It's official, folks. Dominic Monaghan is indeed returning to Lost -- and for a specific number of episodes. It's been speculated for such a long time that Monaghan would return to reprise the role of deceased character Charlie Pace, who was last seen on the show in the season four premiere, "The Beginning of the End," when an apparation of the dead rock star spoke to Hurley at a mental institution off the Island. Speculation rose to new heights when Monaghan appeared in a commercial as part of ABC's promotion for the upcoming 2009-2010 season, mysteriously quipping that he "was" dead.
And then it was revealed at Comic-Con that Monaghan was instead going to appear on Flash Forward as a new character Simon, a regular on the show's freshman season. Things weren't looking too great for Charlie to return to Lost, but that was before the Lost Comic-Con panel, where Monaghan appeared after an video which prominently featured his character. Written on Monaghan's hand was "Am I alive?," a taunting question for any fan. It was this that cemented Monaghan's return to the show, but how much of a role would he have in the show's final season, especially with his other role in another ABC series.
E!Online has now confirmed that Monaghan will appear as Charlie in three episodes of Lost's final season, which is set to begin production in just a few weeks. Of course, that still leaves the question that Monaghan posed to us: is he alive? I don't think so. I think he's "dead, but also here."
If we are to believe what they hinted at Comic-Con, and that an alternate timeline will be created, then it makes sense to me that Charlie will be part of it. I'm currently nursing the theory that through this timeline, he is somehow able to meet Hurley in "The Beginning of the End" (after all, Hurley isn't the only person who saw Charlie; fellow patient Louis was able to see Charlie too).
Whatever the case may be, I'm excited that we'll get to see Charlie in any capacity. Hopefully he's only the first of many former cast members who will come back to the show.
