Tonight’s the end of “Lost” (9 p.m., ABC), and I’m already on pins and needles for what should be a wham-bang information dump of a finale. (Check in after tonight’s show is over, I’ll post a little blurb to get the comments going — I’m sure everyone will have an opinion —  and I’ll have a longer blog entry tomorrow after I’ve let it all sink in.)

“Lost” has always been a show about mysteries, and mysteries within the mysteries. And while part of me wants to know the answers to everything that’s come before over the past six seasons, another part wants the unknown to stay that way, to let the mysteries live on in the imagination. Especially since so many of the answers we’ve gotten this season have seemed anticlimactic (Yeah, the whispers are dead people; Don’t worry Kate, the names are just chalk on a wall; and Adam and Eve are . . . wait, who?!?)

It’s also become apparent as the season winds down that many (probably most) of the big questions won’t be answered. It’s a fine line between letting a mystery endure and copping out, and I’m hoping that even if we don’t get real answers, the lingering issues are at least somehow addressed. Viewers deserve that much. For all the time the show spent on some of these mysteries, they can’t just be ignored at the end.

Here are my 10 most important questions that need to be resolved somehow.

1. Why couldn’t babies be born on the island? And why have all the women been separated from their babies? Sooo much time was spent on this. I’ve heard a couple of recent theories: That Jacob, who was responsible for bringing life to the island, magically prevented births because he didn’t approve of The Others; or that after Mother killed Jacob and the Man in Black’s real mother, the island became cursed. Or was it because of the nuke blast? I’d buy Jacob’s powers, but not the curse; either way, they need to address the issue tonight and give a definitive answer. It was too big of a plot point to just ignore.

2. Why was Walt so special? For a kid who seemed to be the most important thing on the island for two seasons, it’s disappointing to have learned so little about him. Was he psychic? Why could he see the ghosts? Why were his comics seemingly turning into reality? Why did The Others want him so much? And how/why did he reappear on the island? (Or was that Jacob too?)

3. How did Jacob and Richard travel off the island? And in a related question, how does the donkey wheel work? Why could Jacob leave the island but MiB couldn’t? Is it because MiB was evil? Is there a wormhole? Is it just magic? If Richard wasn’t magical like Jacob, how did he leave? And how did Ben end up in Tunisia, of all places? I think this — at least some of it — will be addressed by Eloise Hawking tonight.

4. What was the deal with Widmore? Now that Widmore’s dead (or is he?), I fear this will never be answered. But why did Widmore want the island? Was he protecting it, or did he want to harness its power? Why was he unable to come back? (Until he did.) And why did he try to kill everyone on the island, especially seeing as how he ended up needing all the candidates? And why did he and Ben hate each other so much?

5. What’s behind the rules? Like, why can’t the Man in Black leave the island? Why can’t Smokey kill the candidates? Why couldn’t Ben and Widmore just kill each other? (Or did they just think they couldn’t?)

6. What’s “the sickness”? What made Rousseau kill her crew? Was it the same thing that resurrected Sayid? Is the Smoke Monster behind it all? And if so, how? Were the Dharma vaccinations to protect against Smokey, or an actual disease?

7. Who was the dude in Jacob’s cabin? Was is really Jacob? Doesn’t seem like him. Was it all a trick by the Man in Black to make people think he was Jacob? This seems more likely. But then why/how did the ring of ash keep Smokey from coming in? And why did he ask Locke to “Help me”? Did the Man in Black and Smokey get somehow disassociated and needed Locke to reunite them?

8. What happened to Christian’s body? Sounds like we’ll find this out tonight. But why was Jacob (or was it Jacob?) using his likeness on the island? (Off the island too — Jack saw him in his hospital.)

9. What “worked”? What’s the meaning behind Juliet’s last words? I think we’ll definitely find this out tonight.

10. What was the Dharma Initiative’s goals? Why were they really there? And how did they know about the island in the first place? Were they trying to harness the island’s power to protect the world? Or destroy it?

There are a bunch more that I’m sure will never be solved: What were all the various lists for? What was up with all the Roman, Greek and Egyptian mythology? What did the numbers signify? Who airlifted the food? Why did The Others dress like hobos in the first two seasons?

Well, in a matter of hours, we’ll have our answers. Or not. Either way, be sure to check back here tonight after the finale airs to rant, rave or vent.