Stunned. I remember a year ago, during the final ten minutes of Lost's Season 3 finale, being just blown away/stunned at the mother of all narrative twists: the revelation that our island friends (or at least some of them) HAD indeed made it off the island and that half of the episode that I had just watched was set in the “future”, island-time-wise. That special Jack and Kate moment changed the course of the show and set the tone for fantastic Season 4, a season that I think reaffirmed the show's status as the most entertaining and thought-provoking program on television both current and maybe of all-time!

So despite the fantastic string of episodes that preceded it and the two-week hype, I knew there was the possibility that this year's finale would be a “good not great” episode that would fail (if only slightly) to live up to the massive hype and the emotional resonance of last year's capper. And for me, that's how basically how it played out. There were MANY great/interesting/educational moments: Locke's ascent to lead the Others, Ben's descent into the ice cave/time machine and ultimately “moving” the island (presumably in time vs. space), Jin and Michael being left behind on the doomed freighter, and the final revelation that the “Oceanic 6” ALL had to return to the island, along with the reveal of the identity of one “Jeremy Bentham” (the man in the coffin from last season's finale). All great moments, but in retrospect I guess there can probably only be one truly “game-changing” moment like last season's in the course of a show's history. Nonetheless, a GREAT season, and hopefully a prelude to more greatness in the final two seasons that remain!

For the usual great FULL recap of the episode, check out old friend Doc Jenson's EW.com review:

And since I never got around to posting the recap for Episode 12 (a decent and emotionally necessary “bridge” episode to the finale), here is a link in case anyone is interested: