Flashback
Richard Alpert lives in the Canary Islands with his wife Isabella who is dying. He rushes to the doctor and when the doctor refuses to help him he offers medicine. Richard can't afford the medicine and in a fit of rage he pushes the doctor who hits his head and dies on impact. He rushes back to give his wife the medicine but it is too late. The officials come for him and he is put in jail. While awaiting his fate, a priest comes in to tell him he cannot forgive him for what he has done. While on his way to be hanged for his crime, the captain Hanso asks if he can speak English and when he does Richard is put in chains on a ship to the New World. While on board the ship, it crashes in a storm on the island. The boat crashes into the statue. When they wake the captain comes down and tells them that there are only a few survivors and very little supplies so he begins to kill the prisoners. Right before he gets to Richard, Smokey attacks them killing all of the sailors and the captain. He surveys Richard and leaves him. Richard tries to escape from his chains when in exhaustion he is visited by Isabella. She leaves to get help but is killed by the Smoke Monster. The Man in Black appears to Richard and tells him he will help him get his wife back if he helps him. Smokey asks Richard to take a dagger and kill a man on the island before he can speak. Richard agrees and goes off to find Jacob. He attempts to fight him but Jacob wins. Jacob proves to Richard that he is still alive by attempting to drown him. When things settle they discuss what the island is and Jacob compares it to wine in a bottle, and that he is the cork holding it in. And then he tells Richard that the island is the gateway to Hell, and he is the protector keeping it all in. When Jacob asks Richard to help him by being his main contact, Richard asks if he can have his wife back. When Jacob can't do that he asks for eternal life, which Jacob grants to him. Richard returns to the Man in Black and it is clear that Jacob has persuaded him to join his side.
Island
The gang is on the island wondering what they have to do next. Ilana tells the groups that they are candidates and she has to protect them. As for what to do next they have to turn to Richard Alpert. He tells them he doesn't know what to do and runs off in the jungle. Jack sees Hurley talking to someone in Spanish and asks him what Jacob is telling Hurley. Hurley insists it isn't Jacob. Richard is wandering through the jungle when he gets to the place where he buried his wife's necklace. He digs it up and screams that he's changed his mind and wants to join back up with Smokey. Hurley finds Richard and tells him that his wife is with him. Hurley translates Isabella's wishes and Richard is brought back to Jacob's side.
Wow, that ended up being long and I'm pretty sure I forgot a few things. But then again I'm sure most of you don't even read it!
1. Ok GREAT episode. We finally got the super awesome back story to Richard Alpert, a man of many secrets apparently. His story fit perfectly, he had nothing left to lose and everything to gain by helping Jacob on his quest. I loved how his story explained the Black Rock, the statue, and what the purpose of the island is. All huge mysteries resolved with an awesome character. And might I say that was some mighty acting!
2. So now that we know the island is the Hellmouth (hello Buffy fans shout out!) and Jacob is the slayer, I mean protector, then is Smokey pure Evil? I don't think so but that's what he makes it seem like. The island is a Pandora's Box of sorts and all that stands in the way of total chaos is Jacob. So Jacob is dead but he has been for a while now, so why hasn't Smokey escaped like he wanted to?
3. The conversation between Smokey and Jacob was really informative. I liked how Jacob is on the side of good and wants to prove to Smokey that man isn't inherently evil and adept to sin. While Smokey on the other hand seems fit to believe that he can corrupt anyone. I can't tell you the last time I read the Bible but I'm pretty sure this is very Adam and Eve stuff with the Devil as their temptress. Losties are A+E (also alluded to with the dead bodies in the caves from season 1 and more recent episodes), Jacob is God, and Man in Black is the Devil. Well if nothing else that tree that Richard was standing under at the end seemed like the tree of life, although my roommate told me it was a pickle tree so who knows.
4. So the LOST island really is, according to Jacob, a big experiment to see if people, with their free will intact, can make the right choices and live a good, moral life. Well, we've definitely seen the losties tested in a number of ways. Some have passed (Jack and Kate just being in love) and some have failed (Michael shooting Libby and Ana Lucia). But this was also probably part of the process of weeding out his potential replacements.
5. There were a ton of religious undertones in this episode but what I thought was most interesting was why Richard made the deal for eternal life with Jacob. He did it out of fear of damnation which is a pretty driving force. But did he really understand what eternal life is? I mean vampires have it and they are never happy! Do you think Richard forgot to watch Twilight? Because if he did maybe he would have asked for something else.
6. Okay so my question with Jacob has mostly to do with him dying. Jacob at first wanted to bring people to the island to test them, to see if they could make good choices on their own. He even hired Richard to help be his intermediary to remain distant from the masses. However, he brought this set of losties to find his replacement and chose to die the moment Ben wanted to kill him. So his mission, whatever it truly is, seems to have changed in this moment. What is the reason for him wanting a replacement and is that really what he wants? Did he sense that the Man in Black was never going to give up and had a back up plan just in case he succeeded? Maybe the reason he is looking for a replacement is because he knew he was going to die so that was his back up plan?
7. Hurley's talent of being able to talk to dead people is really coming in handy. But I think a big question to ask ourselves is, is the ghost really Isabella or is it Smokey? I want to say it's Isabella, because I want to believe that Hurley does actually talk to dead people, just like Miles has a similar talent. So maybe Smokey was being her when she "died" on the island but I think it was really her at the end when Hurley was translating to Richard.
8. I'm sort of glad we got spared the off-island universe this episode. It's starting to annoy me and I kind of want them to just have more episodes like this which explain everything!
9. I also want them to give Smokey/Man in Black a name! Why is he remaining so mysterious?!
10. Jacob and the Man in Black, for being enemies, play well off each other. They seem so calm when talking about how they want to destroy each other. Jacob gave Smokey back the white rock to show him that he still has power over him, and Smokey destroyed the bottle of wine to show Jacob that he is going to crush his plan. Ohhh I like what this brings to the table, although if I was stuck on an island I probably wouldn't be wasting wine like that.
Okay that's all folks! Sorry for the late post but feel free to post any comments!
xo
B
2 comments:
I am so glad you post this, Bridget! You are a great writer. I was so happy to get the background on Richard Alpert and the medieval history. I still find the relationships bizarre and although you seem to have a great understanding, I don't - Way too many characters and the plot line wanders too much for me. Is Jacob an angel of some sort fighting for souls to go to heaven and this is the gateway? And, is everyone then dead? I have to say that I do like Sawyer as a cop and the fact that they don't forget their old characters. But, to me, the writing is not that good - not even clairvoyant! Thanks, Nan
Bridget - I had the same reaction re: wasting the wine. And did you see the close-ups of Richard's eyes?! His natural "not eyeliner" thing is crazy!
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