The man of the hour, or two if you’re counting, is Desmond. Bringing us full circle to the beginning of the season, our theories regarding the Hatch-man’s whereabouts on the island were ill-directed as it turns out he was busy sailing the high seas for the last few weeks. I, for one, was deadest wrong in thinking that we’d find good ole Des holed up in the question mark, but "?" certainly proved that theory off base.

It seems that the emerging theme of cyclical journeys is becoming increasingly more prominent in the show. Desmond's journey through life has added up to a series of seemingly infinite loops. We learn of his true love, a woman named Penelope Widmore whose father’s primary task seems to be aimed at keeping the two of them apart.

After a dishonorable discharge from the Queen’s Royal Army, Penelope’s father attempted to buy Desmond off, citing that he lacked the honor necessary to win Penelope’s hand. Instead, Desmond is charged with the need to regain his honor via competing in a Widmore hosted race around the world.

We see him at the track, with Jack running in the background. We even see Desmond eating lunch with a drastically different looking Libby, who goes by the name Elizabeth, before offering up her boat for the race.

Meanwhile back on the island, Michael’s ruse appears to be working despite Sayid’s recon plan alongside Sun and Jin. They uncover of all things a giant Grecian-like statue of a four-digit foot on the coast line. Was this fallout from an ancient four-toed civilization, or just another island oddity meant to confuse and perplex? Probably a little of both.

Locke and Eko become entangled in a battle, quite literally, of minds and faith. Usurping one another’s hopes of either pressing, or not pressing, that famed execute button, their struggle was sort of endearing in an impending fatalistic sort of way. Once Locke rallies Desmond to the cause, things turn a bit more sinister as the question of whether or not the button actually serves a purpose becomes increasingly complicated thanks to tidbits from Desmond’s past.

Most notably is the small tidbit regarding a certain Kelvin Inman, Desmond’s former hatch-mate and more importantly Sayid’s instructor in the art of torture. Of course, he was going by the name of Joe Inman at the time, but it’s the same ole Clancy Brown bringing these two incarnations to life.

The real question here is, What does this all mean? Does it have purpose or reason? Once upon a time Locke would have answered this question with a resounding “yes,” but these are the days of paranoia and skepticism. Was Kelvin in on some sort of experiment run on Desmond? Did he plant the fear necessary to keep him from leaving the hatch? If so, what is the purpose behind this intent?

Sayid, sadly, remained underused yet again, and imagine my dismay when we discover that he had intentionally been misled to the Other’s “base camp” only to find a mock hatch and a series of shanties used for housing.

Okay, enough already. Let get to the meat of things shall we? So, we learn the true reason why the plane crash was actually a flub at the hands of Desmond, whose failure to enter the button caused a momentary electromagnetic burst strong enough to cut the plane in half.

Although Mike and Walt’s story arc is essentially over now, one must be questioning what Henry Gale meant when he stated that he got “more than he had bargained for” in regards to Walt. Was this because of Lostaway spirit in trying to retrieve Michael’s son, or was he implying that Walt is just plain unruly and unwilling to cooperate? Who knows?

Eko, Locke, and Desmond had better not be dead…and that’s all I have to say there. The show practically revolves around these three. Losing one would be fine, but all three? Ouch. The showdown in the computer room was oddly familiar, recalling Desmond’s first run in with an attempt to break the computer screen. Again with the circles, the producers love to revisit themes or scenarios, elaborating slightly on each one every time they resurface.

In the end, we witness a number of island related questions unfold in interestingly complicated fashions, but most importantly, the finale leaves us with a few new complexities to ponder. It looks as if Penelope may be a mainstay, and with the amount of money she is putting into finding Desmond’s whereabouts, two things come to mind.

First of all, she knows about the island and exactly which division Desmond may be wrapped up in, but the only thing she needs is the physical whereabouts. Think about this: What if Penelope’s father had decided to use the button-pushing chore of the Swan Station to keep Desmond hidden from Penelope? It certainly makes sense.

So she employs a group of researchers to mind the gap, keeping watch for EMT disturbances that could potentially give away Desmond’s location. How she acquired this information will likely be fleshed out eventually and the safe money would point to the ongoing Lost Experience game for more answers in the meantime.

Well, a season comes to a close and there is plenty to dwell on over the summer. Join me as we blast through season one again with fresh perspectives on old episodes, and perhaps even a Lost Experience tidbit or two to keep things interesting. Oh, heck, we can even talk about the toys...

Until then, lets discuss the finale in the Fanboy Forums, if you dare!

Mario Anima