ABC/Mario PerezOooh! What goodness.
Executive producer badasses Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse just did a teleconference with reporters to talk about the return of Lost one week from today (holla!), and ponied up a lot of interesting info about what lies ahead, and what it all means.
If you're a fan, you don't want to miss this, so get in here for the dish...
What We Learned from Darlton Today:
This year’s huge season-finale shocker is being referred to as the “Frozen Donkey Wheel.” It does not involve donkeys, wheels or anything of an en-suffix nature. (Now it's totally obvious, right?)
Darlton won’t say a word about whether anyone is dying this season. Carlton says: “If we basically were to tease that there was going to be a death, sort of like when Shannon died, it kind of lead everybody to chase it down and spoil it. On the other hand, if we were to say that everyone is safe, that would kind of really ruin the dramatic impact of the finale. So we’re excited about what’s happening. There are definitely some very large and seismic events that will happen to our castaways between now and the end of the season. By the end of the season, some people’s fates will be clear and others will not be so clear."
Something big is up for Claire. “I think there is a very compelling event involving Claire’s character that will take place between now and the season finale.” (Rumors include everything from a kiss to the kiss of death...)
The flash-forwards and flashbacks are a “mosaic,” and when the “mosaic” is complete, the story of Lost is complete. Damon explains: “There is the story on the island, which we perceive to be the present, and then there’s the story of the Oceanic 6, which is happening off the island in the future. But if we were to switch perspectives at any time and suddenly we were off the island, focusing on the Oceanic 6 trying to get back, that would be the present, and what was happening back on the island would be either a parallel present, possibly a future, possibly a past. Who knows? So when you hear that whoosh noise, the question becomes ‘Where does it take you?’ Hopefully, if we do our jobs right in the finale, in the eight months in between the finale and the season premiere next year, the audience will once again be asking, ‘What the hell are they going to do in the season premiere?’ And that means we’re keeping people on their toes. And that's our intent.”
Regarding Jaters and Skaters, Damon says: “All we can say is that Sawyer is not one of the Oceanic 6 and Jack and Kate are. And obviously, there will be a huge focus in these final three hours of the show that comprise the finale in terms of how that series of events transpires, and ultimately what happens to Sawyer, and it’s all on the axis of the love triangle. So we think that both fans of Sawyer and Kate, otherwise known as the Skaters from what I’m told, and Jack and Kate, the Jaters, will have a bounty of interesting romantic scenes.”
On Juliet and Jack: “Well, Jack and Juliet obviously kissed in the sixth episode this year, and we will be sort of revisiting the emotional idea of that and their relationship in our second episode back, which is the one that airs on May 1,” says Damon.
Darlton loves Penny and Desmond. “It was certainly our intention to make that an epic love story along the lines of one of the central love stories in the show,” says Damon. “Because the chemistry between Ian Cusick and Sonya Walger works so well, it was a well that we wanted to return to sort of time and time again. Obviously, it became pivotal in Charlie’s death, and we feel some of the best episodes the show has ever done aren’t [the best] because they’re weird time-travel stories, it’s because they were so focused on that love story between Penny and Desmond. So we will certainly be returning to it. Unfortunately, Sonya is a very in-demand actor and is in Tell Me You Love Me for HBO, so it’s been challenging for us to secure her services, but once she becomes available, hopefully we’ll be using her again." Looks like someone needs to remind Sonya of her "constant!"
Carlton on Charles Whidmore: “The character’s importance changes over time.” Damon: “You will see him sooner, rather than later.” Carlton: “And see more of him.”
The first hour of the finale (May 15) is titled “There’s No Place Like Home.” (Henry Gale would agree.)
Smokey and Jacob will be in the first episode back. OMG, yee! Says Damon: “You will get a healthy dose of Jacob before the end of the season.” OK, but is he Jack’s dad?!
The fate of Karl and Rousseau will be known the first episode back, and Darlton really want to tell Rousseau’s story of how she got to the island.The four-toed statue “will be back on the show,” says Damon. “People will learn who built it and why it has four toes.” (Obvious guess: Lawnmower accident.)
The first half of the season was supposed to be the setup, and the second half, the payoff. The writers’ strike really screwed that up, but they promise they will pay off.
Darlton wishes they could have told more of the freighters’ story this season, but are very happy with the casting. Each character turned out exactly how they had envisioned.
They are having discussions of a similar online experience for this summer that would segue into season five like Find815.com did.
How many people know the very end of the series? Damon: “Not a lot. We can conservatively say you could sort of count them all on one hand. But if we were to disclose the names of any others, they might be kidnapped and taken off to Central America and tortured.” Carlton: “We told Dick Cheney because we were pretty sure that no one would be able to find him and get the secrets from him.”
Got any new theories sparked by what you read above? Holler in the comments below!