You're losing me, LOST

Oh hi

I suppose that last night's episode of LOST was good in the sense that it answered some questions and connected some dots for us. But again, I found myself looking at the TV and going, "Come on already." And once again, I almost threw up when I saw Locke's shin bone sticking out of his leg. Yuck! I did feel sorry for Locke all over again, though. It seems like no matter what he does, he's destined to get screwed in real life. On the island, however, he's some sort of god. All in all, not a bad episode, but not fantastic, either.

Favorite parts: when Sayid speaks Spanish and we see him flexing his big guns while working on a house in the Dominican Republic, obviously; the look on Locke's face when he sees the wheelchair; when Locke shows up at the Santa Rosa nuthouse to visit Hurley and H-dude doesn't believe Locke is real so he asks the nurse if he's really talking to a guy in a wheelchair. Also that whole scene with Ben trying to convince Locke not to kill himself....and then kills Locke. I didn't believe for a second that Ben's intentions were anything but evil.

Questions answered: why Charles Widmore was on the island (I don't remember why, but I know that we got a half-explanation regarding some "war"); how Locke "dies"; who the little Latin man on the plane was (his name is Cesar, and since I missed the first 60 seconds of the show, I'm assuming he's some sort of new leader with bad intentions); how everyone gets back to the island (the bright white light flashes and the plane crashes); who the creepy dude is who, to date, convinced Locke to go on the walkabout in Australia, set up the expedition to the island for Naiomi, Faraday, Charlotte, etc., and visited Hurley at the institution claiming to be an attorney for Oceanic Airlines (he works for Charles Widmore).

New questions: where did Lapedis go? Widmore mentions a war between groups on the island, what is he talking about? Why is Walt dreaming about Locke? Who killed Abaddon and why? Was it Ben?

Questions I still want answered: why does the island "need" Locke to badly? There is some weird triad of power between Ben, Widmore and Locke. Ben is obviously evil and has bad intentions, but I'm not sure how Locke coming back to the island benefits him. Will the island not let Ben have power and he knows this, so he needs Locke as his puppet? Why are Widmore and Ben arch enemies? What happened on the island between them many years ago, what is this war all about? What is Cesar's deal? Where did Ben go before the flight and who kicked his ass? WHERE THE HELL IS CLAIRE?!

Assumptions: Helen Norwood isn't really dead. (Is anyone ever really on this show?) There will be a power struggle between Jack and Cesar. Jack will see his father (and Claire, I hope). We haven't seen the last of Walt.

Side notes: did you guys see the commercial for that new cop show on ABC, The Unusuals, starring none other than our very own Micheal? Also, did anyone happen to catch the numbers on the license plate of the truck that rescues Locke in Tunisia? Were they THE numbers? How about the numbers on the house in Santo Domingo that Sayid was working on? Or the dates on Helen Norwood's grave, do they mean anything? (6/30/57-4/8/2006). I tried to look them all up on Lostpedia, but no one seems to have written a recap of last night's show yet. And I just have to mention, every time someone crosses a street on that show, I tense up just a little.