LOST: Episodes 6.9 and 6.10

Real life constraints force me to combine the last two episodes into one brief post, before tonight's new episode airs and I find myself even further behind. I'm such a bad LOST blogger that if I were on the Island, MIBLocke would have no trouble stealing my soul.

Ab Aeterno

From Wikipedia: Literally, "from the everlasting" or "from eternity". Thus, "from time immemorial", "since the beginning of time" or "from an infinitely remote time in the past". In theology, often indicates something, such as the universe, that was created outside of time.

While it didn't feel like a LOST episode in the classic sense, I still enjoyed this immensely. A wonderful character piece that filled in the backstory, at last, of the mysterious Richard Alpert, "Ab Aeterno" revealed not only how Richard got to the Island and why he is immortal, but it also offered more information/hints about the roles Jacob and MIB are playing and what purpose the Island serves and why it must be protected (it's a cork in hellmouth bottle!).

Definitely a solid episode, very entertaining and Nestor Carbonell acted his little pants off. You can read more about it in Alan's review.

The Package

I was right about two things in my "Recon" recap:

1. MIBLocke does apparently have a reason for "collecting" followers. Specifically: He needs to gather all of the candidates together. I suspect he doesn't want to play some pickup basketball with them; and

2. Desmond (DESMOND!) is The Package behind the padlocked door.

I've said this many times before and I'll say it again: Sun and Jin episodes are among my favorites. This one was no exception.

A few things:

• Again, the alt-timeline shows a similar version of the characters, who have made slightly different choices and seem happier, although Sun and Jin's timeline seems to be heading in a tragic direction. I hope the Island timeline doesn't go in a similarly sad direction. Keamy's remark that Sun and Jin weren't meant to be together, however, makes me very worried.
• Hey! It's Alt-Mikhail! And he has both ey--Wait, I take that back!
• And again, the mirror theme continues in the alt-timeline, with Sun pausing an extra moment while looking at herself in the hotel mirror.
• If Sun wasn't already a favorite of mine, the fact that she ran as fast as she could away from MIBLocke would have made her one. Atta girl! It happens so rarely that when a LOST character actually show some sense, it automatically elevates the quality of the episode.
• I loved the Sun/Jack scene on the beach. At the risk of sounding like a broken record...Jack rocks this season. He looks pretty good, too.
• (Paraphrasing) Ben to Ilana: "Why won't you believe me when I say that Sun was already unconscious when I found her?" Ilana: "Because you are speaking." Hee. Speaking of Ilana, her expression when she saw Richard enter the beach camp was so well done.
• I was totally verklempt when Jin was looking at the pictures of Jeon. I hope that's not the only way he's going to see her.

That is so not the best picture of him - in fact, he looks like Russell Crowe - but I don't care. He's back! My joy, however, is mixed with anxiety about what his ultimate purpose is with regard to the Island, and what his ultimate fate will be. I don't like the fact that Widmore had to drug him and keep him under lock and key in order to get him to come back to the Island. He was brought against his will, apparently, and Widmore's plan must involve Desmond's special "connection" with the electromagnetism of the Island. I just hope his role isn't a sacrificial one.

And so I head into tonight's episode filled with anxiety. It's about Desmond, and as Damon Lindelof tweeted last week, "In one week, the conversation is going to change."

What does that MEAN??