Ignacio was a slave aboard the Black Rock, a ship owned by Magnus Hanso. In 1867 while chained inside the ship, he met and befriended Ricardo, a fellow slave. When the ship was hit by a storm, Ignacio saw land nearby, an Island, and as the ship came closer, he saw an enormous statue and screamed that it was the Devil. („Ab Aeterno„)
The water dragged the ship inside the Island, far from the shore, but Ignacio, along his fellow slaves, survived the shipwreck. However, Ignacio was killed by Jonas Whitfield, one of the ship’s officers, who feared the slaves would kill the crew if they were released, as the survivors did not have any fresh water and very little supplies. („Ab Aeterno„)
The casting call described him as: „[IGNACIO] Latino, 30s, fluent in Spanish. Poor, religious and street smart. On the wrong side of the law but only because he’s a victim of his circumstances… NICE CO-STAR.“
Richard Alpert (also known as Richardus and by his birth name Ricardo) was a long-time inhabitant of the Island, having arrived in 1867 as a slave on the Black Rock, a slave ship that was washed onto the Island. Soon after he arrived, he asked Jacob to make him ageless, and in exchange for this, held a leadership position with the Others as an advisor and the sole intermediary between Jacob and the people who were brought to the Island, including Ben and Charles Widmore. Richard believed that even though he could not kill himself, others were capable of killing him. He perpetually appeared to be in his late 30s or early 40s, whether on or off the Island. He can also speak fluent Spanish.
Richard had on occasion left and returned to the Island. In the outside world, he monitored John Locke‘s early life, having visited him as a baby and when he was five. He also presented himself as a recruiter for Mittelos Bioscience, helping to bring Juliet to the Island in 2001.
After the crash of Ajira Flight 316 in 2007, Richard led the Man in Black, whom he thought was a resurrected John Locke, to Jacob. This resulted in Jacob being murdered by Benjamin Linus, at the prompting of the Man in Black. After Jacob’s death, Richard tried to kill himself, believing that all of the years that he had spent on the Island were meaningless, as Jacob had promised him he would tell him everything he knew. Through themediumship of Hurley, Richard found out from his long-dead wife, Isabella, that he must prevent the Man in Black from leaving the Island. After spearheading a plan to destroy Ajira Airways Flight 316 with explosives, Richard attempted to negotiate with the Man in Black to buy Widmore and the others time to hide, but was instead violently thrown through the air by the Monster. Richard survived the attack and realized he had begun aging normally. He helped Miles and Frank fix Ajira Flight 316 and left the Island with the two of them, along with Kate, Sawyer and Claire, to live in the outside world.
Richard’s final episode count is 29, as of „The End„.
In Season 5, though a guest star, Richard appeared in more episodes than both Desmond and Charlotte, who were main characters, and as many episodes as Daniel, who was also a main character.
Nestor Carbonell was finally promoted to the main cast for Season 6, after being a guest star in 20 episodes across three seasons.
Richard was the thirty-second character to ever have a flashback.
He was aware of Charlie, as he was present when Bonnie informed Ben of Charlie’s arrival at The Looking Glass.
It is possible he met Pierre Chang due to the fact that he would have communications with the DHARMA Initiative about their truce.
To this point, Richard should have some recollection of prior encounters with Daniel, Charlotte, Miles, Locke, Sayid, Kate, Sawyer, and Jack from meeting them in the past. To this point, he has only seen Locke, Sayid, Kate, Jack, Sawyer and Miles in both the past and present.
In 1954, one of his subordinates brought him three prisoners — two men (Daniel and Miles) and a British woman (Charlotte), claiming to be part of the US military sent to the Island earlier. A few hours later, John Locke from 2004 walked into their camp and introduced himself to Richard, much to his surprise. („Jughead„)
Two years later, Richard visited baby Locke after his birth. He visited young Locke again five years later. Eleven years later, Richard tried to recruit teenage Locke again.(„Cabin Fever„)
Twenty years later, Richard met Sawyer from 2004/5 when he entered the DHARMA-controlled Barracks, discontented with the breaking of the truce. („LaFleur„)
During their exchange, Jin watched them from Heather’s house, but Richard was unaware of this. Daniel and Miles were watching too, but they had met him previously in 1954 (a week ago for them).
Richard briefly met Kate for the first time when she went into the jungle with Sawyer in 1977 for help to heal the young Ben, and again after she and Jack were captured by Widmore whilst lurking in the bushes. („Whatever Happened, Happened„) („Follow the Leader„) He would later meet her again, twenty-seven years later, in „There’s No Place Like Home, Part 1„.
Locke mentioned Jack’s name to Richard in „Because You Left„. Richard had already met Jack in 1977.
In 2007, after Sun mentioned the names of „Kate“, „Jack“, „Hurley“, and „Jin“, Richard told her that he saw them all die. („Follow the Leader„) It is unknown which, if any, of the other time-displaced survivors he saw die.
Richard, Widmore and Eloise are the only Others identified by name who are known to be alive and who belonged to the group before DHARMA arrived.
He is the only Other known to be off the Island at the time of the crash.
In the Season 3 DVD commentary for „The Man Behind the Curtain„, Richard Alpert is described as someone who is not interested in leading the Others but is very influential in finding and selecting a leader. In the commentary for „The Man Behind the Curtain„, he is described as being similar to a Panchen Lama choosing the next Dalai Lama. He and Ben keep each other in „check“ by having the power to pick/veto each other’s replacement on the Island. Ben’s role would be to pick the next Panchen, should the need arise. This keeps the two in a sort of balanced power relationship. They are allies, yet they have some measure of control over the other should one get out of hand.
Season 3 DVD audio commentary confirms that Ben’s line to Richard in „The Man Behind the Curtain„, „It’s a birthday present. You do remember birthdays don’t you?“, was written to be deliberately ambiguous.
Except when acting as a recruiter for Mittelos, or when dressed in the „uncivilized“ disguise, Richard has been seen to wear the same style of button-up shirt in all of his appearances.
Despite the extremely long time he has spent on the Island, Richard seems to have a good knowledge of the outside world: He could easily use a PowerPoint presentation when recruiting Juliet, as well as a video camera while spying on Rachel, and was not confused at Hurley’s questioning if he was a cyborg or vampire, suggesting a knowledge of popular culture.
The „Not in Portland“ script describes him thus: „She is with RICHARD ALPERT. Black. Super CHARMING. Elegantly dressed. Mid-40s.“ However, Hispanic actor Nestor Carbonell ended up getting the part. (Lost: The Official Magazine)
In the Canary Islands, where Richard Alpert was born, there is an ancient and extended legend about an island that appears and disappears, an island that can move itself. Its called San Borondón (in Spanish and Portuguese; in English is usually called St. Brendan’s Island) and throughout history have been people who claim to have seen or been on the island.
It is suggested that Richard was born on the Canary Islands. For the episode „Ab Aeterno„, Carbonell researched the local accent and determined that it was similar to his own Cuban accent, so every time Richard speaks Spanish he does it with a slight Caribbean accent. (Official Lost Podcast/March 25, 2010)
In an Easter egg on the Season 5 Blu-ray set, an outline of „The Incident, Part 2“ is seen on a white board. It contains a different description of the episode’s conclusion: after Julietdetonates the Jughead, the people at the Swan site were enveloped by white light. The episode would then cut to Richard watching the explosion from a distance. This unused scene explains why Richard believes everyone who was present at the site in 1977 was dead.
Richard is one of 22 main characters to have their names appear in a soundtrack title.
Chronologically, Richard is the first main character to come to the Island, not counting the Man in Black in his original form.
Jonas Whitfield was an officer on the Black Rock, a ship owned by Magnus Hanso. In 1867, the Black Rock docked in Tenerife, Canary Islands, where Jonas bought a number of men to serve as slaves, among them Ignacio and Ricardo. After the Black Rock crashed on the Island, Jonas killed all of the prisoners, except for Ricardo. Jonas was killed by the Man in Black in black smoke form alongside the entire ship’s crew. The casting call describes him as „[JONAS WHITFIELD] Early to mid 30s; English; must speak with authentic accent. He’s crisp and his bearing is of a British military officer. Athletic and agile, he’s worked hard to rise up the corporate ladder and make something of himself. He believes in survival of the fittest…GUEST STAR.“
Magnus Hanso was a 19th-century sea captain of the Black Rock. He died when the ship was thrown on the Island by a huge tidal wave.
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With Magnus Hanso’s sale of the New World Sea Traders, an era in British shipping drew to a close. Whether history will judge him harshly for his continued role in the slave trade post-abolition remains to be seen. However, with Hanso’s unquestionable dedication to his fleet, it is certain that this ship’s captain turned entrepreneur left a substantial mark on the international shipping trade. For, although he could have rested on his laurels and steered the company from the quiet and comfort of his London manor, Hanso’s passion for the sea inspired him to continue as captain of several voyages each year.
It is an interesting footnote, and, perhaps, a testament to Hanso’s lasting influence that those slips from which the New World Sea Traders operated at Portsmouth, numbering 18 through 27, continued to be known during the following era of the East Ocean Trade Group as the „New World Docks,“ a point… (excerpt ends)
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