The episode begins with Jacob and MiB's mother saying "Every question I answer will simply lead to another question." I wonder if that was the way it would be, and I was right. There is one episode left before the series finale 12 days away and if that's the origin story, I hope we'll learn a lot more before the end.
"Across the Sea" provided some answers, but ultimately came up short in providing viewers something to hold on to. All good things must come to an end, and with everything than has gone on during the six seasons, the answers won't be satisfactory. The writers tried to capture the expansive narrative crafted over the years and at the same time work in a manageable story in the time alloted. For the most part, I liked the episode even if there was much to be desired.
The origin story does the opposite of the origin of our more worldly characters, Jack and Locke, in that Jacob and MiB don't have daddy issues; they have mommy issues. Their real mother is killed right after they are born, and their mother's murderer raises them as her own. We see Jacob, the lighter of the two, grow up to believe in the good of people, while MiB, the darker, grows up seeing the evil in people. MiB also looks across the sea despite his mother's insistence there is nothing out there. Soon, their mother's lies come crashing down and MiB joins the others who have crashed on the Island
Possibly the biggest reveal was the Light, symbolic for whatever you want it to be. The writers were so vague it could mean anything to anyone and still make sense. That's kind of what Lost is build on, except it's the end. I actually want to know the whole truth. One thing we know for sure is that out popped Smokey and the Light disappears.
A big problem I have is the arbitrary nature of the Island which forces characters into tiny corners without much explanation. Why can't MiB leave? Who was Jacob and MiB's second mother? What is the Light? How does this tie into Flocke's plan in present day? Why can't MiB kill Jacob directly when he killed his mother?
Part of me is also confused about MiB sitting on the beach with Jacob before the Black Rock arrives. By then, MiB was already plotting to kill Jacob, which would put the time period after Jacob sent him into the light. If that's the case, MiB can go from smoke to his original human form. I thought he couldn't, but that's the only explanation.
Going back to that one time Flocke tripped and seemed genuinely frightened of kid Jacob standing in front of him, there didn't seem to be anything in the past that would make him act that way. It wasn't until much later when the tensions between the two were heightened.
Anyone want to estimate a time period? If I had to guess, they were Romans. Perhaps Jacob and MiB are a perverted form of Romulus and Remus. The other guys on the Island could have been barbarians.
None of the regular characters showed up except for the quick and way overdone replay of the Adam and Eve discovery back in Season 1. "Across the Sea" was dedicated to Jacob and MiB and it's about time there was an episode about them, but what is the significance on the Islanders (not the hockey team). Does Jacob have any bigger plans for bringing people to the Island to prove that humans are good and/or pick a candidate? From what I can tell, he doesn't.
Score: 8.9/10
