Here is your brief recap of "Ab Aeterno." For the more detailed recap of this episode, go to the next page!
On the island:
- Ilana tells the group what Jacob told her: that Richard will know what to do after the Temple
- Richard laughs and says he doesn't know what to do next. Jacob was lying, and they should all start listening to someone else.
- Richard treks through the night going to the place where he buried his wife's gold cross
- He calls out for the Man in Black saying he's changed his mind and asks if the offer still stands
- Hurley follows Alpert and tells him his wife is there with them. She says they have to stop the Man in Black from leaving the island or they'll all go to hell.
Flashback:
- Richard lived in the Canary Islands in 1867 and was a field worker
- His wife, Isabella, was sick and Richard went to the doctor for medicine
- The doctor wouldn't give the medicine to Richard because he didn't have enough money and accidentally killed the doctor
- By the time Richard made it home, Isabella was dead
- Richard was arrested for the doctor's murder
- Before he was hanged, he was sold into slavery and put on board the Black Rock
- During a violent storm, the Black Rock shipwrecked on the island
- The smoke monster killed the crew
- Alpert saw his dead wife, and she told him they were dead and in hell
- The Man in Black agreed to free Alpert if he would kill the devil
- Alpert tried to kill Jacob, but Jacob stopped him
- Jacob explained the nature of the island and asked for Alpert's help
- Alpert agreed to help but only if he could never die; Jacob agreed and touched him
- The Man in Black returned Isabella's gold cross, and Alpert buried it
