Lost Web site | Photos

Lost recap: Is this hell or just a really warm island?

Posted Mar 24, 2010 by Michele Sager

Updated Mar 24, 2010 at 10:24 AM

In this Richard-centered episode called “Ab aeterno,” meaning from the beginning of time, we finally learn what brought Richard to the island, the love he lost and his fear of the devil.
The episode opens with Jack, Ilana and crew pondering what they should do next as “candidates.” Jacob told Ilana that Richard would know what to do. But Richard said he doesn’t have a clue because he thinks he and everyone else is dead and the island is really hell. (Say it isn’t so! The writers promised us no purgatory.)
Richard says he’s done listening to Jacob. Jack discovers that Locke is still alive, well his body anyway. Hurley is seen speaking Spanish to an unseen dead person in the jungle. Ben doesn’t believe Richard knows anything since they’ve known each other since Ben was 12. Ben also reveals to the crew that Richard never ages.
We flash back to see Richard on a horse looking very Dances with Wolves. He’s rushing to his sick wife’s side. He grabs his gold and his wife’s cross to pay for medicine from the doctor. But the doctor says Richard doesn’t have enough money to pay for the expensive medicine and a struggle ensues. Richard ends up killing the doctor and running off with the medicine. But it’s too late. His wife is already dead by the time he gets back and Richard is thrown in jail.
Richard asks the priest for absolution for the murder he committed but the priest refuses saying the devil wants Richard in hell. Richard becomes a slave on the Black Rock headed to the New World instead of being hanged for his crime. The Black Rock gets caught in a storm and shipwrecks on the island. The ship crashes into the famous four-toed statue, leaving only the foot.
The surviving slaves are happy to be alive until one of the ship’s officers starts killing them all because the ship only has limited supplies. Just as the officer goes to kill Richard, smokey shows up for a visit killing everyone but Richard.
Richard struggles to free himself from his shackles with no luck. He sees his wife who tells them they are both dead and in hell. When Richard’s wife runs from the smoke monster, we hear her scream.
Finally, the man in black shows up to help Richard but only if Richard agrees to kill the “devil.” The man in black tells Richard he is the smoke monster but not the person who took his wife. He tells Richard that he must kill the devil who took her if he ever wants to see her again. We find out that devil is Jacob.
Richard tries to kill Jacob with no success. Instead, Jacob convinces Richard that he is not dead thanks to a dip in the ocean. Jacob tells Richard that he brought the ship to the island. He explains, with the help of bottle of a wine, that the evil on the island is kept contained thanks to the island and without it, the evil would spread.
Jacob says the man in black believes that everyone is corruptible because it’s in there very nature to sin. But Jacob brings people to the island to prove him wrong and when they get here, their past doesn’t matter. Jacob tells Richard he doesn’t get involved. He expects the island people to help themselves. But Richard notes that if Jacob doesn’t get involved the man in black will. So Jacob offers Richard a job as his adviser. In exchange for the job, Richard will never die and go to hell because Jacob gives him the gift of never aging.
The man in black is not pleased that Richard joins up with Jacob. Richard hands the man in black a white rock. The man in black tells Richard that he can always change sides and this offer still stands, then he hands Richard back his cross. Richard buries the cross.
Back in the present, Richard goes back to that spot and digs up the cross. He shouts that he is ready to join smokey’s team. But just then, Hurley appears with a message from Richard’s dead wife. His wife said that Richard must keep smokey from getting off the island or they all are going to hell.
The final scene shows Jacob and the man in the black once again discussing how the man in black wants to leave the island and kill Jacob or any other candidate who gets in his way.

---

Finally, Richard Alpert

Posted Mar 23, 2010 by Courtney Cairns Pastor

Updated Mar 23, 2010 at 12:08 PM

After last week’s Sawyerfest—which was fun to look at but light on answers to the island’s mythology—we’re getting an episode that could finally tell us more about the island and its powers. Tonight is all about Richard Alpert.

The episode is called “Ab Aeterno.” I took two years of Latin but had to google this one anyway. It translates to “from the beginning of time.” We know from past episodes and pop-up Lost that Alpert “seemingly doesn’t age.” Is the title telling us he’s from the beginning of time? Does it mean we’ll get to see from the beginning of the island’s time?

I’ve always believed Richard came to the island from the Black Rock, which makes me wonder if this episode will pick up where the Season Five finale left off—with Jacob and the Man in Black sitting on the beach, watching the Black Rock sail into view.

What do you hope to learn about Richard?

---

Sawyer: Good Cop, Bad Cop

Posted Mar 17, 2010 by Courtney Cairns Pastor

Updated Mar 17, 2010 at 01:55 PM

We saw a different side of Sawyer last night in “Recon,” and I’m not talking about the shirtless appearances. Not that I noticed. Sigh. No, we saw what would have happened if Sawyer had opted for the law and not lawlessness.

The flash-sideways seem to show us the path the Losties’ lives would have taken if Jacob hadn’t touched them. Most people (except for Kate and Charlie) seem to be better off so far, which makes you wonder if unLocke is on to something – did Jacob’s interference protect the island at the expense of their lives? Or do the Losties really serve a higher purpose?

For Sawyer, at first, it seems like life is better. It starts with him in bed with a hot woman (see, guys? There was a little something for you, too) and it looks like he’s about to con her. Except she calls him on it. “Jimmy” starts in with an explanation that sounds like something Original Sawyer would have said to keep the con going, claiming he’s really a cop, and the woman is not having any of it.

Then he says the code word – LaFleur – and cops do bust in. Jimmy was telling the truth, Ava is arrested and we learn that Sawyer’s partner is Miles.

We hear another familiar name back that station. Sawyer is calling around for “Anthony Cooper,” con artist extraordinaire, who in the original timeline caused Sawyer’s dad to kill himself, fathered Locke, shoved Locke out of a window and later met an untimely demise on the island. This time, Sawyer claims he’s an old friend.

Miles has set up his partner with a friend, and Sawyer meets her at the bar. It’s Charlotte, looking lovely and non-nosebleedy. They banter a little – she asks why he’s a cop and Sawyer tells her he could have chosen criminal or cop. They wind up in bed. There’s a nice cameo by “Watership Down” but everything goes to hell when Charlotte looks for a T-shirt to borrow and finds a mysterious “Sawyer” dossier in his dresser drawer. Sawyer flips out and kicks her to the curb.

The next day at the jail, Liam Pace is at the counter, looking for help for his brother, who was arrested at the airport on drug charges. Sawyer says it’s not his department and walks on by, only to have Miles accost him. Miles is livid – he ran Sawyer’s credit card and discovered he had lied about his vacation. He wants to know what Sawyer was doing in Sydney. Sawyer tells him to MYOB, Miles is all you’re dead to me, and Sawyer pulls a Jack and punches a mirror.

Sawyer nurses his wounds over frozen food and “Little House on the Prairie.” Pa is telling Laura that “people aren’t really gone when they die.” Sawyer softens and goes to Charlotte’s to attempt to make up with her. She tells him to take his sad little sunflower and stuff it. She says he blew his chance with her.

Sawyer goes to make up with Miles by handing him his Sawyer file. He tells him how Anthony Cooper conned his dad (same), his dad killed his mom and himself (same), how he went to Australia to find Cooper (same) and how he’s going to kill Cooper when he finds him (same). As they’re talking, there’s a screech and a car slams into Sawyer’s car. It’s a police pursuit and a hooded person (which is pretty obviously Kate) flees on foot. Sawyer springs into action and tackles her. He seems pleased when he recognizes her from the plane.

The island timeline starts with Sawyer making tea at Camp Smokey and telling Jin he doesn’t care that Locke isn’t Locke, he just wants off the damn island. He promises Jin they won’t leave without Sun, though.

The rest of the troops arrive, including crazy Sayid, crazy Claire and dazed Kate. We get another look at the fuhreaky animal skeleton in the cradle, as Claire tells Kate it was all she had. UnLocke huddles with his peeps and invites questions but says they need to keep moving. Stewardess Cindy asks what happened to the rest of the people at the Temple. UnLocke says Smokey killed them, which upsets the kiddos. UnLocke promises to take care of them. UnLocke leads them to another clearing and pulls Sawyer aside for a chat.

Sawyer asks how unLocke knew to rescue everyone from Smokey and unLocke confesses that he is Smokey and that everyone else was trying to protect the island from him. But all he wants to do is get off the island. UnLocke sends Sawyer on a mission to check out the Hydra Island and see what the other Ajira survivors are plotting. UnLocke is sure that Sawyer can handle the work because he’s the best liar he’s ever met.

Kate, meanwhile, starts to talk to Sayid, who says he believes unLocke can get them off the island. Mid-conversation, she’s ambushed by Claire. Kate screams at Sayid for help, but he doesn’t look like he cares. UnLocke finally pulls Claire off her, slaps her and says he’ll deal with her later. He asks if Kate is OK and Kate looks at him like he’s insane.

Kate later is crying by herself, and unLocke apologizes to her. He says he told Claire the Others had her baby because she needed an enemy to “keep her going.” Kate says that’s very insightful, coming from a dead man. UnLocke says “nobody’s perfect.”

They go for a walk to gaze out over the Hydra Island and unLocke says he’s not a dead man. He knows what Kate is feeling and what she’s going through. A long time ago, he had a crazy mama, which gave him “growing pains” and “problems that I’m still trying to work my way through.” And now, he says, Aaron has a crazy mama.

On the Hydra Island, Sawyer stumbles on the plane wreckage and a big, stinking pile of corpses. Before he can process this, a distraught woman appears, claiming she’s the only one left from the crash. Her name is Zoe, and she says she was collecting firewood when she heard screaming – something killed the other survivors. She starts to grill Sawyer as they head to his canoe, but Sawyer knows a fellow liar and calls her out on it. She whistles for help, and Sawyer is ambushed. “Take me to your leader,” he says with a smirk.

Led at gunpoint, Sawyer arrives at the sub and gets to go down below for a visit with Mr. Widmore. Sawyer remembers him from the freighter debacle and tells Widmore “John Locke” sent him to check out the Hydra. He makes a deal with Widmore that he will tell unLocke it’s clear, bring him to the Hydra and let Widmore kill him. He asks Widmore for safe passage off the island in exchange. They shake.

But remember, Sawyer is an excellent liar, so as soon as he’s back with unLocke, he spills about Widmore. He says how Widmore’s people are setting up pillars that look like the old Dharma security system designed to keep out Smokey. Locke thanks him for his loyalty.

Sawyer’s only loyal to Sawyer, though, because later, over a campfire, he tells Kate what happened at the Hydra Island. “I’m going to let them fight it out,” he says of Widmore and unLocke. And as soon as they’re distracted, he and Kate are taking the sub and getting off the island.

No major revelations, but we’re seeing how the different sides are lining up. And next week promises some good stuff – we’ll finally get Richard Alpert’s backstory.

 

---

Sawyer’s Back and More (Spoilerish)

Posted Mar 16, 2010 by Courtney Cairns Pastor

Updated Mar 17, 2010 at 11:44 AM

Finally, our eye candy—I mean, Sawyer—is back tonight. Locke is giving him a mission, and it could encounter some interesting characters. Here’s the sorta spoiler—guest starring tonight is Charles Widmore, the dearly deceased Charlotte and ... Charlie’s brother. Not sure where Liam Pace fits in this or who will appear on the island and who is popping up in a flash-sideways. But it seems like Widmore at least will be in the island timeline, assuming his sub can dock somewhere.

The big question regarding W is whose side is he on, anyway? His rivalry was with Ben for control of the island. We don’t know where he stands with Jacob. He has spent years trying to find the island—could he have been looking for it just to destroy it? Seems unlikely to me. He also was pretty insistant that Locke return to the island, although he couldn’t have known Locke would return as a dead guy to be inhabited by Smokey. Could he?

---

Lost: How well do you remember ‘Dr. Linus’ episode?

Posted Mar 16, 2010 by Clarisa Gerlach

Updated Mar 16, 2010 at 01:30 PM

So I did much better on usatoday.com’s weekly quiz on the “Dr. Linus” episode than I did last week remembering Sayid’s story. Told you I liked Ben. I got 15-20 and some of the questions were tricky! Excuses, excuses. Well, how did you do?

Missed Sawyer the past couple of weeks? Tonight we’re back to his story. Again, I won’t mention the episode’s title because a good friend and super Lost fan says they could be considered spoilers.

---