Season 4, Episode 11: "Cabin Fever"

Good Lord, they're really not letting up this season, huh? Maybe we should have a writer's strike every year so that we can follow this "no filler all killer" formula that Lost has got going on this year. But all kidding aside, I think it's safe to say that with a finite number of episodes left in the series, that we are really starting to get some answers. Of course, that leads to more questions, but that's the fun part, right? Let's get to what went down in "Cabin Fever."


So after a week break from the "chosen ones," we're back to Hurley, Ben, and Locke as they search for the elusive cabin that no one seems to be able to find. But luckily, Locke has a pretty interesting dream (time jump?) and finds Horace, who is coincidentally building the said cabin for he and his wife Olivia (Ben's teacher at Dharma school) to get away from the everyday stresses of the "D.I." But something's off. First off, he's been dead for 12 years. Secondly, he's cutting down the same tree and repeating his dialogue ("Hello there")...almost as if he's caught in a time loop of sorts. Locke wakes up and knows what he has to do: find Horace's body in the Dharma grave and get the blueprints of the cabin. With a knowing look of despair, Ben utters, "I used to have dreams too." And with that, we come to grasp the main theme of the show: the passing of the torch from Ben to Locke as the "chosen one" of the Island.

Through Locke's flashbacks we see some eerily familiar similarities between he and Ben's life leading up to the Island. First off, they are both born to women named Emily. Many have gone so far as to hypothesize that the same woman that mothered both of them (this is likely not true seeing that we've seen Locke's Emily in a flash back that post-dated Ben's mother's death). Secondly, they are both raised by "other mothers" - one because of abandonment and one because of death. Both have very messed up relationships with their fathers. And finally, they both seem to be "chosen ones" of the Island, and have been protected from harm because of that fact. Richard has visited them both in their childhood, and nurtures their development as the Island's leader. But recently, Ben seems to have fallen out of favor with the Island, likely because of his obsession with the fertility clinic and his attachment to Alex, two things that the Island probably didn't have in mind as priorities. Richard all but confirms this way back in Season 3 when he has a brief, revealing chat with Locke on the hillside.



He mentions being frustrated with Ben's practices, and nudges Locke in the right direction by giving him Sawyers file (where he learns that Anthony Cooper - Locke's Father, conned Sawyer, which lead Locke to manipulate Sawyer to murder Anthony Cooper for him. Another connection - both Ben and Locke effectively killed their fathers.) But in Ben's words, "Destiny is a fickle bitch." His destiny, and apparently time with the Island, is over. His time has passed and Locke's is beginning. But is it?

Some have posed that Ben is STILL behind all of these shenanigans and is playing Locke like a puppet (again). And when you think about it, it's a very plausible scenario. First off, I don't need to remind everyone how skilled Ben is in the area of manipulation. Let's just say he's kinda good at it. Secondly, we know that in the future he is still fighting for the Island (although it could be argued that he may be fighting AGAINST the Island...if he is indeed banished or something, but let's disregard that for now). Finally, the comment Ben makes to Locke after complimenting him on manipulating Hurley to stay is rather interesting. After Locke quips, "I am not like you!" Ben sternly responds, "No, you certainly are not."


Could the subtext here be referring to the fact that Locke will never have the skills that Ben possesses, and more importantly, that Locke is NOT the Chosen One (and Ben still is)? It's definitely a bit of a stretch, but from what we've seen so far in this show, we simply cannot discount Ben's ability to come out on top. And going by Locke's seemingly never ending number of failures in life, could this potential fall to Ben's control just be another one to add to the list? Time will tell.


Switching gears, I was thrilled to see Richard's return to the show. And while the theories have been out there for a while, I think it's clear now that he is a part of the "original" inhabitants of the Island, and may even be the leader of this group. And Ben's remarks about the Purge were very telling. Consider the dialogue below:

HURLEY: Well, if the Others didn't wipe out the DHARMA Initiative--
BEN: They did wipe them out, Hugo, but it wasn't my decision.
HURLEY: Then whose was it?
BEN: Their leader's.
HURLEY:But I thought you were their leader.
BEN: Not always.

I think an argument can be made that this was Richard's decision. In that same hillside conversion with Locke, Richard expressed disdain over the fact that they were still using and enjoying Dharma supplies...which shows that he's still exhibits resentment towards a group that they murdered 12 years earlier. Just the memory of Dharma taking over his Island is too much to take. And let's not forget - while we all assume that the Purge was executed by Ben, the only "action" he participated in was the killing his father. The rest of the camp was gassed by Richard and other Island originals. So while Ben certainly knew about the Purge, I believe him that it wasn't necessarily his idea. We've now also seen Richard in key situations throughout the show. He recruited Ben and Locke - both supposed "Chosen Ones" to the lead and protect the Island.


Oh, and he doesn't age. That's pretty cool...and probably has something to do with mastering how Time affects the Island, a skill that may have taken generations to perfect. But how/where is Richard getting the information of who to recruit? Is it from a prophecy? Is it from Jacob? Or did he simply here of a "miracle baby" that was the earliest preemie to ever survive at the time and come running? Or on the flip side, was it he who hit Emily in the road, forcing a premature birth that may have never happened due to a likely abortion once her mother found out about the illegitimate pregnancy?


And why, after Locke failed the initial test of "what belonged" to him, did he continue to recruit him? There are a lot of questions here, but I'm glad that the return of one of Lost's most interesting characters might be the first step in receiving the answers to these and more.

Speaking of great character returns, Abaddon's return was just as welcome. In his reemergence, we find him giving Locke just the pep talk he needs...as Locke has pretty much hit rock bottom after his Father pushed him out a window and an 8 story fall paralyzed him from the waist down. Abaddon encourages John to consider a Walkabout, which is the reason Locke ends up in Australia, and eventually, on Flight 815.

(note the "Get Back into the Game!" Poster behind them.)

While I think most people assumed that Abbadon was another employee of Widmore, or maybe even the Economist, I think this scene sheds some light on the fact that he has been aware of the Island for much longer than we think. Who knows, he could be working from an entirely different perspective. Yes, he got Naomi, Daniel, Miles, and Frank on to the Freighter; but they haven't necessarily been directly tied to Keamy's mission (which is to get Ben and kill the rest). Their agenda has been more vague (meaning, they don't seem like the murdering type) and their skills directly relate to some of the Island's special properties (Time, Archeology, Ghost Whispering, and...well... pilot). I don't know what Abaddon's intentions are, but it will be very interesting to find out.


Finally, let's move on to the Cabin scene. Locke enters to see a bit of a rustic looking Christian relaxed in Jacob's chair (very different from his polished appearance in Jack's flashes...an interesting note to keep in mind), seemingly expecting his arrival.


He notes that "he can speak for Jacob," and gets right down to it by asking John why he thinks he's there. When Locke responds, "because I was chosen to be, " Christian beams. Then, out of the corner of his eye he see Claire, and what we see is NOT the Claire we're used to. She has an air about her that is mischievous and almost looks possessed.


She doesn't seem to care at all about Aaron's whereabouts, which is very unlike her. I think we have to assume at this point that she is dead and that theory proposed here last week (which wasn't mine) is correct. When Locke then asks about Aaron, Christian responds, "he's exactly where he's supposed to be." But we were lead to believe that Aaron MUST be raised by Claire, right?

Well, let's revisit some dialogue between Claire and the psychic she visited in Australia. After he mentioned that she HAD to raise the child, he flipped his decision, bought her a ticket on 815, and said that he found a couple in LA to raise the baby. When Claire responded angrily, "I'm not giving my baby to a couple of strangers," the psychic responded, "they're not strangers, they're good people." We've assumed all along that the psychic made this bit about the couple up just to get her on a flight that he knew was doomed. But what if he KNEW that Aaron would end up in LA......with Kate and Jack?? And if so, then Aaron is exactly where he should be. He is on his way back to the beach (via Sawyer) to eventually be rescued and taken away by Kate en route to his true home. And if Claire was told to understood this, it would explain her calm demeanor in spite of being separated from Aaron. Again, a bit far fetched, but interesting nonetheless.

To wrap up the cabin scene, Christian tells Locke that they need to "move the Island" to secure its safety. How they do this is beyond me at the moment, but I'm guessing that "moving" it has to do with moving it through time rather than physically moving it. It will be interesting to find out what happens here.

Finally, just a few more notes quickly as this is long already:

-Sayid's going to save everyone on the Island with a dingy? Really? Well, at least we know how he reunites with his other O6 survivors...how they get off the Island is another question.

-Widmore is now officially linked to Dharma. As Keamy takes out the "Secondary Protocol," you may have noticed that a Dharma logo was on it. So his story seems simple: he was involved with Dharma's work on the Island, Ben and his group killed them all, and now he's pissed and wants his Island back. Pretty simple, right?

-Keamy had something taped to his left arm. While I first thought it was a tape recorder (so that Widmore could hear everything that goes down), some folks have said that it could be a trigger of some sort. Meaning that if his heart stops beating, the device will trigger an explosion somewhere (either on the Freighter or the Island). It was because of this that the Captain couldn't shoot him.




Whew! I think that's all I got for now. Please chime in and tell me what I missed. From here on out we have a regular hour this week (5/15), and then an off week to accommodate the finale of Grey's Anatomy next week (boooooring), and then we're back with a two hour finale on 5/29. Till then, enjoy!