Finally some insight into Richard Alpert's backstory!
Episode rating 7-1/2 out of 10!
Answers are coming in thick and fast now on Lost with another 8 episodes to go out of this 18 episode season final. With a slow build up to this long awaited episode, we're led to believe Richard might either might've been revealed to be a crewman of the Black Rock or figure of importance to Jacob, or so us fans always felt.
Seems the episode was more random at first with a tale of how Richard/Ricardus led a life of a simple farmer instead in late:
'1867'! Nothing too crazy or out of place, and it allowed the actor Nestor Carbonell to use his linguistic talents (speaking spanish) and make create a believable origin story for his character. Wanting to cure his wife Isabella's illness with vital medicine, he mistakenly and accidently kills a subborn posh doctor on Tenerife while trying to obtain this and is sent to prison waiting to be hanged for his crime but is bought and purchased as a slave on the orders of Magnus Hanso (although he is not seen) and is prisoner on the black Rock from then on.
Episode while character heavy DID mess up for me on the mythology of Lost on how it dealt with how the Black Rock crashed on the island and how the Statue of Taweret came to be destroyed. out of scale CGI and a quick rush of scenes cutting to the Black Rock suddenly in middle island where its been in previous episodes but just looking a little more "fresher" was kinda cheesy overall. And like i said before the Statue's destruction wasn't properly handled, got excited seeing the spolier photos online before watching the episode, now as i've seen the episode, it all plays out way too quickly after all this bloody mystery and buildup after so many seasons or so?
This episode should've been a two-parter!
MIB played by Titus Welliver long-last reappearence in the series, is long overdue and he play the role greatly. Best scenes are definitely between him and Jacob actor Mark Pellegrino. The manipulation by the MIB and also Jacob (who says this guy's good and all he seems cos he's simply wearing "white") on poor Richard at first, is what we've some to expect from Lost, but at least we know that there's alot of meaning behind every bit of dialogue, subtle hint, reference, clue and scene between characters in this show.
Anyways, within the short time this episode played out, Richard was seen as very different and more vulnerable which is the mark of developing his character further still, Jacob's discussion with Richard about the Island possibly being hell or purgatory (*wink wink*) is a clever way to address the questions fans have lobbed at the writers and show runners for years. Casual references by Richard about immortality and Jacob doing so (is it truly 'via' Jacob's touch?) at the drop-of-a-hat seem to mark' Jacob as not at all as trusting he seems on the surface? I mean who does so and merely grants a request on the casual comments of a 'man' out of place with the Island who just arrived and knows so little of Jacob's true intentions entirely?! And i can't say i was happy about the pace of the episode as well either though, details were thrown in there and only the most idle of fans forgive everything i personally liked it but didn't love it. Think even Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse and J.J. Abrams formula is wearing thin, and Lost can't possibly answer all the mysteries its created, and we're only still here for the resolution to be quite frank.
Great episode cos a Richard tale certainly needed to be told at some point, but unlike other Lost fans who are so easily won over. This doesn't topple episodes such as; "The Constant", "Tale Of Two Cities", "Live Togther, Die Alone", "The Incident", "Two For The Road" or "The Life And Death Of Jeremy Bentham" as the best episodes of Lost. Ab Aeterno comes in after those lot, it comes in quite high one of the best Lost episodes ever at some point, but not number 1 just yet, but perhaps its within a top 5 or 10 if one does indeed look past how rushed it was in places though.
Still great episode, but the fact no one played Magnus Hanso or the reason for the Black Rock being in the middle of the jungle after a tidal wave during the night which also knocked down and destroyed the Statue leaving no sign of massive damage and just left mild wreckage with no sign of a "killer" flood, leaves me thinking their running through the episodes forgoing the mythology and handing out the character arcs as quick as possible.
Hmmm? Well i expect more but it'll do long as they keep the drama and suspense intact and in there.
KJ
