seriesjunkie

From Kristin : "After 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."

 

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."

From kristin : "Mrs. Hawking and Daniel Faraday are both coming back for "The Variable" on April 29 (which just so happens to be the series' 100th ep). Also present are Penny and Charles Widmore and Charlie Hume (not to be confused with Charlie Pace). As for the variable itself, it will almost certainly tie back to the equations and notations from the blast-door map we saw in season two, which included such bon mots as "Geological composition likely to cause magnetic disturbances/interference with weather project," "Primary nexus of Cerberus-related activity" and the infamous Valenzetti equation. Come on, who else wants a monster-centric ep? Remember, the only rule about flashbacks is that there are no rules. Before the end of the season, Smokey is totally gonna get himself some backstory!"

From Kristin : "When the rumor started earlier this month that Evangeline Lilly might be leaving Lost, many of you fans were relieved to hear from Evie herself that she's not going AWOL.

"I am very happy on Lost and have no reason to look anywhere else for a home," she told us.

But now, inside sources spill that a major character death is coming—and that the person who is leaving the show was not the first to know.

So, could it be Evie? If not, who is it?

Here's what I can tell you about this death:

• A current series regular is getting killed before the end of season five.
• The character who will die is someone who is much-loved by many of you fans.
• This is a real leaving-the-show death, à la Shannon or Charlie, not a quick-fix time-travel death like Jeremy Bentham/John Locke.
• The character getting killed off is not, I repeat, not Evie's character Kate Austen.

And a source close to the show tells me that the person who's being killed off just learned of their character's fate late last week, and the news hit hard. "Unfortunately, [he or she] found out after the script treatments were sent out to some of the crew on the set," says my source. "So it wasn't the best timing."

As for the timing of when this death will happen onscreen, I can only tell you that while the character's end is still a ways out, it will go down this season.

Who will it be?

I certainly cannot tell, and surely you do not want to know, because in usual kickass Lost fashion, you know that how it plays out will be surprising and awesome and jaw-dropping. "

I'm thinking it's neither Sawyer nor Jack, Ben or Locke so that leaves Juliet or the freighter dudes. Unless it's Sun or Jin. They wouldn't kill Hurley, would they ? He's too important to the story. I don't know and actually, I want to be surprised so I don't really want to know !!

I won't say I didn't like the episode because I was SOO excited they got back to the island !! But I'm a little dispointed because we didn't learn much except for how they got back, plus we didn't see our island folks (except for Jin at the end !).
That being said, let's get into it ! First off, skipping the famous eye shot of the beginning if the episode, why on earth would Jack wear a suit to go back to the island ?? That's just stupid ! And why wouldn't they bring everything they thought they would need on the island like food, clothes, batteries and stuff ?
Anyway, what was written on his little piece if paper ? Was it part of Locke's letter ?
As for Ben's explaination about the painting in the chuch, we can obviously expect John's "resurection" pretty soon !! It could sound weird but this is lost so anything is possible and as Ben said : "we're all convinced sooner or later" !! Which is why he asks Jack to take "a leap of faith". But this whole man of science vs man of faith theme, although it's at the core of the show, is a little annoying because it is a little too religious (or centered around religion) for my taste ! But that's ok, I'm still with the show !!
By the way, wasn't Eloïse's lecture on faith and the island a little "ridiculous" as Jack pointed out ? Although I loved it when she told him to "pay attention" like she was talking to a child, to her pupil !! lol. But we did learn that her lair is another (off-island this time !!) Dharma station called The Lamppost and that's where they learned how to get to the island but she didn't really explain how they even knew it existed !! She said they gathered information but from who, from where, how did it come to their attention and by the way who the hell are they ?
And one question remains : WHERE THE HELL IS AARON ??!!!!!
The part on the plane was so exciting and funny at the same time, although nothing special was happening except for them waiting to crash !! Jack kept changing seats like a little kid playing musical chairs, too excited to stay still ! And I couldn't stop laughing when he asked Ben "How can you read" and he answers "My mother taught me" !! It was funny but also reminding us that Ben was taught, Ben knows but Jack only executes : he only does what he's told ("We just have to go back and that's it ?" "No, Jack, that's not it ! At least not for you" said Eloïse (not exact quotes)). And you also have to love Ben's dark humour when Jack asks him about the other passengers and what if they die : "who cares ?". Well, fair enough ! lol Speaking of dark humour, how about Locke's childish "I told you so" letter ?
Update : I forgot that Ben's mother died in child birth so why would he say that ?? That's "dark and twisted" !!
Now how about Desmond ? How will HE get back since there are so few windows ? We know he HAS to get back : Mrs Hawkins said so : "the island is not done with you yet". And what about dear old Ben covered in blood ? Did he manage to kill Penny (he was near a marina apparently, which is where Penny and her boat should be) ?
How about Sun ? I get that she wants to get Jin back but does she understand that once they get there, they probably won't ever get back to the real world ? So what's going to happen with her daughter ? And Aaron ? Will they have to wait for the next window of opportunity ? When will that be ? It could be years : they could be adults, especially since time in the real world passes much faster than on the island !
The fact that they have to recreate as much as the circumstances of the first crash as they can for the Ajira Airlines flight confirms the theory that the island's history is repeating itself (and as Eloïse pointed out constantly moving). By the way, what happened with Sayid ? I bet Ben put him up to this (being arrested and handcuffed on the plane like Kate was). And who told Hurley to get on the plane ? Charlie ? Probably someone dead !! And let's take a second to thank Hurley for buying all the remaining seats trying to spare as many lives as possible ! Awww ! As for the girl accompagnying Sayid and the other dude who said his condolences to Jack, I bet they'll survive the crash (or was it a crash ? Maybe they sort of teleported from the plane or something !) and be important to the story (maybe not the girl since the original marshall died pretty soon after the crash) ! Maybe they're with team Ben/Hawkins !
All in all i was very excited throught the episode but still a little disappointed that we didn't learn that much and we didn't see the island people !! I mean, where was Sawyer ? I thought it would be him in the van ! And then I thought no it's a Dharma guy : they ended up in the past. But it was Jin ! Still nice but not Sawyer ! I guess this is for the next episode !! But the question remains : WHEN are they ?
I haven't adressed Kate and Jack "love scene" because we all saw it and although part of me was excited about the kiss finally happening, it was not satisfying since Kate was having once again one of her stressed angry sex session (like she used to have with Sawyer) plus she told Jack on the plane that it didn't mean they were together so that kiss didn't mean much because of Kate's state of mind ! And I wonder if she's that way "just" because she "lost" Aaron or is it deeper ? And what about the theory that she's pregnant ? She would then (as Elody and others pointed out) be a proxi for Claire on the plane !! And it just occured to me that Ben was playing Hurley getting in late ! And remember Lapidus was supposed to be the pilot for the Oceanic flight 815 ! And he provides us with another funny bit : "we're not going to Guam, are we ?".

And now, thanks to Kristin for these enlightenments :
- "Ben was reading James Joyce's Ulysses, which is, of course, a psychedelic Irish novel that had a few Easter Eggs of its own and was based on the ancient myth of Odysseus, a lost sailor who is kept from his love, Penelope, by a series of wildly unbelievable but nonetheless thrilling adventures."
- A CS Lewis nod with a The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe reference with the Lamppost Station : "They came out of the wardrobe at the lamppost, and it was where they knew they could get back to their world."
- Jack's seat number was 8C, and the flight left from gate 15.

From tvguide :
- The episode was called 316 because "it is the number of a very telling Biblical passage, that being John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." We'll get to see who Lost's resident Jesus figure is in good time."

From Doc Jensen
- The episode had references to Prince Caspian. I'll do an entire post on the connections between Narnia and Lost !
Does it mean that they will return to an island in ruin ?

Random thought :
- Jack is surprised to learn that Locke killed himself but wasn't the word suicide written on Jeremy Bentham's orbituary ??

Here is the trailer for next week's episode : the episode is called "the life and death of Jeremy Bentham" so we're gonna learn a whole lot about Locke !!

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO AARON ??? WHERE IS HE AND WHO TOOK HIM ? Did Kate give him up because she knew she had to but then who did she give him to ? Elody suggested Sawyer's baby mama (she would be the only one she could trust and the less tracable). Or maybe someone took him (Ben, Widmore, someone else) and told her she could only get him back if she went to the island. Or maybe Ben lied again and told her he was dead and she had to go back. I don't know but I seriously can't wait !!!