After the smoke settled, another look at 'Across the Sea'

By Chris Oliver

Well that didn’t go as expected. Usually when “Lost” producers serve up an episode devoted to mythology at the expense of character development, fans devour it as if it were a triple-fudge sundae smothered in whipped cream, nuts and a hint of crack. But many didn’t find the taste of “Across the Sea” so sweet. They tasted something foul under those sundae toppings and ran to upchuck onto the Internet.

“Sea” divided fans into those who were downright hostile, and those who were too lukewarm to care. The major complaints were: it was boring; it was a waste of an hour this close to the end; the writing was hammy; it didn’t connect emotionally; and, the big one, that gold cave was cheesy, both figuratively and, judging by the color, maybe literally. Cries of “it jumped the shark” and “worst episode ever” rang out from geeky throats.

Overreact much? Please, let’s drop this “worst episode ever” nonsense. If you were locked up in Room 23 and forced to watch the worst “Lost” episodes, you’d suffer far more from “Stranger in a Strange Land,” “Expose,” or any number of Kate episodes, than you would from “Sea.” It certainly has its flaws, but I think “Sea” is a vital piece of the “Lost” puzzle that was properly placed right before the final act.

I found the basic premise of the episode compelling. Two twins grow up on the island that, as far as they know, encompasses the whole of the universe. One twin doesn’t question this. He’s content to hunt boar, to learn to weave and to try his best to be Mommy’s favorite. The other twin can’t shake the notion that something doesn’t add up. Like “The Little Prince,” a literary allusion “Lost” dropped in season five, the boy wants to leave his little planet and see the rest of the universe. He wants to make a name for himself. Get it, because he has no name … OK, moving on.

But Loco-Mom is grooming these boys for a purpose. That purpose is to guard the now infamous Golden Cave. It is the light of goodness in the world, and “if the light goes out here, it goes out everywhere.”

I think critics of “Sea” got way too caught up in the visuals of the cave. Sure, the color gold comes off as gaudy, but what other color do you use to convey the light of life? It reminded me of the briefcase in “Pulp Fiction.” We saw the gold reflection when the case was opened, a visual indication that it was something valuable. What is it? Doesn’t matter.

Like the briefcase, the cave is what Alfred Hitchcock called a MacGuffin. It’s the object that drives the plot and motivates the action. It’s not important to go into detail about what the cave is, how it works, where it came from, blah blah blah. Men want it, and by seeking it they corrupt it, so it must be protected. That’s all we need to know. If the producers came up with something too intricate and specific, it would have drawn just as much criticism.

But I think the gold is important for another reason. When Ben went down to turn the wheel in season four, it was cold, and the color that emanated from the wheel was blue. But when Man in Black knocks through the wall in the well, it was the gold from the cave that shined through, a warm color. When Jacob threw MiB into the cave and created (or released) the smoke monster, it corrupted the power of the island. It’s this corruption that Jacob is trying to reverse, and maybe allowing Smoky to take human form again is the first step to eradicating him.

I’m not going to start rehashing the plot. You know what happened. Jacob is protecting the island, and the smoke monster is roaming free, trying to kill him. My guess is Jacob finished constructing the wheel in the well, or he brought someone to the island to finish it. We’ve seen Jacob leave the island, so maybe the curiosity got to him as well.

One explanation we do need is how Loco-Mom killed all those men. The attack has smoke monster written all over it, but it seems unlikely she was the monster. Maybe she could summon it as Ben did? But that opens up another load of questions I don’t want to entertain.

Ultimately, we got answers to two of the biggest “Lost” mysteries, the creation of the smoke monster and the identity of Adam and Eve. I was satisfied with both answers. So what if Jack said the Adam and Eve’s clothes were about 50 years old? He’s a spinal surgeon, damn it, not an archaeologist.

Anyway, if you still think “Across the Sea” sucked, I’ve read that the next episode, “What They Died For,” is great. But I believe if you go back and watch the whole season again, you’ll gain a deeper appreciation for it, cheesy cave and all.

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