Lost sneak peek

Lost and loving it

SheKnows: Will there still be flashbacks and flash-forwards next season?

Carlton Cuse: Yes, there will still be flashbacks and flash-forwards but we are not limiting ourselves to those ways of transitioning between stories. We still love doing them and will when appropriate. There are still some cool flashbacks left to tell for our characters. SheKnows: What’s a pivotal moment for you two on Lost?

Damon Lindelof: Hard to pick, but the one that immediately leaps to mind is the scene in the finale between Jack and Locke in the greenhouse. Obviously, the ramifications of Locke telling Jack (once again) that he’s not supposed to leave the island… but if he does, he must lie about everything that happens…is essentially what kicks off the entire story of the Oceanic Six. We think its really cool that it was actually Locke’s idea, even though Jack doesn’t present it that way. And now that Jack is standing over Locke’s coffin, the relationship between these two men becomes really central to the endgame of our story.

SheKnows: It’s common knowledge that Ben was a character that came in, clicked with the audience and the story followed. What characters haven’t worked that surprised you?

Carlton Cuse: I would say Desmond would…be in that category. The audience really fell in love with him right from the get-go and he quickly moved right into the mainstream of our cast. Nikki and Paulo were less successful. We tried to introduce them out of the show’s chorus as it were and the audience cried foul. We listened and killed them off.

Lost happiness

SheKnows: You mentioned Desmond, his reunion with Penny at the end of Season Four was one of the greatest moments in the show’s history thus far (not to mention one of the year’s best TV moments). Nothing’s going to happen in Season Five to jeopardize their happiness, right? Right (laughing)?

Damon Lindelof: I’m sorry. Wrong. Wrong.

SheKnows: The show continues to return to eastern religion and mysticism. How much of that is your personal interests and how much of that is just window dressing?

Damon Lindelof: Well…we try to infuse the show with all sorts of religious allegory, depending on what kind of story we’re telling. The Eastern religion and mysticism is something that started coming up a lot as we talked about the Dharma Initiative…but the thinking was more, ‘What if these hippies from Ann Arbor, Michigan were kind’ve like the Beatles and thought a trip to India could spiritually rebirth them?’ Hopefully, when all is said and done, the themes of the show are universally spiritual.