6.9 Ab Aeterno

Random thoughts. My computer caught a bad virus, delaying this writeup by a few days. Much to my surprise, it was AIDS. Not to my surprise was the fact that my computer is dating more than me. This writeup/recap/mess is a bit rushed and not well thought out. Which isn’t much of a change. This was surely a crossroads episode. We’ve been getting some really disappointing and sometimes downright awful episodes this season. Going in with the high expectation for a Richard episode, I was worried about the rest of the series if this episode flopped. I was very relieved and very pleased at how much I really enjoyed this, well, epic episode. This was simply spectacular. Richard’s acting was terrific, his sad sack story was actually interesting and almost moving, and his reunion of sorts with the ghost of his wife was not as over the top as I thought it might have been, especially upon repeated viewings. Of course, the best part of this episode was there was absolutely no flashsideways crap. What a breath of fricking fresh air away from that cesspool of suck. It was like watching a brilliant movie, not a sh!!ty one like that Sandra Bullock football movie about a home invasion and how she was stabbed 173 times and bleed out on a football field or at least that’s what I’ve heard. I had enough of the Tiger Woods crap, and now its Sandra Bullock crap. Who cares? The coverage stinks. The female anchor turns to the male anchor, Gene, tell me all men are not like this. No, Helen, we are not. Hahahaha. Up next, the weather. Shut up, you focktwads. How about an equally appropriate question? Hey, Helen. Are all women money grubbing sluts who will have sex with obviously married men and ruin marriages for 15 minutes of fame? No, Gene, but I bet you are sooooo fired for asking. And if you criticize my wardrobe, I’ll have you arrested. Nope, it’s a sexist society, and we can’t mention that porn stars that sleep with married men can be EQUALLY guilty too. We are all doomed as a society. If a candidate is to take over for Jacob, do they get superhero powers like granting immortality and manipulating lives and acting like a d!ck, or should they already have some type of powers. Of all the candidates left, the only noticeable powers are Hurley’s ability to talk to dead people and Kate’s ability to piss me off. Ab Aeterno translated from Latin is “from the beginning of time”, of which certain concepts in this episode seemed to have originated from. I’ve speculated the LAX timeline is an epilogue, what happens when the island stuff is over. What if it’s a prologue, showing us what happens before Jacob got involved in the Losties lives. Jacob goes back in time to recruit these people to help on the island after they have lived to this point in their lives. Or to really simply this, the LAX is what happens when the MIB escapes the island and darkness spreads in the world, and Jacob needs to stop him by bringing people to the island just before it happens. Now I’m getting confused. I need to think this through a bit more. More on this stuff in the future.

We start with an extended scene from last season’s finale, of Jacob visiting Ilana in a Russian hospital. Ilana has her face wrapped in bandages and has been preparing for a trip to the island by bobbing for fish filets in the hot oil cooker. Jacob tells her that she is to protect 6 people, the remaining candidates on This Island Has No Talent. The Jacobites are sitting around a campfire at night at the original Losties camp. They are finally comparing notes since they have run out of excuses not to do so They are candidates to replace Jacob. Well, Sun said that, and claimed to be one herself. She is either making a huge assumption that she is a candidate or she is desperately trying to say something other than Jin. She has not said Jin yet, but I can see her doodling the name Jin in the sand with a stick. I want that stick to accidently end up in her eye socket. What do we do next? Hurley speaks up and says that he wants to do a cannonball. Frank wants to braid his chest hair. Well, a couple of episodes ago Richard said Jack seemed to have all the answers. But he is just as dumfounded as usual. As the extended scene with Jacob and Ilana continues, Ilana is no longer bandaged up and her face is completely healed. Um, that was fast. Did Jacob touch her and heal her? And how was she injured to begin with? The mission is to bring the candidates to the Temple, which Ilana ended up failing spectacularly. Ask Richardus, as he will know what to do next. Richard, Ricardos Ricardus, make up your minds. This guy has had more name changes than Prince. Last season Ilana first met Richard and called him Ricardo. Which is inconsistent with what she was told from Jacob. Now, it is Ricardus again. Anyway, Richie laughs like a lunatic. A bright giggle of madness. That must be what I look like when somebody says they like Jack. Richard: I have no idea. I had to rewind to make sure Jack didn’t just say that. Shockingly, no. Richmeister, making copies, goes on a rant about everything that Jacob ever said was a lie. He has a secret. Oddly enough, it has nothing to do with kissing John Travolta just before boarding a plane. You’re dead, we’re all dead, we’re not on an island, we are in Hell. Right on cue, jumping out of the bushes were members of the Westboro Baptist Church, ready with their picket signs. Richinator is ready to stop listening to Jacob, and it’s time to listen to someone else. Well, seems that Jack’s whacky dynamite trick in the Black Rock didn’t have a lasting effect on Richzinsky.

Richard runs off into the jungle, and Ben is jealous of the way Richard runs. Ben would be jealous of the way a one legged duck runs. Ilana wants to follow, since Jacob told her Richard knows what to do. What she doesn’t seem to grasp is that Jacob also did an end run around you by sending the Losties to the Temple without your protection, so who knows what Jacob is doing anymore. It’s as if he lost faith in Ilana, or is just changing plans willy nilly. Jack, of all people, tries to talk some sense into her. A better choice may have been Charles Manson. Richard has gone crazy and if he cared about what Jacob said, he wouldn’t have been talking about following someone else. I believe this is the concept behind Amway. Jack is seemingly respecting the choice, there is that concept again, that Richard has made. Jack is confused about who Richard is going to follow. Here is comes, this week’s version. It’s Locke. But Locke is dead. Well it’s not exactly Locke. Every single week, we have this exact same dialogue. Every. Single. Week. Are we finally done? Does anybody on the island, anybody at all not realize that Locke is really MIB. Anybody? Can we put this to rest? Hurley is speaking in Spanish to no one in particular, which is lot like my daily travels on public transportation, but insists he is not talking to Jacob. Jack accuses him of lying. Hmm, does Jack not trust Hurley any more? Hurley shows some backbone and curtly explains that this isn’t about you, Jack. Of course, Hurley was talking to Isabella’s ghost. Being that MIB’s manifestations are visible to other people, and Hurley can communicate with the dead, this is the real deal, a ghost. I suppose ghosts can find the island more easily than the living. Ben thinks Ilana chasing after Richard would be a waste of time because Richard doesn’t know anything. And we also saw how Ben was able to outmaneuver Ilana in the same situation recently, and Richard knows the jungle a lot better than Ilana. Richard looked the same when Ben was twelve as he does now, as told to Frank. Richard is galloping through a country side, specifically Tenerife, the Canary Islands, in 1867. The Canary Islands are under Spanish rule, so we get a bunch of subtitles through out the episode, which doesn’t bother me as I usually turn on subtitles or closed captioning even when a program is in English; however, at times, characters continue to talk while we get no translations whatsoever for what they said. Numerous times. Richard ties up his horse and enters something that looks a bit like Jacob’s cabin. His wife Isabella is coughing up blood and Richard admonishes her for eating that blood pudding. If his wife is so ill, where was Richard all this time? I don’t think somebody is just going to wake up one day and start coughing blood. Seems like a prolonged illness. Richard gathers up all the money they have and the cross necklace of his wife and rides off to seek the assistance of a doctor, in the pouring rain. That seemed to be a rapid weather shift, since Richard arrived home in the bright sunshine. Richard rudely barges in on the doctor during supper time and is inconsiderate enough to drip water on this nice man’s floor. Richard is not making a good first impression. The doctor turns down an opportunity to ride half a day in a driving rainstorm to Richard’s house, but is gracious enough to offer medicine that will cure his wife. Richard offers his pittance of payment, and the benevolent doctor thinks Richard is most certain that he is a victim of a joshing and starts to look around for a hidden camera. Surely this is worth squat, tossing the cross aside. Richard desperately wrestles with the nice doctor over the medicine, shoving him neck first into a table, and killing him. Uh, oh, spaghettioes. As Richard sees that he has killed someone and the servant is now watching him; this scene seems to be reminiscent of Libby walking in on Michael after he has shot and killed Ana Lucia in the Swan hatch during Season 2. Richard flees with the medicine and returns home to find Isabella deada. We need a Nelson Muntz Ha Ha right about now. Apparently the world’s most incredible cops are mere seconds behind Richard, barrel into the house to arrest him. They knew who he was and found the right house in the rain that quickly? Wow. A priest visits Richard in his prison cell. Richard has been self teaching himself English by reading the Bible and some handy Rosetta Stone cassettes. The book is open to a passage from Luke Chapter 4. This chapter of the New Testament featured the temptation of Christ by the devil in the desert, preaching a sermon in a synagogue, and performing miracles such as casting out demons from bodies. I wonder if we might have a precursor to MIB being cast out of Locke, but I doubt it. Anyway, we certainly see the temptation of Richard later on in this episode. Richard makes his confession. I beg you Father, for God’s will to not allow any more focking flashsideways into the story line. The priest stunned me with a “No. I cannot grant you absolution for murder” I don’t know what they are teaching in the schools nowadays, but religions do have forgiveness policies. The priest says that penance is required. I’m pretty sure Richard had several penances back at the doctor’s house, but they got scattered across the floor. So what’s the problem? But since Richard will be hung tomorrow, the devil awaits him in Hell. Or he could watch whatever movie On Demand has been featuring, playing 14 commercials per LOST episode, for the last 7 straight weeks, some stupid romantic movie about some unnamed Muppet looking girl on a polluted beach and her dad is home invaded and is stabbed 173 times and bleeds out on a football field or at least that’s what I’ve heard. Richard chooses wisesly. Yes, the devil awaits him in Hell.

Richard is blindfolded and led out to meet Mr Whitfield, a kindly man recruiting for vacation cruises to exotic destinations apparently. Or a slave trader. He checks Richard’s hands and teeth and squeezes his package, much like a father would of someone taking his teenage daughter out on a first date. Upon being asked whether he spoke English, Richard hesitated for a while, before finally answering yes. I could not fathom why the wait. Hanging, or go with this man. Then again, there is that basement scene in Pulp Fiction. Richard is sold off into slavery by the corrupt priest, to be property of Magnus Hanso. If you recall, Charles Widmore bought the journal of the first mate of the Black Rock at an auction during the Desmond time jumping episode in Season 4 Tovard Hanso sold the journal to the auction. Alvar Hanso founded the Hanso Foundation, which in turn started the Dharma Initiative. Small world. A massive storm at sea, the ship is flooding, and the slaves are struggling with their shackles and dish pan hands. One of the prisoners peeks out through the holes in the ship, and I would certainly be concerned about a boat with holes, and sees land that is being guarded by the devil, otherwise known as the statue Tawaret. The ship is swept up on a massive wave and hits the statue in the snout. There is a problem here. When we saw the Black Rock approaching the island in the Season 5 finale as Jacob and MIB sat together on the beach, it was bright sun shine, middle of the day, and the boat was just a couple of miles off shore. Now, in this latest version, the ship is still off the shore of the same exact part of the island, near the statue, and it is night time with hurricane like conditions. This is simply impossible. If you want to argue time shifts as you approach the island snow globe, like the freighter and Ajira plane, you can. But the freighter was originally about 40 miles off shore, and could not get all that closer without navigational equipment because of the reefs. You could barely see smoke from it when it blew up, as Juliet and Saywer showed us. The Ajira plane was coming with great speed from great distance. The Black Rock in Season 5 was close enough that you could throw a rock from the beach and knock off the captain’s hat. Either this is a major plot blunder, or two versions of the same exact scene. Loops. So, this crumbling wooden ship magically destroyed a sturdy looking statue and crashed a mile inland. I suppose we must suspend imagination. If the bits of the statue were to tumble into the water, the ship would strategically need to hit the Tawaret in the shins and have the body topple forward. Didn’t happen here. And I do not want to get into the speculation that MIB can manipulate weather with the snap of a finger, which could help devise an explanation. But it was night time, dammit. So explain that one, smart guy. We call this the plot of Speed 3: Sandra Bullock is a Zombie. She shipwrecks ashore of an island, drags the captain out onto a football field, and stabs him 173 times and he bleeds out on a football field or at least that’s what I’ve heard . Captain Hanso is indeed dead, without us ever seeing him on screen. Richard and his buddies yell for assistance. Whitfield strides down the steps and acts for all the world like he is infected. I got a weird feeling that this was a bit like the Frenchies arrival at LOST island and their tango with Smokie. Whitfield wastes little time in slashing and gutting the slaves on board. He reasons that since there are only 5 surviving officers, no fresh water, and limited supplies, if he freed the prisoners, it was only a matter of time before they came back and killed him. I found that last part very similar to MIB’s struggle with Jacob. If you free him, he will come back and kill you. It’s rather sad, considering the island is full of lakes and numerous creeks and waterfalls and wells, fresh water everywhere you look, but nobody bothered to explore just a bit. Whitfield never took a moment to look around. I’m sure some of these slain men were candidates, but their opportunity to prove themselves lasted as long as it takes to make microwave popcorn. We hear the monster noises, which to this day make me very happy. A ruckus is raised on deck, and there is a lot of smashing going on. We see a recreation of the air line pilot death scene from the pilot episode, as Whitfield is pulled out of the bowels of the ship and through the ceiling. The monster comes back, scans/judges Richard, and leaves.

Very blatantly, a blue butterfly flutters around the jungle and floats into the interior of the Black Rock. The blue butterfly symbolizes metamorphosis and change by a wish granter or malicious spirit. A sneaky foreshadowing to MIB and/or Jacob in dealing with Richard. Richard is still in his shackles, which is too bad, since it has started to rain, and water is falling to the interior of the ship, just out of reach. Now, somebody that isn’t stupid might have thought to take off his shirt and reach out with it to soak up some moisture so that you might quench your thirst. But choosing to die of thirst is certainly another alternative to survival tactics. Richard pries out a nail out of a wooden board, as it is vitally important that he is able to scrape Richard Wuz Here into the wall before he dies. Actually, Richard’s plight is very similar to Lloyd Henreid’s from the Stephen King book The Stand. As a rapidly spreading and extremely fatal virus kills off the entire population of a prison, Lloyd is left in his cell alone to die. Finally, at his most desperate and delirious hour, Randall Flagg, otherwise known as the Man In Black, comes along to free Lloyd. As a show of allegiance, the MIB gives Lloyd a black rock. Interesting connections, huh? Richard tries to use the nail to help him break out of his chains, but he has no luck. Richard has the misfortune of trying to escape his prison many years before getting a chance to watch Shawshank Redemption. Yes, another Stephen King reference. When Richard regains consciousness, he sees a boar eating a corpse, a fear the Losties had back in Season 1 just before they lit the fuselage to burn the bodies. The boar does some damage like one did on Sawyer in Season 1, and knocks over Richard which in turn flings the nail out of reach. Richard yells, “Wilson, Wilson, Willlllllsoooooon!!!” to the nail, and cries a little as he cannot reach it. I’m guessing Richard’s legs must be in chains, otherwise he could have reached the nail easily with his foot. As Richard falls in and out of consciousness, he is visited by the ghost of Abe Vigoda, which is odd since Abe is still alive, and Isabella. He is able to physically hug her, so in this case, this is the MIB manifesting himself based on the memories he scanned a little while ago inside Richard’s head. We are dead, both of us, we are in Hell. This is simply a case of the writers having some fun with us, as purgatory was a popular explanation of this series way back in Season 1, before the executive producers came out and insisted that the Losties are not in purgatory. Isabella claims that she is here to save Richard before the devil comes back. Isabella has looked into his eyes, and he is pure evil. An interesting way for MIB to describe himself. Both hear the noises of the monster on the deck of the ship. Now, we’ve had two situations where I thought there was sloppy writing and MIB was in 2 places at the same time. Well, maybe it wasn’t sloppy writing afterall, as MIB was on Hydra and Lost island at the same time in Season 5 as Christian and Locke, and then was MIB rounding up the candidates while purging the Ajirites at the same time. So, here we have Smokie and Isabella in 2 places at the same time. How do you kill a Multiplicity Smoke Monster? A trident? Go! Run! Isabella is so inspired by Richard’s words that she immediately runs up the stairs and straight at the monster. It’s like seeing a hungry Susan Boyle headed your way, and you just stand there, sprinkling salt on top of your head. The monster disappears again. Finally, MIB in the form we saw him in for the Season 5 finale comes down to where Richard is languishing in a puddle of his own drool. He must have just finished watching Dancing With the Stars. Hell is not pleasant. MIB touches Richard on the shoulder for a little while. Both MIB and Jacob really are into the touching thing. It’s as if MIB just shuffled across the carpet in his socks and he’s wearing a turtle neck sweater. Tee Hee. He can’t wait to taser someone with his finger. He gives Richard some water and informs him that he is a friend. R: Am I in Hell? MIB: Yes. So, MIB is again telling some of the truth, but not entirely. Richard is in his own personal Hell, a broken man on the verge of dying, a man who has seen a lifetime of tragedy in a matter of a few days. He probably deserves it too. Come on. Dripping water on some guy’s floor? The nerve. MIB confirms that he was not on the ship, that he has been here on the island a long time before the ship came. Although, probably not the only one; there must have been previous inhabitants on the island as a statue and Temple just don’t build themselves. Have you seen my wife? Fock, here we go again. The manipulation starts as the MIB agrees to help save Richard’s wife from the black smoke and wants to make a deal. After all, MIB understands the concept of wanting to be free. MIB: Hey, I found some keys in somebody’s pocket outside. And they are not Roger Workman’s. Who? Nevermind, Richard, inside joke. Richard needs to do a favor for MIB. Anything, anything. Bam, he is freed. It’s good to see you out of those chains Richard. These are the exact words spoken to Richard in 2007 outside the statue foot soon after the death of Jacob. Richard then goes “You?” and Locke goes “Me” before knocking him out and carrying him into the jungle. Richard at that moment realized that Locke was really MIB, the same man that freed him from the Black Rock, the very same Smokie that has been terrorizing the island. MIB picks up Whitney Houston and carries him off. Richard needs to save his strength since the only way out of Hell is to kill the devil. Or possibly a plane or submarine, if they are handy and have already been invented.

Richard is feasting on a roasted boar, which may be symbolic of animal sacrifice. I recall that MIB brought a freshly killed boar to Richard and the Others just before setting out to visit and subsequently kill Jacob at the foot last year. Repetition, so much repetition this season. MIB wants Richard to go to the statue, which he confirms has been smashed into pieces by the ship. MIB pulls out the same Roman sword Dogen gave to Sayid, and basically gives Richard the same instructions of “do not hesitate, if he has spoken to you, it is already too late”. Repetition. Although, Ben certainly spoke to Jacob before stabbing him, so why are these instructions so often repeated? Richard begins to doubt MIB and starts to question everything, becoming fairly difficult in the process. But how can I kill black smoke? MIB: I am the black smoke. Seems that the MIB doesn’t mind confessing that he is the black smoke; in fact, it almost seems like he is bragging. But you took Isabella? No, I arrived too late and the devil had already taken her and I couldn’t do anything. Gee, that’s a bit of bad luck. I bet she is bleeding on a football field. MIB: He betrayed me, took my body, took my humanity. This part I believe, as week by week we get revelations about the MIB back story, and I think it is perfectly reasonable to assume that MIB’s natural form now is black smoke, and if he appears as any person, it is due to finding their corpse or memory on the island. R: But you killed the officers on the ship. MIB is being illogical with Richard and finally has had enough. Look, if you want to see your wife again, you must kill the devil to get her back. The trump card. Richard continues to be stubborn. But murder is wrong; it is what brought me here. Again, MIB is swatting away the concerns. MIB: We can talk all day about what is right and wrong, but do you want to see your wife again? Yes, I do. This was a temptation of sorts, as first mentioned in the Chapter of Luke 4 from the New Testament. The devil was tempting Jesus, promising the world if only he would submit to the devil’s offers. Jesus repeatedly said no. Richard continually was tempted by the offer of being reunited with Isabella, and in the end, after many temptations, he finally said yes. So, Richard failed. As Richard emerges from the jungle, we see the main part of the Tawaret statue half submerged in the lagoon in front of the statue foot. The front door is wide open, and Richard creeps up with the knife, a recreation of a home security system commercial. Jacob sucker punches Richard and starts a beat down. While I don’t blame Jacob for thinking this was a shape shifting MIB coming to kill him, the sucker punch was a bit uncalled for. I suppose Jacob never met Richard before and never touched him, since Richard wasn’t on any list of candidates and therefore was a perfect stranger. Who gave you this? Richard: Where is my wife? I am slowly bashing my skull into a wall. R: the MIB said you are the devil, and if I want to see my wife again, I have to kill you, she’s dead, but I saw her. Jacob finally realizes the gambit being played and responds “that is not your wife.” Richard: I know I am dead and that I am in Hell. Jacob gets peeved and gives Richard the worst baptism since Andrea Yates. Boy, that was creepy and tasteless, but I think I’m dead and in Hell too. Richard is spitting out water as he proclaims that he wants to live. I really, really don’t understand the change in logic. Why does Richard want to live? For who? For what? Jacob wants to talk.

A beach fire with blankets and wine. Richard asks Jacob what is inside foot? No one comes in unless I invite them in, unless they also have a foot fetish, and then they have a party. The only person invited in to have an audience with Jacob is the leader of the Others, which was Locke and/or Ben at the time of the loophole when Jacob got stabbed. That seems to be a case builder for what exactly the loophole was. Are you the devil? No, I am Jacob, the one who brought you to this island. Why? Ah, this is a very key question. Hell, otherwise known as evil, malevolence, darkness, and Gloria Allred. Evil is like this bottle of wine. It is inside, swirling, unable to get out, but would spread if it escaped. The island is the cork, keeping darkness where it belongs. MIB believes everybody is corruptible because it is their very nature to sin. Jacob brings people to the island to prove him wrong; here the past doesn’t matter. OK, let’s take a breath here, since there is some heavy stuff. MIB is absolutely correct. Any religion, philosophy, logic tells us that people are inherently evil. They are absolutely predisposed to sin, and it takes unusual circumstances and belief to overcome it. Using Richard’s Catholicism as a starting point, most Christians believe that faith in Jesus dying for their sins gives them everlasting life in Heaven. But they alone cannot overcome their inherent nature to sin, they needed a substitute. In fact, by attempting to prove MIB wrong, Jacob is essentially trying to prove God wrong. And when you prove God wrong, you wipe out the very existence of the universe, as we should know by watching the movie Dogma.
LAX Part Two:
Dogma, the Kevin Smith movie, where Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are fallen angels who are convinced by Jason Lee’s character to follow through on a loophole created by Catholic dogma, where if they pass through the doors of a certain church in New Jersey, they will find a way to get back into Heaven after being cast out by God. However, as existence is founded on the principle that God is infallible, their success would prove God wrong and thus undo all creation. The last scion and two prophets are sent by the Voice of God to stop them. Can you see the parallels of MIB finding a loophole, wanting to go to The Temple, and wipe out creation, or the island, or end the game he and Jacob are playing and sacrificing people for? The people out to stop MIB are the Oceanic 815 people that Jacob selected. The scenario could change by next week, but I thought it was a very familiar concept.
In fact, I was somewhat wrong. Jacob is the one trying to prove God wrong, if you really consider the fine details. He can call MIB evil all he wants, but isn’t Jacob an evil guy too? When Richard asks if there were others before him on the island, Jacob responds Yes, but they are all dead. R: Why didn’t you help them? J: 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 had to tell them. Why should I help them? R: If you don’t, he will. Keeping with the religious theme, this is an Old Testament view of God. He is hoping that people would figure out right and wrong on their own. The problem was that people had a predisposition to sin, so they couldn’t do it. And so as God put people on Earth, Jacob has brought people to the island. And has been competing with MIB over the actions of the people. But Jacob does nothing as many people have been killed. It’s sad really. It’s taken all this time for Jacob to realize that this just isn’t working, and many people have died for no good reason. Jacob has ruined countless amounts of lives, with no hope of succeeding.. This show this week is very religiously themed at the very core. So Jacob finally is snapped out of his mental slumber with Richard’s words. What could have Jacob sh!t for brains been thinking before? Well, some people are going to come here, and figure out on their own how to defeat pure evil. It’s just a dumb idea. God had another plan, with the Messiah. Jacobs needs to do the same. J: Do you want a job? If I don’t want to step in, maybe you can do it for me. So, Jacob realizes his plan was dumb, but now wants to change the rules. Is this the equivalent of the coming of Christ? No, Richard is an idiot when it really comes down to it. It has to be a candidate that will save them all. Remember the saying what lies in the shadow of the statue? He who will save us all. Jacob for the first time is willing to admit that he is fighting a losing battle. Richard is to be a representative, an intermediary between Jacob and the people he brings to the island. Richard is the first of the Others. So Jacob wants to make a deal with Richard, which is what he and MIB love to do. I want my wife back. No. Jacob cannot bring people back to life. Really? Even in the spring? MIB can, as he brought Sayid back. But Jacob doesn’t have the physical body here. But he did save Dogen’s son. I’m scratching my head over the rules here. I guess Jacob wants Richard to ask the “right” question. Can you absolve me of my sins so I don’t go to Hell? No. This is a very good request, and one people should remember when they get wishes from a genie. But you cannot promise this because you don’t know what Richard will choose to do in the future. Richard is now scrambling for an answer. Can you promise the viewers that we will never see another godforsaken flashsideways? No, can’t do that. Grrrrr. I want to live forever. That I can do. Richard may have been hasty here. I understand the progression of thought when you go from never wanting to go to Hell to the next step of never dying so that you cannot go to Hell. It’s avoiding the eternity of fire and brimstone. But it also prevents him from ever being reunited with his wife in a potential afterlife. He will never see his wife again. It’s certainly a trade off. Jacob sure is a confusing figure. He can grant immortality, but doesn’t want to get involved in people’s lives. He certainly influenced life altering events off island for Kate, Sawyer, Hurley, Jack, Dogen, etc when he touched them or bribed them. MIB is not happy with Richard. You let him talk to you. Richard hands MIB a white rock because Jacob wanted to give him a gift. Remember the reference I made to Lloyd and MIB from The Stand earlier?. MIB: If you go with him, you will never see your wife again. Well, seeing MIB as Isabella isn’t exactly a reasonable facsimile and won’t keep you warm at night. And the sex might not be pleasant. MIB concedes that Jacob can be very persuasive, and if Richard ever changes his mind, the offer still stands. MIB gives Richard a gift, the cross of Isabella. Fundamentally, can pure evil carry around a cross? What, it doesn’t smolder in the palm of his hand? Richard buries the cross, which reminded me of Sawyer and Desmond tossing rings away after difficult scenarios with the women that they loved.

In present day, Richard goes back to the jungle hiding spot and digs up the cross. Like Sawyer dug up the engagement ring for Juliet 30 years later. Repetition. R: I’ve changed my mind, I was wrong, does the offer still stand? Richard is shouting out into the jungle. Considering that MIB mentioned a day or two ago that he still wanted Richard by his side, I seem to think the offer would still be good. Hurley shows up, and Richard is not happy to see him. Your wife sent me. Isabella told me about the cross; she is standing right next to you. Richard doesn’t see her. Hurlie Goldberh continues to translate. Will Hunting, it’s not your fault. The reunion is fairly powerful, Richard tears up and his mascara runs a bit. Isabella finally leaves, Richard puts on the filthy, dirt caked cross. Oh, yeah. She also said that you have to stop the MIB from leaving the island, or we all go to hell. MIB looks on from a distance, frustrated to know that he is too late to claim Richard for his side. This tells us that Isabella was not MIB in this case. She was a real ghost that may or may not have been speaking based on what Jacob told her. I still don’t think Jacob can necessarily shape shift and he doesn’t get directly involved. But, he is using Hurley in the role that Richard used to have, a representative. It’s almost like Jacob is setting up Hurley to be the new advisor for whomever does take over for Jacob. Jacob and MIB are sitting under a tree. Get my present? This establishes the time of the meeting as soon after Richard is unsuccessful in trying to stab Jacob in 1867. J: you tried to kill me, why? MIB: I want to leave. J: As long as I’m alive, you’re not going anywhere. MIB: Now you know why I want to kill you. J: Somebody else will take my place. MIB: Then I will kill them too. J: Have some wine, to pass the time, see ya around. MIB: sooner than you think and then smashes the wine bottle on the rocks. I don’t think I really need to explain much of that, as it is very direct, self explanatory, and what we need more of in the near future.

Very enjoyable hour plus of TV viewing. Sorry about the religious angle I took on this episode, but it was hard not to. I have little hope that Tuesday’s Jin and Sun episode will be worth a sh!!t, but taking into consideration this Richard story, if half of the remaining episodes will be as good, we are going to get a hell of a finish to this series.