Very happy you spoke about writer politics - most would never think about much less analyze the impact of this lynchpin level factor. Loss of some of these culture setters like Marxuach is clearly one of the reasons the mystery-oriented fans (who were the primary audience in the early seasons) felt betrayed by the genre turn towards pure action and the failure to deliver promises in the last season. I was pleasantly surprised to see the "Burn it down" book reference here, as I saw it more often in discussions about another one of my favorite serialized tv shows of that era (Mad Men). 12:0012:30 these were the topics that exposed me to you on reddit and incited our first conversation. I still somewhat favor the idea of EM fields drawing the black rock to the statue because why would a hurricane peak out at the statue head so specifically otherwise? 14:29 Wouldn't the erosion imply the statue was built on elevated ground? 16:21 Mother was infertile, and if Jacob organized the creation as a homage to her the design adaptation would make sense. Also based on the design of the cork it would make sense for the statue too to be a syncretization of Mesopotamian and Egyptian religion. 23:40 I think it could alternatively be that Dharma was a successor of Hanso and merely presented his grave respectfully. A lot of the Jacob/MIB interactions in this episode made me wonder at the time if they would have been just one person if conceived off Island. Eg MiB is an incarnation of Jacob who was externalized due to Mother's/the island's intervention.
Another brilliant video, Christian. I think Ab Aeterno is one of the finest episodes of television ever made. I enjoy Tricia Tanaka is Dead, Lafleur, and the Constant as feel good episodes, but Ab Aeterno sits on another level as a work of art. I wish the network had let them make it into a 2 part episode. There's so much more of this story that could have been told.
I'm with you on 'Ab Aeterno' being the finest hour of LOST, only just edging out a few other personal favs of mine. It's like a biblical parable in the way it plays out, and perhaps it was designed as such. It is a classic "man meets both god and the devil then must make a moral choice between good and evil" type of tale. Also, coincidentally, I was recently asked about the tidal wave and how such a HUGE tsunami could have happened and swept over The Island like that. There are, of course, several possibilities but the answer I gave (and the one I like the most) goes like this: Following his conversation with Jacob on the beach, The Man in Black gets up and walks off into the jungle. He heads to the well, teleports down into the wheel chamber, then turns that wheel to move The Island. Of course, MiB stays put down there because "the exit" doesn't open for him, but The Island does move and jumps right into a new location at night during a storm, taking the Black Rock with it, and creating an earth-shattering groundswell that causes the gigantic tidal wave. MiB does this in the hopes of causing damage/harm to the ship, for which he succeeds, then swoops in to finish the survivors off at first light. However, this theory does raise the question as to whether or not MIB could actually physically touch and operate the wheel himself. It feels like one of Jacob's rules would prevent him from doing so, but it does help to explain the discrepancy of how The Black Rock goes from a beautiful sunny day to a raging sea at night. Sure, it could just be like you said: that The Black Rock was anchored off the coast all day or returned to that spot again later, but then surely the slaves aboard would have been able to see the statue in daylight and recognise that it wasn't "The Devil" standing guard at the gates of hell? Also, wouldn't they have seen Jacob and MiB ashore chatting away? Why wouldn't they have rowed out to them? Just little questions like that gnaw away at my brain! So, I tend to prefer the idea that MiB turned the wheel and had a direct hand in The Black Rock's fate that day. p.s. Happy New Year!
Thanks and Happy New Year! That's also a good and alternate theory. Fun! I don't think it's too far-fetched that the slaves didn't notice. There were no windows down there and only a small gap, that only Ignacio would see through. I doubt the slaves would simply peek out all day long and we don't even know the angle of that gap/if it's facing the Island. And I think that the Black Rock were careful not to approach it with a boat, since this was uncharted area. Kind of like North Sentinel Island, the island no one can visit, with a violent tribe that immediately attack everyone approaching it. Safer to stay a distance, sail around to see if they find a dock (with a massive structure like that, surely there had to be a dock and a village nearby - at least that's what the Black Rock crew would think). Investigate by sea first and then approach the statue later, when they feel secure about this area/haven't found a good place to dock the ship.
Yes! I love the theory that the dramatic weather changes on the island were caused by it moving, as Charlie says: "Is this normal? Day turning into night, end of the world type weather?" although it need not be explained by the wheel. This has been part of the island's lore since Pilot Part 1! A teleporting island displacing water seems like a perfect explanation for what caused the giant wave.
Great video as always Choekaas, however I very much doubt that Carlton and Damon were/are racist in any way and I think it's a mistake to state that as a solid fact.
I think Marxuach was indeed a big reason why the first two seasons are my favourite. There was something a lot more sinister and serious about Dharma and the Others and even the monster, compared to how clueless and immature they all seem to be in Darlton's final vision. I love Ab Aeterno, but I'm always baffled by the major continuity errors, like having the Black Rock's final voyage take place in 1867 here when it was previously stated to be lost at sea in 1845. It seems like the writers were creating discrepancies on purpose at this point. Oh well.
Thank you very much! Yes, I used to play Magic the Gathering many years ago, mostly when I was in the army. That was great. I tried to get back to it later, but other things got in the way unfortunately.
Haha, it's just a fan theory of mine that MIB used Magnus Hanso's appearance in the cabin. (But it could've been anyone. Horace is also a very good theory). It's also convenient for me and this series, since then I don't have to make an icon with a blank anonymous face.
Very happy you spoke about writer politics - most would never think about much less analyze the impact of this lynchpin level factor. Loss of some of these culture setters like Marxuach is clearly one of the reasons the mystery-oriented fans (who were the primary audience in the early seasons) felt betrayed by the genre turn towards pure action and the failure to deliver promises in the last season.
I was pleasantly surprised to see the "Burn it down" book reference here, as I saw it more often in discussions about another one of my favorite serialized tv shows of that era (Mad Men).
12:00 12:30 these were the topics that exposed me to you on reddit and incited our first conversation. I still somewhat favor the idea of EM fields drawing the black rock to the statue because why would a hurricane peak out at the statue head so specifically otherwise?
14:29 Wouldn't the erosion imply the statue was built on elevated ground?
16:21 Mother was infertile, and if Jacob organized the creation as a homage to her the design adaptation would make sense. Also based on the design of the cork it would make sense for the statue too to be a syncretization of Mesopotamian and Egyptian religion.
23:40 I think it could alternatively be that Dharma was a successor of Hanso and merely presented his grave respectfully.
A lot of the Jacob/MIB interactions in this episode made me wonder at the time if they would have been just one person if conceived off Island. Eg MiB is an incarnation of Jacob who was externalized due to Mother's/the island's intervention.
Another brilliant video, Christian. I think Ab Aeterno is one of the finest episodes of television ever made. I enjoy Tricia Tanaka is Dead, Lafleur, and the Constant as feel good episodes, but Ab Aeterno sits on another level as a work of art. I wish the network had let them make it into a 2 part episode. There's so much more of this story that could have been told.
Thank you so much! :)
Yessss please! Rad thumbnail, always wanted to see the 'outside' view of that moment
Excellent. I've watched many lost videos. This brought alot of in site and information that is new to me
This is such a great episode!! I'm gonna watch this so many times lol
I'm with you on 'Ab Aeterno' being the finest hour of LOST, only just edging out a few other personal favs of mine. It's like a biblical parable in the way it plays out, and perhaps it was designed as such. It is a classic "man meets both god and the devil then must make a moral choice between good and evil" type of tale. Also, coincidentally, I was recently asked about the tidal wave and how such a HUGE tsunami could have happened and swept over The Island like that. There are, of course, several possibilities but the answer I gave (and the one I like the most) goes like this:
Following his conversation with Jacob on the beach, The Man in Black gets up and walks off into the jungle. He heads to the well, teleports down into the wheel chamber, then turns that wheel to move The Island. Of course, MiB stays put down there because "the exit" doesn't open for him, but The Island does move and jumps right into a new location at night during a storm, taking the Black Rock with it, and creating an earth-shattering groundswell that causes the gigantic tidal wave. MiB does this in the hopes of causing damage/harm to the ship, for which he succeeds, then swoops in to finish the survivors off at first light.
However, this theory does raise the question as to whether or not MIB could actually physically touch and operate the wheel himself. It feels like one of Jacob's rules would prevent him from doing so, but it does help to explain the discrepancy of how The Black Rock goes from a beautiful sunny day to a raging sea at night. Sure, it could just be like you said: that The Black Rock was anchored off the coast all day or returned to that spot again later, but then surely the slaves aboard would have been able to see the statue in daylight and recognise that it wasn't "The Devil" standing guard at the gates of hell? Also, wouldn't they have seen Jacob and MiB ashore chatting away? Why wouldn't they have rowed out to them? Just little questions like that gnaw away at my brain! So, I tend to prefer the idea that MiB turned the wheel and had a direct hand in The Black Rock's fate that day.
p.s. Happy New Year!
Thanks and Happy New Year! That's also a good and alternate theory. Fun! I don't think it's too far-fetched that the slaves didn't notice. There were no windows down there and only a small gap, that only Ignacio would see through. I doubt the slaves would simply peek out all day long and we don't even know the angle of that gap/if it's facing the Island. And I think that the Black Rock were careful not to approach it with a boat, since this was uncharted area. Kind of like North Sentinel Island, the island no one can visit, with a violent tribe that immediately attack everyone approaching it. Safer to stay a distance, sail around to see if they find a dock (with a massive structure like that, surely there had to be a dock and a village nearby - at least that's what the Black Rock crew would think). Investigate by sea first and then approach the statue later, when they feel secure about this area/haven't found a good place to dock the ship.
Yes! I love the theory that the dramatic weather changes on the island were caused by it moving, as Charlie says: "Is this normal? Day turning into night, end of the world type weather?" although it need not be explained by the wheel. This has been part of the island's lore since Pilot Part 1! A teleporting island displacing water seems like a perfect explanation for what caused the giant wave.
Love the theory about the atolls being statue pieces!
dude i remember you from LostPedia!
Fun to hear!
Great video as always Choekaas, however I very much doubt that Carlton and Damon were/are racist in any way and I think it's a mistake to state that as a solid fact.
I think Marxuach was indeed a big reason why the first two seasons are my favourite. There was something a lot more sinister and serious about Dharma and the Others and even the monster, compared to how clueless and immature they all seem to be in Darlton's final vision. I love Ab Aeterno, but I'm always baffled by the major continuity errors, like having the Black Rock's final voyage take place in 1867 here when it was previously stated to be lost at sea in 1845. It seems like the writers were creating discrepancies on purpose at this point. Oh well.
Love your videos! Do you play Magic the gathering by chance? Fun seeing you use a picture of one. My two favorite things mtg and lost!
Thank you very much! Yes, I used to play Magic the Gathering many years ago, mostly when I was in the army. That was great. I tried to get back to it later, but other things got in the way unfortunately.
Did I miss this somehow before? That Magnus Hanso was in Jacob's Cabin? :D
Haha, it's just a fan theory of mine that MIB used Magnus Hanso's appearance in the cabin. (But it could've been anyone. Horace is also a very good theory). It's also convenient for me and this series, since then I don't have to make an icon with a blank anonymous face.
"Idea" is pronounced "ide-a", not "ide'e"
Thanks
It’s pronounced however he wants the say it, Mr. “Murica” man.