Ever since Jack made contact with Naomi’s freighter in May’s season finale, we’ve known that “Lost” would be getting a new crop of characters.

More of the Freighter Folks parachuted into last night’s episode, “Confirmed Dead.” (Daniel “Are you Jack?” Faraday hit the island last week in the premiere’s final moments.)

But we learned last night that the squad’s helicopter—apparently launched from “Not Penny’s Boat”—hit Mystery Island’s electromagnetic force field. You know, the one that seems to make all aircraft machinery go kerflooey. (Although they called it a “lightning strike.”) That’s why they—and presumably, Naomi, when she landed last season—had to use their chutes.

Anyway, can you believe how action- and information-packed that episode was?

(DON’T READ AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED YET!)

We learned that Freighter Frank has a personal tie to Oceanic 815: He was supposed to fly the plane! We got background info on all four in flashbacks and flash-forwards, which—of course—gave some answers and raised more questions.

For one, are they from the Dharma Initiative? The Hydra symbol on the polar bear collar, found by Charlotte in Tunisia, seems to be a clue.

Another hint is what was in the supply crate dropped from the Freighter’s chopper, which Jack and Kate called Daniel on: It contained gas masks. Perhaps the newbies knew that poison gas had been used on the island before?

But the biggest nod towards the Freighters being Dharma is the mother of all reveals from last night.

As Daniel said, rescuing the crash survivors isn’t their primary objective. They were really sent to capture …

BENJAMIN LINUS?!?

Who has his own mole on their freakin’ FREIGHTER?!?

Damn, no wonder the liar formerly known as Henry Gale has been leading the Others for so long. The man’s got skillz, for sure.

Anyway, keep reading for a recap about each of the Freighter Folks and their known associates (both seen and unseen):

DANIEL FARADAY (played by Jeremy Davies): Twitchy Daniel plays a troubled physicist (or so he says). The character’s name has been linked to Michael Faraday, a 19th century English physicist who researched electromagnetism. But is Daniel really a bad guy? In the opening flashback, Dan is visibly upset when he’s watching news reports about the discovery of the Oceanic wreckage.

MILES STRAUME (Ken Leung): “Sopranos” fans might remember Leung as Uncle Junior’s unhinged pal in the mental institution, who finally beat up the old mobster. The show’s producers have said that the role of Miles was specifically written for Leung after seeing him on the Mafia drama. On “Lost,” he’s a hothead psychic who gets paid to “clean” houses of lingering spirits—and any cash that the deceased may have been squirreled away. (Anyone notice the connection to Mrs. Gardner’s grandson, who was murdered? I didn’t recognize anyone in the photos on the wall, and I’m assuming there’s a clue there.) Miles also communes with Naomi’s dead body, and confirms Kate’s story that Locke was the one who killed her. Later, he blows up when he learns Juliet is an island “native,” and spills the beans that they’re really there for Ben.

CHARLOTTE LEWIS (Rebecca Mader): Her flashback reveals that she’s an anthropologist who’s obsessed with the news coverage of the Oceanic plane discovery. She buys her way into a Tunisian dig, where she uncovers the bones of a polar bear. Which is odd since, you know, Tunisia is a desert and all. Plus, the bear’s collar sports a Hydra logo. (The Hydra station is where the Others held Jack, Kate and Sawyer last season; the cages outside used to house polar bears for Dharma experiments.) Locke’s group finds her on the island; Ben steals Karl’s gun and shoots her in the chest. But, to everyone’s surprise and suspicion, she’s wearing a bulletproof vest. (Here’s a side note, which may mean nothing at all, but she’s not the only “Lost” character named Charlotte. Charlotte Malkin is the drowning victim who the late, great Eko, when he was posing as his brother, a priest, was sent to investigate.)

FRANK LAPIDUS (Jeff Fahey): Frank is the Freighter’s helicopter pilot. But in his flashback, he said he was originally supposed to pilot Oceanic 815. No word yet on why he didn’t. He also claims that the real pilot—Seth Norris—isn’t the man that the news is showing in the underwater wreckage. That’s because Seth Norris always wore his wedding ring, and one is missing from the supposed pilot’s body. I’m guessing this tidbit will be important down the road, but here’s another question: If Seth was the pilot, then who was the pilot (played by Greg Grunberg of “Heroes”) who got chewed up by the smoke monster in the very first episode? Maybe he was a co-pilot, but it all seems odd to me. This may come into play if/when Grunberg shows up again in another cameo, as has been rumored. (UPDATE, 8:45 a.m.: That WAS ol’ Grunberg’s cameo. Boy, I didn’t recognize him from the “official” Oceanic photo with that mustache! So we’re back to the bigger question of how the underwater plane—and the bodies inside—isn’t the real 815 or passengers!) And here’s a bit o’ Frank trivia: Lostpedia notes that there’s a Frank Lapidus listed as an actor in the script of “Expose,” the TV show that the ill-fated (and much hated!) Nikki starred in.

MATTHEW ABBADON (Lance Reddick, who can also be seen on HBO’s “The Wire”): We knew Abbadon was bad news when he visited Hurley in the mental institution last week, saying he was an Oceanic lawyer. (I’m still shuddering from his creepy question: “Are they still alive?”) He’s connected to the Freighter people: He’s meets with Naomi about leading “the team” on the island mission. She tells him these people aren’t the right ones for the job. Abbadon responds by telling her “there are no survivors of Oceanic 815.” And that her job is just to get the Freighters in and out without being killed. FYI: In Hebrew, abaddon means “destruction,” and many biblical scholars believe Abaddon to be Satan.

GEORGE MINKOWSKI (Fisher Stevens): We’ve only heard his voice so far, but George is the guy on the freighter who answered the satellite phone when Jack called for help. No word on when Stevens will appear in the flesh, though. The “Lost” fan community has already tied Minkowski to German mathematician Hermann Minkowski, whose idea of a fourth dimension of time (Desmond!) was used in Einstein’s theory of special relativity.

Whew! And I haven’t even begun to discuss how in the hell Ben has a spy on the freighter?!? This guy knows everything! If they do end up dragging Ben back to civilization, they seriously need to give that man a job with the CIA.

Until next week, Lost-philes! Feel free to discuss anything else from last night below.

Here’s one possible topic: Who is Ben’s spy?

I have no insider knowledge whatsoever—I swear—but for some reason, my Lostie senses are telling me it’s …

Anyone else agree?