¡SPOILERS!

* Alright, I may be done speculating about what the real deal is with Jacob and the Man in Black, what they really want, whether they’re good or evil, whatever. We just have no clue! I mean, I’ve gone on at length about what an enjoyment-sucking waste of time Doc Jensen-style theorizing is, but obviously I’ve still had fun trying to guess what was up with the core mystery. But after tonight’s episode, I’m about ready to hang up my spurs. From tweaking our understanding of how the Monster operates (apparently he can take the form of a dead person and make Smokey noises off) to showing omniscient Jacob as slightly less than omniscient (he seemed surprised enough by Richard to beat him up before asking questions) to showing benevolent Jacob as slightly less than benevolent (lording it over the MIB, being kind of a dick to Richard, his whole sadistic lab-rats experiment of dragging people to this Island to kill each other on the off chance that they might not and thus help him win a dorm-room philosophy argument with the MIB), the episode may as well have begun with “You think you know, but you have no idea.”

* I do feel comfortable calling them both mass murderers, for whatever that’s worth!

* Haha, after seasons of speculation, Captain Magnus Hanso doesn’t even appear!

* Man, they’re not even trying to pretend they’re not straight-up ripping off The Stand anymore, are they? Digging the bolt out, the business with the keys…all the MIB had to do was quote “Sympathy for the Devil” and I think Lost would be in King-verse continuity. But hey, why not? Steve won’t mind, and it’s great source material.

* For all the revelations and all the long-awaited pay-offs, I still think my favorite part of the episode was the very beginning, with the rapid cross-cutting between Ilana’s flashback, the gang on the beach, and Richard’s increasingly desperate and freaked-out flight from his old life as Jacob’s liaison. The show has only done that sort of thing a handful of times before, and never for such a sustained period of time–it felt breakneck and thrilling. I hope we see more of this style as the series hits the homestretch. It’s certainly a great way of connecting dots in a way that communicates “this is us connecting dots” while still being entertaining.

* Great little showcase for Nestor Carbonell. Again, after years of him being cool as a cucumber, it’s effective writing to flip that all on his head and show him hysterical and devastated.

* And you know, fun to watch an oldtimey Spaniard ride a horse around and sail on a big ship and such. Mmm, pulp.

* Was it just me, or was Titus Welliver shaping his line readings to mimic Terry O’Quinn now and then? Fine, fine casting.

* Oddly, I don’t have much more to say about this episode. Which is sort of the point, I would say. I’m just buckling up and going for the ride.

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