Lost In The Mirror

Don't read below if you don't want to be spoiled!

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to claim that Lost's 3rd season finale was two of the most satisfying hours of tv time ever. I read somewhere that Lost is probably the only series that doesn't underestimate the intellect of the viewers. Nothing is served, ready and waiting for your consumption. This isn't a cop-out in the sense that the writers can cook up infinite stories out of vague clues. No, the hints are not subtle, but they remain hints and not boring facts. This is crucial to the reason why "Lost" has become a cultural phenomenon that transcends the limits of a mere tv show. How insulting for your intelligence it would be if Ben came out and said, "Hey, the smoke monster can take human form!". We never saw it happen, no one has said it, but it's a solid conclusion nonetheless. So, I will be a little harsh and say that anyone who asks "How did Walt get on the island now?" should go watch Ugly Betty instead.
"Through The Looking Glass" was an episode that delivered on every level, but "Lost" has many such episodes. What is so special in this case, is that the show changed direction and goals and the way this change was presented. What could be more surprising in that the goal of a show about castaways is NOT their rescue. Of course, "Lost" has made it clear that it is not a show about the mundane rescue of some plane crash survivors, but everyone couldn't help but assume that rescue would coincide with the conclusion of the series. It turns out that rescue is irrelevant to the goals of the series, or just a necessary step towards them.
In a rather Lost-esque way though, we never actually see the rescue. The viewers are tricked by the usual "flashback" technique of the show to assume they are watching scenes that took place in the past of the plane crash, while the real time events are moving toward the prospect of rescue. Only in the final scene, it is made clear that what we are watching is the future and rescue has happened, as was hinted on the real time scenes on the island. Of course, we are still far from resolution, as there are a lot of questions.
Who are on the rescue boat if it's not Penny Widmore's people? Why does Ben warn this will be "the beginning of the end"? Who is the person in the coffin, whose death almost drove Jack to suicide? Why does Jack desperately want to return to the island?
There is now a blank in the time sequence of the show that starts just before rescue and ends some undefined time later at the last scene of the episode. This makes predictions about where the show will go on the 4th season very hard indeed. Will we see the rescue? Will we see events after the rescue, or events after Jack's last encounter with Kate when he pleaded with her to go back to the island? The details of the rescue itself are important and will now feed endless debates until the show resumes on February 2008. If patience is a virtue, then Lost fans are saints.