It's not especially exciting to talk about the way parts of the second season became kind of humdrum; we already know that. But what is interesting about the mea-almost-culpa on the part of the writers is it shows that they know that we know that. And they promise that season three will be different.

"It's a new pilot every year," says Damon, explaining that every season, the show gets re-invented with the purpose of telling one particular section of the larger Lost story. So far, season one was an ensemble survivor story, and season two was a puzzle-laden serial with sci-fi elements added into the mix. It's no surprise that with these new elements being added that some fans felt they'd been delivered a sort of bait-and-switch. I know that when I so totally called it back in March that the Swan would get blown up (I'm never going to let that go), it was partially wishful thinking. The question posed by the hatch was "what is this air-conditioned, artificially lit, compound with bed, bath and kitchen?" But always in the back of my mind was the nagging follow-up: "and what the hell is it doing in the middle of my castaway show?"

Fortunately for us, the writers have their fingers on the pulse of the fanbase. When the second season was all said and done, Damon says he was aware that there was a sense among the viewers that it was "too mythologically dense, [and] the show is getting too complicated. So, we have to re-adjust."

It's significant that he says "re-adjust," not plain old "adjust." It means that, in some way, the show is reverting. But what is it reverting or re-adjusting to? What element of season one is going to come back that will make season three better?

"We're really excited about season three," said Damon. "It's going to be vastly different-feeling than the two seasons that preceded it, but at the same time we're sort of re-embracing the roots that we love about the show." It's a promise of change, and an indication that the he realizes the show has strayed from where it originated from. That alone would be good enough for me. But then he says something exciting that made me realize what had been missing in the second season, and what we're going to get reverted to. "There's going to be a lot more adventure elements in season three."

Adventure! That's it! That's what had been missing from the second season. A sense of adventure! Sure there was mystery, sure, and drama, and the occasional bit of peril, but almost no adventure. But perhaps more exciting is what Damon had to say about a discussion he had with Terry O'Quinn regarding the future of the Locke character. "[O'Quinn said] 'I want a knife in my hand and to kill things again,' and we said, 'Oh, you'll get your knife back, John Locke.'" He said it with a hint of gleeful menace. Carlton almost told him that he can take that to the bank. But he didn't.