Lost's Bosses Dish on "Season of Josh Holloway"

Darlton says Sawyer will be featured prominently this season

Lost is back in less than a week!

And to promote the best little island show since, well, ever (sorry, Gilligan and Ricardo Montalban), the show's big bosses Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse just showed critics episode three of the new fifth season and ponied up scoop!

So what do you need to know? Well, for starters, the time travel-kookiness is off the charts in season five.

But that's OK. They're making it up to us.

How? Well, according to Carlton: "It's the season of Josh." Yes, to counteract the hard-core sci-fi/physics/time-travel-loop-the-loop stuff this year (Daniel Faraday knows all, and boy does he tell all), the writers are making sure that Sawyer (Josh Holloway) and his time-travel-loathing testy redneck temperament are front and center to soften the blow. His shirtless chest will also be featured prominently, but let's focus, shall we?

So what extra Sawyer goodness are we getting this season? Read on for that, a sneak peek at episode two and some tease-y goodies about episode three!

According to Carlton, "Sawyer has a lot to do this year." Given that there is so much heavy myth arc development going on, they felt it was important to balance out that element with some character-centric stuff.

"It's important that Sawyer is not a huge fan of time travel," says Carlton, noting that Sawyer will deliver many lines throughout the season criticizing time travel as a concept in general and as an influence on his own life. "Josh is doing a lot of amazing work this year. You could say this was the season of Josh Holloway."

And, yes, the season of time travel. "It is a veritable minefield to do time travel," Carlton admits. "But it's also incredibly exciting. We didn't want to have season five just be a stall. We're going to take some risks, but if we make some mistakes, that's OK. We would rather take the risk and continue to do exciting storytelling."

"Hopefully as season five unfolds you'll realize that time traveling was in the DNA of the show for quite some time," Damon explains. "This time travel reflects a plunge toward the [series] ending."

Meanwhile, when asked if we'll see more of Nestor Carbonell (Richard Alpert) this season, Carlton says, "You will," while Damon reveals, "He does not wear mascara. No eyeliner." "The true mystery of Lost," adds Carlton, "is Nestor wearing makeup." (Hee.)

And what about the always intriguing and haunting Benjamin Linus (Michael Emerson)? "Who Ben works for is probably Ben," Damon says. "But the fact is that he is obviously involved with other people, as you've seen in the first three episodes."

"You will see more of [Charles] Widmore," adds Damon, "and part of what we hoped to give the audience this year is some greater sense of the island's history."

So what about the Losties that appear to be no longer living? "You will definitely see Jin this year," promises Carlton. "Claire is not a series regular this year, but her story is by no means over. You will see more of her in season six. Jin will be back. We're not saying he is currently alive, though."

Now, more sneaky preview stuff! Dharma Special Access just released a new video wherein the Island escapees agree to the tragic and consequential Big Lie...

As for episode three, here's what we can spill:

• This episode is an Oceanic Six-free zone. There are no appearances by Jack, Kate, Sayid, Hurley, Sun or Aaron.
• The title of the episode ("Jughead") refers to a thing, not a person.
• One Islander declares his love, and the object of his affection seems surprisingly elated about the announcement. Guesses?
• Charles "Big Bad" Widmore pops up three times in the episode and each appearance is more surprising that the last.
• Is Desmond your hero? If yes, you will be greatly pleased with this outing of the show, in which he totally kicks ass and takes names, even while he largely fails to achieve his declared goals.
• At least two new foreign languages are used in this episode, which means more subtitle fun times. Apologies in advance to all the dyslexics out there.
• The following is not a line from the episode, but it could be: "Did you come back for your bong?"

Only five days left! (Lost returns this Wednesday.) Can you stand the excitement? Post your joy in the comments!

—Additional reporting by Lost fangirls Natalie Abrams and Megan Masters