What I’m Watching: Lost

Lost: Season 6, Episode 9 “Ab Aeterno” (B)

There are number of important firsts in this episode which serve to make it especially exciting, but I’m not altogether thrilled with the results. I noticed early on that the episode went to commercial in the middle of a flashback, and beyond that, the flashback went on for the entire episode with only a few quick minutes at the start and a few quick minutes at the end set in the present. It’s also the first time a flashback has occurred this season rather than a flash-sideways, unless I’m mistaken. An episode-long flashback about one of the most mysterious and most crucial characters to the story of the island should be an extremely satisfying hour in theory, but I think far too much time was spent in 1867 off of the island with Richard pining over the death of his wife and seeing her in different places. I’ve never really liked Hurley talking to dead people (though I’m alright with him conferring with Jacob), and therefore having her come back at the end was somewhat frustrating. I do like what she said, however, and what that tied in to what my favorite part of the episode. That would of course be the dynamic between Jacob and Man No. 2, in his original form played by the fantastic Titus Welliver. The way they both tried to pit Richard against the other was fascinating, and I loved how what Man No. 2 told Richard was exactly what Dogen told Sayid when he was going to meet Locke. Man No. 2 telling Richard that he, and not Jacob, was the Smoke Monster was another terrific moment. The notion that these two men are just spending hundreds of years bringing people to the island to prove a point about good and evil is somewhat infuriating, especially for everyone on Oceanic Flight 815. Richard’s anger about that makes sense, and the fact that his discovery that a now deceased Jacob didn’t actually have a plan led him to try and switch sides by calling out for Man No. 2 was pretty crazy. That parting shot of Locke when they were discussing killing No. 2 was haunting, and I can’t wait for more. Let’s spend a little bit more time in the present though next time, shall we?