Sunday, March 21, 2010

Lost - "Ab Aeterno"

So it just dawned on me that I’m spending tomorrow night cheering on my Dayton Flyers in the NIT tournament… and the game isn’t until 9:00 pm. So unless I do this Blog post right now, it’ll never get done and the 73% of you who voted “If Brian stopped doing his episode preview posts, I would kill myself” would be really upset. I can’t live with all those deaths on my conscience, so here you go. For the first time ever, a Blog double-header day!


Remind me why my wife hasn’t left me yet?



Episode Title: “Ab Aeterno”



Brian’s Deeper Meaning Guess: Good thing I took Latin in high school! Just kidding, I wasn’t that big of a nerd. But good thing Wikipedia exists! What does “ab aeterno” mean?


Translation = “from the eternal”


Notes = Literally, "from the everlasting" or "from eternity". Thus, "from time immemorial", "since the beginning of time" or "from an infinitely remote time in the past". In theology, often indicates something, such as the universe, that was created outside of time.


Holy crap.


I suppose this episode title shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, this week is a RICHARD ALPERT CENTRIC EPISODE. For years we’ve operated under the assumption that he doesn’t age – and now we seemingly know that the reason is because it was a “gift” from Jacob.


The surprising thing about the episode title is how “past-centric” it seems to be. It’s “since the beginning of time”, not “until the end of time”. Why is that important? Based on everything we know (including Alpert’s own comments a few weeks ago), he arrived on the Island on the Black Rock. Which means Alpert wasn’t always on the Island in the past – he arrived there just like our Survivors. However, based on the gift he received from Jacob, he might be stuck there for the rest of time.


So what’s the deeper meaning? Get ready for giddy excitement – because if the Lost writers translated “Ab Aeterno” correctly – the title isn’t referring to Richard Alpert. It’s referring to the Island / Jacob / something eternal. Even cooler? There’s a chance it might be referring to the very last note about the definition – “something that was created outside of time”… like the Island existing at the crossroads of multiple realities where the normal rules of time and space do not apply! Could this be the episode where we finally get an explanation of the “unique electromagnetic properties” of the Island? Or understand WHAT the Island actually is, how it exists, and why it’s so important? Or did the writers just mistranslate the Latin title?


Here’s hoping. This episode could be huge.



Guest Stars: Mark Pellegrino as Jacob, Titus Welliver as man in black, Mirelly Taylor as Isabella, Steven Elder as Jonas Whitfield, Juan Carlos Cantu as Father Suarez, Jose Yenque as doctor, Izzy Diaz as Ignacio, Davo Coria as servant, Santiago Montone as prisoner and Sonya Masinovsky as Russian nurse.



Guest Star Breakdown: Welcome back Anti-Jacob / “Man in Black”. It would be pretty awesome if the episode featured a scene with Jacob walking by “Man in Black” and said “Good morning Larry” just so that we’d all have an official name to call the guy (also, it would be hilarious if his name was something as common and non-Biblical as Larry).


Seeing as this is a RICHARD ALPERT CENTRIC EPISODE, most of the guest stars make sense. I’m expecting a scene between Jacob and Larry both attempting to recruit Alpert to their own side (to tie in with SmokeLocke’s earlier comment about wanting “what he’s always wanted - for you to come with me.”) – but we all know who’s going to win that battle (sorry Larry).


The rest of the guest stars make sense as characters that would be on the Black Rock. Speaking of which, this is probably a good time to review the history of the Black Rock. Here are ten fun facts:


  1. It set sail from England in 1845 on a trading mission to Siam (Thailand).
  2. It was a mining ship, but some of its cargo included slaves.
  3. It is currently assumed that Jacob “brought” the Black Rock to the Island, per Anti-Jacob.
  4. It is mysteriously located really far inland on the Island.
  5. It is full of highly sensitive dynamite, even though dynamite wasn’t invented until after 1845.
  6. It is assumed that Alpert came to the Island on the Black Rock, but hadn’t visited it since.
  7. The Black Rock was captained by Magnus Hanso (the great grandfather of Alvar Hanso, the financier behind the Dharma Initiative).
  8. Charles Widmore purchased the Ledger (Journal) from the Black Rock at an auction.
  9. Sawyer killed Anthony Cooper inside the Black Rock.
  10. The fake Oceanic 815 crash was discovered by a vessel searching for the Black Rock wreckage.


Although most of the names of characters on the ship have a “Spanish flair” to them (Isabella, Father Suarez, Ignacio), keep in mind that the Black Rock allegedly set sail from England – weird… but not out of the question that the ship would have a semi-international crew, perhaps making multiple stops on its way to the far east. Here’s “Isabella”. She’s pretty hot. Maybe she’ll be Alpert’s lady lover back in the day!

Photobucket


In fact, the only guest star name that sticks out is actually the last one – normally reserved for some throwaway background character. This week, it’s “Russian Nurse”. Russia is nowhere close to the path that the Black Rock would have taken to get from England to Siam – so where does she fit in?


I’m reminded that when Jacob visited Ilana during last season’s finale, she was currently beat to hell and recouping in a Russian Hospital. Could this week also feature some Ilana backstory? If we’re learning the “history” of the followers of Jacob, it would make sense that we see both how Richard Alpert came to become a follower as well as Ilana. Maybe we’ll find out WHY Ilana was in the hospital and what information Jacob provided her. She seems to know a lot, and I didn’t see a TV in her Russian hospital room, so maybe Jacob just hung out with her for a few weeks and told her everything he knew – again, as a safeguard in case he died. From a storytelling perspective, it would be pretty cool to see the contrast between Alpert (on the Island but knowing nothing) and Ilana (off the Island but knowing everything) as two sides of being a “follower” to Jacob.


Whoa. This really might be the best episode ever.



Episode Description: Richard Alpert faces a difficult choice.



Episode Breakdown: The super descriptive Episode Descriptions continue! When we last saw Alpert, he was standing awkwardly to the side while our Oceanic Survivors had a slow motion hug-fest on the Beach. It didn’t really seem like there were any major life-altering decisions to be made at the time… and part of me thinks that this episode is going to be a little different than the other episodes from this season.


I don’t think we’re going to be seeing any Flash Sideways. I think we’re going to be back to good old fashioned Flashbacks – and I think there’s probably enough story there to occupy the majority of the episode. This makes me wonder if the episode description might refer to something that occurs in those Flashbacks – like Alpert deciding if he’s going to follow Jacob or Larry when he first arrived and was “chosen”?


If not, it could literally be anything. Even though he doesn’t seem to know a lot about what’s going on with the Island, Alpert still knows a heck of a lot more than our Survivors do, and could face any number of difficult choices about what to tell them (in terms of revealing Island secrets or suggesting a next plan of action), although it sure did seem like he was satisfied with just following Jack around for a while to see where his plans got him.


Either way, this episode should be pretty damn awesome. In fact, it’s so good that it can’t be contained within a single hour – so this week’s episode will actually be SIX MINUTES longer than a typical episode of Lost. For those of you in Eastern Standard Time (also known as “God’s Time”), it’s going to be on from 9:00 pm – 10:06 pm. Those in other time zones, do the appropriate math.


Six extra minutes of Losty goodness!


Happy Losting, indeed!


http://facethewoods.com/lost/index.php?topic=521.0

28 comments:

robpatt said...

It is unnatural to be loosing sleep because of how excited i am for this episode. I would be stoked if this whole episode was a flashback. Maybe Richard's choice will be to reveal what he knows to the other survivors... like say, how to kill Larry?

Thanks for the heads up about the extra time... my DVR will be ready.

Unknown said...

So instead of a 42 minute episode...it will be 50...HEY! They have succeeded in changing one of the numbers in the Valenzetti equation.

Khmer Rouge said...

I too am hoping for a FlashSideways-free episode. It's just gotta be, being a Richard-centric - no one in the world wants to see him in a sideways flash. It's gotta be looking to the past.

I'm also holding out hope that Richard knows more than he let on to SmokeLocke - maybe he feigned dumb about the candidates to save his own skin.

I am too excited about this episode.

Steve said...

I'm excited, it has been suggested that we may learn what the island is this episode. This WILL be the biggest mythology episode to date, though I'm sure there will be a bigger to come.

Sam said...

I love your body, Larry.

Sam said...

Maybe Larry will have a brother Darryl, and his other brother Darryl.

Sam said...

Maybe Larry will be seen picking up Isabella at the Regal Beagle?

Sam said...

ok, I'll stop

Diary of a Lonely Alcoholic said...

Please do, Sam.

jack said...

Wow...2 posts in 1 day is the next best thing to TV dinners and sliced bread!

SM said...

good luck to the Dayton Flyers as my Rhody Rams will be playing the early game tonight! Can't wait for this episode

Joyce Saenz Harris said...

I think no character in LOST history has ever had so many official and unofficial names as the one we know as Man in Black, MiB and Anti-Jacob, a.k.a. Esau, Smokey and UnLocke. And as Smocke and FakeLocke and Flocke. And as the Lockeness Monster and SmokeLocke and Faux Locke. And now as "Larry."

I just want to know: What was the name his "crazy mother" gave him, the name Jacob presumably knows him by? Is that too much to ask?!

Khmer Rouge said...

Two random thoughts.......

1)Perhaps in addition to learning more about Richard this epi, we'll gain some more info on Jacob. So far we know very, very little about him, aside from the fact that he inspires massive loyalty among certain damaged people, and has a habit of speaking cryptically. We have learned much more about SmokeLocke, and honestly I'm finding him quite sympathetic. I'm sure this is intentional on the part of the writers, and I'm excited to see how it plays out.

2)I think it'd be really cool if they drop SmokeLocke's real name just in passing in the finale or something, just really casual, and not make a big deal out of it. But I'm fine with him remaining nameless, and that's probably how it will remain (everyone continues to call him Locke and they all know it's not really Locke, and he seems fine with being called that too).

LOSTinOK said...

Larry....LOVE IT!

Isaac said...

Finally an Alpert centric episode! I'm really hoping this is the episode that gets us over the big hump we've been stuck behind all season. I'm already up late thinking about it!! So much for a productive work day tomorrow.

And are we really going to see why the ship is in the center of the island? I say it has to be either (A) it was placed there at some point in history when the island shifted, or (B) Good ol Larry smoke launches it out of frustration towards Jacob. Probably A but I would love to see option B with all the great Lost CGI technology. lol

CAN'T WAIT!!

Isaac said...

And hey there LOSTinOK! Thanks for introducing me to this wonderfully addicting blog. ;-)

Unknown said...

I also think this will be a complete flashback episode. The preview last week of Richard around the fire saying "you guys don't know what this place is.." or something like that - Was just a sick LOST hanger that will end up being in NEXT week's episode. Which is fine with me.

Sam. Larry's other brother daryll's mama's name was Cindy Mindy Cindy. She's gonna be in the episode

Bob said...

What about the ramifications of Richard appearing in a flash sideways? Would it disprove the "deal with the devil" theory or add to it having a world in which Richard Alpert is a normal person in modern times? Maybe we get the first flash back/forward/sideways episode.

Go Flyers! We are UD!

Vidya said...

Don't think Richard will be in flash sideways. He would be dead in flash sideways time if not for Jacob making in immortal.

Eric said...

So you're a Flyers fan? Well, good luck on Wednesday when my Illini will be beating the tar out them. Love the blog BTW.

Unknown said...

you lucky east coasters... i have another 7 hours right now!!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Unknown said...

I think Randall (as in Randall Flagg) would be a much more likely name, though Larry would be hilarious.

Anonymous said...

crazy episode. LOST island=____

Hobnail_Boot said...

LOL, and this is why I voted for no more episode previews. You're too good, Brian!

Anonymous said...

did we see the "help me" eye in the cabin before or after the hatch exploded?

The Wanderer said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Wanderer said...

One of my favorite episodes from Lost!

Daisy said...

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