"Ab Aeterno" (Season 6, Episode 9)

"From eternity." "Since the beginning." "For long ages." These are all what the title of tonight's show essentially translates from Latin. Now, I may be in the minority here, but I was somewhat underwhelmed by this episode. It could be that I bought into the hype (most provided by myself in this very blog!). Or as my co-worker Scott thought, the story was so straightforward, there wasn't much for me to have to point out. And subtitles on Lost always interfere with my ability to focus on all the little details. As long-time readers of this blog know I didn't typically like the early Jin and Sun episodes for this same reason. My expectations for Richard's back story was to start with his Black Rock origins but to then move through time, stopping at various points (meeting young Ben, the Dharma purge) until the present. I wasn't necessarily crazy about the telenovelas approach. I was also hoping for a more literal four-letter word for the island, revealing what it is, and not the more metaphorical "cork".

Best Line

• "Oh, this should be interesting." Ben comment at the camp fire right before Jack is told about UnLocke.
  

Did You Notice?

• This was the first episode this season to not feature flash-sideways to the 2004 time line, but only flashbacks.
• The close-up of Ilana's eye opening is classic Lost imagery.
• Richard's rant that they're all dead and in Hell was said to throw us off. I'm not buying in to that theory. Early on, the producers stated they weren't dead and it wasn't all a dream.
• Ricardo's home island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands would, in March 1977, be the sight of the deadliest plane crash in aviation history. Two Boeing 747s collided on the runway, resulting in 583 fatalities.
• Did anyone else for a second think the Spanish priest was Cheech Marin, the actor who plays Hurley's dad?
• In prison, the Bible opens to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 4, verse 37. In this chapter, Jesus has returned from his time in the desert, where he thwarted the temptation of the Devil. As verse 37 approaches, a man with a "spirit of unclean devil" challenges Jesus, who then summons the devil out of the man, much to the amazement of those present.
• The captain of the Black Rock (although we don't see him) is mentioned by Whitfield to be Magnus Hanso. This is the great-grandfather of Alvar Hanso, founder of the Dharma Initiative. Magnus is apparently killed when the ship crashes on the island as one of the officers on deck is overheard to say he is dead when Ricardo and the other slaves are below.
• Since the Black Rock destroys the four-toed statue in the late 1800's, when the Oceanic survivors were jumping through time and momentarily saw the statue intact, this obviously was at a time prior to this.
• In last season's finale, we saw Jacob and the Man in Black on the beach watching a sailing ship on calm waters under a blue sky. It was presumed to be the Black Rock. However, last night's events show a tumultuous sea with waves strong enough to lift the ship to the head of the statue and strong enough to smash through it. If Jacob is responsible for bringing people to the island, could he be behind the storm? Whereas the Man in Black has the ability to shape shift and turn into smoke perhaps Jacob's powers relate to water, including the healing pool and controlling the rain? What better way to disperse smoke than with water.
• We have previously seen the Smoke Monster "flash" when reading a person (Eko, Juliet). Is this how he knows about Isabella and is able to take her form to convince Ricardo they are dead and in Hell?
• Was the butterfly that flew into the ship's hold significant? Was it symbolic of the Butterfly Effect, which states that a small change can cause major differences over a long term? Also, immediately after, it began raining with which Ricardo tried to quench his thirst. Was this Jacob's doing?
• In Season 1, wild boars were also a problem scavenging the remains in the wreckage of Flight 815.
• The touch by the Man in Black seemed to bring Ricardo back to consciousness. Jacob did something similar to Locke when his father pushed him out the window.
• The Man in Black's comment to Ricardo, "It's good to see you out of those chains", is what UnLocke said when he first saw Richard at the statue in 2007.
• The dagger and instructions the Man in Black gave to Ricardo are the same as what Dogen gave to Sayid.
• Jacob's forceful way with Ricardo in the water to prove he wasn't dead made me think it was almost like a baptism. Plus, it was similar to what was done to Sayid at the temple.
• Jacob seemed surprised by Ricardo's comment that if Jacob doesn't step in to shape the outcome, then it's only logical that the Man in Black will. It was if he had never considered that. Is this why Jacob then involved himself in the lives of the Oceanic candidates?
• So Jacob cannot bring back the dead or absolve someone of their sins, but he can, with a touch, grant everlasting life.
  
• Jacob's gift of the white rock ties back (forward?) to the white rock on the scale in Jacob's cave that UnLocke tossed into the ocean.
• In what I like to call the "Ghost Whisperer" scene near the end, did you notice Hurley did not translate everything Isabella said but Richard seemed to hear her and even responded to her?
  
• So if the wine represents Hell, malevolence, evil, and darkness, and the cork is the island, what is the bottle itself? I think this is important since the Man in Black smashed the bottle, proving the wine can be removed without using the cork. Is the bottle mankind's resolve? Its spirit?

The Numbers - 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 15 16 23 42 108

• Jacob told Ilena in the hospital that there are 6 people he needs her to protect.
• Ricardo's Bible opens to Chapter 4 of the Gospel of Luke.
• Whitfield explains to Ricardo that there are only 5 officers left after they are shipwrecked.
  

Previews
Next week, this episode will not be are-run at 8 p.m. Of course it's the one episode that we would want to have enhanced. Damn you, Dancing with the Stars! At 9 p.m. ET, "The Package" airs featuring Jin and Sun. In their flash-sideways, we learn something about their relationship. Did you notice that the Customs agent in the premiere referred to Sun by her maiden name? Hint, hint. I believe we will also learn from UnLocke what is needed for them to leave the island. And possibly in connection to that, it will be revealed that a female character is "expendable". Is this why we saw what appeared to be an unconscious Sun in the jungle in the previews? And does this mean the Kwon who is the candidate is in fact Jin?

Upcoming
Ready for another hint of what's to come?A new four-letter word will be revealed in two weeks which is very important. This word has no A's, one E, and as of Episode 11, it will be clear that this four-letter word is what this series is ultimately all about. It's also the word that just might end up connecting the two time lines of this season. My guess: TEST. Mankind being tested by Jacob and the Man in Black to prove our worthiness.

The fifteenth episode, airing May 11 (which I think means one week without a new episode) will focus on Jacob and the Man in Black and we should expect it to be different than the pattern of this season's other episodes.