Lost is back!

Yay Lost!!!!! To catch up before the premiere I watched the last three episodes of last season and the clip show. They helped, but I still didn't remember a lot of stuff. I really wish I had a chance to watch Man Behind the Curtain, Cabin Fever, and The Constant again before seeing that episode.

Overall, I thought the premiere was great. It was intricate without being really confusing. Perhaps I've read too many sci-fi novels, but I picked up on the time traveling concepts quickly and without too much thought. I like that it clearly has rules and isn't too hokey. I especially like that they can't change the past since that concept has been done way too many times already. It also had a nice mix of action and character-driven scenes.

General Thoughts
* Is there a required amount of shirtlessness for each episode? Sawyer certainly filled that quota!
* Ben looks very dapper in the future and I actually found him a little attractive (which is disturbing). Michael Emerson has the most intense and expressive eyes. I wonder if he has colored contacts sometimes. It's nice to see Ben acting less unhinged and more focused. I also like seeing the softer side of Ben, even if he is only doing it to manipulate people. He seems different after Alex's death. A little more human.
* Everyone is more tolerable when they aren't with Jack (except Kate). I liked Juliet so much more in this episode. I wouldn't even mind if she and Sawyer got together eventually.
* Thank heavens that Jack shaved off the scary beard!
* Jorge Garcia rocked this episode. Great acting. Great Hot Pocket throwing. Great shirt.
* Love the strong possibility that time shifting will make Locke not dead anymore or at least still present in almost all the episodes.
* Why include the "we have to lie" scene at the beginning? It wasn't a great scene and the point seemed to be Hurley vowing not to help Sayid when he needed it. Then he helped Sayid when Sayid needed it.
* I want more of the Others! I also want to see the Temple.
* Really enjoying Daniel as a character. More Daniel! More Desmond! Less Jack and Kate!

Questions
* Why is Charlotte the only one with a bloody nose? Is she just the first or do all the others have constants? Maybe I'm not remembering the bloody nose syndrome rules well enough.
* Is Mrs. Hawking the boss of the Others or of Ben? It seemed like it.
* Will we see that past incidents in previous seasons were caused by time traveling Losties from the current season? Example, jungle whispers, Locke's weird leg paralysis near the plane with Boone right where he was shot in this episode.
* What about Walt? Why doesn't he have to come back?