We got a great episode last night with the airing of season 6, episode 9 of LOST, Ab Aeterno. We'll be podcasting this weekend, so join in the conversation by leaving a comment here, sending us an email, visiting our Facebook Page or calling our automated audio comment hotline at: 206-376-0219.
We'll be podcasting on Saturday at 11am CST if you'd like to join us live via video chat at: Ustream.tv/lostcasts.
The. Best. Lost. Episode. Ever.
Yes, even better than The Constant.
Posted by: AphroditeMF | March 25, 2010 at 09:41 AM
Looking forward to the podcast. My friends and I were completely divided on this episode, some of us (including me) thinking it only a 2-star affair and really just more filler, others putting it way up there, but no one put it above The Constant!
Our discussion in full:
http://jasoncollin.org/2010/03/23/lost-6x09-ab-aeterno/
Posted by: Jason Collin Photography | March 25, 2010 at 03:03 PM
If this is filler, then The Constant is mega-filler.
Posted by: apb | March 25, 2010 at 06:09 PM
Not saying it was filler, far from it, but not "the best episode ever", top five probably. Basically it was back story for Richard (which we have all been crying out for yet for some reason seemed predictable) and the real interesting stuff --- MiB and Jacob interaction with each other and Richard.
That said, just like the Constant, the more I think about it the more I like it.
Oh and was Richard in the Black Rock being visited by MiB so The Stand where one of the characters is locked in jail and is visited by the dark man (sorry forget the characters names, been a long time since I read it)
One thing is for sure is Nestor showed he one of the top three actors on the show ..... along with Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson.
Posted by: Bob | March 25, 2010 at 10:25 PM
I loved the explanation that Jacob gives about the wine in the decanter being evil and the cork being the island keeping evil contained. At the end, MiB breaking the decanter is him saying "the cork can't keep me locked in the bottle!"
Also, I have seen on a few other boards that people are talking about Richard's request to live forever. We need to understand that his #1 concern was to have Isabella back. That couldn't happen, so his #2 concern was that he would not go to Hell for the sins he committed. Jacob said he could not absolve him. So if he believes that he will go to Hell when he dies, he chooses to not die. This is important, he does not want to live forever, he just doesn't want to go to Hell. Interestingly, the current time-line has Richard exclaiming that they are in Hell.
I liked this episode not because it moved the story along. It did, but only slightly. I liked it because it gave us mythology. It gave us backstory, not only Richard's but also Jacob's, MiB's, and the island's.
Finally, this passage from Revelation 20 seems to be relevant to the current story: "1And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time." Is Mib the devil and is Jacob the angel who has captured him?
Posted by: Mike in the Box | March 25, 2010 at 11:10 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=furb658XCG8
Posted by: Ryan | March 25, 2010 at 11:53 PM
http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Ab_Aeterno/Theories
Posted by: David | March 26, 2010 at 04:13 AM
Finally saw the episode last night.
First thing's first: anyone notice that when Jacob meets Illyana in the hospital, he is very clearly wearing gloves? Whereas when he's trying to touch people to protect them, it's bare-handed?
Totally agree with MitB that, while the episode didn't necessarily move the story forward, it filled in necessary story/mythology gaps for the viewers, and gave Richard far more complexity than "the guy who never ages and seems to know something but we're not sure yet still can get duped by the smoke monster just like everyone else" guy. The man has tragic loss & guilt as his albatross, even almost 200 years later (give or take), and in the end, is just a guy who was brought to the island like everyone else. Strange to see Jacob so angry that Richard has come to kill him, when he seems so calm in the face of everything else. It's like he didn't expect it, and he seemed far more bothered by the fact that it caught him unawares.
In fact, the storytelling of this episode reminds me a lot of the episode where Desmond & Charlie are getting drunk on the beach, and in a fit Desmond recalls what happened when he turned the key in the Swan hatch after we had gone several episodes with him back after the implosion, but no explanation as to how.
As an aside, at some point, I want to know how Others were getting on and off the island as easily as they were (I'm reminded of all of Richard's visits to see Locke growing up so as to monitor his progress). Was it ALL by submarine, until Locke destroyed it in the current day? Seems a bit slow/tedious. Yet, turning the wheel is far too dramatic to be done more than once in a blue moon (though Ben had knowledge of the technique). And Ben had a massive stockpile of world currency, clothing and passports, implying there used to be a much faster on-off transport method.
And, cranking the wayback machine really far back, was Ben full of crap about the "magic box" where anything you wanted would appear? I'm still trying to figure out how they got Locke's Dad/True Sawyer to the island, right after Ben said that. Seems like "submarine" would be too dull an answer, but alas, might be it. Maybe I just have to suspend disbelief and accept that they had the world's fastest submarine. :-/
Posted by: Rock | March 26, 2010 at 09:18 AM
I've been a big fan of your podcast for years. I just wrote up this comparison between LOST island and the Canary Island's Tenerife. I'm amazed at the number of comparisons to LOST in terms of Geography, History, People and so forth. Here is the URL link if you want to see.
http://tle1lost.wordpress.com/2010/03/26/the-island-of-tenerife-and-lost/
TLE from TLE's LOST Blog.
Posted by: Doug/TLE | March 26, 2010 at 09:58 PM
Obviously the themes are darker, but there are some interesting parallels with 'I dream of Jeannie' - changing between smoke and human form, a bottle with a cork, trapped on an island for near eternity.
Posted by: Cameron | March 26, 2010 at 11:31 PM
I was struck by Jacob's explanation of the Bottle and the Cork in relation to the Island. Was anyone else reminded of Pandora's Box? It stuck in my brain so much, that I jumped over to Wikipedia yesterday and read up on Pandora's Box. The entry mentions the box really being a jar. The jars in ancient times were use to store things like wine and oil. They sometimes used them for burial. The most interesting piece from the article: "In the case of Pandora, this jar may have been made of clay for use as storage as in the usual sense, or of bronze metal as an unbreakable prison."
Hrm.
Posted by: Terri M. | March 27, 2010 at 11:08 AM
Three thoughts:
1.) The allusion to Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series--, "the Man in Black" or the island/wine bottle cork like the Tower, a linchpin of all time and space. Has this been discussed yet?
2.) I've been following the podcasts since day one, but I have not had time to watch new episodes and listen to the podcasts, (so I'm starting with this podcast, having missed the other 7-8 podcasts this season). Anyhow, are we absolutely convinced that MIB is bad and that Jacob is good? Wouldn't that be kind of obvious? Why would MIB put a cross in Richard's hands? MIB does have quite the bodycount already. Anyhow, someone fill me in--I just hate to see Locke, the real reason why I got so hooked on this show early on, become the face of evil. The whole time I'm watching the show to see him find/fulfill his ultimate purpose. I guess you can't have good without evil, still bummed that Locke isn't even himself anymore.
3. Personally, I thought 'Recon' was a better episode than Ab Aeterno. Less bluntly religious themes with the "Little House on the Prairie" clip. Ab Aeterno didn't reveal all that much. Seriously, was finding out about the Black Rock's back story that gratifying? I mean, it kind of makes sense that Richard went back there to try to kill himself, considering his eternal life didn't have a lot of meaning for him anymore, so to know he was brought on the ship was less suprising. Anyhow, the show's still playing the same old song and dance, and to have a show that ends with "The Stand"-like face-off between good and evil or something along those lines--don't you think that kind of undermines all the other seasons? I guess I wanted things to be rooted in more reality-based plot mechanics.
Posted by: aakrazy | March 29, 2010 at 03:23 AM
One more thought: There's a 7-8 note melody that's like "Richard's Theme" or something, playing throughout this episode. Absolutely beautiful. Anybody else agree? Well done, Giaccino!
Posted by: aakrazy | March 29, 2010 at 03:32 AM