Ab Aeterno 

The mysteries behind Richard Alpert's arrival to the island, his immortality, and his alliance with Jacob are revealed--plus more details about the purpose of the island and the relationship between Jacob and the smoke monster.

Director:

Tucker Gates

Writers:

Jeffrey Lieber (created by), J.J. Abrams (created by)

Stars:

Naveen Andrews, Nestor Carbonell, Henry Ian Cusick

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Naveen Andrews	...	Sayid Jarrah (credit only)
Nestor Carbonell	...	Richard Alpert
Henry Ian Cusick	...	Desmond Hume (credit only)
Emilie de Ravin	...	Claire Littleton (credit only)
Michael Emerson	...	Ben Linus
Jeff Fahey	...	Frank Lapidus
Matthew Fox	...	Dr. Jack Shephard
Jorge Garcia	...	Hugo 'Hurley' Reyes
Josh Holloway	...	James 'Sawyer' Ford (credit only)
Daniel Dae Kim	...	Jin-Soo Kwon (credit only)
Yunjin Kim	...	Sun-Hwa Kwon
Ken Leung	...	Miles Straume
Evangeline Lilly	...	Kate Austen (credit only)
Terry O'Quinn	...	Man in Black
Zuleikha Robinson	...	Ilana Verdansky

Storyline

Ilana recalls when Jacob asked her to protect the six candidates to replace him. Ilana asks Richard what to do next and he leaves the group telling that he has no idea. In flashback, in 1867, in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Richard, a.k.a. Ricardo travels in a stormy night to bring a doctor to help his beloved wife Isabella that is dying. However, the doctor does not accept the little money that he has and does not give the medicine for Isabella. They struggle and Ricardo accidentally kills the doctor. When he returns home, Isabella is dead and Ricardo is sent to prison to be hanged. However he is sold as slave and travels to the New World chained aboard of the Black Rock. There is a tsunami and the ship knocks in the statue in the island and stops in the woods. The smoke monster kills the survivors and the Man in Black releases Ricardo. Soon he learns that there is a fight between the Man in Black, who believes that mankind is evil, and Jacob, who believes that mankind is good. Jacon ...

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Plot Keywords:

immortality | friends who live together | horse | catholic priest | chains | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Did You Know?

Trivia

Aside the season finales and the season 6 premiere (double episodes), this is the longest episode of the series.

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Goofs

After Jacob defeats Richard, he can be seen standing over him holding the dagger that Richard was using, in his right hand. After Richard is shown while speaking his line, we can see Jacob again with no dagger in his hand. A little later, after Jacob and Richard have finished their conversation, Jacob is suddenly holding the dagger again, and proceeds to drop it in the sand. Actually Jacob's left hand can't be seen until he switches hands and drops the dagger.

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Quotes

[the Man in Black sits on a log in the shade, holding a white stone. Jacob shows up]
Jacob: Morning.
Man in Black: Morning.
Jacob: I see you got my present.
Man in Black: Don't gloat, Jacob. It doesn't become you.
Jacob: So you tried to kill me.
Man in Black: You expect an apology?
Jacob: I'd just like to know why you did it.
Man in Black: Because I want to leave. Just let me leave, Jacob.
Jacob: As long as I'm still alive, you're not going anywhere.
[...]

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Connections

References Supernatural (2005)

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Soundtracks

End Title
(uncredited)
Written by Michael Giacchino
Performed by The Hollywood Studio Symphony

User Reviews

The Best Episode of the Sixth Season

Ilana recalls when Jacob asked her to protect the six candidates to replace him. Ilana asks Richard what to do next and he leaves the group telling that he has no idea.

In flashback, in 1867, in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Richard, a.k.a. Ricardo travels in a stormy night to bring a doctor to help his beloved wife Isabella that is dying. However, the doctor does not accept the little money that he has and does not give the medicine for Isabella. They struggle and Ricardo accidentally kills the doctor. When he returns home, Isabella is dead and Ricardo is sent to prison to be hanged. However he is sold as slave and travels to the New World chained aboard of the Black Rock. There is a tsunami and the ship knocks in the statue in the island and stops in the woods. The smoke monster kills the survivors and the Man in Black releases Ricardo. Soon he learns that there is a fight between the Man in Black, who believes that mankind is evil, and Jacob, who believes that mankind is good. Jacon offers immortality to Ricardo to work for him. But the Man in Black tells that his offer is still open.

"Ab Aeterno", which means "from eternity" in Latin, is the best episode of this confused Six Season and one of the best of "Lost" ever. The dramatic and supernatural story of Ricardo, a.k.a. Ricardo, is engaging and with top-notch performances. The relationship between the Man in Black and Jacob is explained a little further. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Ab Aeterno"

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Latin Russian

Release Date:

23 March 2010 (USA)

Filming Locations:

O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bad Robot, ABC Signature

Technical Specs

Runtime:

48 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1