This one is going to be rather short, because like the episode, it serves mainly as a prelude to the finale. That doesn't, however, take away from the brilliance that was "Greatest Hits." It was easily the most purely sentimental episode of Lost that there has been; gone was the cynical black humor of Paulo and Nikki's demise; gone was the ferocious anger of the two Sawyers on "The Brig." Instead, we were given a sad but cathartic send-off to an old friend who's been with us from the beginning: Charlie. Writing his own Greatest Hits list...kissing Claire and Aaron, his own little beautiful family, goodbye...ahhhhh. Yes, I'm getting a little choked up.

Ever since Desmond revealed the secret behind his premonitions - "You're gonna die, Chahlie" - I have been a proponent of Charlie's survival; remembering the shock-value deaths of Ana-Lucia, Libby, and Shannon, I assumed Charlie would bite the dust in a similar fashion, and I didn't want that. Both he and Dominic Monaghan - deserve better. Besides, what better way for the castaways to have some sort of revelatory "we really do have control over our own destinies!" moment than when it's revealed that Charlie will stay alive?

But now that it's fairly obvious that death is nigh - the episode ended with Desmond's latest premonition still very much on the table, and anything else, I imagine, would seem like too much of a cheat - I'm so so so so happy with the root they're taking. Charlie will not die senselessly like Boone, nor in a shocking twist like the trio of women above. No, he will die a hero, with an appropriate send-off and a completed character arc.

This was also some of the best acting Monaghan has done on the show. He was a major player in the first season - remember, Jack, Kate and he were the original trio to march off to find the cockpit - but with his addict arc over halfway through season two, he hasn't really been given much to do since. So this whole plot line, and this episode in particular, has been a nice reminder of exactly how good he really is. Just looking at his face, at a man who realizes he's going to die far before his time, but who realizes he must do it for the people he loves, and who accepts it -- that's profound. Screw the haters, it's utterly profound.

The rest of the plot was, as expected, a major set-up for the season finale. The Others are coming, for real this time; I love the parallels to the season one finale, and how the characters acknowledged it. Jack will lead everyone to the radio tower -- that's right, the radio tower, that place we've been hearing about ever since Rousseau's arrival, but still haven't seen. Sayid, Jin, and Bernard -- hey, Bernard! -- are all apparently expert marksmen, and will shoot the dynamite with their guns when the Others show up, since apparently they're coming too quickly to set up a remote detonation.

(By the way, I like how the Alex/Karl storyline finally paid off somewhat, with Alex sending Karl to alert the castaways. It's been hanging in the background for a while now, and with Karl in the company of Jack and Co. now, I wonder what the future of it will be. I also enjoyed the lines between Karl and Juliet: "They know, Karl. But thanks.")

Hmm, what else happened? I know it's been a while since it aired, and for that I once again apologize. But I'm rounding the home stretch now and I'll make it to the end of the season with my commentaries. The final one, focusing on the two-hour season finale extravaganza, should be coming shortly.

P.S. Nadia really pops up all over the place, huh? If I was a theorizing man, I might wonder whether her nudging Charlie in the right direction (letting him in on the fact that he's a hero, ultimately his Purpose in Life), just as she nudged Sayid (i.e. away from torture and toward his softer side) was more than just coincidence. Having also popped up in Locke's flashbacks, she seems awfully omniscient...