Overall Impact:

Personally, I thought it was fantastic because it's finally becoming so much more beyond the same "bubble" of people on just one island. It feels like WORLDS have just opened up and now I KNOW that this show is going to evolve way beyond what anyone ever expected! It feels like the show REALLY does have some "staying power" that many critics and viewers were unsure that it could have.

Theories/Thoughts:

I think that Desmond is still alive [I hope so, because he and Sayid are "my men!" ].

I also think that possibly "Henry Gale" and "the others" are a DIFFERENT "others" than what we think...that they might be "good guys" and that they nabbed Kate, Jack and Sawyer to help them fight against "the ACTUAL bad guys." I think that Michael and Walt probably WILL come back to help out...possibly unwillingly. AND there's a whole supernatural side to the island that is still a huge "?".

Also, I have a feeling that Penelope's dad may be involved with Hanso somehow...

Total Addiction

All I know is that I've got to buy Season 1 and watch it all over again this summer, because now I just KNOW that tons of hidden clues are buried everywhere, and watching the first seasons again [Season 2 will probably come out on DVD before Season 3 kicks in] will probably make the clues way less hidden, now that we know how the first 2 seasons end...

Good stuff. I haven't really been THIS hooked on a show since The Buffy Years.