from what I did see, the "Source" seems to be just a deus ex machina the writers have pulled out at the last minute. It'd be a little different if it had been mentioned before....unless I've missed something. So I'll have to withhold judgment until I see the entire episode and the rest of the series.

As for the May 23 series finale, Jorge Garcia had this to say to you fans: "If we satisfied everyone, it will be a shock. I was extremely satisfied when I read the finale. I cried reading it. There was moment in the finale that kinda touched me, and everyone in the room felt the air change and there were tears streaming down my face. I think it'll make people cry."

And Daniel Dae Kim (still made of awesome sauce) promised fans that there will be more to Jin and Sun. "That will be addressed in some way in the finale, and I'm curious to hear what the fans have to say about it afterward."

So how about the chances that some of you die-hard fans were right, and Juliet's (Elizabeth Mitchell) dying words about going dutch for coffee with Sawyer will pan out in the Sidways world? When asked if he'll meet Juliet for cup of Joe, Josh Holloway laughed and said, "Sure! Of course, she's fabulous! I'm sure I can borrow money from her or something." [Sidenote: Damon Lindelof admitted onstage at the event: "I'm a Jater."]

Sonya Walger revealed we will see more Penny. When asked what will happen with Penny and Desmond, she told me, "The ending is emotionally very satisfying and very true to the spirit of the show."

Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond) said of his character's recent change in demeanor: "He's in a good place, or thinks he's in a good place and he's a little zenned out."

Perhaps as Lost's most capable time traveler, he's already seen a happy ending?

Rebecca Mader hinted we will see her character Charlotte again before the series ends and joked that she dropped the phone and ran to the airport when she got the call to come back to Lost...

Malcolm David Kelley (Walt) told me he still gets recognized even though he's now 18 and taller than Damon (!), as Damon pointed out—but wouldn't say whether we'll see Walt again.

And it was Michael Emerson who gave the best finale tease. When asked if he'd prefer Ben to end up in the Sideways world or Island world when the series ends, he mused: "Luckily, and I have to tell you I am so completely satisfied with how Ben ends up, we don't have to make the choice between those two."

As for the No. 1 most-asked question via my Twitter account last night, Damon and Carlton declined to answer why Jacob can leave the Island but the Man in Black can't, with Carlton telling me: "We're not going to tell you what you will and won't know in the finale. The finale is much less about the mythology of the show and much more about the character resolutions. How do these character stories end and what happens to the people? That's what Lost is about."

I didn't see 'the Source' as a deus ex machina. It's been hinted at throughout the series. People just have different understandings of what 'it' is. People long ago may have viewed 'the Source' as mystical; people today may view 'it' in a more scientific light. I think we'll be seeing more of 'it' before the series end.

Ben's alternate reality was so touching. It made me cry so hard.

We all knew that Jack was going to be the candidate, but it was so cool to see him except the job from Jacob! And finally they all got to talk to Jacob face to face!
I hope Ben is playing MIB and is pretending to go along with him. Maybe to get back at him for using him to kill Jacob?
I Love the sideways, its so cool to see them all remembering things! It seems like they are all going to meet up at the concert!

Ben's sideways reality and his island reality. I really like how he turned out in the sideways universe: Alex calls him the 'nicest guy ever' and it was fun to see him visit Danielle and Alex for dinner. The explanation that Alex sees him as a father figure makes a lot of sense. Ben is so touched by this comment that he blames "the onions" for the tears in his eyes.

The return to the island reality shows childhood pictures of Alex on the wall in Ben's Barracks house. Nice touch. Here Ben (who was reminded of the loss of his Alex earlier in this episode) shoots Widmore, saying "He doesn't get to save his daughter."

in the sideways reality once again display their season 2 roles of man of science, man of faith, with Locke wondering if these things are happening for a purpose and Jack replying that he may be mistaking coincidence for fate.

what's up with Desmond (apparently) impersonating an Oceanic Air representative - Aussie accent and all?

I think the concert will be a significant event in the sideways part of the finale.

LA X – The episode begins with a close-up of Jack’s eye but in the side-ways world. Interesting. He’s home. He climbs out of bed and stumbles to the bathroom where he looks in the mirror and notices a red mark on his neck (it was there in episode 6.01 but was smaller then). We notice that Claire has stayed the night. There’s mention of a concert – David will be playing. We still don’t know the identity of Jack’s ex /separated wife. I’m thinking the reveal will be Juliet Burke but she’ll meet Sawyer later on. Jack receives a call from Oceanic personnel, saying that his dad’s coffin has been found. But it’s Desmond. He’s probably recruiting Jack to his cause.

Island – In a role-reversal of episode 1.1 – Pilot part one, Jack sews up Kate’s wound. Life jackets wash ashore, reminding us of the lives lost the night before. Our Lostie survivors – Jack, Hurley, Sawyer and Kate, mourn their dearly departed friends one more time. Jack and Kate decide that they need to kill Smokey/the MIB/Fake Locke. They take Sayid’s advice and head to the well to rescue Desmond. Will he be dead? I doubt it. Will he still be at the bottom of the well? Highly likely. Will he have escaped? It’s possible.

LA X – Outside the high-school, Desmond once again tries to run down Locke but this time he is stopped by Dr Linus. Desmond tells Dr Linus that he is there to help Locke ‘let go’, not there to hurt him and then soundly beats him. During the beatings, Dr Linus has an epiphany – he has flashes on memories from the Island reality. One in which he was being beaten badly by Desmond, after trying to kill Penny, on the docks (Season 5).

Island – Ben, Richard and Miles make it to New Otherton. Ben tells them he has a large stash of C4 behind a secret door in his hut to help them blow up the Ajira plane. Miles starts to feel ‘wonky’ and Richard tells Ben that he buried Alex nearby after she was killed. The three enter Ben’s secret room and find the stash there – enough C4 to blow up the plane 10 times over (hmm... possibly enough to send the Island to the bottom of the sea? I say, yes). We learn that Ben thought he was summoning Smokey but it was really Smokey summoning him. Don’t mess with spirits kids! They hear noises in the kitchen and find Zoe there, as well as Charles Widmore. As per usual, Widmore has little respect for Benjamin (that’s patronising, dude). He tells Ben that his team rigged the C4 to the Ajira plane; that it wasn’t Smokey. Jacob visited him after his freighter was blown sky-high. He was convicted of his ways and prepared to return to the Island to do something. Naturally, we aren’t privy to that information.

LA X – In the sick room, Dr Linus and Locke talk about their revelations. At the police station, Miles reminds Sawyer about the benefit concert at his dad’s museum. This is probably the same concert mentioned earlier this episode. Desmond turns himself into the police and he his locked up in a cage alongside Kate and Sayid. This man is on a mission to recruit them all.

Island – Sawyer feels guilty for causing the deaths of Sun, Jin and Sayid (and possibly Frank Lapidus). Jack could’ve snapped at him but thankfully he told Sawyer that it wasn’t his fault and that the MIB was to blame. This puts an end to their six season rivalry. Hurley glimpses a young Jacob hiding in the jungle. Jacob startles Hurley and demands ‘his’ ashes back, the ones Ilana had on her. He grabs the bag of ashes and runs away; Hurley gives chase but loses sight of him. He finds himself in a clearing, where a man sits upon a log by a small fire – adult Jacob. Jacob confirms that the young boy was him and says that his ashes are in fire and that when the fire burns out, he will never be seen again. I’ve been reading some theorists posts about Jacob being like a phoenix. This episode seems to prove he’s has almost an inversion of the phoenix resurrection. Jacob tells Hurley to quickly gather the other Losties, so he can talk to them.
Back at Ben’s house, Widmore and Zoe hide, Miles takes a walkie-talkie and escapes into the jungle and Richard and Ben wait outside for Smokey’s arrival. Without warning, Smokey barrels into Richard, like a freight-train, tossing him high into the air like a rag-doll. I don’t think that’s the last we’ve seen of him but it’s very possible that he’s badly injured by the attack. The MIB sits down to talk with Ben. He promises Ben that he can rule the Island, if he does something for him – kill Widmore and Zoe.

LA X – Alex invites Dr Linus over for tea, her mum agrees. Her mum is of course, Danielle Rousseau but she’s scrubbed up pretty well, so she looks very different to her dead, crazy Island self. I love her comment that he has to come and join them for dinner, even if ‘we have to kidnap you’. A very nice inversion of when Ben steals baby Alex from Danielle. Danielle seems to be taken by Dr Linus. He tears up when he learns that Alex sees him as a father-figure she never had. Naturally, he blames it on the onions.

Island – Ben and the MIB enter Ben’s house, open the secret room and find Widmore and Zoe hiding there. I was surprised. I thought they were more intelligent. Either way, I enjoyed the fact that top-dog Widmore and his lackey were trapped and in a small room of all places. The MIB seems as annoyed with Zoe as the average Lost viewer, so he slits her throat. I don’t normally cheer at character deaths but she had it coming a long time ago. Still, I'm wondering what the point of her character was. The writers - 'Let's introduce a geophysicist to chart the Island and find the pockets of electromagnetic energy. Oops. She's dead now.' Maybe she was just meant to be a big red herring. Zoe (even more-so than Ilana) didn't fulfil her purpose. We didn't even see her look for the pockets of energy on the Island. The MIB tells Widmore that he’ll kill Penny when he leaves the Island, if Widmore doesn’t tell him why he’s on the Island. He whispers something to the MIB but is quickly shot dead by Ben. Wow. That could be seen as anti-climatic, or a clever deconstruction of his character and importance. I'm conflicted about Ben's change. On one hand, Ben is much more interesting when he's his tortured, manipulative self. On the other hand, I want him to be redeemed. His speech with Ilana really moved me and was one of the most powerful scenes in the series. Hopefully it's all a long con against Smokey.
The four Losties meet Jacob by the fire. They have questions for him (don’t we all?) Kate asks about the names on the cave wall and what they meant. We learn that the cave was Jacob’s and he wrote the names down and crossed them off. So the cave and the lighthouse are both Jacob’s? Maybe he’s bipolar? I wouldn’t put it past him.

LA X – Locke visits Dr Shephard and they talk about free will and fate. Locke decides it’s time to ‘let go’ and have the operation. Yay! About time, mate! Will we see Locke walk in the sideways reality? What will be the repercussions?

Island – Jacob brought the Losties to the Island to help fix his past mistakes (see episode 6.15 - Across the Sea for more details). He gathered them to find a replacement candidate to protect the Island. He chose them because they were flawed individuals and very alone and he identified with them. Kate’s name was crossed off the cave wall because she became a Mother. Jacob doesn’t want people who are ‘attached’ to protect the Island. He tasks one of them to protect the Island. He gives them a choice but if no-one chooses, everything ceases to exist. Protecting the Island means to protect the heart of the Island, ‘the Source’ from Smokey. Jacob tells them that the candidate will be forever in the cross-hairs of Smokey, so he must be destroyed. Jack accepts the role. Good on you, Jack! He’s character has come full-circle from a man of science, to a man of faith. Jacob leads him to a stream (not unlike the one leading to the heart of the Island). He chants Latin words over the water, dips his cup into it and gives it to Jack, who pauses, then drinks. Jack has completed the transference of role and power. Jacob tells Jack that he’s now like him. He tells Jack that as protector, he can find the heart of the Island and that it’s beyond the bamboo fields he landed in at the beginning of the series (episode 1 – Pilot) and across the ridge there. Interesting. So it’s no coincidence that he fell not far from it.

LA X – At the police station, Sawyer tells Desmond, Kate and Sayid that they’re being shipped to the county jail. In the police van, Desmond tells them he has a plan and that it’s time to leave (what this reality for the Island? That would be amazing! He seems comfortable in his role head recruiter and asks them to make promises to do what he says, when they’re free. They agree. We discover that the police officer driving the van is non-other than Ana Lucia! She isn’t ready – what’s going to happen to her? She lets them out of the van and they find themselves on a wharf. Hurley arrives in his yellow Humvee and talks with Desmond. They’re heading of to a concert. David Shephard’s concert? The museum benefit concert? I’m saying, yes to all three options. Sayid goes with Hurley and Kate goes with Desmond in Hurley’s red Camero. So, it seems we’ll see many Lost characters at the museum concert. What a treat! I wonder if they will collectively remember the Island reality and have to travel there or the remaining survivors from the Island reality will have to travel to the side-ways reality. I’ve invested in the characters for six years and the Island is one of them. I personally would like the series to end in that reality for that very reason.

Island – The MIB takes Ben to collect Desmond from the well but he’s escaped with the help of a rope-carrying someone (Rose and Bernard? Lapidus? Miles? Ben asks him why he doesn’t always travel the Island in smoke form. The MIB replies that he enjoys the feel of the physical ground beneath his feet; it reminds him what it was like to be human. I really love that explanation. The MIB tells Ben that Widmore told him that Desmond was Jacob’s fail-safe (loop-hole if you will) in case all the candidates were killed off. It’s great to see some of my theorising came to fruition. He doesn’t seem annoyed that he’s escaped; rather he’s like a cat stalking its prey – secretly relishing the moment. He can now get Desmond to do the one thing that he can’t do himself – destroy the Island! I saw that coming. What I didn’t see was the fact that Desmond going into ‘the Source’ and turning the Donkey Wheel would be his idea. Very cool. Now to wait (im)patiently for The End.

IfDavid's mom isn't Juliet, I'm going to be annoyed. They've drug out this whole "Who's Jack's ex?" thing too long to have it be whatshername from the Island reality.

Sideways!Ben is adorably nerdy. "I'm performing a citizen's arrest!" Was very cool to see Rousseau again and I couldn't help but wonder if there was potential there for more than friendship. It would be awesome were he to end up Alex's stepdad.

So happy Widmore is dead. I haven't been this happy over character death since they killed of Nikki and Paolo.

So people's ghosts are only trapped on the Island as long as their remains remain. Means there must be a ton of ghosts on the Island. No wonder there were so many Whispers.

Jacob continues to make me dislike him. The Losties were unhappy in their lives mainly due to his machinations. And what about all the people who died thanks to Jacob's antics? Absolutely no remorse over it. And his claim of giving the Losties a choice is laughable. "Oh, hey guys! One of you has to protect the Island or you all die and the world ends! But you have a choice!"

Seriously, is anyone surprised Ana Lucia is a dirty cop? Anyone?

My working theory is that Desmond is going to enter the Light and survive, possibly bonding with the Heart of the Island and getting superpowers to destroy Smokey with. No matter what happens, I don't think he's going home to Penny when it's all over.

Is Richard dead now? It would be almost funny if he survived for centuries only to be casually killed off like that.