I thought the opening hour was fantastic and it gave birth to what will be known as 'Sideways Flashbacks'. Simply put, we are lead to believe that this is what the gang from Oceanic 815 would have been had their plane never crashed.  We get to see that even though they never met on the Island, they still managed to meet each other in this altered reality. The other half of the story has to do with trying to save Sayid by taking him to the Temple. Although this new wrinkle was very interesting, I didn't think it was as strong as Part 1 of this episode, which also gave us a chance to see both Boone and Charlie again.

So, we get a little bit closer to knowing why the main characters on the Island are brought there. With Fake-Locke leading Sawyer to a Cave over looking the ocean, he explains that Jacob purposely changed each and everyone's destination by influencing them in some small way just to get them to the Island because they are candidates. Candidates for what? To protect the Island of course. I thought it was pretty interesting to see the cave itself scrawled with what looks like to be hundreds upon hundreds of names, which basically says that Jacob has been at this recruiting thing for a long ass time.

I liked the flash-sideways in this one which brought back Helen (Katey Sagal) who is engaged to John. I also liked how John's path crossed with Hurley, who offers him a job, which leads Locke to becoming a Substitute Teacher, where he meets another Teacher there: Ben. Small world, huh?

Back on the Island, we see the first glimpse of the Blond Haired Kid.

This is a really good episode that basically explores the duality of Ben Linus. On the Island, he was this powerful man that got consumed by the idea of running the show. And look where that got him? He has been reduced to nothing more than a sad-sack follower, looking for guidence while wrestling with the knowledge that he didn't do a damn thing to save Alex from being executed. In the Flash-sideways, he is a Teacher that cares for his students, especially that of Alex. So, when the opportunity presents itself that he can take claim of the Principle's job and do things HIS way, it comes at a price, at expense of Alex getting a glowing recommendation....he chooses her and let's go of any political moves to get a step up on the professional ladder. I liked that Ben was taking care of his father in the flash-sideways. Also like the reunion with Hurley, Jack and Sun.

Ab Aeterno is an awesome episode. It's beyond awesome. It's one of the greatest episodes in the entire history of Lost. No matter how many times I watch this one, it just keeps getting better and better. I, along with pretty much every other fan of the series has always been curious and captivated by Richard Alpert (Nestor Carbonell), the ultimate 'man of mystery'. Who is this guy that never ages? How did he come to the Island and how did he end up serving as Jacob's right-hand man? All these question get answered and more. We also get to see how the Black Rock came to land in the Jungle and how the Statue met its demise.

Nestor gives an incredible performance that is both amazing and touching all at once. The scene with him and his late wife, who is now communcating through Hurley leaves you with a lump in your throat. It's so good. Easily and A+ episode. 10 Stars.

I've always said that the MVP of the series is Desmond and that Henry Ian Cusick constantly turns in the finest performance whenever it's a Desmond-heavy episode. This is no exception. With Desmond being forced to endure the test by Widmore, it sends him into a full-on flashsideways episode that reunites him with Charlie and Daniel. It's Charlie that opens Desmond's eyes that there is more going on than meets the eye which sets him on a course to find Penny, thus changing his life. Just a phenomenal episode that deserves repeat viewings.

As we get closer and closer to the finale, the episodes are starting to ramp up. In the flash-sideways, more and more of the main characters are starting to run into each other. We have Sun and John Locke, along with Jin at the hospital with Jack about to operate on John, you have Kate in the custody of Sawyer at the police station, you have Miles and Saywer arresting Sayid and you have Claire meeting Jack (thanks to Desmond) for the first time, revealing to him that she is his sister. Back on the Island, the main cast double crosses John / Smoke Monster and leave him alone. But Jack ends up going back to the Island which turns out to be the smart thing because Widmore double crosses Sawyer on their deal. This was just a fun episode all around, topped off by the reunion between Sun and Jin.

Simply put, this is the Jacob and The Man In Black origin story. When I first watched this episode as it aired on TV, I wasn't particularly fond of it because rather than give us much needed answer, it opened up even more questions. So how do I feel about it now, having just watched this? Pretty much the same. I don't have a problem with any of the performances at all. They were quite good. But no matter how exceptional they are, it doesn't hide the fact that the writers dropped the ball on this one. To me, it always seemed like the sole purpose of the episode was to make the connection in a callback to Season 1 when Jack and Kate find the two bodies in the cave. The reveal is that "Adam and Eve" were in fact The Man In Black and his and Jacob's Mother.

Okay, we see how Jacob gets the power of never aging when it takes the drink with his Mother, but we still don't know exactly what it was he was drinking or for that matter what the Cave really is, other than the "heart of the Island". Also, it's still pretty ambiguous how The Man In Black, by being swallowed up by the cave is turned him into the Smoke Monster. But the biggest mystery that wasn't answered was who, what and where the Mother came from and how she became the Island's protector. See, more question than answers, certainly not something that should be happening with just 2 episodes left.