“Lost” opens the coffin…

Wow. Just finished watching the “Lost” Season Four finale and though there were a couple times where I really wanted more answers, I gotta say, they tied up this season with a bang! My one complaint is that unlike some of the shocker endings on previous seasons, this year’s send-off had kind of an unfinished, “Empire Strikes Back” ending.

I’m not complaining, but I described it to Christine as being midway through a great book only to have it taken away from you for three months! Ahh! Sure they showed us who was in that damn coffin, but, in classic “Lost” style the show introduced dozens of questions for every one they answered. And though that probably frustrates the hell out of some people, that’s fine by us, baby!

Dissecting the show’s intricate, ever-changing mythology is one of the chief thrills of “Lost” for us…so the more layered and weird it gets, the more we love it!

And while I don’t wanna give too much away for those that are hoarding the season finale on their Tivo’s for the weekend, I am bursting to nerd out about some of juicy new developments that played out on last night’s show.

So, that said, if you don’t wanna read any “Lost” spoilers, thanks for checking out the blog but, please…STOP READING NOW.

OK, so how about that Desmond and Penny reunion!? Awesome, right? Something tells me that Ben — having vowed to kill Penny as revenge for his own daughter’s murder by Widmore’s goons — will try and put an end to their happiness in upcoming seasons, but for now, rock on “Lost” power couple!

And the island moving thing? Whoa…could that have been any damn cooler? Not only was the sound incredibly unnerving, but the look on the faces of everyone who watched it disappear was kinda priceless. Also, are we the only people in America that picked up the budding sexual tension between Sawyer and Juliet? Hmm…wherever the hell they end up, I think I see some sparks flying.

Also loved Kate’s creepy dream sequence. The whispers in the dark, the door opening downstairs, and then that backwards-talking voice on the phone — a tip of the hat to the iconic Man from Another Place on “Twin Peaks” — the whole thing was almost insanely terrifying.

And the site of Claire lurking ghost-like over Aaron’s bed…holy shit! I just about lost it! Christine feels that Claire’s presence in the dream answers the “is she or isn’t she dead” queston…but I’m not so sure. If you look at her forehead, Claire isn’t wearing the bandage she had on in the cabin.

But then again, who even knows when this dream is supposed to be happening? Is it the future? Or, wait, is the future now the present…? Who knows? Either way, it still scared the pants off us both!

Another thing that really broke our hearts was Sun’s anguished screaming on the helicopter. Man, give that chick an Emmy already…she rocked!

And her “chance” meeting with Widmore in London was even cooler. For some reason, it seems she and Jin are not huge fan favorites in the “Lostie” community…but we love them both, so, we were very glad to see her being so proactive in getting back to the island. And using daddy’s money to do it is just plain brilliant! Go, Sun!

Another reason we’re rooting so hard for Sun to succeed is that we — well, actually, it’s more me than Christine — still think there is a chance that Jin survived that hellacious explosion on the boat. I know, I know, it was a big old boom, but hey, is this not the same son-of-a-Korean-fisherman who survived an exploding boat in Season One?

And for that matter, didn’t Michael also survive said explosion? If you ask me, my odds are on the two of them living to see another day. Speaking of Michael, one of the many harebrained theories that I’ve been bugging Christine about since the show began was also given a huge boost last night as well.

See, I have thought for a long time that perhaps some sexual shenanigans went down between Sun and Michael when they first got to the island. Not sure if you remember, but there was a scene, way back when, where Michael “stumbled” upon Sun undressing and when she turned to face him, she didn’t seem all that eager to cover herself…know what I’m saying?

So last night, with a bomb ticking madly away in the hull of the ship, Sun takes the time to tell Michael that she is pregnant?? Weird, huh? And the long beat before he replied was even weirder. I might just be imagining things, but notice how they didn’t show the kid when she phoned home before meeting Widmore. Maybe it’s because Sun’s baby is…bum, bum, bum…Black! Just an idea…

Also, gotta say I loved the final Dharma training video for “The Orchid”. It was so fun to see that Asian dude explaining everything again…and the “time-traveling bunny” was amazing! Loved the look on Locke’s face as Ben kept piling all that metal shit in the machine…classic!

And what was the deal with the crazy-eyed redhead from the boat, Charlotte, talking about “finding where she was born”? Hmmm…as Lewis Carroll’s Alice — clearly a major influence on the writers — would say: “Curiouser and curiouser.” Love the fact too that former ship-mate, the ghost-hunting Miles knows something about her too. Very cool!

And finally…the coffin. Christine and I figured out the identity of the coffin’s occupant long before the big reveal, but it was still fun to see John Locke all dolled up for the afterlife. Love the fact too that the writers chose the name “Jeremy Bentham” for Locke’s off-island pseudonym.

I checked both Wikipedia and Lostpedia (I know, nerd partol!) and just as I suspected, Bentham, like the real-life John Locke, was a famous English philosopher. Oh, you crafty “Lost” writers…

Now, if Christine and I could just find a time machine of our very own to help us fast-forward through the summer and see what happens next…all would be right with the world!

Season Finale night on “Lost”

Yeah! Nothing gets the bad taste of lame “Indiana Jones” sequels out of my mouth faster than the prospects of watching three full hours of “Lost” tonight! OK, technically, there are only two new hours of show, but ABC is re-airing the episode from two weeks ago with “new footage” so you know we’ll watch that too!

Now, for those of you still making your way through the previous season’s DVD collections at home — Mom and Courtney — I know you’ll get the urge to skip the horribly uneven Season Three and get to the meat of Season Four. But resist that urge! For while Season Three sucked ass most of the time, there are some moments of true greatness and I think Season Four plays better because of it.

But if you are a little behind in your “Lost” viewing (for whatever reason), I should also advise you to STOP READING NOW as I wouldn’t wanna spoil anything for you. That said, here we go…

First off, while Season Three of “Lost” played like the last years of J.J. Abram’s wildly uneven “Alias” — which we loved for two seasons and then truly despised for two more! — Season Four has been pitch-perfect at every turn.

Shocking, exciting and sometimes, even heartbreakingly beautiful — did you not shed a tear when Sun and Hurley visited Jin’s grave? Wow…sad! — this season on “Lost” has been the best yet.

Whether it’s the fact that the strike-shortened seaon forced the writers to trim the fat on this last batch of episodes or knowing that the show will end after two more 17-episode seasons, the writing this year has rocked hard!

I missed a bunch of episodes while in Santa Fe and every time I talked to Christine on the phone about it, she was literally flipping out: “Hurry home! You gotta watch these so we can talk about them!” So, once I got home, I planted myself in front of that Tivo and watched all five episodes in a row. And let me tell ya, Christine was right…Season Four was on fire!!

Seriously, not since “The X-Files” or that first magical season of “Twin Peaks” have I been so excited about a TV show’s mythology. And though they didn’t have fan sites — or even the internet for that matter! — when “Peaks” first aired, I have even taken to religiously following some of the “Lostie” theory and picture sites online. I know, nerd-tastic!

Speaking of, if you really want your brain to hurt, check out the time travel theories and timelines on TimeLoopTheory.com. I read through the whole thing the other night and my head was swimming. If even one of this dude’s theories are true…wow, just…wow.

For me, the mythology on “Lost” has always been compelling, but in this past season, it has taken the show in whole new directions — time travel, the idea of a “constant”, the “Oceanic Six”, Jacob and the other half-dead inhabitants of his cabin, etc. — that are just kind of…jaw-dropping. Really!

When the curiously-ageless Richard showed up in the flashbacks to visit a young John Locke and saw his child-like drawing of the island’s black smoke. Holy crap!! We just about fell off the couch screaming!

And when Richard then proceeded to give little Locke a strange Dalai Lama-like reincarnation test — he presented Locke with a knife, a compass, a comic book and a vial of sand and asked him to pick which items were his — we were mesmerized. The fact that John failed the test was even more compelling. What the hell does all this all mean?

Hopefully we’ll get some answers tonight, but with two seasons left to go, I kind of doubt it. But with the show operating on all cylinders, as it has all season, I ‘m sure they’ll give us something juicy to savor over the long summer break.

And even though we don’t have any grand plans for a Dharma Initiative Party — which looks and sounds like a blast! — with the prospect of John Locke “moving the island” on tonight’s episode, we are bracing ourselves for some pretty crackling good action on “Lost” tonight!

Ooo, gotta go…the show’s starting. Yes, we have a Tivo, but this is one show that demands “live viewing”. So, see ya in my next flash-forward…