I'm Lost...

[I'm spoiler-tagging some bits in case people don't want to be magnificently disappointed or vindicated, depending on how you feel about the series...]

What ever am I going to do with myself now for the next 9 months worth of Wednesday nights??? No more meticulously planning my schedule around that one hour, no more time mindlessly squandered on message boards reading up on the latest conspiracy theories, no more pulling my hair out every time the writers make a stupid mistake like allow Jack to spew his fire and brimstone at everyone when we all know Sayid should be the real leader; and no more 60 minutes of ignoring my husband every week.

It's been a mixed Season 3 for Lost- the high points were some of the best-written episodes of the entire series (3x16: "One of Us" and 3x21: "Greatest Hits") but the low points were absolutely abysmal (3x9: "Stranger in a Strange Land; 3x10: "Tricia Tanaka is Dead" for starters...) Thankfully, tonight's episode- I thought- really helped redeem the series from the flak it's been getting for the past year or so. It reminded me a little of the downright spectacular finale of Season 1 and it was as if a tiny bit of that Lost magic was trickling back again.

It was so good that I will concede that Matthew Fox actually did a fairly decent job tonight. I usually detest the self-righteous pompous ass that his character is, but I have to say that he self-destructs pretty well. He definitely does a better job of trying to save his own losing sanity and psyche than he does with other people's lives.

And I can't believe they really killed Charlie!! *sob* *sniff* After last week's poignant episode, his Top 5 Greatest Moments of My Life love-letter to Claire, and surviving the Abyss-like dive underwater, I'd thought the little hobbit's life might actually be spared. But no, The Powers That Be have a higher calling for our VH1 has-been. I cried and I cried and I cried when he held his palm up to Desmond (who's fast becoming my second-favorite character on the show). And I didn't even like Charlie that much until last week. It's that darn music I tell you! R.I.P Charlie Pace...

And yay Hurley and the VW van!! I always knew he was more than just a peanut-butter-hoarding, jinx-attracting, fried-chicken fan...

I'm not sure where they're going to go with the series from now though. *sigh*... so many questions... Are we going to start getting flash-forwards instead of flashbacks? Is that future unalterable or can someone apart from Desmond finagle some mumbo-jumbo with the space-time continuum? Where can I go to get some information on whose *&%$#@! funeral that was? How does the Dharma Initiative get an unlimited supply of waterproof Sharpie pens? And most importantly, do I have to get stranded on a Hawaiian island for 80 days before I too can receive a Golden Pass that allows me flights to Singapore every weekend??? ;)

See here for Srah's awesome blow-by-blow "live" post of the finale.