A couple of months ago, I was almost ready to give up on Lost. But I decided to stick it out because I had already invested several dozen hours of my life into the series. And it's payed off. The last six or so episodes leading up to the season finale have been incredible.
The finale itself was downright bizarre. The usual "flashback" segment turned out to be a "flash forward". Charlie is apparently dead. Hugo was the big hero. A lot of fun butt-kicking, and a hint towards a rescue. They stopped just short of ending the whole thing. Makes you wonder if they didn't know if the show was going to be renewed when they wrote it. Some questions got answered, but so many more remain.
Who did Jack visit at the funeral home?
What city was Jack in?
Was Kate still with Sawyer in the "flash forward"?
Was that really Walt or just a vision on the part of Locke?
It was a fun episode, and in hindsight, it made sense for them to wrap it up the way they did. It's going to be a LONG time before we see another new episode, certainly too long to try to hold out much of a cliffhanger ending. Better to build the momentum from scratch, ala 24.
On a side note, I bought The Third Policeman, one of the books Sawyer is seen reading on the island, and supposedly an inspiration for the show. Maybe it will tie me over until next year.