Lost Redux: Holy Kate! Holy Sayid! Holy Smokey! Your Favorite Stars Dish on What's Next

Get the inside dish on the latest episode, while Michael Emerson drops a bomb about what comes next

So much craziness went down on tonight's Lost, it felt like a season finale, did it not? 

Still, if you think tonight was good, just wait till you hear what Michael Emerson and Nestor Carbonell told me exclusively about an insane-sounding, "unprecedented" episode that "you've never seen on a network series before." It includes—get this—none of the series regulars. How is that even possible?

Plus, you still want to know what the Island is, right? And what Terry O'Quinn has to say about his character possibly turning out good in the end?

WHAT WE LEARNED

Nooooo! Kate Is Hangin' With the Dark Peeps: Though it's open to debate whether Kate's name is on Jacob's list of "candidates," one thing is clear: "Austen" does not correspond with one of The Numbers (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42) on The List. That, combined with her slightly adoring/bemused expression watching the Smoke Monster pass overhead tonight, adds up to a whole bunch of scary.

Important Facts About the Smoke Monster/Man in Black/Fake Locke:

1. He is "evil incarnate." That is an accurate description. And important.
2. He "appears as someone you know who has died." Hurley is so screwed.
3. He cannot kill a candidate. This is why he didn't kill Sayid. Or Sawyer.
4. He is a compulsive liar. Notice how he doesn't make statements, but rather starts each promise with "What if I told you…?"
5. He has got himself an army. Team Jacob better get their act together soon if they want to save the world. Yes, you heard me: Save the world! That is what this is all about, my friends!
6. He cannot hurt children. See what Terry O'Quinn has to say in the video below about the Smoke Monster he calls "Puffy." (Love!) And note: We've never seem him harm a child, even in tonight's Temple raid.

The Flash-Sideways World Has to Come True, Part 2: First Hurley's lucky, then Locke's happy, then Jack has an awesome son and now Sayid has a shot at a life with his one true love, Nadia?! Gawd! If the producers have any heart, we have to be watching Lost's happy final ending slowly unfold before us. Still, I fear we are being shown what some of our favorite Losties will have to sacrifice (à la Dogen, RIP) to fulfill their island destiny. Boo.

WHAT LIES AHEAD

Episode 15 Might Be the Most Mind-Blowing Episode Ever: This is what I keep hearing from people connected to the show, after this "crazy episode 15" was shot last week in Hawaii. It's kooky enough for Michael Emerson to call it kooky!

"It pushes the envelope," Emerson tells me. "It's set in a time and a place that you never have seen on a network series before, I would venture to say. When was the last time you saw a network drama episode where none of the series regulars were in the episode? That's how kooky it is."

"[An] episode with a huge reveal is episode 15," Nestor Carbonell (Richard Alpert) echoed. "It's really well done."

Charlotte Is Coming Back: I'm told Rebecca Mader's character will return very soon "in a big way," and she will be "very close to a male lead." Hmmm...Could Jack's son David have ivory skin and blue eyes for a reason? Could Charlotte be the mom? That's the new theory I'm floating after we axed Julie Bowen's Sara as a contender.

What Is the Island? Last week I told you that we will find out what the Island is about halfway through the season, and that it is described as a four-letter word. Here's what else I can tell you:

• We learn what the Island is from Jacob in episode nine, which is Richard Alpert's backstory.
• The four-letter word has an "O."
• In the same episode, we find out why Richard doesn't age. It involves a request.