Oh, and there are spoilers.

Last week, we saw long haired Daniel go the way of all Lost side characters. Together, in horror, we watched as his own mother shot Daniel right through the chest (curiously missing Richard, who was most likely protected by his magical eyeliner). Down went our long-haired champion of science and would-be saboteur of the timelines. Commenters remarked that he must be dead, since they saw "the light go out of his eyes." But I disagree, and would like to point out three valid reasons why Daniel is, in fact, alive and kicking.

First, the video from Comic Con above. This video was screened at the Dharma recruit center at SDCC. Keep listening for the voice at the end of the tape. Many say it is Miles, but they would be wrong. That is the voice of Faraday I know this in my heart of hearts. Listen to how he says "Please" — that's the man with the plan. In last weeks episode Daniel tried to convince Dr. Chang that he was from the future, and was met with disbelief and a bit of anger. After this chat, he went into the woods to find his younger mother in the Others' camp, and apparently died by her hands. If he did die, then who is on this tape? And how did he convince Chang that he would eventually blow up the island? If what was screened at SDCC is canonical, then our boy will be back.

Second, as Locke has proved by getting almost murdered then actually murdered twice — once by bullet, second by strangling, both times by Ben — you can come back. The island can heal you. Plus what better person to aid in this healing process than an Other. Daniel's mom who will no doubt feel some remorse for her callous actions.

And finally, if the island doesn't want to magically heal someone of its own will, cant "the others" instruct it to, the way they did with bullet-riddled Young Ben? An evil Faraday is better than no Faraday at all.

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There are four reasons I liked this episode so much: (1) Desmond is one of my favorite characters. Yes, his looks and accent are part of it, but there's something about his everyday humanity that really appeals. He's stuck in the middle of something he doesn't understand—first the hatch and all that it entailed, now time-travel—yet he tries his best to stay on an even keel. He doesn't need to be a hero, like Jack, or a shaman, like Locke—or fall prey to sanctimony as they have. Last night Des nearly lost his marbles, but who can blame him? By the way, the quick cuts between 1996 and 2004 were almost too much, but I think the editing really helped viewers experience Desmond's extreme disorientation.

(2) I love time-travel stories (the BBC's awesome Life on Mars, for example). It makes perfect sense, given my love of history. I mean who doesn't want to get in the time machine and go see what the dinosaurs looked like or solve a historical mystery? Of course, literature and movies have proven that such travels are fraught with difficulty and danger, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like getting caught in an erratic loop between 1996 and 2004. (Though given a choice, I'll take 1996, for completely shallow reasons pertaining to age and weight.)

(3) This episode cemented my fondness for the "absent-minded professor," Daniel Faraday. I think he's the most appealing and interesting of the new characters—not surprising given he's the guy who seems to know most about what's actually happening on the island in a physical/scientific sense.

(4) I think "The Constant" is about as contained an episode as you're going to get with Lost (barring the reviled-by-some "Exposé"). The story had a beginning, middle, and end, the latter of which provided a bit of closure instead of a cliffhanger. Now, I like cliffhangers just fine, but I think we all can agree that too many of them = too many unanswered questions = viewer frustration and burnout.

A few more observations:

• I want to believe that this episode explains Desmond's presence in the military prison back in season two's "Live Together, Die Alone," i.e., he went AWOL to find Daniel Faraday, but I think the timeline might be off.
• Still haven't seen hide nor hair of either Michael or Ben's Double (time-traveling Ben?), both of whom have been theorized as Ben's possible shipboard mole. Granted, we haven't been much past the sick bay yet—and George Minkowski says Sayid and Desmond have "a friend" on board.
• Minkowski's having the same time-travel issues as Desmond. Of course, the big question here is whether or not he's really dead. If you die in one of your, um, timeslots do you die in the other as well?
• How cool is it that Penny's evil dad is bidding on the only known artifact of The Black Rock: the first-mate's journal, owned by the family of Tovar Hanso? (Though I have to wonder how Desmond knew to find him at the auction ... big suspension of disbelief required here.)
• Really happy that Desmond and Penny reconnected. (Does this mean I'm a shipper?)
• Love the idea of having a constant to keep you grounded and avoid time-travel freakout. Isn't that what we all want anyway?