Creepy Richard

By BILL ERVOLINO

He resembles the young Psycho-era Anthony Perkins, which is probably appropriate, since Richard Alpert is one of the creepiest characters in the Lost universe.

Though he has appeared, at times, to be a first lieutenant of Ben's, he was on the island when Ben was still a child. And, as we recently learned, he was on hand when Locke was born, as well.

In "Not in Portland" he appeared as a recruiter for Mittelos Bioscience, and the implication was that he was responsible for the abrupt "hit by a bus" death of Juliet's boss (and ex-husband).

We're almost certain that Alpert is going to play a pivotal role in the finale, because his appearance at the end of last Thursday's episode came out of left field and because of all the parties currently on the island -- from the 815'ers, to the mercenaries, to the new characters (Dan, Charlotte, Miles, Frank), to the Orchid-bound party of Ben, Locke and Hugo -- Alpert is the ONLY person who seems to be in control of anything.

As reader Virginia B. of Leonia reminded us recently, Richard Alpert shares his name with the spiritual leader who was eventually known as Baba Ram Dass, author of the 1971 book "Be Here Now," who experimented with psychedelic drugs (with Timothy Leary) and was an associate of the Hindu guru Neem Karoli Baba.

When he pops up on the island, Alpert seems to favor the rags worn by the Others in the S-1 finale and throughout S-2. We've theorized in the past that Alpert might be a member of "The Hostiles" -- a group that shared the island with the Dharma Initiative people and were most probably the descendants of the Black Rock survivors.

Whether Alpert is yet another dead character, a time traveler, or simply some sort of magical person, he seems incapable of aging. He is clearly a follower of Jacob, though, who was intrigued by young Ben's ability to see his dead mother on the island; and who pursued Locke from the day Locke was born. (We don't know for sure if Ben was able to communicate with Jacob or if he was merely pretending to take control of the Others.)

The riddle of Jacob, which will probably not unravel until Season 5, seems to involve a wise, former leader, now dead, whose soul is imprisoned on the island with voodoo-like restraints (the soul jars in his cabin and the ring of ash that surrounds the structure).

We're still wondering if Alpert will somehow broker (or at least enable) the escape/rescue of the Oceanic Six. One thing is certain, though: Alpert (who may or may not remain loyal to Ben) is in no hurry to send Locke back to civilization.

At the moment, we can't quite connect the Alpert running in rags through the jungle with the Alpert we saw in "Not in Portland," who engaged Juliet in a knowing conversation on fertility. The back story of the Others remains a secondary mystery on "Lost," but it's as confounding as the rest of our plotlines.

We see the Others as determined to preserve the sanctity of the island, a religious sect a la "Lost Horizon" -- a connection strengthened recently by the Dalai Lama-esque exchange between Alpert and the pre-pubescent Locke.

And yet, the Others also seem to part of some grand worldwide group that (judging from Alpert's appearance in "Cabin Fever") pre-dates Ben's arrival.

Whoever Alpert and the Others are, we have a feeling that their story will come to the forefront in Season 5 and that Alpert's role on the show will become far more pivotal than it has been to date.

Theories?

Comments

[Juliet]

GREAT POST.
I love this part "The riddle of Jacob, which will probably not unravel until Season 5, seems to involve a wise, former leader, now dead, whose soul is imprisoned on the island with voodoo-like restraints (the soul jars in his cabin and the ring of ash that surrounds the structure)."

This is what I have thought for a long time...
And that Richard is very connected, either ancient, or from BlackRock

[Jenny]

I always had the idea that the original Others (Alpert's group, pre-Ben) were some sort of Utopia-seeking hippy sect, followers of some self-made philosopher named Jacob. At some point, there's a prophecy that the messiah-type person they are looking for will be born to a woman named Emily, and thus the pursuit of both Locke and Ben. At some point, they put their money on Ben, because Locke didn't seem to be displaying the right characteristics.

Sounds like in recent times, there has been unrest among the Others (remember Juliet's video message to Jack when they had him on the mini-island), and they are questioning if they got the right guy, thus turning their attentions back to Locke. Whether they engineered his arrival, or he landed as some fulfillment of prophecy, we don't yet know.

As for Richard's agelessness, that really bothers me, because I've never been in the time travel camp. Until he showed up in Locke's distant past, I had assumed he was just one of those people who looks the same at 30 as he does at 50, which is not uncommon.

So at this point, I'm willing to go with Richard being some sort of human presence but not entirely human, who has a specific job in JacobWorld, and that is to find, train, and nurture the human spiritual leader on behalf of Jacob/god.

I'm not a big believer in god types either, but it makes more sense to me that time travel.

[Jenny]

Just a further thought too - I'm confused by the appearance of Christian as a representative of Jacob. I can see him appearing to Jack or Claire, as it's really sprung from their own minds. But not to Locke - for him, it could've been Richard (again), or maybe Abbadon.

That leads me to believe two things: one, that Abbadon is not working for either Ben or Widmore, or Jacob for that matter. The second thing is that Christian is also not associated with Jacob, but has appeared on behalf of some other faction. I keep thinking back to his "no, I'm not Jacob, but I can speak for him" - seemed like a scam of some kind. The con has long been a theme on Lost - beginning of course with Sawyer, but also Locke's father, Kate, and several others. Not to mention the very close relatives of the con - persuasion, the master of which is Ben, and seduction.

But now I'm confusing myself! Man I love this show.

[Jeff Heimbuch]

I believe that Christian is a representative for Jacob by a bit of expansion on Bill's theory. Jacob is dead, and is someone trapped on the island. Much like The First from "Buffy," it seems that Jacob can only take on the appearance of someone who is already dead. It cannot manifest itself as Richard, because Richard is still very much alive (by some miracle of island science), and is working for Jacob anyway.
Now, one can argue that Walt is a manifestation of Jacob, but I honestly dont believe that. I think Walt was projecting himself with his 'power,' whatever that is, and since he didnt know how to use it correctly yet, thats why he was speaking backwards, or appearing soaking wet. He seemed to have perfected the art, though, during the season 3 finale.
I really like your theory of the chosen one being born to someone named Elizabeth, and they just happened to pick the wrong one. That's a good one

[Juliet]

I too believe that Christian and other dead ppl are manifested by Jacob...who I think is an entity/spirit trapped in the cabin by the ash circle.
Jacob may have once lived on the island as an ancient or from blackrock, or perhaps was just the island's spirit, who has long communicated with anyone landing on the island.

I've been confused by the line "God loves you as he loved Jacob". Not sure what to make of that at all...