Season 6, Ab Aeterno

Apologies that Schlost was on a 2 week hiatus. But I'm back. Although the show isn't really answering too many questions we are slowly getting there. And my Mum who is just as frustrated said Lost writers really could have done some better shit this season and that I should put that in my blog & smoke it. Love my Mum! Oh she didn't want me to quote her for fear that some crazy Schlost readers (all 5 of you) may show up at her house- how cute is she!

Was surprised that Lost went from a Novela to GHOST! I mean, I really thought Hurley was going to turn into Whoopie Goldberg!

- Ab Aeterno means "from a very long time ago"

- The town of Tenerife, Canary Islands was massacred 500 years ago by conquerors and called The Slaughter. For a long time the extermination of this nation and all it's culture was held in secret and always denied. Under the mandate of 'Franco' it was even forbidden to talk about it. (The Purge!) Also, In 1977 (the same year as The Incident), there was what is now known as the Tenerife airport disaster where two planes collided in midair. Not only were two planes involved (mirroring Oceanic Flight 815 and Ajira Flight 316), but the disaster was the result of the detonation of bomb by terrorists, mirroring The Incident itself. Tenerife wasn't the result of a bomb detonation, it was two planes that crashed on a runway.

- Constant reminder of everything happens for a reason. Richard thinking his life had no purpose and suicide was the way out (also contemplated by Michael, Jack, Locke).

- Richard reading the Bible- Luke Chapter 4 Verse 37 And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about. “Through the eyes of Luke, we see the Savior, but we see aspects of His life and ministry that would have been lost to us without this Gospel. Luke teaches us that the gospel is for all persons, be they Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free, men or women, shepherds or kings.

- Magnus Hanso, great grandfather of Alvar Hanso (fiancier of Dharma). Albertus Magnus was a German philosopher and theologian. Magnus was one of the greatest alchemists of all time, and was also the discoverer of the legendary "Philosopher's Stone" (which could allegedly be combined with certain metals to create a youth-preserving elixir; that would make its general objective similar to that of the Life Extension Project) and the creator of a supernatural device, an automaton which he named "Android." Using the "angels from the netherworld" and the powers of the Philosopher's Stone, he created "metals and material unknown to this world" and chose them "according to the stars and planets." This "android" was instilled with the powers of speech, thought, and according to some reports, a soul. Upon completion of this project, his student St. Thomas Aquinas destroyed the "diabolic being" and denounced it as "a tool of Satan and a blasphemy to God." The "android" could be linked to the Security System. Magnus, alias Magnus Lehnsherr, is a member of the Exiles, a group of alternate reality X-Men from the Marvel comic of the same name. One of his superpowers is the control of electromagnetic energy.

- Blackrock left port in 1845, the log was found in 1852 and Richard boarded in 1867. At the same time, we know there was dynamite on the ship. Alfred didn't invent dynamite till 1864 and didn't patent it till 1867.

- The Devil Finds Work for Idle Hands. When people have too much time on their hands, they are more likely to get in trouble. The Devil took Richard's body, humanity. Richard is confused by who is the devil & who is good. He's been doing work for Jacob this whole time but is now questioning his faith and that's why he begs for the Devil again.

- The Devil offered Richard a Job. According to the Bible, there was an extremely pious man named Job. He habitually offered burnt offerings as a pardon for his son's sins. God asks Satan his opinion on Job, apparently a truly pious man. Satan answers that Job is pious only because he is prosperous. In response to Satan's assertion, God gives Satan permission to destroy Job's possessions and family. All of Job's possessions are destroyed and a 'ruach' (wind/spirit) kills his offspring. Job does not curse God after this but instead shaves his head, tears his clothes and says, "Naked I came out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return : Lord has given, and Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of Lord".

- The Devil is believed to be an angel who rebelled against God—and also the one who spoke through the serpent and seduced Eve into disobeying God's command. His ultimate goal is to lead people away from the love of God — to lead them to fallacies which God opposes. His pride is considered a reason why he would not bow to God as all other angels did, but sought to rule heaven himself. The popularly held belief is that Satan was once a prideful angel who eventually rebelled against God.

- Jacob gave Richard a baptism in the water. Baptism is a symbol not just of the washing away of sins but also of joining Christ in his death and being raised again with him. This is what is signified by entering the water and coming out again. More than that though - as you physically enter the water you are actually joined with Christ in his death, (that defeated sin) and as you come out of the water again you are joined with him in his new life.

- Symbolism of wine. Wine is the life of Jesus and means that Jesus is always available to us.

- It's in our nature to sin, the past doesn't matter. These people are brought to this island to repent for their sins, which they must do on their own. Jacob uses Richard (as Jesus used his disciples) to lead people on the right path by discovering their own faults & mistakes, Jesus cannot give you the answers. The Devil tries to offer the best way out - deal with the devil(getting Sawyer off the Island, bringing back Isabella).

- Convinced Hurley is the Candidate to take over for Jacob and to keep darkness/evil off the island. He's the only truly good one that didn't really need to be on the island. He had to show Richard the right way by talking to Isabella when he was trying to get MIB to change his decision.

- Jacob's Ladder- Karen wanted me to look up both the biblical reference & movie and I thought it was right on:

- Biblical: Jesus can be seen as being the ladder in that he bridges the gap between Heaven and Earth. Jesus presents himself as the reality to which the stairway points; Jacob saw in a dream the reunion of Heaven and Earth and Jesus brought this reunion, metaphorically the ladder, into reality. You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood. (white stone/everyone climbing down ladders or looking down- Juliette was down a hole, Richard on boat was down, the hatch was down, Sawyer climbed down the ladder, the dharma pit where lock was was down)

- The Movie: can be interpreted as the wanderings of an unknowing soul through purgatory, or as a lengthy delirious hallucination prior to death.
Jacob's friend, chiropractor and guardian angel Louis cites the 14th century Christian mystic Meister Eckhart—"Eckhart saw Hell too; he said: 'the only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of life, your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you,' he said. 'They're freeing your soul. So, if you're frightened of dying and... you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth.'

- So big question is.. who thinks Jacob may be the devil? That everything what we think may not be what it seems.. Or that Jacob & MIB are related (good twin/bad twin)? just curious!