LOST: “Ab Aeterno”
Photo Credit: Mario Perez/ ABC.
Read on for my recap and review of Lost 6×09, aired March 23rd, 2010:
The Island is the cork in the bottle of darkness. The lock on Pandora’s Box. The gateway to a hell dimension for which Dawn the candidate is the key. Or something like that. Yes, this week we got more philosophical mutterings about the Island, and its caretakers/ mischief-makers. I don’t know about you, but I miss Dharma. Ah, those 70s hippies with their scientific theories … did they ever really serve a purpose? What about the hatches? I miss the hatches. Has the show now become a fight between good and evil (or evil and slightly less evil)? I have Supernatural for that, complete with Mark Pellegrino as the devil. I don’t need a second show about Heaven and Hell. I’m sort of over all the constant biblical references. However, this episode was pretty frakin’ important, so I should give it its due. Richard flashback! Finally! We spent the majority of the episode in the past—1867 to be exact—and it definitely held my attention. However, it was also wholly unsurprising, and thus somewhat disappointing. On to the recap.
We open on someone in a mummy costume. Is it Halloween? No, it’s Ilana, in a hospital. Jacob is there visiting her. Déjà vu. Yes, we’ve already seen this meeting, but this is the extended version, with previously unaired dialogue. Yay? Jacob gives Ilana a list with the names of the remaining candidates. So that’s how she knew whom to protect. Yay, answers? I think not. Duh, he gave her a list. Sigh.
Cut to the Island, in the present time. Our Losties are sitting around a campfire, on the beach. Sun tells Jack about the whole candidate thing, and Ilana’s role. Ilana pipes up to say that she doesn’t know what they do next. Really? So you are just a bodyguard, Ilana? That’s it?
Flashback to Ilana and Jacob’s meeting. Ilana asks what to do next. Jacob tells her to ask Ricardus what to do next. Of course, Ricard-US isn’t even his name, as we learn later. I guess going to the Island is like immigration back in the early twentieth century. They just change your name upon arrival. Jacob sure likes Latin.
Cut to the present, on the beach. Ilana: “So Richard, what do we do next?” Richard laughs the laugh of a man holding it together by a string. He turns to Jack: “So, you didn’t tell your friends that I was trying to kill myself when you found you?” Ha! Richard says that he is dead, and that so is Jack, and everyone else. They’re all dead and in Hell. Agh! I thought we already debunked that theory. Will it never end?
Soon after, Jack sees Hurley talking to an invisible somebody, in Spanish. Jack thinks that it is Jacob. Hurley: “Sorry, Jack, but it has nothing to do with you.” Take that, Jack. Also on the beach, Ben fills Frank in about Richard’s whole NOT-aging thing. And cue the flashback …
Richard is on a horse. The words on the screen indicate that he is on the Canary Islands, in 1867. He arrives home, at a little tiny cottage. Is that The Princess Bride cabin? Seriously, I was expecting Buttercup and Wesley. Instead, inside there’s a sick woman, Isabella, lying in bed. She is wearing a big cross necklace, which will be important later. She coughs up blood, which make me think she is dying of tuberculosis. She is Richard’s wife, and she gives him her necklace to have before she dies. Richard, by the way, is sporting longish hair and a beard. Also, his wife calls him Ricardo, so that is how I shall refer to him in all the flashbacks. He tells Isabella that he will save her.
Ricardo then rides off to a stately manor, where he encounters a man, presumably a doctor, eating a fancy dinner. Richard begs for the man’s help. The unnamed man says that he has medicine to save his wife’s life, but it is very expensive. Ricardo gives all his money to the jerk, along with the cross necklace. The jerk says that it is worthless. Ricardo is desperate at this point, so he grabs the “doctor,” who tells him to get his hands off him. The two struggle, and the doctor falls against the table. Presumably, the guy breaks his neck, and dies. Ricardo is left aghast, holding the medicine. However, when he returns home, Isabella is already dead.
Cut to Ricardo in jail, for murder. A priest arrives in his cell to hear his confession. There is some discussion of Ricardo teaching himself English, using a Bible, in preparation for going to the New World. Ricardo says that he killed a man and is truly sorry. However, the priest denies him absolution. Ricardo says that it is an accident—he didn’t mean to kill the guy. The priest explains that he cannot be absolved without penance. Unfortunately, there is no time because he is to be hung tomorrow. The priest tells the poor guy that the Devil awaits him in Hell.
Later, Ricardo is on his way to the gallows, when the jailer introduces him to a man named Mr. Whitfield. Whitfield asks him if he speaks English, but Ricardo is too distraught to reply. Whitfield is looking for English speaking prisoners to go to the Americas on a ship captained/ owned by Magnus Hanso. Hanso! As in, the Hanso Foundation. As in, Alvar Hanso, one of the founders and chief financial backers the Dharma Initiative!
Cut to the Black Rock. As in, THE Black Rock. Ricardo is in chains, along with a number of other prisoners. There is a big storm, and we can see the statue in the distance. The storm gets even worse, and the boat gets pulled towards the island as a huge tidal wave washes over the island. Well, this explains why the ship is marooned in the middle of the jungle, and why the statue is in pieces.
Ricardo and other prisoners wake up in the boat, still chained up. The men call for help, and finally Mr. Whitfield comes down the stairs, armed. At first they’re happy to see him, but then he starts killing all the prisoners. I was watching with my sister, and her first reaction was: “Maybe he got the sickness.” But no, it seems to be a more mundane explanation. The lack of water and food means that additional people are extra mouths to drink and feed. When Ricardo asks why the man is indiscriminately murdering them all, Whitfield replies: “Because if I freed you then it would only be a matter of time before you tried to kill me.” How very Machiavellian of him. However, Whitfield is prevented from killing Ricardo by the entrance of the Smoke Monster. Aaaand, the Smoke Monster promptly kills Whitfield. This makes me a bit more inclined to sympathize with Smokey/ Flocke/ Fauke/ Man in Black. Whitfield deserved a good killing.
Then, poor Ricardo is left alone, with no food or water, trying to get out of his chains. It starts to rain, and he tries to drink the rain water but to no avail. Then there is a stressful sequence featuring Ricardo working on loosening his chains. I was exhausted just watching it. At one point, he finally gets one of the nails out, and uses that to help in the effort. Then Ricardo wakes to the sound of a boar snacking on the dead humans. Ick. In the kerfuffle, Ricardo loses his little nail. Oh no! Then all of a sudden a woman’s voice says “Hello.” She begins speaking in Spanish, and is revealed to be Isabella. Or rather, Smokey in the shape of Isabella, I would imagine. At least I very much hope that is the case. Oh so very much. She hugs Ricardo and says that they’re both dead. She then tells him that they have to get out of there before “he” comes back. When Ricardo asks who, she says, “the devil.” I believe she is referring to Jacob, and he better not be the devil. When they hear the approaching Smoke Monster, Ricardo urges his wife to leave without him. Alas, she is another of Smokey’s casualties … or at least Ricardo thinks that is the case. Of course, if they were in Hell (which I am pretty sure they are not), then she wouldn’t even be able to die, so I don’t know why Ricardo is still insisting that he is in Hell. Or if he sticks to the “I’m dead and in Hell” theory, then why is he even upset that Isabella didn’t die? Am I making any sense? Probably not.
As Ricardo grieves, a man’s hand touches his shoulder. It’s the Man in Black, in his season five finale body. For the confused among you, he is the same character who now looks exactly like Locke, and is making special friends with Claire and Sayid. Man in Black (or MIB) tells Ricardo that he’s his friend. Well, judging by how well Flocke’s (I’ll refer to him as Flocke in the present, but MIB in the past) friendship worked out for Claire and Sayid, this does not bode well for Ricardo. MIB confirms that he’s in Hell. But I still refuse to believe it. MIB explains that he has been on the Island long before the Black Rock’s arrival, and agrees to help Ricardo. He says that he wants to get off the Island too. Poor MIB has sure wanted off the Island for a long time. He agrees to unlock Ricardo, but first gets him to say that he loves him and will do what he says. Creepy. MIB then says, “It’s good to see you out of those chains.” A nice call back to the premiere of this season. He then tells Ricardo that he needs to kill The Devil to escape. Sigh.
Later, Ricardo and MIB sit outside, by a fire. MIB admits to being the black smoke, but says that Isabella was running away from “him”—Jacob, presumably. MIB says: “The Devil betrayed me. He took my body, my humanity.” Ricardo is a bit unsure whether to trust the newly revealed Smoke Monster, but MIB assures him: “I’m not the one you have to worry about. The Devil has your wife, and you’ll have to kill him to get her back.” He assures Ricardo that it really all comes down to whether he wants to see his wife again. This proposal is very familiar. Ben was similarly persuaded by Flocke to kill Jacob. Clearly, we know that Ricardo will not end up succeeding in this case.
Ricardo makes his way to the foot of the statue, planning to kill Jacob, whom he thinks is the Devil. Thrilling … except we already know how it ends. Jacob will offer him a job in exchange for immortality. As Ricardo approaches the foot, knife in hand, we see the broken pieces of the statue strewn across the beach and partially submerged in the ocean. But before Ricardo can enter the Foot House, Jacob attacks from behind and beats him up. Ricardo asks where his wife is, but Jacob says that he doesn’t know. Jacob then asks, “Did you meet a man in the jungle dressed in black?” Ricardo: “Yes.” Jacob: “What did he tell you?” Ricardo tells him the tale of being dead and in Hell. Jacob brings him to the water and dunks him under. He yells, “You think you’re dead?” Then he repeatedly pushes Ricardo under the water and then pulls him out. What, pinching wouldn’t suffice?
Cut to Ricardo and Jacob on the beach, post-attempted-drowning. Jacob says that no one comes into his home unless he invites them in. Hmmm. I thought that rule only applied to vampires. Ricardo: “Are you the Devil?” Jacob: “No.” Ricardo: “Then who are you?” Jacob: “My name is Jacob. I’m the one who brought your ship to this island.” Ricardo: “You brought it here? Why?” Jacob holds out an old-fashioned wine bottle: “Think of this wine as what you keep calling Hell. There’s many other 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.” Aha! The Island is a … cork!? A cork on the bottle of darkness? Jacob then goes on to say that the Man in Black doesn’t believe that people can change, and that he doesn’t trust in human reason: “That man who sent you to kill me believes that everyone is corruptible because it’s in their very nature to sin. I bring people here to prove him wrong. And when they get here, their past doesn’t matter.” Oh, so people are just the playthings of Jacob, whom he can just drag across the world to prove a point? Grrr. It seems that Jacob is the representative of Lockean philosophy, while the man in Locke’s body has a view of human nature that resembles that of Machiavelli. I recently graded 75 papers on just this subject. Here is the prompt: “Locke and Marx put their trust in human reason. Machiavelli does not. How do these authors’ assumptions, derived as they are from different conceptions of human nature, determine the nature of their thought and lead them to their conclusions?” I kid you not. And these papers were NOT fun to grade. Now Lost feels like work. Ugh. Ricardo hits upon Jacob’s mention of bringing people to the Island: “Before you brought my ship, there were others?” Jacob: “Yes.” Ricardo: “What happened to them?” Jacob: “They’re all dead.” Ricardo asks the obvious: “Well if you brought them here, why didn’t you help them?” This is also a common accusation hurled at the big guy upstairs, which I do not think is a coincidence. Jacob: “Because I wanted them to help themselves. To know the difference between right and wrong without me having to tell them. It’s all meaningless if I have to tell them. Why should I have to step in?” Ah, so Jacob grants people Free Will, though he’s willing to stalk and manipulate. Nice. Ricardo: “If you don’t, he will.” Jacob is inspired by this comment to offer Ricardo a job. Ricardo asks, “Doing what?” Jacob explains that he would be the representative and intermediary between Jacob and the people he brings to the Island. Ricardo wonders what he would get in exchange, and says that he wants his wife back. Jacob says that can’t do that. Ricardo: “Can you absolve me of my sins so that I don’t go to Hell?” Jacob says no, he can’t do that. Ricardo says that he doesn’t ever want to die then. He wants to live forever so that he doesn’t have to go to Hell. Jacob: “Now that, I can do.”
Ricardo clearly takes the deal, as we next see him delivering a message to the Man in Black. He gives MIB a white rock, from Jacob. Oh, Jacob and MIB and their private jokes. White vs. Black. Light vs. Dark. Sigh. I’m kind of over the vague philosophizing. This is the last season and I want more. However, I know that I must manage my expectations, so ignore that last comment. MIB understands Ricardo changing sides, because Jacob can be very convincing. I could not help but sympathize with MIB in this scene. He says that if Ricardo ever changes his mind, his offer still stands. MIB then gives him Isabella’s cross necklace as a parting gift, which Ricardo promptly buries.
Cut to Richard, in the present. He goes to the place where he buried the necklace, and digs it up. Then he calls for the Man in Black, aka Flocke. Richard says that he changed his mind: “I’ve changed my mind. I was wrong. You said I could change my mind. You said the offer would stand. Does the offer still stand?” He yells that a couple times, but Smokey doesn’t appear. Hurley, however, does. Hurley: “What offer, dude?” Hurley tells Richard that his wife sent him—Isabella. She wants to know why Richard buried her cross. Hurley says that she’s standing right next to him. Richard: “Are you really there?” Hurley: “She wants you to close your eyes.” Hurley then communicates Isabella’s words: “It wasn’t your fault that I died, Ricardo. As much as you wanted to save me, it was my time. You’ve suffered enough, Ricardo.” Richard: “I miss you. I would do anything for us to be together again.” She says that they are together. Richard cries, and puts the necklace on. Hurley: “She kinda said one more thing. Something you have to do. […] She said you have to stop the Man in Black. You have to stop him from leaving the Island. Because if you don’t, we all go to Hell.” Agh! Enough with the Hell already! Cut to Flocke creepily looking on. Hmmm.
We then cut to Flocke in his Man in Black form. We are back in the past, and Jacob comes to sit beside him. MIB is playing with the white rock. Jacob: “I see you got my present.” MIB: “Don’t gloat, Jacob. It doesn’t become you.” Jacob: “So you tried to kill me.” MIB explains that it is because he wants to leave the Island: “Just let me leave, Jacob.” Jacob says that as long as he’s alive, then MIB is not going anywhere. Jacob also points out that if MIB kills him, then someone else will just take his place. Harsh. Jacob then gives MIB the bottle of wine/ darkness: “Here. Something for you to pass the time. See you around.” MIB: ” Sooner than you think.” He breaks the bottle. The end.
I have to say, this episode made me feel sorry for the Man in Black. And now I really understand why he hates Jacob so much. What a sanctimonious jerk! Still, MIB is pretty darn evil himself, so I am torn. The episode was definitely entertaining, and well-done, but I’m not sure that I like where it is pushing the storyline. However, I will reserve judgment until I see how it all pans out. Next week can’t come fast enough. What did you think? Post your comments below.
Don’t think of it as a battle of good vs. evil, but of fate vs. free will.
Seen through that lens, the show is still about the same ideas it was always about, long before we knew there was a Jacob and a Man in Black.
As for the Dharma Initiative: it will always be important, for what it told us about our characters, and what it taught our characters about themselves.
.-= Check out Tom´s recent blog post: LOST: The Prisoner =-.
Well, I used to think fate vs. free will before, but now that doesn’t quite fit anymore. Jacob seems to represent free will, but MIB doesn’t represent fate. MIB is the one trying to actually rebel and change the system. MIB doesn’t trust human nature, but he also doesn’t seem to accept fate or destiny.
I agree about Dharma, but it seems that they are just pawns in Jacob and MIB’s game. Lost has become a bit more “epic” than I would prefer. But again, it is really too early to judge. I look forward to seeing where it all leads.
I think the characters will only be pawns if they allow themselves to be. Maybe they’ll take the same road the Winchesters have advocated on Supernatural: let the giants fight it out themselves.
Because even if MIB is evil, I’m still not sold on Jacob being good. He’s let an awful lot of people suffer and die just to prove a point to someone who’s not listening. Maybe I shouldn’t use the word fate…but the two characters core beliefs seem to go beyond just good and evil.
As for the show getting too “epic”…you have dozens of characters from every continent expect Antarctica in a drama that spans decades (and now, centuries). It was already in epic territory.
.-= Check out Tom´s recent blog post: LOST: The Prisoner =-.
I agree. Good vs. evil is far too simplistic. I was being flippant in the post. And I’m not sold on Jacob being good either. And yeah, I shouldn’t complain about the whole epic thing, as Lost has always had an epic scope. I just can’t help but feel a little wary as a Battlestar fan who saw that show try to do too much. One TV show doesn’t have to explain the entire world, and it really can’t.
Well I love your recap Lucia. I actually found it more entertaining than the episode itself. This might be my new venue , I will watch until I fall asleep and then read your blog. For me that is two birds one stone. I get to hear your clever remarks and never miss a beat detail as well as hear what sort of papers you are grading. I think Lost would really fall into the dreaded “epic” mode if they made it a musical. Perhaps we could recast Jacob more like Mr. Higgins…just you wait Henry Jacob Higgins just you wait…
I actually feel like the story has led me to a worthy thought though.
Are people circumstancially good or bad. So is Kate really good but killed her father/step father, I can’t remember because she was in a bad situation etc etc. But do the circumstances of our life allow us the luxury of being good that sort of thing …
Anyway I love your insights, in Lost and in Life.
Aw, thanks! I’m glad that you had a chance to read it. Fell behind on blogging Lost over the past few weeks, but I should have time to write one this week. And your comment about Henry Higgins cracked me up. Hee.
I may have been a bit too harsh on the episode. It’s not Lost‘s fault that Supernatural also cast Mark Pellegrino (Jacob) in a similarly epic role, as the enigmatic Lucifer. Nor that Supernatural has a whole Team Free Will vs. Team Fate debate going on. Nor that Battlestar Galactica tried to do too much in its finale. And once we get more answers, I may change my mind about Lost trying to do too much.
And yes, it definitely makes one think … particularly about human nature. Are people, by nature, a certain way? Can they change? Did Kate really have “murder in [her] heart” as her father (the army guy, who turned out to not really be her biological father) told her? She ended up killing her biological father, but she had grown up thinking he was her stepfather.