Concha Huerta – Arte y cultura

4 days until the premiere of the sixth and last season of LOST. Articles flooding newspapers and their weekend supplements, the web plagued with references and interviews. Everything is ready for the preview organized by ABC on Waikiki beach this weekend in Oahu, the island where the six seasons of the show that has set a new standard for modern TV were filmed.

Effervescent forums imagine the secrets of the now famous sequence 4 8 15 16 23 42, for years typed in solitude within the Hatch to avoid world destruction. Legions of followers who analyze every photogram and study the many books featured in the show in search of answers. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, The Third Policeman by Flann O’Brian, Valis by Philip K. Dick, the Dark Tower trilogy by writers favourite Stephen King, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll….What does LOST have to generate such passion?

To begin with, a mystery narrated in between times that demands from viewers that they recall every last episode, somewhere “half way between science fiction and reality television” in the words of Damon Lindelof, one of the two main writers in the show. Actors who do not have their script until filming  begins and give their all in every episode. Characters tailored to their interpreters. Sun was born of an interview with Yun Jin Kim, Hurley from Jorge Garcia himself, Locke from Terry O’Quinn’s intuition in building a prophet with no destiny. The unsettling Ben dreamed up by Michael Emerson. The New York native actor thought filming in Hawaii would be a luxurious walk in the park. In his first scene he was hung from a tree, bow-shot and tortured. Since then and endless array of wounds, cuts and bruises carefully documented in a makeup department’s album the Emmy award winning actor hopes to take home as a souvenir of his 5 years on the Island. Impeccable acting that has transformed the Ben/Locke tandem into one of the show’s keys to success.

Michael Emerson (Ben), J. Higgins (producer), Jack Bender (director),Yunjin Kim (Sun) at HIFF .Video: M. da Silva

And lastly, a dream-like location. The choice of filming in an Island as remote as is Oahu. Pure white sands, coconuts, mangoes and papayas the Oceanic 815 survivors pull apart with their bare hands, giving it that unique atmosphere…I yearn to return to the images of the places we explored during our visit to Oahu in October. The uncanny sunsets, the unpolluted ocean, the Hawaiian jungle, the humidity, the exuberance of fruits and flowers, the Jurassic vegetation…It’s not surprising then that LOST has been awarded 10 Emmys and a Golden Globe.

Sunset at Kealía, the beach of the Oceanic 815 crash.Video: C. Huerta

LA  X, first episode of this last season, will dazzle millions of viewers who have eagerly awaited the show’s outcome for 6 years. TV programming, sporting events and political debates have been adjusted to protect it’s schedule. What producer has not dreamt of the American cabinet taking his show’s airing into account to avoid it in his agenda? Of what can happen in LOST, little to nothing has been revealed thus far. The only sure thing is that “Ben will get another beating and that Vincent the dog will make it”, commented Damon Lindelof during his appearance at the HIFF in October. We know Claire (Emily de Ravin), Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies) and fan favourite Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) will return, and that never ageing Richard Alpert (Nestor Carbonell) will make an appearance in 16 out of the total 18 episodes.

In the end, the unavoidable question, life after LOST. “It’s like asking a woman in labour if she wants to have more kids”, melancholy tinted words from Lindelof’s lips. The same kind felt by the actors now facing the filming of the last few episodes. Yun Jin Kim (Sun) will spend an entire week re-watching the whole show so as to enjoy each episode. Josh Holloway (Sawyer) is eager to transition into the big screen.  Terry O’Quinn (Locke) and Michael Emerson (Ben Linus) will not soon forget their moments of success when receiving the winged statuettes. LOST has changed their lives in the same way it has changed the world’s understanding of television shows.

…Carlton Cuse (writer), Damon Lindelof (writer), Terry O´Quinn (Locke), Jorge García (Hurley). Video: M. da Silva

We will bid goodbye to LOST forever on May 25^th with a mixture of trepidation and sadness. The former at the unveiling of the awaited images and the latter as the show ends. All this will give way to the ratings records, the nominations and awards (?), the discussions given the now revealed answers, and also to the inevitable criticisms. Or not. Will May greet us with some other surprise?

«The LOST supper» inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting.

LOST season 6 begins February 2nd on ABC

(Post translated from  PERDIDOS: cuenta atras by: M. da Silva)