TV Fest Musings

*minor spoiler alert*

In case you haven't seen it yet, there was some nice Lost info revealed at the Paley TV Fest over the weekend. The key dirt:

On the filming status of the series:

The Lost writers are in the process of breaking the series finale, which will be penned by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse and directed by Jack Bender. The penultimate episode will be written by producer/writers (and fellow panelists) Elizabeth Sarnoff, Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. Meanwhile, on the island, Bender has just wrapped episode 14 and is currently shooting 15. After being bombarded with questions about the show for six years, Cuse said they do not plan on commenting on the series finale after it airs.

The answer is “yes” to the following:

Will Richard and Ilana exchange some words soon? Will we see another painting by Bender? Do some of the characters’ last names have significance, particularly Jack’s? Is Jack married to someone we’ve met before? Was Jacob telling the truth when he said someone was coming to the island? Will we learn more about Hurley and Libby’s connection? Will we see Vincent and Charlie again? Will we learn if Desmond was really on the plane?

(emphasis mine)

The answer is “no” to the following:

Will we get a conclusion to the story of Ben’s love, Annie? Do the purple circles in Bender’s mural mean anything? Did Juliet’s ex-husband get killed by a smoke bus? Will there be a DVD release of the show in chronological order?

The answer is “maybe” to the following:

Will the Hurley bird be explained? Will we see Walt again?

The answer is “no comment” to the following:

Will we learn why women can’t have babies on the island?

Final spoiler from Lindelof:

“Water.”

Some general thoughts on all of this:

First off, the fact we know Alt Jack's wife makes me think that it's Juliet even more. Again there aren't that many choices floating around out there since it wasn't anyone we saw on the plane (which definitely eliminates Kate and Cindy). Libby and Ana-Lucia are still possibilities since we didn't see them on the plane, though they were supposed to be there (and theoretically could have been).

And speaking of Libby, I am dying to see more of her, even if it's only in the Alt (BTW, did anyone else know her last name was Smith)? I imagine she might be rich, lucky Alt Hurley's significant other (pun intended). But more than her relationship with Hurley, I really want to know who hired her to give Desmond the Elizabeth - I really don't think their meeting in the coffee shop was coincidence or fate. I think probably Eloise or someone similar hired her to make sure that Desmond enters the race and ends up on the Island.

I figured Desmond's appearance on Alt Flight 815 was important, but I never thought about the possibility that Desmond was merely a figment of Jack's imagination. That would explain his sudden disappearance and it does kinda make sense, since we've been given the impression so far that Jack is the only person outside of the disappearing Desmond who seems to have any sort of connection to the present day timeline.

A little disappointed that Annie won't be appearing in the Alt at all, but not entirely surprised. Likewise it's no surprise they won't comment on the pregnancy issues, given what a big reveal that would be.

As for the final clue, I have no idea. Maybe Alt Jack will have to dive down to the sunken Island? Maybe Smokey's only real weakness is water from Jacob's spring that's now been polluted? Maybe there will be a drought on the Island and everyone will get really, really thirsty? I guess we'll see!

"Sundown" tomorrow! Review up Wednesday morning! :)

Oh, one more thing. This has been mentioned elsewhere, but I do like how the episodes this season have paralleled Season One:

Tabula Rasa ---> What Kate Does (Kate)
Walkabout ----> The Substitute (Locke)
White Rabbit ----> Lighthouse (Jack)
House of the Rising Sun ----> Sundown (Sun, ????)

I do know for a fact that this week is NOT a Sun episode, though I do still like the parallel with the episode title. Of course, that doesn't mean something significant won't happen to Sun in the episode, does it? :)