Well, here we are, at the end of another year of blogging Lost! This was an especially confusing year for fans, with the show fully embracing its sci-fi side and giving us a story all about time travel. As such, writing the column each week became especially mind-bending, but ultimately rewarding. I like getting my thoughts about the show organized by writing, and if I've sorted things out for my readers on occasion, then I think it was all worth it.

On this post, we say farewell to the season 5. I've packed this post chock full of goodies. So read on...I've written mini-reviews of each episode this season, compiled a list of all the deaths this year, and most interesting, written what we should expect from the sixth and final season. Enjoy...

Season Report Card: Mini-Reviews

1. Because You Left

I think we all knew that things would be different after the season 4 finale, but I don't think anyone predicted just how different things would be. Because You Left was the perfect introduction to season 5, giving us a healthy dose of time travel and showing us what all our off-islanders are up to. Given the scope of the season 4 finale, I wouldn't have expected this year's premiere to retain the same amount of energy, but it did and then some.

Episode Rating: A

2. The Lie

The second episode was Hurley-centric, and focused on getting the entire "Back to the island movement" going. This episode aired right after Because You Left, and while it was a fine hour, it certainly wasn't as good as the first. Still, as Hurley episodes go, it was pretty damn good, and there were some thrilling moments. The best scenes, however, happened on the island, where Sawyer and co. were attacked by flaming arrows.

Episode Rating: B+

3. Jughead

Perfection! This hour brought Desmond back to the show (his only major appearance this season, sadly) on a quest to find Daniel's mother. There were tons of revelations this hour, and the time travel idea was fully fleshed out. The best part of the episode, though, was the beginning, where we saw the birth of Desmond and Penny's baby, named Charlie.

Episode Rating: A+

4. The Little Prince

The quest to return to the island dominates this episode, and that plot is dominated by Kate, determined not to go back. The island time-travelling plot was more interesting, a common theme in the first half of season 5. The single best scene was Sawyer witnessing the birth of Aaron through the wonders of time jumping; learning that Jin was alive was all kinds of cool as well.

Episode Rating: B+

5. This Place Is Death

Everything started to come full circle in this episode, as Jack and Ben met Eloise Hawking in order to get back to the island, and Locke finally found his way to get off the island and get the others to come back. Full of memorable moments, this was a simply classic episode, and also featured a powerful death scene: the sad demise of Charlotte.

Episode Rating: A

6. 316

The Oceanic 6 return to the island! Since the episode focused on Jack, we only learned his motivations for coming to the island, and in an hour that seemed set up to give nothing but answers, we instead were given a ton of mysteries that would play out in the second half of the season. A fun, exciting, and rewarding hour, but not as good as what came next.

Episode Rating: A-

7. The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham

We had known for a long time that Locke got off the island and told the Oceanic 6 to come back, but it was in this episode that we learned how all that went down, and how he ended up in the coffin. The scene, near the end, where Ben stops Locke from committing suicide, gets information, and then strangles him to death, was one of the single best scenes Lost has ever done. Michael Emerson and Terry O'Quinn are the show's two best actors, and luckily, they're usually on screen together; in this scene, they elevate the material to something simply phenomenal.

Episode Rating: A+

8. LaFleur

After the one-two punch of 316 and Bentham, we got LaFleur, an episode that, unexpectedly, perhaps, was better than both combined. This was essentially three hours of story in one episode, explaining what Sawyer and co. did for three years after Locke left them. Turns out they joined the Dharma initiative in 1977; and it turns out that Sawyer and Juliet are a couple! The scene where this is revealed is truly an awe-worthy feat of writing and acting; the writing is perfect, and actors Elizabeth Mitchell and Josh Holloway truly make you believe that these two have entered a mature romance.

Episode Rating: A+

9. Namaste

This was a point-A to point-B episode, where Sawyer had to do some quick thinking to get Jack, Kate and Hurley into Dharma. There's plenty of good stuff as we learn more about this organization, but it's really just a set up for the rest of the year.

Episode Rating: B

10. He's Our You

This was definitely the best Sayid episode in the show's history, giving reasons for why he became an assassin, explaining his inherently violent nature, and ending with a bang. A bang that penetrated young Ben's chest.

Episode Rating: A-

11. Whatever Happened Happened

Answers galore! We find out just why Kate came back to the island, and what she did with Aaron. This was all set against Kate and Sawyer on a mission to save young Ben, one that ended with a trippy, mind-bending scene with Richard Alpert.

Episode Rating: A-

12. Dead is Dead

The third Ben-centric episode was a quest to find the smoke monster and atone for sins of the past. This episode is a classic for a number of reasons, most of them centering around Michael Emerson, who acts the hell out this thing. And any episode that features (almost exclusively) Locke and Ben on a quest is destined to be great.

Episode Rating: A+

13. Some Like it Hoth

An undeniably fun hour, focusing on Miles and Hurley and their adventures in delivering dead bodies and writing scripts for Star Wars sequels. Despite all the laughs, I think this was the season's weakest episode.

Episode Rating: B

14. The Variable

Lost's 100 th episode finally gave us a Daniel-centric hour, one full of mythology. This hour set in motion the events that would lead us to the season's endgame, and also killed off Faraday. He will be missed, but actor Jeremy Davies shined his brightest in his final appearance.

Episode Rating: A

15. Follow the Leader

A big set-up for the finale, but packed with cool moment after cool moment, culminating in the revelation that Locke wants to kill Jacob. In my column for this week, I got to write a part titled "Jack is an Idiot," which was undeniably satisfying.

Episode Rating: A

16. The Incident

Is this Lost's best finale? Maybe. The verdict is still out. But it combined the huge level cliffhanger from season one, the revelation of a traitor and detonation of a certain hatch from, season 2, the twists of season 3, and the epic scope of season 4. The Incident is a classic for combining all these prior finales, while wrapping up season 5 nicely and launching us into the final season with gusto.

Episode Rating: A+

OVERALL: Season 5 Thoughts

When all is said and done, I think this season of Lost was one of the best. When you think about how much story we were given in just 16 episodes, you can instantly recognize what a monumental scope the season had. We started off thinking this year would be about two stories: the Oceanic Six returning to the island, and Locke getting off the island to set the six off on their mission. What we actually got, story-wise, was much bigger and more complex than we could have ever imagined.

Yes, the time travel stuff was confusing, but in my mind, infinitely rewarding. Making theories for this show has never been so fun or exciting, and I actually found myself correct more than I ever have before. Like each season of Lost, the 16 episodes contained their own beginning-to-end story, while still being a part of a bigger picture. While The Incident was a great finale, and brought closure to most season five stories, it did leave open more doors than a season of Lost usually does. We still don't know how the entire "Dharma times" story arc ended, since the last shot of the season was Juliet setting off the bomb; in most seasons, we would at least walk away knowing how their adventures in Dharmaville ended. This isn't a complaint, but more of an observation. Otherwise, lots of other interesting season five story arcs were either given some sort of closure or addressed enough to satisfy us until next year.

The whole cast brought their A-game to the season, and while most characters were well used, I think a few cast members got short changed this year. Claire didn't return at all after her disappearance in season four, though this wasn't a surprise; the writers told us she wouldn't be in season five but will be a main cast member in season 6. With season 5 as jam packed as it was, this doesn't bother me. I don't know where they could have worked her in. The same goes for Desmond, who appeared in a total of five episodes this season, with only Jughead giving him a fair amount of screen time. Desmond's story, though, was pretty well wrapped up in season four, so unless you take away his happy ending with Penny, there wasn't too much for him to do this year. Jin and Sun were the only characters this year that I feel could have been utilized more; Jin got to do some cool stuff in Dharma times or when hanging out with the French people, but Sun got nothing more to do all season than ask other people where her husband was, and we never saw their reunion.

But where some characters were shortchanged, others got their best story arcs ever. Locke and Ben, though appearing in fewer episodes than other characters, had a simply phenomenal arc to travel through. Jack, Kate, Sayid, Hurley, Miles, Daniel, and even Charlotte in her few episodes before dying all had an invaluable presence this year. But the season's MVP was undoubtedly Sawyer, who after getting a relatively light amount of screen time in the fourth season, came back roaring for season 5. He grew up a lot over the course of the year, eventually becoming the show's most noble character; his romance with Juliet (who, due to her relationship with Sawyer, also had a great year) was one of Lost's most real, heartfelt, and emotional love stories to date.

While there were many great episodes, I'd say my four favorites are Jughead, LaFleur, Dead is Dead, and The Incident. I don't know which one of those is the best; my gut reaction is either LaFleur or Dead is Dead, but damn was the finale good...ah hell, the whole season was a blast!

Season Rating: A

DEATH TALLY:

Let's take a look at which characters were killed during the fifth season of a show notorious for its trigger happy writing. I've only listed main cast members or significant guest stars.

CONFIRMED DEAD:

Charlotte Lewis portrayed by Rebecca Mader

Died in the episode "This Place is Death" from excessive time travelling

John Locke portrayed by Terry O'Quinn

Strangled to death by Ben in "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham." O'Quinn remains on the show as an evil being inhabiting the body of Locke, but Locke himself, as surprising as it sounds, is quite dead.

Daniel Faraday portrayed by Jeremy Davies

Shot by his mom in "The Variable"

UNCONFIRMED DEAD:

Jacobportrayed by Mark Pellegrino

Stabbed then tossed in a fire in "The Incident." Sounds dead to me. But then again, he is Lost's Christ figure, so a miraculous resurrection may be in the future.

Juliet Burke, James "Sawyer" Ford, Jack Shepherd, Kate Austen, Sayid Jarrah , Hugo "Hurley" Reyes, Miles Straume, Jin Soo-Kwon, Rose Nadler, Bernard Nadler, Dr. Pierre Chang and Radzinsky all were in close proximity to the spot where a hydrogen bomb was detonated in "The Incident", and there is no way in hell they could have survived. However, that list comprises most of the main cast, so I'm guessing time travel will save the day for everybody.

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM SEASON SIX?

1. The first shot of the season will be an eye; Jack's eye. He gets up, dusts himself off, and we are introduced to our new surroundings (or new timeline, perhaps).

2. The season will focus on history as revised by the detonation of Jughead. Remember when Desmond blew up the hatch, and suddenly found himself back at the point where he broke up with Penny, but with all his memories of the future? Yeah, it'll be like that, but for all the characters. Well, all the characters that Jacob contacted. In The Incident, Jacob visited and physically touched each main character, and I think this link will allow them to be resurrected in their own pasts after the bomb went off. Juliet, however, was not touched by Jacob; she will stay dead. Detonating the bomb was her sacrifice, and now the others can live their lives.

3. Locke will be alive again because of this; his history is revised since the island's history was revised.

4. This was all a plan by Jacob to stop the man-in-black, his nemesis who took Locke's form. I think that, for most of the series, this man in black has been trying to stop the main characters from achieving certain goals, and has even killed some of them through the smoke monster. Charlie died because Desmond had visions of it, and determined it to be preordained: what if those visions were planted by the evil one to kill Charlie, get him out of the way for some reason? Anyway, I think Jacob planned on dying, and his sacrifice allowed the castaways to survive the detonation in 1977 (furthering the "Jacob is Jesus" metaphor).

And that's it for another year of blogging Lost! Thanks to all my readers, without whom I would not be writing this on a weekly basis. It's sad (and happy, at the same time) to think that there's only one more season of Lost left, and only one more run of blogging before we have to say goodbye to the show. This column will return in early January for a few weeks of previewing season six and reflecting on the series before the show returns, so come back then (or stick around for movie reviews aplenty!).