Pack your parka: It's initial "Lost" ramblings!

We all knew it was coming. From the moment "There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 and 3" kicked off with the follow-up scene to last season's "We have to go back!" game changer, we knew Grizzly Jack would end up back at Hoffs Drawlar funeral parlor.

I'm sure if you listen close enough, you can hear keyboards frantically typing in unison as "Lost" fans light up message boards and blogs with their season finale observations. It'll be no different here at 10:58 p.m., with a few thoughts hopefully spurring more conversation as the TV season takes another breather and we look forward to a summer of "Wipeout" and "Celebrity Circus."

We have to go back a few weeks! We have to go back!

In all seriousness, the office pool had Locke as coffin man in a landslide. I'm just sayin' ... the Jeremy Bentham (another philosopher's name) business probably didn't throw anyone off, and once Hurley let it slip that JB was an alias, Locke was the logical choice. Kudos to Team Darlton for delivering on the coffin reveal, but it wasn't the "We have to go back" game changer of last season. Maybe if Locke had a beard ...

A few things stuck out from tonight's two hour "Lost"-a-palooza. The Desmond-Penny drama would seem to tie a nice neat bow on their love re-connection. Seriously, did anyone see that coming so soon? But inevitably, we'll be seeing Desmond in another life, brutha. After all, Ben is thirsty for revenge, so you have to imagine Penny will be in his crosshairs. Ben is too good (and judging by his stabbing outburst on Keamy, a little miffed) to let Sweet Miss Widmore slip by him. Maybe it'll mean a few well-placed cameos from Des, but as long as he's part of the show's fabric somehow, I'll be happy. If they really want to re-establish Ben as a villain, he'll succeed in killing Penny and completely destroy Desmond's world. Not that I want to see it happen, but plot-wise ...

Speaking of Ben as supreme villain, was that a Dick Cheney shout-out with the ever so flippant, "so" response to Locke saying everyone on the freighter was going to die?

OK, so the island finally moved. We knew it was coming, but it was still kinda cool to see it evaporate as the chopper flew overhead. It's strange to have an idea of how the time traveling manipulation actually works and then see the show take a very literal turn of the wheel with it. Does it ruin the magic a bit? Well, was it disappointing to learn how David Copperfield made the Orient Express dining car disappear back in the day? Wait ... David Copperfield didn't make the Orient Express actually disappear?

Anyway, I'm still thoroughly confused about the island's overall purpose (can anyone draw conclusions on this one?), but the wormhole business we've previously discussed on Channel Surfing seems to be a working reality. In some crazy capacity, at least. After all, Ben's trip to the island freezer was pretty ... weird. We know he ends up in Tunisia busting some Bedouin heads following his spin on the wheel of fate. Plus, has it now been confirmed that polar bears have been moving the island all along?

A lot of drawn out drama in tonight's episode. Keamy's reappearance (you gotta shoot him in the head, fools!) was completely unnecessary. The boat explosion was even a bit lackluster because I'm almost certain not actually seeing Jin die means he's, well, not actually dead. Michael ... he's probably a goner. The island, or just Christian Shephard, appears to be "done" with him. Redemption for giving Jin the "go be a dad" speech? You'd think Sawyer's time would be up soon since he's also playing the role of selfless savior lately. It's probably why the entire Oceanic Six needs to go back. While Ben and Locke certainly knew that there could be consequences to letting them leave, they have to WANT to stay. Not sure why, but the redemptive arc requires it. And we all know Pill Popper Jack has some serious flaws ("Who were you talking to?") in the real world.

So ... where does "Lost" go from here? Well, in four seasons, the show has gone from "We have to leave the island" to "We have to get back to the island." It's strange for the shoe to be on the other foot, but there's clearly a lot left to explain -- I'll be re-visiting my Top 10 "Lost" questions before the season opener sometime soon -- but it has potential to be even more riveting. Now that the split has officially occurred, the show has to work on both levels -- showing the damage Jack "left behind" on the island, and the Ben-Jack tandem trying to bring the Oceanic Six back thanks to some "new ideas." Meanwhile, Sayid will just keep killing people.

Just picture this though: Jack returning to the island with a Red Sox cap and Sawyer revealing that only like, four days have passed in his world since the good Doc grew his grizz-tastic beard and saw Locke's face pop up in the coffin. Boom.

I'm sure Adam will connect some dots tomorrow, and after a few more viewings this weekend, expect some more coverage and speculation into next week. In the meantime, leave a comment with any thoughts that can get those theories a-spinning ...

Seriously. You don't want me to have to start blogging about "The Mole," do you?

-- Thomas Rozwadowski, trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.com