Lost may be almost over but that doesn't mean you have to say good-bye.  Profiles in History is auctioning off 100 items (plus more to be announced) from the show including Desmond's Fail Safe Key, Sawyer's Letter, and Faraday's Journal.  These items and plenty more would be awesome to own for any Lost fan and I look forward to the fans with lots of money trying to outbid each other on this stuff.  The items are scheduled to go on sale this summer after the series finale.  Further details, including the exact date will be forthcoming.

And for my thoughts on tonight's episode, "Across the Sea", hit the jump.

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This week's episode was almost everything I hoped it would be.  The telling of it was superb.  "Across the Sea" felt like an old myth that had been told throughout the ages.  There was a wonderful simplicity to the episode.  I felt like every scene I was watching could have been told through an oral tradition rather than something writers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse cooked up in their offices on the ABC Studios lot.

There was a big gamble in introducing Jacob and the Man-in-Black's mother.  It was a key role, perhaps one of the most important in the entire series since it wouldn't have time to expand or play out over a number of episodes (unless she's coming back in the last two, but I think it would cheapen her arc to bring her back).  Getting the right actress in the role was crucial and they nailed it by casting Allison Janney.  She's one of the best actresses out there and she has four Emmys to prove it.

Yes, we're still left with questions and I doubt we'll get answers with only two episodes left.  I was happy that the "Adam and Eve" riddle from all the way back in season one was finally answered.  However, we don't know how Man-in-Black's body died and decomposed and the smoke monster lived on.  My guess is that Man-in-Black's spirit was transformed into the smoke monster so it carries all his memories, emotions, desires, etc. but now he has immortality and the ability to transform into monstrous smoke.  But that's just a guess.  Also, we learned that the young boy that Man-in-Black/Locke keeps seeing is young Jacob, but we don't know why.  Finally, I'm still at a loss when it comes to "the rules."  They're mentioned briefly when Man-in-Black tells Jacob that when Jacob creates his own game, he can make his own rules.  These "rules" were my main point of contention in last week's episode and it's still frustrating to not know what they are.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed this episode.  It was the flashback to end all flashbacks, was an episode so rich in mythology that it felt like an old story from an ancient civilization, but it kept the focus on the characters rather than getting lost in the mythology and turning the episode into a methodical, plodding answer sheet.  Throw in great performances from Mark Pellegrino, Titus Welliver, the young actor who play the Man-in-Black as a boy, and Janney, and you have what is probably my favorite episode so far this season.