Truth be told, we learned more in last week’s episode than I ever thought we would, and “Ab Aeterno” definitely lived up to the hype we all placed on it. Fans have been clamoring for the back story of Richard Alpert for years, and the writers of Lost definitely made it worth our wait! I for one am glad to find out Richard’s story is so intricate to the history and mythology of the island…now if they’d only explain how and why Jacob formed the Others and allowed the Dharma Initiative to live on the island. I’m also dying to find out how and why Richard was allowed to leave the island these past 100 years.
Before I discuss “Ab Aeterno” any further, I’d like to bring up a killer subplot of “Recon” I totally glossed over while reviewing it. It was brought up by a reader on Pop Candy’s Lost in a Flash and it is spot on! I can’t believe I didn’t put two and two together. As you may remember, while Ben was digging his own grave, FLocke appeared and told him he had placed a rifle 200 yards away to help him escape from Ilana. Flocke added that once he escaped he should come to the Hydra station because that’s where his group would be. The first issue I had with this scene is that if FLocke wanted to free Ben why didn’t he just kill Ilana, or at the very least, bring the gun to him there. Why plant it 200 yards away? It seemed like just another pointless test Lost likes to include in episodes.
But that issue is really more of a red herring. The real issue is that FLocke told Ben to meet him at the Hydra station. Which is all fine and good, except FLocke’s group wasn’t really at the Hydra station. It was Widmore’s team that was at the Hydra station, so FLocke was really leading Ben into the clutches of his mortal enemy, Charles Widmore. It looks like FLocke was trying to kill two birds with one stone, by getting Ben to kill Ilana before leading Ben to his death at the hands of Charles Widmore. So, was FLocke trying to get Ben killed or was he sending Ben to the Hydra station so he could also kill Widmore? Has Ben already served his purpose, or is Ben FLocke’s new killing machine? Just think, in two episodes (and with FLocke’s help) Ben might have killed off Jacob, Ilana and Widmore!
And now back to “Ab Aeterno.” I wish I had more to say about this episode, but I’m still processing Richard’s claim that the island is hell! Is the Man in Black really the devil or just evil incarnate...and is there really a difference between the two? I know the island isn’t really hell, but what the heck is going on!?! One thing I can say about last week's episode is that I think it's truly amazing that after 5 1/2 seasons the show can produce an episode this good and it only feature the show's original characters for something like 3 minutes! That just doesn't happen on network television, and kudos to the people behind Lost and ABC for being gutsy enough to try it.
I do have two theories/questions stemming from last week’s episode and I’d like to get everyone’s feedback. First the questions: since we know the island acts as a cork keeping evil trapped, because the island has sunk in the Flash Sideways, does that mean evil has been set free? Or does it mean evil has been vanquished and the island is no longer needed? And now on to my theory that’s been building over the past two episodes…in “Recon” we saw Widmore’s team setting up a sonic fence on the Hydra station. I originally thought this was to protect Widmore’s team from Smokey coming back to kill them. But, what if it was to trap Smokey on the Hydra station!?! Think of it as an even smaller jail cell on the 2nd island, which would finally free the main island from FLocke’s presence and allow Widmore to regain control of what he wants most in this world, the island. Things to make you go hmm…