In Anticipation of Tomorrow Night...

In anticipation of tomorrow night's episode, "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham," and the promise of the return of the mysterious Matthew Abaddon (aka "Future Walt"?!), I figured we'd refresh our memories on the more slender, darker version of the equally chilling (though infinitely more engrossing) Ms. Hawking.

His first appearance on the show came in a scene with Hurley (post-island) in the mental institution in season four's premiere episode:


In case you couldn't make out his final words to Hurley at the end of the clip, they were, "Are they still alive?" No, I don't think he was referring to the Rolling Stones here.

Sorry, but I couldn't find any video for his other appearances (well, unless you count this random Dutch version I found). Anyway, in Ep#402, "Confirmed Dead," we learn that Abaddon was largely if not wholly responsible for assembling the freighter folk ("freighties") togther for Widmore's ship to the island (Daniel, Charlotte, Miles, Frank, and Naomi).

And finally, we saw in Ep#411 ("Cabin Fever," via flashback) that it was Abaddon who first told Locke to pursue a "walkabout" while Locke was recuperating post-being-shoved-out-an-eight-story-building-by-his-scoundrel-father. Abaddon told Locke that if he did pursue said walkabout that he would "owe him one" if they ever met again. Assuming that Abaddon and Locke do indeed meet in this upcoming episode, then will Abaddon hold true to this promise? Or will it all be moot, considering Locke never actually did go on the walkabout?

The popular theory "out there" right now is that Abaddon is really Walt, though of the all-growed-up variety. This theory doesn't particularly fly with me, but I can see why people support it. Once you throw in the concept of time travel into a show, pretty much anything can happen, right?

And also, I'm not totally convinced that Walt no longer has any more relevance for the story. We saw Michael make an incredible (though short-lived) return last season, so shouldn't Walt "return" in some way as well? Will he seriously remain locked up in his grandmother's house in NYC till the end of time? I tend to think not. But that's the question though: will he "come back" as "himself," or is Matthew Abaddon really him? You make the call, and let's see what happens.

Just a couple of fun facts, courtesy of Lostpedia. The name "Abaddon" is actually the same name of the "Angel of the Abyss" in Revelation 9:11. Check it out:

"And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon."

(I'm naming my first son Abaddon!)

Also worthy of note (or...maybe not really?), the full name "Matthew Abaddon" is an anagram for the phrase, "What Bad Boatmen." Pointless information? Perhaps. But whether you go with "Bad Boatman" or Top Dog of the Bottomless Pit, there's not a whole lot of positive connotations associated with the guy.

Which makes me all the more eager to figure out who the frak this guy is.