LostEpisode 609Ab Aeterno Wow! A Richard Flashback!!! I have waited so long for this, and I am so very happy that they not only gave him a flashback, but practically dedicated the entire episode to it.
We finally learn the reason of Richard’s agelessness, and to understand that we have to go back to 1867, to the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Richard’s wife is quite ill and is coughing up blood. They are not wealthy and when he announces that he’s going to fetch the doctor, she gives him the only thing she has of value – a necklace.
When he gets to the rich doctor’s house, the doctor tells him that he won’t go to her because it’s too far but that he has medicine and it’s very expensive. Richard (who goes by the name of Ricardo then) gives him whatever money he has and the necklace. But it’s not enough and a scuffle ensues. Richard accidentally kills the doctor. He takes the medicine and races back to Isabella but arrives too late – she’s already dead.
He’s arrested and sentenced to hang. When a priest comes to hear his final confession, the priest learns that Richard speaks English, and more importantly, tells Richard that he can’t be forgiven and that he would have to do penance for a very long time to make up for his sin. The following day, the priest sells Richard to someone name Magnus Hanso.
Richard is aboard the Black Rock, supposedly heading for the New World. They hit a huge storm and land on the island, but not before the massive wave that crashes the boat destroys most of Four-toes.
When they all come to, Richard and a few other slaves are still alive. They start shouting and Jonas (the man who bought Richard on Hanso’s behalf) arrives and starts killing the remaining slaves. According to him, they have only food and supplies for 5 people. Before he can kill Richard, the smoke monster arrives and kills everyone... except Richard. He does that black-smoke-flashy-lightning thing and spares Richard’s life.
But he leaves Richard cuffed and without water. Richard is left on the Black Rock for endless days, fighting off boars and starvation and thirst. Finally, when he probably is close to dying, his dead wife appears and tells him that they’re in hell and that she’s trying to save him from the devil. They hear the smoke monster and Richard urges her to run; she runs but it appears that she is not spared from it.
Finally, the Man-in-black arrives and sets Richard free from the chains. He gives him food and water and tells him that he didn’t see Isabella and that someone must have taken her. He tells Richard that he can help him get Isabella back but he needs to kill the devil.
He directs Richard to the foot of the statue and gives him a dagger, telling him that he needs to kill the devil before he speaks. He says that the devil betrayed him, took his humanity and his body. Richard sets off to the statue but Jacob sees him first and beats him up a bit before asking his questions.
Richard explains that the Man-in-black says that he has his dead wife. Jacob replies that he doesn’t have his wife... that his wife is dead and they are not in hell. He proves this by trying to drown Richard until Richard screams that he wants to live.
While they sit on the beach, Jacob tells him that he is not the devil and that he brought the ship to the island. He doesn’t answer Richard when he asks why, but rather explains about the island, using a bottle of wine and a stopper. His explanation is that the wine is evil and that the bottle is containing it within its walls. The stopper is the island and keeping the evil where it belongs.
He also says that the Man-in-black believes that everyone can be corrupted because it’s in their nature to be so. He further states that he brings people to the island to prove him wrong. When Richard questions him about where these people are, Jacob says that they are dead.
When asked why he didn’t intervene, Jacob replies that he wants people to know right from wrong; he then offers Richard job as an intervener on his behalf. When Richard asks Jacob to bring back his dead wife, Jacob replies that he cannot, nor can he absolve Richard from his sins. When Richard states that he then wants to live forever, Jacob responds that that is something he can do.
Richard goes back to the Man-in-Black who realises that Richard not only didn’t kill Jacob, but is now working for him. Richard has a gift for him from Jacob – a small rock. The Man-in-black gives Richard Isabella’s necklace and says that if Richard ever changes his mind, he will be here. A very heartbroken Richard buries the locket and says goodbye to his wife.
Sometime later, the Man-in-Black is sitting on a log looking out at a very panoramic view of the island. Jacob approaches and sits next to him. Jacob asks him if he sent Richard to kill him. Man-in-black responds that he wants to leave the island and asks Richard to let him go. Jacob can’t do that. Man-in-black responds by saying he will kill Jacob one day, and any replacement of Jacob’s. Jacob gives him the bottle of wine saying it’ll give him something to do. When alone, he smashes the bottle.
What an awesome story. But there’s even more. We get a snippet of another flashback – this time between Illana and Jacob. Jacob approaches Illana (while all bandaged) and asks for her help. She agrees to protect the six people on the island. She asks him what she should do once they are at the temple to which Jacob responds that Ricardus would know.
In present time, Illana asks Richard what they ought to do now. He laughs and leaves, saying he has no idea. Hurley is off to the side, having a conversation with someone. When Jackass wants to know what Jacob is saying, Hurley responds that this has nothing to do with Jacob.
Richard goes to the spot he buried his wife’s necklace and digs it up. He screams that he’s changed his mind and wants to know if the offer still stands. Hurley walks up, saying that Isabella is there with him. Richard doesn’t believe him, but Hurley manages to convince him. Isabella tells Richard (via Hurley) that it was not his fault that she died, it was her time. When Richard says that he misses her and would do anything for them to be together again, she responds that they already are together and she kisses his cheek and goes.
But she leaves a final message with Hurley – Richard must not allow the Man-in-black to leave the island, because they will all go to hell if he doesn’t.
In the distance, MLocke watches.
I’ve given quite a full rundown of events, haven’t I? Well, I think that the episode warrants such a long entry. I can’t think of any questions that I now have regarding Richard’s past. It’s so good to finally see what drives this man, and like with all the others on this island, its redemption.
Anyway,
Key points from this episode are as follows:
• Richard’s story naturally, has to top the list. We now know where he came from, why he doesn’t seem to age and what his job on the island is.
Richard, like so many before him sees his duties as his penance, and like so many. He’s been manipulated into it. Poor guy. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. One has to wonder though if Jacob had a hand in this somewhere. I just think it’s very odd that the Priest would tell him that God won’t forgive him.
Why tell him that and then sell him? What purpose would it serve? And I also wonder why Jacob offered Richard the job as intermediary? I won’t believe that he just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Was Richard ever a candidate?
Did I say that I have no questions about Richard’s past? Clearly, I lied.
And we finally get some sort of explanation of the island. It’s all still very cryptic though and I have so many questions. If the cork is the island that keeps evil contained within, then who put evil in the bottle in the first place? Who created the bottle? Who created the cork?? If it’s Jacob’s role to keep the cork in place and keep evil contained within, why is it possible that he can be killed?
And why does Jacob see the need to bring people to the island to prove the Man-in-Black wrong?? Why tempt fate like that? If keeping evil contained is the best thing, and it people can be corrupt, why bring anyone to the island at all????
I’m sure that there are many more questions we can ask, but I’ll leave it there for now.
I’m very interested to see what’s going to happen now that Widmore has arrived at the island. I’m assuming he knows exactly what the island is – considering that he was the leader of the Others at some stage, he must know. And from what it seems, Jacob is wary of him... telling Smokey that “they’re coming”.
Roll on the next episode!
Anyway,
what we learnt this week:• We learnt of Richard’s dramatic past and his sad love story.
• We know why he is on the island and how he got there.
• We know now why he doesn’t age.
• We have some vague understanding of the island and an even vaguer understanding Jacob’s role, and the Man-in-Black’s role on the island.
New Questions this Week:• Who created the island and put the Man-in-Black and Jacob on it?
• Why is the Man-in-Black evil?? He seems like a regular guy – who can turn into black smoke and flashy-thing people and kill them.
• Why is it so important that the Man-in-black not leave the island?
Interesting Trivia (From
this site)
• The white rock that the Man in Black is holding in the last scene is small, round and polished. This is not what the stone looked like when Richard handed it to the Man in Black.
• In the Official Lost Podcast of March 24, 2010, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse confirmed that the ship approaching the island under bright, sunny skies in "The Incident, Part 1" is in fact the Black Rock. According to them, shortly after Jacob and the Man in Black's conversation, a storm suddenly formed and threw the Black Rock inland.
• The subtitle at the beginning of Richard's flashback places the events in 1867, yet the Black Rock was thought to be lost at sea following its departure from Portsmouth, England, March 22, 1845 heading to Siam (in "The Constant") and the ledger was discovered in 1852.
• Richard's home island, Tenerife, was made infamous by the deadliest plane crash in the history of aviation on March 27th, 1977.
• Ab Aeterno is Latin for "from eternity". The phrase is used to mean "since the beginning" or "for long ages".
• This is the fifth episode where most, but not all of the episode is a flash back. The other ones being season 2's "The Other 48 Days", season 3's "Flashes Before Your Eyes", season 4's "Meet Kevin Johnson" and season 5's "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham".
• This is the ninth extended episode (not including double-length season premieres/finales) running 5 minutes longer than the standard 1 hour episodes of Lost. Previous extended episodes were: "The Other 48 Days," "What Kate Did," "The Long Con," "Maternity Leave," "Dave," "?", "316", and "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham".
• Stephen King's The Stand: In the Official Lost Podcast of March 24, 2010, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse reported that the scene where the Man in Black releases Richard is a reference to this work, specifically, part of the novel where the Man in Black relases criminal Lloyd Henreid from being trapped in a jail cell. The Man in Black makes Lloyd promise to do exactly what he says.
• Pugio: the Man in Black's knife is a Roman pugio. On the sheath there is a depiction of the Roman she-wolf suckling Remus and Romulus, twin founders of Rome.
• This episode greatly alludes to classic literature and mythology. The ongoing contest of a man's inclination to good or evil is an allusion to Goethe's "Faust"; the limbo in purgatory is an allusion to Alighieri's "Divine Comedy"; and the "devil" statue that reels in ships on the island is a reference to Scylla and Charybdis from "The Odyssey"
• Episode Title: "Ab Aeterno" comes from the Latin translation of the Bible found in Proverbs 8:23 : "I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began."
• Absolution: In prison, Richard seeks absolution, which forgives the guilt associated with the penitent's sins, and removes the eternal punishment (Hell) associated with mortal sins. The penitent is still responsible for the temporal punishment (purgatory) associated with the confessed sins, unless an indulgence is applied.
• Gospel of Luke: Richard is seen reading the Bible opened to Luke Chapter 4, verse 37. In Chapter 4, Jesus has returned from his time in the desert, where he thwarted the temptation of the Devil, and attends Temple in Nazareth. As verse 37 approaches, a man with "a spirit of an unclean devil" challenges Jesus, who then summons the devil out of the man, much to the amazement of those present.
Interesting Screencaps
Stunning views
The bottle, the stopper and the evil
Hurley relaying Isabella's message
Richard on his way to kill Jacob
Richard on Tenerife
Jacob visiting Illana
The Losties
Giving the Man-in-black the stone