The CBS press tour is probably the last place anyone would expect to receive Lost news, but it happened anyway. Or not. During the panel for the Jimmy Smits led Cane, costar Nestor Carbonell (Richard Alpert on Lost) was asked if he would be returning to Lost in season four to resume his character’s story. He answered with a resounding ‘I don’t know’ that will echo in the Lost community for months.
Carbonell’s character, Richard Alpert, piqued fan interest when he showed up in the Lost episode “The Man Behind the Curtain” twenty years younger, but looking virtually the same age as we have come to know him. The mystery of why Alpert has not aged is a big one for Lost for fans, even though it need not be rooted in the character of Alpert himself.
Alpert was last seen in the Lost season three finale, “Through the Looking Glass,” when the misunderstood Ben Linus told him to take the rest of The Others and head for the “Temple.” It has been insinuated at many points that Lost would be investigating the autochthonous civilization of the island, first glimpsed by way of the four toed monument in the season two finale “Live Together, Die Alone.”
Alpert was introduced in Season three first as an off island recruiter for the islands, later as Ben’s apparent right hand man, and finally revealed to be one of the often mentioned ‘hostiles’ in “The Man Behind the Curtain.”
It is perfectly believable that Carbonell’s conspicuous answer was given as a professional courtesy to the network and his fellow Cane cast and crew. CBS probably would not have been pleased if the session suddenly diverged into a Lost question and answers session feature Carbonell.
In fact, in case you haven’t noticed, the Lost cast and crew has been unusually silent lately. The working terminology is ‘Radio Silence,’ and it represents a purposeful hush that has fallen over the production. That silence will briefly end next week during the ABC press tour as well as the Lost Season Four panel at the San Diego Comic-Con. Perhaps after that, Carbonell will be a little more open about his future with Lost.
– Jon Lachonis, BuddyTV Senior Writer
Source: TVGuide
(Image Courtesy of ABC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
