Episode 6.09 — “Ab Aeterno”

Greetings!

Well, I have been waiting for a moment of drug-free clarity to finish writing and organizing my thoughts on “Ab Aeterno” and then realized it would be a while before I have a head clear of pain meds. So, my LOST friends, what you see is what you get! Consider this your warning that what follows may be even more jumbled and rambly than usual.

For the record, I thought this episode was friggin’ awesome. If you weren’t somewhat satisfied with “Ab Aeterno” then you are going to hate the rest of the series. Sorry. I have actually read posts on the forums from frustrated viewers claiming this episode did not give us any answers. Umm, what? I have no idea what show they were watching on Tuesday, but this is the kind of LOST I wanted to see in the final season. I’ve been waiting for this Richard episode since his initial mysterious appearances in Season 3, and I felt it delivered a dramatic, entertaining and epic story of the character, which was played wonderfully by Nestor Carbonell.

Of course, the more we peel back the layers of the Island’s history, the more we scratch our heads, but this episode was a refreshing step away from the sideways format and into the meat of the mythology. Here are some things I found interesting. I hope you will add to the discussion!

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1) Can we go ahead and agree that neither of these guys is good? — Both Jacob and MiB are responsible, either directly or indirectly, for many, many deaths throughout the Island’s history. Neither seems to have a real problem responding with violence, or allowing it to happen, when they are threatened or when they want to make a point. And for MiB, violence seems to be the method of choice.



Jacob has brought humans to the Island over and over again to prove to MiB that they aren’t worthless vehicles of destruction. Is this not a selfish act stroking Jacob's ego? Would God and/or his representatives allow such things to prove a point to their enemy? Would they destroy life just to prove the opposition wrong?

And those who are “touched” by Jacob are the ones who seem to suffer the most, no? The prime example is Locke, who arguably had the greatest faith in the Island and Jacob, and he paid the ultimate price for his loyalty to this entity. Though in this episode we got a glimpse of Richard's humanity and how he suffered for the Island as well.

Throughout this final season, we’ve been given mirror images of each character via the Alt. Does anyone think it’s possible that the same thing could be happening with our oldest Island inhabitants? Could Jacob and MiB be two sides of the same entity? They must be related somehow, whether they’re brothers, cousins or best buddies gone bad, right? MiB said something about how Jacob “stole” his body. Does that mean Jacob now controls it? Is the Island a kind of self-inflicted prison meant to capture and detain the “evil” part of the Jacob entity? Do we already know the name of MiB? Is it…Jacob?

2) The Cork — In this episode, we find Jacob describing the Island as a “cork,” which keeps MiB (aka “evil” or “darkness”) from escaping and spreading beyond the confines of the Island to the rest of the world. If we continue with this analogy of the Island as a stopper, or barrier, then what exactly is the wine bottle? Is the Island a gateway into the world of the unseen, or another dimension? And what exactly are the consequences of MiB’s escape? Can the world really get any worse? Maybe it is better that he escapes and ends things once and for all so this silly game between these two characters can cease!



Since the Island is underwater in the Alt, does this give us a clue as to what the Alt really is? Does it mean MiB has escaped his Island prison and is free to roam the world in this version of history? Are the lives of our LOSTies in the Alt as pleasant as they seem? I certainly don’t think so. But when will we see the true nature of this other universe? When are things going to take a turn for the worse? Will we eventually see MiB’s influence on our characters? Am I totally off my rocker here?

3) Jacob’s “power” — Bring Richard’s wife back? Nope. Give Richard absolution and forgiveness for his sins? Sorry. Eternal life? Say no more, my friend! Have I got a deal for you!

Exactly how powerful is Jacob? Was he being completely truthful with Richard? I thought Dogen said Jacob would bring his son back to life after that horrible car accident if Dogen would fulfill a role on the Island. So do Jacob’s resurrection powers depend on the situation? Or is this just Jacob using more manipulation to get his players in place?



Certainly Jacob is not the all-powerful God, but I think he may be a (reluctant) servant of the Almighty. It is possible that Jacob himself acted out of line and now his punishment is keeping an eye on MiB for the remainder of his days. Hmm?

4) God (Jacob) vs. El Diablo (MiB) — Now I don’t necessarily think it’s “God” versus the “Devil” here (or strictly good versus evil) but these Island characters do have many similarities to how both of these entities usually work. God traditionally prefers to manifest himself through people and their subtle, divine spiritual revelations—more of a behind-the-scenes kind of guy, if you will—while the Devil never has a problem getting in someone’s face and telling them how it is (or how he sees it).



But by painting MiB and Jacob with the ambiguous brush, the writers have allowed themselves the chance to pull the ol’ switcheroo on us. It may be a little late in the game to do something that drastic, but we’ve seen crazier things on this show. Some have voiced their disappointment in the possibility that the show is simply another way to tell the good versus evil story but, honestly, if you look back to earlier seasons (Season 1, especially) this is nothing new on LOST. And for me personally, it’s been one of the greatest versions of this age-old tale. I’m just very interested to see how they choose to resolve it all.

5) The Island world’s influence on the Alt — If we assume that the Alt is MiB winning the game, or escaping the Island, then can we assume that the sides chosen in the Island world reflect how the character’s lives play out in the Alt? For example, Sayid has turned dark on the Island and in the Alt he remains a killer. Keamy was very evil in the Island world and still ends up a gangster of sorts in the Alt. Hurley ultimately chooses good (I assume) and ends up as the luckiest guy ever. Coincidence? How do YOU think these two realities connect to each other?



6) Compliments of posters on the Fuselage, here are just a few things we learned this episode (for all you skeptics) —
- How Richard came to the Island.
- Why Richard never ages.
- How Magnus Hanso and the Black Rock ended up on the Island.
- How the giant statue was reduced to just a foot.
- Why MiB wants to kill Jacob.
- The island isn't actually hell but rather the barrier to hell on earth.
- Jacob brings "morally questionable" people to the island to show MiB that they cannot all be corrupted.
- Jacob asked Ilana to protect the Candidates.

Not bad for one episode of LOST, huh?



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As I mentioned above, this is the kind of LOST I was hoping to see in the final season. I really enjoyed the linear storytelling format of the episode, as it was a nice break from what we’ve been seeing week to week so far. I don’t imagine we’ll get another of these eps for a couple of weeks, but I am confident we’ll have a few more mythos-heavy hours before the season’s end.

Also, I didn’t include a “Favorite Lines/Scenes” section this week so please leave your favorites in the comments section!

Thank you all for your patience while I continue to recover from my surgery! I’m hoping by this time next week I’ll be off my pain medication and able to focus more on LOST and the blog. We’re halfway through the final season, so hang in there, fellow LOSToholics! The end is near!

Until next time…

Namaste…and good luck.

SFO