Quick thoughts, links about "Lost"

I have some brief thoughts about last night's fantastic episode, "Ab Aeterno," and I'll pass along my favorite "Lost" links.

So we finally learned Richard (Ricardo) Alpert's story. And I liked it. I liked how different it was from standard island fare. The setting, the mood and the scope of the story were top notch. While Alpert's love story with his wife, Isabella, didn't have the same emotional pull as that of a Desmond-Penny episode, it was still pretty effective. I loved the light/dark imagery in the episode, particularly when the Man in Black smashed the bottle of wine on the rock after Jacob said "See ya soon."

If nothing else, this episode demonstrated once again that the show has forever been about choice and free will. Jacob brings people to the island because he believes they are inherently good, whereas the Man in Black wants to escape and spread his evil...or something like that.

Here's what I think I think learned.

The island may or may not be hell.
I think Hurley spoke the truest line of the episode. If Richard doesn't kill the man in black, then they're all going to Hell.

The Man in Black/Smokey/New Locke is the devil
This, I think, is true. We saw how he tried to deceive Richard, how he wants to kill Jacob and how Jacob said as long as he's alive, Smockey is not going anywhere. Whatever you want to call him, Smokey/Man in Black is evil, the opposite of Jacob and what he believes in.

Hurley is really, really important
Think about who was given a role in this Richard-centric episode. Richard, obviously: check. Man in Black: check. Jacob: check. Richard's wife: check. Hurley: check. That he can communicate with and see the dead, I believe, will continue to be important as we near the end of the series and the ultimate conflict between light/dark, good/bad. Hurley's great. He adds necessary comedic moments, but he's also a key player, and I'm glad the writers are including him in these

All right, here are the best links for recap/analysis about last night's episode.

• Mo Ryan, Chicago Tribune, Let's talk 'Lost': Live Forever

• Alan Sepinwall, The Star-Ledger, Lost, 'Ab Aeterno': The man behind the shackles

• Jeff Jensen, EW.com, "Lost" recap: uncorked

• Vozzek69 (a longtime writer of Lost recaps/analysis), DarkUFO, Wow, just #&@^ing WOW. Things I Noticed: "Ab Aeterno"

Also, Carlton Cuse just tweeted that he and Damon Lindelof recorded a podcast about the episode in which they will also reveal the title of the series finale.

Any guesses?