Lost: Season 6, Episode 9 "Ab Aeterno" Review

"You're going to have to kill the Devil."

-The Man in Black

 

"Ab Aeterno" picks up with Ilana's (Zuleikha Robinson) group discussing what to do next.  Ilana says that Richard (Nestor Carbonell) knows what they should do.  Richard denies knowing anything except that they are all dead and in hell.  He storms off into the jungle planning to join the Man in Black's (Terry O'Quinn) group.

In flashbacks, we learn that Richard was living in the Canary Islands in 1867 when his wife, Isabella (Mirelly Taylor), became ill.  He went to a doctor (Jose Yenque) for help, but could not afford the medication and accidentally killed the doctor when he tried to take it anyway.  Richard returned home to find Isabella had succumbed to her illness.  He was arrested and sentenced to death.

At Richard's final confession, the priest (Juan Carlos Cantu) refused to forgive Richard's sins. Just before being hanged, Richard was sold into slavery and sent aboard the Black Rock for the new world.  The Black Rock ended up being shipwrecked on the Island and an attack from the Monster left Richard as the only survivor.

Isabella appeared to Richard and told him they were dead and in hell.  The Monster returned and appeared to kidnap her.  As Richard failed to escape his shackles and seemed doomed to dehydration, he was rescued by the Man in Black in his original look (Titus Welliver).  The Man in Black agreed to help Richard if Richard helped him in return.  He sent Richard to kill the Devil in order to free Isabella and escape hell.

The Devil turned out to be Jacob (Mark Pellegrino) who got the jump on Richard and disarmed him.  He convinced Richard that he was not actually dead nor in hell.  He explained that he and the Man in Black were in an eternal conflict over the true nature of mankind.  The Man in Black wanted to prove that mankind was corrupt and Jacob refused to get involved personally to prove that they could be good.  When Richard pointed out that the Man in Black was influencing people directly, Jacob offered Richard a job as his representative and in return Jacob made Richard immortal.  Jacob also explained that that the Island protected the rest of the world from the spread of evil.

Richard returned to the Man in Black, who said he understood why Richard joined Jacob's side.  He said Richard could rejoin him at any time if he changed his mind.  Finally, he gave Richard a cross that had belonged to Isabella.  Richard buried it and left.

In the present, Richard digs up the cross, but before he can go to join the Man in Black, Hurley (Jorge Garcia) and says Isabella is standing next to Richard.  Hurley tells Richard what Isabella is saying and they convince Richard not to join the Man in Black.

In a final flashback, Jacob and the Man in Black discuss the attempt on Jacob's life.  The Man in Black promised to kill Jacob and anyone who tries to take his place.

What Works:

Nestor Carbonell is absolutely incredible in this episode and gives his best performance of the series.  It's awesome to finally learn who Richard was and how he truly came to be.  Richard suffers a lot in this episode and Carbonell does an excellent job of conveying that pain.

The music also really enhances the episode and Richard's suffering.  It has an epic and tragic sound to it and it's some of my favorite music in a show that has some of the best music in all of television.  We don't get a ton of Richard's theme on Lost.  If I remember correctly, it only shows up here and in "The End," so I have to address it now and enjoy it despite how brief a moment it is.

This is the first episode to really show us how grand in scale the conflict is between Jacob and the Man in Black.  It feels biblical in proportion and Richard truly feels like the smallest of pawns for most of the episode.  It really works for me.  I love watching these two talk and explain things to a 3rd party for once without being overly mysterious.

Finally, I love watching the Man in Black in action.  He spends most of the episode breaking Richard down as much as he can in order to more effectively manipulate him.  This is an episode that improves on rewatch because you know who the Man in Black is and exactly what he is up to.  His plan fails, but it's still brutal and impressive work.

What Sucks:

I'm not a big fan of the campfire scene with Ilana's group.  While it's nice to get our characters up to speed, the dialogue feels really expository.  Parts of it are definitely forced and make the scene feel unnatural.  Apart from Richard's unhinged laugh, this scene has always fallen flat for me.

Platinum Polar Bear:

The Platinum Polar Bear goes to the most competent character of the episode.  For "Ab Aeterno," this award goes to Hurley for convincing Richard to rejoin Ilana's group by translating for Isabella.  This is Hurley's 9th time winning this award, which ties him for 4th place with the Man in Black and Sawyer.

Verdict:

Once you get past the exposition at the beginning of the episode, "Ab Aeterno" does a great job of giving us a grand and epic scope for the rest of the show.  Nestor Carbonell gives a wonderful performance and shows us the suffering that Richard has gone through and we get to see more of the conflict between Jacob and the Man in Black.  Plus the score is beautiful.  This episode has definitely got it going on.

 9/10: Great