Here are the results of the Day 1 Votes.
Congrats to the Winners
Best Episode
The End - 56.8%
Ab Aeterno - 20.5%
Happily Ever After - 7.6%
My Choice - The End
Best Flashback/Flashforward(s)
Ab Aeterno - 43.9%
The End - 24%
Happily Ever After - 12.7%
My Choice - Ab Aeterno
Worst Flashback/Flashforward(s)
What Kate Does - 65.8%
Recon - 11.5%
Across The Sea - 5.6%
My Choice - What Kate Does
Best Title
Ab Aeterno - 27%
What They Died For - 18%
The End - 14%
My Choice - The End
Worst Episode
What Kate Does - 65.4%
Recon - 13.4%
Across the Sea - 7.7%
My Choice - What Kate Does
Showing posts with label Ab Aeterno. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ab Aeterno. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Spoiler Accuracy Thread
One of our users, BookhouseBoy, from the Forum, has started to compile a couple of interesting threads.
These threads take a look back after an episode has aired and looks at all the spoilers that were posted for it and how much we knew and how accurate our spoilers have been. Thankfully so far it's been pretty damn good ;). All our sources for example all rated What Kate Does as the lowest rated episode out of the 8-9 episodes that they had seen, and this appears to have been the consensus of the fans if you look at the current polls/episode table.
Take a look at threads below. We'll be updating this each week so that those of you who do not follow spoilers can see what was spoiled about the episodes that have aired.
Episode 6.01/6.02 - LA X
Episode 6.03 - What Kate Does
Episode 6.04 - The Substitute
Episode 6.05 - Lighthouse
Episode 6.06 - Sundown
Episode 6.07 - Dr. Linus
Episode 6.08 - Recon
Episode 6.09 - Ab Aeterno
Episode 6.10 - The Package
Episode 6.11 - Happily Ever After
Episode 6.12 - Everybody Love Hugo
Episode 6.13 - The Last Recruit
Episode 6.14 - The Candidate
Episode 6.15 - Across The Sea
Episode 6.16 - What They Died For
Episode 6.17/6.18 - The End
These threads take a look back after an episode has aired and looks at all the spoilers that were posted for it and how much we knew and how accurate our spoilers have been. Thankfully so far it's been pretty damn good ;). All our sources for example all rated What Kate Does as the lowest rated episode out of the 8-9 episodes that they had seen, and this appears to have been the consensus of the fans if you look at the current polls/episode table.
Take a look at threads below. We'll be updating this each week so that those of you who do not follow spoilers can see what was spoiled about the episodes that have aired.
Episode 6.01/6.02 - LA X
Episode 6.03 - What Kate Does
Episode 6.04 - The Substitute
Episode 6.05 - Lighthouse
Episode 6.06 - Sundown
Episode 6.07 - Dr. Linus
Episode 6.08 - Recon
Episode 6.09 - Ab Aeterno
Episode 6.10 - The Package
Episode 6.11 - Happily Ever After
Episode 6.12 - Everybody Love Hugo
Episode 6.13 - The Last Recruit
Episode 6.14 - The Candidate
Episode 6.15 - Across The Sea
Episode 6.16 - What They Died For
Episode 6.17/6.18 - The End
Sunday, May 23, 2010
What did you think of Episode 6.17/18 - The End?
Update: 28th May The End has now passed 50,000+ votes.
Update: 23:30 Looks like we're going to break 1.7 Million Page Hits for the day. Bewildering!
Update: 17:00 Wow, we've just smashed the site record for page hits 1 Million and counting. That's 1 Million in 17 hrs, already beating the 906,000 set in 24 hrs for Ab Aeterno.
Wow... it's all over!
Discuss, Vote, Comment.
Official Discussion Thread
Here is the league table after the first 37,000 Votes
Update: 23:30 Looks like we're going to break 1.7 Million Page Hits for the day. Bewildering!
Update: 17:00 Wow, we've just smashed the site record for page hits 1 Million and counting. That's 1 Million in 17 hrs, already beating the 906,000 set in 24 hrs for Ab Aeterno.
Wow... it's all over!
Discuss, Vote, Comment.
Official Discussion Thread
Here is the league table after the first 37,000 Votes
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
ODI LOSTcast 59 - Episode 6x09 Recap and Theories
Hey All,What a crazy and fun week! This week's Episode 6x09 Ab Aeterno was filled with all sorts of awesomeness!
Of course some of you know after last week's episode I had a moment to chat with Damon Lindelof and in that podcast I mentioned we had scheduled EW's Jeff Jensen again. However, because of some technical recording issues we had to reschedule and if all works out ok, he will join us later this week.
However, we were still able to get a guest to join us and it was fellow LOST blogger Jo from Jopionionated. Jo not only has her own blog, but also announced just today she is now officially writing for AOL TV! So congratulations to her!
Jo joined us for the first time and learned very quickly about some of the crazy thoughts and theories we have on the podcast. We did chat with her about her experiences writing about LOST, visiting the set of Fringe and V and of course we all recapped the wonderful moments in Ab Aeterno, such as Richard's crazy laugh, his love Isabella, the interaction of Richard with both the MiB and Jacob, the reveals of the Black Rock smashing into the 4-Toed Foot and much more!
We also seemed to really get stuck on the possibility that Jacob and MiB are one in the same person and perhaps have a split personality. Think we are crazy?? Well listen to the podcast to find out HOW crazy!
This podcast was posted to iTunes earlier, but below is a link to an audio player and download link for you all to enjoy!
http://the-odi.blogspot.com/2010/03/odi-lostcast-59-episode-6x09-recap-and.html
Episode 6x09 -- Don't Get Lost in Heaven (Ab Aeterno) -- By Anna
After a mini-hiatus, Anna is back with a recap for last week's episode 6x09 Ab Aeterno.
Enjoy!!
I do sincerely apologize to you all for my recent 3-episode hiatus. I suppose one could say that I’ve been saving my thoughts on the last few episodes and letting them age like…a fine wine. Yet even with so many current distractions (read: very important life-stuff) nothing gets me “stay-up-all-night-whacky-LOST-eyed-writing” again more than a major mythology episode.
INTRO: Rock It
So, did LOST not ROCK IT with episode nine or what?!
Nestor Carbonell finally got to show off his mad acting skillz is this long-overdue tale of Richard Alpert’s epic back-story, “Ab Aeterno” (which for those of you who don’t know already can be translated to “For Eternity”). And it really did have something for everyone. A dashing hero on horseback straight out of a period romance-novel. A damsel in distress. Bloody outbursts of violence. The battle between good and evil. Faustian bargains. Richard's hysterical laughter. Built-in suspenders! Corks!!
When compared to the rest of the series, it was as emotional as “The Constant”, as mythical as “Cabin Fever”, as shocking as “The Man Behind the Curtain”…and I could go on and on through all of the major game-changing episodes we have seen. Just through following the fan rumblings on Twitter I found that there are only a few who have NOT added this to their “top-episodes of all time” lists. I believe this is true especially because of the fact we had previously been given NOTHING about this character’s tale but little spurts and hints since his first appearance. This in turn made the fan buildup to this particular installment nothing short of phenomenal, dare I say even rabid. And I must concur; it met and surpassed my expectations as it seems to have done for most of the fan-base.
There’s some heady stuff going on in this one so let’s just get right to the recap!
Every Planet We Reach Is Dead
We basically began the story where we left off at the Island beach camp with Ilana and Co. sitting around discussing their current situation. An immediate flashback revealed a little bit more about her time in that hospital when she was severely bandaged and Jacob came to her (dressed in BLACK) to ask for her help. She was told there were only six candidates left that she must protect, and that she had been preparing for this very task. It is still unclear as to why Ilana was injured and if Jacob had anything to do with her healing. Jacob was wearing gloves, so I am assuming he did not actually touch her as he did the candidates as we have already seen. Finally, at some point later during this more fleshed-out flashback when Ilana was no longer bandaged, Jacob told her that after she brought the candidates to the Temple, “Ricardus” would know what to do next.
Of course Ricardus is Richard Alpert, who had been standing in the background as Ilana asked him that very question. With a shocked and insane giggle he denied knowing anything, and then proceeded to basically freak-out in true “game over” style reminiscent of Hudson from the film “Aliens”. He tells the group around the campfire that not only is Jacob a liar, but that they are all really dead and actually in Hell. Richard then made it more than clear that he would no longer be a part of Team Jacob and told the group it was time to begin listening to someone else. He then grabbed a torch and stormed off alone into the jungle.
It would seem the writers still want to taunt the audience with the Purgatory theory, which has already been argued and shot down repeatedly for years now. At the same time, this isn’t the first time a character has declared the Island to be “Hell”, and there have been countless “Underworld” references throughout the entire show. I wasn’t buying it at all though, and we would soon learn there was indeed a specific reason for Richard’s severe doom-and-gloom perspective. More on this in a bit…
Ghost Train
Meanwhile a few feet away from the group, Hurley was quietly speaking Spanish to someone who was not actually there. Freak-y! According to Lostpedia, the translation is, “Ok…What can you do?...Yes, I can help you…But, I don't know how to find him, if I don't where he went...” Jack heard him and assuming Hurley was speaking to Jacob, demanded to know what the Big J was saying. I loved how Hurley dismissively told Jack it was not Jacob and that it had nothing to do with him at all. Then he also turned around and headed towards the jungle.
El Manana
After a quick shot of Richard’s angry trek through the nighttime foliage, we were given a flashback “whoosh” sound and suddenly a very hairy Richard was seen riding a horse through the pastoral Island setting. But it wasn’t our Island at all; it was actually Tenerife, The Canary Islands, in 1867 to be exact. Blam! We now know that Ricardus is over 140 years old, and that he was once just a poor bearded farmer, living in the sticks with a very ill but very beloved wife, Isabella. Just like Isabella, Richard was a Man of Faith, as they had been studying an English Bible together in preparation to fulfill their dream to begin a family in the New World.
However, after seeing Isabella cough blood, he decided it was time to call a Man of Science to try and save his dying wife. He gathered their meager savings hoping it would be enough to pay the doctor, and then in a very touching scene Isabella added her gold cross necklace to the lot. Richard didn’t want to take her cross, knowing that it was not only a treasure but a symbol of her Faith, of their Faith. However she insisted then asked him to close his eyes, and with a kiss told him that they would always be together.
With the promise of saving Isabella, Ricardus rode half the night through a storm to the Doctor’s home, where he forced entry even after being told by a butler that he could not come in. We were quick to learn this doctor was a selfish man, a glutton who cared more for his floor getting wet than for Richard possibly catching cold after his ride.
In fact, is it just me or did that doctor look a lot like The Man in Black? The entire scene was shot in darkness and shadow. Not to mention, how many times have we seen bad things go down in a storm? The only light in the room came from a blazing (Hell) fire. The doctor even threw Isabella’s cross in front of this fireplace as he refused to accept it in exchange for the medicine she so desperately needed. That sent Richard into gimmee-grabby mode as a final act of despair. In a brief struggle between the men, it would seem the doc slipped on that darn water that had dripped from Richard’s drenched clothing, smacked his noggin on a table and died, Desmond vs. Kelvin-style.
Richard got the heck out of there but by the time he reached Isabella with the medicine, the life had already left her. Cue the authorities.
All Alone
Jailed and cuffed, Richard read his Bible as a priest stepped in to visit. Once again, we met a cruel-hearted man in Father Suarez, who insisted that Richard meant to murder the doctor and refused to grant him absolution from his sin. To add insult to injury he told Richard the only way to make up for it is with a life of penance, which he had no time for as a man condemned to die the next day. Then with Richard’s Bible in tow and a crooked grin he told Richard that the Devil awaited him in Hell.
Of course Father Suarez wasn’t going to absolve Richard of his sin, as we soon learned how valuable he was to the slave trading market. Now we understand a bit more about why Richard freaked out at the beach camp; this is his background, his belief system, and he had been manipulated specifically by a priest that told him he was scheduled for a trip on the ‘Down’ Escalator of the Afterlife. That twisted Father sold Richard off to one Officer Jonas Whitfield, who then proclaimed him property of Magnus Hanso, a name which we have heard before from the Island, linked to The Black Rock.
And the crowd goes wild! Well, at least those fans who have for years now held the belief that Richard came to the Island on that ship, and the Man in Black’s reference to Richard being in chains meant that Richard had also been one of the slaves brought there with it. Hizzah!
Highway (Under Construction)
But little did we know that we would spend nearly half of the episode on that ship itself, as we were first introduced to Richard’s trip to the New World during yet another storm. Oh yeah, the same kind of storm that Frank Lapidus accidentally flew into during season four’s helicopter trip from the Island to the freighter. I am pretty sure at this point that anyone coming to the Island who doesn’t use a specific bearing encounters those storms, almost as if the Island has its own type of event horizon.
It was also pretty cool to see the statue of Taweret in the night and in turn get to learn that the statue was still standing when the Black Rock reached the Island. Correction: the statue was still standing as the Black Rock approached the Island. One of the other slaves chained next to Richard saw the statue and immediately proclaimed “the Devil” was guarding the Island. Ah, if he only knew…
Then in a collision of questionable nature, a tsunami-sized wave heaved the giant ship right into Taweret’s face, breaking the statue into pieces and leaving the foot as we know it today. I have to admit I was a little bit underwhelmed by this explanation of both the statue’s fall and the reason why the Black Rock had been left in the middle of the jungle.
However, there is something interesting going on with this scene. For one thing, in season five’s “The Incident” we saw a similar ship approaching in calm daylight as Jacob and The Man in Black had that little talk on the beach, which many of us had assumed was the Black Rock. At this point I suppose it was just another group that Jacob brought to the Island prior to bringing Richard’s ship.
In addition, with all of the white and black stones on the show, and the fact that Jacob later even sends a white one to MIB, I cannot help but think with a name like the Black Rock, MIB may have somehow caused that ship to smack right into Jacob’s abode. MIB does tend to operate well in stormy situations as we have seen, and he obviously had already grown tired of Jacob bringing humans to the Island, what with all their corrupting and destroying and whatnot. If this is true, than that was indeed one heck of a statement Jacob’s old friend sent him that night in regards to their little black and white game.
Last Living Souls
From that point on it was just one awful trial to another for poor, chained, in-much-need-of-a-bath Richard who ended up being one of the few slaves left alive down below the conveniently in-tact ship. Officer Whitfield came down and went into survival mode execution-style, and skewered the bound slaves like some demon Errol Flynn. Raise your hand if you too had a feeling we would hear that familiar "ticka-ticka" sound just as he was about to take out Richard, who had been watching in horror and begging for his life.
Smokey to the rescue…er, sort of. We were treated to yet another great Smoke-Monster sequence, when at first we could not see what was happening above except through a small, grated opening in the ceiling to the deck above. Of course, we all knew exactly what was going on, and then it was just a blood-drip away from Whitfield’s violent introduction to the Island’s Cerberus. We then witnessed one of the Monster’s abilities that we haven’t seen since way back in season three’s “Left Behind”. With some quick flashy face-time the Monster scanned Richard, and then disappeared.
Broken
According to the recent Geronimo Jack’s Beard podcast (with guest Nestor!), Richard was chained in the belly of that ship for four weeks, taking role as the new Island Jonah. If you want to dig further into the Christian symbolism at work here, look no further than the nail which became a tool and metaphor for Richard’s salvation, i.e. his escape from the chains still holding him in place. The Black Rock really was almost like a Purgatory for him, as he is broken down by thirst (more, water except just out of reach), a flesh-hungry boar (believed by some to occasionally be the Smoke Monster taking the form in certain situations), and finally the loss of the nail he had been using to scrape and chip his way to freedom.
Demon Days
The Monster/Man in Black wore Richard to death’s door, and then pulled the final deception by appearing to him as his dearly departed, Isabella. Since MIB had read Richard’s mind, he knew exactly how to manipulate the situation, and so “Isabella” began to tell Richard that they were both dead and in Hell, that she was there to free him, and that she had already seen the Devil “eye to eye”. MIB could have won an Oscar for this role playing both good cop and bad cop as he enacted the scenario above deck that made Richard believe she too had been taken by the Black Smoke he also had seen “eye to eye”.
Apparently Jacob isn't the only one who will reach out and touch someone. How fooled were those of us who immediately thought from previous setup that the hand being placed on Richard's passed-out shoulder was Jacob instead of MIB? How weird would it be if Richard had actually died and MIB brought him back to life like we have heard hints he has done before? How can I even trust who is alive and who is dead on this show anymore?!?!
OK, OK I don’t really think Richard is dead, but it is easy to see now how Richard could believe such a thing, especially when MIB feeds into it by telling him that the Devil took his wife. MIB gave Richard some water and just happened to have the keys to his bonds as well. There was almost a hint of sincere care for Richard there in the Dark One, until he made sure Richard agreed to “help” him in return for freedom, just like a good little mobster thug.
Faust
Richard and The Man in Black then sat down over some roasted boar for a little discussion about killing the Devil as Richard’s only means of saving his wife and escaping Hell. I loved how MIB not only handed Richard the same dagger that Dogen gave Sayid back at the Temple, but how he also gave Richard the same instructions that were given in order to do the deed. How curious it is that one would need to use the same weapon, and the same approach to kill both Jacob and MIB. I would have never had thought that way back in season one when Locke first revealed his famous case of knives that The Blade would become such an important instrument on the show.
It was interesting that MIB immediately confessed to being the Black Smoke, yet he denied taking Isabella and told Richard he saw the Devil do it. The best lies always have a hint of truth in them, and I suppose he told Richard that he was the Monster in order to gain that extra bit of Richard’s trust. MIB then played victim, claiming that Ol’ Scratch had betrayed him and took his body along with his humanity.
This part I might actually believe. Just as MIB said, “you and I can talk all day long about what's right or wrong”, and just as MIB doesn’t always seem totally “evil” Jacob himself doesn’t always seem completely “good” in this story. Is it possible that Jacob somehow tricked MIB into his current state of what seems like servitude to the Island as its “security system”? After learning the way that Jacob bestows “gifts” onto people, is it possible that MIB asked for his abilities without fully realizing the consequences? This would paint Jacob into more of the role of a Genie of sorts who grants wishes to people, yet always with a twist that results in the wish-fulfilled not quite turning out as the grantee had hoped for.
Even as Richard tried to refuse by saying that murder was what got him into the whole mess in the first place, MIB continued his schpeel about saving Isabella. The Devil isn’t the only one who can be “persuasive”, and eventually Richard headed off towards the ruins of the statue to carry out MIB’s side of the bargain.
Left Hand Suzuki Method
But before Richard even reached the doorway at the four toed foot, Jacob got the drop on him with some serious kung-fu action. How curious once more that Jacob defended himself when Richard came to kill him, yet didn’t raise a finger to stop Ben when he decided to get all stabby. I am wondering now if this means Jacob had been expecting Ben’s move, and that in the end we will find his death was necessary to drive us towards the proper resolution to this ancient back-and-forth match between him and MIB.
Stop the Dams
After baptizing some sense into the beaten man, Jacob brought Richard a blanket (finally!) and some wine. We’ve seen Jacob fishing, and now we see him bringing wine instead of water as did MIB. The Christian symbolism could not be thicker surrounding this mysterious being.
He did however let us in on an interesting tidbit via his wine-bottle, and equated the Island as a cork which held the darkness and evil at bay. I felt the writing became a little too repetitive and expositional as Jacob explained to Richard that he had been bringing people to the Island throughout time in order to prove the inherent goodness of mankind to MIB. However, he did give us a couple of new tidbits.
First, when someone is brought to the Island by Jacob, their past does not matter and they are given the preverbal Tabula Rasa. This would explain how folks like Sawyer and Kate can be murderers off-Island yet still be candidates for taking over the Big J’s throne on the Island.
Second and more importantly he states that he does not like to interfere by telling a person the difference between good and evil. But even as Jacob claims he is pro-free-will, we have indeed seen him interfere with people’s lives and at the least give them a little push in the right direction. Is Jacob himself telling a bit of a white-lie here? Or is this just his own “progress” we are seeing? Did it take some time for him to realize that sometimes certain situations did actually require him to step in a bit and lend a hand, so to say?
Dracula
I mean, is it just me or is Jacob not a fool for failing to realize that the MIB was stepping in and interfering with the people he had brought there in his absence? Why did it take Richard to make him see that he could have his own intermediary? Either Jacob is a very flawed “god” on this Island, or he was also playing a con on Richard. I tend to think the latter, since he can well, time-travel and whatnot.
In the end, Richard accepted the job offer and after three choices (wishes) the two settled on compensation that didn’t involve bringing his wife back from the dead or getting him into heaven that Jacob actually could pony up. Jacob then gave Richard the mother of all cootie-touches, and from that day forth Richard was frozen in time, a man who would age no longer.
Man Research
Jacob and the Man in Black have been playing their little game with humanity for ages now, and although I have no idea whatsoever what the “time-line X” is all about, I would like to put in my two cents in regards to who or what these two really are. Over and over we have been teased on the show in regards to who is “good”, and who is “evil”. Most of the time the answer comes in the form of a little bit of both, and I have already said countless times this is one of the show’s lessons; people are inherently good but do have the capability to sin based on their situation. Perspective, perspective, perspective!
At this point so far it would seem however that Jacob is indeed playing the light side, and MIB really is the bad guy here. We have no reason so far to disbelieve a thing that Jacob has told anyone, and even though he can be manipulative, even smug at times, and could potentially be responsible for countless deaths, he seems to be telling the truth. On the other hand, we have seen MIB repeatedly lie, as he tells different people different things in order to get them on his side based upon what he knows they want to hear.
There are a lot of people out there who keep trying to equate Jacob and MIB to some specific Biblical parallel. But I do not at all believe that they are literally “God and Satan”, nor “Cain and Abel”, or even “Jacob and Esau”. I just do not buy that the creators of LOST would give us an answer that is so literal. Instead, I think the writers are simply playing with these stories and ideas in a metaphorical sense, using archetypes from just about every culture you can think of to create something new. LOST itself has become a collage of religions, philosophies, and symbolism of the human psyche spun into its own magnificent tapestry of sorts.
As Jacob visited MIB one morning, notice how the scene was exactly reversed from the beach scene we were given in “The Incident”. This time it was Jacob who approached MIB, and they were not on the shore but instead they were inland. Opposites and mirrors prevail. Once again we had a discussion where MIB asked to leave, then threatened to kill Jacob and anyone who replaced him. Jacob sounded ready for it, anytime, anyplace. As Jacob left MIB his bottle of wine, MIB smashed it, which I think is foreshadowing that all Hell is literally about to break loose.
White Light
After Richard was given his eternal gift by Jacob, he returned to MIB to pass along a white rock from the Big J and confess what had happened. MIB was understanding and kept his offer open, and then he gave Richard back Isabella’s gold cross necklace as one final reminder that item would be all that he would ever have left of her by taking Jacob’s side. Richard then buried the cross and with it I believe a part of his own humanity in the form of his love for his wife, and in return set off to be Jacob’s new right-hand man.
When we got back to current time, Richard dug up the necklace, and in a setting reminiscent of the Tree in the Garden of Eden, he yelled out to MIB that he was wrong and that he changed his mind. However, MIB was not there, and instead Hurley stepped out of the jungle to drop some wisdom from Richard’s dead wife.
The show had a bit of a “Ghost” moment as Hurley acted as the intermediary between Isabella’s spirit and Richard. However the acting and direction gave it enough emotional weight to put it up there with Desmond and Penny’s phone call in “The Constant”. I become a complete wreck now when I watch either one of these scenes, especially when she asks Richard to “close his eyes” again. I do believe Ricardus really felt her presence there for a moment. Once again we are told that even after death, our loved ones will always be with us, in our memories and in our hearts.
CONCLUSION: Spitting out the Demons
At that point, Richard was redeemed and Hurley basically once again saved the day. Score yet another white rock for Team Jacob, as it was soon revealed that Lockeness Monster was not far off in the distance and had almost caught up to them.
It is important to note this episode marked the midpoint of the series’ final season. If traditional storytelling in regards to LOST tells us anything, it should be a nice ride from here on out.
It is also fascinating to me how the fan-base has split into opposing factions. Life imitates art as people are either believing in Jacob, or trusting the Man in Black. There are the ones who seek a scientific conclusion, and those who want to see a more faith-based ending just as there are those who are rabid for answers, and those who are content to simply let the story play itself out no matter what happens.
If you know anything about the world of J.J. Abrams, he has always been a fan of ambiguity. A quick view of his speech at the 2008 T.E.D. conference gives us all the insight we need to understand his philosophy which I am pretty sure at this point LOST has adopted as well. The answers – the BIG ones at least – will more than likely never be able to top the ones that our own imaginations have been serving up to us at this point. Take for instance the bit of a letdown I described in the reveal of how the Black Rock made it into the jungle, and how the Taweret statue was destroyed. Am I the only one who had grander expectations for these explanations?
I don’t think I want to be told exactly what the Island is, or exactly who or what Jacob and MIB are. I too, enjoy the mystery, the guessing, and where my own musings on these themes takes me. As Team Answers keeps score for each new episode I am just going to sit back and nod along with them.
I for one am, and always will be on Team Mystery Box.
a.N
www.FourToedFoot.com
*I write about LOST because I love the challenge of deciphering the clues and adding the pieces together. My thoughts are based solely on the show, the LOST Experience, and random research, as I try to avoid spoilers, promos, and even future episode titles. I love to guess what is going on, but I also like to do so in a way that leaves some of the conclusions still up to you. I do not know the answers and am often wrong. Whatever the truth turns out to be, it has been the journey that has meant the most to me.*Posted By: The ODI
Enjoy!!
I do sincerely apologize to you all for my recent 3-episode hiatus. I suppose one could say that I’ve been saving my thoughts on the last few episodes and letting them age like…a fine wine. Yet even with so many current distractions (read: very important life-stuff) nothing gets me “stay-up-all-night-whacky-LOST-eyed-writing” again more than a major mythology episode.
INTRO: Rock It
So, did LOST not ROCK IT with episode nine or what?!
Nestor Carbonell finally got to show off his mad acting skillz is this long-overdue tale of Richard Alpert’s epic back-story, “Ab Aeterno” (which for those of you who don’t know already can be translated to “For Eternity”). And it really did have something for everyone. A dashing hero on horseback straight out of a period romance-novel. A damsel in distress. Bloody outbursts of violence. The battle between good and evil. Faustian bargains. Richard's hysterical laughter. Built-in suspenders! Corks!!
When compared to the rest of the series, it was as emotional as “The Constant”, as mythical as “Cabin Fever”, as shocking as “The Man Behind the Curtain”…and I could go on and on through all of the major game-changing episodes we have seen. Just through following the fan rumblings on Twitter I found that there are only a few who have NOT added this to their “top-episodes of all time” lists. I believe this is true especially because of the fact we had previously been given NOTHING about this character’s tale but little spurts and hints since his first appearance. This in turn made the fan buildup to this particular installment nothing short of phenomenal, dare I say even rabid. And I must concur; it met and surpassed my expectations as it seems to have done for most of the fan-base.
There’s some heady stuff going on in this one so let’s just get right to the recap!
Every Planet We Reach Is Dead
We basically began the story where we left off at the Island beach camp with Ilana and Co. sitting around discussing their current situation. An immediate flashback revealed a little bit more about her time in that hospital when she was severely bandaged and Jacob came to her (dressed in BLACK) to ask for her help. She was told there were only six candidates left that she must protect, and that she had been preparing for this very task. It is still unclear as to why Ilana was injured and if Jacob had anything to do with her healing. Jacob was wearing gloves, so I am assuming he did not actually touch her as he did the candidates as we have already seen. Finally, at some point later during this more fleshed-out flashback when Ilana was no longer bandaged, Jacob told her that after she brought the candidates to the Temple, “Ricardus” would know what to do next.
Of course Ricardus is Richard Alpert, who had been standing in the background as Ilana asked him that very question. With a shocked and insane giggle he denied knowing anything, and then proceeded to basically freak-out in true “game over” style reminiscent of Hudson from the film “Aliens”. He tells the group around the campfire that not only is Jacob a liar, but that they are all really dead and actually in Hell. Richard then made it more than clear that he would no longer be a part of Team Jacob and told the group it was time to begin listening to someone else. He then grabbed a torch and stormed off alone into the jungle.
It would seem the writers still want to taunt the audience with the Purgatory theory, which has already been argued and shot down repeatedly for years now. At the same time, this isn’t the first time a character has declared the Island to be “Hell”, and there have been countless “Underworld” references throughout the entire show. I wasn’t buying it at all though, and we would soon learn there was indeed a specific reason for Richard’s severe doom-and-gloom perspective. More on this in a bit…
Ghost Train
Meanwhile a few feet away from the group, Hurley was quietly speaking Spanish to someone who was not actually there. Freak-y! According to Lostpedia, the translation is, “Ok…What can you do?...Yes, I can help you…But, I don't know how to find him, if I don't where he went...” Jack heard him and assuming Hurley was speaking to Jacob, demanded to know what the Big J was saying. I loved how Hurley dismissively told Jack it was not Jacob and that it had nothing to do with him at all. Then he also turned around and headed towards the jungle.
El Manana
After a quick shot of Richard’s angry trek through the nighttime foliage, we were given a flashback “whoosh” sound and suddenly a very hairy Richard was seen riding a horse through the pastoral Island setting. But it wasn’t our Island at all; it was actually Tenerife, The Canary Islands, in 1867 to be exact. Blam! We now know that Ricardus is over 140 years old, and that he was once just a poor bearded farmer, living in the sticks with a very ill but very beloved wife, Isabella. Just like Isabella, Richard was a Man of Faith, as they had been studying an English Bible together in preparation to fulfill their dream to begin a family in the New World.
However, after seeing Isabella cough blood, he decided it was time to call a Man of Science to try and save his dying wife. He gathered their meager savings hoping it would be enough to pay the doctor, and then in a very touching scene Isabella added her gold cross necklace to the lot. Richard didn’t want to take her cross, knowing that it was not only a treasure but a symbol of her Faith, of their Faith. However she insisted then asked him to close his eyes, and with a kiss told him that they would always be together.
With the promise of saving Isabella, Ricardus rode half the night through a storm to the Doctor’s home, where he forced entry even after being told by a butler that he could not come in. We were quick to learn this doctor was a selfish man, a glutton who cared more for his floor getting wet than for Richard possibly catching cold after his ride.
In fact, is it just me or did that doctor look a lot like The Man in Black? The entire scene was shot in darkness and shadow. Not to mention, how many times have we seen bad things go down in a storm? The only light in the room came from a blazing (Hell) fire. The doctor even threw Isabella’s cross in front of this fireplace as he refused to accept it in exchange for the medicine she so desperately needed. That sent Richard into gimmee-grabby mode as a final act of despair. In a brief struggle between the men, it would seem the doc slipped on that darn water that had dripped from Richard’s drenched clothing, smacked his noggin on a table and died, Desmond vs. Kelvin-style.
Richard got the heck out of there but by the time he reached Isabella with the medicine, the life had already left her. Cue the authorities.
All Alone
Jailed and cuffed, Richard read his Bible as a priest stepped in to visit. Once again, we met a cruel-hearted man in Father Suarez, who insisted that Richard meant to murder the doctor and refused to grant him absolution from his sin. To add insult to injury he told Richard the only way to make up for it is with a life of penance, which he had no time for as a man condemned to die the next day. Then with Richard’s Bible in tow and a crooked grin he told Richard that the Devil awaited him in Hell.
Of course Father Suarez wasn’t going to absolve Richard of his sin, as we soon learned how valuable he was to the slave trading market. Now we understand a bit more about why Richard freaked out at the beach camp; this is his background, his belief system, and he had been manipulated specifically by a priest that told him he was scheduled for a trip on the ‘Down’ Escalator of the Afterlife. That twisted Father sold Richard off to one Officer Jonas Whitfield, who then proclaimed him property of Magnus Hanso, a name which we have heard before from the Island, linked to The Black Rock.
And the crowd goes wild! Well, at least those fans who have for years now held the belief that Richard came to the Island on that ship, and the Man in Black’s reference to Richard being in chains meant that Richard had also been one of the slaves brought there with it. Hizzah!
Highway (Under Construction)
But little did we know that we would spend nearly half of the episode on that ship itself, as we were first introduced to Richard’s trip to the New World during yet another storm. Oh yeah, the same kind of storm that Frank Lapidus accidentally flew into during season four’s helicopter trip from the Island to the freighter. I am pretty sure at this point that anyone coming to the Island who doesn’t use a specific bearing encounters those storms, almost as if the Island has its own type of event horizon.
It was also pretty cool to see the statue of Taweret in the night and in turn get to learn that the statue was still standing when the Black Rock reached the Island. Correction: the statue was still standing as the Black Rock approached the Island. One of the other slaves chained next to Richard saw the statue and immediately proclaimed “the Devil” was guarding the Island. Ah, if he only knew…
Then in a collision of questionable nature, a tsunami-sized wave heaved the giant ship right into Taweret’s face, breaking the statue into pieces and leaving the foot as we know it today. I have to admit I was a little bit underwhelmed by this explanation of both the statue’s fall and the reason why the Black Rock had been left in the middle of the jungle.
However, there is something interesting going on with this scene. For one thing, in season five’s “The Incident” we saw a similar ship approaching in calm daylight as Jacob and The Man in Black had that little talk on the beach, which many of us had assumed was the Black Rock. At this point I suppose it was just another group that Jacob brought to the Island prior to bringing Richard’s ship.
In addition, with all of the white and black stones on the show, and the fact that Jacob later even sends a white one to MIB, I cannot help but think with a name like the Black Rock, MIB may have somehow caused that ship to smack right into Jacob’s abode. MIB does tend to operate well in stormy situations as we have seen, and he obviously had already grown tired of Jacob bringing humans to the Island, what with all their corrupting and destroying and whatnot. If this is true, than that was indeed one heck of a statement Jacob’s old friend sent him that night in regards to their little black and white game.
Last Living Souls
From that point on it was just one awful trial to another for poor, chained, in-much-need-of-a-bath Richard who ended up being one of the few slaves left alive down below the conveniently in-tact ship. Officer Whitfield came down and went into survival mode execution-style, and skewered the bound slaves like some demon Errol Flynn. Raise your hand if you too had a feeling we would hear that familiar "ticka-ticka" sound just as he was about to take out Richard, who had been watching in horror and begging for his life.
Smokey to the rescue…er, sort of. We were treated to yet another great Smoke-Monster sequence, when at first we could not see what was happening above except through a small, grated opening in the ceiling to the deck above. Of course, we all knew exactly what was going on, and then it was just a blood-drip away from Whitfield’s violent introduction to the Island’s Cerberus. We then witnessed one of the Monster’s abilities that we haven’t seen since way back in season three’s “Left Behind”. With some quick flashy face-time the Monster scanned Richard, and then disappeared.
Broken
According to the recent Geronimo Jack’s Beard podcast (with guest Nestor!), Richard was chained in the belly of that ship for four weeks, taking role as the new Island Jonah. If you want to dig further into the Christian symbolism at work here, look no further than the nail which became a tool and metaphor for Richard’s salvation, i.e. his escape from the chains still holding him in place. The Black Rock really was almost like a Purgatory for him, as he is broken down by thirst (more, water except just out of reach), a flesh-hungry boar (believed by some to occasionally be the Smoke Monster taking the form in certain situations), and finally the loss of the nail he had been using to scrape and chip his way to freedom.
Demon Days
The Monster/Man in Black wore Richard to death’s door, and then pulled the final deception by appearing to him as his dearly departed, Isabella. Since MIB had read Richard’s mind, he knew exactly how to manipulate the situation, and so “Isabella” began to tell Richard that they were both dead and in Hell, that she was there to free him, and that she had already seen the Devil “eye to eye”. MIB could have won an Oscar for this role playing both good cop and bad cop as he enacted the scenario above deck that made Richard believe she too had been taken by the Black Smoke he also had seen “eye to eye”.
Apparently Jacob isn't the only one who will reach out and touch someone. How fooled were those of us who immediately thought from previous setup that the hand being placed on Richard's passed-out shoulder was Jacob instead of MIB? How weird would it be if Richard had actually died and MIB brought him back to life like we have heard hints he has done before? How can I even trust who is alive and who is dead on this show anymore?!?!
OK, OK I don’t really think Richard is dead, but it is easy to see now how Richard could believe such a thing, especially when MIB feeds into it by telling him that the Devil took his wife. MIB gave Richard some water and just happened to have the keys to his bonds as well. There was almost a hint of sincere care for Richard there in the Dark One, until he made sure Richard agreed to “help” him in return for freedom, just like a good little mobster thug.
Faust
Richard and The Man in Black then sat down over some roasted boar for a little discussion about killing the Devil as Richard’s only means of saving his wife and escaping Hell. I loved how MIB not only handed Richard the same dagger that Dogen gave Sayid back at the Temple, but how he also gave Richard the same instructions that were given in order to do the deed. How curious it is that one would need to use the same weapon, and the same approach to kill both Jacob and MIB. I would have never had thought that way back in season one when Locke first revealed his famous case of knives that The Blade would become such an important instrument on the show.
It was interesting that MIB immediately confessed to being the Black Smoke, yet he denied taking Isabella and told Richard he saw the Devil do it. The best lies always have a hint of truth in them, and I suppose he told Richard that he was the Monster in order to gain that extra bit of Richard’s trust. MIB then played victim, claiming that Ol’ Scratch had betrayed him and took his body along with his humanity.
This part I might actually believe. Just as MIB said, “you and I can talk all day long about what's right or wrong”, and just as MIB doesn’t always seem totally “evil” Jacob himself doesn’t always seem completely “good” in this story. Is it possible that Jacob somehow tricked MIB into his current state of what seems like servitude to the Island as its “security system”? After learning the way that Jacob bestows “gifts” onto people, is it possible that MIB asked for his abilities without fully realizing the consequences? This would paint Jacob into more of the role of a Genie of sorts who grants wishes to people, yet always with a twist that results in the wish-fulfilled not quite turning out as the grantee had hoped for.
Even as Richard tried to refuse by saying that murder was what got him into the whole mess in the first place, MIB continued his schpeel about saving Isabella. The Devil isn’t the only one who can be “persuasive”, and eventually Richard headed off towards the ruins of the statue to carry out MIB’s side of the bargain.
Left Hand Suzuki Method
But before Richard even reached the doorway at the four toed foot, Jacob got the drop on him with some serious kung-fu action. How curious once more that Jacob defended himself when Richard came to kill him, yet didn’t raise a finger to stop Ben when he decided to get all stabby. I am wondering now if this means Jacob had been expecting Ben’s move, and that in the end we will find his death was necessary to drive us towards the proper resolution to this ancient back-and-forth match between him and MIB.
Stop the Dams
After baptizing some sense into the beaten man, Jacob brought Richard a blanket (finally!) and some wine. We’ve seen Jacob fishing, and now we see him bringing wine instead of water as did MIB. The Christian symbolism could not be thicker surrounding this mysterious being.
He did however let us in on an interesting tidbit via his wine-bottle, and equated the Island as a cork which held the darkness and evil at bay. I felt the writing became a little too repetitive and expositional as Jacob explained to Richard that he had been bringing people to the Island throughout time in order to prove the inherent goodness of mankind to MIB. However, he did give us a couple of new tidbits.
First, when someone is brought to the Island by Jacob, their past does not matter and they are given the preverbal Tabula Rasa. This would explain how folks like Sawyer and Kate can be murderers off-Island yet still be candidates for taking over the Big J’s throne on the Island.
Second and more importantly he states that he does not like to interfere by telling a person the difference between good and evil. But even as Jacob claims he is pro-free-will, we have indeed seen him interfere with people’s lives and at the least give them a little push in the right direction. Is Jacob himself telling a bit of a white-lie here? Or is this just his own “progress” we are seeing? Did it take some time for him to realize that sometimes certain situations did actually require him to step in a bit and lend a hand, so to say?
Dracula
I mean, is it just me or is Jacob not a fool for failing to realize that the MIB was stepping in and interfering with the people he had brought there in his absence? Why did it take Richard to make him see that he could have his own intermediary? Either Jacob is a very flawed “god” on this Island, or he was also playing a con on Richard. I tend to think the latter, since he can well, time-travel and whatnot.
In the end, Richard accepted the job offer and after three choices (wishes) the two settled on compensation that didn’t involve bringing his wife back from the dead or getting him into heaven that Jacob actually could pony up. Jacob then gave Richard the mother of all cootie-touches, and from that day forth Richard was frozen in time, a man who would age no longer.
Man Research
Jacob and the Man in Black have been playing their little game with humanity for ages now, and although I have no idea whatsoever what the “time-line X” is all about, I would like to put in my two cents in regards to who or what these two really are. Over and over we have been teased on the show in regards to who is “good”, and who is “evil”. Most of the time the answer comes in the form of a little bit of both, and I have already said countless times this is one of the show’s lessons; people are inherently good but do have the capability to sin based on their situation. Perspective, perspective, perspective!
At this point so far it would seem however that Jacob is indeed playing the light side, and MIB really is the bad guy here. We have no reason so far to disbelieve a thing that Jacob has told anyone, and even though he can be manipulative, even smug at times, and could potentially be responsible for countless deaths, he seems to be telling the truth. On the other hand, we have seen MIB repeatedly lie, as he tells different people different things in order to get them on his side based upon what he knows they want to hear.
There are a lot of people out there who keep trying to equate Jacob and MIB to some specific Biblical parallel. But I do not at all believe that they are literally “God and Satan”, nor “Cain and Abel”, or even “Jacob and Esau”. I just do not buy that the creators of LOST would give us an answer that is so literal. Instead, I think the writers are simply playing with these stories and ideas in a metaphorical sense, using archetypes from just about every culture you can think of to create something new. LOST itself has become a collage of religions, philosophies, and symbolism of the human psyche spun into its own magnificent tapestry of sorts.
As Jacob visited MIB one morning, notice how the scene was exactly reversed from the beach scene we were given in “The Incident”. This time it was Jacob who approached MIB, and they were not on the shore but instead they were inland. Opposites and mirrors prevail. Once again we had a discussion where MIB asked to leave, then threatened to kill Jacob and anyone who replaced him. Jacob sounded ready for it, anytime, anyplace. As Jacob left MIB his bottle of wine, MIB smashed it, which I think is foreshadowing that all Hell is literally about to break loose.
White Light
After Richard was given his eternal gift by Jacob, he returned to MIB to pass along a white rock from the Big J and confess what had happened. MIB was understanding and kept his offer open, and then he gave Richard back Isabella’s gold cross necklace as one final reminder that item would be all that he would ever have left of her by taking Jacob’s side. Richard then buried the cross and with it I believe a part of his own humanity in the form of his love for his wife, and in return set off to be Jacob’s new right-hand man.
When we got back to current time, Richard dug up the necklace, and in a setting reminiscent of the Tree in the Garden of Eden, he yelled out to MIB that he was wrong and that he changed his mind. However, MIB was not there, and instead Hurley stepped out of the jungle to drop some wisdom from Richard’s dead wife.
The show had a bit of a “Ghost” moment as Hurley acted as the intermediary between Isabella’s spirit and Richard. However the acting and direction gave it enough emotional weight to put it up there with Desmond and Penny’s phone call in “The Constant”. I become a complete wreck now when I watch either one of these scenes, especially when she asks Richard to “close his eyes” again. I do believe Ricardus really felt her presence there for a moment. Once again we are told that even after death, our loved ones will always be with us, in our memories and in our hearts.
CONCLUSION: Spitting out the Demons
At that point, Richard was redeemed and Hurley basically once again saved the day. Score yet another white rock for Team Jacob, as it was soon revealed that Lockeness Monster was not far off in the distance and had almost caught up to them.
It is important to note this episode marked the midpoint of the series’ final season. If traditional storytelling in regards to LOST tells us anything, it should be a nice ride from here on out.
It is also fascinating to me how the fan-base has split into opposing factions. Life imitates art as people are either believing in Jacob, or trusting the Man in Black. There are the ones who seek a scientific conclusion, and those who want to see a more faith-based ending just as there are those who are rabid for answers, and those who are content to simply let the story play itself out no matter what happens.
If you know anything about the world of J.J. Abrams, he has always been a fan of ambiguity. A quick view of his speech at the 2008 T.E.D. conference gives us all the insight we need to understand his philosophy which I am pretty sure at this point LOST has adopted as well. The answers – the BIG ones at least – will more than likely never be able to top the ones that our own imaginations have been serving up to us at this point. Take for instance the bit of a letdown I described in the reveal of how the Black Rock made it into the jungle, and how the Taweret statue was destroyed. Am I the only one who had grander expectations for these explanations?
I don’t think I want to be told exactly what the Island is, or exactly who or what Jacob and MIB are. I too, enjoy the mystery, the guessing, and where my own musings on these themes takes me. As Team Answers keeps score for each new episode I am just going to sit back and nod along with them.
I for one am, and always will be on Team Mystery Box.
a.N
www.FourToedFoot.com
*I write about LOST because I love the challenge of deciphering the clues and adding the pieces together. My thoughts are based solely on the show, the LOST Experience, and random research, as I try to avoid spoilers, promos, and even future episode titles. I love to guess what is going on, but I also like to do so in a way that leaves some of the conclusions still up to you. I do not know the answers and am often wrong. Whatever the truth turns out to be, it has been the journey that has meant the most to me.*Posted By: The ODI
Monday, March 29, 2010
Lost Fantasy League: Week 8 Update!
UPDATE: The weekly character scores and episode totals charts have been added to the post. I wasn't able to insert them earlier when Google was having problems.
UPADTE: Google seems to be having issues with their image hosting right now. Charts and tables will be up when Google fixes the problem.
Our second Double-Points Episode is in the books and, for the second week in a row, the leader boards have been completely tossed about! With Richard's record-setting 920 points, our league leaders now look drastically different. Also, for what I believe is the first time ever, one of our celebrity contestants is leading the League! Way to go Pete!
NOTE: There were a number of point adjustments made heading into this post. This means that your weekly scores may look incorrect. Please check the Important Point Rulings section to see if these adjustments affect your team before emailing me about an incorrect score.
"Ab Aeterno" would have been a points giant without the double-points factor. With the DPF, it is now the highest-scoring episode this season and possibly of all time! Makes you wonder what will happen in our third and final DPE this year (6.13). Ah well, check out the Fantasy Update above (I've written off a few more people) and the lovely stats and data below.
Lost Fantasy Team Lookup Table | LFL on Facebook | G-Man on Twitter | Email G-Man
UPADTE: Google seems to be having issues with their image hosting right now. Charts and tables will be up when Google fixes the problem.
Our second Double-Points Episode is in the books and, for the second week in a row, the leader boards have been completely tossed about! With Richard's record-setting 920 points, our league leaders now look drastically different. Also, for what I believe is the first time ever, one of our celebrity contestants is leading the League! Way to go Pete!
NOTE: There were a number of point adjustments made heading into this post. This means that your weekly scores may look incorrect. Please check the Important Point Rulings section to see if these adjustments affect your team before emailing me about an incorrect score.
"Ab Aeterno" would have been a points giant without the double-points factor. With the DPF, it is now the highest-scoring episode this season and possibly of all time! Makes you wonder what will happen in our third and final DPE this year (6.13). Ah well, check out the Fantasy Update above (I've written off a few more people) and the lovely stats and data below.
Lost Fantasy Team Lookup Table | LFL on Facebook | G-Man on Twitter | Email G-Man
Episode 6x09 - ODI LOSTometer Episode Grade Chart
Hey All,
I know a few of you did not think this past week's episode of LOST was as good as others thought, but you were in a big minority as most fans felt that it was amazing and one of the better episodes we have seen.
The fan polls ranked this episode very high and just slightly below the The Constant making it the second highest ranked episode.
The blogger/media sites agreed with the majority as several of them gave A++++!
As always the additional "+" symbols are to show how they really felt but only count for one "+".
What more can I say, I loved seeing Richard's flashback, Nestor Carbonell's acting was awesome and and any Jacob and MiB interaction is always a plus. Of course the writers gave us several answers including killing two birds with one Black Rock, explaining how the ship got to the center of the island and what destroyed the 4-toed statue.
Quote of the Week via Anna (FourToedFoot.com): Can I do A to the 15th power? It was as emotional as the Constant, as mythical as Cabin Fever, as shocking as The Man Behind the Curtain…I could go on through all of the BIG episodes we have of the series. There are not many who seem to have NOT added this to their “top-episodes of all times” lists. Especially when we have been given NOTHING about this character but little spurts and hints…the fan buildup was phenomenal and I have to agree it met and surpassed my expectations.
Honorable Mention - Best Use of the Letter "A": 'A' is for Admirable Amazing Astonishing Awesome Ab Aeterno Alpert.
Once again thanks to all that are participating and don't forget to check out their sites and recaps at the following links:
DarkUFO | b3rt4 | Karen's LOST Notebook | Vozzek | Jeff Jensen - EW | Ryan McGee - Zap2it | Peter - SlashFilm | Cultural Learnings | Congested | Jay and Jack Podcast | FourToedFoot | DocArzt | SL-LOST | Jopinionated | Sawyer840 | LOSTzilla | LOST-Media | LOST-Forum | AV Club | Lyly Ford | LOST Mythos Podcast | LOST Blog | F***YeahLOST | Luhks | LOST in Portugal | LOST-Board.de | Seat42F | Rap Basement LOSTIES | LOST in Greece | Find LOST with Carmel | LOST Revisited Now Podcast | PopWrap Blog - NY Post
Source: The ODI
I know a few of you did not think this past week's episode of LOST was as good as others thought, but you were in a big minority as most fans felt that it was amazing and one of the better episodes we have seen.
The fan polls ranked this episode very high and just slightly below the The Constant making it the second highest ranked episode.
The blogger/media sites agreed with the majority as several of them gave A++++!
As always the additional "+" symbols are to show how they really felt but only count for one "+".
What more can I say, I loved seeing Richard's flashback, Nestor Carbonell's acting was awesome and and any Jacob and MiB interaction is always a plus. Of course the writers gave us several answers including killing two birds with one Black Rock, explaining how the ship got to the center of the island and what destroyed the 4-toed statue.
Quote of the Week via Anna (FourToedFoot.com): Can I do A to the 15th power? It was as emotional as the Constant, as mythical as Cabin Fever, as shocking as The Man Behind the Curtain…I could go on through all of the BIG episodes we have of the series. There are not many who seem to have NOT added this to their “top-episodes of all times” lists. Especially when we have been given NOTHING about this character but little spurts and hints…the fan buildup was phenomenal and I have to agree it met and surpassed my expectations.
Honorable Mention - Best Use of the Letter "A": 'A' is for Admirable Amazing Astonishing Awesome Ab Aeterno Alpert.
Once again thanks to all that are participating and don't forget to check out their sites and recaps at the following links:
DarkUFO | b3rt4 | Karen's LOST Notebook | Vozzek | Jeff Jensen - EW | Ryan McGee - Zap2it | Peter - SlashFilm | Cultural Learnings | Congested | Jay and Jack Podcast | FourToedFoot | DocArzt | SL-LOST | Jopinionated | Sawyer840 | LOSTzilla | LOST-Media | LOST-Forum | AV Club | Lyly Ford | LOST Mythos Podcast | LOST Blog | F***YeahLOST | Luhks | LOST in Portugal | LOST-Board.de | Seat42F | Rap Basement LOSTIES | LOST in Greece | Find LOST with Carmel | LOST Revisited Now Podcast | PopWrap Blog - NY Post
Source: The ODI
Friday, March 26, 2010
UK Viewers - What did you think of Episode 6.09 - Ab Aeterno
Discuss, Comment and Vote in the Poll in the sidebar.
Also check out our recaps of Recon
Robz888
Vozzek
Erika
Other "Recon Related Items
Spoiler Accuracy Thread
The LOST Spoilered Perspective Podcast: Recon
US Ratings News
Jorge Garcia Podcast
Lost Untangled
Prediction League Update
Al Trautwig Video Thoughts
ODI Lost Cast with Damon Lindelof
MISC
Ab Aeterno - New Mysteries
Ab Aeterno - Episode Screencaps
Ab Aeterno - Related Polls
You can also discuss it further in our Official Episode Discussion here.
Also check out our recaps of Recon
Robz888
Vozzek
Erika
Other "Recon Related Items
Spoiler Accuracy Thread
The LOST Spoilered Perspective Podcast: Recon
US Ratings News
Jorge Garcia Podcast
Lost Untangled
Prediction League Update
Al Trautwig Video Thoughts
ODI Lost Cast with Damon Lindelof
MISC
Ab Aeterno - New Mysteries
Ab Aeterno - Episode Screencaps
Ab Aeterno - Related Polls
You can also discuss it further in our Official Episode Discussion here.
Official LOST Video Podcast with Nestor Carbonell
Thanks to Bruce for the heads up and to Lyly for the video.
"Ab Aeterno" Recap and Analysis, by Erika
Here is the Episode 6.09 recap from Erika Olson (aka "e") from LongLiveLocke.com.
We've officially reached the halfway point of Season Six. Nine hours down, nine hours left to go before it all ends on May 23. I've gotta say that if the remaining episodes are even remotely as incredible as Ab Aeterno was, we are going to be very happy Lost fans indeed.
So go ahead and add me to the list of people who loved this Ageless Richard-centric hour (its title, by the way, is Latin for "since the beginning" or "for long ages"). I made what might've been the most obvious comment ever to my husband after it was over: "This was so much more powerful than it would've been had we gotten his backstory earlier." We needed years of seeing Richard as Jeff Probst's doppelganger -- clean-shaven, stylish, confident and spewing out impeccable English -- in order to truly appreciate how far he's come in, oh, a hundred and forty years. And to understand how utterly desperate he must feel to finally want to give up on the job he was given by Jacob all of those decades ago.
Since this episode bucked the traditional format and was almost entirely done in flashback mode, I'm just going to cover things chronologically. Let's do this. (And a note to new readers: if you roll your mouse over the pictures in this post, captions will appear.)
AM I IN HEAVEN HERE OR
AM I IN HELL?
AT THE CROSSROADS
I AM STANDING
The opening scene showed the beach gang discussing what Ilana told Sun about "the candidates." Since I knew from the previews that this was going to be a Richard Alpert flashback, I was really surprised to see the replay of Jacob and Ilana's conversation in the hospital when she was all beat up. So I just assumed Richard was going to walk in, or was also lying on another hospital bed or something. Wrong. They showed us -- and expanded upon -- that scene again to reiterate three important points: 1) Jacob was wearing gloves and therefore never transferred any of his magical powers to Ilana, 2) he specifically said that she had to watch over "the remaining candidates," indicating that he was aware the latest experiment he was conducting on human nature was coming to an end, and 3) that "Ricardus" would know what to do once she brought everybody to the Temple.
The scene cuts back to real-time on the Island and Ilana repeats that Jacob said Richard would be the man with the plan. That's when we heard what might've been the most girly, yet simultaneously awesome laugh from the ageless one, who was standing off in the shadows of the campfire. He's like, "Joke's on you, suckas, because I got nothin' for ya." He then proceeded to tell Jack that he (The Mad Doctor) was dead and that they were all in hell.
And then I (and I'm sure many of you) groaned a loud groan and said, "Oh no, the Purgatory / They're All Dead theories are going to be alive and well again after tonight."
Sometimes I think the writers just want to mess with the hardcore fans who dismissed those theories (because the producers themselves shot them down) back in 2004. Sigh.
Then Richard stomps off into the jungle to find the Man in Black, Ilana tries to stop him but Jack says it's pointless, Hurley's on the outskirts of the clearing, talking in Spanish to an unseen ghost, Ben tells everyone that Richard "doesn't know anything," and then the group just looks at each other and laments that they don't have any marshmallows, graham crackers and Hershey's bars with which to make some much-needed s'mores.
And then we switch to flashback mode once more...
I'M A SLAVE 4 U
A heavily bearded Richard is riding a horse across what I assumed was the Island, as there was a mountain in the background and we'd seen Widmore riding a horse around the Others' camp before. But nope, the setting was the Canary Islands and the year was 1867. Richard arrives home to his coughing-up-blood wife, Isabella, and he realizes that he needs to get her help right quick. She gives him her cross necklace, tells him that "we'll always be together" and he takes off on a half-day journey to find a doctor.
He finds a doctor, who's pretty much an ass, and then accidentally kills him -- much like how Des accidentally killed Kelvin on the Island. But as Richard looks down at the blood flowing from the back of the doctor's head, he realizes that he's got the medicine vial in his hand already. So he busts out of there... all for nothing. Isabella has passed on by the time he returned to her.
He gets no time to grieve because lawmen followed him home. The next time we see him, he's in a prison cell. A priest visits him, he begs for forgiveness for the awful accident, but Father Suarez will have none of it.
He tells Richard, "I'm afraid the devil awaits you in hell. May God have mercy on your soul." Nice. That's the last time Richard gives a confession! Even if he wasn't about to be hanged!
Shortly thereafter, Alpert is in the process of being hauled off to the gallows when he's stopped by some British dude and asked if he can speak English. After it's revealed that he can, the British guy -- Jonas Whitfield -- BUYS him and declares him the property of one Magnus Hanso. As in, the great-grandfather of Alvar Hanso, founder of the Hanso Foundation, which financed the Dharma Initiative. (None of this is stuff we hadn't known before, except the confirmation that Richard was indeed a prisoner on the Black Rock. I'm just repeating the Hanso stuff for the "normal people" who don't remember all of this Lost mythology from past seasons.)
ALL AROUND THE WORLD
STATUES CRUMBLE FOR ME
Finally, we get to see the long-awaited Black Rock voyage. Thank the heavens that the FX were OK in this scene. All of the prisoners are in chains below deck and one of them peers out to see an Island that is "guarded by the devil" -- Taweret in all her glory.
And then, the Black Rock proceeded to take out the majority of the Four-Toed Statue. BIG MYSTERY SOLVED -- woo-hoo! I thought that part was pretty cool. Now we also know that it was a huge tidal wave that landed the ship in the middle of the Island. Another mystery solved. It's almost too much to handle. Almost.
RUNNIN' DOWN A DREAM
Next we watched as poor Richard saw Whitfield stab and kill everyone else below deck, one by one. Just as it was Richard's turn to look down the edge of the officer's sword, who shows up to wreak havoc but Smokey.
Whitfield is disposed of and now Richard's face-to-face with something much worse than a man-made weapon. Smokey proceeds with the white-flash/mindscan thing we've seen him do before with Juliet and Eko, Richard is spared and Smokey rattles off.
Minutes turn into hours, hours turn into days, and Richard continues to fight to break free from his chains. Although these scenes were sad, I did find it kind of humorous that long before the boars of the Island taunted Sawyer, they were around to mess with Richard, and one of the bigger members of their clan caused him to lose the pin he'd been painstakingly trying to unlock his cuffs with. He was just out of reach of the pin and of rainwater, and he was just about out of hope and the will to live when Dead Isabella materializes. But Richard thought she was very much alive and therefore totally freaked out when she ran above deck, only to be eaten by Smokey.
What was Isabella? Since her body wasn't on the Island, it doesn't seem like the MIB could've transformed into her, does it? But maybe after the mindscan MIB could shift into people he saw from Richard's past? Or maybe Richard was just hallucinating -- who could blame him at that point, right?
I have to think that Isabella was the MIB in disguise, however, because the entire crux of his plan was to make Richard think that "the devil" had her. He even went so far as to admit that he was the smoke monster, that's how confident he was that Richard would be undeterred and still do whatever it took to save Isabella.
Now, I know that in my last few posts I've been pointing out the increasingly religious tone that the show has taken, and clearly Ab Aeterno was the most blatant Bible-referencing episode of late. However, I think the only reason "the devil" was actually mentioned this time around was solely because of the mindscan Smokey performed. The Man in Black knew Richard was a God-fearing man and therefore used that against him in order to manipulate him into doing what he wanted -- namely, killing Jacob. What better way to do that then by telling Richard that Jacob was the devil... and had nabbed his wife? So let me be clear: the Island is NOT hell, no one back at the campfire in the present time is dead, they are not in purgatory, and Jacob is not Satan. I believe, just as I always did, that Jacob and the Man in Black might still represent some sort of religious figures, but I'll talk about that more in-depth later.
'CAUSE I'M WORKIN' FOR THE MAN
WORKIN' FOR THE MAN
Richard sets off for the statue, gets into a tussle with Jacob who -- in an attempt to convince the Island's latest visitor that he is not in fact dead -- dunks him a bunch of times in the ocean, just like a high school bully. I kind of liked this less patient version of Jacob. Anyway, Jacob was like, "If your wife was dead before you came here, then that wasn't her that you just saw on the ship -- duh." Jacob then goes on to describe evil as wine swirling around in a bottle, and the Island as the cork that was stopping it from escaping out into the wider world and spreading. Jacob explained that he brought people to the Island in an attempt to prove to the Man in Black that humankind was fundamentally good. Yet he never wanted to interfere with anyone's actions once they arrived. Richard called Jacob's strategery lame, and pointed out that if Jacob didn't try to influence visitors' actions, "... he will. DOUBLE DUH!"
Jacob felt really silly for not having realized this. He would've totally failed a Game Theory course back in the real world, geez. It dawns on him that this Ricardo dude could be useful, so he offers him a job as his "representative" in exchange for immortality. It's important to note that Jacob made it clear he couldn't bring back the dead, nor could he absolve anyone of their sins. So, he is NOT God, not that anyone really ever thought he was. (I should probably mention that in the comments for my "Sundown" post -- the episode in which Sayid turned evil and killed Dogen -- Lost fan extraordinaire and LLL reader SherylM pointed out
that while Jacob offered to save Dogen's son in return for Dogen coming to the Island, never did Dogen actually say his son had DIED. He just said that Jacob claimed to be able to "save" the boy, which could mean that he was so seriously injured he was probably not going to make it. So there are no inconsistencies in what Jacob says he can/cannot do. Even when he touched Locke after Locke's eight-story fall, he touched Locke within seconds of landing, so it's possible Locke had not died of internal injuries by that point, which I'm assuming would've happened otherwise. Holy crap, it just hit me that we still don't know WHY Locke was paralyzed in the flash sideways timeline since he now has a good relationship with his father... DAH! Sorry. Back to THIS episode...)
TAKE THIS JOB AND SHOVE IT
Back in the present day on the Island, Richard returns to the stone bench under which he had buried Isabella's cross... the cross that the MIB saved from the Black Rock wreckage 140 years prior and had handed back to him with the promise that his "offer" would always stand. After Jacob's death, the Temple massacre, and learning information about "the candidates" which he'd never been privy to for 14 decades, Richard was more than ready to take the MIB up on his deal and end his time as Jacob's errand-boy. And I think the writers of this episode did an excellent job of helping us viewers understand exactly why Richard had finally had ENOUGH.
So he digs up the necklace and starts shouting into the wind, "DOES THE OFFER STILL STAND?!?!"
I was positive that Fake Locke was going to appear out of thin air, but instead Hurley emerges from the jungle. The first thing through my mind was, "Hurley is definitely going to be Jacob's replacement." I mean, all signs are pointing that way, no? I still think Jack will play some monumental role in "saving" the Island and everyone on it, but so far Hurley has been the most connected to Jacob and has already carried out his will several times.
Then, in a very Ghost-like sequence, Hurley revealed that he'd been talking with Isabella -- who was presently standing right next to her long-lost love -- and that she wanted Richard to stop punishing himself for her death. She also wanted to remind him that they are "already together." Sniff.
Ghost Isabella vanished and Hurley dropped one last bomb on Richard: the ageless one's dead wife also mentioned that he HAD to stop the Man in Black from leaving the Island because if he didn't, "we all go to hell." Once again, I did not take her words literally. I took them as, "I'm a God-fearing Ghost and you're still a God-fearing immortal and the MIB is evil so you can't let evil win." Do not make me publicly shame you by trying to convince me her warning was evidence for the Purgatory theory!!!
GET UP
GET YOUR MAN A BOTTLE OF RED WINE
The last scene took place back in 1867 on the Island. We see Jacob and the Man in Black engaged in another tenuous chat, much like the one they had at the beginning of "The Incident." The MIB swears he'll find a way to kill Jacob one day... and that he'll also kill anyone who replaces Jacob. So there should now be no doubt that the promises Fake Locke is making 815ers like Sawyer and Kate and Sayid are complete lies. He fully intends to off them. Also, did you notice how Fake Locke and the MIB as played by Titus Welliver are so amazingly alike in their mannerisms and speech? Very impressive.
Even though his life has just been threatened, Jacob takes the high road and replies, "Brother, you need a drink. Oh look, I just so happen to have some wine. Here you go -- bottoms up." He gives him the bottle and then takes off. Once he's alone, the Man in Black throws a hissy fit and smashes the wine against a log. That's, like, SO mature.
Let's wrap up by discussing what new things we've learned about Jacob and his nemesis. I know there's a "Fight Club" theory going around that states Jacob and the MIB are the same person. This idea picked up a lot of steam after the MIB gave Richard the exact same instructions for killing Jacob that Dogen gave Sayid for killing Fake Locke/MIB: 1) Don't let him speak... AT ALL, and 2) plunge a special silver sword into his heart (it was the same sword in both episodes, by the way). While I am not by any means dismissing this theory on the grounds that I don't think it makes any sense (because I do think it's very clever), I am going to dismiss it on the grounds of "too complicated for a prime-time TV show with only half a season left."
First off, Jacob is already dead -- so how would THAT work if he and MIB were the same guy? Secondly, you've got people like Ilana sent to protect Jacob, and another big group siding with Fake Locke. I just think it would be waaaaay too complicated to not only wrap all the other several dozen (or more) outstanding mysteries in the show, but also find a way to easily explain to the average viewer that Jacob and his nemesis -- you know, the guys that were shown talking to each other, passing a bottle of wine back and forth, giving rocks as presents to each other -- are actually THE SAME DUDE. Nope, too complex to pull off, sorry.
After this episode I think the same thing I've always thought: that MIB is a form of evil. It doesn't really matter what his name is or if he's the devil or just a force for darkness or a demon or whatever. All that matters is that he despises humankind and therefore wants to prove that man is inherently "bad." He also wants to escape the Island so that he can spread his special brand of wickedness around the globe.
(One thing that's confusing me is that I could've sworn we already saw Smokey -- in apparition form -- OFF of the Island. As Zombie Dad in Jack's hospital in "Something Nice Back Home" (remember, the smoke alarm even went off in that scene?) and on the freighter before Michael blew up. Anyone wanna help me make sense of that?)
Jacob, on the other hand, represents "light," or "goodness." He believes that man is inherently moral. He could be some sort of angel... that would still make him on par with the MIB if the MIB was in fact the devil, because in many religions the devil is described as a fallen angel. He might be some sort of heaven-sent representative charged with keeping the devil from running wild all of the place.
No matter what you want to view these two as, clearly they are not human beings. So we can all at least agree on that point, right?
I think it's nearly impossible for next week's episode to match the awesomeness of Ab Aeterno, but here's hopin'...
Until then,
- e
We've officially reached the halfway point of Season Six. Nine hours down, nine hours left to go before it all ends on May 23. I've gotta say that if the remaining episodes are even remotely as incredible as Ab Aeterno was, we are going to be very happy Lost fans indeed.So go ahead and add me to the list of people who loved this Ageless Richard-centric hour (its title, by the way, is Latin for "since the beginning" or "for long ages"). I made what might've been the most obvious comment ever to my husband after it was over: "This was so much more powerful than it would've been had we gotten his backstory earlier." We needed years of seeing Richard as Jeff Probst's doppelganger -- clean-shaven, stylish, confident and spewing out impeccable English -- in order to truly appreciate how far he's come in, oh, a hundred and forty years. And to understand how utterly desperate he must feel to finally want to give up on the job he was given by Jacob all of those decades ago.
Since this episode bucked the traditional format and was almost entirely done in flashback mode, I'm just going to cover things chronologically. Let's do this. (And a note to new readers: if you roll your mouse over the pictures in this post, captions will appear.)
AM I IN HEAVEN HERE OR
AM I IN HELL?
AT THE CROSSROADS
I AM STANDING
The opening scene showed the beach gang discussing what Ilana told Sun about "the candidates." Since I knew from the previews that this was going to be a Richard Alpert flashback, I was really surprised to see the replay of Jacob and Ilana's conversation in the hospital when she was all beat up. So I just assumed Richard was going to walk in, or was also lying on another hospital bed or something. Wrong. They showed us -- and expanded upon -- that scene again to reiterate three important points: 1) Jacob was wearing gloves and therefore never transferred any of his magical powers to Ilana, 2) he specifically said that she had to watch over "the remaining candidates," indicating that he was aware the latest experiment he was conducting on human nature was coming to an end, and 3) that "Ricardus" would know what to do once she brought everybody to the Temple.The scene cuts back to real-time on the Island and Ilana repeats that Jacob said Richard would be the man with the plan. That's when we heard what might've been the most girly, yet simultaneously awesome laugh from the ageless one, who was standing off in the shadows of the campfire. He's like, "Joke's on you, suckas, because I got nothin' for ya." He then proceeded to tell Jack that he (The Mad Doctor) was dead and that they were all in hell.
And then I (and I'm sure many of you) groaned a loud groan and said, "Oh no, the Purgatory / They're All Dead theories are going to be alive and well again after tonight."
Sometimes I think the writers just want to mess with the hardcore fans who dismissed those theories (because the producers themselves shot them down) back in 2004. Sigh.Then Richard stomps off into the jungle to find the Man in Black, Ilana tries to stop him but Jack says it's pointless, Hurley's on the outskirts of the clearing, talking in Spanish to an unseen ghost, Ben tells everyone that Richard "doesn't know anything," and then the group just looks at each other and laments that they don't have any marshmallows, graham crackers and Hershey's bars with which to make some much-needed s'mores.
And then we switch to flashback mode once more...
I'M A SLAVE 4 U
A heavily bearded Richard is riding a horse across what I assumed was the Island, as there was a mountain in the background and we'd seen Widmore riding a horse around the Others' camp before. But nope, the setting was the Canary Islands and the year was 1867. Richard arrives home to his coughing-up-blood wife, Isabella, and he realizes that he needs to get her help right quick. She gives him her cross necklace, tells him that "we'll always be together" and he takes off on a half-day journey to find a doctor.He finds a doctor, who's pretty much an ass, and then accidentally kills him -- much like how Des accidentally killed Kelvin on the Island. But as Richard looks down at the blood flowing from the back of the doctor's head, he realizes that he's got the medicine vial in his hand already. So he busts out of there... all for nothing. Isabella has passed on by the time he returned to her.
He gets no time to grieve because lawmen followed him home. The next time we see him, he's in a prison cell. A priest visits him, he begs for forgiveness for the awful accident, but Father Suarez will have none of it.
He tells Richard, "I'm afraid the devil awaits you in hell. May God have mercy on your soul." Nice. That's the last time Richard gives a confession! Even if he wasn't about to be hanged!Shortly thereafter, Alpert is in the process of being hauled off to the gallows when he's stopped by some British dude and asked if he can speak English. After it's revealed that he can, the British guy -- Jonas Whitfield -- BUYS him and declares him the property of one Magnus Hanso. As in, the great-grandfather of Alvar Hanso, founder of the Hanso Foundation, which financed the Dharma Initiative. (None of this is stuff we hadn't known before, except the confirmation that Richard was indeed a prisoner on the Black Rock. I'm just repeating the Hanso stuff for the "normal people" who don't remember all of this Lost mythology from past seasons.)
ALL AROUND THE WORLD
STATUES CRUMBLE FOR ME
Finally, we get to see the long-awaited Black Rock voyage. Thank the heavens that the FX were OK in this scene. All of the prisoners are in chains below deck and one of them peers out to see an Island that is "guarded by the devil" -- Taweret in all her glory.And then, the Black Rock proceeded to take out the majority of the Four-Toed Statue. BIG MYSTERY SOLVED -- woo-hoo! I thought that part was pretty cool. Now we also know that it was a huge tidal wave that landed the ship in the middle of the Island. Another mystery solved. It's almost too much to handle. Almost.
RUNNIN' DOWN A DREAM
Next we watched as poor Richard saw Whitfield stab and kill everyone else below deck, one by one. Just as it was Richard's turn to look down the edge of the officer's sword, who shows up to wreak havoc but Smokey.
Whitfield is disposed of and now Richard's face-to-face with something much worse than a man-made weapon. Smokey proceeds with the white-flash/mindscan thing we've seen him do before with Juliet and Eko, Richard is spared and Smokey rattles off.Minutes turn into hours, hours turn into days, and Richard continues to fight to break free from his chains. Although these scenes were sad, I did find it kind of humorous that long before the boars of the Island taunted Sawyer, they were around to mess with Richard, and one of the bigger members of their clan caused him to lose the pin he'd been painstakingly trying to unlock his cuffs with. He was just out of reach of the pin and of rainwater, and he was just about out of hope and the will to live when Dead Isabella materializes. But Richard thought she was very much alive and therefore totally freaked out when she ran above deck, only to be eaten by Smokey.
What was Isabella? Since her body wasn't on the Island, it doesn't seem like the MIB could've transformed into her, does it? But maybe after the mindscan MIB could shift into people he saw from Richard's past? Or maybe Richard was just hallucinating -- who could blame him at that point, right?
I have to think that Isabella was the MIB in disguise, however, because the entire crux of his plan was to make Richard think that "the devil" had her. He even went so far as to admit that he was the smoke monster, that's how confident he was that Richard would be undeterred and still do whatever it took to save Isabella.MAN IN BLACK: I'm not the one you need to worry about. The Devil has your wife, and you are going to have to kill him if you ever want to get her back.
RICHARD: Murder is wrong. That is what brought me here.
MAN IN BLACK: My friend, you and I can talk all day long about what's right or wrong, but the question before you remains the same - "Do you ever want to see your wife again?"
RICHARD: Yes I do.
Now, I know that in my last few posts I've been pointing out the increasingly religious tone that the show has taken, and clearly Ab Aeterno was the most blatant Bible-referencing episode of late. However, I think the only reason "the devil" was actually mentioned this time around was solely because of the mindscan Smokey performed. The Man in Black knew Richard was a God-fearing man and therefore used that against him in order to manipulate him into doing what he wanted -- namely, killing Jacob. What better way to do that then by telling Richard that Jacob was the devil... and had nabbed his wife? So let me be clear: the Island is NOT hell, no one back at the campfire in the present time is dead, they are not in purgatory, and Jacob is not Satan. I believe, just as I always did, that Jacob and the Man in Black might still represent some sort of religious figures, but I'll talk about that more in-depth later.'CAUSE I'M WORKIN' FOR THE MAN
WORKIN' FOR THE MAN
Richard sets off for the statue, gets into a tussle with Jacob who -- in an attempt to convince the Island's latest visitor that he is not in fact dead -- dunks him a bunch of times in the ocean, just like a high school bully. I kind of liked this less patient version of Jacob. Anyway, Jacob was like, "If your wife was dead before you came here, then that wasn't her that you just saw on the ship -- duh." Jacob then goes on to describe evil as wine swirling around in a bottle, and the Island as the cork that was stopping it from escaping out into the wider world and spreading. Jacob explained that he brought people to the Island in an attempt to prove to the Man in Black that humankind was fundamentally good. Yet he never wanted to interfere with anyone's actions once they arrived. Richard called Jacob's strategery lame, and pointed out that if Jacob didn't try to influence visitors' actions, "... he will. DOUBLE DUH!"Jacob felt really silly for not having realized this. He would've totally failed a Game Theory course back in the real world, geez. It dawns on him that this Ricardo dude could be useful, so he offers him a job as his "representative" in exchange for immortality. It's important to note that Jacob made it clear he couldn't bring back the dead, nor could he absolve anyone of their sins. So, he is NOT God, not that anyone really ever thought he was. (I should probably mention that in the comments for my "Sundown" post -- the episode in which Sayid turned evil and killed Dogen -- Lost fan extraordinaire and LLL reader SherylM pointed out
that while Jacob offered to save Dogen's son in return for Dogen coming to the Island, never did Dogen actually say his son had DIED. He just said that Jacob claimed to be able to "save" the boy, which could mean that he was so seriously injured he was probably not going to make it. So there are no inconsistencies in what Jacob says he can/cannot do. Even when he touched Locke after Locke's eight-story fall, he touched Locke within seconds of landing, so it's possible Locke had not died of internal injuries by that point, which I'm assuming would've happened otherwise. Holy crap, it just hit me that we still don't know WHY Locke was paralyzed in the flash sideways timeline since he now has a good relationship with his father... DAH! Sorry. Back to THIS episode...)TAKE THIS JOB AND SHOVE IT
Back in the present day on the Island, Richard returns to the stone bench under which he had buried Isabella's cross... the cross that the MIB saved from the Black Rock wreckage 140 years prior and had handed back to him with the promise that his "offer" would always stand. After Jacob's death, the Temple massacre, and learning information about "the candidates" which he'd never been privy to for 14 decades, Richard was more than ready to take the MIB up on his deal and end his time as Jacob's errand-boy. And I think the writers of this episode did an excellent job of helping us viewers understand exactly why Richard had finally had ENOUGH.So he digs up the necklace and starts shouting into the wind, "DOES THE OFFER STILL STAND?!?!"
I was positive that Fake Locke was going to appear out of thin air, but instead Hurley emerges from the jungle. The first thing through my mind was, "Hurley is definitely going to be Jacob's replacement." I mean, all signs are pointing that way, no? I still think Jack will play some monumental role in "saving" the Island and everyone on it, but so far Hurley has been the most connected to Jacob and has already carried out his will several times.
Then, in a very Ghost-like sequence, Hurley revealed that he'd been talking with Isabella -- who was presently standing right next to her long-lost love -- and that she wanted Richard to stop punishing himself for her death. She also wanted to remind him that they are "already together." Sniff.Ghost Isabella vanished and Hurley dropped one last bomb on Richard: the ageless one's dead wife also mentioned that he HAD to stop the Man in Black from leaving the Island because if he didn't, "we all go to hell." Once again, I did not take her words literally. I took them as, "I'm a God-fearing Ghost and you're still a God-fearing immortal and the MIB is evil so you can't let evil win." Do not make me publicly shame you by trying to convince me her warning was evidence for the Purgatory theory!!!
GET UP
GET YOUR MAN A BOTTLE OF RED WINE
The last scene took place back in 1867 on the Island. We see Jacob and the Man in Black engaged in another tenuous chat, much like the one they had at the beginning of "The Incident." The MIB swears he'll find a way to kill Jacob one day... and that he'll also kill anyone who replaces Jacob. So there should now be no doubt that the promises Fake Locke is making 815ers like Sawyer and Kate and Sayid are complete lies. He fully intends to off them. Also, did you notice how Fake Locke and the MIB as played by Titus Welliver are so amazingly alike in their mannerisms and speech? Very impressive.
Even though his life has just been threatened, Jacob takes the high road and replies, "Brother, you need a drink. Oh look, I just so happen to have some wine. Here you go -- bottoms up." He gives him the bottle and then takes off. Once he's alone, the Man in Black throws a hissy fit and smashes the wine against a log. That's, like, SO mature.Let's wrap up by discussing what new things we've learned about Jacob and his nemesis. I know there's a "Fight Club" theory going around that states Jacob and the MIB are the same person. This idea picked up a lot of steam after the MIB gave Richard the exact same instructions for killing Jacob that Dogen gave Sayid for killing Fake Locke/MIB: 1) Don't let him speak... AT ALL, and 2) plunge a special silver sword into his heart (it was the same sword in both episodes, by the way). While I am not by any means dismissing this theory on the grounds that I don't think it makes any sense (because I do think it's very clever), I am going to dismiss it on the grounds of "too complicated for a prime-time TV show with only half a season left."
First off, Jacob is already dead -- so how would THAT work if he and MIB were the same guy? Secondly, you've got people like Ilana sent to protect Jacob, and another big group siding with Fake Locke. I just think it would be waaaaay too complicated to not only wrap all the other several dozen (or more) outstanding mysteries in the show, but also find a way to easily explain to the average viewer that Jacob and his nemesis -- you know, the guys that were shown talking to each other, passing a bottle of wine back and forth, giving rocks as presents to each other -- are actually THE SAME DUDE. Nope, too complex to pull off, sorry.After this episode I think the same thing I've always thought: that MIB is a form of evil. It doesn't really matter what his name is or if he's the devil or just a force for darkness or a demon or whatever. All that matters is that he despises humankind and therefore wants to prove that man is inherently "bad." He also wants to escape the Island so that he can spread his special brand of wickedness around the globe.
(One thing that's confusing me is that I could've sworn we already saw Smokey -- in apparition form -- OFF of the Island. As Zombie Dad in Jack's hospital in "Something Nice Back Home" (remember, the smoke alarm even went off in that scene?) and on the freighter before Michael blew up. Anyone wanna help me make sense of that?)Jacob, on the other hand, represents "light," or "goodness." He believes that man is inherently moral. He could be some sort of angel... that would still make him on par with the MIB if the MIB was in fact the devil, because in many religions the devil is described as a fallen angel. He might be some sort of heaven-sent representative charged with keeping the devil from running wild all of the place.
No matter what you want to view these two as, clearly they are not human beings. So we can all at least agree on that point, right?
I think it's nearly impossible for next week's episode to match the awesomeness of Ab Aeterno, but here's hopin'...
Until then,
- e
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