LOST Panel at Comic-Con 2009: full video

The panel started with an image that faded in on the big screen that eventually included every member of the cast, past and present. A hint of things to come, perhaps?

Then there was a video advertising a new online viral video series called Mysteries of the Universe: The Dharma Initiative, which is made to look like an 80s show examining conspiracies and mysteries. This 5-part online series will examine the Dharma Initiative and reveal more about them than what’s been seen in the show.

Next, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse came out and welcomed the fans and then introduced a collection of hilarious fan edits of Lost footage, which culminated in a parody of Brokeback Mountain featuring spliced footage of Jack and Sawyer. Then, the duo locked away what they claimed were the final pages of the script for the final episode, and promised to unlock them and read the pages on Jimmy Kimmel after the finale airs.

Next they began taking fan questions. The first major tidbit was dropped by Lindelof when he said that several characters we haven’t seen in a while (aka, killed off) will appear in Season 6. We also learned that Faraday will be in Season 6! Woo-hoo! Cuse explained to one fan that Season 6 will not use flashbacks, flashforwards, or time travel — there will be another storytelling device in play, but they wouldn’t tell what it is.

They introduced the winner of the theme song contest, and played it alongside some very funny footage they put together to go with it. (Attendees were not allowed to record any of the footage shown at the panel, but hopefully ABC will post it online at some point.) Then we saw some “commercials” that hinted that the events in the finale may have changed history, after all. There was a commercial for Oceanic Airlines, which claimed a “30 year track record of perfect safety,” followed by Jorge Garcia in a Mr. Clucks commercial saying that he’s “had nothing but good luck” since winning the lottery. Finally, America’s Most Wanted put up a special bulletin looking for Kate Austin, a wanted fugitive still at large. There was also something in there about how she tried to kill her stepfather but accidentally killed someone else, implying once again that history had been altered.

When they came back, Jorge Garcia was at the fan microphone, wanting to ask a question! He asked about the commercials we’d just seen, and whether they meant that Seasons 1-5 had been erased. Damon and Carlton told him not to worry and “just trust us.” When Garcia attempted to ask another question, Michael Emerson appeared beside him and started trying to rush him to hurry up and finish so someone else could have a turn. The two of them performed a hilarious skit where they pretended to be different than their characters when it was painfully obvious they were not.

Richard Alpert’s backstory is coming in Season 6, which is “fairly involved.” After a fan question about Nestor Carbonell’s supposed eye shadow, Damon and Carlton cut to footage of Carbonell backstage, where he was putting on eye shadow! Huge response from the fans, and then of course he came out on stage, to an even bigger response.

Another fan question revealed that the source of the food drop in Season 2 will be revealed in Season 6. The next question asked if Jacob had ever been seen in the guise of anyone else on the show, like Christian Shephard or Claire. The answer was no, he’s only ever been seen as Jacob, in the Season 5 finale.

Josh Holloway was introduced next, who participated in the ongoing skits by “tazing” Damon Lindelof, and taking his key to the locked box, and then taking Carlton Cuse’s key too. He opened the box and handed off the script pages to Michael Emerson, who read them aloud. They turned out to be fakes in a grandiose joke that’s better seen than described, so be sure to watch the full panel video below!

The panel ended with a retrospective video looking back at every character on the show who’s died, climaxing with an extended sequence of Charlie clips, which got a really big response from the crowd. When the lights came up, Dominic Monaghan was standing there in the flesh! He got a standing ovation, even though he said not a single word.

So starting with that first promo image packed with every major character from the show, all the way to the final montage of dead characters… Plus all those bits in the middle that hinted that Oceanic 815 had never crashed on the island… Do the math. Clearly, we’re meant to believe that Jack & Co. succeeded in changing history, and now everyone that’s died on the show is alive again — and just might pop up in Season 6!

Somehow, I doubt the answers are quite that simple. We’re all assuming that the resolution to the Season 5 cliffhanger will be one of two things: 1) history was not changed, and the detonation of the hydrogen bomb was “the Incident”; or 2) history was changed, and everything that happened to all of our characters on the island has been erased. I’m willing to give the writers the benefit of the doubt after the five amazing seasons of storytelling they’ve given us, so I’m going to go on record as saying I believe they’ve found an option #3. Something that none of us have thought of yet, something that will both change history but still incorporate the history of the show somehow.

It’s going to be amazing! Hold on tight! Season 6 is coming!

(Note that the final video below contains one moment of very strong language.)

All images & video by Robin Parrish.