Sidebar: I walk a tightrope deciding how much of myself to bring to these recaps. Although I incorporate a good bit of criticism and analysis, this is primarily a recap -- a retelling of the story as I see it. When I share a little bit of my spirituality or politics, I do so gingerly, and only with the hope that it will help you understand what I'm seeing and possibly why. When you write back and share some of yourself and your understanding, it thrills me, even (and maybe especially) when our views differ. These recaps should always be about Lost, which spans eons, oceans, continents, world views and heck -- realities. My hope and belief is that you and I will meet somewhere in the story, even if we'd never meet in church, at the polls, or in the library. But I came to the show knowing a woman was supposed to be the lead, and the Jack character only survived and rose to prominence because the network thought a male lead would sell better. Now, admittedly, having Matthew Fox as that male lead distracted me just fine. But then I spent five and a half years watching Shannon, Ana-Lucia, Libby, Rousseau, Alex, Juliet and Sun die; Claire (like Rousseau before her) go crazy; Rose go missing (like Claire before her); and Kate go in circles. So now, to see five and a half years of Daddy Issues fade into nothingness, after only 40-something minutes of Mommy Issues -- A.K.A. THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL -- I'm feeling a little...prickly. So, while I'm sorry for hitting you over the head with the X(Y), the XX and the XXX, chastity belts and cherries, this is what comes naturally when I retell this episode. For a more serious, less naughty examination of these issues, please see Maureen Ryan's excellent analysis of "Across the Sea." Like Mo, I'm one of the few women included in Metacritic's Round-Up of Lost reviews, and this week I couldn't not let my sex inform this recap. Your mileage may vary, and if it does, you probably liked this episode a heck of a lot more than I did, which means you win. I'll try to behave myself like a good little girl, now. Let's get back to the show.