LOST, Episode 4.11 - "Cabin Fever"

Here are some initial thoughts and theories about tonight's new episode of Lost, "Cabin Fever."

LOCKE

Add Locke to the growing list of Flight 815 survivors who see dead people (Horace Goodspeed).

Horace told Locke that Jacob has been looking for him for a long time. The fact that Richard Alpert was present immediately after Locke's birth suggests that they knew about him even before he was born. In a Season 1 flashback, Locke's mother Emily told him that he was immaculately conceived, and that he was special. So was Locke an experiment? Was Emily either employed or paid by Dharma? Was she subjected to injections and tests like the ones that failed on the island, and is that why Locke was born prematurely? [Ben's mother EMILY also gave birth to him prematurely]. It seems to me that the island was working on Locke's behalf from the get go; it wouldn't let him die from those illnesses in the hospital, nor when he was pushed out of the 8 story window or shot by Ben.

The presence of both Richard Alpert and Matthew Abbadon in Locke's life prior to crashing on the island certainly gives credence to the theory that Locke brought there for a reason and Flight 815 was purposefully brought down (especially if Abbadon really works for Oceanic). Think about it - not only was Locke on that flight, but Ben had a spinal tumor and the island needed a spinal surgeon...

Why doesn't Locke recognize Alpert when they meet on the island? Not sure if Richard ever gave his last name when he introduced himself.

Where was his father, Anthony Cooper, when Emily got hit by a car and gave birth prematurely? Is he even Locke's father?

Little Locke drew what looked like a fire with a Black Smoke Monster attacking him. Perhaps certain memories or flashes were implanted in him in-vitro...after all, the comic book cover that Richard Alpert presented to him said "what was the secret of the mysterious hidden land?" and many of the other items on the table were things that Locke would later use on the island (the knife, the compass that Locke gave Sayid in Season 1).

AARON

Christian said that Aaron is "where he is supposed to be." That is the exact phrase that Miles and Ben said about themselves in previous episodes this season.

BEN

Ben didn't meet Richard Alpert until he ran away from the Dharma village while chasing his dead mother, and Alpert appeared in old tattered clothes as a native or hostile. Horace was the one who recruited Ben and his father to the island. So if Richard didn't do it himself, was it because Ben wasn't 'special?'

When did Ben's relationship with Jacob begin?

Ben didn't just kill the Dharma folks with gas; at least one of the skeletons in the ditch had a bullet hole in the skull. Did Richard Alpert and the newly converted Hostiles/Others help Ben find and kill every single Dharma person there?

Ben told Locke that he didn't want to go into Jacob's cabin because the island had made him sick (spinal tumor) and did not heal him. But he had it before, when he took Locke there. So what's his real reason?

Was the island hidden from the outside world before the purge, or did Ben create the invisible barrier that only specific coordinates allow travel through? Can the island be moved by altering those coordinates?

CAPTAIN GAULT

So...now who will run the freighter?

CHARLES WIDMORE

Ben was lying about why Widmore wanted to find him and the island. If Keamy's orders were to torch it, obviously Widmore had no intention of securing it for exploitation. But why destroy it instead?

Is Widmore aware of or interested in Richard Alpert as well?

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD

Is it really him? The fact that Claire sees and communicates with him makes me think that he is not a Smokey manifestation after all.

Why was he dressed in tattered Hostile clothes? We usually see him in the suit with the tennis shoes.

CLAIRE

Let's see...you only met your real father a few years earlier, you resent/reject him and refuse to even find out his name, you crash on a remote island, have a baby, encounter your father there, leave your child in the jungle and hang out in a shack sharing a smile with the man. Yeah, she's dead.


DESMOND

With the Captain dead and Keamy out on a mission, will he try to communicate with Penny again from the freighter? And if so, will he tell her that he's on one of Daddy's ships?

DR. RAY

So the time discrepancy between the freighter and the island seems to be between 12-24 hours, if Dr. Ray washed ashore the morning of the same night he was killed.

When Keamy's team brought back their injured man, Dr. Ray asked "what did this to him" instead of "who."

FRANK LAPIDUS

Frank had memorized the Flight 815 manifest, but clearly there were no photos accompanying the passenger list, because he would have recognized Michael on the freighter immediately.

"HIM"

Emily Locke's mother referred to her teenage boyfriend (presumably Anthony Cooper) as 'him.'

Horace Godspeed told Locke that when he finds his dead body, he'll find 'him' (Jacob).

HORACE GOODSPEED

Was he a black smoke monster manifestation?

Interesting choice of Dead Dharma Dude to communicate with Locke, as Horace was the one who recruited Ben and his father to come to the island in the first place.

Was he the one who originally built Jacob's cabin? He was a Dharma mathematician, so it's doubtful. But why did he have a map to the cabin in his pocket at the time of his death? Was Jacob in power at that time, and were Dharma folks aware of him?

Loved that Goodspeed said 'godspeed' to Locke.

HURLEY

Although they are both crazy, Hurley's theory that he and Locke can see the cabin because they're nuts isn't exactly true. Jack sees his father on the island, Sayid saw a dripping wet Walt, Eko saw Ana after she'd been shot, etc.

JACK

Will Jack ever find out that Locke can see his father as well? Will he find out that Claire is his half-sister and Aaron his nephew? Will he encounter Christian again before being rescued?

JACOB

Does he even exist?

Is Christian Shephard the only one who can speak on his behalf? Before Flight 815 crashed there, did Jacob have other deceased representation?

When Locke previously met Jacob, he said 'help me.' Did Christian help him?

Where is Jacob? Where does he go when he leaves the cabin? We know that he is not a fan of modern technology, so he won't be thrilled with the advances he might encounter (computers in hatches, satellite phones, etc.).

KEAMY

What the hell was attached to his arm?

Keamy unlocked the secondary protocol to find out where Ben was supposed to go after he was captured. How old was it? Seemed odd to use the logo of a defunct organization (Dharma) on the cover...then again, Dharma food drops continued on the island until recently.
Did Widmore create the protocols?

Does the second protocol provide instructions when Ben and Widmore's rules of the game change? Was there a plan in place to take Ben elsewhere should something happen to his daughter?

MATTHEW ABBADON

We've now seen Abbadon appear and meet with two Flight 815'ers in medical facilities; he visited Hurley at the mental institution in the flash forward, and Locke at the rehab hospital in the flashback.

Abbadon referred to his own walkabout. Had he been injured or disabled at some point in his life before, and if so, had he been to the island and did it heal him?

We know Abbadon is alive and real, because he met with and assigned the Freighter Four team to Naomi. But he certainly seems to represent the subconscious for some 815'ers as well; planting the walkabout seed in Locke's head shortly after his accident and reminding Hurley of who he left behind on the island even though he was rescued...

Abbadon told Locke that they'd run into one another again. So if Locke isn't one of the Oceanic 6, will be see Abbadon on the island in the near future?

MICHAEL

When Keamy tried to shoot Michael, his gun jammed. Same as when Michael tried to kill himself with a gun in the future. So what Tom said is true - the island won't let Michael die. But will he after his mission is complete?

OCEANIC 6
What will be the circumstances surrounding who gets rescued and why? Unless they're dead, I can't see Jack taking one of the spots if Rose and Juliet are there too (not to mention Bernard and Jin, denying them rescue with their wives).

RICHARD ALPERT

So Mittelos has been a recruiting front for Ben and the island for a long time; Richard tried for years to get John to come to "science camp" (aka the island), and he lured Juliet there for a unique job opportunity (aka the island).

Among the items presented to young John, there was a tube of granules. It didn't look like ash, but could it have contained the substance that surrounds Jacob's cabin?

SAYID

If Locke is somehow about to 'move' the island or its coordinates, how will Sayid be able to return on the raft?

WALT

Did Richard Alpert ever attempt to recruit Walt when he was a boy? He was special too.

DID YOU NOTICE?

Locke was playing backgammon as a kid in the foster home. In the pilot episode of Lost, he was playing it with Walt, another 'special' child. Walt then played with Hurley, who claimed to be a backgammon champion. Ben played backgammon with Sawyer as well.

In this week's installment of Star Wars Homage, Keamy's injured mercenary mate was named Mayhew. Actor Peter Mayhew played Chewbacca. Nerd alert!

There was a small poster of Geronimo Jackson in Locke's high school locker. There was a Geronimo Jackson record in the Swan hatch, and the young undercover cop who conned Locke at the pot farm last season was wearing a Geronimo Jackson t-shirt.

Teenage Locke uttered his favorite phrase, "don't tell me what I can't do."

In the very first scene, Locke's mom was listening to a Buddy Holly song. Holly died in a plane crash.

One of the items that Richard Alpert's showed to young Locke was a Book of Laws. Eko referred to a Book of Laws when he first met Locke in the Swan hatch. If I remember correctly, Eko then pulled some missing Orientation film footage out of that very book.

Locke's mom Emily was hit by a car when she was pregnant with him. Locke was hit by a car when he encountered his mother in a parking lot as an adult years after she'd abandoned him. Other Lost-related car injuries include:

• Michael was hit by a car in NY; he was badly injured but lived
• Michael tried to kill himself by crashing his car in the future; same outcome
• Jack witnessed a car crash on the bridge before attempting suicide; everyone lived
• Kate and her doctor ex were in a car accident; she was fine, he died
• Kate and the Marshall crashed in the rain when she saw a black horse on the road; she escaped, he was knocked out
• Kate crashed the farmer's truck when the Marshall caught up with them; she escaped, he was injured
• Claire and her mom were in an accident; she was injured, mom wound up in a coma
• Before being taken to the island, Locke's dad Anthony Cooper said he was in a car accident
• Hurley crashed his car after being chased by the police in a flash forward; he was fine
• Shannon's dad crashed into Jack's future wife Sarah; he died, Jack miraculously repaired her back
• Juliet's ex-husband was hit by a bus; he died

CRAZY THEORIES OF THE WEEK

Not only is Richard Alpert the Ageless an original crew member of the Black Rock ship, Matthew Abbadon was as well.

Jacob isn't actually a person, he's the island. He/it uses people as it sees fit, to benefit the island and keep the evil/'bad' folks away. Abbadon, Alpert and Ben are its messengers, enablers and protectors.

Jin and Bernard sacrifice their lives for their wives. They have to die in order for Sun and Rose to be rescued. {post-slumber note: duh...Rose doesn't get rescued. never mind!}

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I have to get some sleep. Please excuse any typos or repetitive/contradictory sentences and theories. More to come this weekend after a second viewing.

In the meantime, what did YOU think about this episode?