Confirmed Dead
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"Confirmed Dead" is the second episode of the fourth season of
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
's serial
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
''
Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'' and the 74th episode overall. It was first aired on February 7, 2008, on ABC in the United States and on CTV in Canada. The episode includes the first appearances of the main characters
Miles Straume Miles Straume is a fictional character played by Ken Leung on the ABC television series ''Lost''. Miles is introduced early in the fourth season as a hotheaded and sarcastic medium as a crew member aboard the freighter called the ''Kahana'' tha ...
and
Charlotte Lewis Charlotte Lewis (born 7 August 1967) is an English actress. Early life Lewis attended Bishop Douglass School in Finchley. Her mother is Irish-English, while her father—a doctor whom she never met—is half-Chilean and half-Iraqi. Career L ...
and the supporting character
Frank Lapidus Frank J. Lapidus is a fictional character on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television series ''Lost (2004 TV series), Lost'' played by Jeff Fahey. Frank is introduced in the second episode of Lost (season 4), season four as a pilot hired ...
.
Ken Leung Kenneth Leung (; born January 21, 1970) is an American actor. His roles include Sang in '' Rush Hour'', Miles Straume in ''Lost'', Admiral Statura in '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'', and Eric Tao in HBO's ''Industry''. Early life Leung was ...
played Miles Straume,
Rebecca Mader Rebecca Leigh Mader (born 24 April 1977) is an English actress, best known for her roles as Charlotte Lewis in the ABC series ''Lost'', and as Zelena, the Wicked Witch of the West, on ABC's ''Once Upon a Time'', for which she garnered critical ...
played Charlotte Lewis and
Jeff Fahey Jeffrey David Fahey (, born November 29, 1952) is an American film and television actor. He has portrayed Captain Frank Lapidus on the ABC series ''Lost'' and the title role of Deputy Marshal Winston MacBride on ''The Marshal''. Early life an ...
played Frank Lapidus. The actors were given fake scenes when auditioning to limit the leak of story information or
spoiler Spoiler is a security vulnerability on modern computer central processing units that use speculative execution. It exploits side-effects of speculative execution to improve the efficiency of Rowhammer and other related memory and cache attacks. Ac ...
s. Mader and Fahey were different from the writers' visions of Charlotte and Frank, but the writers changed the characters to suit them. Also, the role of Miles was changed for Leung. The episode was written by co-executive producer
Drew Goddard Andrew Brion Hogan Goddard (born February 26, 1975) is an American filmmaker. He began his career writing episodes for the television shows ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', ''Angel'', ''Alias'', and ''Lost''. After moving into screenwriting in fi ...
and co-producer
Brian K. Vaughan Brian K. Vaughan (born July 17, 1976) is an American comic book and television writer, best known for the comic book series '' Y: The Last Man'', '' Ex Machina'', '' Runaways'', ''Pride of Baghdad'', ''Saga'', and '' Paper Girls''. Vaughan was a ...
and directed by co-executive producer Stephen Williams. The beginning of the episode is set on December 21, 2004, or 91 days after the original characters crash-land on a tropical island from
Oceanic Airlines Oceanic Airlines, and less frequently, Oceanic Airways, is the name of a fictional airline used in several films, television programs, and comic books—typically works that feature plane crashes and other aviation disasters, with which a real ...
Flight 815. During the show, flashbacks introduce the island's latest arrivals â€“ four people from an offshore freighter who landed on the island. The main action is of
John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 â€“ 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...
(
Terry O'Quinn Terrance Quinn (born July 15, 1952), known professionally as Terry O'Quinn, is an American actor. He played John Locke on the TV series ''Lost'', the title role in '' The Stepfather'' and ''Stepfather II'', and Peter Watts in ''Millennium'', w ...
) leading his group to the Barracks. He begins to find out why
Ben Linus Benjamin Linus is a fictional character portrayed by Michael Emerson on the ABC television series ''Lost''. Ben was the leader of a group of island natives called the Others and was initially known as Henry Gale to the survivors of Oceanic Flight ...
(
Michael Emerson Michael Emerson (born September 7, 1954) is an American actor who is best known for his roles as serial killer William Hinks on ''The Practice'', Benjamin Linus on ''Lost'', Zep Hindle in the first ''Saw'' film, Cayden James on ''Arrow'', and H ...
) is afraid of the newcomers. "Confirmed Dead" was watched by 17 million Americans and received generally positive critical reception as reviewers praised the introduction of the new characters.


Plot

The episode's five flashbacks focus on the reactions and activities of the freighter's crew who made contact with the Oceanic 815 survivors;
Daniel Faraday Dr. Daniel Faraday is a fictional character on the ABC television series ''Lost'' played by Jeremy Davies. Faraday is introduced in the Season 4 premiere as a physicist from the Queen's College, University of Oxford. He suffers from short-term ...
(
Jeremy Davies Jeremy Davies (né Boring; born October 8, 1969) is an American film and television actor. He is known for playing Ray Aibelli in ''Spanking the Monkey'' (1994), Corporal Upham in ''Saving Private Ryan'' (1998), Snow in ''Solaris'' (2002), Bil ...
) is shown crying while watching a newscast confirming the deaths of all Oceanic 815 passengers. His caretaker asks why he is crying, and he answers that he does not know.
Miles Straume Miles Straume is a fictional character played by Ken Leung on the ABC television series ''Lost''. Miles is introduced early in the fourth season as a hotheaded and sarcastic medium as a crew member aboard the freighter called the ''Kahana'' tha ...
(
Ken Leung Kenneth Leung (; born January 21, 1970) is an American actor. His roles include Sang in '' Rush Hour'', Miles Straume in ''Lost'', Admiral Statura in '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'', and Eric Tao in HBO's ''Industry''. Early life Leung was ...
) is a
medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...
hired by an elderly woman to remove the ghost of her grandson from her home. After conversing with the spirit, Miles finds a hidden cache of money and drugs.
Charlotte Lewis Charlotte Lewis (born 7 August 1967) is an English actress. Early life Lewis attended Bishop Douglass School in Finchley. Her mother is Irish-English, while her father—a doctor whom she never met—is half-Chilean and half-Iraqi. Career L ...
(
Rebecca Mader Rebecca Leigh Mader (born 24 April 1977) is an English actress, best known for her roles as Charlotte Lewis in the ABC series ''Lost'', and as Zelena, the Wicked Witch of the West, on ABC's ''Once Upon a Time'', for which she garnered critical ...
) is an
anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
who finds a polar bear skeleton bearing a
Dharma Initiative The Dharma Initiative, also written DHARMA (Department of Heuristics and Research on Material Applications), is a fictional research project and organization featured in the television series ''Lost''. It was introduced in the second season epis ...
collar buried in the Tunisian desert.
Frank Lapidus Frank J. Lapidus is a fictional character on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television series ''Lost (2004 TV series), Lost'' played by Jeff Fahey. Frank is introduced in the second episode of Lost (season 4), season four as a pilot hired ...
(
Jeff Fahey Jeffrey David Fahey (, born November 29, 1952) is an American film and television actor. He has portrayed Captain Frank Lapidus on the ABC series ''Lost'' and the title role of Deputy Marshal Winston MacBride on ''The Marshal''. Early life an ...
) is an alcoholic who was originally scheduled to pilot flight 815. He phones the Oceanic hotline while watching the newscast and claims that the footage of the plane wreckage being aired on television is not authentic, while
Naomi Dorrit The characters from the American Drama (film and television), drama Television show, television series ''Lost (TV series), Lost'' were created by Damon Lindelof and J. J. Abrams. The series follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysteriou ...
(
Marsha Thomason Marsha Lisa Thomason Sykes (born 19 January 1976) is a British television and film actress who is best known for playing Sara Evers in Disney's ''The Haunted Mansion'', Nessa Holt in the first two seasons of the NBC series '' Las Vegas'', Naomi ...
) is shown in a posthumous flashback, criticizing her employer Matthew Abaddon (
Lance Reddick Lance Reddick (born December 31, 1962) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for playing Cedric Daniels in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Phillip Broyles in ''Fringe'' (2008–2013), and Chief Irvin Irving in '' Bosch'' (2014–2020) ...
) for his choice in her coworkers. After Daniel parachutes from a failing helicopter onto the island, he uses Naomi's phone to contact George Minkowski (
Fisher Stevens Fisher Stevens (born Steven Fisher; November 27, 1963) is an American actor, director, producer and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Ben in ''Short Circuit'' and ''Short Circuit 2'', Chuck Fishman on the 1990s televis ...
) on the ship that he came from. The next morning, on December 22, 2004, two of the flight 815 survivors –
Jack Shephard Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and the protagonist of the ABC television series ''Lost'', played by Matthew Fox. ''Lost'' follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to survive ...
(
Matthew Fox Matthew Chandler Fox (born July 14, 1966) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Charlie Salinger on ''Party of Five'' (1994–2000) and Jack Shephard on the drama series ''Lost'' (2004–2010), the latter of which earned him ...
) and
Kate Austen Katherine Anne Austen is a fictional character on the ABC television series ''Lost'', played by Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly. Character biography Prior to the crash Born in 1977 and raised in Iowa, Kate is the daughter of diner worker Diane ...
(
Evangeline Lilly Nicole Evangeline Lilly (born 3 August 1979) is a Canadian actress and author. She is the recipient of various accolades including a Screen Actors Guild Award and an MTV Movie Award. She has also received nominations for a Golden Globe Award, ...
) – help Daniel find his colleagues, as the rival group led by Locke attempts to do the same. Jack and Kate find Miles, who demands to see Naomi's body, and reasons that Naomi was killed by Kate as Naomi said a code on the phone before dying. Kate confesses then that Naomi was killed by John Locke. Locke's group finds Charlotte, takes her prisoner, and disposes of her tracking device. Daniel's third colleague, helicopter pilot Frank, fires a flare into the sky, leading Jack's group to him. Frank tells Jack's group that he managed to land the helicopter intact. After finding out that
Juliet Burke Dr. Juliet Burke (née Carlson) is a character on the ABC television series ''Lost'', portrayed by Elizabeth Mitchell. Created by J. J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, the character was introduced in the third season as a member of the hostile grou ...
(
Elizabeth Mitchell Elizabeth Mitchell (born Elizabeth Joanna Robertson) is an American actress known for her lead role as Juliet Burke on the ABC drama mystery series ''Lost'' (2006–2010). Mitchell also had lead roles on the television series '' V'' (2009–201 ...
) is one of the Others, Miles demands to know where
Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, ...
(
Michael Emerson Michael Emerson (born September 7, 1954) is an American actor who is best known for his roles as serial killer William Hinks on ''The Practice'', Benjamin Linus on ''Lost'', Zep Hindle in the first ''Saw'' film, Cayden James on ''Arrow'', and H ...
) is, as locating him is the freighter crew's primary objective. In Locke's group, several people become discontent with Locke's revelation that he is following the instructions of
Walt Lloyd Walter "Walt" Lloyd is a fictional character portrayed by Malcolm David Kelley in the American ABC television series ''Lost''. The series follows the lives of over forty survivors of the crash of Oceanic Flight 815. Walt is introduced in the pilo ...
(
Malcolm David Kelley Malcolm David Kelley (born May 12, 1992), sometimes credited as just Malcolm Kelley, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and actor best known for portraying the character Walt Lloyd on the ABC series '' Lost'' and as one half of the pop ...
), who had left the island a month earlier, and they also question why Ben is being kept alive. Locke holds him at gunpoint, and Ben starts to reveal information about the ''Kahana'' crew, specifically Charlotte's identity and that he has a spy aboard the ship.


Production

While casting the "freighter folk" â€“ the nickname that ''Lost'''s executive producers/writers/
show runner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also the ...
s
Damon Lindelof Damon Laurence Lindelof (born April 24, 1973) is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, and producer. Among his accolades, he received three Primetime Emmy Awards, from twelve nominations. In 2010, ''Time'' magazine named him one of the ...
and
Carlton Cuse Arthur Carlton Cuse (born March 22, 1959) is a screenwriter, showrunner, producer, and director, best known for the American television series ''Lost'', for which he made the ''Time'' list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2010. ...
use to refer to Daniel, Charlotte, Miles and Frank â€“ fake names, occupations and scenes were temporarily assigned, to limit the leak of
spoiler Spoiler is a security vulnerability on modern computer central processing units that use speculative execution. It exploits side-effects of speculative execution to improve the efficiency of Rowhammer and other related memory and cache attacks. Ac ...
s. After seeing Ken Leung
guest star In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...
on
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
's ''
The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...
'' in April 2007, Lindelof and Cuse wrote the role of Miles specifically for him, although it was initially reported that Leung would be playing the part of "brilliant mathematician" "Russell". The name Miles Straume was simply chosen because the writer-producers thought that "it would be cool if his name sounded like '
maelstrom Maelstrom may refer to: * Maelstrom (whirlpool), a powerful whirlpool ** originally the Moskstraumen in English Amusement rides * Maelstrom (ride), a former log flume dark ride attraction in the Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World Resort ...
. Had he not taken the part, Lindelof and Cuse claim that Miles would have been scrapped and a new and very different character would have been written into the story instead. Leung, who was originally contracted as a recurring guest star, was quoted as saying that "Miles doesn't know how to be social, which is great, because I don't know how to be social." Costume designer Roland Sanchez wanted to base one of the freighter folk's clothing after that of
Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...
, specifically a picture in which he wore a sleeveless vest, which he admired. Sanchez believed that Miles fitted the haggard look and bought an
Armani Exchange Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...
jacket, cut off the sleeves and added a hood, and that this outfit helped Leung to develop Miles. Co-executive producer/writer
Edward Kitsis Edward Lawrence Kitsis (born February 4, 1971) is an American television writer and producer, best known for his work with his writing partner Adam Horowitz on the popular ABC drama series ''Lost'' and '' Once Upon a Time''. Early life and e ...
had been pitching the name "Lapidus" for years, finally naming an unseen character in the fourteenth episode of the third season Rick Lapidus. Unsatisfied, Kitsis developed the character "Frank Lapidus, Helicopter Pilot". According to the show runners, recurring guest star Jeff Fahey "was the first and only choice for the role". They also commended his "intense eyes" and stated that "he has exactly the right sensibilities" for the part. Frank was not envisioned with a beard, however, the writer-producers allowed Fahey to keep it for the role. The writer-producers have said that Frank "never takes anything at face value nd isa true conspiracy nut hohas probably seen every episode of ''
The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...
'', hich willpay off for him". Rebecca Mader's audition scene was a fake flashback and she was disappointed that it was not used for the show. The character's name was spoiled months in advance of broadcast. Charlotte was originally envisioned as an American; however, the writers preferred Mader's natural English accent to her fake American accent and they changed Charlotte accordingly. ''Lost'''s writer-producers compared Mader to "a young
Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...
". During the casting process, Charlotte was described as a "successful academic". It was falsely rumored that
Kristen Bell Kristen Anne Bell (born July 18, 1980) is an American actress. Beginning her acting career by starring in stage productions while attending the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, she made her Broadway stage debut as Becky That ...
was offered the role of Charlotte; Bell had actually spoken to the producers about having a part; however, no role was offered to her. Despite never having seen ''Lost'', Mader decided that she "was not going to leave he auditioningroom until hemade indelof and Cusefall in love with er. Mader subsequently began to watch the first three seasons of ''Lost'' and was watching the fourth episode when she received the news that she had been chosen for the role. In the next two to three weeks, Mader â€“ who was then signed on as a recurring guest star â€“ watched the rest of the first three seasons, watching the third-season finale a matter of hours before she began shooting her first "Confirmed Dead" scene, in which Charlotte meets Locke and his group. Mader was told little about her character by the writer-producers, except that "she was sort of like a female
Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' Th ...
type". Mader has found it challenging but fun to play a character with an unknown backstory and motives. Charlotte's full name is Charlotte Staples Lewis, which is an homage to the author
C.S. Lewis CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to: Job titles * Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) * Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces * Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...
, best known for ''
The Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been adapted for radio, telev ...
'' and various books about
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
. Lewis was one of Mader's favorite authors as a child and found it "wicked" and "cool" for her character to be named after him. Mader also enjoyed that she only requires a small amount of hair and makeup done, saying that "I just wanted to rough it. I wanted to roll around in the mud with a gun." Mader claims that she has "never had so much fun in erlife" as when she is shooting ''Lost''. In the episode, Charlotte's birthday is said to be July 2, 1979. This led to a minor continuity error in the fifth-season episode " LaFleur", when Charlotte is depicted as being a little girl in 1974. Executive producers Cuse and Lindelof claimed in a podcast that the original script for "Confirmed Dead" listed Charlotte's birthday as being in 1970 and that Mader had it changed because she did not want people to think she was significantly older than she actually is. This caused a controversy when Mader later stated on her blog that Gregg Nations, the script coordinator, was the one who suggested the change. Cuse and Lindelof later conceded that she was right. Most or all of the episode was shot from September 11 to 23, 2007 and filming overlapped with the following episode. The Tunisian desert scene was filmed on location in
Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...
,
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, like the rest of the episode, at a stone quarry with industrial fans blowing fake sand. A typical ''Lost'' episode contains fifty
visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...
shots. Among scenes created entirely or partially with effects are the opening scene of "Confirmed Dead", which shows what appears to be the wreckage of 815 underwater and the scene from Daniel's perspective as he parachutes from the helicopter to the ground. In Frank's flashback, he drops a toy plane, which spirals into a small aquarium. This shot was not intended to use effects; however, "it's impossible to get a toy plane to spiral the way you want it to", according to supervisor Mitch Suskin. A tank with still water and rocks on the bottom was filmed and the plane was added in editing. Suskin said that creating effects for "Confirmed Dead" "was slightly too leisurely" because the episode aired over four months after post-production began. In fall 2007, ''Lost'''s writers presented ABC executives with the story that a salvage vessel called the ''Christiane I'' looking for the '' Black Rock'', among other things, in the
Sunda Trench The Sunda Trench, earlier known as and sometimes still indicated as the Java Trench, is an oceanic trench located in the Indian Ocean near Sumatra, formed where the Australian- Capricorn plates subduct under a part of the Eurasian Plate. It is l ...
would come across what would appear to be the wreckage of 815. ABC hired the Australian company Hoodlum to design a $3 million
viral marketing Viral marketing is a business strategy that uses existing social networks to promote a product mainly on various social media platforms. Its name refers to how consumers spread information about a product with other people, much in the same way tha ...
alternate reality game An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and employs transmedia storytelling to deliver a story that may be altered by players' ideas or actions. The form is defined by inten ...
(ARG) titled ''
Find 815 ''Find 815'' is the second alternate reality game (ARG) for the American Broadcasting Company's serial drama television series ''Lost''. It began on December 28, 2007 and concluded on January 31, 2008 with the premiere of the fourth season of '' ...
''. ''Find 815'' ran from December 28, 2007, to January 31, 2008, beginning with a press release issued from ABC Medianet announcing the fictitious return of the fictional Oceanic Airlines' return to business. The ARG â€“ apparently the largest ever â€“ followed Sam Thomas, an Oceanic technician who had lost his girlfriend in the crash, as he received cryptic e-mails from ''The Maxwell Group'' (a division of Widmore Industries, but nonexistent in ''Lost''), joined the crew of the ''Christiane I'' and ultimately uncovered 815. Because ''Find 815'' was produced separately from the show and without the show's writers, it contradicts events in the TV series. In "Confirmed Dead", 815 is found by a man not present in the game named Ron; Thomas is not mentioned. Lindelof and Cuse dismissed the game as not being
canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...
(not containing genuine information within the
fictional universe A fictional universe, or fictional world, is a self-consistent setting with events, and often other elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes may ...
) and was largely just a bonus for fans during the between-seasons hiatus.


Reception

"Confirmed Dead" was watched by 15.292 million American viewers live or recorded and watched within six hours of broadcast, ranking ''Lost'' seventh in the weekly chart. It was watched by a total of 16.963 million viewers, including those who watched within seven days of broadcast; this number went toward the year-end season average. The episode received a 6.5/16 in the key adults 18–49 demographic. In Canada, it ranked sixth for the week with 1.702 million viewers. In the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, ''Lost'' was watched by 1.2 million viewers â€“ a larger audience than that of the season premiere. In Australia, "Confirmed Dead" brought in 853,000 viewers, ranking seventy-first for the week. American critics were sent screener DVDs of "The Beginning of the End" and "Confirmed Dead" on January 28, 2008, with instructions not to reveal major plot points in reviews. Among the journalists who gave vague and positive reviews were Mary McNamara of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', Adam Buckman of the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
'', Maureen Ryan of the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'', Diane Werts of ''
Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...
'' and Tim Goodman of the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
''. According to Oscar Dahl of
BuddyTV BuddyTV is an entertainment-based website, which generates content about television programs and sporting events. The website publishes information about celebrity and related entertainment news through a series of articles, entertainment profile ...
, "Confirmed Dead" "was met with almost universal love from the ''Lost'' fan base" and according to Jon Lachonis of ''
UGO Ugo is the Italian form of Hugh, a widely used name of Germanic origin. Its diminutive form is Ugolino. It is also a Nigerian Igbo first name. It may refer to: People * Vgo (stonemason), medieval stonemason * Ugo Bassi, a Roman Catholic prie ...
'', the new characters were well received by the fan scene. Alan Sepinwall of ''
The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of wh ...
'' wrote that "after an underwhelming pre-credits sequence ... this sucker moved, and lots of things happened. We met our four new regulars, squeezed in useful flashbacks about
hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...
and even found out the real reason they're on the island  ... The flipside of all this business is that 'Confirmed Dead' didn't have the same emotional resonance as ' heBeginning of the End' ... but you clearly can't have everything in every episode." ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'''s James Poniewozik said that "What amazed imabout this episode was the economy and precision with which it introduced ... the crew of the downed chopper from he freighter Each got just one flashback and a little time on the island, and yet by the end of the episode, I felt I had a true handle on what they were like as individuals." Jeff Jensen of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' thought that "Confirmed Dead" "was downright alive with fascinating new characters, mind-blowing new possibilities, and exciting new theory fodder"; however, he had heard complaints from others who received the preview screeners that they found the episode to be flawed. They considered the scene where 815 is found to be cheating the flashback formula because Daniel only experiences it by watching it on television, Frank's safe landing of the helicopter to be a mystery, Naomi's flashback to be cheating ''Lost'' rules because she is dead and Ben's manipulation of Locke to be an overused storyline. E!'s
Kristin Dos Santos Kristin dos Santos (née Veitch; born February 24, 1975) is an American entertainment reporter, writer and host, specializing in the coverage of television, award shows and all things Hollywood. She is best known as E!’s resident TV (and award- ...
exclaimed "hot damn!" in response to the scene where 815 is found in the Sunda Trench. She also thought that "Juliet and Kate giggling at Jack's 'wink thing' was hilarious" and it was "awesome to see he pilotagain". Nikki Stafford of '' Wizard'' highlighted "watching Dan's landing from his point of view. You can feel his panic as he's free-falling through the air, looks up at his parachute, looks down to see himself about to hit the trees ... it was amazing."
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
's Chris Carabott gave "Confirmed Dead" an 8/10, writing that it "isn't a disappointing episode by any means but it definitely suffers from being a 'setup' episode for these four new characters" and praising the new actors by writing that "Leung does an adequate job of getting Miles' arrogant brand of confidence across while Davies presents Faraday's awkward mannerisms well. Fahey's Lapidus has exceptional screen presence that even overshadows the regular cast members to an extent." Erin Martell of
AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017â ...
's
TV Squad Weblogs, Inc. was a blog network that published content on a variety of subjects, including tech news, video games, automobiles and pop culture. At one point, the network had as many as 90 blogs, although the vast majority of its traffic could be ...
said that "Watching 'Confirmed Dead' was like watching my dream episode of ''Lost'' ecausepeople asked direct questions for once ... ndthis episode was all about the Freighties." A day after the original broadcast, BuddyTV's Dahl claimed that " he audience ison an epic journey, one that has been as entertaining and engrossing as any TV series has ever been". In contrast, ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
'''s
Michael Ausiello Michael Ausiello (born February 23, 1972) is an American television industry journalist, author, and actor. He was a senior writer at ''TV Guide'' and its companion website, TVGuide.com, between 2000 and 2008. From 2008 to 2010, he wrote and re ...
of said that it "was thirty-one flavors of awesome ... oweverthe negatives outweighed the positives". He had problems with Claire's lack of grief for Charlie Pace's (
Dominic Monaghan Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan (born 8 December 1976) is a British actor. He is best known for playing Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck in Peter Jackson's film trilogy ''The Lord of the Rings'' (2001–2003), and Charlie Pace on J. J. Abram ...
) death and Jack waiting so long to find out the freighter folk's main objective. Ben Rawson-Jones of ''
Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
'' gave "Confirmed Dead" three out of five stars, calling it "so-so", but commenting that "the new revelations in the episode are fairly startling and provide a momentary distraction from the frustrations."


References


External links


"Confirmed Dead"
at ABC * {{Featured article 2008 American television episodes Lost (season 4) episodes Television episodes written by Drew Goddard pt:Lost (temporada 4)#Lista de Episódios