Initial Reaction to "Ab Aeterno"

WOW. That was so incredibly compelling. I was in the story from beginning to end. The storytelling in this episode was gripping and heart-wrenching. I don't think that I've ever been this quickly invested into a character's backstory since we were first introduced to Desmond's story in Live Together, Die Alone. From the moment we saw Ricardo on that horse; I was sold. I'm excited, so enough with the chit-chat, let's talk, in great detail, about how incredible this episode was.

From Lostpedia

Here are some of my thoughts, questions, and theories on "Ab Aeterno" (Some of which were written while viewing the episode.):

Questions:

• What caused Ilana's injuries? Why is she in Russia?
• Did Jacob heal Ilana? 
• How long have Jacob and Ilana known eachother? 
• How exactly did they meet?
• Why does Jacob think that Richard will know what to do?
• What is Ilana's significance to the island? What is her purpose?
• Why does she have to protect the candidates?
• What has Ilana been doing to prepare?
• Who are the six candidates exactly?
• Did Jacob know what would happen from the beginning? How?
• How long ago did Jacob visit Ilana in the Russian hospital?
• What form does Isabella take when she appears to Ricardo? Is she a manifestation of the Smoke Monster?
• How long have Jacob and the Man in Black been on the island?
• How many people have been to the island before Ricardo and the Black Rock?
• How long has Jacob been bringing people to the island for?
• Are Jacob and the Man in Black the same person?
• Can we please get that dude's name already?
• Why doesn't Ricardo want to ever die? Why would he want to live forever?
• Will the Man in Black kill whoever takes Jacob's place?

From Lostpedia

Notes:

• "Ab Aeterno" means "Since the Beginning" or "From Eternity" in Latin.
• I really didn't expect to see that Ilana flashback in the beginning. That kind of caught me off guard. I definitely panicked a little bit. I was all "Oh, no. This isn't a Richard Alpert flashback?! Frak you Damon and Carlton!" and of course I was quickly relieved from my worries. 
• Ummm.. Jack? I'm pretty sure that this all has been explained to you like five times already.
• I'm pretty sure that telling everyone that you were trying to kill yourself is kind of personal, Richard. For once, Jack was actually a good doctor.
• Do I want to know a secret? YES! Richard. Tell me everything. I have time.
• "You want to know a secret, Jack? Something I've known for a long, long time? You're dead. We're all dead. Every single one of us, and this, all this... It's not what you think it is. We're not on an island. We never were. We're in hell." Richard
• Obviously, Richard Alpert has no clue. All this time, they had us thinking he was this all-knowing character and it turns out that he was just following some dude blindly.
• Oh, here we go again with the "It's purgatory!" theories. I thought we put this to rest, Darlton? Stop giving people something to hang on to. And yes, I know that "hell" isn't purgatory, but it still feeds the fire.
• Furthermore, if it did end up being purgatory, I can't see myself possibly liking that very much, considering they denied it from the very beginning and therefore has little plausibility in my mind.
• I also can't help but think that they are purposing poking fun at the audience when they throw these things in there, like they have many times before.
• Alpert has lost his mind, Jack? Really? And you haven't, crazy face mirror-breaker?
• "Oh, this should be interesting." Ben
• I love how Sun is the one filling in clueless Jack on the details.
• "If it's any consolation, it's not exactly Locke." Ben
• I love Jorge Garcia getting to speak Spanish.
• Not everything is about you, Jack.
• "No, Frank. I was a kid. Richard looked just like he does today." Ben "You're saying this guy doesn't age?" Frank "That's exactly what I'm saying." Ben "And how the hell do you think that happened?" Frank
• My first thought on the flashback was "OMFG THIS IS AWESOME!" Seriously.
• Is that sexy Richard Alpert? Like sexy Widmore and sexy flashforward Kate and Sayid.
• Tenerife, Canary Islands, 1867.
• Damn, Richard Alpert must be about 180 years old.
• In The Constant it was stated that "The Black Rock set sail from Portsmouth, England, on March 22, 1845 on a trading mission to the Kingdom of Siam, when she was tragically lost at sea. The only known artifact of this journey is the journal of the ship's first mate, which was discovered among the artifacts of pirates on the Isle Santa-Marie off the coast of Madagascar seven years later. The contents of this journal have never been made public, or known to anyone outside the family of the seller, Tovard Hanso." 
• While this may seem to be a continuity error, it may very well be possible that (1) The Black Rock may have time traveled somehow during the years of 1845 and 1867. (2) They (writers) were somehow trying to correct the dynamite error they made previously, which was something that was a big deal early-on, considering dynamite wasn't invented until 1867. (3) The Black Rock did, in fact, set sail from Portsmouth, England in 1845. However, it didn't travel to the Canary Islands until 1867 or sometime before then, where they picked up some dynamite, which was recently invented, and some slaves, namely Ricardo. It is entirely possible that, after leaving port from England, the Black Rock lost contact for some time, or just simply moved on to other things after it was lost at sea, such as the New World. Yes, that makes the most sense of all. (4) Gregg Nations is off his game this season. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and say that's not it.
• It's really cool to see Richard Alpert speak Spanish.
• Ricardo's wife's name was Isabella. She has Tuberculosis.
• "Close your eyes. We'll always be together." Isabella
• When exactly did Richard go from Ricardo to Ricardus, and then to Richard? I mean, I guess he has had a long ass time to get sick of a name and move on to the next. Does only Jacob call him Ricardus?
• For the record, from now on, I'm calling Richard "Ricardo." It's just so much more awesome.
• Ricardo lives near El Socorro. A half a day's journey from the doctor's house.
• That doctor is a total douche.
• Ricardo killing the doctor accidentally by making him hit his head reminds me of when Desmond accidentally killed Kelvin in Live Together, Die Alone.
• Dammit. I knew she'd be dead by the time he got back.
• Ricardo was reading St. Luke, Chapter 4 in an English Bible.
• Ricardo says that he as learning English to go to the New World with his wife, where they could start a family and a new life.
• What a douchey Priest. He's obviously crooked and money-hungry.
• "I'm afraid the Devil awaits you in Hell. May God have mercy on your soul." Priest
• The Priest sells Ricardo to Whitfield, who says that he's not property of Captain Magnus Hanso.
• Magnus Hanso is Captain of the Black Rock, and Whitfield is one of his Officers.
• Mr. Whitfield? Nice one, Darlton.
• Ricardo says that he worked in the fields. It's nice to see that Ricardo was once a blue-collar working man.
• The Black Rock in the storm, with the statue of Tawaret and the island in the distance was awesome.
• You know, the Special/Visual Effects Department on LOST gets a bad rap sometimes. On the surface of things, you don't realize just how much work they do that goes unnoticed. That includes The Temple, the four-toed statue, the Lighthouse and The Black Rock. They really do a great job on making those things look cool. They deserve some credit for that.
• "The island is guarded by the Devil."
• So, it was a storm that put the Black Rock in the middle of the island? Well, I guess there could have been a really high tide. That was one HUGE storm. Also, I assume that it was more the huge wave than the Black Rock that destroyed the statue and sent the ship into the middle of the island.
• On deck of the ship, we hear one of the Officers notify Whitfield that Captain Hanso is dead.
• We never actually see Magnus Hanso's face. Clearly the writers are fucking with us on purpose. 
• Whitfield says that they were shipwrecked in the middle of the jungle, that they have no fresh water, limited supplies, and there are only five Officers left. He says that if he freed the slaves, it would only be a matter of time before they tried to kill him. He has a point.
• The Smoke Monster sounds, shadows seen inside the Black Rock, blood dripping down from the grating above, and then Smokey shuffling through it was just awesome.
• The Smoke Monster takes photographs of Ricardo's memories, and perhaps even judges him.
• Nice how they threw in a close-up of Ricardo's (Nestor Carbonell) eye. I assume that was thrown in there for the fans, Mr. Guyliner.
• The boar eating that dead dude was gross.
• According to Geronimo Jack's Beard, Nestor Carbonell apparently drank dirty water off the floor for nothing, because the scene was cut. I'd like to see that show up in the deleted scenes for the Season 6 DVD Box Set.
• So, the Man in Black was the Smoke Monster even way back then? How old is that dude? This is getting really interesting.
• I'm not sure that Isabella's appearance to Ricardo is the Smoke Monster. Mainly because we can hear the Smoke Monster outside the Black Rock while she is inside talking to Ricardo. To my knowledge, we have never seen Smokey and smoke-form and manifest himself as a person at the same time. We've seen him switch between the two, but not both at the same time. Maybe I'm wrong.
• Jesus! They pulled a Juliet and killed her twice.
• As soon as I saw the hand, I knew that was MIB.
• Now we know that Jacob and MIB were on the island well before 1867 and that MIB was Smokey at least before that time.
• "It's good to see you out of those chains." MIB
• Man, how long was Ricardo trying to get free? His wrists were RAW.
• Hey, Ricardo? Ask "Who are you?" or "What's your name, dude?" Come on!!
• "I'm afraid there's only one way to escape from Hell. You're going to have to kill the Devil." MIB 
• The Man in Black tells Ricardo "You only have once chance. Put this through his chest. Do no hesitate. Do not let him say a word. If he speaks, it will already bee too late. He can be very persuasive." and gives him the dagger, which is the same thing that Dogen told Sayid about killing MIB.
• "The Devil betrayed me. He took my body. My humanity." MIB
• So, that's not "Esau" (MIB)'s original body? How many times has this dude shape-shifted?
• More proof that they might be the same person, entity or being.
• Ricardo goes to the beach to kill Jacob. The door on the base of the statue is opened.
• I like how you don't see Jacob the whole time he's kicking Ricardo's ass. It's almost like they're saying that Jacob's too pure and "good" to be seen that way.
• Man, Jacob's PISSED.
• Nice baptism job there, Jacob.
• "Still think you're dead?!" Jacob
• Also, according to Nestor Carbonell on Geronimo Jack's Beard, Mark Pellegrino is a Black belt in Taekwondo and a Brown Belt in Jiu Jitsu. 
• "That's the first sensible thing you've said." Jacob
• Jacob said "No one comes in unless I invite them in." So, what does that mean about "Locke" (MIB) and Ben? Did he somehow invite them in? Did he have this all planned? It seems like they are insinuating something by having Jacob say that line.
• "My name is Jacob. I'm the one who brought your ship to this island." Jacob
• Is the Black Rock the same ship that we see in the opening scene of The Incident? I'm not sure if they're trying to show us that this was a different ship considering the storm.
• "Think of this wine as what you keep calling Hell. There's many other names for it too--malevolence, evil, darkness--and here it is, swirling around in the bottle, unable to get out, because if it did, it would spread. The cork is this island, and it's the only thing keeping the darkness where it belongs. That man who sent you to kill me believes that everyone is corruptible because it is in their very nature to sin. I bring people here to prove him wrong, and when they get here, their past doesn't matter." Jacob
• "Before you brought my ship, there were others?" Ricardo "Yes. Many." Jacob "What happened to them?" Ricardo "They're all dead." Jacob
• I'm kind of with MIB on this one. Look at the island and everyone who's ended up there. They are all corruptible sinners. As MIB said "They come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt."
• "Well, if you brought them here, why didn't you help them?" Ricardo "Because, I wanted them to help themselves. To know the difference between right and wrong without me having to tell them. It's all meaningless if I have to force them to do anything." Jacob
• So, Jacob does believe in freewill. Except, it's obvious that when given the choice, all of this people have chosen the side of Evil.
• "Do you want a job?" Jacob
• "If I don't want to step in, maybe you can do it for me. You can be my representative. An intermediary between me and the people I bring to the island." Jacob
• No dice, Ricardo. Man, Jacob won't give him his wife or absolution for his sins.
• "I never want to die. I want to live forever." Ricardo "Now, that I can do." Jacob
• Jacob touches Ricardo on the shoulder.
• "You let him talk to you, didn't you?" MIB
• Jacob gives Ricardo a white rock to give to MIB.
• "I understand. He can be very convincing. But, I want you to know, if you ever change your mind, and I mean ever. My offer still stands." MIB
• The Man in Black gives Ricardo his wife's cross back.
• Ricardo buries the cross because he doesn't have a body to bury and say goodbye to.
• Uh, how come no one has found Stonehenge on the island? Come on now, guys.
• I love how the cross stays buried under like four inches of dirt for like 140 years.
• "I've changed my mind. Does the offer still stand?" Richard
• Hurley tells Richard that "Sometimes, it takes people a while." which reminds me of what Jacob told him about Jack needing to see the mirror to believe that he was important.
• "She says your English is awesome." Hurley
• Isabella appears to Hurley and not Richard because she is dead, not the Smoke Monster.
• "She wants you to close your eyes." Hurley
• "She said you have to stop the Man in Black. You have to stop him from leaving the island. Because if you don't--we all go to Hell." Hurley
• I love the look on Locke's face. I thought that was definitely going to be the note the episode ended on. But now, there's more...
• The white rock that MIB holds when he talks to Jacob is totally a different rock than the one that Ricardo gave him on Jacob's behalf. Perhaps he lost the first one. Maybe there was a hole in his pocket.
• "Don't gloat, Jacob. It doesn't become you." MIB
• "As long as I'm alive, you're not going anywhere." Jacob "Well, then now you know why I want to kill you. And I will kill you, Jacob." MIB "Even if you do, somebody else will take my place." Jacob "Well, then I'll kill them too." MIB
• Jacob gives MIB the bottle of wine. MIB smashes it.
• "Here. Something for you to pass the time." Jacob
• This episode is filled with all sorts of metaphors and symbolism.
• It was nice to have a flashback instead of a sideways this week.
• This episode is fantastic. Best so far this season.
• Nestor Carbonell did a great job.
• The costume/wardrobe and makeup/hair departments did an outstanding job in this episode.
• I also loved the lighting in this episode. Very dark.
• You know what else I absolutely love? The Richard Alpert theme. Well done, Giacchino.
• LOST officially just stepped it up a few notches.

Nestor Carbonell is now my favorite actor on this show. He did such a fantastic job. It was so great to finally see what Richard Alpert is all about. Especially after how long we waited for his backstory. It was well-worth the wait, and makes sense that it was only shown until now. It seems more relevant to the overall story right now. Although, I had no idea it would be so emotional. For the first time since Penny and Desmond, there's a relationship on this show that's actually real, and that I can feel somewhat emotional about. I really liked how it was a period piece that we were immediately sucked into, and that the story was on-going. It's not my favorite episode ever, and I still don't believe that anything can surpass The Constant, but "Ab Aeterno" is definitely up there. It had just absolutely fantastic storytelling. It's one of those episodes that I will be watching again and again and again... "From Eternity."