Ab Aeterno (S6, Ep. 9)

The Back to the Island Column for "Ab Aeterno" has been eaten by a boar for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

If you enjoy what you've read and you wish to share it with others, I encourage you to do so - but please give credit where credit is due. Conversely, if you hate what you've read, feel free to give derision where derision is due. I'm "equal-opportunity" that way.

The Proof Is In The Pudding

A gentleman who goes by the name "David" in a very nice-looking forum called "Losties Unite" has decided that it'd be fun/ego-inflating to take credit for my writing: http://my.spill.com/group/lostiesunite

I'm not the sort of person to anger easily, but this genuinely angers me. If you're going to blatantly steal my words, do yourself a favor and don't copy them wholesale from the site that you found them on, and don't then claim to actually BE that person. It makes it pretty easy to prove that you're full of it. I'm posting this so that the rest of the Losties Unite crew can see that "David" prefers copying and pasting the original work of other people over attempting to compose his own.

My best to the rest of that site's fans, who seem like good people.

Apologia

Update:

I started with a splitting headache, and ended up with a disappearing document. Which, as you might imagine, does not help with the aforementioned headache. Somehow, every word I've written on Ab Aeterno has up and vanished. This has never happened to me before, so I suppose I'm overdue. But it's immensely frustrating. You'll be able to read the column on Monday morning, and there ought to be an explanatory post up on Chud sometime today letting folks there know what the deal is.

Again, thanks for your patience. I'm off to apply a baseball bat to my hard drive.

Original Post:

Due to a combination of work-pileup and a SKULL-CRACKING headache, this week's Back To The Island column will be available to read tomorrow morning on Chud.com. It was either deliver a column I considered substandard, or take some extra time. I chose the latter. Thanks for your patience.

-MMorse

Push The Button.

Which button? The "Send" button.

Starting today, I'm soliciting contact information from you regarding my forthcoming book (on Lost's themes, allusions, references, etc). It contains both information from my columns as well as brand new info and all-new text from yours truly. I've been working on the manuscript for a few weeks now, and I'm liking what I've got so far quite a bit. If you're a fan of Lost I think you'll want this on your bookshelves.

If you'd like to show some support for this site, for the columns on Chud, or for my writing in general, please shoot me an email at WhatIsWater@gmail.com, let me know that you're interested in potentially purchasing the final product, and provide me with a working email address. YOU WILL NOT BE BOUND BY THIS IN ANY WAY. Doing this will not "force" you to buy a book somewhere down the line. It will simply give me a means to connect with those of you who wish to potentially purchase it, once pricing and size (this book is not small, people) have been determined.

I hope that you'll drop me a line. Thanks for reading!

Best,

M.

Too Much Information 13: Revisiting The Question Jar

We're now officially halfway through the final season of Lost.

Back in November of 2009 I listed out the questions that I thought Lost "must" answer, along with a bunch of questions that I didn't mind the show's writers answering or not answering as they saw fit.

So, how's the season stacking up against that wish list so far? Let's take a look:

1) What is the importance/purpose of the Island?

From the original column: "I don't know that I need a detailed explanation of what the Island actually is/what it contains, so long as we're told more-or-less why the Island is so darned important to characters like Jacob, Ben and Widmore. Not important in the personal sense (the Island is Ben's home, so of course it's important to him), but in the larger, mythology-inclusive sense of the word."

Ab Aeterno gave us the potential answer to this question last night: The Island is a kind of metaphorical (or possibly even literal) "cork," keeping "evil" bottled up and unable to escape. Is this the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me Island-God? We don't know for sure. But with eight episodes left until the finale, I suspect that it's more truth than not. WHY the Island does this, the consequences of not doing this - these questions are far from answered. But the Island's importance/purpose? Apparently answered.

2) What is Jacob's goal?

From the original column: "Why was Jacob popping up at certain points in the lives of certain castaways? What is the practical meaning behind his half-veiled conversation with the Man In Black? What is Jacob working to accomplish, if anything? And why?"

Part of this question has been answered. We know that Jacob was popping up in the castaways' lives because they're Candidates. What we don't know is what Jacob hoped/hopes to accomplish on the Island, but it seems practically certain that we'll know soon.

3/4) Who/what is the Man in Black? What's the deal with the Island's apparitions and visions?

From the original column: "If I'm right in my rampant speculation, questions 3 and 4 are connected - the Island's strange 'ghosts' and the Man In Black are one and the same."

I was right - at least as regards 98% of the Island's spectral population. We still don't know if Christian was also an MiB "avatar," but signs point strongly to "yes." Complicating things are the off-Island apparitions and Hurley's ability to see "friendly ghosts," like the spirit of Isabella. So, most of this question has been answered: The MiB and a majority of the Island's apparitions are one and the same. I believe that my "Well of Souls" theory may help to explain the rest of the question.

5) What is the Temple?

From the original column: "The show has built the Temple up to be a place that's central to the mythology of the Island. We've seen that the Smoke Monster lives in its ancient spaces, that Ben was somehow made well inside of it, that the Others retreated to it for safety when the Island was raided by Widmore's men. What is the Temple? What does it 'do'? Why is it important? Why is it hidden?"

We got our answers - the Temple contains a spring which heals and, thanks to the existence of Dogen, is a safe haven from the Man in Black. We still don't understand just HOW Dogen's life made the Temple a safe haven, nor why the spring was muddied, nor why it was a safe place from Widmore's men (who had rocket launchers).

6) What happened to Rousseau's crew?

From the original column: "This isn't a major mystery, in and of itself, but it's one that seems to be linked to the Smoke Monster, the Temple, the Others, and potentially Room 23. Rousseau's companions changed after following Montand down the Smokey Hole - they became sinister, deadly. Were they brainwashed? Possessed? Infected? ....Enlightened?"

We've gotten answers on this as well. Rousseau's crew apparently was infected - by the same "sickness" that seems to have claimed Sayid and Claire. Symptoms include sudden violence, duplicity, and an aversion to soap.

7) What are the motivations of Widmore and Hawking?

From the original column: "Season 5 muddied the already muddy waters of motivation for both Eloise Hawking and Charles Widmore, as well as their relationship. If Hawking is working 'for the good of us all,' why has she kept in contact with Widmore who, according to Ben, is not a good man? If Widmore is actually on the side of 'good,' then what's with his involvement in getting Locke to return to the Island? And why is he employing Abbadon? Why is Widmore trying to recapture the Island? Why is Hawking so concerned with returning the castaways to its shores? And why does she appear in a photo with Desmond's monk friend?"

This remains unanswered. With Widmore's arrival on Hydra Island, however, we should expect some clarification soon. As for Hawking's role/motivations? Perhaps they'll be linked to Widmore's.

8) Why did the Others take Walt?

From the original column: "We don't need the actor who played Walt to return in order to discover why he was important for a little while there. Why did the Others grab him? How and why did they know he was 'special'? Why did they subsequently let him go?"

This has yet to be answered. I believe I came up with a plausible answer to this question in my Rewatch Column for "Lost: Missing Pieces" (scroll down to the commentary on "Room 23").

9) Who are Illyana and the 'shadow of the statue' people?

From the original column: "They're clearly working with Jacob to some extent. Are they Others? Are they anti-Others? How do they know the answer to Illyana's riddle? And what does that riddle actually mean?"

We know who Ilana and her people are now - they're glorified bodyguards.

10) What's up with the fertility issues on the Island? And why is it a (mostly) cancer-free zone?

From the original column: "In the column for "One of Us," I pointed out that both the absence of cancer and the pregnancy difficulties involve a mysterious force preventing the growth of new life within the human body. What's the reason for this?"

If you believe the word on the virtual street, the question of Island fertility will not be directly answered in the final season. Which feels, to me, like an enormous cop-out. If it's the case that they don't plan to address it directly, I hope they've left it implicitly answered in some way. My thoughts on the similarities between pregnancy and cancer might provide a possible explanation.

11) What are the core tenets/beliefs of the Others?

From the original column: "What does the word 'good' really mean to the Others? Why do they seem to require the murder of a father figure in order to claim leadership? Why is their society structured as it is? Why are they required to learn Latin? Why do they give their dead viking-styled funerals? What is their self-percieved purpose on the Island? Their actual purpose?"

We've gotten answers to some of these things, but in subtle, quiet ways. It's been all-but-confirmed for us that the Others are Jacob's "worshippers" or "priests," and that Richard acts as the gatekeeper between the Island's God-figure and his "faithful" people. As for their beliefs, we've gotten very little.

12) What are The Whispers?

From the original column: "They seem to be connected to the sudden appearance of Others, they involve key members of the cast, and they seem to comment directly on the action when they're heard. What are they?"

Still unanswered. But I'd expect them to get around to this one as we near the show's end.

Expect another TMI column soon, as promised.

Lost: Season 6, Episode 9 Discussion

Insta-Reaction: Now that's more like it. When Lost's writers compared their story to The Stand, they weren't mucking around. The mythology of Lost leaps like Van Morrison, directly Into The Mystic with this episode and while I loved it, I have a feeling that this episode is going to fiercely divide viewers - either you're on-board with a struggle between "evil" and "good" or you're not. Those of you wanting a purely scientific resolution to this show are probably feeling a little disappointed right now (and now that I've taken a look at Chud's message board at can see that this is definately the case there). But with respect, Lost has made the "two sides: one dark, one light" theme explicit from the beginning. moaning about that now seems a little belated. In addition, while the conflict between these two men has taken on mythic/religious overtones, we know explicitly that both these figures are/were men.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story of Ricardo Alpert, loving husband, accidental murderer, deathrow convict, shipboard slave, Island arrival, Jacob-rep, and man of teetering faith. The way in which Lost has chosen to dramatize the struggle between "sin" and "salvation" in this season is extraordinary, and offers us a surprisingly complex look at human morality and the pull of opposing forces on the conscience and (if you believe in it) the soul.

As of tonight's installment I've made my peace with the whole answers thing. Lost seems committed to doling out their answers the same way that they always have - in small bites. Those bites are seeded into episodes that focus on the journeys of these characters, and in episodes like this one, those journeys are a portion of the answers themselves. There's a lot of interesting stuff going on in Ab Aeterno, and coupled with an enormously admirable performance by Nestor Carbonell, that makes it the best episode of the season as far as I'm concerned.

Your thoughts?


Original Post:

"I was set up 'from everlasting' (in Latin, 'Ab Aeterno'), from the beginning, or ever the earth was." -Proverbs 8:23

Ab Aeterno is the title of tonight's episode, and it has the potential to be an hour of revelations. Leave your thoughts on the episode here - I'll be by after it airs to give you my Insta-Reaction. One observation: the Bible quote above refers to God being set in Heaven "from everlasting, or "from eternity." This can also be seen to refer to Richard's condition, as he's been set on the Island for what has seemed an eternity, to serve Jacob's purpose. Also interesting: The wording of the King James translation ("set up from everlasting," as opposed to "furnished," or "appointed," as other translations have interpreted) reinforces the notion of being "set up," as in conned - a subject that Lost has been fascinated with "from everlasting." Many more thoughts to come in this week's Back to the Island column, out Thursday on Chud.com.

-MMorse

Edited to add: Apparently the episode runs six minutes long, so set your Tivos and DVRs accordingly.

Lost: Interesting Ephemera

If you're like me, you enjoy learning about the process of creating stories, whether those stories are told in books, on television screens, on stage, on movie screens, or elsewhere.

For instance: Did you know that Jack was originally supposed to have died in the first episode of Lost? Did you know that Michael Keaton was considered to play Jack? Did you know that Hurley auditioned for the part of Sawyer and the show's creators enjoyed him so much that they wrote a new role for him?

Reader Edward tells us that "in the middle of Season 3 there was a tremendous division in the writer's room as to the direction of the show. One half wanted the show to be more SciFi, and the other group wanted to focus more on relationships and keeping the show more mainstream. This conflict is what got the producers to set an end date, in order for both camps to focus their plot lines and desires toward an ending."

An Anonymous reader tells us that "the actress that plays [Sun] originally auditioned for the part of Kate. She was another one of those actors who auditioned, didn't get the role but impressed the casting so much that a role was written for her."

That's the kind of stuff that I enjoy learning, and I suspect that some of you do too. Do you have any interesting tidbits or trivia about the show? Anything you've learned from podcasts, articles, commentaries, or interviews that you think is fun/funny/fascinating/infuriating? No one has the time to trawl through all of the material that's out there, and there's a good chance that you know something fun/interesting. Share it here, and help to enrich your fellow fans.

Too Much Information Is Coming

Tune in early next week for the newest edition of Too Much Information, where I'll be talking about Season 6, Science and Faith, and Mirrors. Past columns can be found right here on the main page, in the sidebar directly to your right.

Recon (S6, Ep. 8)

The Back To The Island column for "Recon" has been discovered in a sock drawer for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

Please feel free to Digg it if you dig it!

Lost: Season 6, Ep. 8 Discussion

Post-Show Insta-Reaction:

On a scale of one to ten, Recon is a solid 5. Maybe 6, if credit's assigned for what's implied over the course of the episode.

Lost is sometimes criticized for being a show about "people who walk places." The castaways squabble on the beach, walk to the caves, resume squabbling, walk to, oh, say, the Black Rock whilst squabbling. This complaint never made sense to me until tonight, where there were a number of wordless marches through the jungle, or snippets of conversations that seemed almost purposefully circuitous.

I appreciate a good tease as much as the next guy, but you've either got to give me some red meat on the bone - some answers, please - or distract me with something shiny and cool. I don't feel like Recon managed either of those things very successfully. This may he one of those "better on DVD episodes," but I suspect it's more like the Sawyer-goes-to-prison episode. Beefcake for the ladies, another con within in con, MORE new characters....Anyone have a theory on why Sawyer was so sure Widmore wanted to kill Anti-Locke? I can't help thinking that Widmore has something different in mind. Perhaps he wants the MiB's job?

Not a bad episode, but nowhere near what I expect from the show this season. That's not meant to sound snotty or entitled. It's just an honest assessment of my expectations. So far, the season's been meeting/exceeding them. This one kinda let me down.


Original Post:

Tonight's episode of Lost promises to drop us back into the midst of the Man in Black's ominous Island insurrection. Will we learn his plans? Will Kate be "infected"? Will the Island's secrets be revealed? Will we see Sawyer? One thing is certain.


There Will Be Jackface.


Lots and lots of Jackface. Maybe not this episode, but surely the next. Celebrate the Jackface while it lasts, people. Celebrate it like the last unicorn.


Celebrate mad-eyed, poison-pill-popping, Jackfaced unicorns with us here every week! Sign up to follow this lil' blog by clicking HERE.