Tonight was episode 9 of the final season of Lost, and it was indeed a special occasion. The episode was dedicated to the man, the myth, the ageless legend himself: Richard Alpert. Since first meeting Richard (Nestor Carbonell), we’ve always wondered about who he was, and when we discovered that the very same man was the very same age in many different points in time, his intrigue far surpassed all other characters on Lost.

We aren’t a website that typically covers every single episode of the popular shows out there. Usually we just stick to the premiers and finales for seasonal discussion purposes, but this episode is far too good to pass up. It must be discussed, and your thoughts shared!

Obviously there will be spoilers going on here, so don’t click over if you’re not caught up yet. And once again, if you’re not caught up, what the hell are you thinking!? It’s okay — we still love you. Just, ya know…get on that.

Tonight’s episode — titled “Ab Aeterno” (Latin; translates to “From the Beginning of Time”) — begins with Jacob having a little conversation with Ilana, where he asks her to protect the 6 “candidates” on the island. After this brief intro, we flash forward to Ilana on the island with Jack and Sun and so on. When the conversation comes to Richard, he has a little breakdown and shares a secret with Jack (and I’m loosely quoting here; this may not be exact): “You’re dead. We’re all dead. This is Hell!”

This is a brilliant way to start the episode because so many people, myself included, have had a theory of them all being dead and all being in Hell or Purgatory and so on. The episode doesn’t take long to add a couple of alternate explanations to Richard’s claim, leaving us still without a solid answer, and this is what makes it brilliant and maybe even infuriating to some. Personally? I think the producers knew what fans were saying, and this was a little nod to them. Things could play out to where this is a part of what’s going on, but with 7 episodes left until the very last episode of Lost ever, I think there’s a lot more to it than just “They’re in Hell, silly.”

After Richard’s secret, we flashback to the mid-19th century, where Richard discovers his wife is direly ill, setting him off to seek a doctor’s assistance. Sadly, this is the 19th century, and the doctor is a one-day journey there and back. When the doctor refuses Richard medicine, they get into an altercation and he accidentally kills the man and rushes back to his wife, only to discover she had already passed away. Devastated, he’s arrested for murder and imprisoned. He’s due to be hanged for his crimes, but with a turn of luck, he is purchased as a slave, and finds himself on the Black Rock sailing the open seas.

His boat trip doesn’t last too long, however, as a massive storm strikes, tossing and thrashing the waters around them. The last thing that they see is an island nearby guarded by a statue that they call “the Devil,” right before the Black Rock is thrown directly into the statue (breaking it at the leg, of course), and deep into the jungle where you’d be shocked to discover a shipwreck.

It’s not long before the mysterious Man in Black appears and is asking for Richard’s help in escaping the island. All Richard has to do, is kill the Devil by stabbing him in the heart. He reluctantly goes to do this, but is quickly disarmed by Jacob, who yells at him, tells him he’s not dead, he’s not in Hell, and that he’ll give him eternal life to help Jacob with his job. Ta-da!

Now, I don’t want to novelize the entire episode, but that’s the set-up, and that’s how Richard got to the island and is who he is.

This was easily the best episode of the season, and no doubt it was one of the best we’ve ever seen. The reason for this is clearly because we’ve known for so long that some day we were going back to the 1800s, and that we would see much deeper into the story of Richard Alpert. There was so much hype to live up to, and when we realized it was all living up to said hype and then some, it became destined for greatness.

I’m personally not going to get into too much theory spurting. So much happened in “Ab Aeterno” that I feel like I need to see it 5 or 6 more times to get everything burnt to brain. Also, as I said, though they seemed to give a lot of answers, many questions were created in-turn. We’ve come to expect this from Lost, but they’re running out of time. It’s almost like the Hydra of Greek Mythology: cut a head off, two more grow back. You have to strike the heart!

One thing worth mention is the Black Rock when it wrecks on the island. In the finale of Season 5, the episode opens with the Man in Black and Jacob talking about bringing people there, and how they’ll always do the same thing that they always do. On the horizon is an old ship. I and many others assumed this was Black Rock and Richard Alpert, but it was a clear and beautiful day in that scene and not the vicious night-time storm that brought them to the island in tonight’s episode. Peculiar.

I can only guess that maybe that was just another ship on another day. It’s been made clear that many people have been brought there, so it’s not completely absurd to think many ships had been lead there. But still, everything seems to be tied together on Lost, and a random, separate ship doesn’t seem to fit too well into the show’s general tendencies.

OK — your turn!

What’d you guys think of tonight’s Richard Alpert episode, “Ab Aeterno,” and what are your theories using the wealth of knowledge we’ve received tonight?