Across The Sea & The Wonder of Lost by Gboy1803

I think a lot of people missed the themes and issues going on in this episode. Smoke Mother was setting the game in motion. Answers where given, while not spoon feeding them to the audience, hence I loved Across the Sea. I could fill in the blanks with the template they provided for the episode. Hell, even my mother, who is a casual viewer and 69 years of age, rang me to say she had worked it out.

Yes, mother was the protector of the source. Curiosity got the better of her and at some point, she entered the light and became a form of smoke monster, hence her warning to Jacob about never to enter the light as it was much worse than dying. Subtle hints were given through the episode that she was Smokey. She also hinted that she wanted out, she was sick of her role, she had been protecting the Island for too long. The whole "I'm Tired Jacob" scene fed into this, as did her thank you after MIB stabbed her with the dagger that we have all been told is the one than can kill Smokey as long as you dont speak to Smokey as you do it, which is exactly what happened to mother in the way her death played out.

My take on events was that mother set the children up as her own personal loop hole, I also think she appeared to MIB as his original mother in the hope of sending him down the path to killing her. What she didn't count on was Jacob taking revenge in the way that he did by throwing MIB into the light, and thus creating a new smoke monster. As for what happened to him in the light, I feel that his soul was completely ripped apart, in a Voldemort kinda way. His soul is now imprisoned within the smoke monster and is completely insane. He clings to the one thing he always wanted from childhood through to adulthood, to finally go across the sea and go home to his people.

And that is the genius of Lost. My interpretation will differ completely to thousands of other fans. For 6 years, the show has been built on intrigue and mystery. Half of the fun is the theories and endless discussion the show has evoked. It instills in me a sense of wonder that no series has in recent times. I hope that some of the mystery is never completely resolved. Lost is the closest TV has ever come to a TV series that works as a book of philosophy. For 6 years, fans have championed that. Now, we want neat tidy answers that fit perfectly into how we perceive the show. We want to say we were right. Lost, like life, doesn't work that way. Here's hoping for a truly baffling ending that will keep us discussing and generating theories for decades to come. I don't wanna be spoon fed. I can watch Desperate Housewives for that. Let the finale stay true to what Lost is - A brain blowing thought provoking weekly dose of WTF!!