'Lost': Richard Alpert's death wish, Part 2
We're Alpert-centric this week on the "Lost" blog, looking at the man the holds the key to many of the show's mysteries. Trying to get to the bottom of them all could take a few month's worth of entries, so this week we're looking at one mystery in particular: what does Richard want? So far, we've seen him primarily as a servant of the Island; but what does he want for himself?
Last time, I proposed that what he wants more than anything is out. And by "out," I mean "dead." Methinks it's not as simple as Richard taking a bearing of 325 or 305 and setting up shop in Tahiti. The writers have likened him to a consigliere, aka a mob advisor. And if you think it's hard leaving The Family, try leaving The Island, people. Richard's job, in this hypothesis, is to find a suitable heir for the Island. Each iteration of Others' leadership is comparable to the wave upon wave of people that find their way to the Island's shore: cyclical, with an eye toward improvement each round in order to finally achieve Jacob's desired end.
At some point, Alpert made a Faustian bargain with Jacob: in exchange for never aging, Richard would be tasked with finding the Island heir. Simple, right? Course, with Jacob, nothing's every explicitly stated. And as with many tasked by a God-like figure to perform a seemingly Herculean task without any overt instructions, Richard Alpert finds himself at as much of a loss as Ben and Locke often find themselves. Richard's consistently blank stare during Season 5 provoked plenty of derision from yours truly, but it never occurred to me until after the season that Richard might have only possessed approximately 1% more information than those around him. For instance: I'd wager he knew Jacob wasn't in the cabin in "The Man Behind The Curtain," but he didn't know The Man in Black was in there waiting to spring his trap.
It's crucial to not associate age with wisdom, and as such it's crucial not to assign Alpert a level of near omniscience that would come along with his lifetime(s) of experience. Just as Jacob does not explicitly instruct those with whom he comes into contact in "The Incident," so too did Jacob not specify who the leader would be, nor when said leader would come. As such, Richard has experienced a countless number of leaders come and go, none having the qualities necessary to release him from his servitude.
Enter into this scenario Ben and Locke, two people who might be Richard's best chances of breaking the cycle. In one, a small child with the ability to see his dead mother. In the other, a man apparently sent by Jacob from the freakin' future. He's like an HR rep with two Rhodes scholars applying for the same position. Course, both are fatally flawed candidates as well: Locke doesn't fare well in the "Drawing of the Three" scene from "Cabin Fever," and Ben had to go and get shot by a time-travelling Iraqi. Typical Ben.
By after centuries, if not longer, of waiting for a savior that might never come, Richard's no longer above bending the rules to enact his own salvation. In 1977, he took an injured Ben to the Temple without consulting Eloise or Charles. In 2004, he slipped Locke intel on Anthony Cooper to give him the inside track into usurping Ben's leadership. Neither are the acts of a rational, calm, zen-like consigliere. These are the acts of a man at the end of his rope and desperately trying to dislodge himself from his fate.
Taking all of that into account, it's easy to see why Richard would break every existing protocol in order to lead notLocke to Jacob. He (quite rightly) fears the man that once reached for the knife instead of the Book of Laws, wondering if that side of Locke never truly went away. But in some ways, he straight-up doesn't care. After the past half-century, he's seen enough bloodshed and bizarre events to forgo protocol. Hell, maybe The Man in Black knew this, and counted on Richard's weariness while formulating his long con.
In any case, look for a new Richard Alpert in Season 6. Look for a man shaken from his stupor with eye(liner)s wide open. Look for a man who, in the wake of Jacob's death, finally truly understands his function. And look for a man who seemingly cannot die willing to lay down his life in order to finally find and install the Island's rightful heir.
What's your take on Richard's ultimate role on "Lost"? Leave your thoughts below!
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This is one of the more thoughtful and plausible theories I've read about Mr. Alpert and his role in the endgame. And it's not just Richard, but the big picture concept, that makes sense. What is the purpose of all this perpetual dragging of folks to the island? Jacob is looking for its new master. That's as good and simple a premise as any, and well worth watching for next year. Thanks.
Very good!
Awesome deconstruction, Ryan - wise choice in avoiding the term "immortal", which would mean he COULDN'T die. Similar to the Norse gods, what he has is "eternal youth" (or "eternal early middle age", as it were). And as has been seen time and time again in literature, a person with an unnaturally long life span usually ends up in one of two states: numbing ennui or brash recklessness. It looks like our Mr. Alpert is opting for the second route.
PS - saw your question about your fantasy football team: FYI, I briefly considered calling my team the "Fran Sharkingtons" before settling on the much more staid "Dharma Bears". I even approriated the LU logo to use on the helmets (watch me get a call from Darlton's lawyers before the day is out!).
i like it.
But what does it really mean to be "master of the Island". I'm not disagreeing that there are strong elements of the Fisher King myth happening on LOST and that the answer may lie in finding a suitable heir to the throne - but what does that mean?
To just usher someone into the role of king without any clear explanation why isn't good enough for me. To say that the Island is sick and cannot heal until the heir returns is better, but not if we never find out why the Island is sick, why it needs a king, or what he is meant to do with his position of power once he accepts his mantle.
But even then, I don' think there's enough evidence to support the idea of a kingless Island. The only hint we have that things aren't good with the Island is the fertility issue. Aside from that, it's just an inherently dangerous place that brings out the best and worst in people.
No, I think there's another reason entirely for Jacob's machinations. If Jacob truly is a god and the Island is just his playground, then the game is more important than figuring out who gets to claim ownership of a chessboard. While the Man in Black may only be interested in winning the game and taking the chessboard, I think Jacob is seeking a higher goal - an answer to the problem of mankind itself.
"They come. They fight. They destroy. They corrupt. It always ends the same."
"It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress."
My interpretation is that the Man in Black is sick and tired of playing this game with Jacob. There is no inherent good in mankind and this has been proven over and over again for centuries. He wants to end the game and be done with the world of men for good.
Jacob, on the other hand, believes that man can be more than what he already is; that he can transcend his own limitations, shed his flaws and become enlightened, peaceful and good. This is what Jacob has been working toward since the beginning of the game, whether Richard knows it or not.
And while Richard's innermost motivation may only be to be released from his covenant with Jacob, I think he truly believes in Jacob and is still fiercely loyal to him after all this time. Perhaps Jacob knows this and will allow Richard the release of death when he completes his task. Whatever that might be.
@JeffC: Why assume there won't be a good explanation? I realize many mysteries won't be resolved (ie, the nature of the unique energy under the Island, Lamp Post, etc). But "Why does Jacob continually bring people to the Island?" is a mystery I think the writers have been building towards since Season 1.
I'd also say the word "King" is misleading when talking about the person Richard is looking for, which is why I opted for the word "heir." The heir inherits the Island, but isn't necessarily intended to rule it.
In fact, that might be the ultimate purpose of the heir, and the ultimate sign of the progress Jacob wants: moving away from possessive, selfish instincts of which The Man in Black speaks towards a higher notion of what both The Island means and humanity itself can achieve.
In other words, what if The Island is intimately tied into the state of humanity, and the heir breaks this limiting, symbiotic tie in order to push human beings to the next level?
Personally, I prefer The Fran Sharkingtons.
@Zap2itRyan:
You hit on exactly what I'm hoping for. I think there's a strong link between the (non-canon) DHARMA Initiative's purpose and what I think the endgame of the show will be: that being the "evolution", so-to-speak, of humanity as a whole towards something greater than ever thought possible.
Maybe I'm getting too far into the philosophical for this to work on a TV show, but as I mentioned in a previous comment, I HOPE we get a philisophical ending and not one full of concrete conclusions.
The idea that the story of these survivors being the final and successful iteration of a test of humanity's limits and its transcendence (there's that word again) of its flaws would make for a truly classic work of fiction that will live on. It would make LOST more than just a television show, but a story about humanity. I truly hope that's the case.
Groovy. I thought we might be talking past each other about the same thing. This is why comments are groovy.
I might expand on the possible function of the heir later this week.
Ryan, Maybe you talked about this already in a previous post and I missed it but my question is about Jacob. We watched Jacob die in the end of season 5, so I'm a little confused about why we're still talking about him as a character that will be present in the next season. Or are we thinking that if everything is going to reset because of the incident, then we go back to Jacob being alive? I kind of doubt that second scenario. Who will be the "new" Jacob. We have to have one, right? I don't think it will be Ben or Richard. Sorry if this is too off topic here. I thought it might be relevant, since we are talking about Richard. Thx.