Michael Emerson: Ben Linus' “Lost” Survival “Unlikely”

Two weeks into the final "Lost" season and things are not looking too good for Ben Linus, the baddie everyone loves to loathe.

So much so that even Michael Emerson, the Emmy-award winning actor who breaths life into Linus, feels like it could be curtains for the monotoned menace.

A living Linus as final credits roll "is looking unlikely," Emerson tells Popcorn Biz. "We're already starting to have causalities. Not everyone is going to get out of this alive."

Emerson is working on the 13th of the final 18 episodes. So he does have a better perspective than the average viewer. That said, he swears he doesn't have a clear view for Linus or for many of the other unanswered story strands. He insists he's as lost as the rest of us.

"The biggest pieces are still not there," says a befuddled Emerson. "Huge puzzle pieces are falling into place every week. But I'm not sure where it's going. The path between us and the end is very rocky."

So even he's not entirely clear on where Linus will end up. Perhaps his fate will not be clear. "Maybe Ben will be a loose end, an unanswered enigma," he muses.

One thing is for certain, the show's writers are not giving a clue on anything even if they have a plan in mind. "There's a misconception people have, " says Emerson of the script-process. "We're lucky if we see a script two days before a shoot. They don't have a whole bunch on a shelf, the writers are like a half-step ahead of us."

But one thing is for certain. "Lost" will end after the 18th episode this year and Emerson feels the finality is a "great" thing.

"We suffer in this show business culture from sequel-itis," he says. "Nine times out 10 it's a bad idea."

"This is it," he says. "I think they're really going to stick to it."
 

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