ACROSS THE SEA

Okay, I freely admit that this was not an episode that will ever make it onto my favourite 116 episodes list. I think it ranks down there around the bottom, alternating places with Exposé, and team Razzle Dazzle for 118^th and 117^th place. I’m sure these two episodes will remain on the bottom of my list for all eternity.

That being said, we learned a metric tonne of information from Across The Sea that, for some of you, may have changed the way you look at Jacob, his brother and their relationship with the island. Yeah, like the fact that they were twins was a surprise any of us. Thanks Damon and Carlton for that confirmation. We also learned that the boys that Smocke, Sawyer and Desmond are seeing are “reflections or ghosts” of the people Jacob and MIB used to be.

Again, I’m not going to recap the episode. You’ve all seen it and have likely read more recaps than there are existing episodes of the series. I’ll just give you my thoughts on what I got from it and the resulting questions bouncing around in my mind (or what’s left of my brain after LOST got into it).

I know that there a lot of viewers out there who were bitterly disappointed with this week’s episode. Perhaps they were expecting some great spectacular story of mythical proportions of how MIB came to be the smoke monster and where his home is and how it relates to our current island inhabitants. I do know that many were angry that STILL we do not know his name, although I don’t really think his name is integral to the weave of the fabric of the story. What’s important is the fact that he has always wanted to leave and has been prevented from doing so for a very specific reason.

Across the Sea will be an episode that grows on people over time, as we watch it again (which is miles ahead of Exposé if you ask me). Eventually, after reading Doc Jensen`s analysis, Erica Olsen`s analysis, etc, people will see the necessity of an episode such as this one.

We saw a woman wash ashore on the other side of the island from her ship mates, and I believe that it was no accident. She didn’t ride the waves and I think was “brought” to that side of the island by “Mother”. It’s pretty convenient that Mother found her so quickly and was able to help her give birth. While Mother was surprised by the birth of the second baby, I can see that her plan to groom, if you will, her replacement took root immediately following the birth of the babies.

As I thought about Jacob and his brother being born on the island and never knowing any other people, I realized that they would not know of the outside world and therefore would never want to leave. After all, if there is no evidence of anything beyond the pristine shores of their island, why would they even entertain the thought of leaving?

I found it difficult to tell when Mother was speaking truthfully and when she was being deceitful. She lied to the boys by telling them that there is nothing across the sea. I’m positive that it was she who appeared to Boy in Black as Claudia as part of her plan to figure out which boy would be her successor as protector of the island. If this is true, then she was the smoke monster from the beginning, and it is in her actions that MIB became the smoke monster. Since they were boys, she has been played the boys off each other, even swaddling Jacob in a light wrap and No Name baby in a dark wrap (they sound like burritos, don’t they?). They were dressed as opposites from the very beginning which foretold the tale of their futures.

I think, from the very beginning, it was Mother’s plan that Boy in Black would leave to live with “his people” and learn that what she had said about the light and humanity wanting more was true. MIB needed to go be with his people, become attached to them, learn from them and then, when Mother “took care of them”, he needed to seek vengeance against his mother for killing them. Just as Jacob needed to knock MIB unconscious and toss him into that incredibly fast moving stream that carried him into the cave of glowing light.

Mother had told Jacob that the light was the source. It was life, death and rebirth, but that he must never go into the cave as a fate worse than death would befall him. That fate, by the way, is becoming the smoke monster for all eternity (and obviously that is a fate worse than death, IMO). Mother, I believe, was the smoke monster first and this is evidenced in the fact that she was able to pull MIB out of the well, fill in the well and then destroy the village and kill its inhabitants.

Perhaps each incarnation of the smoke monster retains the memories of it’s previous manifestations. You know, I just can’t stop thinking about that song by the Poppy Family called Where Evil Grows. A specific line keeps playing over and over in my head.

“And it never shows the place where evil grows….Evil grows in cracks and holes, and lives in people's minds”

I can’t help but wonder if the golden glow in the cave is a disguise. Boy in Black thought it beautiful. Mother agreed. What if that is what John Locke saw when he first met Ole Smokey?

I think that very soon after Jacob tossed his brother into that stream and saw that column of volcanic ash cloud and lightening roaring out of the mouth of the cave, he figured out that Mother had manipulated them. Instead of protecting the island, Jacob must now protect the rest of the world and keep his brother “corked” and unable to leave.

I've made it so you can never hurt each other.

I need to address this thought. I was distressed when Boy in Black asked what death is, and Mother told him that he wouldn’t have to worry about that. If she truly made it so that neither Jacob nor his brother could hurt the other, how is it that Jacob was able to beat on his brother? How was he able to knock him unconscious and send him floating into the golden glow? Is MIB not dead when Jacob so regretfully places the bodies in the cave? Or is it just his human form that is dead? And, after so many years, he reappears in his human form to talk with Jacob on the beach at the feet of the Statue. What or how did Mother do to make it so that Jacob and MIB would live on into eternity?

HERE’S WHAT I WAS HOPING WE WOULD LEARN

I was hoping that we would learn more about the ancient influences that we have seen on the island. Who built the statue of Terewet, the tunnels, the temple, the caves in which Smokey lived?

Why was it that Jacob was able to leave the island to visit those LOSTIES he has visited, and how was he able to do so?

I was hoping that MIB’s claim that Jacob took away his humanity would have a mythical, god like tale behind it.

I was hoping to learn how both Jacob and MIB came to be seemingly immortal.

Most of all I was hoping to learn the “rules” by which they seemed to live their lives.

My assertion that the loophole MIB had found was finding someone else to kill Jacob turned out to be correct. Yay me. Neither could hurt the other, but mere mortals could fell them. An interesting concept that takes away their god-like immortality in one fell swoop. Neither Jacob nor MIB are blameless and both have caused a lot of deaths over the years, but I believe that only MIB has actually killed with his own “hands”. To see what Smokey can do in a confined space we need only go back and watch what happens when Ilana and her crew enter the foot to confront Smocke. And then there is the temple.

Jacob’s culpability lies in the fact that he continually brought people to the island and failed to help them to survive. He failed to tell them what was expected of their presence. The only person he has ever used his own hands to kill, if it can be classified as killed, is his brother.

Do I believe that Smoke/MIB/Smokey is evil? Yes I do. Despite having a home, a family, MIB has only ever wanted another home. Even before he went to live with the shipwreck survivors and learn their ways, he has always wanted more. That is why Mother put the game on the beach. That is why she appeared to him and led him to the village. That is why he lived amidst people he despised and mocked the very qualities that he possessed. He wanted more.

Mother said that there is a little bit of the light inside all man. I think that light is contentment. That’s the only thing I ever want more of.

DID YOU NOTICE?

This is the first time in the history of LOST that no main character appear in original footage, and only Jack, Kate and Locke appear in archived footage.

Claudia is the third woman to arrive on the island pregnant, give birth and have her children raised by another.

Claudia’s abdomen didn’t get smaller after she gave birth to TWO babies. Surely it would have deflated at least a bit.

Did you notice the giant sea turtle on the beach with young Boy in Black and as his mother approaches, the turtle is no where to be seen.

When MIB is visited by “Mother” in the well, she is bathed in light and he shown in darkness.

MIB seems to adopt the “man of science” attitude by using technology to find a way off the island, yet he takes over Locke’s body, who was a “man of faith”.

Mother is examining a black stone from the burned Senet game just before MIB stabs her in the back.

The knife the MIB carries is the same one given to Richard in Ab Aeterno and to Sayid by Dogen.

There was at least one little girl in the village, which means that Mother/Smokey murdered the children as well when she destroyed the village.

QUESTIONS:

What was in the wine that made Jacob become the protector?

What was Mother saying as she poured the wine?

How did MIB explain his reappearance to Jacob after his body was laid to rest in the cave?

Why did Jacob only say goodbye to his brother and not Mother?

Where’s Vincent?

QUOTABLE QUOTES

MOTHER: Every question I answer will simply lead to another question. You should rest. Just be grateful you're alive.

MOTHER: Of course he did. Jacob doesn't know how to lie. He's not like you.

BOY IN BLACK: Why? What am I like?

MOTHER: You're... special.

JACOB: What makes them dangerous?

MOTHER: The same thing that makes all men dangerous. They come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt... and it always ends the same.

MOTHER: Light. The warmest, brightest light you've ever seen or felt. And we must make sure that no one ever finds it.

BOY IN BLACK: It's beautiful...

MOTHER: Yes it is. And that's why they want it. Because a little bit of this very same light is inside of every man. But they always want more.

JACOB: Can they take it?

MOTHER: No. But they would try. And if they tried they could put it out. And if the light goes out here... it goes out everywhere. And so I've protected this place. But I can't protect it forever.

BOY IN BLACK: Then who will?

MOTHER: It will have to be one of you.

MOTHER [grabbing Boy In Black]: My love, you need to know this. Whatever you have been told, you will never be able to leave this island.

BOY IN BLACK [forces himself away from his mother]: That’s not true. One day I can prove it.

MAN IN BLACK: Oh, you mean my people. You wanna know if they’re bad. That woman may be insane, but she’s most definitely right about that.

JACOB: I don’t know. They don’t seem so bad to me,

MAN IN BLACK: That’s easy for you to say. Looking down on us from above. Trust me, I’ve lived among them for 30 years. They’re greedy, manipulative, untrustworthy, and selfish.

Next week's episode is called What They Died For, and it sounds so horribly ominous. I'll need chocolate, tissues, and probably several days to get over what I may see.

*sigh*

On May 24th I will be wearing my "Warning: I am going through LOST Withdrawl" label.

THE CANDIDATE

The producers and writers of LOST have assured us that they have a plan and that we will get answers to some of the major mysteries that make up the mythology of the greatest show (in my humble opinion) ever to have aired on network television. After The Candidate, I had to convince myself to keep the faith that this will all end accordingly. Since the beginning of this season I have prepared myself with the knowledge that any one of our favourite characters can die. Couple that awareness with the fact that LOST is ending its amazing run and you have a complex formula for dissolution of everything that we have held near and dear to our hearts since September 22, 2004 and we suddenly find ourselves on a bullet train hurtling out of control. Hang on, my friends, for the ride of your lives!

Immediately following last nights airing of the Candidate there was such an outcry of anger, total devastation and absolute confusion that I think it may have caused an almost epic traffic jam on the internet. I have tried to stay away from all reviews and recaps in order to get my own thoughts sorted out. I am still feeling like I have been cast adrift into a vortex of confusion. Sleep is usually one of my dearest friends, but last night it was fitful and fraught with frequent episodes of sitting upright in bed and asking “what does that mean?” and then falling back down to the pillow in a cold sweat.

FLASHSIDEWAYS/WHAT IF/SIDE TIME

I loved how Jack referred to John as a “candidate”, and was initially confused when his offer to perform surgery and “fix” John was refused. As the episode progressed though, I realized that John was punishing himself, forcing himself to be confined to the wheelchair. It wasn’t until I saw Anthony Cooper that I realized the cause of his guilt. Forgive me, but I kind of giggled at the irony. In Original time, Anthony Cooper caused John’s injury that paralysed him and in the Side time, the roles were reversed and John was the reason his father is doing the best impression of a turnip I have seen in a long while. It’s also a bit ironic that John is the cause of his own paralysis, and I think that it is a foreshadowing of what may be MIB’s downfall (But I’ll get to that in a bit).

It was nice to see Bernard again. As time goes by, we are seeing the connections that our LOSTIES have in the Original time being forged in the Side time. I’m not sure how this will pan out in the Side time, but I’m willing to put my faith in the belief that we get our “happily ever after” there and not in the Original time. I enjoyed Bernard teasing Jack about flirting with Rose, and it underscores the deep seated love he has for his wife. That’s two couples now who are soul mates. Maybe three, if Desmond doesn’t get chucked into jail for the hit and run non-accident.

Speaking of Desmond, we haven’t seen him for a while and I’m wondering if he and Penny truly connected over that coffee they were supposed to have

Claire seeks out Jack at the hospital to ask him a question about her portion of Christian’s estate, which was an ornate music box that played “Catch A falling Star”. This was a double-whammy prop, in my view. The music box played a song that has recurred throughout the entire fabric of the show, and as they looked at it, we could see Jack’s and Claire’s images reflected in a mirror. This is only the beginning for Jack and Claire as siblings and I think that Jack’s invitation that she stay with him will allow for Claire to keep “Aaron” in the Side time. My heart skipped a beat or two when Jack assured Claire that they were not strangers, but family. This bodes well for both of them, I think…I hope.

The final scene in the Side time was so very interesting and outlined that both Jack and John are still unable to “let it go” or “forgive themselves”. In Jack’s case, he is learning and is willing to use that life lesson to help another person. We will see if he really is ready to stop trying to “fix” people and things and not chase after John in an effort to convince him to have the surgery.

Earlier I alluded to John’s self inflicted paralysis as a possible cause of falter for MIB in the Original time. I think that John Locke’s “consciousness “will assert itself in MIB causing an inner struggle of who will gain control over the “body”. This struggle will weaken MIB and thwart his efforts to leave the island and leading to his ultimate failure. I really don’t know how it will go down, but I do have a theory (which I’ll get to later).

ORIGINAL TIME

OH

MY

GOD

As Jack woke and sat up in the outrigger I couldn’t help but think of Frank’s similar sleep sailing experience. As Sayid said, at least he didn’t have to paddle. I’m not sure about anyone else, but when Sayid said that I thought I saw a spark of “emotion” and had a renewed hope that his story of redemption would get off that detour to hell he was on. We know now that Sayid’s story has ended.

When Jack tells Smocke that he’ll help him but he is not leaving the island, he sets off a chain of events that lead to a very shocking and sad ending. The final half hour of this episode was spent sitting bolt upright and clinging to the edge of my rocking chair with eyes glued to the TV. I’m not blaming Jack for the catastrophic ending, but I do think it was his mistake to lay out his intentions so soon and it allowed Smocke to formulate yet another evil plan to kill off all the candidates.

Sawyer and his group are tossed into the polar bear cage, and you can hear the hum if the portable sonic fence. I don’t ever recall hearing the other fence hum. This is not a good scene as Sawyer explains to Kate that her name was on the cave wall and that it had been crossed off. At this point I realized that Kate’s usefulness was ended to all parties involved save for Kate herself. I also realized that by telling her, Sawyer was trying to protect her. Forewarned is forearmed? I’m not sure.

I am wondering how Sayid killed the power to the portable sonic fence. Did he just pull cut the extension cord? Did he pull the plug? Did he steal all the gas from the generator? Did he poke that stick Smocke was whittling a few episodes back into some moving parts? HOW? This allowed Smocke to wreck havoc at the cages and help free the others. Don’t think he’s not angry about how they all turned against him, by the way. Jack arrives to help everyone out of the cages and lead them to relative safety, if there is such a thing. He explains to Kate that he’s not meant to leave the island but will help them all get to the plane. Obviously Jack didn’t hear the part about ALL of them having to leave TOGETHER when Smocke was explaining how things are going to work. I had bad feeling as Smocke was checking the plane and found the wires that led him to the C4. Question! Why didn’t Widmore just destroy the plane as soon as he arrived on the island? Yeah, yeah, I know it’s a plot device, but that’s the kind of detail that bugs me. Then I had an awful thought that Widmore is secretly working WITH Smocke and they had planned that. But if our LOSTIES took the sub, how would Chuckie leave? I know there’s no way that he would want to STAY on the island once Smocke had been bottled up again.

Also, I believe MIB DID kill all the other survivors on that plane. Remember all the times he would disappear and when asked where he was, he would say he was taking care of something. Think back to the Incident when he told Richard that they would have to go to Hydra Island and deal with the others from the plane. Yeah, I’m convinced Smocke did that.

So, where was I? Oh yes, the plane. I really loved the home made bamboo steps! I wonder if I can have those for my pool…..Anyway, knew that the plane was not going to be the answer to Smocke’s little problem. For a while now I have considered the thought that his main goal was to kill ALL the candidates in fell swoop, thus gaining the freedom to leave the island at his own will. Let’s review the facts, shall we?

Originally there were multiple “candidates” for Jacob’s job, (if you take the lighthouse compass as the list, there were 360 candidates over the years so far) but as time passed and people were killed on the island, or they didn’t measure up, their names were crossed off the list. A bit of trivia for you to stump your friends. There are 15 passengers from 815 on the list and 4 Others on the list that are in reference to the NUMBERS! Don’t ask where I find this stuff, it would frighten you.

LOCKE – 4, REYES – 8, FORD – 15, JARRAH – 16, SHEPHARD – 23, KWON - 42, Austen – 51

Since Kate’s number is 51, which by the way is the transposition of 15, I am assuming that she’s not going to make it to the end and thus not going to succeed in her quest to reunite Claire and Aaron off island. Interestingly enough Claire’s number is 313 and Charlie’s number was 195.

Okay, back to business. Smocke has been very insistent that all the survivors be TOGETHER when they attempt to leave the island and at first I believed that some magical force dictated such. Then I remembered that Smocke DOESN’T KNOW who will be the one to do Jacob’s job and that he had vowed to kill anyone that may take his nemesis’ place. Since he has no idea WHO would become the next Jacob, he really had no choice but to start eliminating them. The “RULES” state that he can’t kill any of the candidates himself, so over the years he has used his belief that humans will kill each other and manipulated the deaths of many people. Which brings us to the doomed submarine ride….

Smocke switched his C4 filled pack with Jack’s back pack. We all saw it happen and that is when I knew for sure that Smocke had planned to confine the candidates and let them either be killed by each other or Widmore’s men. And how convenient that poor Claire was left behind (that really rankled me since she was defending them). Jack was right when he told Sawyer that the C4 would NOT explode. I know that many of you believe that it would have since it was Jack who carried it onto the sub that it would go off, but since Jack did so UNKNOWINGLY it makes perfect sense that it would not have. Unfortunately for Jin, Sun and Sayid, Sawyer didn’t believe it and pulled the wires, thus setting into motion the disastrous events that followed.

WHY?

Why?

Why?

There are an awful lot of people who are bitter and angry that Sun and Jin (myself included as I sobbed into half a box of tissues) did not get their happily ever after and were unable to leave the island to raise their daughter. But think for a minute. In the Side time they have the opportunity to embrace their futures and raise their daughter together, so in a way, they have achieved it and their story arc is finished. We got to see that Desmond had managed to reach deep within the darkness of Sayid and provided him with the means by which to have his Nadia back. Let’s hope they are reunited in death because we know that in the Side time they will be apart forever.

That leaves us with Lapidus and his status is unknown at this point. He was hit rather hard by that door and I think knocked out, so I’m thinking that he’s dead too. This is distressing to me. We have not seen how his life pans out in the Side time, so I’m hopeful that he has a chance at happiness.

The last we saw of the remaining candidates they were washed up on the dark beach and mourning the loss of their friends. I’m sure, as he had in the flashsideways while talking to John Locke, Jack was wishing James had believed him. I know I was thinking it.

DID YOU NOTICE?

Locke wants to kill Jack in the original time and Jack wants to help Locke in the side time.

Original Locke regained the use of his legs from the crash of 815, Side Locke was paralysed in a plane crash.

Original Anthony Cooper caused John’s paralysis. Side Anthony’s vegetative state was cause by John.

While unconscious, John Locke mumbles; “Push the button” and “I wish you had believed me”. Jack repeated the wish to John later, which caused him to pause.

This episode breaks the record for the largest number of MAIN CAST characters being killed at three, also this season (for obvious reasons) is the first season to kill off more than one original main character.

This is the first episode since the premiere of Season 4 where ALL the main characters appear in the same place at the same time. Go check!

There were 4 bricks of C4

QUESTIONS

How did Widmore know about the list?

Where are Cindy, Zach and Emma?

Is Frank alive?

How’s Jack going to help Kate now?

Why wasn’t the sub more visibly guarded?

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

JOHN: Why?

JACK: Because I think you're a candidate.

SAYID: Welcome to Hydra island. At least you didn't have to paddle.

WIDMORE: I have a list of names. Ford, you're on it. As are Reyes and the Kwons. Kate Austen? She's not. It doesn't matter to me whether she lives or dies.

WIDMORE: You may not believe it, but I'm doing this for your own good.

SAWYER: You're right. I don't believe it.

BERNARD: Do you mind if I ask you why you're so interested in Mr. Locke, Jack?

JACK: Um... he and I met about a week ago. We were on the same flight back from Australia--

BERNARD: Oceanic 815.

[Jack looks shocked]

BERNARD: I sat across the aisle from you. If memory serves, you were flirting with my wife, Rose, while I was in the bathroom. It's pretty weird, huh?

JACK: Yeah.

LOCKE: You know, I would ask him, except I don't think he's gonna give me a straight answer. But I can't imagine that his intentions are good. If we move right now, we can break your people out, run for the plane, and be off this island before Widmore knows what hit him.

LOCKE: Because I could kill you, Jack. Right here. Right now. And I could kill every single one of your friends. And there's not a thing that you could do to stop me. But instead of killing you, I saved your life. And now I want to save them too. So will you help me? (LIAR)

HURLEY: And we're dead... (when the power to the sonic fence goes off)

HURLEY: Well... wait, now he wants us to leave the island?

LOCKE: No, Hugo. He wants to get us all in the same place at the same time... a nice confined space we have no hope of getting out of... and then he wants to kill us. (foreshadowing?)

Jack: Why don't you come stay with me?

Claire: Stay with you? [ Jack nods.] I mean, we're…we're strangers.

Jack [laughs]: No, we're not strangers. We're...we're family.

JACK: Locke…We did exactly what he wanted.

OBSERVATION: We have been led to believe that water is not a good thing for Smocke while he is in his smoke form, so, if my thinking that John Locke from the Side time will assert his “consciousness” into the Original time and force MIB out of his body, he will have no form to take. If that happens on Hydra, all Jack has to do is ensure there are no other forms he can take and remove all forms of travel off that island. But I’m probably wrong.

Next week we get Across The Sea. I’m both fearful and excited to see what happens next.

AB AETERNO

AB AETERNO. According to Wikipedia, it means from eternity or for long ages, which certainly applies to our beloved ageless wonder named Richard Alpert. For long ages he has served Jacob and the island with loyalty and purpose until Jacob's 'death'. Now he is without direction and is uncertain what his purpose is, just as he was after his beloved Isabella's death and the resulting incarceration.

Let's talk about that, shall we?


I'm going to ignore the obvious error in dates here since I don't really think they are as important as others would believe. What's a few years between friends, right?

1867 - Flashback

We now know that Richard hails from Tenerife, on the Canary Islands. He was poverty stricken and married to Isabella. While Isabella was dying, Richard rushed to the doctor for help, giving him everything he had for the medication that would save her.


I am about to digress here, so bear with me. Is it just me, or was that doctor a total jerk? He was either completely consumed by greed or had a prejudice against poor people. Now, I wasn't born yesterday and I do know that most doctors are in it for the big bucks, fancy golf clubs and free drugs, but back then weren't doctors more dedicated to actually helping people? Didn't they brave
all sorts of weather to reach their patients and, oh I don't know, do things like save lives? Just curious.


Jumping back on track now.


We see the doctor pull a dirty on poor Richard and they struggle, the doctor falls, cracks his head and dies. Richard takes the meds (and Isabella's necklace since it was valuable) and rushes off to save her life, observed by the doctor's servant. It was horribly sad to see that he was too late. There is a Pandora's box of "if onlies" here that we could hash over. If only he had been earlier. If only the doctor hadn't been such a pansy ass and selfishly refused to go out in the rain. If only the servant had seen what the doctor had done. We could sit and spout "if onlies" until Mikail's cow came
home to The Flame Station, and then start anew with them. It doesn't change the fact that, despite getting the medication for Isabella, she was already gone before Richard's return. Talk about brutal.


Richard is arrested and is about to be put to death. I missed his trial, if he had one. He asked the priest for forgiveness for accidentally killing the doctor but did not receive absolution. At first I railed against the priest, thinking him a fraud. Does God not forgive those who confess their sins? Does he not allow us all to make penance unto HIM and admit us to heaven? I was so mad at that priest for telling Richard that because he has not done penance he would go to hell. Give the dude a break here! And by dude I am referring to Ricardus.

I think the priest sold Richard so that he could perform his lifetime of penance. And oh what penance it was. All I can think of is that song called Immortality, written by the Bee Gees (I admit to being a huge fan but I digress again).

Immor-tality
I make my journey through eternity
I keep the memory of you and me inside

Getting back to Richard and his indenture to the Black Rock. He is sold and chained in the hold of the ship, destination unknown, until fate intervenes. Remember when we all "assumed" it was the Black Rock on the horizon in the Incident? That has never been confirmed, but it is conceivable that the Black Rock sailed around the island much like Desmond did way back in Season 2, trapped in the bloody snowglobe until the storm swept it inland, presumably destroying the statue in the process. As an aside, GetLostPodcast, a great site for all things LOST, got an excellent screenshot of the ship aiming directly for the statue's nose!
I lightened it a bit.


I'm not sure about you, but I found this episode getting darker and darker as it progressed from the tidal wave onward and wondered what Magnus Hanso and Jonas Whitfield were thinking as they killed off their crew one by one in the name of "we don't have enough food or water for everyone so we're going to kill you all and try to survive on this deserted island all by ourselves, but we probably will die because we're soft hands (meaning we don't do manual labour) and don't know how to hunt, fish, look for water." You know, the basic survival thing. And when did that whole "survival in numbers" philosophy come into play, because if Jonas and the other officers were smart they would have used the slaves to help them survive? What door knobs!


Anyway, I'm off an a tangent again (I blame antibiotics and pain killers). Smokey comes along and kills off the officers and, after flashing and reading their minds, the rest of the slaves save for Richard. This is important to note here, I think. Remember how he flash read Locke and Eko, then Ben? MIB believes that humanity is corrupt and unable to redeem themselves, he scans people and, if he sees that they have no remorse for their actions, he gives them the ole "heave ho" so to speak and kills them. He saw in Richard a deep remorse for what he had done, yet also saw a teensy weensy chance of corruptability...and he had to give it a try, right? Come on, you know it's true.


Ole Smokey waited until that point where Richard was [thisclose] to giving up, rolling over and letting death have its way. I wonder how long that was? Hours or days? Then Smokey uses the image of Isabella to brighten his spirits only to snatch her away from him! How cruel and savage, MIB is! But he uses that anger which we all have inside us that leads us into the dark territory of revenge to his own purposes. He takes advantage and tried to 'encourage' our corruptability. I wonder how many times he has failed in this? How many men like Richard has he tried to use to kill Jacob? Someone needs to tell him that he will fail again and again.


MIB tells lies to convince people to do what he wants them to do. He told Richard that Jacob was the "devil" and that he had Isabella. In order for him to get her back and leave "hell", Richard would need to kill Jacob. That dagger looked familiar, didn't it? Maybe the one that Dogen gave to Sayid? And just as with Sayid, Richard fails in his attempt.

WARNING: I'm going off an a tangent again.

Am I the only person who immediately thought of that Verizon "Can You Hear Me Now?" commercial while Jacob was giving Richard a giant swirly in the surf? "Are you dead?" Dunk. "Are you dead, now?" Dunk. "How about now?" Sputter. Maybe Jacob created those commercials while he was off island touching people.

"Think of this wine as what you keep calling hell. There's many names for it too: malevolence, evil, darkness. Here it is, swirling around in the bottle unable to get out, because if it did it would spread. The cork is this island and it's the only thing keeping the darkness where it belongs. That man who sent you to kill me believes that everyone is corruptable because it in their very nature to sin. I bring people here to prove him wrong, and when they get here, their past doesn't matter."

Okay, so the island is the door that blocks the passage to hell? I was hoping for more than that and am disappointed. There had better be more. Like, I don't know, MIB is a prisoner on the island because, back when he was a young man, he learned supernatural powers and couldn't handle them. Maybe he wasn't supposed to have powers but stole them? Maybe he was born with them but was dropped on his head when he was a baby and the resulting inability to control himself has forced the leaders of the underworld to exile him. Maybe he's just rotten through and through and likes to play with human lives the same way a cat would play with a bird it has caught. Either way, Jacob says that MIB is malevolence and he must be kept from spreading his darkness across the world.

Jacob brings people to the island to prove to MIB that they are not corruptable. MIB keeps trying to get people to kill Jacob to prove that they are. Is this the proverbial "Chinese Finger Puzzle" or what? Two equal and opposing forces that constantly pull or push at each other will inevitably cancel each other's strengths out. Do you want to know why I believe MIB didn't kill Richard along with the others aboard the Black Rock? Don't answer because I'm going to tell you anyway.

When Ole Smokey flash read Richard's mind he saw inside a man whose circumstances had always taught him to act on the side of good. Richard abided by the law and chose a christian way of life, working toward the promise of heaven when he reached the end. But there were also the words of the priest fresh in his memory, assuring him that he would go to hell to pay for causing the "accidental" death of the not-so-good doctor. Back in those days, with little education, people believed a priest's word was the decree of God himself.

So, MIB sees in Richard an opportunity. What Richard wants more than anything is to redeem himself in the eyes of God and then die to be with his beloved Isabella in heaven. To be told that he was already in hell, then to see his wife and hear her screams while shackled to the bulkhead of a ship had to have been severely demoralizing. MIB provided, through lies and manipulation, an avenue by which Richard could achieve his desire. MIB promised Richard that he would be with his wife once again ( but he forgot to tell Richard that he'd have to die first). Unfortunately MIB failed to realize that Richard, thinking that he would rot in hell for his sin and would never see his Isabella again, decided that he would prefer to live forever.

I need to address this little thing that's been bugging me as I am writing. Over the ages, Jacob has been bringing people to the island, then leaving them to their own devices to survive. He doesn't protect them from MIB's influences or the dangers of the "smoke" persona. Inevitably MIB kills them all and then the cycle begins again with more people arriving. But Jacob has principles and will not, or can't, interfere. Obviously MIB doesn't share the same personal rules since he's taken every opportunity to kill them. What the people need, as Richard pointed out, is guidance. It's true. In many aspects of our lives we can't do what is expected of us unless we know what those expectations are. Didn't God give Moses the Ten Commandments because he needed his followers to understand what was right and what was wrong? Makes sense to me.

The final 1867 scene is of Jacob confronting MIB about the attempt on his life and the promise that should MIB succeed someone would be there to take Jacob's place to keep the cork on the wine bottle. The first attempt failed, but MIB has learned from it (as evidenced by his take over of John Locke's persona) and will continue his quest to escape.

2007

One hundred and forty years later, Richard is himself without direction. He has loyally followed Jacob's directions without reservation and finds himself lost and confused as to what he's supposed to do. He has advised humans on the island, served as intermediary for Jacob, for a century and a half and yet, it would seem, he never really knew why. He reminds me of someone who has devoted their life to God, faithful right to the time when something catastrophic occurs and, as a result of that trauma, are left wondering why God would allow such a thing to happen. The doubt creeps in and they begin to question God and his plan. They wonder why, since they'd followed God's will why would he punish them so. They can go one of two ways. Either their faith is renewed and stronger, or they walk away believing they have been duped and lied to all their lives.

Richard was at this point at the beginning of Ab Aeterno. Before him he saw two paths and needed to choose which one to follow. One path led to MIB's offer of escape and the other had a destination of which was unknown to Richard. His anger, his disillusionment with Jacob, was tugging at him to take the path he knew would lead him off and away from the island. However the island, or rather Jacob, has other plans for Richard.

I'm at a loss to explain Hurley's intervention at the stone bench where Richard had buried Isabella's necklace a century and a half ago. Again, I think of that song Immortality and wonder if Isabella's spirit has been at Richard's side all along. Through Hurley, she is able to communicate that they are already together. Am I wrong to think that Richard should never have buried the cross to begin with and had he kept it with him he would have felt her presence and possibly wouldn't have been tempted to go to the other side? Maybe I am a romantic at heart. So, the touching scene of love that transcends time and death leads us to what Richard's next task will be. Stop the Man In Black from leaving the island.

Just a silly thought here, but what if Richard is the one who takes Jacob's place and the candidates are his intermediaries? Yeah, I'm probably wrong, but wouldn't that be a heck of a twist to the story?
DID YOU NOTICE?

A few friends of mine noticed a cobalt blue butterfly flutter across the screen, did you see it too?

The familiar "whoosh" sound that signals the transiton into a flashback absent in many of the transitions in this episode.

The episode opened with a flashback of one character (Ilana) but centered on a different character (Richard) then closed with a flashback of yet another character (MIB).

In the close up of Richard's eye, when he wakes up on the crashed Black Rock, you can see Nestor's contact lens.

Although Magnus Hanso is referenced, we don't see him.

Hurley's new confidence has made him fearless as he follows Richard into the jungle, spurred on by Isabella.

Arzt suggested that the Black Rock was washed inland by a tidal wave in Exodus Pt.2, and it was confirmed in this episode.

Ben told Sun that he first met Richard after he was shot and was healed by the Others, leading us to believe that the spring in the temple erased his previous memory.

QUESTIONS:

Why was the Black Rock trading in slaves?

Was Isabella's spirit buried with her necklace?

Why didn't Smocke answer Richard's calls?

Why can't Smocke leave the island yet?

If Ben doesn't remember meeting Richard in the jungle before being shot, why does Sayid remember everyone he knew prior to being drowned/saved in the spring?

Now that Richard knows he needs to keep Smocke on the island, does he know how to?

Does he know who Jacob's replacement is?

Ab Aeterno is one of my favourite episodes of the entire series so far. Perhaps THE best! I hope you liked it as much as I did.

Next week we have the Package.

I don't have a clue what it's about but I'll be watching it with a fellow LOSTaholic, whom I will be meeting for the very first time tomorrow. SJ, I can't wait!