Thoughts:

It was slightly disappointing because I was hoping for a little more action (violence?) happening as the "raiding party" made their way to the "others", but all in all, pleased, mainly for the reason you stated, questions were answered.  I guess the main cliff-hangers are what's going to happen to Kate, Jack and Sawyer; and is Desmond, Echo, and Lock alive.  I thought the control that released the electromagnetic waves or whatever was also some sort of self-destruct, so is the hatch destroyed and did all 3 get out in time if so?  And why wouldn't Charlie say anything to Claire about it?  It seemed odd.

I also agree that the "others" have lost some of their sheen, they were far more intriguing when they seemed supernatural like they did in the first season and maybe they are, but not so scary at the moment, at least not as scary as when it seemed that they could wipe out all the survivors on a whim if they felt like it.  Although intrist in the "others" has faded a little, after seeing Desmond's life in the hatch, I'm becoming increasingly intriqued with the Dharma people again.  Also, was the behaviorial experiment whether or not, people in The Pearl would log every action of the people in the hatch?  And if  the guy who found Desmond only wore his bio-suit or whatever and oxygen tank to fool Desmond, why did he have all the protective gear on when he found Desmond?  He must have been patroling the island or exploring the island in his suit when he found him, unless he went back to the hatch and put it on to fool a barely conscious Desmond, but the guy (I'm sorry I forgot his name) thought that Desmond was his replacement and not someone who was shipwrecked, so why the disguise if he thought Desmond already knew everything about Dharma?  And why would Dharma even provide the suits and oxygen if they weren't needed for something?

Micheal's a jerk.  Walt's a jerk if he doesn't hate his Dad for selling out his friends and those that kept him alive.

Finally, I am, however, looking forward to the Season Premiere for one reason.  Sayid has a rifle of some kind, two pistols, a military background, the element of surprise, and man, does he want to freaking kill Henry and any force (supernatural?) that had to do with Shanon getting killed.  Also, Jin is with him and must have learned to use a gun while being in enforcer for Sun's Dad.  So, I'm thinking rescue mission.  And when the "others" body count starts, make sure you drop the skinny black lady.  She annoys the crap out of me already.

While slightly disappointed, I was still pretty happy with the finale.  They can't do the end-all, be -all episode til it's all over anyway, and I don't want it to be all over just yet.

mattnash

What about the damn giant four-toed foot?  When I saw that, all I could think was "That freaking reminds me of the Collosus at Rhodes!  Are they going to throw some Greek Mythology type stuff in here?"  Hopefully that might be a springboard into some more mystical stuff in season three, as season two was very much about science, psychology, and social conditioning.

Also:  What the heck was the deal with Desmond's girlfriend and her Arctic Search Chess Team or whatever?  Monitoring for EM bursts or something?  That's messed up (also, that's the first time we've seen anything in the "present" that took place off the island.  So we know that the "they're the last people on Earth" theory is pretty much out).  Unless that was actually a flashback - but it wasn't played as one.

-Adam