War in Heaven, Anyone?

So for all my fellow Lost-ies . . . wasn't last night's episode great?  Drama, emotion, ANSWERS.

And I don't know about you, but it seems to me that the whole light/dark agency-with-risk/sure-thing-but-no-progression War in Heaven theme that we Mormons know so much about is at the heart of the Jacob/Man in Black conflict.

And this is totally nerdy of me, and I'm supposed to be at the gym (sigh), but instead I'm going to do a little recapping.

First, the whole scene where MiB is giving Richard the dagger is strangely reminiscent of the serpent giving the apple to Eve in the Garden of Eden.  Richard knows that the MiB is asking him to commit a sin--murder Jacob--but the MiB is trying to convince Richard that Jacob is "the devil" and that there is "no other way" to get what he wants (his wife) unless he kills him.

MiB: The devil [Jacob] betrayed me. He took my body. My humanity. (!!!) The devil has your wife, and you are going to have to kill him if you ever want to get her back.

Richard: Murder is wrong.  That is what brought me here.

MiB: My friend, we can talk all day about what is right and what is wrong.  But the question before remains the same: do you ever want to see your wife again?

Richard: Yes. I do.

And the MiB hands him the dagger and off he goes.

Then the scene between Jacob and Richard on the beach:

Jacob: That man who sent you to kill me believes everyone is corruptible because it is in their very nature to sin.  I bring people here to prove him wrong. And when they get here, their past doesnt' matter.

Richard: Before you brought my ship, there were others?  What happened to them?

Jacob:  They're all dead.

Richard: But if you brought them here why didn't you help them?

Jacob: Because I wanted them to help themselves. To know the difference between right and wrong without me having to tell them.  It's all meaningless if I have to force them to do anything.  Why should I have to step in?

Richard: If you don't, he will!

Jacob: Do you want a job?  I don't want to step in, so maybe you can do it for me.  You can be my representative and intermediary between me and the people I bring to the island.

I also read Luke 4 last night (the chapter Richard's Bible was open to).  Was it wrong that I was searching for Lost parallels during my personal scripture study???   Anyway, some good insights there too.  The chapter is the one where Satan tempts Jesus (where they sit down and have a nice little chat, a la Jacob and MiB), and then the whole "no prophet is accepted in his own country" line and Jesus's rejection in Nazareth, along with the beginning of his miracle healings.  Also interesting  . . .

Anyway, thanks to my TiVo and my desire to avoid doing anything productive today--some juicy tidbits!  What did you think of last night's episode?

and p.s.--American Idol is outrageously horrible this year, is it not?