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*** Official Lost Season 6 *** (1 Viewer)

And I don't think it really HAD to be Locke, but rather Locke was the most logical choice, as the flight needed to be as close to the same as it was when the first crashed, and he just so happened to be a vessel MIB could use.Or, maybe Farraday's mother knew all along that MIB could take over Lockes body, and that was the sole reason for her insistance they all go, they all didn't really need to go, but if she said they did, it explained away why they had to bring a dead body.
I don't have a problem with MiB morphing into Locke - it's weird, but that's fine.I just want to know how Ben's group and the Others are associated with MiB.Did no one including Eloise have any idea this was going to happen if they did this?I don't see how Ben isn't associated with MiB somehow... i mean, in that one episode when Keamy's group was on the island, he went in and unleashed a switch that let the smoke monster out to wipe those dudes out.So they're like friends and stuff, right?My head hurts. I'm still not sure if this is completely dumb or potentially interesting.
That is awfully strange, because at the same time that little mechanism was there, they also had the Sonic Wall little tesla coils up preventing the smoke monster from getting in, correct?
 
And I don't think it really HAD to be Locke, but rather Locke was the most logical choice, as the flight needed to be as close to the same as it was when the first crashed, and he just so happened to be a vessel MIB could use.Or, maybe Farraday's mother knew all along that MIB could take over Lockes body, and that was the sole reason for her insistance they all go, they all didn't really need to go, but if she said they did, it explained away why they had to bring a dead body.
I don't have a problem with MiB morphing into Locke - it's weird, but that's fine.I just want to know how Ben's group and the Others are associated with MiB.Did no one including Eloise have any idea this was going to happen if they did this?I don't see how Ben isn't associated with MiB somehow... i mean, in that one episode when Keamy's group was on the island, he went in and unleashed a switch that let the smoke monster out to wipe those dudes out.So they're like friends and stuff, right?My head hurts. I'm still not sure if this is completely dumb or potentially interesting.
I tend to agree with Harry Manback and The Dude in that it didn't HAVE to be Locke, but he was convenient and MiB already planted the seed in him that he would have to die to make things right. Not right by John Locke, but right by MiB.When Ilana, etc. brought Locke back, I don't think they knew they were reincarnating Locke into UnLocke. I think Jacob somehow knew that MiB would manifest himself as Locke and thus he instructed Ilana to bring Locke's corpse back so they could have proof that MiB had manifested himself with a different look.Ben's and his former followers were associated with MiB because he's apparently been guiding Ben all along, when they were under the assumption it was Jacob.I wouldn't say they're "friends" but MiB seemingly has a history of keeping people he needs to do his dirty work around.
 
That is awfully strange, because at the same time that little mechanism was there, they also had the Sonic Wall little tesla coils up preventing the smoke monster from getting in, correct?
The fence could be disabled to allow people to go in and out and once the mercs were in, I presumed that the sonic fence was disabled, therefore there was nothing preventing Smokey from getting in once Ben used the summoning mechanism.
 
And I don't think it really HAD to be Locke, but rather Locke was the most logical choice, as the flight needed to be as close to the same as it was when the first crashed, and he just so happened to be a vessel MIB could use.Or, maybe Farraday's mother knew all along that MIB could take over Lockes body, and that was the sole reason for her insistance they all go, they all didn't really need to go, but if she said they did, it explained away why they had to bring a dead body.
I don't have a problem with MiB morphing into Locke - it's weird, but that's fine.I just want to know how Ben's group and the Others are associated with MiB.Did no one including Eloise have any idea this was going to happen if they did this?I don't see how Ben isn't associated with MiB somehow... i mean, in that one episode when Keamy's group was on the island, he went in and unleashed a switch that let the smoke monster out to wipe those dudes out.So they're like friends and stuff, right?My head hurts. I'm still not sure if this is completely dumb or potentially interesting.
I tend to agree with Harry Manback and The Dude in that it didn't HAVE to be Locke, but he was convenient and MiB already planted the seed in him that he would have to die to make things right. Not right by John Locke, but right by MiB.When Ilana, etc. brought Locke back, I don't think they knew they were reincarnating Locke into UnLocke. I think Jacob somehow knew that MiB would manifest himself as Locke and thus he instructed Ilana to bring Locke's corpse back so they could have proof that MiB had manifested himself with a different look.Ben's and his former followers were associated with MiB because he's apparently been guiding Ben all along, when they were under the assumption it was Jacob.I wouldn't say they're "friends" but MiB seemingly has a history of keeping people he needs to do his dirty work around.
Yep, I was originally going to say that Ben thought MIB was Jacob all along, but I still can't explain why Ben would be able to unleash the smoke monster, but also be trying to keep him out of the Others camp.
 
That is awfully strange, because at the same time that little mechanism was there, they also had the Sonic Wall little tesla coils up preventing the smoke monster from getting in, correct?
The fence could be disabled to allow people to go in and out and once the mercs were in, I presumed that the sonic fence was disabled, therefore there was nothing preventing Smokey from getting in once Ben used the summoning mechanism.
Right, but why try to keep something out that you also have the ability to use/control?
 
That is awfully strange, because at the same time that little mechanism was there, they also had the Sonic Wall little tesla coils up preventing the smoke monster from getting in, correct?
The fence could be disabled to allow people to go in and out and once the mercs were in, I presumed that the sonic fence was disabled, therefore there was nothing preventing Smokey from getting in once Ben used the summoning mechanism.
Didn't Ben pull some plug from a drain (like a cork from a bottle!)? Maybe that was then a way in (and around/under) the fence.
 
Harry Manback said:
Sack-Religious said:
Dr. No said:
Harry Manback said:
And I don't think it really HAD to be Locke, but rather Locke was the most logical choice, as the flight needed to be as close to the same as it was when the first crashed, and he just so happened to be a vessel MIB could use.Or, maybe Farraday's mother knew all along that MIB could take over Lockes body, and that was the sole reason for her insistance they all go, they all didn't really need to go, but if she said they did, it explained away why they had to bring a dead body.
I don't have a problem with MiB morphing into Locke - it's weird, but that's fine.I just want to know how Ben's group and the Others are associated with MiB.Did no one including Eloise have any idea this was going to happen if they did this?I don't see how Ben isn't associated with MiB somehow... i mean, in that one episode when Keamy's group was on the island, he went in and unleashed a switch that let the smoke monster out to wipe those dudes out.So they're like friends and stuff, right?My head hurts. I'm still not sure if this is completely dumb or potentially interesting.
I tend to agree with Harry Manback and The Dude in that it didn't HAVE to be Locke, but he was convenient and MiB already planted the seed in him that he would have to die to make things right. Not right by John Locke, but right by MiB.When Ilana, etc. brought Locke back, I don't think they knew they were reincarnating Locke into UnLocke. I think Jacob somehow knew that MiB would manifest himself as Locke and thus he instructed Ilana to bring Locke's corpse back so they could have proof that MiB had manifested himself with a different look.Ben's and his former followers were associated with MiB because he's apparently been guiding Ben all along, when they were under the assumption it was Jacob.I wouldn't say they're "friends" but MiB seemingly has a history of keeping people he needs to do his dirty work around.
Yep, I was originally going to say that Ben thought MIB was Jacob all along, but I still can't explain why Ben would be able to unleash the smoke monster, but also be trying to keep him out of the Others camp.
I'd have to go back and check the transcript, but IIRC, Ben told people to hide when he went to summon Smokey because once summoned, he can't control it. Or something to that effect. Generally speaking, he'd want to keep his people safe. But, given that his group was outgunned by the mercs who were about to overrun New Otherton, he didn't have much choice but to call on Smokey to take them out and I believe he was hoping like hell that none of his people were collateral damage.
 
Sundays Rule said:
Joseph said:
Sundays Rule said:
Still wondering where all the ghosts come from.
dead people...What kind of answer are you looking for, that they arrived on the sub during one of Dharma's recruiting drives?
How are they manifesting, is it in the very nature of the island? Is it Jacob, MIB? A combination of all three?
Huh? How is this guy talking to ghosts? You got me, he just does.
 
I suppose that fence could have (and actually likely was) built by Dharma and wasn't really used by the Others to keep smokey out, but rather keep everyone else out.

Remember back in the beginning whenever the Others would show up to attack the Losties there would be that weird whispering sound?

Doesn't that sound come from Smokey?

Anyone?

 
Harry Manback said:
Sack-Religious said:
Harry Manback said:
That is awfully strange, because at the same time that little mechanism was there, they also had the Sonic Wall little tesla coils up preventing the smoke monster from getting in, correct?
The fence could be disabled to allow people to go in and out and once the mercs were in, I presumed that the sonic fence was disabled, therefore there was nothing preventing Smokey from getting in once Ben used the summoning mechanism.
Right, but why try to keep something out that you also have the ability to use/control?
:thumbdown: maybe he didn't summon smokey but just took a chance that by shutting down part/all of the fence that Smokey would show up and do his dirty work for him...
 
Sack-Religious said:
Dr. No said:
Harry Manback said:
And I don't think it really HAD to be Locke, but rather Locke was the most logical choice, as the flight needed to be as close to the same as it was when the first crashed, and he just so happened to be a vessel MIB could use.Or, maybe Farraday's mother knew all along that MIB could take over Lockes body, and that was the sole reason for her insistance they all go, they all didn't really need to go, but if she said they did, it explained away why they had to bring a dead body.
I don't have a problem with MiB morphing into Locke - it's weird, but that's fine.I just want to know how Ben's group and the Others are associated with MiB.Did no one including Eloise have any idea this was going to happen if they did this?I don't see how Ben isn't associated with MiB somehow... i mean, in that one episode when Keamy's group was on the island, he went in and unleashed a switch that let the smoke monster out to wipe those dudes out.So they're like friends and stuff, right?My head hurts. I'm still not sure if this is completely dumb or potentially interesting.
I tend to agree with Harry Manback and The Dude in that it didn't HAVE to be Locke, but he was convenient and MiB already planted the seed in him that he would have to die to make things right. Not right by John Locke, but right by MiB.When Ilana, etc. brought Locke back, I don't think they knew they were reincarnating Locke into UnLocke. I think Jacob somehow knew that MiB would manifest himself as Locke and thus he instructed Ilana to bring Locke's corpse back so they could have proof that MiB had manifested himself with a different look.Ben's and his former followers were associated with MiB because he's apparently been guiding Ben all along, when they were under the assumption it was Jacob.I wouldn't say they're "friends" but MiB seemingly has a history of keeping people he needs to do his dirty work around.
This is my biggest point of confusion, I thought Ben said he had never seen nor spoken to Jacob. Richard was always the middle man, how was Ben being manipulated for years by MIB then?
 
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I suppose that fence could have (and actually likely was) built by Dharma and wasn't really used by the Others to keep smokey out, but rather keep everyone else out.Remember back in the beginning whenever the Others would show up to attack the Losties there would be that weird whispering sound?Doesn't that sound come from Smokey?Anyone?
The whispers mean the Others are nearby. The receipt printing sound means Smokey is nearby.From the season 3 episode. The Shape of Things to Come. Ben knew exactly what he was doing.
Some time later (after dark), Sawyer is shouting and beating on the blast door that closed behind Ben as he went into his secret room, when Claire emerges from another room carrying Aaron and asks "What's going on?". Sawyer asks Claire "You all right, sweetheart?" and she tells him "Yeah, a bit wobbly, but, uh, I'll live." to which Miles replies "Well, I wouldn't be too sure about that." Just as Miles is saying this, Ben emerges from his secret room covered in black soot. He orders everyone to exit the house in one minute and to run for the tree line on his command. A rumbling is heard and the Monster, much larger than it has been seen previously, thunders into the camp and plunges into the tree line. The Monster is shown as multiple thick columns of black smoke, cutting through the trees. There is some sort of electrical discharge going off inside the smoke, which causes a flashing white light and crackling noises. The survivors watch in awe as it attacks the mercenaries in the woods, with Locke and Hurley questioning Ben's seeming ability to summon the Monster. As it draws farther away, Locke and the survivors escape into the jungle, while Ben lingers momentarily to say goodbye to his daughter. ♪ Claire, Aaron, Hurley, Sawyer, Miles, Ben and Locke are apparently the only survivors of the mercenary attack.
Transcript:
[in the jungle, the military team from the freighter leads Alex, her hands bound and her eyes blindfolded.] KEAMY: Stop here. On your knees. Get on your knees. [He shoves Alex to the ground, then removes her blindfold. She's at the edge of the sonar fence, a numbered keypad before her.] KEAMY: Turn this thing off. ALEX: P-please. There's a baby with them. Just promise you won't... [Keamy cocks a pistol at her head.] KEAMY: Turn the fence off. [she enters 1-6-2-3.] ALEX: Okay. It's off. [We hear the woosh of the fence deactivating.] --------------------------------------------------------[in a different house, the one where Jack stayed, Ben plays the piano. Sawyer and Locke barge in.] LOCKE: What's "code 14-J"? [ben's eyes go wide.] BEN: Where did you hear that? LOCKE: The phone rang. I picked it up. A voice kept repeating, "code 14-J". [ben jumps to his feet, opens up the piano bench, and extracts a shotgun. Sawyer steps back in threatened shock, going for his pistol. Before Sawyer can draw, Ben cocks the weapon and hands it to Sawyer.] BEN: We need to get to the other house. It's easier to fortify, and we'll have better position on the tree lines. [ben rushes for the door.] LOCKE: What are you talking about? BEN: They're here. [ben opens the front door and walks out.] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[back in Ben's house, Sawyer pounds on the closed outer secret door.] SAWYER: Open the damn door! Son of a ##### just left us here. Open the damn door! [Hurley emerges with Claire, who's carrying Aaron.] CLAIRE: What's going on? LOCKE: Claire? SAWYER: You all right, sweetheart? CLAIRE: Yeah, a bit wobbly, but, uh, I'll live. MILES: Well, I wouldn't be too sure about that. [The secret door slides up, and Ben emerges, pushing past Sawyer.] BEN: Excuse me, James. SAWYER: 'Scuse you? [ben picks up the walkie-talkie from the couch and pockets it.] SAWYER: What were you doing in there? BEN: Okay, listen to me very carefully: I need all of you to do exactly as I say. In a minute, we have to run from this house as fast as we can. At that moment, when I give the order, I want you to head straight for the tree line. HURLEY: You mean towards the guys with guns? BEN: No, we want to be as far away from them as possible. [The house starts to shake. An earthquake? Glass shatters. Ben peers out the window. A giant billowing centipede of smoke barrels out of the tree line like a freight train bound for hell, lightning arcing inside the black smoke. It roars and chitters and sweeps up a little tail of smoke behind it as it passes Ben's house.] BEN: Okay, outside. Outside now! [Locke, Ben, Sawyer, Hurley, Claire, and Aaron rush outside. Ben leads and watches as the muzzle flashes and lightning bolts light up the night in strobe. Gunfire can be heard, and shouting, and the terrible deep roar of the Monster. Black smoke curls and twists around in the jungle. Distantly, men shout orders in chaos.] LOCKE: What did you do? [ben does not answer. A tree uproots.] HURLEY: Did you just call that thing? [A man in fatigues carrying a machine gun runs toward the group. Sawyer readies to shoot him, but no need. The soldier kneels down and fires his weapon vainly into the smoke. The monster envelopes him and shoots a tentacle at him that knocks him to the ground, wraps around him, and drags him away, clawing at the turf, leaving his gun behind. The man disappears into the jungle screaming in terror. Miles looks on incredulously, then turns chicken and runs the opposite direction.] DISTANT VOICE: Fall back! SAWYER: (To Claire and Hurley) Go! Go, go! BEN: Head for the trees. I'll catch up with you. LOCKE: Hey, where are you going? BEN: I have to say good-bye to my daughter, John. [ben extends a hand. Locke hands him one of the shotguns he carries, then runs off. Ben solemnly staggers to the dead body of his daughter Alex, and turns her over. He kneels down and sobs, then kisses her tenderly on the forehead, which is streaked with blood.]
He may not have said it there, but I'm pretty sure at some point he mentioned being able to summon it, but not control it once released.
 
Sack-Religious said:
Dr. No said:
Harry Manback said:
And I don't think it really HAD to be Locke, but rather Locke was the most logical choice, as the flight needed to be as close to the same as it was when the first crashed, and he just so happened to be a vessel MIB could use.Or, maybe Farraday's mother knew all along that MIB could take over Lockes body, and that was the sole reason for her insistance they all go, they all didn't really need to go, but if she said they did, it explained away why they had to bring a dead body.
I don't have a problem with MiB morphing into Locke - it's weird, but that's fine.I just want to know how Ben's group and the Others are associated with MiB.Did no one including Eloise have any idea this was going to happen if they did this?I don't see how Ben isn't associated with MiB somehow... i mean, in that one episode when Keamy's group was on the island, he went in and unleashed a switch that let the smoke monster out to wipe those dudes out.So they're like friends and stuff, right?My head hurts. I'm still not sure if this is completely dumb or potentially interesting.
I tend to agree with Harry Manback and The Dude in that it didn't HAVE to be Locke, but he was convenient and MiB already planted the seed in him that he would have to die to make things right. Not right by John Locke, but right by MiB.When Ilana, etc. brought Locke back, I don't think they knew they were reincarnating Locke into UnLocke. I think Jacob somehow knew that MiB would manifest himself as Locke and thus he instructed Ilana to bring Locke's corpse back so they could have proof that MiB had manifested himself with a different look.Ben's and his former followers were associated with MiB because he's apparently been guiding Ben all along, when they were under the assumption it was Jacob.I wouldn't say they're "friends" but MiB seemingly has a history of keeping people he needs to do his dirty work around.
Locke's not the key here; Ben is.MIB was really looking to manipulate Ben into killing Jacob. Between the manifestation in the temple (appearing as Alex) and Ben's having killed Locke (although how MIB knew - could he have manipulated Ben into killing Locke off-island???) put MIB in a position (as Locke) to push Ben into knifing Jacob.So I'm not so sure who else it could have been if not Locke. Who else would have worked to get Ben to do the dirty work?
 
On the blast door map, it marks the Black Rock shipwreck. But the description on the blast door reads: "Known final resting place of Magnus Hanso / Black Rock".And now we saw that Magnus Hanso did die in the wreck. But how would the person who drew the blast door map know Magnus Hanso died there? That's really weird.
The name Hanso has been mentioned many times before. His descendant was one of the ones who setup the Dharma Initiative. Wouldn't have been hard for some of the Dharma people to locate the Black Rock and possibly his body once they were on the island. Guy who drew the blast door map originally was the jerk Dharma guy we saw in the 1977 running the Flame and designing the Hatch that captured Sayid.
 
Don't they give out Emmy's for acting in an individual episode? If so, you have to think the guy who plays Richard is a lock for a nomination, at least.

 
I don't remember it know, but something about the white stone being passed caught my attn.

Did Jacob give him one after the failed attempt to corrupt Richard?

Then later, when they sit down, the Man in Black is holding onto a white stone. Looked smaller, smoother, like he had been carrying it for a long time.

Did I beer hallucinate that?

Did the stone represent bringing someone to Jacob's side? After Jacob died and MiB took Sawyer to the cave he pitched another white one in the ocean.

Is that how they are keeping track of their bet? Collecting souls?

goodstuff.

the hell and penance stuff makes for easy metaphors.

 
Doc Jensen's uber-long recap bonanza.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20313460_20354159,00.html

'Lost' recap: Uncorked

''Ab Aeterno'' puts the spotlight on Richard Alpert, and gives us more insight into Jacob and the Man In Black

It began in the darkest of night, on the shores of a place Richard Alpert called Hell. It ended in Easter daylight, in a lush Eden, with the ageless enigma trembling with much fear and a glimmer of hope. In between, we got a story that asked questions that we've been asking ab aeterno — since the beginning. What is good? What is evil? How do we know the difference? Who knows what is truly best for us? Who should we trust? How do we make moral choices amid such ambiguity? Why must we figure this stuff out on our own? Why don't the gods of the universe play straight with us? How the flaming hell are we supposed to live like this?

''Ab Aeterno'' — the story of two great and powerful and angry gentlemen and a third who wasn't quite sure who or what he was anymore — was miles away from Two and a Half Men. It was a heavy, heady hour of TV suffused with Biblical subtext, scribbled with subtitles, and stuffed with answers for the show's Island mythology, albeit in a fabulist form requiring careful interpretation and a clarification or two. Or more. In addition to getting a story that revealed how Richard Alpert got to The Island, we got a story that revealed more of the historical relationship between Jacob and the Man In Black. Indeed, we got the sense that the battle these two angels/demons/whatchamacallums waged over Alpert's soul was actually the first phase of Man In Black's 240-years-in-the-making Smoke-man from Alcatraz escape plan. The episode used a corked, half-empty jug of wine as a metaphor for The Island as a never-to-be-opened holding container for hell and assorted analogous concepts: malevolence, evil, darkness, more. Jacob said all those words were functional words to characterize the archetype embodied by the Man In Black. (No doubt Smokey's own interpretation of Jacob's symbols would have been be more charitable and ''glass half full.'')

Wine was one of several religious symbols of the Catholic-Christian stripe that ''Ab Aeterno'' employed and subverted. I was reminded of the cryptic Last Supper images that ABC released prior to the season, particularly the one in which the castaways were seen serving and sipping the wine at Fake Locke's Passover table. Jacob might say, ''They're drinking poison!'' Smokey's interpretation? Judging from the way he smashed the bottle/metaphor to bits, maybe he'd say ''They're drinking spirits. I mean, their souls. I'm pouring out and returning their souls to them. Get it? Wine = Spirits = Souls? No? Oh, screw this symbology s--t! It's just a damn bottle of wine!''

NEXT: If you thought 'The Office' and 'Les Miserables' weren't going to come up, you were wrong

''Ab Aeterno'' was a big winner in my book. My guess is that most fans feel the same way. As I write these words, Rainn Wilson, star of The Office, just Tweeted the following: ''Tonight's episode was one of TV's greatest of all time. I'm gay for the eternal Richard Alpert. There I said it.'' It was definitely the most unusual episode Lost has given us this season, a mostly linear tale akin to ''The Other 48 Days'' from season 2, ''Flashes Before Your Eyes'' in Season 3, and ''Meet Kevin Johnson'' from season 4. It was technically a flashback episode, thanks to the Island-set framing story; it was definitely not a Sideways episode. (I will pause a microsecond to allow the silly haters to cheer.) It was also the ninth hour of Lost's 18-hour final season. We're halfway to the finish, and the castaways are halfway to home or oblivion. Which one will it be? Right now, I guess it depends on how you view the jug. But let's crack it open and see if we find clarity. And I promise: a minimum of drunken theorizing this week.

The year: 1867. Ricardo was a handsome and horsey man with spectacular eyelashes and little time for shaving. He was a Spaniard who lived on the largest Canary Islands, Tenerife. (FUN FACT! Tenerife is known for its ancient pyramids believed by some to be a link between Egyptian and Mayan cultures.) Ricardo — brave ruler — had a wife. Isabella. God's promise. God is my oath. Pledged to God. The Penelope to his Desmond. His constant. Totally dug her cheese — but not her bloody coughs. She had TB, and she was dying. We met her close to death, clutching her Bible, ready to make peace with mortality. She was all Rose: Time to let go. But Ricardo was not ready to surrender. He was all Jack: Nothing's irreversible. He stormed off into a raging rain, determined to bring back medicine that would restore her to life. ''I pray that I have enough,'' Ricardo said. The difference between Ricardo and Isabella was where they stored their treasure. Isabella kept it in Heaven; Ricardo kept it on Earth. The chasm would prove significant.

Ricardo galloped to the home of a wealthy doctor dressed in a black vest. He needed help. The Black Vest was too busy gumming some greasy chicken, and what's more, wasn't about to get his fine ebony threads all wet for some poor peasant chick in the sticks. But he had some medicine — pure and white and salt-of-the-earthish. It would help Isabella. But it would cost Ricardo... a lot. Ricardo dumped some coins in Black Vest's hand. More, the doctor wanted. Ricardo gave him his wife's most precious possession, a necklace with a cross pendant — the symbol of her life; her soul; her eternal hope. ''Now you have everything,'' Ricardo said. Black Vest threw it to the ground. It came to rest near the inferno of his fireplace. ''This is worthless,'' he said. Her life meant nothing to him. Medicine, humanitarianism, good Samaritan — all blah blah blah to this monster. Ricardo snapped at the injustice. Grab! Push! Krunk-crack! Thud! Drip drip drip drip.... Black Vest's noggin bashed against his table. He bled out like a spilled jug of wine. Ricardo was now a murderer — but he took the medicine anyway and galloped back home. But Isabella was already dead. Was he simply too late? Or did she die because of his sin? And then the Javerts broke in, and Ricardo was muy miserables.

NEXT: No salvation without degradation?

Ricardo was put in prison and sentenced to die. He spent his remaining days teaching himself English and reading the Bible. He had become converted, or so he believed. We saw him reading Luke chapter 4. In this chapter: Christ's temptation in the wilderness by Satan; Christ beginning his public ministry; Christ citing the proverb ''Physician, heal thyself!''; the story of Christ healing the sick and casting out demons. Yay for born again Ricardo, right? Wrong. He made his final confession to a priest — another man in black. But the priest coldly rejected Ricardo's petition with a brutal ''No.'' It made me wonder if the priest declined the confession because he saw that it wasn't genuine. Ricardo didn't really consider himself guilty of a crime. He called it accidental. He called it killing instead of murder. He didn't view himself as a sinner who needed God. Rather, God was a means to an end — a last gasp hope to be reconciled with Isabella in the heaven of her faith. Still, I think Father Black's further explanation will be one for the theologians amongst us to debate. True repentance requires penance, Father Black said. ''You don't have time... because tomorrow they're going to hang you. I'm afraid the devil awaits you in hell.'' This makes sense. It's kind of galling to think that rapists and serials killers and genocidal maniacs would get a Go Directly To Heaven! card with a simple if sincere spiritual conversion minutes before their execution. But if the monsters invalidate the principal, what about everyone else? Whither the multifold of lesser evil lifelong unbelievers — misunderstood villains, semi-harmless jerks, nice guy agnostics, message board slaggers — who on their deathbeds suddenly get the eternity jitters and bet their spiritual house on Pascal's Wager? Should St. Peter rubberstamp them DENIED and trapdoor drop them into Hades just because they didn't have time to complete the full redemption program?

Regardless, as I listened to Father's Black's pitiless theology, I found myself thinking this theory-thought: If only there was some second-chance place somewhere in the land of the setting sun, where you and other last-chance souls can band together and fight smoke monsters and prove yourself to cryptic gods and successfully score a seat on a flight or sub to Heaven. Could that be a viable theory of The Island?

Ricardo thought he found a different kind of reprieve: slavery. He had told Father Black that he and Isabella had dreamed of leaving their Island and finding new life as new creations in the New World. Father Black tipped off a fellow named Mr. Jonas Whitfield, an officer in the employ of Magnus Hanso, a shipping merchant and slave owner, that Ricardo was basically the kind of guy who'd do anything to stay alive — even suffer dehumanization. Ricardo got a new lease on life by accepting a leash, and he soon found himself in manacles and anklets in the bowels of Hanso's ship: The Black Rock. According an apocryphal quasi-canon texts of Lost, Magnus Hanso was an ancestor of Alvar Hanso, the financier behind The Dharma Initiative. I encourage you to peruse his deets at Lostpedia at your leisure on another occasion.

NEXT: Holy shipwreck!

The Black Rock found itself bumping through the proverbial dark and stormy night. Ricardo and his fellow human cargo worried as their stomachs heaved: This is the end/for us my slavey friends/The End... Their frightened tenor turned apocalyptic when they all peeked through the slats and saw the toothy crocodile grin of towering Taweret on the shores of The Island. Taweret: the Egyptian goddess of pregnancy and childbirth, a former bad girl goddess who redeemed herself and helped keep the god of evil Set in check. Not that the Spaniards knew their Taweret from toejam, but they did know their Dante. ''Inferno,'' SlaveSock intoned. The Black Rock caught a wave and hurtled straight into Taweret's mug. In the aftermath, Taweret lost her head and became The Four Toed Statue, and The Black Rock crashed in the center of The Island, where the impact shattered the ship into a million pieces and Ricardo and his friends died instantly... but then both boat and humans were miraculously reconstructed by a flock of magical talking Hurley birds. All to say that I didn't quite understand how The Black Rock survived The Island belly flop, but I rolled with it because 1. If rolling with it hasn't become an instinctive reflex by now, you better check yourself before you wreck yourself; and 2. It evoked one of Lost's key literary touchstones, The Wizard of Oz. Ricardo and The Black Rock touching down on The Island = Dorothy and her house landing in Oz. Indeed, just like Dorothy's adventure was a fantastical mirror of her hard-luck dustbowl life and plucky spirit, Ricardo's Island origin story played like a ''This is your life!'' phantasmagoria of his hardscrabble underclass existence and religiously shaped/scarred psyche. (P.S.: I know many of you are wondering if Lost made a continuity error regarding the time of day of The Black Rock's arrival. The error assumes that the ship that Jacob and the Man In Black saw last season during the sunny breakfast talk was The Black Rock. I was among those who assumed it was The Black Rock; I am now going to assume that I was simply wrong to have assumed that. See? Error resolved!)

Of course, Ricardo's Island ordeal also followed the beats of the mythical drama that apparently must always play out when castaways arrive on The Island, albeit with some bleak derivations. The Mysterious Island Arrival is followed by The Mad Scramble To Get Our Bearings, followed by A Heroic, Idealistic Embrace Of Live Together, Die Alone Survival Ethos... unless you're two-thirds man slave property and deemed a drain on precious resources, in which case you get skewered through the heart by the designated castaway leader. The scene was Richard's class struggle of life in little deadly strokes. (That scene, with Mr. Whitfield systematically murdering Ricardo's' steerage friends — chilling. In his small defense, I got a whiff of mercy killing, too, and certain eau de Dogen: I think it would be better if you were dead.) And then: Monster Attack. First, the crew was chomped. Then, Mr. Whitfield was plucked and crunched. With that, Jacob and MIB's latest Olympiad of the Soul had been christened with bloody sacrifice.

NEXT: Bound, we pray to be made free

Smokey snatched up Whitfield's body seconds before he was going to shish kabob Ricardo. It was a deus ex machina salvation. But then he saw the face of divine intervention on The Island, and it was terrifying. Smokey snaked into the ship and slowly tikatikatikatika'd over to Alpert. Then, Smokey bent into shape so he could get a good look at Richard (Those are some amazing eyelashes, he thought) and then flashed him with his psychic strobes. After acquiring the necessary intel from Richard's head, Smokey left — and Richard fainted.

Days passed. Richard tried to escape his bonds by prying a nail out of the floor and using it dig around the chain mounts on the wall. It was slow work. He was making progress, but he was also becoming dehydrated and weak. Then the boar — always an omen of demons and doom on Lost — showed up and began eating out of a dead man's stomach. The sinister swine then charged past Richard, knocking the nail out his reach. Despair. More days passed. Then, Isabella showed up. They were in Hell, she said. The devil was chasing her, she said. Let me help you out of those chains before he comes back, she said. Then: Tikatikatikatkatikatka. Ricardo told her to flee, that he would find her, save her. She padded up the steps. Ricardo heard scary sounds. Ricardo concluded: The Monster got her. Ricardo screamed. We said: Ricardo, you've been played. Someone or something left you down there to weaken your body and soften your mind to set you up to be their killing tool. Someone has played a Ben/Sawyer long con on you to warp you into a reckless hero like Jack, or worse, a ruthless assassin like Sayid. And here he comes now...

Enter the Man In Black. He gave slumbering Ricardo a long touch on his shoulder. Ricardo woke, then was taken aback. MIB called himself a friend, but everything after that seemed suspiciously tailored to Ricardo's worldview/state of mind. Yep, friend, you're in hell, the Nameless one (lied?) purred. Your wife? The devil has her. Sure, I can help you out those chains (Lucky you! I found the keys!), and sure, I can help you save her... Then came the bargaining. ''I want to be free, too,'' MIB explained. ''I need to know you will help me. You will do anything I ask. Then we are agreed?'' Ricardo said Si. This Is Your Life, Richard: Another man in black, selling salvation at a price.

Ricardo delighted in his release from bondage. MIB shared in that joy. ''It's good to see you out of those chains,'' MIB said, radiating true sincerity. He scooped up weak, witless Richard, and there was a quick shot of what looked like Ricardo's eyes looking cataract-gray blind and almost rolling into the back of his head. MIB carried Ricardo's half-life weight up and out of The Black Rock, and as he did, I recalled the words Richard had been reading in his cell from Luke 4: ''The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind; to set free those who are downtrodden, and proclaim the year of the Lord.'' In this scenario, Smokey = Jesus. He played the part — but is he Christ or anti-Christ? We debate.

NEXT: Cain, Abel, and the devil in the details

The matter got murkier as the episode progressed. In the ruins of some ancient garden, the Man In Black quickly nursed some vitality back into Ricardo with roasted pig. ''I'm going to need your strength to escape,'' said MIB, a line also spoke to the Island drama in the present, in which MIB/Fake Locke needs the strength/support of the castaways to complete his supernatural prison break. As Ricardo chomped, MIB said some interesting things about himself. He claimed that ''the devil'' had ''betrayed'' him. ''He took my body. My humanity.'' My guess is that hard-core theorists will spend the next week factoring that bit of info into their ''Who is Smokey?'' conjectures. Some ideas I'm mulling over? Cain and Abel, the world's first CSI murder case. Cain was punished to wander the world as an immortal entity because he murdered his brother. He was also given a dark mark to scare away anyone who'd want to do him harm. I'd dare say that Earth-bound immortality qualifies as a kind of body-nullifying, dehumanizing curse — and that being able to convert into black smoke and change shape can qualify as some kind of protective-spooky defensive mechanism. Abel's final fate is more on-the-nose with Lost: Wikipedia cites an apocryphal Biblical text that says that Abel now resides in a ''netherworld,'' an ''awful man'' who is tasked with judging all creatures, and examining the righteous and the sinners.''

Irrelevant? Maybe. But it was hard for me to resist the connection when MIB and Ricardo started talking about murder. ''There's only one way out of hell,'' MIB said. ''We're going to have to kill the devil.'' Ricardo argued that he'd basically be damning his soul with the same sin that damned him in the first place. Again: shades of Sayid. MIB got pragmatic on him. ''My friend, you and I can talk all day long about what is right and what is wrong but the question before you remains the same: Do you ever want to see your wife again?'' His utilitarian logic is located in the broad, contentious body of thought known as ''Consequentialism.'' As you might glean from MIB's sentiment, a weaknesses of ''Consequentialism'' is its shaky, nebulous definition of justice. A major egghead in this field? Jeremy Bentham, the name Charles Widmore gave John Locke before his death. He had at least one thing in common with MIB/Fake Locke: Bentham was an abolitionist. And that explains everything, right? Right! Moving on...

NEXT: A little something for Supernatural fans

The Man In Black sent his newly emancipated angel of death to the beach to slay Jacob with a ceremonial knife that looked very similar to the one Sayid stabbed Fake Locke with, if not the exact same would-be murder weapon. Ricardo got the same specific instruction that Sayid got, too: Stab first; don't even let him to talk to you. He eyeballed the shadowy entrance to Jacob's crypt-HQ, then got his ### kicked three different ways by the sunny blonde demigod, new and improved with action hero powers. He interrogated Ricardo with a mix of indignation and glibness that was both terrifying and funny. I loved the way he was framed against the blue sky, bright and elemental, a morning star. The Latin word for ''morning star''? That's right: Lucifer. Which brings us to the semiotic cipher that is Mark Pellegrino. The actor is marvelous as Jacob. But Pellegrino also appears on Supernatural, playing... Lucifer. According to a few recaps I've read, Pellegrino's Lucifer is on a mission to purge the Earth of mankind, which he views as innately corrupt, and torments humans with visions of the dearly departed dead. He also requires a human host to get around. Again, I say all of this having never seen an episode of Supernatural, so here's hoping the Internet is reasonably correct. Regardless, I find the Lucifer/Luciferesque overlaps between Supernatural and Lost to be intriguing and ingenious. What better way to cultivate further mystery around Jacob's moral allegiance than by casting him with an actor who currently plays the devil on another show? One would assume that neither Lost nor Pellegrino would want to duplicate efforts — unless encouraging that assumption is exactly why you make that move. Hmm... will the series reveal that Sideways Lost = the Supernatural world?

Jacob listened to Ricardo accuse him of being the devil and heard the allegation that he had kidnapped his wife. Jacob seemed genuinely taken aback that MIB had tried to kill him. He was even more bothered by Ricardo's insistence that he was dead and in hell. Jacob picked him up and dunked him in the surf repeatedly — water-boarding as wake-up call/baptism. Jacob: ''Still think you're dead? Why should I stop?'' Ricardo: ''Because I want to live!'' Jacob: ''That's the first sensible thing you've said.'' He then dumped him on the beach. ''Get up. We need to talk,'' he said. Interesting: MIB's m.o. was all about helping people to their feet. Jacob's m.o. was all about making people do it themselves. Physician, heal thyself!

The theme of self-determination continued in their conversation. Jacob brought his jug of wine and poured them both a drink. I was again reminded that Jacob looks like Sting, that the former leader singer of The Police had recorded a song about a son who engages in a drinking game with The King of Season to release his father from The Soul Cages. Ricardo asked him if he was the devil. Jacob smirked, as if enjoying a private joke. Maybe he wanted to say: ''Yes, I am — on another network.'' Instead, he just said, ''No.'' He took responsibility for bringing The Black Rock to The Island. And when Ricardo asked why and what for, we got the Allegory of the Jug.

NEXT: Stick a cork in it

''Think of this wine for what you keep calling hell. There are 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 thinks that everyone is corruptible because it's in their very nature to sin. I bring people here to prove him wrong. And when they get here, their past doesn't matter.'' (Note that Jacob seems to be evoking the idea of Original Sin. More on this in a minute.)

Ricardo asked if others had been brought to The Island before him. ''Yes. Many,'' Jacob said. Ricardo asked what happened to them. ''They're all dead,'' he replied matter-of-factly. (Both Pellegrino and Titus Welliver as Man In Black injected their line readings with some knowing humor that lightened the mood while making their characters even more inscrutable and unsettling.) Ricardo asked a crucial question: How come Jacob doesn't take a more active role in shepherding his spiritual reclamation projects? ''Because I want them to help themselves. To be able to tell 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! Why should I have to step in?'' Richard's reply: ''If you don't, he will.''

This answer seemed to stump Jacob. It was as if Ricardo had told him something he never considered before. If only he read more books. It's interesting to note that last week, Lost re-introduced into the narrative mix three of Sawyer's favorite books: Watership Down, A Wrinkle In Time, and Lancelot. To varying degrees, all three books deal with corrupt leaders, false messiahs, and wickedly dark spirits that rise to power when a culture lacks a strong, truthful moral agent guiding it. Take Lancelot, whose narrator fancies himself a righteous knight determined to purge the world of corruption. In truth, he's a tragically damaged, deeply disturbed potential psychopath who is locked up in a mental institution and should stay there. At the end of the book (SPOILER ALERT), he comes to a six-point conclusion about the world. Pay close attention to Number 5. ''1. We are living in Sodom. 2. I do not propose to live in Sodom or to raise my son and daughters in Sodom. 3. Either your God exists or he does not. 4. If he exists, he will not tolerate Sodom much longer. 5. If God does not exist, then it will be I not God who will not tolerate. I, one person. I will start a new world single-handedly or with those like me who will not tolerate it. [He then goes on to say his new world order will also include... genocide against the Russians and Chinese, America's main ''enemies'' during the books mid-'70s setting.] 6. I'll wait and give your God more time.''

NEXT: Yet another Charles

In my Friday column, I'll explore those literary references some more, plus tell you what Doc Arzt's has to do with all of them. In the meantime, think about this: In Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle In Time, there's a young boy — supernaturally bright and powerful — who falls prey to an evil, disembodied mind known as IT. He turns out okay, and lives to save the day in other books. But in a subsequent series of books that take place many years after the events of A Wrinkle In Time and its sequels, we learn that this protagonist has gone mysteriously missing, allegedly on a secret mission. He never again appeared in L'Engle's books. This young man's shares his first name with three different characters on Lost: Charles. (Think: Charlie, Charles Widmore, and Charles, the son of Desmond and Penelope.) But L'Engle's Charles preferred to be called by the combination of his first and middle name: Charles Wallace. Wallace: the name at No. 108 on the dial in Jacob's Lighthouse. Now, last week, Charlotte Lewis made a return appearance in the show. Charlotte's father was named David Lewis. David Lewis is a famous philosopher who championed a theory of alternate/possible realities known as modal realities. Lewis' theories were pretty radical. He argued that even fictional fantasy worlds like Lost could exist somewhere within reality. Now, given the knowingly ironic Lost/Supernatural overlap represented by Mark Pellegrino, is it possible that ''Wallace'' is actually Charles Wallace from A Wrinkle In Time? Could he be the one that Hurley needed to bring to The Island? Is he locked up inside that room on Charles Widmore's sub? Or could he already be on The Island? Could he be... Jacob?

Jacob offered Ricardo a job! Moved by Ricardo's point, Jacob said: ''If I don't want to step in maybe you can do it for me. You can be my representative and my intermediary between me and the people I bring to The Island.'' Ricardo wanted compensation. He asked his wife back. Jacob: Can't do that. He asked for absolution of his sins. Jacob: Nope, can't do that either. He then asked for eternal life. His logic: Better than going to hell; and maybe I an accumulate enough penance to improve my chances at Heaven. ''Now that, I can do,'' Jacob said. And with, Jacob touched him, and the Ageless Enigma was born. Let us note two things. If Jacob really was some kind of God/Jesus figure, you'd think he would have been able to grant Ricardo's first two requests. Moreover, Jacob's rejection of Original Sin is provocative for anyone whose theory of a Christ-like Jacob has been informed by Christian theology, as many Christians do believe in Original Sin. Maybe Jacob-Jesus is trying to prove that spiritually renewed people can truly ''go and sin no more'' (John 8:11)? Perhaps The Island isn't a place where people are spiritually tested, but rather where religions are tested for relevancy and truthfulness. Jacob and Smokey are basically quality control experts — Inspectors 1 and 2 — of Fruit of the Loom holy underwear. And right now, Christianity's up.

NEXT: The way of the cross

Ricardo accepted Jacob's offer. Why not? It's a ''Somewhere Over The Rainbow'' dream come true — a sweet, secure life in The New World... minus the love of his life, of course. Ricardo went back to MIB, who knew that Jacob had turned him. But he didn't blame him much. ''He can be very persuasive,'' he said. You got the sense that MIB's current incarceration had something to do with buying into something Jacob had once sold him long ago — something that hadn't gone exactly as planned or promised. MIB reminded Ricardo that siding with Jacob meant that he could never see his wife again — as if that was truly something he could deliver. (Again, we wonder: Is the Sideways world the fulfillment of MIB's promises?) ''But I want you to know that if you ever change your mind — and I mean ever — my offer still stands.'' Ricardo gave MIB a gift from Jacob: a white stone, which I took to be nothing more than an inside joke, an ironic declaration of victory (I won Jacob's soul! Nah-nah-nah!) punning off of Black Rock. (I get the sense these clever boys enjoy their almost childish cruel winks and coded banter with each other.) MIB in turn gave Ricardo Isabella's cross-necklace. I couldn't tell if MIB was taunting him or being kind with the gesture. Maybe the quiet understanding was that the token served as a talisman for summoning Smokey. Ricardo took it and then buried it...

Only to return over 140 years later to dig it back up and tried to ring up Smokey. ''Does the offer still stand?'' he bellowed. Earlier in the episode, Richard's crisis of faith spurred by the death of Jacob had been reignited by Ilana's claim that Richard was supposed to know what to do next with the candidates. Richard freaked. He had no clue. Yes, Jacob had given him the job to serve as mediator and advisor to Island visitors and assorted Others. But it now seemed that Ricardo was pretty much flying on blind faith and making up the job as he went along. But he had held onto his belief that The Island was hell, and that he was dead, and exasperated by the madness of Jacob's apparent meaninglessness, he stormed off to do what Ben was tempted to do back in ''Dr. Linus'': Switch teams and hook up with someone who offered him something like purpose and hope, even if it meant unleashing darkness upon the earth. Way to go, ''Lancelot.''

But instead of a rendezvous with the devil, Richard got Hurley instead. What followed was an extremely effective and affecting scene that flirted with trite emotional resolution but managed to work thanks to some great acting and direction. Leveraging his Ghost Whisperer secret powers, Hurley was able to facilitate a moment between the living and the dead, between Ricardo and Isabella, and translate and impart some spiritual wisdom that Richard desperately needed to hear. Put another way: Hurley and Richard basically switched roles last night, with Hurley playing Island advisor and Richard playing castaway spiritual seeker. Isabella asked Ricardo why he had buried her cross — her soul; her love; his compass. It was a gentle indictment of Ricardo's misplaced values — of finding treasure in the material, not spiritual, in what he can hold in the moment, not carry forever in his heart. Isabella then praised his English — English, the language they were learning together; the language they had learned form the Bible they read, together; the language of the new world they wanted to be recreated into, together. ''Tell him his English is beautiful,'' Isabella asked Hurley. He did. Gotta admit: Kinda choked up there.

NEXT: Through many dangers, toils, and snares

Ricardo/Richard had not been able to see or hear Isabella for most of her spectral visit. But at the end, with eyes closed, Ricardo heard her voice, and in her words, he heard what he wanted to hear from the priest several lifetimes earlier: absolution. ''It wasn't your fault that I died, Ricardo,'' Isabella said through Hurley. But the rest Ricardo either heard or felt: ''As much as you wanted to save me, it was my time. You've suffered enough.'' He replied: ''I've missed you. I would do anything for us to be together again.'' She said, ''My love. We are already together.'' Translation: It's what Michael Landon said in that Little House on the Prairie clip from last week: It's about ''knowin' that people aren't really gone when they die. We have all the good memories to sustain us until we see 'em again.'' Alpert's real life namesake, Hindu guru Richard Alpert/Ram Dass, advocates the idea that everything is suffused spirit. With an assist from Hurley, Ricardo/Richard finally earned the eyes to see that, and to recognize that we can let go of Hell and move into Heaven whenever we want. What Ricardo/Richard got was huge whollop of ''Amazing Grace,'' the hymn written by a former slaver during a harrowing night at sea: ''Amazing grace/how sweet the sound/that saved a wretch like me/I once was lost/but now am found/was blind but now I see.''

Over the last several weeks, I've been pushing this idea — inspired by those darn Last Supper images — that Lost 6.0 was being modeled upon Jesus' Thursday-to-Sunday Passion weekend. That's now unlikely, since last night's episode represented the third day of Jesus' trip to hell and back — Easter Sunday. But we did get a story that thematically symbolized resurrection and the restoration of relationship between mankind and the divine. Hence the setting of the episode's climax: a Garden of Eden motif, complete with a proverbial Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil — Ground Zero for the big bang's humanity's fall from grace. Ricardo was saved. (Yay!) But then came his Great Commission. (Groan!) Richard's Island mission: Keep the Man In Black from popping that cork or cracking open the bottle and getting out. Interesting, though, that Richard wasn't told he had to try to kill the Man In Black. At least nobody is asking him to play Sayid the Assassin. Still, how can Richard succeed? Did he learn something from this spiritual journey that could help him? Something about love? Something about sacrifice? In many of the mythic stories Lost cites, including A Wrinkle In Time, pure, sincere love makes a difference. Oh, and a good magical sword, too.

NEXT: Turning water into wine

Nonetheless, I'm not sold on MIB being ''bad'' and Jacob being ''good.'' Neither sold me as wholly trustworthy last night — which is fitting. My other big theory of late has been that each episode of Lost this year has been linked to one of The Ten Commandments. This was the 9th hour, so we should have gotten the 9th Commandment, and we did: Do not bare false witness against your neighbor. Translation: Don't lie; don't break a promise. I'm willing to cede that Jacob did right by Richard, fulfilling his promise of giving him purpose and clarity over the course of the episode. But I'm not sure he was telling us the truth about his wine bottle. I accept The Cork. The Cork makes sense. But I wonder if Jacob is wrong about the wine. I get the sense that Jacob isn't keen on death. His only super-power is the one that Satan has: Fall into his clutches, and he gets to keep you forever. I'm not saying he's evil. But I am saying that in so many heroic stories, the real, necessary reality of death is often mistaken for evil. So what if the wine in Jacob's bottle = all the souls that have come to The Island and lost the wager with Smokey? What if all those souls are trapped on The Island because Jacob refuses to let them go? In fact, what if the terms of the wager are akin to one of those Old Testament bets that God would make with his prophets, whereby a while wicked city can be saved if one ''good soul'' can be found? Maybe Jacob has been holding onto all those souls who've lost the wager because he's holding out to find that one good man that can give them all a second chance at life? And maybe Smokey thinks that's fundamentally wrong or unnatural, which is why he's so desperate to just end this whole damn redemption game, so everyone can move on to whatever afterlife they deserve — including himself. Breaking the bottle doesn't release a toxic cloud of evil — it just sets the prisoners of Jacob's purgatory free. Namaste!?
 
Can someone list the names of all the episodes from this season?
You might be the only person on the face of the internet that hasn't heard of imdb
Does anyone know a website to watch all of the old Season 6 episodes?
abc.com would be a good start.
I tried there, they aren't there.
You should try to be less helpless.http://abc.go.com/watch/lost/93372

 
Dr. No said:
Harry Manback said:
And I don't think it really HAD to be Locke, but rather Locke was the most logical choice, as the flight needed to be as close to the same as it was when the first crashed, and he just so happened to be a vessel MIB could use.Or, maybe Farraday's mother knew all along that MIB could take over Lockes body, and that was the sole reason for her insistance they all go, they all didn't really need to go, but if she said they did, it explained away why they had to bring a dead body.
I don't have a problem with MiB morphing into Locke - it's weird, but that's fine.I just want to know how Ben's group and the Others are associated with MiB.Did no one including Eloise have any idea this was going to happen if they did this?I don't see how Ben isn't associated with MiB somehow... i mean, in that one episode when Keamy's group was on the island, he went in and unleashed a switch that let the smoke monster out to wipe those dudes out.So they're like friends and stuff, right?My head hurts. I'm still not sure if this is completely dumb or potentially interesting.
If that's the case, and Ben is associated with MiB by means of manipulation or whatever, then how does Jacob let Ben get that close to him--close enough to be killed by him--if he knows that Ben is on MiB's side? How can Jacob not know this?
 
Don't they give out Emmy's for acting in an individual episode? If so, you have to think the guy who plays Richard is a lock for a nomination, at least.
:kicksrock: Its really tough for someone to stand out with a cast this rich but Richart hit it out of the park last night.
and most of his best scenes, he did solo.
Here are the Emmy noms from 2009Unless I'm blind, it looks like you can get just about every award in episode or series, except for Lead and Supporting Acting.

For instance, Lost was nominated for writing for "The Incident" which is a specific episode, under the "Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series" category, and Michael Emerson (Ben Linus) was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series.

 
If that's the case, and Ben is associated with MiB by means of manipulation or whatever, then how does Jacob let Ben get that close to him--close enough to be killed by him--if he knows that Ben is on MiB's side? How can Jacob not know this?
Think biblical. Jesus knew he would be betrayed and killed. Similar with Jacob.Also, Jacob wants people to do good on their own volition.
Ben says that he can't believe Miles is going to stand by and watch as Ben is killed for murdering Jacob, who didn't even care about being killed. Miles replies that Jacob did care, and that right up until the end, Jacob was hoping that he was wrong about Ben.
 
If that's the case, and Ben is associated with MiB by means of manipulation or whatever, then how does Jacob let Ben get that close to him--close enough to be killed by him--if he knows that Ben is on MiB's side? How can Jacob not know this?
Think biblical. Jesus knew he would be betrayed and killed. Similar with Jacob.Also, Jacob wants people to do good on their own volition.

Ben says that he can't believe Miles is going to stand by and watch as Ben is killed for murdering Jacob, who didn't even care about being killed. Miles replies that Jacob did care, and that right up until the end, Jacob was hoping that he was wrong about Ben.
Jacob knew Ben never had it in him to be a candidate. But he knew that Ben still played an important role in bringing the candidates to the island.
 
Harry Manback said:
Sack-Religious said:
Dr. No said:
Harry Manback said:
And I don't think it really HAD to be Locke, but rather Locke was the most logical choice, as the flight needed to be as close to the same as it was when the first crashed, and he just so happened to be a vessel MIB could use.Or, maybe Farraday's mother knew all along that MIB could take over Lockes body, and that was the sole reason for her insistance they all go, they all didn't really need to go, but if she said they did, it explained away why they had to bring a dead body.
I don't have a problem with MiB morphing into Locke - it's weird, but that's fine.I just want to know how Ben's group and the Others are associated with MiB.Did no one including Eloise have any idea this was going to happen if they did this?I don't see how Ben isn't associated with MiB somehow... i mean, in that one episode when Keamy's group was on the island, he went in and unleashed a switch that let the smoke monster out to wipe those dudes out.So they're like friends and stuff, right?My head hurts. I'm still not sure if this is completely dumb or potentially interesting.
I tend to agree with Harry Manback and The Dude in that it didn't HAVE to be Locke, but he was convenient and MiB already planted the seed in him that he would have to die to make things right. Not right by John Locke, but right by MiB.When Ilana, etc. brought Locke back, I don't think they knew they were reincarnating Locke into UnLocke. I think Jacob somehow knew that MiB would manifest himself as Locke and thus he instructed Ilana to bring Locke's corpse back so they could have proof that MiB had manifested himself with a different look.Ben's and his former followers were associated with MiB because he's apparently been guiding Ben all along, when they were under the assumption it was Jacob.I wouldn't say they're "friends" but MiB seemingly has a history of keeping people he needs to do his dirty work around.
Yep, I was originally going to say that Ben thought MIB was Jacob all along, but I still can't explain why Ben would be able to unleash the smoke monster, but also be trying to keep him out of the Others camp.
I'd have to go back and check the transcript, but IIRC, Ben told people to hide when he went to summon Smokey because once summoned, he can't control it. Or something to that effect. Generally speaking, he'd want to keep his people safe. But, given that his group was outgunned by the mercs who were about to overrun New Otherton, he didn't have much choice but to call on Smokey to take them out and I believe he was hoping like hell that none of his people were collateral damage.
Smokey Broken Arrow
 
This is my biggest point of confusion, I thought Ben said he had never seen nor spoken to Jacob. Richard was always the middle man, how was Ben being manipulated for years by MIB then?
Or how would Richard be giving directions from jacob that would translate into Ben being a murdering terrorist?
 
Doc Jensen's uber-long recap bonanza.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20313460_20354159,00.html

'Lost' recap: Uncorked

''Ab Aeterno'' puts the spotlight on Richard Alpert, and gives us more insight into Jacob and the Man In Black

In fact, what if the terms of the wager are akin to one of those Old Testament bets that God would make with his prophets, whereby a while wicked city can be saved if one ''good soul'' can be found? Maybe Jacob has been holding onto all those souls who've lost the wager because he's holding out to find that one good man that can give them all a second chance at life? And maybe Smokey thinks that's fundamentally wrong or unnatural, which is why he's so desperate to just end this whole damn redemption game, so everyone can move on to whatever afterlife they deserve — including himself. Breaking the bottle doesn't release a toxic cloud of evil — it just sets the prisoners of Jacob's purgatory free. Namaste!?
This sounds pretty plausible.
 
I suppose that fence could have (and actually likely was) built by Dharma and wasn't really used by the Others to keep smokey out, but rather keep everyone else out.Remember back in the beginning whenever the Others would show up to attack the Losties there would be that weird whispering sound?Doesn't that sound come from Smokey?Anyone?
The whispers mean the Others are nearby. The receipt printing sound means Smokey is nearby.From the season 3 episode. The Shape of Things to Come. Ben knew exactly what he was doing.
Some time later (after dark), Sawyer is shouting and beating on the blast door that closed behind Ben as he went into his secret room, when Claire emerges from another room carrying Aaron and asks "What's going on?". Sawyer asks Claire "You all right, sweetheart?" and she tells him "Yeah, a bit wobbly, but, uh, I'll live." to which Miles replies "Well, I wouldn't be too sure about that." Just as Miles is saying this, Ben emerges from his secret room covered in black soot. He orders everyone to exit the house in one minute and to run for the tree line on his command. A rumbling is heard and the Monster, much larger than it has been seen previously, thunders into the camp and plunges into the tree line. The Monster is shown as multiple thick columns of black smoke, cutting through the trees. There is some sort of electrical discharge going off inside the smoke, which causes a flashing white light and crackling noises. The survivors watch in awe as it attacks the mercenaries in the woods, with Locke and Hurley questioning Ben's seeming ability to summon the Monster. As it draws farther away, Locke and the survivors escape into the jungle, while Ben lingers momentarily to say goodbye to his daughter. ♪ Claire, Aaron, Hurley, Sawyer, Miles, Ben and Locke are apparently the only survivors of the mercenary attack.
Transcript:
[in the jungle, the military team from the freighter leads Alex, her hands bound and her eyes blindfolded.] KEAMY: Stop here. On your knees. Get on your knees. [He shoves Alex to the ground, then removes her blindfold. She's at the edge of the sonar fence, a numbered keypad before her.] KEAMY: Turn this thing off. ALEX: P-please. There's a baby with them. Just promise you won't... [Keamy cocks a pistol at her head.] KEAMY: Turn the fence off. [she enters 1-6-2-3.] ALEX: Okay. It's off. [We hear the woosh of the fence deactivating.] --------------------------------------------------------[in a different house, the one where Jack stayed, Ben plays the piano. Sawyer and Locke barge in.] LOCKE: What's "code 14-J"? [ben's eyes go wide.] BEN: Where did you hear that? LOCKE: The phone rang. I picked it up. A voice kept repeating, "code 14-J". [ben jumps to his feet, opens up the piano bench, and extracts a shotgun. Sawyer steps back in threatened shock, going for his pistol. Before Sawyer can draw, Ben cocks the weapon and hands it to Sawyer.] BEN: We need to get to the other house. It's easier to fortify, and we'll have better position on the tree lines. [ben rushes for the door.] LOCKE: What are you talking about? BEN: They're here. [ben opens the front door and walks out.] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[back in Ben's house, Sawyer pounds on the closed outer secret door.] SAWYER: Open the damn door! Son of a ##### just left us here. Open the damn door! [Hurley emerges with Claire, who's carrying Aaron.] CLAIRE: What's going on? LOCKE: Claire? SAWYER: You all right, sweetheart? CLAIRE: Yeah, a bit wobbly, but, uh, I'll live. MILES: Well, I wouldn't be too sure about that. [The secret door slides up, and Ben emerges, pushing past Sawyer.] BEN: Excuse me, James. SAWYER: 'Scuse you? [ben picks up the walkie-talkie from the couch and pockets it.] SAWYER: What were you doing in there? BEN: Okay, listen to me very carefully: I need all of you to do exactly as I say. In a minute, we have to run from this house as fast as we can. At that moment, when I give the order, I want you to head straight for the tree line. HURLEY: You mean towards the guys with guns? BEN: No, we want to be as far away from them as possible. [The house starts to shake. An earthquake? Glass shatters. Ben peers out the window. A giant billowing centipede of smoke barrels out of the tree line like a freight train bound for hell, lightning arcing inside the black smoke. It roars and chitters and sweeps up a little tail of smoke behind it as it passes Ben's house.] BEN: Okay, outside. Outside now! [Locke, Ben, Sawyer, Hurley, Claire, and Aaron rush outside. Ben leads and watches as the muzzle flashes and lightning bolts light up the night in strobe. Gunfire can be heard, and shouting, and the terrible deep roar of the Monster. Black smoke curls and twists around in the jungle. Distantly, men shout orders in chaos.] LOCKE: What did you do? [ben does not answer. A tree uproots.] HURLEY: Did you just call that thing? [A man in fatigues carrying a machine gun runs toward the group. Sawyer readies to shoot him, but no need. The soldier kneels down and fires his weapon vainly into the smoke. The monster envelopes him and shoots a tentacle at him that knocks him to the ground, wraps around him, and drags him away, clawing at the turf, leaving his gun behind. The man disappears into the jungle screaming in terror. Miles looks on incredulously, then turns chicken and runs the opposite direction.] DISTANT VOICE: Fall back! SAWYER: (To Claire and Hurley) Go! Go, go! BEN: Head for the trees. I'll catch up with you. LOCKE: Hey, where are you going? BEN: I have to say good-bye to my daughter, John. [ben extends a hand. Locke hands him one of the shotguns he carries, then runs off. Ben solemnly staggers to the dead body of his daughter Alex, and turns her over. He kneels down and sobs, then kisses her tenderly on the forehead, which is streaked with blood.]
He may not have said it there, but I'm pretty sure at some point he mentioned being able to summon it, but not control it once released.
I think this is where Ben called the man in black, similar to Richard calling the man in black after hundreds of years to finally make a deal. That seems to be what he does - Fake Locke made deals with Claire for her baby, to get Sawyer off the island, he may have been the one to give Locke a chance to have revenge against his father. The sideways versions may even be each one of them having the thing they wanted most - Jack having a normal life, Sayid having Nadia, etc.
 
My guess for what's in Widmores closet : AaronBeing the only child born on the island, Aaron has some importance in MIB getting off the island.
I'm not sure we know this as fact, only that of the Oceanic flight group this is true. Who knows over time if that would still hold true. IIRC. the only caveat was that kids couldn't be boith conceived and born on the island.As for Richard, do we collectively still think he can't be killed while on the isalnd, or did that go bye bye with Jacob getting killed? If not, he would be the clear choice to kill not Locke/MIB.
Don't we know that it isn't true? Rousseau was preggers when she landed on the island and had a kid there. The others then snagged her and raised her as their own.
I believe that we are saying the same think. Kids could be conceived off of but born on the island and kids could be conceived on but birthed off the island. But IIRC kids could not be conceived on and birthed on the island.
I was just pointing out that stat's claim that aaron is special because he was born on the isalnd is a bit of a misnomer. Alex was also born on the island and she's now wormfood.
Ethan was also born on the island.
 
I guess the ship we saw in last season's finale wasn't the Black Rock, afterall.
Sack… Can you explain this to me as to how we know this? Admittedly my DVR f'ed me and I missed like the first 20 minutes of the show.
You remember the ship from the season finale last year? The day was sunny and clear and the sea was calm when Jacob and MiB had their conversation on the beach.Last night, the Black Rock was getting tossed around in a huge storm at night and was ultimately thrown onto the island (and apparently broke the Tawaret statue) by a massive wave.
That was my thought at first, too............but then I decided that the ship was out there during the day while Jacob and MIB had their talk, and then Jacob could have brought them in after that. I don't know if that means he can create storms or what. Just saying I noticed the same thing, but could suspend disbelief on that one. :thumbup:
Not to nerd out on everyone, but I thought that they mentioned a storm was coming in that scene. I was wrong when went to look at the scene again but it looks like Jacob is looking around at the conditions of the sky and they makes sounds like a storm is a coming.
Small I know, but there it is.

 
I didn't care for that episode because it didn't really reveal much. Its already been strongly hinted at that Richard Alpert arrived on the island in chains on the ship, and that he was made immortal by being touched by Jacob. So seeing it was nothing new. Unfortunately they wasted about 20 minutes showing us what we already knew. We also already new Jacob and the MiB were warring with each other like gods. We already understood the mechanic that Jacob was the island guardian acting as MiB's jailor, so calling the island a "cork" was no revelation at all. So the interaction between Jacob and MiB didn't tell us anything at all.
Wow, that was my feeling as well - I was waiting for someone else to post it and draw the heat. I don't feel the answers we got - how he ended up in chains and how it was arranged that he wouldn't age - were very important questions.
 
Doc Jensen's uber-long recap bonanza.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20313460_20354159,00.html

'Lost' recap: Uncorked

''Ab Aeterno'' puts the spotlight on Richard Alpert, and gives us more insight into Jacob and the Man In Black

In fact, what if the terms of the wager are akin to one of those Old Testament bets that God would make with his prophets, whereby a while wicked city can be saved if one ''good soul'' can be found? Maybe Jacob has been holding onto all those souls who've lost the wager because he's holding out to find that one good man that can give them all a second chance at life? And maybe Smokey thinks that's fundamentally wrong or unnatural, which is why he's so desperate to just end this whole damn redemption game, so everyone can move on to whatever afterlife they deserve — including himself. Breaking the bottle doesn't release a toxic cloud of evil — it just sets the prisoners of Jacob's purgatory free. Namaste!?
This sounds pretty plausible.
Right now Hurley would be the only canidate that would qualify as a good soul.
 
I didn't care for that episode because it didn't really reveal much. Its already been strongly hinted at that Richard Alpert arrived on the island in chains on the ship, and that he was made immortal by being touched by Jacob. So seeing it was nothing new. Unfortunately they wasted about 20 minutes showing us what we already knew. We also already new Jacob and the MiB were warring with each other like gods. We already understood the mechanic that Jacob was the island guardian acting as MiB's jailor, so calling the island a "cork" was no revelation at all. So the interaction between Jacob and MiB didn't tell us anything at all.
Wow, that was my feeling as well - I was waiting for someone else to post it and draw the heat. I don't feel the answers we got - how he ended up in chains and how it was arranged that he wouldn't age - were very important questions.
Big surprise
 
I didn't care for that episode because it didn't really reveal much. Its already been strongly hinted at that Richard Alpert arrived on the island in chains on the ship, and that he was made immortal by being touched by Jacob. So seeing it was nothing new. Unfortunately they wasted about 20 minutes showing us what we already knew. We also already new Jacob and the MiB were warring with each other like gods. We already understood the mechanic that Jacob was the island guardian acting as MiB's jailor, so calling the island a "cork" was no revelation at all. So the interaction between Jacob and MiB didn't tell us anything at all.
Wow, that was my feeling as well - I was waiting for someone else to post it and draw the heat. I don't feel the answers we got - how he ended up in chains and how it was arranged that he wouldn't age - were very important questions.
I'm glad they did it, if you want to talk about loose ends, the Black Rock and Richard's immortality were pretty high on the list.
 
sorry this sucked, they are making up crap
Sorry they aren't following what happened when this story happened in real life. I can't wait for your LOST documentary that won't have any made up stuff.
They said a long time ago the show had nothing to do with heaven or hell and they is what it is playing out to be, even if it is not heaven and hell, it is lame to fake that angle after saying it wasn't.
This isn't remotely accurate...Alpert was super religious (and was damned outright before he came to the island), so he thought it was hell because it was horrible... MIB just played on that emotion...Jacob basically just said that the smoke monster is the evil in the world and must be kept on the island in its prison, and that Jacob's job is to keep it there...Hurley said what he did because it was from Richard's wife...At no point is anything in that episode explicitly stating that the island is hell or anything really about hell, except that the smoke monster is evil and will do truly evil things if he gets free...
 
Someone please remind me when all the other non-speaking role losties died off... There were a bunch of them in the beginning.

 
Someone please remind me when all the other non-speaking role losties died off... There were a bunch of them in the beginning.
Boone fell with the plain, Libby and Anna Lucia were shot to death by Michael, Boones sis (name escapes me) was also shot I believe.Artz blew up with the dynamite at the black rock, Charlie drowned saving them down in the looking glass?
 

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