6.09 Ab Aeterno

“Ab Aeterno.” Latin for “from the beginning of time.”

Since the beginning of season 3, I’ve been coming on here and writing up the episodes in my typical episode guide format: Did you notice this and that? Here are my questions... ooh, nitpicks! Wow, here are Hurley’s numbers!!

I’ve probably published more words on Lost than anyone else. I’ve spent more time writing about Lost than about anything in my entire life. And I’ve written about a LOT of other things. Despite that, I’ve referred to The Wire as the smartest show on television, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer still holds that place in my heart as my all-time favourite television show. But Lost is right up there... each week I marvel at the minutiae, giggle with delight at finding things in the background, piecing together the puzzle that has slowly unfolded over six years. But it has always engaged my mind more than my heart... despite my heart being fully engaged (please don’t get me wrong) my love of this show has always been in the piecing-together of it. I care about these characters, but I care equally about the war, the backstory, and where we're headed.

But tonight... tonight. I just finished watching “Ab Aeterno,” the episode I’ve been waiting for since Richard Alpert was standing outside the hospital window looking at baby John Locke. The episode that promised us answers. The episode that would go right back to the beginning. I expected a lot from it.

But I didn’t expect this. Guys, I’m writing this through tears. Tears that Lost just moved from the epic to the sublime. Tears of happiness at the answers we finally got. Tears of sadness from Isabella’s moving speech to Richard at the end (I sobbed like a baby through that entire scene). Tears of sheer wonder at Nestor Carbonell’s UNBELIEVABLE performance.

THIS is the episode we’ve wanted from the beginning. THIS is the hour of television that just made almost six years of loyalty worth it. THIS is the stuff I just KNEW in my heart was coming. THIS is the episode that all of those naysayers will have to eat their words over. This is my new favourite Lost episode ever (oddly, structured unlike any other Lost episode before it with the exception of Meet Kevin Johnson, which also flashed back to Michael’s backstory and didn’t do a constant back and forth throughout the episode) and I will defend it against any critics to my dying day.

I am still crying. I am SO HAPPY to have seen this. It was like watching a series finale... and MAN if the series finale can conjure up the wild emotions in me that this episode just did, then this really will be the greatest TV show of all time.

Buffy, move over... you officially have to share that “Nikki’s all-time favourite show” mantle with Lost.

I almost launched right into a video podcast, folks, but I’m blubbering and would be sobbing and sniffling and crying and laughing all the way through it and it would probably look more crazytown than sincere, so I’ll just stick to writing for now. I am just so over the moon right now, I’m literally shaking. Too much? you might say. Not for me: I’ve devoted YEARS of research to this show, and for it to have moved me the way it just did, to have engaged my heart so much more than my brain... all I can say is thank you. Thank you, Team Darlton... thank you thank you thank you. I am just so freakin happy right now I can barely form words to type.

But I must!!!!!! Ahem... :::wiping away tears, composing self::: On with the blog!!!

(OK, just watched it a second time and I’m BAWLING again!!!)

“The cork... is this island. And it’s the only thing keeping the darkness where it belongs.”
Last week I said that I thought Smokey’s speech on the beach with Kate gave him a lot of sympathy... his mother was crazy, he was trapped, he just wanted out. But after this week’s episode, I’m convinced that it was just the writers trying to lead us away from the clear thing: That Jacob really IS the good guy, and Smokey the bad.

The way that Smokey and Jacob talked to Richard is telling, and if you use the biblical stories as your guide, you’ll see how each one fits into it. The devil has a silver tongue, is persuasive, and will tell you whatever you want to hear. He’ll want your allegiance above all else, and will offer you something in return... but you have to give him something first. Smokey finds the keys to free Richard from the chains, but only when he gets his allegiance first does he unchain him. He tells him that if he does what he asks, he’ll get him his wife back. He tells him he’s the good guy, don’t worry, we’re the same, you and I... he tells him everything Richard wants to hear.

Jacob hits him before talking to him (not exactly endearing him to him). He shows him that he’s not actually dead or in Hell. He asks him if he wants to work with him, but doesn’t promise him anything for it. He tells him point blank that he can’t get his wife back, and he can’t absolve him of his sins. What he CAN do is give him immortality that will prevent him from ever having to go to Hell and face up to those sins.

And what of Isabella? At the end of S5 we were pretty convinced that Smokey and the dead people on the island were one and the same, but as I’ve pointed out repeatedly this season, I’m starting to doubt that, simply because Smokey doesn’t inhabit their bodies... he simply looks like them (as in Locke’s body existing separately from the lookalike Smokey). But he doesn’t wear the man-suits lightly, and I’m not sure he can easily create those beings. But if Isabella is telling Richard to kill the Man in Black, she’s clearly NOT the Man in Black. (OK, that and I just want that speech of hers at the end to have been REAL.) Perhaps on the island the dead can cross over and actually reach out to their loved ones?

Jacob says that he wants people to come to the island to prove the Man in Black wrong (looks like the Man in Black’s score is way higher so far, but Jacob hasn’t given up faith). He said he won’t intervene and won’t help people, but maybe he somehow lifts the barrier on the island so their loved ones can help prod them along? Perhaps Christian and Yemi and Isabella aren’t evil hallucinations, but good ones, trying to help the people they love to make the right decisions. Maybe Yemi was begging Eko to repent for good, not bad.

Jacob appears to be the good guy, but unlike Jesus, he’s not going to tell stories and die for their sins. There’s an interesting reference to Jesus near the beginning, when Richard is in the jail cell and the merciless priest comes in. Richard is reading the section in Luke where Jesus is rejected in Nazareth. The full story is here (what we see on the screen is verses 24 to 28):

16And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
17And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
22And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?
23And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.
24And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
25But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
26But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
27And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.
28And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
29And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.
30But he passing through the midst of them went his way

In this scene, the people tell Jesus to heal himself, or to prove that he’s actually a miracle worker, and he refuses to prove it, just as Jacob won’t do any of that.

Jacob came off as a bit of a dick in “The Lighthouse,” but when he said to Hurley that he’s just leading them along without helping them, we now know that’s how he believes Jack might be the guy to finally make the right decision. But, as Jacob said then, Jack must make that decision on his own, without Jacob’s help.

And now Richard just might be the one lying in the shadow of the statue... if he kills the Man in Black, he could be the one to save them all.

Highlights:
• Nestor Carbonell.
• Um... the entire episode?
• Nestor Carbonell.
• The look of the episode... visually it was stunning... even the crapola CGI of the stormy seas didn’t disappoint me, simply because it was still pretty terrifying.
• Jack: Do you know who he meant? Ben: Oh, THIS should be interesting.
• The look on Jack’s face when he was told that Locke was the bad guy (I cannot WAIT for these two to come face to face again, even though Smokey isn’t Locke... I still believe Locke is in there somewhere).
• Richard giggling like a crazy girl when Ilana asks him what to do next?
• I saw Titus Welliver’s name in the opening scene as a guest star and I squealed.
• Nestor Carbonell.
• Richard crying over Isabella’s dead body was heartbreaking.
• Jacob referring to the other guy as the “Man in Black,” which is how the fans have been referring to him since “The Incident.”
• Richard screaming, “Does the offer still stand?” and Hurley saying, “What offer, Dude?”
• “She says your English is awesome.” (This is where the tears started for me, by the way.)
• Hurley telling Richard if he doesn’t stop the Man in Black, they all go to Hell.... and the cut to Locke turning to us. ACK!!
• Nestor Carbonell.

Answers!!!!:
• Magnus Hanso (previously seen mentioned on the blast door map as being buried next to the Black Rock) was the captain of the ship... something most of us assumed.
• And THAT is how the Black Rock ended up in the middle of the island... a massive tidal wave.
• And THAT is how Tawaret, the statue, was destroyed.
• Jacob (if his speech is true) lives on the island in an effort to keep the ultimate darkness from leaving the island and spreading throughout the world. The island is the lid on Pandora’s Box, and Jacob is the man sitting on that lid keeping it closed.
• The Man in Black believes that man is essentially corrupt. I suggested in my first Finding Lost book that if we have a Rousseau and a Locke, all we’re missing is a Hobbes, the man who believed that man was essentially corrupt. It looks like we’ve finally got him.
• Jacob brings people to the island to try to prove to the Man in Black that man is NOT corrupt and will choose good.
• Richard is immortal because he cannot be absolved of his sins and doesn’t want to go to Hell.
• His actual job is as Jacob’s intermediary between him and everyone who comes to the island.

Did You Notice?:
• Richard says to Jack, “Wanna know a secret?” the same way Locke said it to Walt.
• When Richard tells them all that they’re dead, how many fans’ jaws dropped? (I just assumed it was crazy rantings, but the fan service in that moment was all kinds of awesome.) Remember, it’s the same story that Anthony Cooper gave Sawyer when he was ALSO (like Richard) chained up in the Black Rock in season 3’s “The Brig.”
• Richard’s backstory begins in 1867 on Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, a group of Spanish islands off the coast of Africa. Beginning in the 16th century, many inhabitants on the island succumbed to disease or were sold into slavery thanks to the immigration of people from the Spanish Empire. Richard and his wife were probably descendents of the original immigrants who came during that wave, so it’s a sad irony that they succumbed to both of those things.
• 1867 was the year of Canada's Confederation, i.e. the year we became a nation. Interesting they chose that year for when Richard's life fell apart. I guess when Canada came together, evil really WAS unleashed on the world!! Ha!
• The name “Isabella” means “My god is a vow.”
• When the doctor gets up to go to the medicine cabinet and the camera’s on Richard, the lightning flashes and there’s a large chair in the background that looks like an electric chair in the effect of it.
• The powder is white... another in the black/white imagery, but notice how to get this white powder, he murdered someone to get it and still lost his wife. “White” didn’t save him the way he hoped it would. A hint of what Jacob is or a red herring?
• Richard is abandoned by the church and his religion as the priest walks out of the cell with his Bible and his hope of absolution. The organized church has failed him... the priest is merciless and unforgiving. But he still has his faith, regardless.
• Did anyone else think Jonas Whitfield (the guy who recruits Richard for the ship) looked like Colin Firth?
• I think I said this in a comments thread a couple of weeks ago, but interesting that the ship is called the Black Rock, and there’s a black rock on the scale in the cave (Smokey’s thrown the white rock away).
• When Smokey moved in on Richard, he flashed the same way he did when Juliet and Kate were trapped in the tree in “Left Behind.” Notice Richard closed his eyes, whereas previously we saw Eko stare down the monster and that’s what we thought made Smokey go away.
• Here’s what I would have done if the rain had started and I couldn’t reach with my tongue... slide my shoe out with my foot, and then drag it back and drink it. Why didn’t the guy ever use his feet (like when the little nail was out of reach?) Small, eensy nitpick. In fact, forget I said anything. ;)
• Two words for that boar eating the dead guy: Dis. GUSTING. Oh my God that was gross.
• “It’s good to see you out of those chains.” That’s the same thing Not-Locke said to Richard on the beach right before whacking him in the neck.
• Nestor holds his body in a slight slouch as he walks up to the statue with the dagger, making Richard look completely emaciated.
• When Jacob brings out the wine bottle, I thought for a second it was the same bottle that Richard built the little ship in a bottle in last season (but if Smokey smashed it, it can’t be the same one).

So Many Questions...
• While I’m not sure, with 7 episodes left, I really want an Ilana flashback, I am curious about her link to Jacob, and I think if it’s more of an Ilana/Jacob flashback, I’d love to see it... how did she know him already? Did she wish that SHE were one of the candidates? You can’t mistake that look of disappointment on her face when he tells her he needs her help protecting the candidates, but doesn’t actually offer her a candidate position.
• Was her head bandaged in a battle trying to save another candidate?
• So wait... Sun is definitely one of the candidates? When was that determined? Do we know that for sure or is Ilana just telling her she is because she’s assuming that’s what “Kwon” meant?
• Does anyone speak Spanish out there and could tell me what Hurley was saying at the very beginning when he was talking to invisible Isabella when Jack came up to him?
• I’m wondering about the dead people on the island now... do you still think they’re manifestations of the Man in Black/Smokey, or are they actually there in some way? Could their spirits transcend death on this island to reach out and help their loved ones? I mean, if she’s a manifestation of the Man in Black, why would she tell Richard to KILL the Man in Black? Hm. I want to believe that speech by her at the end was sincere.
• The words that Man in Black speaks to Richard – telling him to plunge the dagger directly into his chest, you only have one chance, do it quickly, don’t let him speak or it’ll be too late, he’s very persuasive – were all the words Dogen said to Sayid when he was telling him to kill Smokey... AND he handed him the exact same dagger. How did the dagger move from one side of the war to the other, with exactly the same instructions being spoken?
• Jacob has the same crazy superhuman strength that Ben exhibited in S2... is there a link?
• When Jacob is killed, does his soul enter the next person who fulfills their candidacy? So, like the way Smokey looks different but is the same person inside, is Jacob still in there somewhere?

I feel like I have SO much more to say on this episode, but I have to watch it 15 more times tonight and cry some more and try to form my thoughts into something cohesive. I'll post more tomorrow and Thursday but until then... let's discuss!

A reminder that I’m going to be appearing on Space on Thursday night at 11pm! I’ll be on Innerspace in the opening and final segments talking about this episode (oh what a GLORIOUS episode for them to have invited me in to discuss at length!!) So be sure to tune in!!

And listen in to Marshall and Forbes on The Ocean 98.5 in Victoria, BC at 6 a.m. local time, 9 a.m. EST. Go here and click on the Listen Now button if you’re out of the listening area.

And tomorrow at noon I will once again be participating in the Globe and Mail Lost chat from noon to 1pm EST. Go here to ask questions and comment. See you there!

Next week on Lost: