Uh, oh. I think Daniel is REALLY dead.

Daniel Faraday, looking pretty dead, at the end of 5x14 The Variable

I was holding out hope that he was still alive. After all, on LOST a character can get shot in the chest and be fine within a few days, like Little Ben and, earlier, John Locke.

But, alas, it looks as if it really is the end for Daniel Faraday. In an interview with TV Guide, Damon and Carlton talk about having an exit interview with Jeremy Davies, the actor who played Faraday:

Lindelof and Cuse say they were impressed by how gracefully Davies dealt with his dismissal. While disappointed to be losing a paycheck, the actor saw his departure as essential to their storytelling. Lindelof says, “When Carlton and I called Jeremy to explain what was going to be happening with Faraday, we’ve never had a more awesome exit interview with somebody on the show.”

However, there is a hint, in the TV Guide story, that Faraday may be coming back, in some capacity, after all.

Cuse adds “… It really ends one chapter and commences the start of the final chapter of the entire series. Once we explained that to Jeremy, while he was personally saddened that his full-time status on Lost was coming to an end, he put the story above his own personal self.” (Hmmm…notice Cuse’s wording: “full-time status”.)

I wonder if this means that he will come back as a ghost. Or perhaps he’ll have a part in someone else’s flashback.

Screencap from Lost-Media