Now that we're only a couple of days away from Lost's long-awaited return, news is starting to leak about what we can expect in the final six episodes of season 4.  The folks over at TV Guide recently had the chance to visit the set of Lost in Hawaii, and they came back with all sorts of interesting tidbits about the future of the series.  The big news involves an upcoming Ben-centric episode, the return of a favorite Other, and the meaning of the Eskimo painting that Hurley was working on in the season premiere.

WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS!

There's been a lot of talk here at BuddyTV about the meaning behind Hurley's painting in "The Beginning of the End."  You can see a picture of it here:



Unfortunately, it looks like this is a case of fans attempting to over analyze something that doesn't have much meaning.  Jorge Garcia admitted that not only did he create the painting himself, but he also decided upon the image in the hopes that the fans would theorize about it.  "I hoped people might think it had something to do with the guys [in the Season 2 finale] speaking Portuguese in the snow," he revealed.

With that mystery solved, we can now look forward to bigger reveals as season 4 wraps up.  Ben (Michael Emerson) will do battle in the Tunisian desert and spy on an Iraqi funeral in an exciting flash-forward adventure.  Christian Shephard will reach out to both of his children, while seemingly ageless Other Richard Alpert will also return.  Jack (Matthew Fox) will require emergency surgery on the beach, and Hurley will give the doctor a chilling message from Charlie in a flash-forward.

One thing that many fans have been wondering about is what's in store for Claire.  Will she make it off the island alive?  According to actress Emilie de Ravin, she has yet to receive the dreaded phone call from the producers regarding her fate.  If they were really going to get rid of her character, I would assume they would have informed her by this point.  Of course, de Ravin could always be lying about her upcoming storyline, which is something Lost actors have been known to do from time to time.

The first post-strike episode of Lost, "The Shape of Things to Come," airs this Thursday at 10pm on ABC.


- Don Williams, BuddyTV Staff Writer
Source: TVGuide.com
(Image courtesy of ABC)