I honestly don’t know if last night’s episode of Lost successfully explained everything or totally jumped the shark. Only time will tell, and the way the series finishes up will most likely allow us to judge the merits or lack thereof for “Cabin Fever.”
The fact that Richard Alpert and Matthew Abaddon both crossed paths with John Locke completely changes the way we must view his entire journey. This is the kind of revelation that will make repeat viewings of the entire series more compelling, like trying to piece together if Nina Myers being a mole actually made sense in the first season of 24.
I’d like to reserve judgment until we know more about those two men. How did Richard Alpert know about Locke before he was even born? Thank God Cane was canceled because this show needs to start using Nestor Carbonell a whole lot more to start explaining Alpert’s actions in this episode, which radically change everything we thought we knew.
As for Abaddon, he was presumably on Charles Widmore’s side, yet he seems inextricably linked to the island as well, urging Locke to take his walkabout which led to Locke being on the island. Is Abaddon in cahoots with Alpert, DHARMA, or Widmore? Again, only time will tell, as it will also explain what life-altering experience Abaddon had to make him realize his purpose.
This is one of those episodes that is impossible for me to judge. It feels important, and it certainly fits into the overall mythology of the series, but I don’t know where, how, or if it even actually does. Does this information fit into what we already knew, or is it completely incongruous with everything we’ve seen Locke do in the first three seasons? I need to meditate more than just one day to answer that question.
What I do know is there were some nice Easter Eggs in this episode, revealing a hidden connection to the freighter and DHARMA, furthering the Ben-Locke similarities, explaining Locke’s taste in music, and even showing that even the brilliant Lost creative team can and does make rather sizable and provable mistakes.
#1 – Protocol #2
The biggest Easter Egg twist from the episode is that the binder for Protocol #2 that Keamy gets from the safe on the freighter had a DHARMA symbol emblazoned on it. This means that Charles Widmore is using DHARMA technology against the island.
Further inspection reveals more because the specific logo on the Protocol #2 binder is the same DHARMA logo we first saw on Ben’s parka when he landed in the Sahara Desert in “The Shape of Things to Come.” At the time, it was speculated that the symbol referred to the Orchid Station and time travel.
This would indicate that Keamy and his men are also in possession of this same time travel technology, and this could certainly help to explain the purpose of those weird devices being strapped to their biceps. Those devices are probably some Orchid Station prototype. Most importantly, this further muddles the divides between Ben and Widmore. They clearly know each other’s moves and now they apparently possess each other’s technology.
#2 – Horace Goodspeed
The man who shows himself to Locke as the architect of Jacob’s cabin, Horace, was none other than the man who stopped by the side of the road the day Ben was born. If this episode proved anything, it’s that John and Ben are cut from the same cloth, both very special (their mothers even share a first name). Horace making this appearance only strengthens the almost supernatural bond between those two.
#3 – Geronimo Jackson
Though music expert Charlie had never heard of Geronimo Jackson, John Locke is quite connected to the band that may or may not have ever existed in the real world. Back in season 2, in the Hatch, Locke made a special note of their album while flipping through the music collection. Later we saw Eddie, the undercover cop at the commune Locke stayed at, wearing a Geronimo Jackson shirt.
In “Cabin Fever,” during Locke’s high school flashback, he had a poster of the band hanging in his locker. This was just one of the many connections to the island from Locke’s past (alongside the confusing appearances by Richard Alpert and Matthew Abaddon). And if you’re wondering who the guy in the photo above the poster is, it’s English explorer Sir Richard Burton.
#4 – Mystery Tales
Among the six objects, Richard Alpert shows John Locke to determine which already belonged to him was a comic book called Mystery Tales, with the text on the front reading, “What was the secret of the mysterious HIDDEN LAND!” Undoubtedly, this is yet another jab at fans eager to know the Lost island’s secrets.
Of the six objects, the other two Locke denied to pick up were the baseball mitt and the Book of Laws (a possible indication that Locke serves a higher power than the laws of man). He chose granules (likely of the island’s beach, indicating the island does belong to Locke), a compass (indicating Locke’s purpose of finding the island) and a knife, which Richard doesn’t think belongs to Locke.
We also learned that Locke had foreseen the existence of the Black Smoke Monster. This might actually fit since he was spiritually inspired when he first saw it and since then, he constantly asks Ben what it is, hoping to understand this thing he’s seen since he was a child.
-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Images courtesy of Lost-Media)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
