“Lost” began six years ago with a close-up of an eye opening — a shot it would return to like a high school sophomore who wants to be an art major — and it ended with an eye closing. In both cases, that eye belonged to Dr. Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox), and as many fans noticed when the series finale aired, the final scene echoed nicely with the show’s initial scene (even if it was completely unexplained how a dying Jack made it out of the cave after being engulfed in the electromagnetic whatever of the magic whirlpool).

That said, considering all the “Lost” crap I’ve endured over the last three days/four weeks/five months, I wouldn’t post the video below unless it wasn’t genuinely cool. It’s the initial scene played in reverse, with the inset picture showing the final scene. With regards to ‘Lost,” I’m as cynical as they come, and even I have to admit that this is pretty well executed. (Also well executed: the Smoke Monster. Although it sure as hell took long enough.)

[Dark UFO via WaPo via NY Mag Vulture]

Matthew Fox plays Dr. Jack Shepard on “Lost,” and as the sexiest and most important character (sorry, Sawyer) on the show, he’s the only actor so far to have learned how the series will end at the conclusion of Season 6.  And he makes it sound pretty good:

Fox says Lost creators Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse will prove they knew where they were going all along when the show ends in “an incredibly powerful, very sad and beautiful way. I think it is going to be pretty awesome.”

The only castmember to know what that crazy smoke monster is and how the show ends said, “I think it is going to be very satisfying and cathartic and redemptive and beautiful. I’ve talked to Damon pretty extensively and every time I talk to him it’s sort of surprising how moving it is just to talk about it.”

Fox also revealed some details to how Season 6 will transition from Season 5′s confusion to a more linear story arc, but it gets spoiler-y for anyone who hasn’t watched Season 5, so that’s after the jump. 

The sixth season will begin with an examination of what happened after Juliet seemingly detonated the hydrogen bomb. As usual, Fox said, “It’s very surprising and probably fairly confusing initially to the audience.

“Like, a third of the way in [to the season], I would guess we are going to [settle] into one time frame, and it will be very linear—no more flashbacks, nothing. It will be on the Island and sort of a final conflict to the end,” said Fox.

He assured fans that all the crazy storylines introduced in earlier seasons will be resolved and that the conflict between Jack and Locke (Terry O’Quinn) “will come head to head” this season, but he wouldn’t divulge more than that.

All right, sounds good.  But I’ll be disappointed if I don’t get to see the Smoke Monster fight the polar bear in a wormhole.