[US/IRL] 6x09 - "Ab Aeterno" [** SPOILERS WITHIN **]

Sad Professor

- WARNING: THIS THREAD WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT YET SEEN "AB AETERNO" -

Episode Title: "Ab Aeterno"
Airdate: March 23rd 2010

Synopsis (from TV.Com):

Richard Alpert faces a difficult choice.

Next New Episode: 6x10 - March 30th 2010

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SPOILER WARNING:

From now on, this thread shall reveal details of the episode mentioned above. If you have not yet seen this episode, please do not move any further down the thread.

A REMINDER ABOUT USE OF SPOILERS:

No discussion of future episode spoilers. That includes anything the writers may have revealed in interviews, podcasts, etc. Even behind spoiler tags they don't belong in this thread. Promos for next week shouldn't be posted in here either.

And out of respect for those following the show on RTE, this episode should NOT be discussed outside of this thread until it has aired on RTE.

Sad Professor

9

Putting this up now as it already started in Canada. Hopefully it will be available early again.

tony1kenobi

9

I think I might just stay up and get sh*tfaced for this one...call in sick tomorrow....I've been waiting too long to find out who Richard is....I might even vote after this one!!

How early might this be available?

Sad Professor

9

I think it was sometime after midnight last week. But it could be a lot later.

And in case anyone is wondering, the title is Latin and means "From Eternity" or "Since the beginning of time".

A Neurotic

6

Curses, got excited that it was out already :rolleyes:

Daysha

9

Sad Professor wrote: »

Putting this up now as it already started in Canada. Hopefully it will be available early again.

It has? I thought it was starting at 7pm EST, which would be 11pm our time no?

Helix

6

this is rubbish so far

how did they manage to ruin a richard episode

Helix

6

**** this, im going out instead

not gonna bother with the rest of this

Sad Professor

9

Daysha wrote: »

It has? I thought it was starting at 7pm EST, which would be 11pm our time no?

It started an hour earlier on some Canadian stations.

SteelyDanJalapeno

9

This up online yet?

Sad Professor

9

Yup, in the wild now.

tony1kenobi

9

5 minutes to lift off.God bless the internet.

gustavo

9

Utterly Brilliant !

Xyo

Just finished watching it there, wasn't really that wow'd to be honest. It confirmed the whole thing where Jacob can't actually stop people he trusts them to do the right thing but other than that wasn't amazing.

niemad

9

It was great to get some answers, i liked the twist that the island is not really hell but a "cork", should be interesting where they go from now

Ciaran*

Is this what happens when you see it early? I love coming here are reading opinons and now I have to form my own!:D Nice to see a history episode, but didn't the Black Rock come in on a calm day the last time. I have decided that the MiB is totally evil now though, he won't manipulate me anymore.

I did find the audio needed to be set at +150ms so that can be my contribution, but only a fool would come in here before watching it.

kavsmdf

9

Wow, really liked that, couldn't take my eyes off it! 10/10! I see it's the only vote so far from 4 people, nice!

It will be very interesting to see where they go from here, nice bit explained, but still wide open!

Sad Professor

9

Fantastic! Unlike any episode to date. It had everything. Emotion, mythology, backstory. I can't heap enough praise on it.

Also - nearly everything I've been saying recently about the island and Jacob/MIB turned out to be correct.

Read this, especially the last few paragraphs. Now am I good or what?

Season 2 and the button-pushing makes a whole lot more sense now, doesn't it?

Effects

9

Great episode, tied an awful lot of things up. Black Rock, where Richard came from and more. Different type of episode to most that have been on recently.

V9

5

It was good, but it didn't blow me away. Maybe I'll watch it again, see how I feel the second time round.

kavsmdf

9

One other thing I'm starting to notice, and it can be seen one of two ways...

The episodes seem to be going exactly where the fans want it to, i.e., someone, somewhere, has predicted a lot of whats happening in Lost lately, these are all the main/big theories people are coming up with.

Now would you guys think the writers are giving the fans what they want, or are the fans just really good at predicting this stuff?

I don't read many theories, just the big ones, and they all seem to be coming through!

Axwell

6

Have to say I dont see how this is worth a 10, an ok episode with some bits of information but a bit of a let down I felt. I thought Richards background was poor and way less amazing than was perhaps expected up to now. People had always thought he was egyptian and perhaps with the temples and statues etc from a long long time ago. Instead we get this story tonight and it just seems a bit i dunno, boring. Liked that we got some more information on Jacob and MIB and the reason for the island and why its there, to contain MIB. Not a terrible episode just not amazing either. Was possibly just expecting a lot more from a Richard centric episode.

Still plenty of stuff to be answered, the whole Dharma project, where they came from and their goals. The whole fact that a lot of people we have seen on the island also have parents involved in the storyline has also got more to be explained I feel. Jack and his father, Miles and his, Charlotte being born on the island, Daniel and his mother. Its like their children were all groomed for this job.

Richard obviously has to help to get one of the 6 to replace Jacob and to stop MIB escaping by doing so. I still think Desmond could be the new Jacob at the end of all this. The fact that everyone else has been in the alternate timeline, some with a new way of life some with the same. Mainly those that sided with Jacob changing and those that are with MIB not. Desmonds short appearance previously was like a Jacob moment touching people on the shoulder then vanishing. Hes obviously locked aboard the submarine at this point so will be interesting to see what happens.

leggo

8

They said people would be able to guess from the series premiere though.

Amazing episode. I like how they took their time and told a proper story...while giving some massive revelations. Whether people had called it or not (and btw, amazing work SP), we now KNOW what the island is! That's huge guys. Give them credit.

It really put everything we've seen into perspective and now gives us a clear course for the series finale. In the meantime, they can knock off the important questions and really hit a homerun finale. Brilliant.

waltersobchak

9

I personally thought it was an outstanding episode, easily one of the best ever Lost episodes, The story of Richard was excellent, would have loved for them to go deeper but they only had 40+ minutes to tell it! loved that swerve where for half the episode they tried to convince us that the island was infact Hell, i thought that was fantastic. The ending with Richard, his wife, and Hurley was touching.. Overall it seemed like they were finally giving us some decent answers, but to a certain point obviously.. I doubt we'll see anymore filler from this point onwards

Ron DMC

Very much enjoyed every second of that.

Well worth staying up for. Tomorrow morning will be a tough wake up.

Axwell

6

leggo wrote: »

Whether people had called it or not (and btw, amazing work SP), we now KNOW what the island is! That's huge guys. Give them credit.

Dont usually read spoilers etc but Damon and Carlton actually revealed a few weeks ago that the island was described as a 4 letter word with some hints and it was basically all over the internet for weeks that the island was a "CORK". Nice to see it explained but the whole MiB being evil and Jacob giving people free choice etc has been pretty obvious once they were first shown to us on the show together that time watching the ship arrive and we saw a little bit more of each of them in the next few episodes. There wasnt really any curve balls thrown and once we knew what the loophole was it fell into place.

The main plot is pretty much on the table at this stage, Jacob is going to be replaced by a candidate and Richard knows how to help with this process. MiB wants to escape the island but as long as there is a Jacob figure to bring people to the island and be the opposing force this wont happen.
Whats going to be more interesting is all the little sub plots and bits that havent been answered. Why is Whitmore back, he says to kill MiB but obviously he wants the island too for the energy and electromagnetic force relating back to the Dharma experiments. The whole Dharma thing has a lot to be explained. The same goes for the flash sideways, I still think that these were more a glimpse of the future or end of the series in a way. Showing us how once a new Jacob is in place that peoples lifes went this alternate path because they didnt end up in hell as Hurley put it at the end of tonights episode. I still think Desmond will be the new Jacob and take this role. Most think its going to be Jack because he has this new faith but I think seeing him in the flash sideways is a hint he might not be.
I think no matter how it ends there is going to be loads unanswered so the more we find out each week the better!

Basq

Nestor Carbonell wasn't lying when he said his backstory / episode would have answers.

Superb stuff to be fair.. that's a milestone of an episode - pieces are coming together, questions are being answered, lesser known characters are becoming more defined.

This is how the season should have began.

"Moar" Jacob and MiB.. not so much Richard. Almost seemed like he was in chains for the whole episode!

PS - Poor Mark Pellegrino is being typecast as The Devil quite a bit now, ain't he?

waltersobchak

9

Axwell wrote: »

Dont usually read spoilers etc but Damon and Carlton actually revealed a few weeks ago that the island was described as a 4 letter word with some hints and it was basically all over the internet for weeks that the island was a "CORK". Nice to see it explained but the whole MiB being evil and Jacob giving people free choice etc has been petty obvious once they were first shown to us on the show together that time watching the ship arrive and we saw a little bit more of each of them.

The main plot is pretty much on the table at this stage, Jacob is going to be replaced by a candidate and Richard knows how to help with this process. MiB wants to escape the island but as long as there is a Jacob figure to bring people to the island and be the opposing force this wont happen.
Whats going to be more interesting is all the little sub plots and bits that havent been answered. Why is Whitmore back, he says to kill MiB but obviously he wants the island too for the energy and electromagnetic force relating back to the Dharma experiments. The whole Dharma thing has a lot to be explained. The same goes for the flash sideways, I still think that these were more a glimpse of the future or end of the series in a way. Showing us how once a new Jacob is in place that peoples lifes went this alternate path because they didnt end up in hell as Hurley put it at the end of tonights episode. I still think Desmond will be the new Jacob and take this role. Most think its going to be Jack because he has this new faith but I think seeing him in the flash sideways is a hint he might not be.
I think no matter how it ends there is going to be loads unanswered so the more we find out each week the better!

I reckon the Flash Sideways are nothing more than the Timeline of the Characters after the new Jacob has been picked..

tony1kenobi

9

10/10....six years waiting for Richards story and it's perfect.....the whole Island is hell thing is brilliant too....everyone called purgatory for six years..no one said hell!!!..............

Daysha

9

I could spend forever saying what I thought of that episode, so I'll just leave it at this. It was one of the best episodes of Lost I have ever seen. 10/10 with ease.

Tragamin2k2

8

what ship were jacob and mib lookin at in the incident?

Daysha

9

Tragamin2k2 wrote: »

what ship were jacob and mib lookin at in the incident?

It wasn't the Black Rock anyway that's for sure. Like Jacob said, he brings many, many people to the island, and because the statue was still fully standing it was before Richards time.

Sad Professor

9

Daysha wrote: »

It wasn't the Black Rock anyway that's for sure. Like Jacob said, he brings many, many people to the island, and because the statue was still fully standing it was before Richards time.

The Black Rock was what destroyed the statue though.

Daysha

9

Sad Professor wrote: »

The Black Rock was what destroyed the statue though.

Lol sorry of course, minds still a bit all over the place after that episode

tony1kenobi

9

It was just awesome.All of it.

Sad Professor

9

lol, I just remembered what Arzt said about the Black Rock in season 1:

[At the Black Rock.]
HURLEY: How exactly does something like this happen?
DANIELLE: Are you on the same island as I am?
HURLEY: I guess that explains it.
[Jack, Locke, Kate and Hurley move toward the ship. Arzt stays where he is and Danielle starts walking off in the other direction.]
ARZT: Hold on, wait, hold on. Hold, wait. What are we a couple miles inland? [to Danielle] A tsunami probably swept it here, huh, right?

Robin85

tony1kenobi wrote: »

10/10....six years waiting for Richards story and it's perfect.....the whole Island is hell thing is brilliant too....everyone called purgatory for six years..no one said hell!!!..............

But it's not Hell though.. They aren't dead.

mdwexford

Fairly surprised everyone is this impressed with this episode. Decent, no more than that imo.

Helix

6

spoke too soon, first 20 minutes were among the worst lost has ever been. picked up from there, as i discovered when i watched the rest after seeing the praise of it in this thread

it was pretty bloody good. nowhere near 10/10 material, coz i think they ruined richard with the first 20 minutes, but a solid 7

Jazzy

9

good work sad professor a lot of my predictions are being proven too atm. the nature of man and that sort of thing.
really liked the episode. showed exactly the right things and made everything fit in line. its all coming together nicely

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

6

so when smokey sent richard to kill jacob, jacob pulls out some mad wicked fly kung fu moves and stops him but when ben is there to kill him jacob just stands there and does nothing?

Liber8or

9

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

so when smokey sent richard to kill jacob, jacob pulls out some mad wicked fly kung fu moves and stops him but when ben is there to kill him jacob just stands there and does nothing?

Yes, because Jacob was unaware of MiB's intentions. It was only after Richard tried to kill him that Jacob realises MiB's plans to get free. Thats why the very end of the episode Jacob says "You tried to kill me..."
Hence, when Ben comes to kill him Jacob can't directly influence his decision as he clearly states to Richard, men have to discover right and wrong for themselves.

Gingervitis

I felt the first 20 minutes could have done with a serious trimming. I'm all for emotion and good drama, but it felt too drawn out and clichéd. (Nearly 10 minutes for him to get out of the Black Rock? Seriously?)
Interesting to hear Magnus Hanso being named, and a return of 1800's Jacob and MiB. I thought the perfect ending would have Oceanic 815 crashing overhead as Jacob and MiB talked though!

Good, not great, episode.

Sad Professor

9

Axwell wrote: »

Dont usually read spoilers etc but Damon and Carlton actually revealed a few weeks ago that the island was described as a 4 letter word with some hints and it was basically all over the internet for weeks that the island was a "CORK".

Really? I'm so glad I didn't know this. I read Kristin at Eonline talking about a 4 letter world alright but she's an air head so I ignored it. In most of her previous hangman games she's spelled character names wrong.

Liber8or wrote:

Yes, because Jacob was unaware of MiB's intentions. It was only after Richard tried to kill him that Jacob realises MiB's plans to get free. Thats why the very end of the episode Jacob says "You tried to kill me..."
Hence, when Ben comes to kill him Jacob can't directly influence his decision as he clearly states to Richard, men have to discover right and wrong for themselves.

I also think Jacob letting Ben kill him might be part of an Obi-wanish plan.

Also, do people think that the "evil" the island is containing actually is MIB? My interpretation was that MIB just wants to let it loose. It seems he's representative of the darkness rather than actually being it. This is consistent with his claims that he was once a man, etc.

Also, I wonder if it's possible to revive the wormhole theory in the light of the "cork" revelation. I mean we basically found out that the island is a gateway to "hell". So perhaps the island is sitting on top of a wormhole, acting as a cork for whatever might come though into our world. In the sideways timeline the "cork" is underwater. This means that either the evil escaped and is on the loose in the sideways, or it was destroyed and the island no longer has any use.

homerun_homer

8

Great episode. It did feel like more Richard story could have been squeezed in, as someone noted - 10 minutes chained alone in the Black Rock.
I was thrown by the Black Rock arriving at night so it would be nice for confirmation that MIB and Jacob were not watching it arrive in daytime, and that it was way earlier. I don't quite buy how a wooden ship would destroy a gigantic stone statue though.

I was very satisfied on what the island represents and what Jacob and MIB represent, it would have been a nice touch to finally get a name for MIB out of it.

What I question now out of Richard's history is his involvement in violence on the island. He was involved in the Dharma purge and the Others, who kill people who arrive to the island without question, if he is a middle man/representative of Jacob and good, who wants to repent for his own actions wouldn't he abhor the murder of innocents?

kavsmdf wrote: »

Now would you guys think the writers are giving the fans what they want, or are the fans just really good at predicting this stuff?

The fans have speculated nearly every permutation of what could be going on but nothing was ever concrete enough to pinpoint one theory until now. So you can't say "the fans guessed right" because in general they/we were all still guessing.

tony1kenobi wrote: »

everyone called purgatory for six years..no one said hell!!!..............

It's not hell!! Were you watching the episode?

James Forde

9

fantastic, well worth the wait for a Richard centric episode, nice to hear the old flash back noise again.

great to see more of Jacob and the MIB, any scene involving the two of them is a good'un


some nice answers too, how the black rock ended up in the middle of the jungle, how the statue was smashed.

edit, how badass was jacob, didn't think he had it in him

[-0-]

8

I have to say I found some of it boring but my God it turned out to be one of the best episodes! They dragged some things out, as explained by others in here. I'm going to watch it a second time now.

Agamemnon

7

Sad Professor wrote: »

Also, I wonder if it's possible to revive the wormhole theory in the light of the "cork" revelation. I mean we basically found out that the island is a gateway to "hell". So perhaps the island is sitting on top of a wormhole, acting as a cork for whatever might come though into our world. In the sideways timeline the "cork" is underwater. This means that either the evil escaped and is on the loose in the sideways, or it was destroyed and the island no longer has any use.

Would be interesting to find out what letting the evil escape would entail. In the sideways timeline, the world hasn't ended or isn't noticeably different, so maybe the evil was destroyed or it's just biding its time or working behind the scenes. Maybe in the finale we'll see the sideways timeline end with the Losties looking on in horror as the sky above LA is suddenly covered with black smoke...

Agree with people here who think Desmond will take over from Jacob, even though he's not on the candidates list.

Dymo

7

To me it was the best episode of the season, I gave it an eight as it give answers and it had none of the Flashsideways BS that all of the other shows this season has. Nothing really earth shattering discovered and most was predicted, which makes me wonder are the writers making this show to suit the public.

Richard has always been a strong character but very mysterious and people have always wanted to know the true origin of where he came from, this episode answered a lot as why the current inhabitants of the island are there and Good v Evil, Black V White.

Does Hurley say "he sometimes takes them alive" when explaining why Isabella is appearing to Hurley?

How did the log book of the Red Rock end up in Madagascar?

Jacob said "no one goes in unless i invite you in" how did flocke and Ben just strolled up in there when they killed Jacob?

And I think the biggest issue here is that we saw the black rock in daylight in last season's finale while Jacob and man in black are talking. Or are we supposed to "believe" that was some other ship? I can't remember was the statue destroyed at this stage because that could answer my second question.

Sofaspud

Dymo wrote: »

Does Hurley say "he sometimes takes them alive" when explaining why Isabella is appearing to Hurley?

She said "he doesn't believe you", and Hurley said "It sometimes takes them a while"

Dymo wrote: »

And I think the biggest issue here is that we saw the black rock in daylight in last season's finale while Jacob and man in black are talking. Or are we supposed to "believe" that was some other ship? I can't remember was the statue destroyed at this stage because that could answer my second question.

The statue was still standing when they were talking on the beach, so it's most likely to be presumed that it was a different ship. Jacob brings a lot of people to the island, and they didn't have planes back then . . .

Sad Professor

9

Why can't it be the same ship? Maybe it was passing by the island when Jacob and MIB saw it on the horizon, and then that night the storm dragged it back.