First, my sincere apologies for a lack of posts this week.

That said, let's get to business.

This week's episode in entitled "Something Nice Back Home." The synopsis of the episode, according to our friends at TV.com:

Kate and Juliet must learn to work together when Jack's health is seriously compromised. Something goes wrong as Sawyer, Claire, Aaron and Miles continue their trek away from Locke's camp and back to the beach.

If you've seen the commercials this week, they promise that this will be the most intense episode of the season. That's a hard thing to say after the non-stop jaw-drop that was last week's episode.

All bets are off: they promised that this will be the most dramatic episode this season.

Last week, Alex died. The smoke monster is under Ben's control. There's some strange relationship between Ben Linus and Charles Widmore. A dead doctor washed up on the beach.

How do you top that?

Still, here's my guesses for tonight's episode.

• Jack will be OK (with Kate). We know he has to be, eventually, I mean, he makes it off the island, afterall. We will see another Juliet/Kate struggle here, though, with Jack choosing Kate. Juliet will still heal his appendicitis, though.

• Jin will die. It would be too obvious if they killed off Claire now. We've seen her in too much danger lately for it to happen now. They will try and catch us off guard.

• We will actually see Jacob. They don't make any hint of it in the preview commercials, but it just makes sense at this point in the show to reveal Jacob. Hurley, Locke and Ben are headed there, and Hurley will be the one who unveils him to our audience.

• Juliet flashback. It's about time for another.

What are your predictions for tonight's show? Post your thoughts below.

After all of the misery we've seen in other flash-forwards thus far, this looks like the only happy one.

No one is crazy, no one is homicidal, no one is suicidal or abusing substances.

Sure, it's not perfect: Jack's bad with his calendar and steps on Millenium Falcon models. Oh, and the Yankees are winning.

But Jack and Kate are together. Awwwww.

It's not a surprise at this point that Jack and Kate should end up together, but it's a nice end to a question we've had for a while: will she end up with Jack or Sawyer?

My guess is that this flash-forward will not stay nearly as happy for the rest of the episode.

I think it makes sense at this point.

Jack ends up with Kate, which means Juliet isn't in the way anymore. Well, in the future.

She may even die this episode.

None of us would see that coming.

Miles gives us an indication that he wasn't totally in on the freighter's entire plan -- a suspicion I've had for a while about the first group we met.

Walking through the jungle he hears the ghosts of Rousseau and Karl, and discovers their bodies half-buried and covered with palm fronds. He seems nonchalant about the whole thing -- you know, seeing dead bodies is nothing if you can hear ghosts -- but seems disturbed when Claire and Sawyer imply he was in on the freighter's plan.

"I didn't sign up for this, man," he said.

In other news, we know Jack has appendicitis. We know he lives, though, so that really kills the drama there.

Jack, in a flash forward, sees a man he thinks is his father in the waiting room of his new practice.

He then goes to see Hurley, who is still in the mental hospital, and has refused to take his medication. He says he sees Charlie's ghost and sits with him on the bench in front. Charlie told him Jack would be coming, and to tell jack that he "isn't supposed to raise him."

The him would likely be Aaron, a thought which kind of shakes Jack.

(You know what doesn't shake Jack, though? The thought of guiding someone cutting him open and taking out an organ. He wants to guide Juliet through his appendectomy.)

Hurley said someone will be visiting Jack, soon.

But who?

Will it be another ghost? Ben and Sayid?

Do people who die on the island never really die? Do they become ghosts like Charlie or voices like those in the jungle?

What do you think?

Walking into the medical hatch where Juliet took Sun, Daniel flips on the light.

"Where does all this power come from?" he said.

"Add that one to the list," Charlotte said.

A slightly dramatic section.

Sawyer, Miles and Claire barely duck Keaney and his troops, being led through the jungle by Frank, who is flying them back to the freighter.

Kate helps Jack to the operating table after Juliet extends as much of an olive branch to her as she can.

Jack, facing questions about the ghosts of the island (literally and figuratively) really decides to dive in head first and ask Kate to marry him. Really kind of kills those questions about him not being intended to raise Aaron...

... or does it?

Jin, recognizing Charlotte can speak Korean, makes a deal for her to take Sin off of the island on the next helicopter out.

That means we will have two of the Oceanic Six on the freighter.

Is that the way off the island?

In this segment, both Jack and Claire see their father.

Jack, working late in a flash-forward, sees him in the waiting room of his practice before he is interrupted. He asks for a prescription and goes home to Kate, but he acts suspicious of her phone call.

Claire wakes up to see their father holding Aaron.

Here's the big question -- no, not why is Christian Shephard popping up.

If we were to put the flash forwards on a time line, where would this week's fall? Before Jack tries to kill himself? Before Jack and Kate's meeting outside the airport?

I think so.

This is the beginning of the end for Jack.

Just wrap your head around those four words for a second.

He.

Chose.

To.

Stay.

( SPOILER ALERT: If you have not watched this week's episode, do not click the link below to read more. I don't go over much that happened, but I sure ruin the last five minutes.)

My coworker -- CyberInk's Andrew Kochirka -- is a regular poster on the blog and probably a bigger Lost fan than myself. We decided to have a fairly regular discussion about the show -- called "Lost Productivity" because we are chatting on the clock -- and to post the transcript of our IM chat here.

Read the transcript below and join the discussion. Post your thoughts as a comment on this blog.

Check out the Lostpedians' entry about last week's episode here.

Here are their big questions:

Flashforward

* What was Kate doing for Sawyer?
o Why was she hiding it from Jack?
* How is Christian appearing to Jack?
* What is meant by, "You're not supposed to raise him, Jack"?
* Why did Jack change his mind about Aaron?
* At exactly what point in Jack and Kate's argument did Aaron enter the room?

On the Island

* How is Christian appearing on the Island?
o Where did Christian go with Claire?
o Why did she leave Aaron behind?
* How did Keamy and his team survive the Smoke Monster attack?

Any ideas? Any answers you see in the questions?