New episodes of ABC’s Lost doesn’t return until April 24th, but the show’s executive producers, Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, recently spilled some details about some upcoming Season 4 episodes. Included are: the smoke monster returns; more about that weird four-toed statue, and what exactly happened to Claire, played by Emilie de Ravin? Also, Jack and Locke finally throws down in the season finale.

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Speaking in a conference call with reporters on April 17, they revealed that the conflict between Jack (Matthew Fox) and Locke (Terry O’Quinn) will reach a head in the season finale; that viewers will learn more about the fate of Claire (Emilie de Ravin); and that viewers will learn more about what happened to Rousseau (Mira Furlan) and Karl (Blake Bashoff), who were shot by an unknown assailant and left for dead in the last original episode to air, “Meet Kevin Johnson.”

Also, Cuse promised that viewers will see the smoke monster again in the first new episode back. In upcoming episodes there will be more of the mysterious Jacob, and viewers will also finally learn more about the four-toed statue.

As for the two-part fourth-season finale, “There’s No Place Like Home,” the producers said there was no way they could squeeze in all the story they wanted to tell without expanding the final episode to two hours.

The first of five new Lost episodes return on April 24th in its new timeslot on Thursday, starting with the episode titled, “The Shape of Things to Come”.