Tonight's Going to be AMAZING

I'm absolutely coming out of my skin with excitment for tonight's big episode. Hopefully everyone saw the awesome sneek-peek at the end of last week's episode. If not, I'm very sorry and I'm about to fill you in. Tonight's episode (highlight for answer), Ab Aeterno, is all about Richard Alpert. Ab Aeterno means "since the beginning of time". The episode will last 1 hour and 6 minutes. The description reads, "Richard Alpert faces a difficult choice" and guest stars Jacob and the man in black. My guess is that not only will we learn a lot about Richard, but the writers will use this opportunity to teach us more about Jacob, the man in black, and the island.

So what will we learn tonight?  Here's my wish list.

3. Smokey – Another question that has plagued loyal viewers from the very first episode. What the heck is the black smoke monster!? Is it a security system? Is it a sort of attack dog? Whatever it is, smokey has the ability to ‘judge’ people (Ben, Eko) , seems to live in The Temple, and can be deployed by draining a puddle of water under Ben’s old house in New Otherton. Wealso know it the smoke monster has been on the island for a very long time, as the Egyptian hieroglyphics on the wall of the room below The Temple depict. But the exact purpose and origin of smokey still remain one of Lost’s greatest mysteries.

5. The Black Rock – A British trading ship that is shipwrecked in the Dark Territory of the island, we’re not sure how a giant ship ended up on the middle of the island. According to the first mate’s journal in Season 4, Episode 5 (The Constant) the ship left England in 1845 and sailed towards modern-day Thailand. The journal was found with pirate artifacts on an island off the coast of Madagascar and was owned by the Hanso family (think Dharma Initiative financing) until it was auctioned off to Charles Widmore in 1996. Who was on the boat? What brought the Black Rock to the island? How did the journal get to Madagascar? So many questions, hopefully enough time to answer them all!


6. Man In Black (Jacob’s Nemisis) – Since Walt and Locke played backgammon in the pilot episode; fans have known that black and white hold symbolic significance in the world of LOST. So when Jacob’s nemisis shows up on the beach wearing black while Jacob is wearing white, we knew that the scene was significant. But who, exactly is the man in black, why does he want to kill Jacob? How did he get to the island? Is he really bad, as his black shirt leads us to believe? How does he have the ability to become ‘Flocke’? Also, is there a biblical connection to the story of Jacob and Esau, in which two brothers fight for ‘birthright’ to rule over their father’s wealth and authority? Seems awful likely to this humble fan.


7. Richard Alpert – If you have a pulse and are a fan of LOST, you’ve got to be wondering what the heck is going on with Richard Alpert (and I’m not talking about his guyliner)! He claims that Jacob gave him the ability to never age (can I get that in a bottle?), but we’re still not sure why. What brought Richard to the island? Why did Jacob select him to be his ‘advisor’? Does he have a relationship with Jacob’s nemesis? How old is this guy? One of my burning Richard-related questions comes from Season 3, Episode 20 (The Man Behind the Curtain). Richard meets young-Ben in the jungle, and this is the only time Richard’s appearance is different. His hair is long, his clothes are disheveled – what’s up with this? Why isn’t he clean cut Richard we’ve seen ever since? Weird. Let’s hope for some Alpert back story in Season 6.


15. Egyptian Connection - There are many instances of Egyptian artifacts showing up on the island.  You can’t spit without hitting a hieroglyphic drawing (on the countdown timer in the Swan, secret door in Ben’s New Otherton house, by the frozen donkey wheel, where Smokey lives, in Dharma classrooms, ect.) and the four toed statue turned out the be a statue of Taweret, the Egyptian Goddess of childbirth (holy crap!). Dharma Paul also wore an ankh around his neck before his death and his widow, Amy, keeps the necklace in her dresser. The ankh is also an ancient Egyptian symbol for life and fertility. There must be some kind of connection between the ancient Egyptians and the island, but what is that connection and is it important? With all of the fertility references, are the Egyptians somehow responsible for the strange pregnancy issues on the island?
16. What’s up with Latin and the Others? – While we’re on the ancient population track, why do the Others speak Latin? In Season 5, Episode 3 (Jughead), we meet two Others (one of which turns out to be good ol’ Chuck Widmore) who speak Latin. It is in this episode we learn that Juliet also speaks Latin. Latin is also the language of choice for Illana’s crew when asking, “What lies in the shadow of the statue?” and for Richard’s reply “He who will save us all”. So how the heck did they learn Latin? Why chose a dead language? Strange.


21. Pregnancy Issues - Juliet Burke is brought to the island as a fertility specialist in Season 3, Episode 7 (Not in Portland) to help the Others with their child-birthing issues. It appears that the island reduces a woman’s reproductive capabilities, but enhances male sperm count. Women who conceive on the island die before their third trimester, but women who conceive off the island appear to be able to give birth on the island without complication (Claire, Danielle). We’re not sure though, that the pregnancy issues occurred before 1977, as Amy gives birth to a healthy Ethan and we’re pretty sure she conceived on the island. So why are there pregnancy issues when the island seemingly ‘cures’ other ailments (Locke’s paralysis, Rose’s cancer)? What causes the problem? Is it ‘the incident’? Is the pregnancy issue related to the Dharma vaccine and illness?


31. Jacob’s Origins – I know I’m not alone when I say I hope that a large portion of Season 6 is dedicated to Jacob’s back story. Who is this guy? How long has he been on the island? How did he become the leader of the island? Is he good or bad? Did he ever live in that cabin, or has he always lived inside a foot? Does he travel on and off the island via the frozen donkey wheel or is there some other way? How does he know the Losties he traveled to touch? How does he make Richard Alpert seemingly immortal? Jacob must be explored in depth this season!


32. Jacob’s Cabin – First seen by fans in Season 3, Episode 20 (Man Behind the Curtain) Jacob’s cabin is full of mystery. First, we’re not certain Jacob was ever really there, and it he was, he hasn’t lived there for a very long time. So when John Locke visits the cabin, who does he hear whisper “Help me?” Why does Christian Shephard take Claire to the cabin? What’s with the circle of ashes around it? Why can only certain people find the cabin (Hurley, for one) when others cannot?

37. Why does the island whisper? – The whispers are one of the original island mysteries. Many have speculated that the voices are the island’s dead trying to communicate with the living. Others think that the voices may be in a parallel reality and the island is the point where these two worlds meet. Other theories include the Others and Smokey. Who knows? Not me! What I do know is that the whispers have occurred in every season, so I wouldn’t be surprised to hear more whispers in Season 6.


42. Origin of the Frozen Donkey Wheel – Located beneath the Orchid station, the frozen donkey wheel moves the island through time. When one turns the wheel, it causes them to land in a Tunisian desert. We know the wheel exists in 1974, when Locke pushes the wheel and stops the island from skipping in time. We know that Dharma discovers the wheel in 1977 and that Ben used the wheel sometime in 2005 to leave the island, but we’re still not sure of the origin of the wheel. Since there are hieroglyphics on the wall by the wheel, we can guess that it has been on the island for a very long time, but it would be nice to firm up the origin of the frozen donkey wheel this season, as it is such an interesting and important piece of the island.

We'll just have to wait and see.