The following contains MAJOR SPOILERS for "There's No Place Like Home: Part 3," the season finale from the fourth season of ABC's "Lost."

The season one finale of "Lost" pretty much set a new standard for disappointment despite hype. Having Jack, Locke, and Kate peering down the hatch was both anti-climactic and, frankly, quite boring. Season 2 overall was a forgettable disaster. Then came the Season 3 finale, in which the flash-forward was introduced, and the presence of an enigmatic coffin with the body of someone we certainly had to know, but could only speculate on the possibilities.

The third season finale was the first sign that "Lost" had recovered the creative vision that made it the runaway hit it became in its inaugural season. Season 4 has been extremely well written, well acted, and well directed. Having a finite number of episodes seems to have saved the creative team from the pointless wandering that plagued all of Season 2 and parts of Season 3.

The final three episodes of "Lost" this season have been nothing short of stellar. In what has largely been a disappointing year for television as a whole, and genre television in particular, "Lost" has proven that not even an industry-crippling mid-season writer's strike can keep a good story down.

While this episode's paced slowed a bit from the previous episode, the revelation of the body in the coffin was enough for me to consider the episode a tremendous success. I honestly thought that the episode would end with us knowing that it wasn't Ben who was the guest of honor at the unattended funeral, but I had no idea that they would actually reveal the identity of the person.

Of course, I figured it was Locke during the season three finale. But the name Jeremy Bentham really threw me. I figured that since the name Bentham contained the name "Ben," he was the one most likely to be the corpse. The camera angles teased that a major revelation was coming, but I just didn't think we would know the person's identity so soon. I was more shocked that it was actually revealed than I was shocked at who was actually in the coffin.

This season finale is paradigm shifting in that many of the events will now be taking place, off island, in real time. This is a welcome development. Leaving too much old business unfinished or dragging out the Oceanic Six mystery into next season would have been terrible mistakes. We know that Penny and Desmond reunite. We know that Locke somehow dies and ends up back in the states. We know how, and why, Sawyer was left behind.

Still, we don't know if Jin and Michael made it off the boat. We don't yet know exactly what is going on with Claire and Christian Shepherd. We don't know Charlotte's connection to the island. But most importantly, while we know that the Oceanic Six have to go back to the island, we don't know why. Nor do we know why they must bring the recently deceased Locke/Bentham with them. But some questions are best left unanswered.

At least for now.

What Worked

The reunion of Desmond and Penny. Like Sawyer's redemption in the previous episode, a feel-good moment pretty much steals the show despite some shocking revelations. Okay, so we know that Ben threatens to kill her at some point in the future, but let's enjoy this moment while it lasts.

What Didn't Work

I honestly can't think of anything major. I did think the confrontation between Sun and Widmore was a bit lame. It wasn't one of Yunjin Kim's finest acting moments, but perhaps that is because the scene's complete meaning is so unclear at this point. She can only work with she was given, and this scene provided very little of immediate worth.

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

"There's No Place Like Home: Part 3" was written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. It was directed by Jack Bender. "Lost" stars Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Jorge Garcia, Elizabeth Mitchell, and Michael Emerson.

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