"Lost" Mystery Solved: Credit Images Not Part of Final Story

The ending of “Lost” on Sunday left many puzzled as they sought to find the true meaning of the story.  But, for many Lost fans, one thing clouded that interpretation:  A series of images of the crashed wreckage of Flight 815, the plane which originally brought the series characters to the island, shown over the closing credits.  These photos showed the wreckage, some bodies, but no apparent survivors.  Some fans took this to mean that all the characters had died on impact.  And the entire series had played out in some type of afterlife.

But today the Los Angeles Times reported on a statement from ABC clarifying these images.  The statement, which the paper received from an ABC spokesman via email on Tuesday,  reads:

The images shown during the end credits of the ‘Lost’ finale, which included shots of Oceanic 815 on a deserted beach, were not part of the final story but were a visual aid to allow the viewer to decompress before heading into the news.

So that ends that part of the mystery.  Now fans need only look at the finale and the previous six years of episodes in their quest for answers.