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A transcript is a retrospective written record of dialogue, and like a script (a prospective record) may include other scene information such as props or actions. In the case of a transcript of a film or television episode, ideally it is a verbatim record. Because closed-captioning is usually written separately, its text may have errors and does not necessarily reflect the true Canonical transcript.


Transcripts for Lost episodes up to and including "Enter 77" are based on the transcriptions by Lost-TV member Spooky with aid of DVR, and at times, closed captions for clarification. She and Lost-TV have generously granted us permission to share/host these transcripts at Lostpedia. Later transcripts were created by the Lostpedia community, unless stated otherwise below.

Disclaimer: This transcript is intended for educational and promotional purposes only, and may not be reproduced commercially without permission from ABC. The description contained herein represents viewers' secondhand experience of ABC's Lost.


PandoraX is responsible for this transcription. It is one in the series of the Official Lost Podcasts.


[Opening Lost Theme]

Kris White: Welcome to the Official Lost Podcast, hosted by ABC.com. Well, it's a momentous day for Lost, the finale has aired, and summer's upon us, which means lots of questions... and lots of time to ponder those questions. Luckily, the executive producers didn't want everyone going off into the sunset without having some of those questions at least... hm, clarified. Such as, "Was that Matthew Fox in that cold, tundra-like bunker?... or wherever it was?" Here now are executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse.

[Podcast theme music]

Carlton Cuse: Well, hi there, Damon.

Damon Lindelof: Hi there, Carlton.

Carlton Cuse: Well this is it, isn't it. Our final podcast.

Damon Lindelof: EVER.

Carlton Cuse: [Laughs] I hope not, really. 'Cause this is too much fun.

Damon Lindelof: I'm going to miss these... quiet afternoons.

Carlton Cuse: Oh, don't get sentimental now. Are you crying? Are you crying now?

Damon Lindelof: I am crying.

Carlton Cuse: This is unbelievable. We haven't even started yet, and you're already crying. Like a baby.

Damon Lindelof: Well, you know. Its... [Laughs] Well, at least it explains why I'm wearing diapers.

Carlton Cuse: I... Well, I know.

Damon Lindelof: That's another issue entirely.

Carlton Cuse: That's another issue. It's been a long season, apparently. [Laughs] But, y'know... there are things that can be done for that problem.

Damon Lindelof: So, this is a very special podcast, that is sort of a... an 'after-the-fact'... a Monday-morning quarterbacking, if you will, about the finale which aired last night, while we were recording this podcast. So we're only beginning to sort of get at the fan reaction to the finale. Which is great for us, because we've been in a real bubble for the last month, literally.

Carlton Cuse: Damon has literally been in one of those plastic bubbles, like the bubble boy thing, y'know.

Damon Lindelof: Which explains the diaper.

Carlton Cuse: Exactly.

Damon Lindelof: Because that way, you cannot just unzip the bubble. In any case, though, the reality is that we started writing the finale just about a month ago. Four and a half weeks ago. And, we wrote it, in conjunction with our amazing writing staff, very quickly, it had to be written, in order to produce the two hours. In order to give everyone in Hawaii the amount of time they needed to actually shoot it. It was actually shot in about 17 days?

Carlton Cuse: 17 days. With two crews, simultaneously.

Damon Lindelof: ...At the same time...

Carlton Cuse: That's what "simultaneously" means.

Damon Lindelof: Is it? It is. [Sarcastic] Wow, I never realized that.

Carlton Cuse: Then, we had four editors working on it. Also, simultaneously.

Damon Lindelof: Can three things be happening simultaneously?

Carlton Cuse: They can.

Damon Lindelof: Isn't that "trimultaneously?"

Carlton Cuse: Well, trimultaneously, quadrataneously, all four editors were cutting the finale, very Santa Cruz, it was totally insane, we didn't really, basically...

Damon Lindelof: We locked the picture in about five days, and then we had to do special effects, and by "we" I mean, someone else.

Carlton Cuse: Well, we supervised them.

Damon Lindelof: Yeah, it feels this point, throwing out names, you're gonna definitely something/someone. But the reality is, there was a huge, huge effort made, on the part of over 300 people in an effort to essentially provide the finale that you watched last night in about three and a half weeks. It was so weird last night, watching the 'challah'--that final moment when Penny Widmore picks up the phone--and wow, we shot that five days ago.

Carlton Cuse: Yeah! It was so weird, there was no time between when we finished the show, and when it aired. It was completely unlike any experience that we've ever had... on this show, or... I can't think of a show where I've seen anything put together as quickly as we did in this finale.

Damon Lindelof: Right, and it was a two-hour movie. And when you think about sort of the gags that we did, having those helicopter shots, with the boat out there, and the foot with the toes, and the magnetism sequence, and the lockdown, y'know... Desmond walking out of the prison... it actually felt, watching it, "Wow, they put it pretty nicely there in Hawaii." It looks good, so...

Carlton Cuse: Exactly. So, Damon, you wanna talk about having Clancy Brown back on the show?

Damon Lindelof: I would like to talk about that. Clancy is an actor that we have loved for a very long time. And obviously, we introduced him in "One of Them", the episode that Carlton and I wrote earlier this year. The episode where Henry shows up, and we show how Sayid becomes a torturer. And this man Inman, though his name is never spoken in the show--we named him "Joe Inman", because we knew that if we had called him "Kelvin Inman", 'cause in TV Guide, they list the names of characters even if you don't name them... which is how people know Mr. Friendly's name. Mr. Friendly, 'cause we just call him that in the script. 'Cause if we had named him "Kelvin Inman", the audience, it would have been immediately spoiled for them. They would have known that this guy was the same guy as Desmond was with.

Carlton Cuse: Well, his name was actually "Kelvin Joe Inman".

Damon Lindelof: Is it? I did not know that. Hold on, I have to go to the bathroom. [Carlton laughs] And... I'm done. Moving on.

Carlton Cuse: Alright!

Damon Lindelof: The four-toed statue, Carlton. Let's talk about that. Is this something that you think people should keep a careful eye on? Is there a big significance there? Or is it just another thing that goes nowhere...

Carlton Cuse: [Sarcastic] It means nothing. It means nothing... why do they even bother to point it out? I mean, my God, the woman is getting sick, she has to go back, look at this freaking statue? Who cares, really, frankly.

Damon Lindelof: Roughly, how big, just really how big, do you think just the foot is?

Carlton Cuse: I think the foot is probably, if I were to be a betting man, I'd say that foot is probably 35 to 40 feet tall. So, proportionately, we're talking a pretty dang big statue.

Damon Lindelof: Carlton, I will bet you one dollar that that foot is sixty feet tall.

Carlton Cuse: Really?

Damon Lindelof: You just said "If you were a betting man."

Carlton Cuse: If I were a... well, I'm not a betting man, so.

Damon Lindelof: Well, that'd be my guess.

Carlton Cuse: So, if it's 60 feet tall, extrapolating that out, simultaneously, how high would that make that statue?

Damon Lindelof: Simultaneously? I dunno, it depends whether or ot there are big-footed people.

Carlton Cuse: Yeah? They could be very long in the leg and short in torso.

Damon Lindelof: They could have very small heads.

Carlton Cuse: Or maybe, maybe it's got man's feet and a dog's body?

Damon Lindelof: That's interesting. It's got four toes, and that's...

Carlton Cuse: Homer Simpson has four toes.

Damon Lindelof: That's true. And four fingers.

Carlton Cuse: Maybe they worship at the cult of Homer Simpson.

Damon Lindelof: I think that would be a very interesting reveal. And people would probably throw things at us... if we were to reveal that. [Carlton laughs] But in all honesty, the foot is something that we've been planning for a while and is actually a lot of fun. Because we talk about this thing where the show is a big archeological dig, and this is our way of telling you guys, the audience, that we've been excavating the DHARMA Initiative this season, Season 2, but it's time to begin the next excavation in going into Season 3, and as we learn about the Others, we will begin to fundamentally find out that the DHARMA Initative--we know this about the DHARMA Initiative, they haven't been there that long, I mean, the DHARMA Initiative came in the late 70s, at least that's when the orientation is dated. So who was here before they came?

Carlton Cuse: Well, I can tell you right now, definitively, that Season 3 will be in the post-Helenic era, and that everyone will be wearing togas. [Damon laughs] And it will actually be really be a bold move, and it'll be a cross between Rome and the Lost...

Damon Lindelof: You should really tell me these things before we start the podcast, 'cause I get caught with my pants down, literally.

Carlton Cuse: [Laughs] Well, you don't have any pants on, so! So, what does it really matter?

Damon Lindelof: Exactly.

Carlton Cuse: No, but the archaeology, as a concept for the show is a very important one. And obviously, that statue, and who built it, and....

Damon Lindelof: Where the rest of it is. That's what I wanna know.

Carlton Cuse: Yeah. Well, that's a good thing to wanna know. And and, how those people figured into the Island of Lost is gonna be cool to find out.

Damon Lindelof: Awesome. Can we talk about the 'challah' a little bit?

Carlton Cuse: Let's talk about the 'challah'. First of all, explain to me, Damon, why is it called the 'challah'.

Damon Lindelof: Well, every year, we try to do a top secret scene that nobody knows about, except for the sort of, you know, the people who need to shoot it. And last year, it was the 'bagel', and that was Walt's abduction. And this year, it was the 'challah'. The 'challah', comprised of two scenes this year, the first part being our two friends in the arctic station... well, we don't know...

Carlton Cuse: Of course, it...

Damon Lindelof: Of course, we don't know it's the arctic, but they're Portuguese guys. We don't know where they are, but wherever they are, it's very cold. People have been telling us.

Carlton Cuse: Or they could be Brazilian speaking Portuguese, couldn't they?

Damon Lindelof: They could be. Because that is the language of Brazil.

Carlton Cuse: Yes it is.

Damon Lindelof: But they are speaking Portuguese, and that was one part of the challah. And the second part of the challah is the other side of it, which is the phone ringing in the bedroom, and revealing Penny Widmore. And obviously [Phone rings in the background], this is a much different big ending than it was last year, because Walt getting abducted...

Carlton Cuse: I've got to get that phone, it might be another electromagnetic anomaly detected.

Damon Lindelof: Ok. [Portuguese accent] "Mr. Cuse. We found it."

Carlton Cuse: [Laughs] I think, actually, those are the keys to my Prius, that we found this morning.

Damon Lindelof: But basically, this year, the 'challah' is not as defined as last year's... It was, Walt gets taken, you know what it is. This year, it was sort of like... I think people's heads are scrambling a little bit, to kind of go, "What exactly did I just see? Did I just leave the Island for the first time?" Here's this woman that I know has this romantic connection with Desmond, and...

Carlton Cuse: Well, I think we did just leave the Island for the first time in 49 hours.

Damon Lindelof: I think we did. Other than in flashbacks.

Carlton Cuse: Right.

Damon Lindelof: But the reality is... we have no context for, y'know. Has she been looking for it? How has she been looking for it? How long has she been looking for it? Y'know, hopefully, all this stuff we're hoping the fans will be talking about over the summer. But y'know, we just wanted to do on an emotional level, a love story. And we thought it would be cool that Desmond, in the triggering of the device, and we will, in Season 3, all the ramifications of the white sky, and what all that stuff was, that it was that action that made the Island visible to the woman who was looking for it. Hopefully that came across.

Carlton Cuse: Just for a brief moment, though. During the time that the sound vibration was occurring, the electromagnetic anomaly allowed the Island to become visible.

Damon Lindelof: And those dudes referred to the fact that "We're going to miss it again". So the assumption might be, if I were a betting man, that, that, when they missed it...

Carlton Cuse: You are a betting man. So give me ten dollars.

Damon Lindelof: I will.

Carlton Cuse: Well, you don't have any place for your wallet. [Laughs]

Damon Lindelof: I do have a place for my wallet, and that's why you don't want the ten dollars.

Carlton Cuse: [Laughs] That's true. Not for ten dollars. Maybe for a hundred dollars, I'd go for it.

Damon Lindelof: How could I go, how can I even talk about electromagnetic anomalies now? [Laughs] I mean, we've completely...

Carlton Cuse: I hope it's a waterproof wallet.

Damon Lindelof: Hah, it is. But uh...

Carlton Cuse: [Laughs] You've lost your train of thought.

Damon Lindelof: I'm basically saying...

Carlton Cuse: You don't even know what you're talking about!

Damon Lindelof: One might be able to intuit that there was another time that the Island was briefly, and that just might have been September 22, 2004, when the last system failure occurred.

Carlton Cuse: I'd pay off that bet.

Damon Lindelof: If you were a betting man.

Carlton Cuse: You know, it's interesting, you know actually a certainly an amount of confusion about the 'bagel' last year. People thought they were pirates, they weren't sure they were the Others, and I think that a little clarification from us and a little discussion among the fans led to people to come to the conclusion, rightfully, that Walt had been taken by the Others. Hopefully, a few of the things we've said will clarify a few of your questions are about.

Damon Lindelof: But we don't want to clarify it too much because obviously, as is always on Lost, what you think you are looking at might not be exactly what you are looking at. And we...

Carlton Cuse: Well, clarifying it a lot would be like, "Who the heck are these Portuguese guys, and why are they in some Arctic or Antarctic shed?"

Damon Lindelof: And is one of them played by Matthew Fox?

Carlton Cuse: No. That is not true.

Damon Lindelof: No, no. And we're not being cutesy.

Carlton Cuse: First of all, Matthew Fox doesn't speak Portuguese. And that is cutesy, but it isn't Matthew Fox.

Damon Lindelof: [Sarcastic] He speaks Brazilian Portuguese, but not Portugal-Portuguese.

Carlton Cuse: Yeah, well.

Damon Lindelof: I just wanna be clear on that.

Carlton Cuse: OK.

Damon Lindelof: One other thing that we should talk about, before we get to your questions, guys. Um, and that is, the way that Lost is going to run next year, and this is very exciting for Carlton and I, because we've been lobbying the network and the studio all season long to abolish reruns. We hate them, and we've talked about it on the podcast many times, just as much as you guys do, and fortunately for us, Steve McPherson, who runs ABC, and Jeff Bader, who is head of scheduling there, have really gotten behind this idea that the show runs best in blocks, and uninterrupted by reruns. And when it's on, it's on, when it's not on, it's not on. So, as a result of all of our hardwork, and the network's hard work, next year, we will be premiering at the end of September, as we always do, we're going to run six episodes, as we always do, and then there will be a mini-cliffhanger at the end of that episode, and then we're gonna be off the air for about 12 weeks, until February.

Carlton Cuse: And when we come back in the Spring, the show will be on straight through, no repeats. Again, when Lost is on, it's on. We couldn't be happier.

Damon Lindelof: Seventeen episodes with no interruptions.

Carlton Cuse: Right.

Damon Lindelof: And though, you're gonna have to wait, we feel this is a good compromise, because the other side of it would have been that you had to wait until January to get another episode of Lost. We hope that giving you a taste, the mini-season, will hopefully be helpful.

Carlton Cuse: Well, that would be too long.

Damon Lindelof: Definitely too long, and that way we could do podcasts again.

Carlton Cuse: Well, we could do them anyway...

Damon Lindelof: Why are you trying to climb into my bubble right now, Carlton? Please, get out.

Carlton Cuse: Um, by the way, we're gonna be in Comic Con in San Diego, in July, and we'll be having a panel there with some actors and Damon and me... Damon and I? [Laughs]... will be on the show.

Damon Lindelof: We'll be there.

Carlton Cuse: We'll be at Comic Con and...

Damon Lindelof: We'll say this. We'll tease this. If you are following The Lost Experience, and all the stuff that's going on right now with The Hanso Foundation, who are right now very very upset with us, you might want to come to Comic Con, because we'll be making an official announcement about our feelings about The Hanso Foundation, and their meddling in our show, and their attempts to legally injunct us.

Carlton Cuse: Did you see that guy, Hugh McIntyre on Jimmy Kimmel last night?

Damon Lindelof: I haven't seen it, but I heard about it...

Carlton Cuse: You know, somebody... He said he doesn't watch the show. He says it's too confusing. He said he tried watching it once and said it was too confusing...

Damon Lindelof: Well, obviously...

Carlton Cuse: Well, y'know, The Hanso Foundation is too confusing. TAKE THAT, HUGH! Take that to the bank!

Damon Lindelof: [Laughs] Wow. Harsh words from Carlton. "Take that to the bank."

Carlton Cuse: I'm not happy about Hugh!

Damon Lindelof: Why is that an insult? "Take that to the bank." [Carlton laughs] Is that gonna upset him? "Oh, go, make a timed deposit! Oh dear! Open up an IRA!"... "Now, take that! I hope your interest rate is... unfashionably... low..."

Carlton Cuse: "Very high!" [Laughs] Time for your questions! Cue the question music, Kris. [Bugle flourish]

Damon Lindelof: Hazzah! Wonderful as always.

Carlton Cuse: Hazzah. Alright, Damon, "In the May 19 podcast, you revealed that..."

Damon Lindelof: Who's asking this question?

Carlton Cuse: Oh, I'm sorry. This is "OzSpade".

Damon Lindelof: Ok.

Carlton Cuse: Oh, and the title of this question is "Damie's clammy cold hands."

Damon Lindelof: Oh... now we... here we go.

Carlton Cuse: "The hands turning on the light switch are Damon's instead of Locke's. Looking at that shot again, I can't help but notice how great Damon's hands look. They are in very fine shape and look so prestine and smooth. My question is, what kind of handcare lotion does Damon use? Any particular kind of lotion that can be recommended? And has Damon ever thought of becoming a hand model?"

Damon Lindelof: [Laughs] Well, I'll start with... that was a multi-tiered question, and I'll start with the last part. The answer is "no". [Carlton laughs] I have never thought of becoming a hand model.

Carlton Cuse: That is so untrue! Like, when we couldn't come up with an idea for Episode 2-14? You were like, "I'm just... screw it! I'm going to become a hand model!"

Damon Lindelof: I'm going to fullfill my dream of becoming a hand model.

Carlton Cuse: Use products? You use a hair exfoliater, don't you.

Damon Lindelof: Well, I like uh, dip it in paraffin wax. And I allow uh, the wax to crystallize around it and uh...

Carlton Cuse: You like it, huh.

Damon Lindelof: I try not to touch anything, ever. And by not touching anything, I'm able to give my hands a youthful... y'know, clean and smooth appearance.

Carlton Cuse: I think there's a weird, sort of contradiction to this, though, 'cause here, it says "Damie's clammy cold hands". And yet here, it says "They're in fine shape, they're smooth". So I'm not sure they like your hands. Which part is facetious?

Damon Lindelof: I think you might have referred to, in a prior podcast, is that my hands were cold and clammy.

Carlton Cuse: Oh, I see. So this person is...

Damon Lindelof: This person is taking issue...

Carlton Cuse: ...Taking issue with ME.

Damon Lindelof: Categorization.

Carlton Cuse: Well, sorry, spoken from a man in a diaper...

Damon Lindelof: And you can TAKE THAT TO THE BANK. [Both laughs] Alright. Carlton, I have a question for you: "Monster?" By 'CrazyMisfit'.

Carlton Cuse: [Sarcastic] Ohh, good.

Damon Lindelof: First off, I just wanna say. I love your podcast. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I have a question that's been bugging me for a while now. Is it just me or did you guys just dismiss the Monster as no big deal? Is there a reason that the Losties are no longer afraid of it anymore?" That's a good sentence. "You guys kind of were like, 'Oh, Smoke, hacks, forget all about it.' Ok, thanks for for your time."

Carlton Cuse: Well. Now. Ok. [Sarcastic] It is true. Who ever really cares about the Monster anymore.

Damon Lindelof: I care. [Crumpling paper]

Carlton Cuse: The Monster...

Damon Lindelof: Carlton, is the Monster going to be back in Season 3?

Carlton Cuse: It'll definitely be back in Season 3. It's just hard to do stories that involve everything on the Island all the time, and we did not... we have, actually, a couple of other stories involving the Monster, we just didn't get to them in Season 2, the way everything was playing out. But...

Damon Lindelof: I would actually dangle this out there, Carlton. This might be...

Carlton Cuse: Dangle it!

Damon Lindelof: ...a fairly controversial statement, but it would be accurate. There's a good chance that you guys saw the Monster this year, but just didn't realize you were looking at the Monster.

Carlton Cuse: Ohh, that is true. That's good. That's a pretty good one.

Damon Lindelof: By the end of next year, you'll understand what that means.

Carlton Cuse: You'll understand what that means. You'll be able to TAKE THAT TO THE BANK.

Damon Lindelof: [Laughs] Since you're not confused enough already, you can take THAT to the bank.

Carlton Cuse: Oh my God, exactly. Do you think people need anymore cryptic, y'know... crypto-talk?

Damon Lindelof: I sure... do.

Carlton Cuse: Ok.

Damon Lindelof: If they're listening to this, they do.

Carlton Cuse: My gosh. Well, Damon... here's uh... Well, Damon, let's just go through a few things right now... "Hope you slept well last night, you sure earned it." ...says, 'IBizark". Good morning, LADS. [Laughs] "Now that the season is over, can you really give us a little deconstructionist peek into how you and the writers got to this point. What really interests me is how did you know, when you wrote the first season 'Pilot'? How much did you know going into Season 2? How much did you know as you wrote through Season... How much will you know now and in the future?" I added those last parts. Um, let's just get on... "When did you know what was in the Hatch?" There's a bunch...

Damon Lindelof: Our rule...

Carlton Cuse: ...of these questions, so you don't have to be long-winded about them.

Damon Lindelof: Ok, well...

Carlton Cuse: Please, just give me a quick answer.

Damon Lindelof: Yikes. We, uh, the fundamental rule on Lost is we don't introduce anything until we know how it resolves. So, once we saw the Hatch, we know what's in it. I think Boone and Locke found it at the end of Episode 9 in Season 1? Which was actually the eleventh hour of the show. That was "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues"? So, we knew what was inside.

Carlton Cuse: Actually, all the questions are on the same axis, so...

Damon Lindelof: They're basically all the same.

Carlton Cuse: The answer's the same to all of them. Um, phew.

Damon Lindelof: Phew! Ok, it's my turn. You just wasted a valuable question.

Carlton Cuse: I know. That was really... that wasn't as good as I'd hoped. Sorry.

Damon Lindelof: "Producer question. Why didn't Hurley attack Michael?" This is a serious one, and I think we should talk about it. By 'EggoTown'. "Why didn't Hurley attack Michael, or at least show signs of anger when Michael admitted that he murdered Libby? Is he really that much of a coward? Thanks, love the podcasts."

Carlton Cuse: Um, y'know, I think that... that's kind of a legitimate question. I mean, I think that there were obviously a lot of like, strong and deep conflicted emotions that all those characters had had when it was revealed that Michael was a traitor and responsible for murdering Libby and Ana Lucia. But at that juncture in the storytelling, we sort of felt as writers that they didn't really have much choice. That basically, when Jack presented the alternative--going back--basically, was a more doomed scenario... we thought that was enough, maybe we should have spent a little more time dealing with the characters' reaction to it. Given the choices, it felt like the characters' best choice was to go forward at that point. That an emotional reaction on a deeper level to what Michael did had to be deferred.

Damon Lindelof: And also, the reality is, we, watching the finale, we agree... y'know. That is a legitimate point, and sometimes, character motivation becomes a casualty of the process, especially in a rush job like the finale. Which is not to say that we don't plan out things in advance... but that's one of the things that becomes a victim of circumstance... and the reality, as I recall, is that there are versions of scenes, and a much longer version of that scene, even at script, where we dealt with precisely that issue. In fact, Sawyer also wanted to turn around, and say, "At this point, it's stupid. Forget about it. In the show, you look at it, and in the end of the scene, Sawyer says, "What plan?" And for Jack to explain... Sayid's going around the corner and doing this, that and the other thing, we were like... "The audience kind of already knows that." And unfortunately, we lost that whole page of y'know, of them saying, "Michael's a murderer, we don't want to have anything to do with him." And we needed them to continue anyway, so then... it was a casualty of war, as it were. This is a case where Carlton and I will literally come forward and say "This is a case where we had done it a little differently." The characters sort of deserved the opportunity to sort of explain their motivations better, and we wish that we had done it.

Carlton Cuse: Well, yeah. So bend over so I can spank you.

Damon Lindelof: Whoah. I better take off my diaper. So I can go to the bank. [Laughs]

Carlton Cuse: So, this is kind of a good question to sum up the uh... [Phone rings] This is from 'Booyah319'.

Damon Lindelof: Oh, yeah.

Carlton Cuse: "If Season 1 was about trying to get off the Island..." Or, ellipse, as it were. "If Season 1 was about trying to get off the Island, and Season 2 was about a society of rules, what will Season 3 be about? Or, in other words, Season 1 was about getting in the Hatch, Season 2 was being in the Hatch, and now that that's destroyed..." Uh, imploded, as it were. "What will Season 3 be about? Presumably, what Desmond did will prevent incidents every 108 minutes, since there's no computer to enter the Numbers anymore, right?" So, that feels like there's some ground there for you to...

Damon Lindelof: Yeah, that's a really good, y'know... the reality is... we think it's really cool that people don't know WHAT Season 3 is gonna be about... but they do know roughly where it's gonna start. And a big part of Season 3 is about why the Others took Jack, Kate and Sawyer. This is sort of a big fundamental mystery. Why were their names on that list? Hurley's name was obviously on that list because the Others thought he would be the best person to deliver the message of the fact that his friends were now in captivity, and when Henry says "They're coming home with us." Where is home? And what does he mean by home? That's something you'll find out fairly quickly, right out of the gate at the beginning of Season 3. But the mystery of "Why Jack, Kate and Sawyer" is fundamentally the story that we're going to be telling in that batch of the first six episodes in the third season.

Carlton Cuse: And while they'll present sort of an external threat, I think it's also fair to say that the season will be a lot about our main characters, about their relationships, about getting deeper into the inter-relationships of the core characters that you know and love. And that is something that we now have earned, particularly on a romantic level, and we are... y'know, I think that... we sort of feel that we want to [unintelligible] even more than the mythology next year. The mythology won't go away, it'll always be a part of the show, but we are really going to dig into our character relationships.

Damon Lindelof: No, absolutely. Y'know, though that remains the core of the show, and we've got a lot of awesome flashback stories, to kind of go deeper. We're going to find out, in Season 3, sort of the big burning mysteries, finally, like Locke, how we got in the wheelchair, and Jack, how he got his tattoos. They'll be stories we're going to be telling in the third year of the show... finally...

Carlton Cuse: Kate's marriage.

Damon Lindelof: ...And thanks for being patient... for all that stuff. But also, y'know, our finale's also functioned a lot... finale's almost the wrong word for them. Because in many ways, they're sort of half-pilot for the season that comes next. So it's like there's a lot of set up. So the idea that when Desmond turned that key, and we heard that noise, and there was that island-wide event, where the sky went white... that was really setup for a lot of the stuff we're doing in Season 3... and becomes sort of the new central mystery, which is, exactly what did happen? Because the simple answer would be that he blew up the Hatch.

Carlton Cuse: Or that he blew himself up. Obviously, we really hope, if you see any...

Damon Lindelof: I really hope Desmond's coming back.

Carlton Cuse: Yeah. It would be really, really bad if Desmond were dead.

Damon Lindelof: I would be bummed. Because after I really invested in him, for two hours, y'know, I have no idea why he went to military prison...

Carlton Cuse: And, Ian Cusak did an incredible job.

Damon Lindelof: He is an awesome actor. Just to think that, here's a guy who's essentially guest starring in one episode of the show, and suddenly, we have to hang the entire season finale on his back... y'know. The analogy that we use is, y'know, you've been the backup quarterback, on the bench the entire season, and then the quarterback gets hurt... and you start, and win. And so, in our opinion, he did.

Carlton Cuse: He did such a good job, he's actually going to Disneyland today.

Damon Lindelof: [Laughs] Oh, really? [Carlton laughs] I'm so gullible. I've got one final question for you, Carlton, and I think you're going to love this one.

Carlton Cuse: Of course, if you're wearing a diaper, gullibility isn't really much of an issue, is it?

Damon Lindelof: It sure isn't.

Carlton Cuse: [Laughs] Go ahead.

Damon Lindelof: "Damon and Carlton" by 'CasinoSkunk'. Now I guess you are a betting man. "I've been listening to your podcasts for some time now, and I get the impression that you guys don't really feel like doing it." [Phone rings, Carlton laughs at question] "You guys sound like you are forced to do this by ABC. When it comes to the fan questions portion of the show, you seem to come off as very sarcastic about how much you enjoy answering them. Maybe you two are just having fun with each other, but I feel that it comes off as insincere." [Carlton laughs] "I love what you do with the show Lost. I just wish that your podcast would stop feeling so forced. By the way, my name is Ralph, so please don't make fun of my screenname. Thanks."

Carlton Cuse: Ralph. [Laughs] Insincere? Really. Kris? Put the gun down! We will answer this question! [Kris laughs] We don't need the gun... you don't need to be pointing the gun at us, we will answer this question. I don't know... we... you actually don't understand... Ralph, to be candid...

Damon Lindelof: Let's just be candid about it... I think we're wrapping up our final podcast of the season, and it's time to just be honest. [Sarcastic] We're really doing it for the money. Carlton and I are paid approximately nine thousand dollars, per podcast, each. [Carlton laughs] And the longer we talk, beyond ten minutes, we get we get another five hundred dollars. Which is why we yammer on endlessly and seem so insincere.

Carlton Cuse: No. I don't understand you, Ralph... we love this, this is like... one our favorite... good things that we like to do... we enjoy, hearing the sound of our own voices [Laughs]...

Damon Lindelof: So, we do. And for the record, I think you're very sincere.

Carlton Cuse: Well, thank you, Damon. I think you're very sincere, too.

Damon Lindelof: Now are YOU crying, Carlton? [Carlton laughs] Awwww...that's, that's so sweet.

Carlton Cuse: That's always a good way to end the season, eh? On a tear... really... [Fakes crying]

Damon Lindelof: Oh, geez, really.

Carlton Cuse: Guys, thank you!

Damon Lindelof: Thanks so much for watching the season. Hopefully we haven't frustrated you too much.

Carlton Cuse: And if you're listening to the end of this, I hope you have something good to do over the summer.

Damon Lindelof: If you've made it this far... uh, Via con dios.

Carlton Cuse: Thanks, and we'll see you next year!

Damon Lindelof: Bye, guys.

Kris White: That concludes our special post-finale podcast. However, the summer fun isn't over yet. We'll periodically be offering up exclusive tidbits, especially as we get closer to Season 3. Starting off, we have a special post-finale podcast with Malcolm David Kelley and Harold Perrineau. That'll be coming up in a couple of weeks. And then, later in this summer, we'll be joining Damon and Carlton as they come at you from Comic Con 2006. Finally, don't forget, you can catch the finale again, for a limited time. Just go to lost.abc.com.

[End Lost theme]

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