Several weeks in advance of Comic-Con 2009, the annual mega-event where (among other things) Lost masterminds Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse end their self-imposed radio silence post-season finale, the powerhouse duo participated in a Q&A for fans in London over the weekend at the Curzon Cinema. A blogger named McLeron attended the event and has provided a complete transcript of all that was revealed.

There’s a lot to digest in the transcript, but here are the comments this blogger believes to be the most telling, along with my thoughts:

• Damon Lindelof: “You are married to your destiny, you can try to avoid it, but it will catch up to you.” I’m thinking this is going to be hugely important in Season 6. Perhaps the hydrogen bomb’s detonation caused some changes to the timeline, but ultimately will not be able to alter the destinies of the main characters.
• Lindelof shut down any possibilities for spin-offs, comic books, or any other continuations of the show once Season 6 ends, saying, “We feel that if we hold anything back for the final season of the show, it will be bad. People have come along this far, and they need a conclusion.” Bravo, Mr. L. A very wise man, you are.
• Lindelof reveals that celebrated comic book writer Brian K. Vaughan, who’s been on the Lost writing staff since Season 3, has “left for greener pastures.” Say what?! I hadn’t heard that. Did we know this already? Somebody help me out here, I’m seriously bummed over this.
• Filming on Season 6 begins Monday, August 24th.
• Regarding where the show’s major characters find themselves, at the beginning of Season 6, Lindelof would only cryptically say, “…everybody gets back together in one form or another, and we feel that Season 6 is a lot like Season 1 with its [feeling of] community.” Sounds like the whole gang is getting back together!

There are some crazy rumors flying around the Net this week that several (or possibly all!) of the deceased former passengers of Oceanic 815 could be returning to the show for its sixth and final season. Amid swirling bits about Charlie (aka actor Dominic Monaghan) and Shannon (Maggie Grace) possibly making respective comebacks, TV Guide throws fuel on the fire with word straight from actor Ian Somerhalder, who played Boone in the show’s first season, that his return is a very strong possibility.

Is this just actors’ wishful thinking? Or is there a time-has-been-rewritten-so-they’re-not-dead-anymore reunion in the works for all of the show’s stars of yesteryear? Hmm.

Even though it’s been said many times before, it’s once again been affirmed by Lost executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse: actress Emilie de Ravin, who stars as Claire Littleton, is returning to Lost for its sixth and final season as a full-time cast member.

Speaking to EW’s Michael Ausiello, Cuse commented, “Damon and I are very excited to bring Claire back to the show, and even more excited for people to experience just how she will return.”

So what do you think? How will Claire return? Will the rest of the cast bump into her while she’s still a ghost hanging out in the jungle with Daddy dearest? Did Juliet change history in the Season 5 finale and prevent Claire from ever ending up on the island? Will she wake up next to Bob Newhart?

Theories: bring it!

The official recap for the Season 5 finale of Lost states unequivocally that the four-toed statue depicts the ancient Egyptian fertility goddess known as Taweret.

Taweret frequently carried an Ankh, just as the statue does on the show, which is the symbol of life. Though originally she was rooted in darkness, Taweret became more prominently known throughout history as a goddess of protection, particularly towards pregnant women (ironic, since modern day women on the island can’t give birth).

I can’t help thinking back to the hieroglyph we saw in “Dead is Dead,” when Ben entered the smoke monster’s lair under the Temple, which depicted Taweret facing off against her opposite number — which looked an awful lot like the smoke monster. In this scenario, the obvious parallel is that Taweret is a symbol or representation of Jacob, while the smoke monster stands for (or as some fans theorize, actually is) Jacob’s nemesis.

I wonder if there’s an ancient Egyptian identity for the smoke monster, now that we know its arch enemy’s identity to be Taweret?

Image: Wikimedia Commons.

What if Jack’s plan worked? What if history has been altered thanks to the H-bomb detonating at the Swan construction site? Then Season 6 could conceivably be a restart of the series, with our heroes having not yet met.

What do you think of this possibility?

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Still wondering if we’ve seen the last of Juliet? Take a deep breath and get used to it — you’re supposed to be pondering that question until 2010.

The good news, according to E! Online, is that actress Elizabeth Mitchell will appear as Juliet on Lost next year. But what capacity she appears in… That’s the question. Full time cast member? Recurring or guest star? And how will her appearance be explained?

Did Juliet change history and allow herself to live? Will she appear as someone dead, like Christian Shephard? Will she somehow survive what happened at the bottom of that hole?

Settle in, the wait for answers is going to be a long one.

Image: Newscom.

Still wondering what was written on that tapestry that Jacob wove together? The good folks over at the always-reliable Lostpedia managed to translate it from ancient Greek. It translates as:

May the gods grant thee all that thy heart desires.

However… There’s a bloke over at AudiblyLost.com who translated it a little differently:

May heaven grant you in all things your heart’s desire.

“Heaven” implies a single God, while “the gods” denotes multiples. So the distinction is a significant one. Which do you think is correct?

And am I the only one that finds it odd that the words were in ancient Greek, when everything else about the tapestry’s surroundings alluded to ancient Egypt?

For a long time, Lost showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have maintained that fans don’t yet have enough pieces of the overall puzzle to explain everything on Lost. In “The Incident,” the Season 5 finale, I think we got the beginnings of those final, most significant pieces. It’s now possible, after five years, to formulate a plausible theory on what the entire show is about. We don’t have all of the answers, but we have enough to start connecting the dots and making intuitive leaps that stand a good chance of being right.

Then again, this is Lost. And if the history of this show has taught us anything, it’s to assume nothing.

Favorite line: “This don’t look like LAX.” - Sawyer

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Today is the day. The end of Season 5. The last season-ending cliffhanger Lost will ever produce. The prelude to the final season.

Whatever you want to call it, tonight is the night that “The Incident” airs. Remember that it’s a 2-hour episode, beginning at 9:00pm EST/PST, and it’s preceded at 8:00pm by another Lost recap/clip show.

Let’s start, as always, by taking a look at ABC’s official synopsis and guest cast for the episode. The SPOILER WARNING flashing neon light is on from here on out — though I won’t be spilling any major secrets, just teaser-y stuff. Strap in and get ready, this is going to be a big one…

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The New York Post has a preview of what’s to come in tomorrow night’s Season 5 finale, “The Incident.” It doesn’t reveal any actual spoilers, but it does include lots of wonderfully cryptic teases from Damon Lindelof. A few choice quotes from Mr. L.:

“In the grand mapping out of things, one would assume Sun has a larger role to play.”

“There are two fundamental approaches to the show. There’s the Jack approach, which posits that there’s no real explanation for what’s going on. Or there’s the Locke approach, which assumes that everything on the show is happening for a very specific reason. We are very strong supporters of the Locke approach.”

“Season six will feel a lot like season one,” says Lindelof. “The focus comes back to the characters with whom we began. We’ve been winnowing away everyone else who came along. The Tailies are gone, only Miles [Ken Leung] is left of the Freighter Folk and only Juliet is left of The Others. We’re getting down to the end now.”

The season finale will reveal more about the Egyptian symbols and the four-toed statue. Lindelof has also said elsewhere that all the time-traveling is about to stop, but it’s going to be replaced by something no one will see coming. I stuck that in here because my guess is that that stuff is going to happen with this finale, too.

The Post also mentions that Season 6 will deal with the show’s core characters on the island, presumably in the present, resolving why they landed on the island in the first place (which implies that the ones who are still alive were brought to the island for a reason).