Six years ago, when Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox) adjusted his eyes to focus on the trees above and stumbled onto a beach where screaming people surrounded a rogue plane propeller, one of the Top 10 shows of the decade was born.
Now, after five seasons, 108 episodes, nearly 50 awards and 164 nominations, the show that changed the landscape of television will wrap up in 16 short instalments, leading patient viewers to what we can only hope will be a satisfying conclusion to the television phenomenon known as Lost.
“I am going to cry like a baby when this show ends,” says Evangeline Lilly (Kate Austen), mirroring many fans’ sentiments. “It’s been so intense that for it to come to an end is going to be life-changing.”
Little is known about how producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse —affectionately known as Team Darlton to fans — will wrap up, or which head-scratchers they will solve, but they have dropped subtle hints all the while remaining mum, as only they can.
Back for the final chapter are actors Emilie de Ravin as Claire, who disappeared back in Season 4 after seeing Christian Shephard (John Terry); Harold Perrineau as Michael, who kicked the bucket on the freighter in the same season; Cynthia Watros as Libby, who died at Michael’s hands back in the second season; Dominic Monaghan as Charlie, who drowned in Season 3 trying to rescue the castaways; Elizabeth Mitchell as Juliet, who is dead after last season’s heartbreak finale according to Darlton; and Ian Somerhalder as Boone, who succumbed to a grisly death after teaming up with Locke (Terry O’Quinn).
ABC has been silent in regards to the upcoming season, releasing a limited number of network photos and — until this past weekend — no new footage on the promotional videos, despite last season’s 38 per cent decline in viewers from Season 2’s high of 18.9 million.
“We’ve obviously been very circumspect about the sixth season, and primarily because there’s this big cliffhanger,” says Cuse. “Juliet hits this bomb. There’s a white flash. What happened? Jack and Faraday were postulating that it was going to reset the clock and the Oceanic 815 would fly along and land in Los Angeles.
“If something else happens, maybe they’re still stuck on the island. We don’t really want to give away what the show is going to be this season, so that’s why we haven’t shown any new footage.”
The opener picks up right where Season 5 left off, with Juliet struggling to detonate Jughead and release everyone from the discombobulated time spectrum that plagued them throughout the entire season, but beyond that, there’s very little known about Season 6.
“It would be great to cover my bases and guarantee everybody a shitty ending of Lost,” jokes Lindelof, who has planned the past five seasons around the final episode.
“We do feel like the worst ending we could possibly provide everyone who has invested this amount of time and energy into watching the show is a safe ending. I don’t think it would be Lost if there wasn’t debate as to whether or not it was a good ending.”
Perhaps more important than the ending itself are viable answers for those fans who have stuck through tropical polar bears, vengeful smoke monsters and a mythical figurehead named Jacob.
Unfortunately, Darlton admits only those questions pertinent to the characters will ultimately be answered, leaving fans to figure out the rest for themselves.
If the past five seasons are any indication, they’ll watch anyways.
Lost, the final chapter, bows Tuesday, 9 p.m. ET, CTV/ABC with a two-hour opener.
Thoughts? amber@tvguide.ca
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