'They WEREN'T dead the whole time': Lost producers open up about show's controversial ending... insisting the island was never meant to be seen as purgatory
By SARAH BULL
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It was the ending that split viewers' opinions, with some delighted and others confounded.
But after 10 years of speculation, the Lost showrunners have finally opened up about the finale of the epic programme, to set the record straight.
Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse spoke about the ending as they attended an event to mark the 10th anniversary of the premiere of Lost at PaleyFest 2014 in Los Angeles on Sunday.
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Explanation time! Lost executive producers Damon Lindelof (L) and Carlton Cuse did their utmost to explain the controversial ending to the show during a session at PaleyFest 2014 on Sunday
Dividing opinion: The ending of the show delighted some viewers but angered others
And Cuse was quick to dismiss the claims that the group of plane crash survivors' time on the island was in fact purgatory.
He said: 'No, no, no. They were not dead the whole time.'
Explaining the shots of the plane wreckage that featured in the final episode, Cuse added: 'We thought, let's put those shots [of the plane wreckage] at the end of the show and it will be a little buffer and lull. And when people saw the footage of the plane with no survivors, it exacerbated the problem.
'They're in Heaven': The producers explained that the church scene at the end of Lost depicts the characters in Heaven
Reunion: (Left to right) Lindelof, Cuse, Josh Holloway, Jorge Garcia, Yunjin Kim, Ian Somerhalder, Maggie Grace, Henry Ian Cusick and Malcolm David Kelley
Leggy: Maggie wore a cute ensemble of shorts and a blue top with colourful sandals for the event
Cuddling up: Maggie and Ian Somerhalder, who played brother and sister in the show, appeared in good spirits as they larked around for photographers
'But the characters definitely survived the plane crash and really were on a very real island. At the very end of the series, though? Yep, they were all dead when they met up in heaven for the final "church" scene.'
Lindelof added of the incorrect purgatory assumption: 'For us, one of the ongoing conversations with the audience and there was a very early perception, was that the island was purgatory and we were always out there saying, "It's not purgatory, this is real, we're not going to Sixth Sense you".
'And we felt it too that the show had to become sort of meta in this way.'
Still sexy: Josh, who played Sawyer in the hit show, opted for a leather jacket and all-black outfit for the occasion
Back for more: Henry Ian Cusick and Jorge Garcia also made an appearance at the panel event
Standing out: Yunjim Kim opted for a figure-hugging red dress
As the discussion progressed, Cuse further explained that the main concept of Lost is that it was a metaphor, for 'people who were lost and searching for meaning and purpose in their lives'.
He added: 'We felt the ending really had to be spiritual, and one that talks about destiny. We would have long discourses about the nature of the show, for many years, and we decided it needed to mean something to us and our belief system and the characters and how all of us are here to lift each other up in our lives.'
Also present at the panel, which marked a reunion for the majority of the cast, were Josh Holloway (Sawyer), Jorge Garcia (Hurley), Yunjin Kim (Sun), Ian Somerhalder (Boone), Maggie Grace (Shannon), Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond) and Malcolm David Kelley (Walt).
Missing from the reunion event, however, were several of the show's major characters including Matthew Fox (Jack), Evangeline Lilly (Kate) and Terry O'Quinn (Locke).
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2582553/Lost-bosses-open-shows-controversial-ending-insisting-island-never-meant-seen-purgatory.html#ixzz2wGLQDzf9
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