I’ll come out and say it: ‘Across the Sea’ was a disappointment for me.

It may have been a matter of simply having too high expectations; after all, in online commentary regarding this episode, it was supposed to be an important story in the mythos (which it is) and there would be a few twists/revelations (which there were). The episode provides an answer to the Man in Black/faux-Locke’s motivations, as well as his and Jacob’s origins.

The problem is, it was all very lightweight.

Certainly, I was intrigued for the entire hour; there are some fine performances here, particularly from Mark Pellegrino as Jacob. Allison Janey does an excellent job as their mother, putting across all kinds of crazy. Otherwise, it felt like your standard ‘Lost’ plot.

Crazy woman alone on the Island? Check.

They come across a group of mysterious ‘Others’? Check.

Dead people appear to one of the characters? Check.

Black smoke shows up at some point? Check.

Some kind of twist reveal? Check.

In short, this episode is ‘Lost’ by the numbers, which, with only two episodes left, just isn’t good enough.

The formula worked wonders over the seasons because the show was still fresh and we knew there was a ton of story left to be told. But now we are at the cusp of the finale; leaving questions unanswered (and bringing new ones up, to boot!) this late in the game is like studying last minute for a final that will determine whether you graduate or not.

Seriously, let’s look at the questions left over from this episode. Who was their mother? How long had she been on the island and where did she come from? Where did the statue come from? What exactly is the ’source’ of the island, and what makes it so special? Why did she not want either of the boys to leave the island?

And that last question is probably the one I have the biggest issue with. The Man in Black’s issues boil down to him having mommy issues and a desire to leave the island because he doesn’t belong there. According to the episode, he’s right. And if now the reason he can’t leave is because of what he became (old Smokey), then it hardly makes him evil, since Jacob caused that to happen (however inadvertent).

And all of these actions were put into motion by the mysterious crazy woman at the outset. And all of which left me very unsatisfied with the results.

There are still two weeks for all of it to come together. But it is a shame that, in a very strong final season, we have this kind of disappointment so late.