Hell on Earth

Did you enjoy those extra 6 minutes of air time? (I hope you altered your DVRs accordingly.) Hmmm, I wonder if “Ab Aeterno” actually ran 6 minutes and 6 seconds long. After all, a 66.6 minute show would be especially fitting given the content of last night’s episode.

For those of you who didn’t lostpedia it, “ab aeterno” means “from eternity.” And it also means “since the beginning” or “for long ages.” Apparently the phrase comes from the Latin translation of Proverbs 8:23: “I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began.”

I feel like I’ve been waiting for an eternity for Richard Alpert’s history. And now that I’ve seen it (with an extra 6 minutes, to boot!), I couldn’t help being a little disappointed.

First of all, the storytelling technique was…cheesy. The way they interspersed the flashbacks with the dialogue of Jack, Ilana, and the other beach-sitters, well, it felt like one of those sitcom-recap episodes where everyone sits around and says something that obviously leads in to a flashback which they proceed to relive together… For example, in response to Ben’s comment that Richard doesn’t age, Lapidus says, “And how do you think that happened?”

Never fear, Frank! You’ll never believe this, but a flashback is about to answer that very question! What a crazy coincidence that you happened to ask that right now just moments before the writers were about to provide the answer. Pure craziness, I tell you.

And yeah, anyways, that was when we flashed to the Canary Islands circa 1867, where Richard was all like, “I’m on a horse.”…okay, so maybe he didn’t say it, but he should have.

But in the past seasons, flashbacks didn’t feel so forced. Maybe all the Sideways stuff made them forget how to incorporate flashbacks; I don’t know. But the characters on the island never sat around talking about someone’s back story as a lead-in to it. We’re used to seeing on-island drama interspersed with back stories (or sideways stories), and then we can make the connection ourselves. This plot construction was cheesy (you can do better, Lost).

But we did have some on-island drama before the episode was over. And in the end, I liked this episode. I just think the first 15 minutes were weak. Even Richard’s history with Isabella made me yawn a little bit. I realize I’m asking too much of the writers: I want to know his story, but I don’t want them to take any time to reveal it to me. This late in the final season, I guess it’s just hard for me to invest in back stories when I’d much rather be watching events unfolding on the island.

All of that being said, we learned a lot in this episode. And we got confirmation on many of the things we’ve long suspected. And inevitably, it gave us a lot to ponder as we wait for next week’s installment.

Richard’s Arrival
Jacob admits he brought the Black Rock to the island, and Richard was a slave aboard the ship (because he inadvertently killed the doctor who wouldn’t provide the medicine to heal Richard’s dying wife). If we can trust Locke Monster (I’m sticking with this name even though during the flashback he appeared in his Season 5 Finale form, and not as Locke), then we also know that the Black Rock destroyed the statue.

(So apparently Jacob has the power to draw a ship to the island…but he lacks the ability to prevent it from obliterating the statue in which he lives?)

Locke Monster—in the form of Smoke—killed all of the Black Rock’s survivors (not counting those Whitfield had already bayoneted). But not Richard. Why didn’t he kill Richard? Well, we saw him giving Richard the smoke screen (that’s my name for it, anyway. Get it, smoke screen? Get it? No, it’s like he’s screening him. Well, yeah, it is more like a scan. I know, but “smoke scan” isn’t clever…no, oh, nevermind…). Whatever you want to call it, we definitely saw the smoke monster do this to Mr. Eko in a previous season. And in the smoke, if you watch it in slow motion, you can see scenes from Eko’s life being replayed like a film. And this appears to be what the smoke monster did to Richard…and he saw something he could use to manipulate him, and thus, he was spared. (I think this confirms my long-held belief that Eko was killed because the Smoke Monster wanted to manipulate him and he realized that Eko, who felt no guilt for his actions, was going to be immune to his manipulations.)

Welcome to Hell, Ricardo
When Jacob’s Enemy (yeah, I just changed my mind…it’s too confusing to call him “Locke Monster” when he doesn’t look like Locke) comes and touches Richard, he tells him that they’re in hell.

Richard believed him (after the carnage he had just witnessed, wouldn’t you?). And this is how his manipulations began. One on hand, it seems Jacob’s Enemy is a master manipulator. But you know, in a way, he also kinda sucks at it.

Before he frees Richard, he makes him promise to help him, to do anything he asks. Which, you know, probably isn’t the best way to establish trust.

Then Jacob’s Enemy skewers a boar on a spit and sits back to watch Richard eating. After awhile, he leans forward and extends a sheathed dagger to Richard:

Jacob’s Enemy: When you’re finished eating, you’ll walk due west. Once you get to the ocean, you’ll be able to see the statue…your ship smashed through it, broke it to pieces. That’s where you’ll find the devil. You only have one chance. You put this through his chest. Do not hesitate; do not let him say a word. If he speaks it will be too late. He can be very persuasive.
Richard: How can I kill him with this? He’s black smoke?
Jacob’s Enemy: No, I am.

How can he be such a good liar and so bad at it all at once? I mean, really, admitting you’re the black smoke? You think that’s the best way to earn Richard’s trust? Then again, maybe he’s not trying to earn his trust…maybe he just wants Richard to embrace his basest instincts. Because this is what comes next:

Richard: You killed the officers on the ship…
Jacob’s Enemy: I’m not the one you need to worry about. The devil has your wife; and you’re going to have to kill him if you ever want to get her back…
Richard: Murder is wrong; that is what brought me here.
Jacob’s Enemy: My friend, you and I can talk all day long about right or wrong, but the question before you remains the same: do you ever want to see your wife again?
Richard: Yes, I do.

And so, Jacob’s Enemy gave Richard the dagger, patted him on the shoulder, and walked away. And Richard set off to fight the devil.

Jacob Fights First, Asks Questions Later
Remember when Ben stabbed Jacob? Remember how Jacob stood there and took it like a (dead) man?

Well, Richard’s experience was slightly different. Jacob promptly beat the snot out of him. With no hesitation whatsoever. As soon as he saw him walking toward the statue with that dagger, Jacob went all Dogen on him (which reminds me: I miss Dogen).

Moments later, Richard was disarmed and lying on his back.

Jacob: What are you doing here? Who gave you this?
Richard: Where’s my wife?
Jacob: I don’t know your wife. Did she come here on the ship?
Richard: She’s dead.
Jacob: Then why are you asking me where she is…

That exchange made me laugh.

It was also nice to see Jacob with a little more personality. In other episodes, he’s been so tranquil, and so cognizant of everything. In this episode, he seemed like he was really at a loss.

But anyway, Richard still believes he’s in hell. And he thinks he’s dead. Jacob proves him wrong by almost drowning him to death. Richard realizes he wants to live, and Jacob lets him (that’s an understatement, huh?).

The Island isn’t Hell…it’s a Cork. Duh!
This episode provided the most in-depth course in Jacob history we’ve seen. Here it is, in Jacob’s words:

Richard: What is inside?
Jacob: No one comes in unless I invite them in.
Richard: Are you the devil?
Jacob: No.
Richard: Then who are you?
Jacob: My name is Jacob. I’m the one who brought your ship to this island…
Richard: You brought it here. Why?
Jacob (takes a drink): Think of this wine as what you keep calling hell. There’s many other names for it, too: malevolence, evil, darkness. And 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 thinks that every man is corruptible because it’s in his very nature to sin. I bring people here to prove him wrong. And when they get here, their past doesn’t matter.
Richard: Before you brought my ship, there were others?
Jacob: Yes, many.
Richard: What happened to them?
Jacob: They’re all dead.
Richard: If you brought them here, why didn’t you help them?
Jacob: Because I wanted them to help themselves, to know the difference between right and wrong without having to tell them. It’s all meaningless if I have to force them to do anything. Why should I have to step in?
Richard: If you don’t, he will.
Jacob (pauses): Do you want a job?
Richard: A job? Doing what?
Jacob: Well, if I don’t want to step in…maybe you can do it for me. You can be my representative, my intermediary.
Richard: But what would I get in return?
Jacob: What do you want?
Richard: I want my wife back.
Jacob: I can’t do that.
Richard: Can you absolve me of my sins?
Jacob: I can’t do that, either.
Richard: I don’t ever want to die. I want to live forever.
Jacob: Now that—I can do.

The Sword (er, Dagger) and the Stone
I don’t know if the dagger Jacob’s Enemy gave to Richard is special or not, but I’m sure I’m not the only one wondering if it’s the same dagger Dogen gave to Sayid—the same one that ended up lodged (harmlessly) in Locke Monster’s sternum.

I’m curious about the dagger but even more interested in the white stone Jacob asked Richard to give to Jacob’s Enemy. I think it’s safe to assume it’s the white stone we saw in the seaside cave. And that makes me think that the cave belonged to Locke Monster/Jacob’s Enemy, not Jacob. Perhaps that scale was representative of the struggle between the two of them—the struggle between good and evil. And Jacob gave his enemy that stone as a way of saying, “Game on.” Before Richard joined Jacob, everyone Jacob had brought to the island had died. So maybe he gave the stone to his enemy to say, “Here we go again,” and eventually, Locke Monster threw the stone into the ocean because Jacob’s death meant that the struggle between the two of them is over.

Speaking of that struggle, did anyone else think it was odd that Jacob seemed to be baffled that his enemy sent Richard to kill him? Jacob’s Enemy straight up told him (in the Season 5 finale) that he wanted to kill him. And Jacob’s response was, “I know.” That was when the Black Rock was just off the coast of the island…so when Jacob’s Enemy tries to kill Jacob only days later…why in the world would Jacob be surprised?

Even though I didn’t understand Jacob’s ignorance/confusion, I was still intrigued by their exchange at the end of the episode:

Jacob: Morning.
Jacob’s Enemy: Morning.
Jacob: I see you got my present.
Jacob’s Enemy: Don’t gloat, Jacob. It doesn’t become you.
Jacob: So you tried to kill me?
Jacob’s Enemy: Do you expect an apology?
Jacob: I guess I’m just wondering why you did it.
Jacob’s Enemy: Because I want to leave. Let me leave, Jacob.
Jacob: As long as I’m alive, you’re not going anywhere.
Man: Now you know why I want to kill you; and I will kill you, Jacob.
Jacob: Even if you do, someone else will take my place.
Man: Then I’ll kill them, too.
Jacob (gives him the wine): Here, something for you to pass the time…I’ll see you around.
Man: Sooner than you think. (and he breaks the bottle)

The line that jumped out at me: “Then I’ll kill them, too…” I assume Locke Monster can’t kill the candidates (especially whichever one assumes the role of Jacob’s Replacement), so he’ll need someone else to do it. And who will that be? My guess: Widmore. (If you’re hung up on the fact that Widmore is erecting those sonar pylons, my guess would be that’s it’s just a safety precaution to ensure that Locke Monster doesn’t kill him after he’s killed off the candidates.)

Hurley, the Ghost-Whisperer
In Richard’s flashback, we know that Jacob’s Enemy told Richard it’s never too late to change his mind. And as a token of that, he gave Richard the necklace that had belonged to his wife, Isabella. Well, in that flashback, Richard buried it (in what appeared to be a cemetery of sorts, didn’t it?). Back in the island’s present, Richard marched across the island carrying his torch (apparently it took him all night to get there, since it was daylight when he arrived at the pseudo-cemetery) and he dug up this necklace, shouting, “Does the offer still stand? Does the offer still stand?” And then, just when we expected Locke Monster to appear, we saw…Hurley? (In that moment, I had this strange thought that Hurley had been a mole for Jacob’s Enemy all along…how twisted would that be? But no, apparently Hurley followed him all the way across the island by himself, and in the dark, which is almost as unbelievable as the thought that Hurley would be a mole for Locke Monster.)

But no, Hurley doesn’t have any ill-intentions. He’s just there to play match-maker for the immortal man and the ghost of his wife (you know, just the typical Lost love-connection).

Richard: What the hell are you doing out here? Did you follow me?
Hurley: Dude, calm down.
Richard: Why did you follow me?
Hurley: Your wife sent me!
Richard: What did you say?
Hurley: I said your wife sent me—Isabella. She wants to know why you buried her cross.
Richard: How did you know that?

And this is why Hurley is a great translator:

Isabella: He doesn’t believe you.
Hurley (in Spanish): Sometimes it takes people awhile.
Isabella: Tell him his English is beautiful.
Richard: I don’t see her.
Hurley: She’s right there. She says your English is awesome.

And after Isabella leaves (does she have an engagement elsewhere, or something?), Hurley reveals one final thing.

Hurley: She kinda said one more thing—something you have to do.
Richard: What?
Hurley: She said you have to stop the man in black—stop him from leaving the island. Because if you don’t, we all go to hell.

Theme:

Eternity/Damnation
In this episode, I think we heard the word “hell” more often than Hurley says, “dude.”

We also learned, from Jacob, that Locke Monster believes man is corruptible because “it’s in his very nature to sin.” Not to get too theological, but I have to agree with Locke Monster on that one. Perhaps Jacob’s use of the word “corruptible” is different than mine. Is he referring to an eternal choice? I believe that we have a sinful nature, and I think we can be corrupted. But it’s the acknowledgment of our corrupt and sinful nature that makes redemption possible. So does Jacob think that some people are completely impervious to corruption? Or does he just believe that they can still choose to be good (for lack of a better word), whereas Locke Monster believes they can all be persuaded to ultimately choose evil (again, for lack of a better word)?

Whatever the case may be concerning Jacob’s views of mankind and their corruptibility, this episode—from the title all the way to Hurley’s final pronouncement—certainly put everything in an eternal perspective. “Evil incarnate” is trapped on this island (sort of like Napoleon and Elba), and while he can deceive, kill, and destroy willy-nilly on the island, he can go nowhere else. And that’s what he’s trying to change.

Snippets:

So Magnus Hanso was definitely the captain of the Black Rock. (Had we heard that in the show before? Or just from other Lost-related sources?)

What a crappy priest! Why even ask Richard to make a confession if you’re just going to tell him that “the devil waits for you in hell…”

Finally! We have confirmation for the whole “The Island is a Cork” theory. (Who didn’t suspect that?)

It’s funny to see Richard so bedraggled and flummoxed (it’s also fun to say “bedraggled and flummoxed.” Go on, try it. Say it again. See?)

Last week I joked about Kate and Hurley hooking up. I don’t really want to see that. But I would like Libby’s ghost to pay Hurley a visit. I mean, c’mon already! Ana Lucia’s ghost told Hurley that Libby said hi. So why can’t she just come and talk to him herself?

Questions:
1 ) Was it just me, or did Jacob’s plan seem to be really short-sighted? He brings the ship to the island…and then Jacob’s Enemy turns into smoke and kills all the survivors…(okay, so he didn’t kill Richard, but only because he wanted Richard to kill Jacob.) Jacob’s Enemy believes all man is corruptible…and Jacob wants to prove him wrong. But Jacob’s Enemy can just kill everyone whenever Jacob brings them to the island? Seems like the odds are really stacked against Jacob, doesn’t it? Seems like, in order for Jacob’s experiment to run its course, Jacob’s Enemy would need to be confined somewhere…like in a cabin, maybe? Think that might have been one of Richard’s tasks as Jacob’s “intermediary”? To confine Jacob’s Enemy in the cabin?

2 ) Now that we know Richard became Jacob’s “intermediary,” isn’t it strange that he went off the island to scope out Locke? Or to run missions for Ben—like recruiting Juliet?

3 ) Speaking of Richard running missions for Ben…when did the Others come to the island? If at one time it was just Jacob, Jacob’s Enemy, and Richard, when did the others come? And how long does it take for Jacob to “prove him wrong”? Dogen and some of the other Others had lived there for awhile, apparently serving Jacob…not his enemy. So at what point is Jacob right?

4 ) So out of the “candidates,” if only one can replace Jacob, who do you think it should be? (Jack is a good leader…but Hurley gets my vote.)

5 ) When Richard inquired about the inside of the statue, Jacob’s response was, “No one comes in unless I invite them in.” That doesn’t seem like the easiest way to answer the question, which makes me think it’s significant. But what does it mean? And is it true? (After all, Locke Monster and Ben came in unbidden—even though Richard told them that’s not how it works.)