Kristin Dos Santos's interview with Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse...

How are you feeling about the finale about this point? Are you feeling pretty confident about it?

C.C.: Yes, we were up until the wee hours last night editing the finale. I think we're pretty pleased. We want to be cautious in our optimism, but it feels like the film that we are getting back from Hawaii is fantastic. Jack Bender is doing a great job directing it, and I think that people will be surprised by the finale. Not in the literal M. Night Shyamalan way that we surprised the audience last year, but I think emotionally satisfying and also intriguing-and we'll leave people very excited and interested to figure out what season five is going to be about.


Obviously the big question after last night's episode, leading into that finale, is: "How are they going to move the Island?" which is a fantastic twist. Also, "Is Claire dead?" Is that a question you are wanting the fans to be asking at this point?

C.C.: I think we want the fans to ask, "What's happened to Claire?" I don't think it's "Is she dead?" I think it's like, "Where is she?" and, "What's going on with her?"

D.L.: What's fascinating with Lost is there's a scene where Claire is in the cabin, and she is sitting next to a guy who is dead, and nobody is saying "What's up with that?" They're all asking "Is she dead?" I think the more operative question is "What is dead?" That's a good question to ask, and one you will certainly be asking over the long hiatus.


Can you say if time travel is definitely a part of the series?

C.C.: Yes.


This is a question I don't know if you can or will want to answer: Does Richard Alpert age?

C.C.: Does Richard Alpert age? I think it's a good observation to say that Richard Albert has been observed in various time periods looking the same, but I think that's all we want to say at this point in time. However, you will learn a lot more about Richard Alpert as the show goes on. He is going to become more prominent in the future of the show.


And it seems like the series has branched off in so many different directions. The scope of what has happened on Lost is just so vast and so intricate. As the series continues for the next few seasons, will things start to come together in some sort of cohesive way or are you still branching out further?

D.L.: There are some questions that are very engaging and interesting, and then there are other questions that we have no interest whatsoever in answering. We call it the midi-chlorian debate, because at a certain point, explaining something mystical demystifies it. To try and have a character come and say, "Here is what the numbers mean," actually makes every usage of the numbers up to that point less interesting.

...If you're watching the show for a detailed explanation of what the numbers mean-and I'm not saying you won't see more of them-then you will be disappointed by the end of season six.


Do you see Penny and Desmond as a central plot for the show? And if Penny were to die would Desmond die because she's his Constant? Is that a fair assumption?

D.L.: Desmond and Penny are an incredibly important part of the show, and one of our favorite romances and relationship to write on the show. Obviously, Sonya Walger is an incredibly busy actor, and as a result of that, it limits our ability to go to the Penny and Desmond well, but every time we do, it's very special as something that we do not get to explore every other week. All we can say is that there's a lot more to tell about that story, but hopefully you will have a better sense of that over the summer.

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