Man In Black- "There's only one way to escape from hell. You're gonna have to kill the devil."
You asked for Richard back story and you got it, an entire episode's worth. Aside from the first and last five minutes or so, Ab Aeterno was Richard Alpert's origin story. Not only did we get to see so much of Ricardo's life, but we also got the return of the actual Man In Black, and it was glorious. This was definitely my favorite episode of the season thus far.
The magic that is the LOST storytelling is that they of course made Richard's past ever so important to what he does on The Island. He was a deeply religious man who made a grave mistake one night trying to save his dying wife. Ricardo's accidental murder of the rich man in town led to him realizing that his fate was to go to hell when he died.
Instead of being hanged by his neck until his feet quit kicking (skip to 00:45 for my second Shanghai Noon reference in one week) he was sent aboard a slave ship of Captain Magnus Hanso! The Hanso Foundation is of course the group that funded the Dharma Initiative way back when. Of course the name of the slave ship was the Black Rock which ended up crashing into The Island one stormy night because Jacob brought it there.
Now I don't know why the Man In Black killed everyone on the Black Rock except Richard, but I do know why he did what he did next. He convinced Richard that he was dead and that he was in hell. The MIB is a master manipulator and knows exactly what story to tell to each individual to get them to do what he wants. In this case he knew that Richard was a very religious character and he might believe that he was actually amongst the devil.
After Richard's attempt to kill Jacob fails miserably, the two sit down for a long chat that was just fantastic. Jacob, as we've seen him do in present day, is so calm and collected when explaining himself to Ricardo. He let's it be known that he is not the devil and uses a bottle of wine to describe the Man In Black's situation.
"Think of this wine as what you keep calling hell. There's many other names for it too--malevolence, evil, darkness--and here it is, swirling around in the bottle unable to get out because if it did, it would spread. The cork is this island. And it's the only thing keeping the darkness where it belongs."Jacob goes on to explain that Smokey believes that everyone is corruptible because it is in their nature to sin. Jacob, of course, bring them to The Island to prove him wrong. He adds that when they get to The Island, their past doesn't matter. This point brings everything back to season one, and the fact that it was kinda crazy that all the people that came to this island had such shady pasts. That was exactly why Jacob brought them all here. To show Smokey that not all people are bad, and when given a choice between good and evil, some will choose good.
Because Jacob's belief is that people have to know the difference between right and wrong in order to be good, he makes a point not to intervene with the people he brings to The Island. It is during the end of his conversation with Richard that he asks if he would like to be that intermediary between him and the people he brings to The Island. Ricardo's payment for doing this job? Eternal life. Bingo!
We jump back to present day, and there is Richard with his fresh haircut and shaved face. He is on a search for the Man In Black because he is ready to turn to the dark side. Back when they first met, Smokey told Ricardo that he could come on his side and the offer would always stand. After Jacob's death, the dude was so freaked out that he's ready to switch teams.
That is until Hurley comes in and saves him from evil by talking to the ageless wonder's dead wife. Hugo's ghost whispering powers really came in handy here as Richard could feel his wife's presence through Hurley. Hugo's final plee to Richard...You have to stop the Man In Black from leaving The Island or we all go to hell. Now was this actually from the wife or was this Hugo's own doing? Or was it someone else telling him to add that last part in there? Jacob?
In closing I'd like to mention a couple of quotes that came out of the mouth of the Man In Black this week. "It's good to see you out of those chains," Smokey recites to Ricardo immediately after he gives him the key to the handcuffs. That puts a whole different meaning to when he said it on the beach back at the beginning of this season. I take it one of two ways. Either it was a clever pleasantry. A nice call back to an old quasi-friend. Or it was his way of letting Richard know that he was the Man In Black in a John Locke outfit. Either way, it makes that line that much better looking back on it.
When the MIB sends Richard after Jacob he tells him that, "If he speaks it will already be too late." This is the exact same thing that the Temple Samurai told Sayid when he sent him off to kill the MIB. Now is this just because both Jacob and MIB know how good of a manipulator the other is? Or is there something bigger? Is there really an incapability to kill one of these god-like characters if they are able to speak out loud first? Did Jacob speak before Benjamin Linus murdered him? I can't remember. Keep it coming.
