Ready to Get Lost

I just watched last year's 2-hour season finale of "Lost" again, in prep for next week's season premiere. This season may be strike-shortened, so get it while it's good.

A few last minute thoughts that occur to me from the finale before we plunge ahead to season 4:

1) Christian Shepherd, Jack's dad, is alive. I'm certain of it. When Jack was confronted by the doc and asked if he was drunk, Jack said, "Call my father down here and if he's drunker than I am, I'll leave." No matter how drunk Jack was, he wouldn't "forget" his father was dead. He remembered which key opened the drug cabinet, he knew the name of the woman that was in the car wreck. Yes, he was drunk and his motor skills were impaired, but he wasn't amnesiac. Somehow Christian Shepherd not only survive his "death" he survived the plane crash.

2) Miles away, baby Aaron knew Charlie was dead. As soon as it happened he began to cry, and while it could be chalked up to dramatic license, I think it's significant in showing the baby's developing abilities.

3) Apparently one of the people that died in the finale is Not Quite Dead. That means either Charlie, Mikhail, Bonnie and the other woman in the Looking Glass Station, Mr. Friendly, Ryan, or one of the rest of the "Others" killed on the beach. I'm banking on Mr. Indestructible, Mikhail. He's survived cranial sonic disruption and a speargun to the heart - what's a little hand grenade?

4) It was apparently confirmed over the summer that the body in the coffin was Michael. Why would Jack get all broken up to the point of ending it all over Michael's death? What could happen in Season 4+ that would re-endear Michael to Jack, but not to Kate (who said she would not have gone to his funeral)?

Any other loose threads from the finale I missed?


UPDATE (01/25/08): I kept the 2-hour finale on my DVR since last May when it first aired. It's one of the first shows I "taped" (still use that word since it's easiest to understand, though there's no actual "taping" going on) when we got DVR last year, and it's almost been an old friend - first on the menu list by a long shot for several months. When I'm scrolling through the recorded menu, I always use "LOST (2 hrs)" as my starting point and work backward to find the most recent shows. I'm not sure I can stand to get rid of it now, it's like part of the family...