Well, Claire named the baby Aaron. That's something.

Really, though, the two-hour episode was fraught with enough excitement, adventure, and intrigue to satisfy us, even though we still don't know much about the central mysteries of the island.

We never fully appreciated the magic of our TiVo until this particular television event. This is the first time that we utilized the slo-mo features and the frame-by-frame advance, and with some pretty nifty results. First of all, this "monster." When it first buzzed by Jack and Kate in the jungle, it just looked like a swarm of flies. When Locke was getting dragged along the ground, we got a look at what appeared to be a black tentacle. And when Kate threw the dynamite down the Monster Hole, the explosion issuing forth from the other Monster Hole produced a larger swarm of black flies. Actually, our guess is that it's a swarm of flying nanobots that can form into many different shapes and make noises like a malfunctioning baggage sorter full of bike chains. Mark our words! NANOBOTS.

The second time our slo-mo came in handy was when we needed to closely inspect the Others' boat. When Cap'n Stupid Hat (who looks like a brother of Project Runway's Jay McCarroll) is calmly addressing the terribly attractive multi-racial raft crew, you can see through the window of the cabin the hazy figure of someone who appears to be experimental rocker Edgar Winter. But then Edgar throws a grenade onto the raft and, heck-fire, that ain't no man! It's a woman!

A young woman. A young, blonde woman.

Hello, Alex, nice to meet you. We assume we'll be seeing you again next season, yes? We hope you're as batshit crazy as your mother.

So, through the magic of TiVo, we learned a little bit more about the island and the Others. The show's writers also set us up for some minor plotline suspense next year with Charlie's Hail Mary, full of heroin and rekindling the Sayid and Shannon vulch-fest. And they continue to beat us over the head with The Numbers, over and over, to the point that when we find out what they mean, the heavens should open and pour fourth a giant cascade of golden awesomeness.

But all of these little plot points and mysteries and frustrations wouldn't mean jack squat without some fine acting. (And we really mean fine acting, not "fine" acting, as in acting by the Rainbow Coalition of Hotness stuck on the raft, or the long-legged Shannon whom some here would describe as "yummy.") That scene when Michael is stuck in the water watching his son get dragged away? Yikes. Wrenching. But we suppose it had to happen---the writers probably had to get rid of Walt for a little while so he could go through puberty in peace. Maybe he'll come back all manly at the end of Season 2. A month with pirates can sure put some hair on your chest.

The Vicar