Lost on Netflix: The alternate series ending the writers almost used

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The end of Lost is the most misunderstood series finale in television history – but it almost ended in a completely different way.

Remember the flashback where Ben, as a child, learns about the island’s volcano from the Dharma Initiative? Probably not – but you soon will, considering the hit drama has just been added to Netflix in the US.

It appears in the season three episode “The Man Behind the Curtain” – and it has since been revealed that this was “one of the first hints of an endgame.”

Showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse spoke with EW about the abandoned plans in 2017.

*Spoilers follow – you have been warned*

The story goes that Cuse – the duo’s big dreamer – came up with the idea of ​​including a volcano at the end of the series after visiting Hawaii’s Big Island with his family. He later envisioned the place as the setting for the climactic showdown between Jack (Matthew Fox) and the smoke monster in the form of John Locke (Terry O’Quinn).

“We always tried to exploit everything in Hawaii to support the visual narrative of the show,” Cuse said. “We also viewed the island as a character in the show, so we were always looking for things that would give it more personality.”

For those who don’t know (and who haven’t seen it yet) Lostwatch it immediately), the concept was presented in season six that the island was a metaphorical cork, sealing in some very bad things that, if released into civilization, would cause all kinds of destruction.

Lindelof – the follow-up Lost with The rest And Guardian – added: “The question was always how to fundamentally visualize and dramatize the idea that the island itself is the only thing that separates the world from hellfire and damnation. And the answer was the volcano.”

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He continued: “The volcano had been dormant throughout the series, but by the time this endgame began, the island had become unstable and the volcano was on the verge of erupting.

“There would be a lot of seismic activity and there would end up being this big battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil, which in the series ended with Jack and the Man in Black manifesting in the middle of magma. Magma was bubbling out everywhere!”

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The bigwigs at ABC later deemed the volcano too expensive, so the writing duo had to improvise. The deadly battle ultimately took place on a cliff while the island fell into the sea.

“ABC said, ‘Guys, we love you and we’re going to let you end the show. We can’t let you bankrupt the network in the process,'” Lindelof said.

Just in case you are one of those people who misunderstood the ending, let us spell it out for you: You were not dead all the time.

Emmy-winning series Lost It first aired in 2004 and ended in 2010. The cast included Evangeline Lilly, Michael Emerson, Elizabeth Mitchell and Josh Holloway.

Whether you’re a long-time fan of Lost or just looking for a new series, subscribe to the new podcast ‘The LOST Boys’ We follow the journeys of two of our authors from the beginning – one for the first time, the other for the eighth time.