LOST Season 6 Episode 9 Ab Aeterno

Ab aeterno is Latin and translates to “from the eternal”.

Ricardo/Richard Alpert: Okay...saddest back-story ever! Jeez, poor Richard, or Ricardo. It was back to flash-back character history when we find Ricardo living in the Canary Islands in the 1867 with his beautiful, but sickly, wife Isabella, Ricardo attempts to obtain medicine from a doctor but accidently pushes the doctor, who bangs his head on a table and dies. Unable to get the medicine back to his wife in time, he learns she died while he was away. He is soon given a death sentence for this death. Even the priest would not absolve him of the death saying that he did not have enough time for the penance required and he would meet the devil in hell. Ricardo’s “luck” changes when he’s sold as a slave to go to the New World on the Black Rock, captained by Magnus Hanso, whom we never see. When the Black Rock crashes on the Island, Ricardo is the only survivor as the other prisoners are killed, but the Black Rock crew is SMonstered. Ricardo is scanned by the SMonster, but not killed. Later, he is released from his shackles by the Man in Black, who tells Richard that Jacob is the devil, and to get his wife back he needs to kill the devil. Jacob convinces him otherwise and grants eternal life to Ricardo.

Jacob: Tells Ricardo that it was he who brought the Black Rock to the Island and that all of the other people he’s brought over the years are dead. Grants eternal life to Ricardo and uses him as his spokesperson over the years. Would appear that Jacob is not a “god” in the big mythical fashion as he implies to Ricardo that he cannot bring someone back to life or absolve someone’s sins. If he requires that someone take over for him it also implies that he does not have eternal life. Also, he does not seem to care that he has caused the deaths of perhaps hundreds (thousands?) of people in his search for the Candidate. Keeping the Man in Black on the Island is a big deal, and it takes the perfect person, I guess.

Man in Black: Releases Ricardo from his chains on the Black Rock after killing the rest of the ship’s crew in the form of the SMonster. It’s likely that he was also the form of Ricardo’s dead wife Isabella, whose information would have been obtained when the SMonster scanned Ricardo. Was unsuccessful in getting Ricardo to kill Jacob, but told him that if he ever wanted to go back to the MIB, he would be there for him.

Hurley: As the mouthpiece of the spirit of Jacob, we expected Hurley to be channeling Jacob. He was not however. For this episode, Hurley continued to see dead people, only this time it was Isabella. If it really was Isabella (how’d she get on the Island?), she told Richard, via Hurley, that they would always be together. Also tells him that he has to make sure that the Man in Black, aka FLocke, must not leave the Island and he will have to make sure of it.

Ilana: She’s interesting, but I’m still not quite sure what her part in all of this is. She appears to be another person that Jacob saved from serious injury (death?), and is now paying back her debt to him by protecting the remaining six Candidates.

Interesting

--Man in Black tells the same thing to Ricardo about killing Jacob that Dogen (Jacob’s disciple) told Sayid about killing FLocke. They also both ended by saying “Don’t let him talk to you”.

--At the end of last season when we first saw Jacob and the Man in Black on the beach, the sea was pretty calm as they watched the Black Rock approach the Island. In tonight’s episode, however, the Black Rock gets brought to the Island in a massive storm. What’s up with that?

--In the episode “The Constant”, it was said the Black Rock was lost at sea in 1845, it’s ledger found in a pirate cave in 1952, but this episode Richard is taken aboard the Black Rock in the Canary Islands 1867. What’s up with that?

--Check this out...in looking up info about the Canary Islands, I found that there is a legend of an eighth island in the chain called St Brendan’s Island. The island apparently appears on older maps, but as there are only seven islands in the Canary chain, this eighth one is considered a myth. Or, maybe it’s an Island that can move from one place to another! Neat touch, Lost writers! Read about St Brendan's Island here.

--It was the Black Rock that smashed the four-toes statue.

Questions

--Why did Magnus Hanso need to have criminals recruited for his ship? Was he really searching for the New World, or was already searching for the Island?

--Do you think Jacob's hold on keeping FLocke/Man in Black on the Island is weakening the longer that he is having to stay in a form only Hurley can see? Does the Candidate need to be found soon to prevent FLocke from escaping?

--So, ultimately, it appears that there will be a Candidate who takes over for Jacob. This person will likely have to go through some redemption, true redemption, and this will show that even with free will, there is a human being that will make the right decision. This will be the person who takes over Jacob’s role of keeping the eeeevil trapped on the Island. So, who will it be?

--Maybe the Man in Black is not so much an evil force, but a plague of some sort? Remember that there is a sickness that has been associated with the Man in Black (as suffered by Danielle Rousseau’s crew, Claire, Sayid, etc). So maybe it/he has to be kept on the Island to prevent the illness he causes to be unleashed on the population? A stretch, I know. heh heh heh Seems like a doctor would be a good choice to prevent the spread of an illness. And Jack Shepherd is a doctor...I’m just sayin’.

--Will Jacob finally free Ricardo from eternal life and allow him to die and be at peace with his long dead wife? Maybe Ricardo’s role against FLocke’s and his flock will result in Richard’s death.

This was a great episode, in my opinion. Nestor Carbonell was fantastic as Ricardo/Richard.

Tune in next Tuesday night for episode 10, The Package. **snicker** I said package.

Until next week, I have to run because I’ve just removed the cork from the wine bottle and the Wine Monster is attacking! **hiccup...burp**

There's always this wrap-up (HILARIOUS!):