In the end, The Hatch and all the ensuing revelations about the Dharma Initiative and Desmond and the like, didn't get revealed until Lost's second season. Locke stumbled across it in the first season's eleventh episode, All The Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues, and he didn't succeed at opening the darn thing until the two-part finale Exodus. And still fans had to wait. What was actually down that wretched hole wasn't shown until the show returned for its second go-around, a cliffhanger that was genius and irritating in equal manner. At that point, Lost had already reneged on its claim to tie up the mysteries it brought to light, with countless unanswered questions already piling up. Again, that wasn't the plan. JJ Abrams wanted The Hatch to appear in the pilot episode, even though he wasn't sure what was under it. He just liked mysteries. Lindeolf managed to hold off until episode ten, when they had some idea about the pay-off. Introducing it earlier would've made the reveal either more satisfying...or like it had been even more delayed than it already was.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
