‘Lost’ Secrets Unearthed
While the networks are busy slugging out the fall television season with competing series both new and old, the viewers are left without a shepherd to guide them towards true quality programming. In 2009, that shepherd returns, and its name is Lost.
ABC’s award-winning smash-hit Lost has gained an unbelievable following in its four short years. It’s often a show of balance as some mysteries get solved ("What’s in the hatch?") and some never do ("What’s the frickin’ monster?"). Despite some of the rockier terrain that seasons two and three trekked through, fans have stuck through the turbulent times by having faith that their loyalty would be rewarded.
When Lost returns early next year, the shape of that reward will come into sharper focus. Season five marks the penultimate year for the series, as showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse previously inked a deal with ABC to end Lost after six seasons. Since that move, each episode instantly gains a higher sense of importance for both the show’s mythology and its fans’ patience. Nary an hour can be wasted with so many pressing questions to be answered, and with Lost officially on the downhill end of the slope, Lindelof and Cuse promise that the series will shift away from generating mysteries and into "answer mode."
There’s still some months before the new season, but information about the plot, characters and more are slowly find their way onto the internet. We’ve done some digging around and compiled the following list of points regarding what you can expect from Lost in the future. Be warned, however, as there are some spoilers ahead. Proceed with caution…
The Strangest Thing Ever
In a recent interview with Collider, Lost writer Brian K. Vaughn decried the upcoming fifth season as "the strangest thing that’s ever [going to be] on network television. Ever." If what we’ve heard is accurate, then Vaughn’s definitely not far off.
According to multiple sources, gone are the flashbacks and flashforwards of yesteryear. By the season four finale, time finally caught up with Jack Shephard and the rest of the Oceanic Six in the future. When season five begins, expect the flashes through time to change from character-centric to location-centric. Rumors suggest the series will operate in two different chronologies: following the present day escapades of the O6 returning to Lostaway Isle, while shifting back in time to feature the characters left behind on the island. That’s right, back in time — as in where the Island disappeared to. If speculation is to be believed, Ben’s implosion of the Island shifted the land mass backwards in time, meaning our heroes will likely witness historic events that we’ve only heard about first-hand. Sounds pretty strange indeed.
Because You Left
One of the main thrusts of season five will be the Oceanic Six’s attempt to return to the Island. Still, it’ll take a whole lot of convincing by Ben and Jack to get the others on board. The season premiere, titled "Because You Left," is likely to pick up where we left off with Jack, Ben and the corpse of John Locke. Since we already know that time displacement occurs between the real world and the Island, and because of the potential shift backwards in time, it’s possible that Jack can prevent the fate of Locke and the others by heading off the past.
Meanwhile, the rest of the formerly lost survivors are scattered across the globe. Sun has taken over her father’s Paik Industries, following in his footsteps as a ruthless businesswoman. Sayid and Hurley are on the run in the wake of Locke’s death, with Hurley getting a firsthand account of the deadly nature of Sayid’s occupation. Elsewhere, Kate is still playing house with baby Aaron, but a scene in the newly released trailer shows the two of them escaping from their home. Finally, Desmond, who also escaped the Island, is getting cozy with the love of his life Penny. Some major spoilers have leaked about the fate of these two characters, so be careful where you look for information.
Somewhere Out There
Just because the Oceanic Six is hogging all the media attention doesn’t mean that they’re the only survivors. Originally just lost in space, our island-bound heroes are also lost in time. Sawyer, Juliet, Rose, Bernard, Charlotte, Miles and Faraday are among the survivors still on the mystic island, and if John Locke is to be believed, things are going to get "very bad" for everyone.
Early reports from the set involve two 1500s era seaworthy ships, which indicates that we’ll see the Black Rock crashing on the Island. Further, there’s word that Locke is getting shot again, this time in a less lethal body part. Meanwhile, it’s unclear whether Daniel Dae Kim’s Jin is still alive after apparently blowing up in the season four finale, although there’s speculation that we’ll find out the character’s fate before too long. Even if he is dead, Jin will resurface in some form, as Kim confirmed he’d been filming in Hawaii at this year’s Emmy’s.
We’re also going to see a healthy dose of Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert, the seemingly ageless Hostile/Other currently guiding John Locke. While Alpert still hasn’t attained series regular status, which ultimately resulted in the character’s absence for much of last year, all signs point to his involvement in the early episodes at least. In fact, at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Lindelof and Cuse hinted that a barefoot Richard Alpert might have something in common with a certain four-toed statue. Hmm…
New Kids on the Block
As with every season, Lost‘s fifth year is set to bring aboard fresh talent to the already large pool of characters. Mystery persons Caesar and Ilana are joining the fray as played by Saïd Taghmaoui and Zuleikha Robinson respectively. The two characters are closely linked together, Damon Lindelof confirms, and both should be considered extremely dangerous.
"He has an innate intelligence, intensity, and danger we really responded to," Lindelof says of Taghmaoui as Caesar, also confirming that the character plays "an important part of the setup for the final act of the show in season six."
Ilana, meanwhile, is described as "a European female who possess great intelligence, but who’s also dangerous as all get out. She’s alluring and apparently used to getting her way." Ilana is further likened to Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight in terms of her constantly changing backstory.
While newcomers to the series, Taghmaoui and Robinson are hardly strangers to genre fare. Taghmaoui, who played an Iraqi interrogator opposite Mark Wahlberg in Three Kings, plays Breaker in the upcoming G.I. Joe alongside former Lost actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Mr. Eko). Robinson, meanwhile, has appeared on HBO’s Rome and Fox’s New Amsterdam and The Lone Gunmen.
D is for Dharma…
While many of the mysteries for the new season remain unanswered, E! Online scoops that the Oceanic Six will be on the prowl for something very specific.
"What I’m hearing is that the reason Jack, Kate, Sayid, Sun and Hurley need to reunite is because the Oceanic Six need to fan out to a group of Dharma stations," reports E!’s Kristin Dos Santos. "Even more intriguing? According to my source, these stations are not on the Island, but in other locations, and these off-Island stations are believed to be the ticket to getting back to the Island."
She later retracted part of the statement and the official scoop now is that there’s only one off-Island Dharma station. Where’s it located?
"In the words of the sage Hugo Reyes: ‘Australia is the key to the game,’" says Dos Santos, clarifying that the Dharma station is "in or around Ayers Rock/Uluru, the place Rose and Bernard visited on their honeymoon."
In terms of on Island Dharma fare, expect to see Doug Hutchison back as hippie scientist Horace Goodspeed for at least one episode this season. Perhaps more interestingly, however, it the scene in the new season’s trailer where Daniel Faraday approaches what looks to be the Swan station. In the scene, a man clad in the typical Dharma yellow anti-viral suit emerges and holds Faraday at gunpoint. Although this is just conjecture, pay very close attention to how this man moves and carries his weapon. It looks exactly like how Desmond Hume holds a rifle. Might Daniel run into Desmond during his period of Island isolation, thereby mirroring Desmond’s coming to Daniel in last year’s "The Constant?" Talk about full circle.
…And Also for Death
On Lost, as is the case with most major television shows these days, death is never too far behind. In addition to finding out whether or not Jin is alive, a source confirms to spoiler Web site DarkUFO that a character will die early on in the fifth season. Either Juliet, Rose, Sawyer, Miles, Charlotte, Penny, Richard Alpert or Frank Lapidus will be the target, says the source. It’s hard for us to imagine any of them going the way of Boone and Shannon, but the site’s sources are typically spot on.
Speaking of dead people, expect to see some familiar faces from beyond the grave. It’s been widely reported that Michelle Rodriguez is returning as ex-cop Ana Lucia Cortez to haunt Hurley in the real world. Her appearance is projected for the second episode of the season. Other rumors peg Mr. Eko as returning as well, though those sources aren’t as solid. Even Charlie Pace might make a return, as Dominic Monaghan, newly cast on NBC’s Chuck, tells reporters that he’d love to return to the show if the writers can make it work.
Finally, Claire Littleton (Emilie de Ravin) is taking a hiatus for this season of Lost, but is set to return for the show’s final year. Her absence from the cast further cements speculation that Claire’s crossed over to the land of the dead. Last seen with her ghostly father Christian Shephard (John Terry), who’s scheduled to return this year, fans speculate that Claire may have bit the bullet when a rocket was launched into her home at the Barracks in "The Shape of Things to Come." Whether or not that’s true, we’ll probably have to wait another season to get the answer.
The Waiting Game
It’s just a few short months until Lost returns, but as fans can attest to, the wait commonly feels like a lifetime. Just imagine how Jack, Kate, Sawyer and the gang must feel, their lives being separated by miles and years of distance. When you consider that, the wait isn’t so bad.
For those who can’t handle the absence, there are several outlets to focus on. The show is currently in syndication on the Sci-Fi Channel and G4, providing fans a way to relive the glory days of Lost. There’s also the upcoming December 9 release of Lost – The Complete 4th Season: The Expanded Experience on DVD and high-definition BluRay. The package will include the Lost: Missing Pieces mobisodes aired during the hiatus between seasons three and four. If that doesn’t whet your appetite, head over to Lostpedia where you can learn about the Dharma Initiative Recruiting Project, an interactive alternate reality game that debuted at San Diego Comic-Con in July. Fans can also shell out the extra bucks to check out Lost: Via Domus, a video game available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PCs. Then, of course, there’s the season five trailer to tide you over.
While the waiting game is hard, it can also prove the most profitable. As John Locke is quick to point out, all you need is a little faith. In this case, fans have already demonstrated their committed fealty to Lost over the last four years. When the series returns in 2009, don’t expect the viewers to up and vanish like the Island. They’ll be watching, waiting and salivating for the next big reveal as Lost continues it’s path towards the finish line.