and re-paralyzed, the Walt manifestation told Locke that he need to keep going because he had work to do. Yes. Locke is alive. That answered that question, but what work does he have to do?

CHARLIE
Charlie survived his deep sea dive into the Looking Glass station but was taken prisoner by the two psycho hose beasts, who because of their blind belief in Ben's uber knowledge of the legendary Jacob, have been guarding the station. The sequence ends with a Charlie's daring rescue by Desmond, the resurrection of that crafty Russian guy and the death of Charlie as prophesied by Desmond. Yes. He turned off the jamming equipment. Yes. Penny was sending messages to the island trying to find Desmond. No. Penny DID NOT send a ship with a rescuer named Naomi. Yes. Charlie died telling Desmond that Penny DID NOT send the ship. That answered the question of Charlie's fate and Desmond's quest for Penny but raised the following question. Is that Russian guy indestructable? He survived electrocution by those weird pylons guarding the Others' camp. He survived a violent harpooning. Will he survive the exploding hand grenade he used to kill Charlie?

THE AMBUSH
The ambush was complicated but in the end Sayid, Kwon and Rose's husband accomplished what they set out to do which was to stop the attack of the Others by setting off a series of explosions. Yes. They were captured by three of the Others after successfully killing seven of them. Yes. Sawyer and Juliette worked well together. Yes. Hurley saved the day by crashing his DHARMA van into the Others. Yes. All the Others involved in the ambush died. But wait? That was actually tied up very nicely. So. Nothing unresolved there.

side note: True bad ass that he is, Sayid broke someone's neck with his feet.

RADIO TOWER
On the way to the radio tower, Ben and his surrogate daughter Alex met up with our survivors so Ben could have a tete a tete with Jack. He wanted to convince Jack that Naomi shouldn't be trusted and that he shouldn't contact the ship waiting 18 miles off the island. During that conversation we learn that Ben killed 40 people so 40 new people could take over running the island. We also learn that there are 40 survivors so . . . maybe, Jack is not supposed to call for help because his band of survivors were chosen by the island to take over from Ben and his crew as the new keepers of the island and all its secrets.

FINALLY, A SIGNAL
That would explain why Locke murdered Naomi while she was trying to get through to her vessel after Charlie destroyed the jamming equipment. Locke knows that these survivors are NOT SUPPOSED to leave the island. But Jack called the ship anyway. He doesn't believe in fate. He just wanted to rescue his friends. Now, Ben had told Jack that Naomi wasn't who she said she was which was confirmed when Charlie got the message from Penny that she didn't know of Naomi or her rescue ship. And finally, the last thing we saw in the finale of season 3 was Jack weeping to Kate in the flash forward that they weren't supposed to leave the island and that he needed to go back.

NEW QUESTIONS
Whose non-funeral did Jack attend? Why did Jack tell someone that his father was alive and drunk somewhere when we know that Jack's father is dead? What force of nature restored Locke's broken spine and rescued him from the jaws of death? Is Kate living with Sawyer? Why did Jack fall apart? Is that Russian guy really dead? Is Charlie really dead? Did Jack's flash forward happen in an alternate reality? Did Claire really give birth to a devil baby? What is the secret of that damn island? Does Locke leave the island with his friends or does he decide to stay? Why doesn't that Richard guy from the others ever age? Is Kate pregnant with Sawyer's baby?