We're the Good Guys, Michael

Once again, the folks running the show at Lost managed to turn out a phenomenal season finale. We got some background info on Desmond, found out a bit about the Widmore family, found out what the button does and where the pneumatic tube goes, we even got to meet Kelvin aka Joe Inman (the man who turned Sayid into a torturer) aka Brother Justin (Please, can we get Clancy Brown more work?). So much happened that it's almost impossible for me to put it all down in a coherent manner, but I'll try.

So, how much more do we know? Let's go in a few categories.

Desmond: Our now drunken Scotsman was the one on the mysterious boat that arrived during the funeral. He was in the army, got thrown in jail and booted out for "not following orders" (but we know there has to be more to it). He's unacceptable in the eyes of his girlfriend's father. He raced around the world to try to earn back his honor and show up his potential papa-in-law. He met Kelvin who taught him everything he needed to know about the island, including how to make a paint out of laundry detergent that only shows up under blacklight and how to fake a lockdown. Kelvin was going to fix up his boat and sail away until Desmond found him and accidentally killed him in the struggle. After the fight, Desmond rushed back to push the button, but was too late. As he prepared to kill himself rather than face a life completely alone, he heard knocking and the story of Desmond met the story of John Locke head on.

The Stations: Judging by the pile of tubes and notebooks in the middle of nowhere, the Pearl may have been the Skinner-influenced psychological experiment because the Swan really did have a purpose. Locke convinced Desmond that it was all fake, and they locked themselves in with the computer. Eko tried to blow up the blast doors, almost blowing himself an Charlie up in the process. A bit too late, Desmond realized that his failure to press the button on time had likely brought down flight 815. He wasn't able to convince Locke, who smashed the computer. The fact that anything and everything metallic suddenly went flying toward the mysterious wall suggests that it really was a gigantic electromagnet. (Remember Sayid's broken compass from Season 1?) We've also learned that there is a "system termination" lock, underneath the computer room. While Kelvin could never force himself to do it, Desmond used the key, (possibly) sacrificing himself to prevent another "incident." It certainly looks like Henry "I didn't press your button" Gale was lying to Locke, now.

The Dharma Initiative: We know that the Hanso Foundation was involved in funding the initiative. We know the Widmore family was tied into Hanso somehow. We found out last night that Desmond was in love with Penny Widmore and that her father Charles did not approve. We also found out that Penny is notified when the big electromagnetic thingamajig goes off. What does it all mean? I guess we have to wait until next year for that.

Father and Son: Michael was finally reunited with Walt, though potentially at the expense of his friends. Sayid and Jack came up with a plan to counter the Others, but it turns out that Michael was never planning to take them back to the beach. There was an entirely different plan and he had kept everybody in the dark about it, including us. When it was revealed to the other (lowercase "o") Lostaways that Michael had killed Ana Lucia and Libby, he was probably pretty glad that Hurley had refused to take a gun. Now he's off the island (and the show as a regular) and heading toward bearing 325.

The Others (with a capital "O"): They outplanned Jack and Sayid and set the exchange at a new location. Mr. Friendly (or Zeke, if you're Sawyer) is actually named Tom. FauxHenry certainly appears to be the leader or at least in some sort of authority position. The Others sent Hurley back to go tell everyone else to stay away, but kept Sawyer, Jack and Kate. Just like Walt said, everything about the Others was fake. Not just the beards and dirt, but the huts and even the Hatch Michael had seen them guarding.

We learned so much, but there are still so many questions left. For example:

Did Desmond end up sacrificing himself to save everyone?

What happened when he turned that key?

Is the Swan Hatch gone?

What about Locke and Eko, did they make it out?

What was the purpose of the Swan anyway? Why hadn't it been destroyed already?

What was with the monitoring station? Who are they? Why are they doing it? What exactly are they looking for? Where is that station? How does Penelope Widmore tie in?

Are Kelvin Inman and Joe Inman the same guy or twins?

What will happen to Jack Kate and Sawyer? I can't really think we can take NotHank at his word that he won't hurt them. He's lied and been manipulative from the beginning. (He's also been one of the best characters from almost the instant he appeared.)

Why send Hurley back? Because he refused to bring a gun? Why else then?

Why do the Others need to pretend to be something they're not?

Where will bearing 325 lead Michael?

What was the deal with the 4-toed foot from a giant statue? My first thought when I saw the foot were of the Colossus (the "of Rhodes" one, not the "silvery Russian dude from X-Men" one), but I have no idea why the statue only has 4 toes.

Is the fake hatch the Others were guarding on the big blast door inviso-map? Is it perhaps the one that's crossed off?

The Hurley bird...huh?

Did Libby go into the asylum because her husband died and she had a breakdown or was it something else?

Why couldn't Desmond leave on his boat? Was it just a screwed up compass thing or is it something much worse?

What's the deal with Cerberus the smoke monster?

Did anything happen to Jin, Sun and Sayid or are they just hanging out by a signal fire, waiting for reinforcements that are never going to come?

How did Rousseau react to the ear-piercing, violet-sky turning thing when Desmond turned the key?

How do Hanso, the Widmores, the DeGroots and all the other folks come into play?

Was there ever an illness? Does the medicine do anything? If so, why haven't we seen people getting sick? If not, why the suits, medicine and quarantine? Could the sickness have to do with the "incident"? Rousseau's arrival would be near to the time of the incident and perhaps the sickness was a result. Thus meaning the island safe (at least as far as the sickness goes) for our Lostaways 16 years later. Until now, that is.

Who are the Others?

What is their good/bad fascination?

How exactly are they "The Good Guys"?

Most importantly, why do I have to wait months to see another episode?

See you in another life, brother...