ABC/Florian SchneiderAfter five years of Lost being the craziest, most compelling show on TV, when season six premieres this January, we'll learn everything we ever wanted to know about the Island, the Lostaways and the mysteries of the show.
Right?
Well, that's what we're all hoping for anyway. We just caught up with Lost show runner Damon Lindelof at Golden Apple Comics here in L.A. and pestered him about whether or not the final season is really going to deliver the answers fans want. D.L. was on hand to promote his Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk comic compilation, and he graciously took questions from the audience and gave each attendee a little exclusive one-on-one time while signing the books.
We took advantage of the situation to ask about the love situation on Lost and to snag you answers about the hieroglyphics and "4 8 15 16 23 42."
Read on to see what the Lost boss shared about love, the numbers and the mysterious question posited by the secret poster code...
For those fans of Lost who are invested in the romance on the show, will there be anything for them this year, or is this primarily a mythology season?
That's an excellent question. Our focus remains where it's always been: on the characters. And there are significant and emotional bonds, from both the friendship and the romantic angle, that we would be remiss in not exploring; we probably won't be exploring them in the way that you think. That's my official answer.
All right, last night you tweeted about this event, and you said that you would address the numbers question.
Oh, well that was just to get people here. [Laughs.]
Are we going to get an answer on the numbers this season?
When someone asks what the numbers mean or are you going to answer the mystery of the numbers, it's a very interesting phrasing of a question, because I would pose it back to them: Well, what does an answer to "what do the numbers mean" look like? The answer that I'm giving now, my political answer, is that we've made a lot of the numbers in this show, so the idea that in the final season of the show we are telling everybody that we're in answer mode and you're never going to see the numbers again, or you won't understand a lot more about the numbers than you do now, would be a cop-out. You would legitimately tar and feather us. But the one question that I can't answer is what someone's own level of personal satisfaction is going to be when all is said and done. We've gotten a sense from some people that there's no such thing as a definitive answer to a question, you know? You say that this is the definitive answer and sometimes fans do like, "No, it's not, I still think that there's more there." So all we can do is basically tell the story that we want to tell and answer the questions that are relevant to that story and hope that the audience leaves with some degree of satisfaction. But Lost wouldn't be Lost if there wasn't an ongoing debate as to whether or not questions were answered satisfyingly or not.
OK, this might be a little esoteric, but who is the leader, and why does it matter?
That is very esoteric. I don't know, you look like a Jennifer—I think what Jennifer is referring to is in some of our Lost season-six promotional materials there are some hieroglyphics. Various hieroglyphic experts—who are those guys, by the way?—have taken a crack at interpreting what these hieroglyphics translate to, and one of the popular theories that is now emerging is that they translate to this question, "Who is the leader?" So if that's what he thinks it means, you'd have to ask him. I don't know why we would make people work so hard just to enjoy a poster!
Really? There's nothing about Locke versus Sawyer versus Jack versus Sayid versus Ben?
Nope, nothing. Who cares about leadership?
You've done a number of events like this. You've received a lot of questions from fans. Has there ever been a question where you guys are like, "Wow. That reminds us. We haven't played with that story yet" or that has helped you guys frame a storyline based on some feedback?
I think there are questions that percolate up that if I were a fan of the show I would be asking the question. I think that most of the writers on the show think like fanboys, whether they are boys or girls. The fact of the matter is no question is ever asked of us that we're not asking ourselves. So by the time someone asks me if Libby's ever coming back to the show for the 14th time, I'm like, "Trust me. I wish we could figure out a way to make that work." Like, I wish I could talk to the actress and get down on my hands and knees and beg her to come back, but the reality is, you know, there are certain questions that every time you're asked it's a pain for you because you're basically like, "I know man. You're absolutely right."
1. You should go buy the Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk premium hardcover compilation, in stores now. Without knowing a darn thing about Hulks, Wolverines or ultimate universes (our book inscription said "Let's be honest, you don't care about Hulk and Wolverine—but you WILL! Hugs, [scribbly Damon Lindelof signature]"), we can tell you that it's worth it just for the fistfight with the panda.
2. Do you expect season six to be ecstatically satisfying or dizzyingly disappointing? What do you demand to know before you're a fully satisfied Lost customer? Tell us in the comments!
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