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Due to the writers' strike, Lost's sixteen-episode season was cut to thirteen episodes. The storylines for the eight episodes intended for the second half of the season will be "compressed" into five episodes. The remaining three episodes will be added to the final two seasons of the show.

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The executive producers offered this explanation for the events of "The Constant": In 1996, Desmond suddenly traveled forward into his body in 2004. The people and the locations that were a part of his 2004 self were unfamiliar, which is why he couldn't remember Sayid at first.
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Lindelof and Cuse said that Lost differs from other film and TV approaches to time travel (Heroes, for example) in that there are no time paradoxes. Nothing that the characters do during time travel can change the future or the present. There is no alternate-reality version of Jack that exists in another dimension.
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Many fans have questions about "The Constant," particularly about how Penny's conversation with Desmond (about him calling eight years later) fits in with their meeting outside the stadium in "Live Together, Die Alone" (which occurred after the events of "The Constant"). Damon Lindelof advised fans to listen to Mrs. Hawking's explanation of course correction in "Flashes Before Your Eyes."
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We will find out if Juliet is one of the Oceanic Six within the first five minutes of next week's episode.
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"The Other Woman" will shed light on where the remaining Others are; Episode Eight will give us an even better idea of what they've been up to.
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Richard Alpert will appear again this season, but Cindy the flight attendant might not.
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In the "Eggtown" flash-forward, Jack said that eight people survived the crash, but two didn't make it. The identities of the two people who are supposed to have died before rescue is not significant.
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According to Damon Lindelof, there are certain "special places" on the planet that relate to the show's mysteries. Medenine, Tunisia, is one of them, and Ayer's Rock in Australia is another. The DHARMA polar bear was found in Tunisia in "Confirmed Dead," and Rose and Bernard went to a faith healer near Ayer's Rock in "S.O.S."
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Kate's flash-forward episode was called "Eggtown" because the plot focused on Kate's possible pregnancy and because Locke was fixing eggs for Ben at the beginning of the episode.
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In "Eggtown," Charlotte and Daniel were testing to see if the island affects memory. The 815 survivors are not experiencing memory loss. Carlton Cuse said that it's possible that Daniel sustained a head injury on the way to the island, and it's even more likely that he had a pre-existing condition before coming there.
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Daniel Faraday and Ana-Lucia's ex-boyfriend, Danny, are not the same person.

No one, not even the most hardcore Lost fan, can have more questions about the show's characters than the actors who portray them. Recently, Several Lost cast members got a chance to ask these questions in a TV Guide interview with Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the show's executive producers. This was a great idea on TV Guide's part, and the answers didn't disappoint. What could be more fun than letting actors like Evangeline Lilly, Naveen Andrews, and Josh Holloway grill their bosses about issues that have been on fans' minds for months?

Cuse and Lindelof's answers contain a lot of spoilers about what we will learn during Season Four (and when), so stop reading if you want to be surprised. The juiciest responses and some speculation about what these new details could mean are included after the jump. My remarks also take rumors into account, so consider yourself warned.

The names of the Oceanic Six are up for debate until until March 13th's episode. After that, fans should be clear on which survivors are the famous Six.
This answer indicates that Aaron is probably not one of the Six. If he was, why wouldn't Cuse and Lindelof simply come out and say so? The episode in question, "Ji Yeon," is Sun-and-Jin-centric, and it makes sense that Sun and Jin would be revealed as the final two in a flash-forward (if the episode has a flash-forward, of course). Plus, there are rumors going around that Sun and Jin are two of the famous Six. The fate of their baby is up in the air; since Aaron didn't count, neither would Sun and Jin's child (assuming he or she makes it).

We'll know who's in the coffin by the end of the year.
Since "Through the Looking Glass" aired, fans have been concocting theories about who was in the coffin in Jack's flash-forward. Some say it's Locke; others believe it's Hurley. Jorge Garcia wanted to know if Ben was in the coffin. Lindelof and Cuse are keeping that answer a secret, but at least we know when we'll learn the truth.

The New York Post recently had an interview with Lindelof and Cuse that mentioned an upcoming death. One of the Oceanic Six is supposedly going to die this season, and it's possible that this person is the man in the coffin. A few things indicate that this isn't the case, however. The newspaper clipping that mentioned the death didn't include any references to the Oceanic Six or Oceanic 815. Also, Kate was surprised when Jack told her that he expected to see her at the man's funeral. She obviously knew the deceased, but had mixed feelings about him. I don't see Kate skipping Hurley or Sayid's funerals. The dead man has to be someone else.

"Significant things" happened during Sayid's childhood that will have to be revealed in some capacity, although there won't necessarily be an entire flashback episode devoted to them.
This question came out of nowhere. Apparently, Naveen Andrews knew that the writers considered addressing Sayid's childhood years a while ago, but nothing came about after the initial discussion. Did Sayid encounter a significant character or group (like DHARMA) during his childhood in Iraq?

Fans should be less concerned with what year it is in the outside world and more curious about "how many years have elapsed" between current island time and the flash-forwards. According to Carlton Cuse, "there are some growth issues" when characters leave or arrive on the island.
"The Constant" taught us that the island can mess with a person's perception of time and, in Desmond's case, can "unstick" a person in time. So far, all of the flash-forwards have occurred before Jack's, which was set in April 2007. What are the executive producers trying to tell us with this hint? Have the 815 survivors been on the island for more or less time than they think they have?

I'm more intrigued by the "growth issues" comment. Will these issues apply to Aaron and Walt? That would definitely explain Locke's vision of taller ghost Walt in the Season Three finale. The island could also influence aging for adults on the island. Many fans have wondered why Richard Alpert looks the same age today as he did when Ben met him as a child. At this point, anything is possible.

The March 20th episode will answer our questions about Michael.
Rumor has it that "Meet Kevin Johnson" covers Michael's experiences since leaving the island. ABC's episode description states that Sayid confronts Ben's spy on the freighter in this installment as well. This isn't a difficult connection to make. Finally, Marsha Thomason and Fisher Stevens are listed as guest stars, which makes it even more likely that Michael ended up on the freighter after his escape. Where else could Naomi and Minkowski turn up but Michael's flashback?

Other points of interest:

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Jack and Kate's relationship status will be "unresolved for a while"; we haven't seen the last of Sawyer and Kate's relationship issues this season.
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Jack's flash-forward in the Season Three finale occurred after Sayid's flash-forward in "The Economist."

The newest Lost episode, "The Other Woman," airs Thursday at 9pm ET on ABC.

It's Juliet. She's one of the Oceanic Six and she's neither friend or family to Jack and nobody else liked her so why would they go to her funeral?

Oceanic Six