OK, I got the chance to watch the season premiere of LOST again last night. And, I just don't know where to start!



I mean, I totally loved it. It was thrilling, gripping, gut-wrenching and, most of all, confusing -- but that's what we Lostees have come to expect. And the writers didn't disappoint.



If you haven't seen it yet, stop reading and go to http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=index and watch now. Start with the clip show to catch you up on what's going on. Trust me, there's always something you forgot!



Season 5 started out minutes from where Season 4 left off, but in it's usual style the opening scene featured characters we've never seen before. A man and woman waking up to a crying baby. We later see that they are apparently members of the Dharma Initiative and on the island. So we're back in time already -- and here's my theory -- that baby was Charlotte, one of the stranded scientists on the island from the freighter.



So here's my take on what's happening. Let's start with the island shall we?



Time Manipulation: The island and its occupants are hopping thru time every couple of hours with no rhyme or reason (at least that we know of yet). Daniel, who shows up back in time with the Dharma Intiative, is there because he supposedly understands all this. And at least we all know now that Dharma was only really interested in time travel.



Charlotte's nose is bleeding ... and how was she ever born on the island anyway, when all babies and their mothers never make it to the second trimester?



Locke, who we last saw on the island becoming leader of The Others, is suddenly left with no one after The Others disappear in time ... at least he's better off there, in the real world, he's still lying in a coffin ...



Day turns to Night, Night turns to Day -- my head's spinning, but hurts so good!



Locke sees Mr. Ecko's brother's plane crash and gets shot by Ethan (who's is also dead, but we're back in time, remember), then just as Ethan's about to kill him -- swoosh -- time travels forward and Ethan's gone (dead).

Locke's left stranded with a bullet in his leg, and someone's coming. Fortunately for him it's Richard (the mysterious Other, who never seems to age -- could that be because he's always jumping thru time?) and tells Locke that he has to bring the Oceanic 6 back to the island. When Locke asks "how", Richard replies, you're gonna have to die.

*goosebumps*

Island continues to skip thru time ...

Shirtless Sawyer, Juliet and the rest are running around the island looking for supplies when they come across the hatch ... somewhere in time. Daniel reaches out to Desmond in the hatch and tells him that he's not part of all this and "the rules don't apply to you," urging Desmond to go and find Daniel's mother in Oxford, England, in the future. Des doesn't understand, of couse not, he thinks he's nuts!

Desmond wakes up in the future on a boat with Penny and tells her he has to go to Oxford ...

Damn, at 10:04 Sawyer put a shirt on ...

Sawyer, Juliet and the gang are trying to make camp back on the beach when some guy we've never seen before, Neil, starts bitching about their situation. Quicker than you can say Oceanic 6, Neil's shot with a flaming arrow. Really, who uses flaming arrows anymore?

The castaways are under fire from hostiles we don't know of yet and Sawyer and Juliet get attacked in the jungle. Just as the hostiles are about to cut Juliet's hand off, they are shot by ... Locke.

On to the Oceanic 6:

Men in black show up at Kate's door and want blood samples from her and Aaron to determine their relationship. We already know that Kate's lying about being Aaron's mother. Claire, who's still trapped somewhere on the island with her dead father, is Aaron's real mom. Kate gets rid of them and flees with Aaron.

Jack and Ben steal Locke's body after Jack agrees to help Ben get the Oceanic 6 together for a return to he island. He confesses that Locke told him that everyone on the island would die if he didn't go back. Ben flushes Jack's pills.

Hurley and Sayid are on the run because Sayid killed the guy stalking Hurley at the mental hospital. Hurley's still seeing dead people, i.e. Ana Lucia, who tells him you've got a lot of work to do," and "Libby says hi."

Sun gets detained at the airport by none-other-than Charles Widmore, who wants to talk to her about their "common interest" -- killing Benjamin Linus.

Kate receives a mystery call from someone who turns out to be Sun. At her hotel, Sun tells Kate that she doesn't blame her for what happened to Jin (he died on the freighter when it exploded). Kate cries.

In a flashback, we see the Oceanic 6 on Penny's boat agreeing to lie about everything to keep those left behind safe. Hurley's reluctant and we realize that's what's been eating him ...

Back in the present, Ben tells Jack that Jack's never coming back and takes Locke's body to some deli. Anyone recognize the lady in the deli? I can't remember her at all, but she's obviously in on everything and agrees to keep Locke safe.

Sayid's passed out from some sedative delivered by an assassin that he took out. Hurley goes home and his dad (Cheech) takes Sayid to Jack for help. Jack tells Ben he has Sayid, while Hurley spills the truth to his mom. She says she believes him even though she doesn't understand him.

Ben shows up for Hurley, telling him he has to go back to the island. Hurley's so distraught at the mere thought he tells Ben "Never Dude" and runs out of the house straight into the undercover cops who are waiting outside, confessing to the murder (altho he didn't do it). He is immediately taken into custody, thereby foiling Ben's plan ... for now.

Are y'all still with me?

The whole thing ended with Ben visiting a mysterious, cloaked, white-haired lady in some kind of shrine. She warns Ben he only has 70 hours to get everyone back. To which he replies, "What happens if I can't get them all to come back?"

"Then God help us."

OK, I'm pretty sure this the same woman who showed up in a Desmond time-travel/flashback, where he was in England and ran into Charlie on the street. Talked to her on a bench and she was also in a curio shop. Someone else pointed out to me that her photo was also on the desk of the head monk at the Monastery where Desmond spent some time...

Anyway, could she possibly be Daniel's mom that he had asked Desmond to look up?

I remember her as the creepy woman from the Nicole Kidman thriller "The Others."

And I definitely think Locke's going to be resurrected -- somehow, probably on the island. We all know, as Locke said in last season's finale -- "It's a place where miracles happen."

OK, let's hear it -- what did you think? Anyone else have any theories. I love me some Lost queries!

Next Week: Looks like the smoke monster returns. Yay! We missed ya smokey!