Lost 6.15: Across the Sea

Tonight's Lost is supposed to be heavy into the mythology of the Island.

We'll see Jacob, Man In Black 1.0 (or at least in the first version we saw him as) and guest star Allison Janney (CJ on The West Wing). I'm not sure what role she'll be playing. But I wonder how she ties into the past of Jacob, MIB 1.0 and the Island.

There will be very little of the main cast in tonight's show. Originally, it was reported that none of the series regulars would be seen in tonight's episode. But apparently, that's not quite true.

Also, supposedly there is a flashback seen to something we saw in an earlier season that will show us that JJ, Carlton and Damon knew what they were doing all along.

Don't forget to come back here after the show to chat about what we see and what we think could be coming up.

The episode was written by Carlton and Damon and directed by Tucker Gates.

Can't wait? Here are two sneak peaks of tonight's show:

Tonight on LOST: 'Ab Aeterno'

The title of tonight's episode of Lost, "Ab Aeterno," is Latin ("Gotta learn Latin! Language of the enlightened," as Juliet told Sawyer in Season 5), and it means, more or less, "since the beginning of time."

Maybe we'll get a slightly different translation of the phrase from the man of the hour. This is a Richard-centric ep, and Lost fans are very excited, because "Ab Aeterno" promises to be mythology-heavy and full of disclosures about the Island, the good ship Black Rock, and the mysterious Mr. Alpert himself.

ABC's official promo is, like all its promos this season, impossibly vague: "Richard Alpert faces a difficult decision." Lost fansites are rife with chatter about expecting some good old-fashioned flashbacks, maybe even featuring Jacob and the Man in Black, instead of a flash-sideways this week.

That flashback possibility seems quite likely, if only because this is Richard we're talking about, and he's got tons of history we don't know yet -- thanks to being apparently ageless, which he says is Jacob's double-edged "gift." Also, actor Nestor Carbonell, who plays Richard, has been hinting that this episode will carry lots of juicy reveals.

UPDATE: Be sure to set your DVR or VCR to run past the usual hour, because Lost's "Ab Aeterno" episode will run six minutes longer!

Brian's new theory of LOST

Over on the LOST...and Gone Forever blog, Brian has an interesting new theory of the Island, inspired by what he saw last week in "The Substitute." It involves what he's guessing to be the long and tangled history of Jacob and the Man in Black, aka Anti-Jacob.

"The best part of it all?" Brian writes. "I’m sure this entire theory will be thrown out the window by the end of next week’s episode."

True, but this is still a fun read. No spoilers, just theories -- and lots of 'em.

Doc Jensen's 'Lost: 10 Burning Questions'

Over on EW.com, Doc Jensen's got his list of 10 questions that must be answered in this final season of Lost, with some revealing commentary from show runners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse.

One biggie: "Who are Jacob and the Man in Black?" Well, that is "kind of the driving question of the whole season," says Carlton. He adds that it comes down not only to the conflict between the two adversaries, but to a huge metaphysical issue about "what is the fundamental nature of man. Is man good or is man evil?"

Doc Jensen's Final Theory of LOST

With less than three weeks to go before the Groundhog Day premiere of Lost's final season, EW.com's Jeff "Doc" Jensen has been a busy boy this week.

In a Q&A with GQ magazine, Doc reveals his Final Theory of Lost:

In an upcoming Doc Jensen column at EW.com, I'll explain all of this—my Final Theory of Lost—in more detail. But regardless of my crazy guestimations, consider that seasons and individual episodes of Lost are often built around these themes: Rescue missions; parent-child reconciliation; parents who will go to reckless lengths to save their kids. I suspect the End Game will be built around those themes, too.

And here's how he thinks it will all end:

I think the final scene of Lost will be a redux of the Jacob/Man In Black conversation on the beach scene from last season's finale—instead this time, it'll be John Locke in Jacob's place. As for his adversary, he'll be wearing a new identity—that of Benjamin Linus. It ends with this: Fake Ben: Do you know badly I want to kill you right now? And then Locke looks at him with a knowing glint—and they laugh.