With so much praise for the episode, I want rate it a little more critically. I'd almost give it a 9 or 10 if it wasn't for the story dragging a little in the beginning with Ricardo's tragic fate on the Spanish island of Tenerife. We're also left to wonder if the season 5 finale had Jacob and the Man in Black looking at the Black Rock or was it another ship? And how did stormy waters drag a ship all the way into the jungle and throw it at the Island statue with enough force to destroy it completely (and if that's so, shouldn't the Black Rock been reduced to smithereens? wood hitting rock???)?
Nestor Carbonell indeed did a decent job portraying Ricardo in the 19th century. His Spanish accent was not bad (I've certainly heard worse, he kinda had more of a foreigner doing a Caribbean/Latin American accent rather than anything near a Castillian accent) though keeping a well- done Spanish accent when speaking English lines was a great touch! I was much more impressed by the casting of the other Spanish characters, with the doctor and the priest having near perfect accents for Spaniards (and I believe both are American-born actors of Spanish/Latin American descent). Hurley also fit perfectly I think as a Chicano character relating and translating Spanish. And kudos to the writers as well for keeping it historically accurate with the 1867 date for the story...the same year dynamite was invented. I really thought they might flub it, setting the story earlier in time, but no!
And I think the episode really pays off at the end, thanks to the writers, director, and Nestor's acting in the final scene. Very heartfelt (something that was missing when Richard's wife dies of TB, too rushed in getting to the prison scene) and leaving everyone now wondering what is the deal with the island based on the wine bottle analogy made by Jacob to Richard.
Nestor Carbonell indeed did a decent job portraying Ricardo in the 19th century. His Spanish accent was not bad (I've certainly heard worse, he kinda had more of a foreigner doing a Caribbean/Latin American accent rather than anything near a Castillian accent) though keeping a well- done Spanish accent when speaking English lines was a great touch! I was much more impressed by the casting of the other Spanish characters, with the doctor and the priest having near perfect accents for Spaniards (and I believe both are American-born actors of Spanish/Latin American descent). Hurley also fit perfectly I think as a Chicano character relating and translating Spanish. And kudos to the writers as well for keeping it historically accurate with the 1867 date for the story...the same year dynamite was invented. I really thought they might flub it, setting the story earlier in time, but no!
And I think the episode really pays off at the end, thanks to the writers, director, and Nestor's acting in the final scene. Very heartfelt (something that was missing when Richard's wife dies of TB, too rushed in getting to the prison scene) and leaving everyone now wondering what is the deal with the island based on the wine bottle analogy made by Jacob to Richard.