LOST Pre-Game: “What Kate Does”

And as long as I’m uncomfortably discussing race, here’s something to think about. Look-a-Locke tells Richard “It’s good to see you out of those chains.” I took this to mean that he was a slave at one time. Since the Black Rock was a slave ship, that all fits together. Except, there’s a little bit of a hang-up. Nester Carbonell, the actor who plays Richard “Batmanuel” Alpert is Hispanic. Anybody held captive on a slave ship in 1845, the year the Black Rock ran aground, wouldn’t be Hispanic. (Interestingly, the original casting notice for Richard’s part specified that the character was Black.) Now, there are obviously several answers. Richard might have been a prisoner when he landed on the Island, as opposed to a slave. Or he may be much, much older than the Black Rock. Something to think about, at least.