So I will continue my recent practice of posting about the most recent episode on the night that the new episode airs. I know, I know, I need to be better about it. I spent about 2 hours last Tuesday night downloading "The D.E.N.N.I.S. System" episode, downloading a program to allow me to capture the audio, then edit the audio into the 10 second clip, and then find a way to post the audio on the website. I didn't have much energy left to put anything of substance on the site.
On to "Ab Aeterno." Over at DarkUFO they let you vote after each episode 1-5 on how much you liked it. This episode has now been voted on the most of any other episode and ranks 2nd all time in rating behind only "The Constant." So now you know what we're dealing with. Personally, I loved this episode. It was just a very different feel and I thought it did an amazing job of story telling. I liked that we weren't constantly interrupted with flashes. Just the little bit in the beginning and the end on island and then the rest was Richard's history. I thought Nestor Carbonell put up one of the all time great Lost performances. This rivaled any of the best Michael Emerson performances. He was just a completely different character. The scared, devastated Ricardo is nothing like the Richard that we have known up until now. His wife is sick so he rides several hours in the rain to find a doctor. When the doctor refuses to give him the medicine Ricardo ends up knocking him over accidentally killing the doctor. He brings the medicine back to his wife but it is too late. He is to be hung for his crime. Instead because he knows some English and has strong hands he is sold to Magnus Hanso as a slave. On the trip over there is a violent storm and the ship gets carried by a huge wave to the island, but not before knocking over the giant statue. One of the other slaves mentions that the island is guarded by the devil.
Richard survives the shipwreck but with limited water and food one of the officers begins killing the slaves. Just as he is about to kill Richard the smoke monster arrives and kills everyone. He sizes up Ricahrd but leaves before doing anything. We see a series of hours pass as Richard tries to free himself by clawing at a nail. When he is attacked by a boar he loses the nail and in the process loses hope. Then Isabella his dead wife arrives. Isabella tells Richard that they are both dead and that they are in hell. Then the smoke monster arrives and Richard tells Isabella to run. She goes up the stairs and Richard can only hear her screams.
The Man in Black shows up and gives Richard some water. He confirms that they are in Hell and that the Devil took his wife. He offers to help Richard because he wants to get out of Hell as well but only if Richard does what he asks of him. Richard readily agrees. After freeing him the Man in Black says that "It is good to see you out of those chains." This is how Richard knew that Locke was the Man in Black back at the statue. The Man in Black gives Richard the same dagger that Dogan gave to Sayid and says that he must go to the statue and kill the devil there but he must not let him talk because he can be very persuasive.
Richard arrives at the statue and gets his ass kicked by Jacob. Jacob is apparently also a ninja. Awesome. Richard wants to know where his wife is. She is dead so why is he asking Jacob? Because he talked to the Man in Black. Jacob then baptizes Richard and all is good. He explains to Richard that the island is like a bottle of wine. The wine represents what Richard calls "hell" but it is also known as evil or malevolence. If it got out of the bottle it would spread. The island serves as a cork to the bottle. The Man in Black thinks that everyone can be corrupted because it is in their nature to be bad. Jacob keeps bringing people to the island to prove him wrong. So far it looks like the Man in Black is winning this argument because everyone who has come before is dead. I guess that's just progress. Jacob doesn't want to intervene because if he tells people what to do that really defeats the purpose. But the Man in Black has no problem stepping in. So Jacob hires Richard to be his go between. Richard wants his wife back but Jacob says he can't do that (although apparently he said that he could do that for Dogan...). He wants to be absolved of his sins but Jacob can't do that either. Then Richard wants to live forever so that he doesn't go to Hell. That Jacob can do. Richard goes back to the Man in Black and gives him a white stone. Its an inside joke. The MIB says that the offer will stand for as long as they are on the island. Richard buries his wife's cross by the Tree of Souls.
Jacob and MIB have another meeting a la The Incident. Jacob can't believe that the MIB tried to have him killed. MIB doesn't want Jacob to gloat. MIB just wants to leave the island but Jacob won't let him. And if he is killed someone will take his place. MIB will kill him or her too. It looks like Jacob is the rainmaker here and MIB is just living in his world. Jacob gives MIB the bottle of wine to pass the time. He says that he'll be seeing him soon. MIB responds "sooner than you think." Not really sure what this is supposed to mean.
Back on the island in present time we start out with Ilana. Jacob says that he needs her to protect 6 people. She's been training her whole like for this. Her face is messed up. Then it isn't. But what should she do when she takes them to the Temple? Ask Richardus, he will know. But Richard is going out of his mind on the island and he doesn't believe Jacob anymore. He runs off into the Jungle. Hurley is talking to a ghost in Spanish who is not Jacob. Richard goes back to the Tree of Souls and digs up the cross. He wants to know if the offer still stands from the MIB. Hurley shows up instead and Richard starts yelling at him. Hurley was talking to Isabella though. Hurley interprets ghost talk for Richard but then apparently Richard can hear her or Hurley doesn't think its important to keep translating. Oh yeah, she has one more thing for Richard. He has to stop the Man in Black from leaving the island or else everyone is going to hell. We pan out to see Flocke watching from a distance.
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Overall it was an awesome episode. We got lots of answers as well as a great episode start to finish. I have a feeling we are going back to the flashes tonight with "The Package," which I think is about Jin's privates. Or maybe it's not.
Great review of a (I agree) great episode. Two quick things:
ReplyDelete1) I don't think that Jacob promised to resurrect Dogen's son. Dogen never actually said that his son died in the accident, he seemed to imply that his death was inevitable. ("The accident was very bad. I survived, but my son..."). I think the lines leave my interpretation open at least. I believe that Jacob offered to heal his son. I think this is consistent with the thought that Jacob is connected with life and the MIB with death. Thus, although Jacob can keep someone alive (e.g. healing power of the Temple spring, Richard's immortality), dead is dead and Jacob is not able to resurrect someone once dead. Hence the last ditch effort to have Sayid taken to the Temple spring before he died. Once someone dies, the MIB is able to "claim" them.
2) I think Hurley continued to translate Isabella's words, but due to time contraints and the flow of the scene, I think they simply chose not to have Hurley repeat each line. We were left to assume that he was doing so. I don't think Richard was able to actually see or hear her, although it did seem that he could possibly sense her presence in some way (e.g. he seemed to know that she was gone at the end). Anyhow, really cool and emotional scene.