After murdering Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez) and Libby (Cynthia Watros), the traitor Michael (Harold Perrineau) had led Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Sawyer (Joshua Holloway) right to the Others, where they awaited their fate on a dock. When next we see them, Jack will be in a glass box and Kate will be in an examining room, courtesy of Henry Gale (Michael Emerson), the Others’ wily leader.

Meanwhile, Michael and his son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), have sailed off into the distance - if you are wondering if they escape, neither is a regular cast member ins eason three. As for the others:

Pregnant Sun (Yoon-jin Kim), her husband Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) and Sayid (Naveen Andrews) are planning to rescue the captives' rescue on a beautiful sailboat. With all these available modes of transportation on this so-called "desert" island, it's a wonder anyone is still hanging out.

Back at The Hatch, Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick), Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) and John Locke (Terry O'Quinn) finally learned there was a very good reason for punching in those damn numbers, but they may have realized the truth too late.

"Lost'"s producers have confirmed that Desmond, Charlie and Locke are all back, but Mr. Eko's fate is less certain. Could Akinnuoye-Agbaje's drunk-driving arrest this summer force his exit like his ill-fated co-stars Rodriguez and Watros before him?

Actually, Akinnuoye-Agbaje will have a flashback of his own in episode five. And word is that Watros' storyline will appear in flashbacks, especially those related to Hurley (Jorge Garcia) with whom Libby was just starting a romance when Michael shot her.

Most intriguing of all, not punching in the numbers released a gigantic electromagnetic pulse that let scientists hired by Desmond's lost-love Penelope that the island was for real

So, where will "Lost" take us in season three? Here's what we know:

Ian Somerhalder will guest star as the deceased Boone in episode two to guide the confused Locke.

Rodrigo Santoro ("Love, Actually"), Elizabeth Mitchell and Kiele Sanchez will join the show. Mitchell will play Juliet, a love interest for Jack, while Santoro's and Sanchez's characters are reportedly romantically linked.

Finally, with the show's stellar ratings in decline and fans complaining about frequent repeats, ABC made some changes. After the show's premiere, five more original episodes will run, and then the show will go on hiatus after the Nov. 8 episode. "Daybreak," starring Taye Diggs, will then run for 13 straight episodes. "Lost" will return in time for February sweeps and run without repeats for the rest of the season.