LOST And Other Final Seasons

So... How about that season finale of LOST? Now I can feel the pain of those feeble-minded fans who stopped watching because everything got so ridiculous, the plots were confusing, and there were more questions being raised than answered. But there's less of an excuse to give up on the show now than there ever was. The only way the writers and producers can get away with what happened in that last episode is by assuring the viewers that next season will be the final season, and all questions will be answered. And I believe them, although anything short of the most spectacular season of any TV show ever would be a disappointment. And I've been disappointed by shows before. I stopped watching Seventh Heaven after a few seasons because, well, the show was just terrible. And then it apparently continued for the better part of another decade. And then there's The O.C. And, let's face it, the final season of that show was probably close to the worst season of any show ever. In fact, it was canceled in the middle of the season, leading to a rushed conclusion and overreaching finale that tied everything up by spanning several years. There was so much promise going into that season too. Marissa was dead, meaning that she was no longer on the show. That was a plus. And Ryan, well, you figured he'd avenge her death and ridiculous shit would go down. But he turned soft and instead ended up dating Taylor, one of the least likable characters on the show. Meanwhile, Marissa's younger sister, her replacement of sorts, proved to be somehow an even worse character than Marissa.
But the bar is much higher for LOST, a show I've already deemed the best ever. But what the hell is going on? Locke is dead, but not really dead, because he comes back to life, but maybe it's not really him who comes back to life because he's actually that guy in the beginning who said he wanted to kill Jacob. And he gets Ben to kill Jacob. This happens while Richard is being shown Locke's lifeless body. So we have dead Locke and then living pseudo-Locke, and we're not given a name for his character, but let's call him Esau for now (see Bible), because that may actually be his name anyway. And now Jacob is dead. And this is happening in 2007. And, oh yeah, we just met Jacob in the season finale, and then he's in almost every scene, and then he dies... WTF?
...Meanwhile, in 1977, Jack leads a mission to blow up the energy pocket on the island in an attempt to stop Oceanic 815 from crashing in the future, perhaps altering everything that had already happened and making it so it didn't happen and the plane landed safely. Or maybe he actually caused it to happen? We don't know, because the episode ends when Juliet successfully ignites the bomb, presumably killing everyone, but maybe not really killing them. Lots of people are surely dead, but we don't really know for sure if they're dead. That's the best way to explain it.
So we have Jacob and Esau (?), Locke, Richard- I mean Ricardo... Suddenly the tiff between Ben and Charles seems like it barely matters. And Desmond will somehow get mixed up in all of this again next season. Oh, and most importantly, Christian Shephard. He didn't have a huge role in this finale, but I still say he'll be back in a big way next season. Did you see how startled Ben was when Sun mentioned his name? I have a feeling he will be some sort of Christian shepherd. Call it a hunch.
Oh, and as a side note, what is Lepidus a candidate for? And does what just happened in 1977 changed what just happened in 2007 at all? And what's the deal with Ricardo? And now that we know what lies beneath the shadow of the statue (the one who will save us all), what happens? Will Locke save them all? Someone else? Will Oceanic 815 have ever happened? And what about flight 316? And who was Jacob referring to when he told Locke/Esau that they were coming? The other members of flight 316? The folks from 1977? Someone else? Richard and the others? ??? It's better to not think about it for eight months... But I'm eagerly anticipating the final season.