And now we wait. Last night’s finale of ABC’s addictive “Lost” answered a few more questions. But, in what has become the norm, along with the answers came more questions.

The problem is the next new episodes of “Lost” will not air until early in 2009. Curse you ABC. You can keep rolling out garbage like “According to Jim” but viewers are made to wait for quality shows like “Lost.” Remember, we don’t have the ability to manipulate time like those on the island. We have to sit and wait.

Please stop reading now if you have not seen last night’s episode and don’t want me to spoil the surprises.

I have to admit seeing Locke (Terry O’Quinn) in the coffin was a surprise. And the producers of the show certainly kept it a secret. In fact, three different endings were shot.

The other two endings were show today on “Good Morning America.” Both alternate endings were almost identical to the last seconds shown Thursday night. The only differences were when the camera finally passes over the coffin cover, one ending has Sawyer (Josh Holloway) in the coffin. The other alternate ending has Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) in the coffin.

It was a nice bookend episode. It picked up from last season’s cliffhanger. And it sets up a very different direction for the final episodes to come.

Another bonus of the finale was getting to see Walt (Malcolm David Kelley). On the island only months have passed. Because years have passed for those who escaped the island it was OK to bring back the character of Walt who now looks like an adult.

The biggest bonus was the reveal time manipulation is the island’s biggest secret. Shifting time can be used to explain almost every mystery from the whispers in the jungle to how Richard Alpert (Nestor Carbonell) can be shown in a sequence from the 1950s and present day and not look like he has aged a day.

For the first time, the mysteries of “Lost” seem to be coming together. The problem is it will be eight or nine months before new episodes can provide additional answers. That’s a very long time to wait.

Curse you ABC!