The Los Angeles Times has gotten to the bottom of those shots of a torn-apart Oceanic 815 littering the deserted beach that ran over the end credits of the Lost finale on Sunday night.

Those images left many, many, many folks wondering whether we were being told that, in fact, everyone had perished during the initial crash -- and whether any of what we'd seen in the past six years had happened at all. Don't fret, says ABC, it was just a way to prepare for the nightly news...

ABC, clearing the air, told the LAT: "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."

Says the LAT, the transitional touch was added by ABC executives -- and not executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse.

http://www.hollywoodwiretap.com/?module=news&action=story&id=48527