After the roller coaster thrills of last week's episode, I thought "Something Nice Back Home" was a bit of a slow-down.

Before I delve too far into the plot and details of last night, I have a new theory: dead people on (and off) the island are all the same person/thing. Could it be possible that every time someone sees a dead person (like Jack's dad, Charlie and next week's Jacob) they are actually seeing someone or something (smoke monster) that projects an image of the dead person.

Maybe there is technology on the island that allows a person to look like someone else OR maybe the smoke monster is able to look like a person. Remember when Mr. Eko looked into the smoke monster and saw all his own memories and thoughts, including images of his brother? Could smoke monster be capable of more? Was the smoke detector's failure in Jack's office a hint that smoke monster was there? It's all nano-bots, I think.

ANYWAY, here's what I was left with last night:

• The promos for the show drive me CRAZY! "The island claims one of the survivors as its own." What? Was that Claire? What does that mean? Is she dead?

• I don't think we've ever travelled past the point in time when Jack and Kate meet at the airport at the end of season #3. Time jumps on the show seem to occur in the space prior to that and after the 6 are off the island.

• Sawyer may be alive in the future. Kate seems to be talking to him on the phone.

• Jack's addictive behavior seems to be aided by jealousy of Sawyer.

• Are we finally convinced Jack and Claire are step-siblings?

• Why did the island let Jack get sick?

• Jack is an irresponsible pill taker! Never mix meds with alcohol!

• Dan is still irritating. Jin, please break his fingers like you promised Charlotte.

• Jack's proposal to Kate was a nice moment.

• Jack was reading Alice in Wonderland to Aaron. Is this a clue?

• Hurley tells Jack in the future that they are already dead. HMMMM.

• Miles can see dead people. Or, at least, he can see the past. Is Miles a time-shifter like Desmond?

• When Juliette told Kate about Jack kissing her, I almost punched the TV. But then I realized her intentions were good. This proves my theory: Juliette's a blabber mouth, don't tell her anything (or kiss her).

• I feel the most sorry for Hurley. He needs something good to happen to him.

• Sawyer is standing up for everyone!

• We might now have a clue how Sun gets off the island (Jin's threat to Charlotte).

• Russo and Carl are really, really, really dead. In-the-ground dead.

• Next week's promo finally shows us Jacob. Sigh. Why show him in the promo? He DOES look like Eric Stoltz in "Mask." REMEMBER: Jacob is dead. What we see is really just smoke monster pretending to look like Jacob. That's what I think.

• Change your batteries in your smoke detectors! It's saves lives, sanity and a fortune in prescription medication costs.

Season 4 opens another can of kick-butt-ery goodness.

I'm going to sound completely fan-boy here, but I'm still giddy over this episode.

"The Shape of Things to Come" is NOW my favorite episode of the year... and I come to this conclusion based on this criteria:

• The most amazing scary appearance of the smoke monster, EVER! Finally the monster is back to being scary and EVIL! Like a tornado from hell!
• Ben is a bad-a$&. Ben became a whole new character for me. He's tough, resourceful and willing to let his kid die for some reason we don't yet know.
• Ben has the greatest piano bench ever!
• Ben has a huge arsenal.
• Ben controls the smoke monster.
• Ben apparently "warped" or teleported to Iraq. What the...?
• Ben totally manipulated Sayid in Iraq. His recruitment plan was devious!!!! Ben's parting smile was so creepy... but awesome.
• Alex's death was heartbreaking. I actually felt sorry for Ben.
• Claire got blasted with a rocket launcher! And she lived!!
• Penny is now a target.
• Jack is going to die from appendicitis.
• Dan is an evil liar. Dan deserved a butt kicking.
• Bernard can understand Morse Code.
• What is going on between Charles Widmore and Ben?!
• Is the doctor from the ship dead and alive at the same time?
• Was Hurley's quote (while playing Risk) about Australia being the key, a clue?
• LOST is awesome.

What did you guys think?!

BuddyTV.com's Lost Easter Eggs from "The Constant" are enough to hurt your brain.

They wonderfully point out the cool things in episode 4.5 such as the references to "Slaughterhouse Five," the importance of The Black Rock, the new Hanso family member (from the auction scene), mentions of Charles Dickens, the overuse of "the numbers" and a theory of who might have opened the door on the ship. Was it THAT guy over there ---->?

Read the Lost Easter Eggs here

Call now: 1-888-548-0034

Very cool!

I like this!

OK, with just a couple of weeks to go, let's get all caught up with the show.

Last thing we saw was Charlie's death, the weird funeral and the revelation of the shocking flash-forward with Jack and Kate.

Where will season #4 start? In the flash-forward moment or back on the island.

My feeling is that we won't see the flash-forward for a while; but I think it be cool for the show to cut between dual story-lines occurring with the same characters... one in the future and one on the island.

And what's with the weird city reflection below the LOST logo in the teaser spots?

Is anyone watching the mobisodes?

A compelling flashback, intriguing character interaction, new revelations and some forward momentum -- what's not to love about this Locke-centric episode?

What stood out for me:

The sleazebag dad: It's unsurprising that Daddy Dearest was involved with Locke's injury, but wow, I was shocked that it was that sudden and direct. I figured him more for someone who would hire a thug to attack Locke, or slam into him with a car.

So here's yet another handy lesson from sad-sack Locke: If you're dealing with a known sleazebag, especially one you suspect of murder, don't confront him alone. Non-island Locke was such a schmo, it's understandable -- if not necessarily forgivable -- that he wants to leave that life behind.

This theory has been floated, and I'm a believer: Daddy Dearest has just got to be the same con man who destroyed young Sawyer's family. His scumbagginess is far too vast to be confined to just one storyline.

And now Daddy Dearest is imprisoned on the island. Which makes me wonder:

This episode brought up a ton of new theories and mysteries!

• What really happened when "the sky turned purple" as Mr. Friendly (Tom) says? Why is it preventing everyone from getting off the island?

• What's Juliet's and Ben's "history"?

• Is Mittelos an anagram for "lost time"? Is the island some sort of time anomaly?

• Was Jacob's name in the brainwashing film a clue referring to Jacob, the true leader of the island?

• Were the Others recruited to be on the island the way Juliet was?

• What's the deal with Karl... and the brainwashing film... and the weird drum-and-bass/rave music?