The intrigue isn't 'Lost' on them

Q. What did you make of the white screen at the end of "Lost"?

A. I was convinced the white screen was the detonation of the bomb. But a reader pointed out that the flash could have been just another time warp. And that is a persuasive thought. I loved the play between black and white in the episode, figuratively and also literally - literally in terms of clothing and the opening and closing screens.

Q. I think the black screen is dead. Long live the white screen!

A. That would be very cool, if next year's opening title sequence graphic was white with black LOST letters.

Q. The white screen may have meant that the bomb did explode and there was a time jump.

A. Two, two, two major events in one.

Q. Do you think the whole tone of "Lost" changed in the finale? This season seemed to be about sci-fi, and last week I think it went back to the religious motif. I am hoping that the last season will be the best.

A. YES. I felt a shift in the finale, too, away from the purely sci-fi and into the religious - like everything comes down to the pull and push between two forces, both spiritually and scientifically.

Q. Will we see Jacob again?

A. That can't be the end of him. Will we see him again in the same form? That I don't know. I expect so. And I also expect to see more of the man in black - played by Titus Welliver in the finale's opening scene. Those two men seem pivotal to the show's ultimate mythology.

Q. Is there an existing show where we can drop in on Damian Lewis? I'm going to miss him now that there's no more "Life."

A. That is a great idea. Let's put Damian Lewis on "Grey's Anatomy." Oh wait, they've got Kevin McKidd. Let's put him on "The Mentalist." Oh wait, they've got Simon Baker.

Q. What are your thoughts on "Rescue Me"? I think it has been very good, but not great like before.

A. I've been loving "Rescue Me" this season. Maybe the comedy is a little less ferocious, maybe that whole business about Sean's cancer is a little forced. But I'm still pleased. The show has always been about 9/11, either directly or indirectly. It was a great idea to go back to that theme explicitly. "Rescue Me" may not be as revelatory as it was at first. That's what happens with almost every show. But it is still extraordinary, and the acting, especially by Denis Leary and Callie Thorne, has been top notch.

Check out the full chat transcript at www.boston.com/viewerdiscretion, and tune in to tomorrow's chat at noon on Boston.com.