That was good. At least three "didn't see that coming" moments. ("Tell me about it," Locke might say. "Didn't even hear it coming.") Some observations:

1. Everybody does love Hugo, as the title of the ep says. He's a great guy. He's a decent fellow. He can sit on the beach and look Libby in the eye, which was something of a challenge. Hurrah to the writers and Jorge Garcia for making a one-note character into the most richly shaded person on the show. Everyone else has Traits, or is a captive of their backstory; Hugo has soul.

2. When Garcia realized the show would last for many seasons, did he think: no point in dieting, then, is there? Is it in his contract?

3. When Desmond's order number at Mr. Cluck was called, it was of course one of The Numbers: 42. Imagine you've never seen the show, and you're sitting around with some people who are really, really into it. The number's called, and everyone else laughs, and you think: 42 is funny? 42 means something?

4. Kids, remember: ancient dynamite is unstable. Even if it's been soaked by tropical storms for a couple centuries. At least Hugo read the directions: Light Fuse, GET AWAY.

5. Desmond's driving around, talking to people, making connections? So he's the new Jacob? Could be; don't tell me you didn't see echoes of Jacob's shack in that Electromagnetic Field Generator room.

6. The previous sentence would have made no sense to anyone ten years ago, but we might have deduced it had to do with a complex TV plot. Likewise, no one will care in ten years, and the answers to Lost will probably be forgotten along with the identity of Laura Palmer's killer. Speaking of which: Twin Peaks may have been the only show to get away with ending its mystery as it did. The self-contained movie version has an ordinary ending - BOB down in the basement with his death-bag, et cetera. The end of the Laura Palmer mystery, in season 2, was as unique as the show itself: you wanted the killer strung up, drawn, and quartered when the show began. When it ended you sat there weeping with compassion. Damnedest thing; whether it was more Lynch or Mark Frost, I've no idea, but that was one of those 10 Great Moments of TV, Fictional Division. If only they'd stopped there, because the second season plot about was pretty stupid, what with Windom Earle and Mulder in a skirt.

7. If you're scoring at home, the Desmond vs. Locke game is all tied at 1-1.

Next week: who can possibly say? I know this: whatever it all leads up to, I'm not watching it from the start to see if it made sense from the beginning. When it's done, I'm never going back.

I will watch parts of this episode again before next week, though. BOOM! Tell me you didn't laugh. A little.