SAN DIEGO — With the final panel “Lost” will hold at Comic-Con, the show’s stars did not come out in droves and the big secret was not given away. Instead, writers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse were joined by Jorge Garcia and Michael Emerson, with surprise appearances from Josh Holloway and Dominic Monaghan in a light-hearted event to celebrate the show’s five season run so far.

Blast was lucky enough to get a chance to sit down with the Southern devil himself and talk about Sawyer’s turn as being a hero, what mystery Holloway wanted solved most and life as a new father.

On how it felt for Sawyer to be a hero:

Odd and a bit uncomfortable, but funny enough, it kind of just happened that season because I had a newborn on the way, my focus was split, so I didn’t really even realize it was happening because I was working so much and I was just thinking, “Man, Sawyer talks a lot in the 70s. What’s wrong with this guy? He’s lippy!” (laughs) But as the season developed, I was like, oh, okay, I see kind of where this is going, because they never let us know where it is going, it just kind of happens. But it’s been a great exploration. It’s been a lot of fun, and they’ve really allowed me such opportunities to explore different avenues and different perspectives from which he comes, so this is a different perspective, and more of a humane side of him. So that was an interesting exploration, but I’m ready to get back to salty dog, so it’s good. Now that he’s lost Juliet, I think the leader/hero thing is gone. I think he doesn’t give a shit to be anyone’s leader at this point. He’s heartbroken, he’s back to “the world sucks” and maybe throughout the season, someone can redeem him again and bring him back from hell. Because right now, he’s in hell.

On Juliet coming back or not coming back in the sixth season:

Note: It was revealed in the “Lost” panel Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) would be returning in the sixth season for a few episodes, but above Holloway referred to Sawyer as having lost Juliet.

Yeah, I don’t know, ask those crazy people (creators Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof), what are they talking about now? No idea. Maybe she’ll be this beautiful angel that appears and they can have this erotic”"maybe (laughs). I don’t know how they’re going to do that, but it will be brilliant. They’re smart, those guys, so they’ll figure it out.

On who Sawyer should be with: Kate or Juliet:

Well I married someone more like Kate, so I guess they’d more volatile than everything being rosy and good like it was with Juliet and I. Both are valid and actually, in my life, I like both, but yeah, maybe as I get older I’ll chill out like he was with Juliet (laughs).

On what mystery Josh Holloway wants answered most:

Wow. Where the hell are we? You know? Are we in Purgatory, are we in a time warp, are we”¦ where are we? What is this? Is it the Bermuda Triangle? Who knows. It’s funny enough, I always feel kind of stupid when you ask me these questions because I quit asking questions years ago. I’m like, okay, whatever. I don’t have a theory. I totally follow the storyline and I’m always like, oh, that was great, but now… The only thing I ever got right was that the Island moved. And I remember saying that to Damon and he got weird with me. I said, it’s like the Death Star, isn’t it? It moves. And he got all sweaty and weird. This was years ago.

On Sawyer possibly dying:

Knowing Damon, Sawyer must die. Maybe Carlton with soften him. (I) absolutely (am okay with it). I always thought he should die, like I said before, saving a frog or a rat or something like that. But I don’t know how they’ll do it. I think he should die because really, him in society is never going to work, so why go back. If it did (redeem himself) and he became a priest, then yes (he should live).

On “Lost” ending and leaving Hawaii:

I’m working on my bikini tan and my surfboard business, but it’s not coming along too good. I’m not sure. We’re going to keep our place there; we have a home there, so we’re going to go in and out. We’re in love with Hawaii and we have very close friends there. I fish like mad. So we’re going to keep the place and go in and out, unless acting goes the way normally acting goes and I’m broke and I have to rent it. We’ll see about that.

On being a father:

Oh my god, its… I just can’t even answer it. So many things, it’s so rich and so difficult and wonderful. Now it’s just those smiles, every morning, when I first get to see the little bean smile, I’m like , Oh my god, it just makes my heart explode. It’s really just added richness to my life. I don’t care how everything else goes now as long as I’m a good father.

As the premiere of a new season of “Lost” approaches – (it airs Jan. 21, but all the diehards already had their Blackberry calendars on alert anyway) – rumors are swirling as to what comes next for the Losties both still stranded and on the mainland.

Season Four began with the castaways and company divvied up into those who wanted to be found and those heeding Charlie Pace’s final warning: beware the rescue squad. And it ended with them similarly split by the disappearance of the island, moved by Ben in time and space to hide it from competitor Charles Widmore.

Six survivors made it home while some, including lovable rogue Sawyer, sociopath Others leader Ben and blonde doctor Juliet remained on the island. A few others, such as time-traveling physicist Daniel Faraday, are unaccounted for because they were on a boat between the helicopter and where the island once was.

In the fourth finale, it was revealed that in order to rescue those left behind, the Oceanic Six – Sayid, Hurley, Sun, Kate, Jack and Aaron – must return to the island.

It won’t be easy and other escapees like Desmond, Frank, Walt and even the dead body of John Locke are necessary to the plan’s success. This could take up most of Season Five’s plot, including answering how Locke made it off the island, why he was living under the alias “Jeremy Bentham” and what ultimately killed him.

According to co-creator and producer Damon Lindelof, the upcoming season “is about why [the people who have left the island] need to get back.” Lindelof also said there will be significantly fewer flashbacks and flash-forwards as the show has finally caught up with itself in real time.

One-time series regulars Michael, who died after the freighter he was aboard exploded, and Claire, who may or may not have shown up as a ghost, are both no-shows for this season. Her story has been put on hold until the sixth season, which makes sense considering how jam-packed Season Five looks to be. Jin, also on the freighter, is on board for the fifth season, making the outlook on his character’s future sunny.

Writers have also confirmed that nature woman Danielle Rousseau and maligned cop Ana-Lucia Cortez will be coming back from the dead for short stints.

Some intended storylines pushed back from the fourth season due to the Writer’s Strike are scheduled to be explored this season, including the reason Libby was in the mental institution, why Ms. Hawking was in a photograph with Desmond’s monk, what happened between Ben and the real survivor of the hot air balloon crash and the four-toed statue seen by Sayid, Jin and Sun.

Previews on ABC’s Web site have also shown Kate fleeing with Aaron after being ordered to submit to a maternity test she will undoubtedly fail and Ben and Jack preparing to gather the rest of the Oceanic Six to return to the island — but who actually makes the journey remains a mystery.

Season Five of Lost premieres at 9 p.m. on Jan. 21 on ABC.