[Editor's Note: For more on Lost, check out the CL Lost Podcast.]

Shortly after 9 p.m. on Tuesday night, a wave of all-consuming panic washed over me. How can they possibly pack in enough answers in "What They Died For" to prepare me for the finale? Why are they wasting time on Jack's kinda-creepy son instead of explaining the Island's light source? And can this really all be over on Sunday?

But the hour that followed did not disappoint, proving to be both highly entertaining and revealing. It definitely addressed some mysteries that left a large majority of fans (myself, not so much) upset with last week's Jacob/MIB tale. Some answers we got:

Why Jacob chose the Losties as candidates.

Who put the bomb on the plane (Widmore).

Why Kate was crossed off the wall (a lame response in my opinion, not because of his reasoning that a mother shouldn't be a candidate, but because Kate sucks and was never a real mother. Also, what about the Kwons? They were both parents).

Widmore's plan was nothing more than him following through with Jacob's request to bring Desmond to the Island.

Desmond has a special resistance to electromagnetism, and is some sort of powerful last resort.

Most of these answers came in the scene between Jacob and the remaining candidates. This scene was a pleasant surprise; I didn't think it was going to happen mainly because it can be tricky to pull off scenes loaded with what can be boring explanations. I thought this scene accomplished the opposite. There's only so much Lost can show us (or not show us, as is usually the case) before we need some kind of direct answers to piece everything together, and the fact that these characters were seeking these answers and Jacob felt compelled to tell them (they are the candidates) felt completely organic. Or, at least, as organic as it could.

This article appears in May 20-26, 2010.