Unlike most episodes in Season Six, this one was almost entirely a flashback, and did not cut back and forth from past to present. It was framed with current island time on both ends, and showed a brief flashback with Ilana, but otherwise, this was Ricardo's story circa 1867. Was anyone else surprised to find he isn't centuries old? Sure, he was born before the Civil War, but I thought he might pre-date Columbus.
Another surprise: Richard hails from the Canary Islands, not some other Spanish country or even Egypt, as some people suspected. His backstory revolved around his wife, Isabella, dying of tuberculosis. In desperation to get her medicine, Richard causes a doctor's death in a freak accident. Rather than going to the gallows, he's plopped on a ship we all know as The Black Rock.
After a nasty storm, the ship crashes into Jacob's statue. (Jacob must be pissed. I hope he had Egyptian Mansion Statue Homeowner's Insurance.) It then belly flops in the jungle, where Richard remains until Smokey comes along. "Photographing" him (as it did Eko and Juliet), Smokey convinces Ricardo he is in hell and has to kill "the devil" - Jacob.
But the Man in Black and Jacob are both manipulative, and Jacob convinces Richard to join his side after granting him eternal life. Thus, the ageless Richard as we know him and love him is born. Oh, and the MIB and Jacob spar some more, make a lovely wine bottle analogy, and pique our interests even further regarding the island's mythology and legacy. What the hell is going on anyway?
Back in the present, Richard bolts from the group and runs into Hurley, who calms Richard by revealing Isabella's presence. When Richard closes his eyes, he can see his wife, feel that she's there. It's a tender moment, and Hurley is an appropriate guide. (Best quote of the night: "Your English is awesome.")
Also of note:
-Witfield is an awfully similar name to Widmore. Think there's a relation?
-The literal white rock presented is a nice juxtaposition to the ship, The Black Rock, eh? Is this good vs. evil or yin & yang?
-Did you know Nestor Carbonell is of Cuban heritage? No wonder his Spanish was so good!
-Since Richard has eternal life, that must mean he'll die. Right? For the sake of the island? Or something? I wonder if he'll turn up in the Sideways reality somehow.
-If Hurley is soooo good at being Haley Joel Osment, why hasn't he seen Libby? I'm sure he will in the alternative universe, if nothing else.
-Next week: Jin & Sun. And the return of Desmond, brotha! A
4 comments:
Agreed! I loved this episode... It was like a mini-epic. Nestor IS a phenomenal actor. I hope he has some juicy parts as the show wraps up... He and his unusually dark eyelashes, and no its not guyliner, its all natural! :)
I admit, it's probably my own fault that I didn't enjoy this episode as much as I could have. The message board community (on a video game website) where I spend a lot of time theorizing about Lost has elevated Richard to a godlike status, and I'm pretty much sick of hearing about him. So, I brought that on myself.
That being said, I loved the bit at the end with Hurley. I liked the wine-bottle analogy. But they spent way too long with Ricardo on the Black Rock trying to get out of his chains.
This was definitely a sort of controversial or divisive episode. Well a lot of people loved it, many were "eh" as well. I can understand just wanted to move on and get more answers already. (But I still loved this one.)
I'm with ya, I totally loved it. It would be my favorite episode of the season, if not for my weird crush on Ben Linus (which makes his episode my fave).
Nice write-up!
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