Seeing the return of Lost was like reuniting with someone you might have squabbled with and not spoken to in months. The minute you start talking with that friend, suddenly all the previous tension seems to melt away and you become close again. Well it happened that way with Lost which returned to TV last night with a recap special and a premiere that brought us right back into our symbiotic relationship.

 First, you non-believers should know this---Lost did not return with a trunk full of answers that miraculously transformed the show from a brain-bending conundrum into a standard TV show told in  linear fashion. That's just not the Lost way. And that's why we like it. That's why we're hooked once again. Oh sure, you'll here complaints during what may be a truncated season of 8 episodes (complete with cliffhanger), but the fun of  the show has always been to look at it as a TV version of Sudoku--the fun is in the puzzle solving. The difference is that we simply won't get confirmation on our theories until the endgame commences.

 The recap special that aired last night, narrated by Michael Emerson (who plays the weaselly Bush-like Ben), was subtly letting us know to what we should have paid attention last season (and before) in order to see what would be coming THIS season. For example, Hurley's back story was recapped because he would be playing a prominent role in the first episode. This special didn't really say anything new except to confirm a few theories that have been bouncing around for a few years now. One of them was the nature of the electromagnetic properties of the island/ What we had suspected but hadn't gotten any proof on (until last night) was that the energy was being held at bay by the Dharma Initiative for years---not to "save the world" but to keep the island from being detected by the outside world. 

 The premiere episode was Lost just as we remembered. Fascinating, engrossing, confusing, frustrating, and  remarkably touching. Much of the episode was spent getting the various castaways together for a reunion, comparing notes and ultimately splitting up once again into factions---those who would go with John Locke back to perceived safety at the "barracks"  and the few that would stay with Jack and Kate, awaiting rescue from mysterious new players in this game whom everyone figured out were possible trouble.  Would it be Jack or Locke
that would lead the willing to the "Promised Land"?

 We learned that when they do leave the island only six will depart ---Jack, Kate, and Hurley are the only ones confirmed. Do Michael and Walt count?  And is one of the "Oceanic Six" the man in the coffin whose funeral Jack went to at the end of last season? We do know that these six became celebrities and their lives were somewhat tortured by the secret they kept. 

 Theory time: Hurley, Jack, and possibly the "coffin man" who committed suicide let guilt eat away at their sanity.
Guilt over what? Leaving  their castaways behind? In part. But it's very likely that these six were carrying around a
horrible lie that they were the SOLE survivors. It was a condition for getting rescued and only six took the offer while the rest stayed on the island willingly or as semi-hostages of the new faction of island "visitors".  There is at least one castaway who MUST leave---that's Sun, whose only chance of saving her unborn baby is to leave. And while Rose and Bernard seem ready to go now, they may change their minds if they realize her cancer will undoubtedly return when they leave the healing environs of the island.

 One of the creepy moments on the episode was when Hurley gets separated from the other guys and stumbles on the cabin where "Jacob" lives. When he peers in we and Hurley can clearly see him in that chair again. Then the eyes of Locke (?) peer out and Hurley runs away. He thinks he's running from the cabin but he somehow circles back.  He literally wills his vision of the cabin away. Or does he? We have been  told (in TV GUide for example) that time travel is involved this season. Was this what we witnessed--Hurley seeing the future? The past? And was Locke in that cabin communing with Jacob--his future self?

  Then there's the question of where is Penny? She was featured in the special and has pinpointed the location of the island. Is she on her way too to be reunited with Desmond? Ahh questions.

 The most realistic part of this whole episode was the aftermath of Charlie's sacrifice. The full emotional impact was realized when Claire and the rest of castaways were reunited and she plaintively looked around seeking out Charlie. It fell to Hurley to tell her that Charlie had died, sacrificing himself to save everyone AND to warn them about their so-called rescuers. It was a gripping moment.

 So as it stands, Hurley goes off with Locke but winds up leaving the island anyway. And after he's back he's visited by the ghost of Charlie or hallucinates (with Lost you can never be sure). Hurley's guilt is like an infection. Once he meets up with Jack on the outside world,  it apparently sends Jack into a downward spiral.

 Oh yes, Lost is back. Back to enthrall and torture us at the same time. The REAL question is will this writers' strike end in time to squeeze a few more episodes out? Or will this series end in March and we'll have to wait until February again for new episodes? ARRGHH.