“What the hell’s going on with Lost? I don’t think they know. I think from week to week they go, ‘Let’s do this.’ And then someone else says, ‘No, this would be a good idea.’ I love that show, but I don’t think they know what they’re doing.” —Ellen DeGeneres“I am flattered that Ellen is a fan of our show,” says exec producer Carlton Cuse, who promises Ellen there is a master plan, with some sweet payoffs, if she sticks through the final season. Dominic Monaghan recently had a secret breakfast meeting with producer Damon Lindelof to discuss how he might manage returning to
Lost as Charlie. “We would like there to be some visitations from people we’ve loved over time,” Cuse says. Michael Emerson, who plays Ben, confirms, “The final season will resemble the first. I know there are plans for big people we have parted company with to reappear.” But one crucial component from the very first pilot episode will most likely be absent from the reunion: cocreator J.J. Abrams, who tells me he won’t be returning to Hawaii to direct the series finale. “I would selfishly love it,” he says, “but director Jack Bender has been living in Hawaii for years and doing amazing work. For me to come in and direct the finale would be cruel and unusual.”