Cabin Fever part 2

The test involved Alpert setting six objects in front of John. They were a baseball mitt; an old tome titled Book of Laws; a corked vial containing a granular substance(sand? volcanic ash?); a compass; a Mystery Tales comic book ("What was the secret of the mysterious 'Hidden Land'?" asked the cover; other stories in the issue were "The Travelers" and "Crossroads of Destiny"); and a knife. "I want you to look at these things, and think about them," said Alpert. "Now...which of these belong to you...already?" There will surely be a great debate on how to interpret that "already". It seemed that Alpert was asking Locke to look forward into his life for these objects — as if for people like Alpert and perhaps Locke, past, present, and future happen all at once. But Locke seemed to fail the test. He slid the vial toward him and off to the side. Then he picked up the compass and set it down. Both of these actions seemed to please Alpert. But then Locke chose the knife and held on to it. Alpert was not only crestfallen but vaguely pissed. "I'm afraid John isn't ready for our school", he said as he left in a huff, and raced out to...catch the next time machine back to the Island?

This is where LOST nut jobs lose their minds, or at least sleep; deconstructing scenes like these. As it turns out, these six objects are portals that, if opened, can flood your mind with possibilities on how to "read" the show. Taken individually and separately they are further reinforced by other winks and nods throughout the episode. These embedded clues can link provocatively to Jewish and Mormon history; Egyptian mythology; Freemason conspiracy theory; and, yes, even that From Hell business. The underlying connection: "special people" and "chosen people", tapped by fate, biology, or higher powers to execute great work in the world, often in secret. In a word: "Others".




The Book of Law reference is worth focusing on for a few sentences, because it's proof positive that the writers of LOST not only are keenly aware of how its cultists scrutinize their work but mischievously play to this crowd too. After all, Book of Law evokes a cult text — or occult text? The Book of the Law, written in 1904 by "the wickedest man on the planet", Aleister Crowley. The book extols the philosophy of Thelema, which is summed up thusly: "Do what thou wilt". Or, in the words of Mama Cass, "Make your own kind of music/Make your own special song". Or, as 16-year-old John Locke raged in the flashback scene, "Don't tell me what I can't do!", which we've heard before. This came after a bunch of bullies locked Locke in a locker, a locker, by the way, that had a Geronimo Jackson poster and a picture of Sir Richard Burton, ("who's no longer burping"; inside joke -ed.) in it, continuing a recurring theme of a boxed-in confinement throughout the episode. A kindly teacher encouraged John to attend a summer science camp run by Mittelos, which we know is the off-Island outfit run by the Others. But the brainy Locke refused. He didn't want to be a man of science he wanted to be a boy of action. Play sports. Go on adventures. Play with knives and maybe hunt some boar. His teacher responded, "You can't be the prom king. You can't be the quarterback. You can't be a superhero." We've also heard this before. Just ask Jack.



That's some pretty good advice to get from a teacher, though a very sharp point was being made by keeping the name of the school's athletic teams in constant view during the whole scene: the Knights. Locke might be a geek by nature, but he lives in a culture that idolizes the stud. Toss in the female issues in his life; abandoned by his mother, only conditionally loved by his foster mother and sister, and factor in the daddy anger and desperate-for-purpose disposition, and you have the portrait of a conflicted, impotent man yearning for clarity and empowerment. Such men are known to make very stupid choices and sometimes, deadly ones. But don't take my word for it, just ask Benjamin Linus.

But back to the test, when the Dalai Lama dies, a ritual is performed wherein one of his possessions is presented along with other objects to the child suspected of being his reincarnation. The child is found to be the reincarnation of the lama if he chooses the correct item out of the selection he's presented with. Was this episodes a clever interpretation of this ritual?



Which brings us to the provocative "Big Idea" that "Cabin Fever" may have been jerking its head toward, hoping that we would "get it" without spelling it out. There was a moment when Ben accused Locke of manipulating Hurley into going with them to Jacob's cabin by using Ben-patented reverse psychology. Locke denied doing so, saying, "I'm not you.". Ben jumped on this, saying, "You're certainly not." Now, do the timeline math. Locke is born three months early. At age 5, he takes a test that most likely would have taken him to the Island if he had passed. He didn't. That same year, Benjamin Linus is born. At age 16, Locke is invited to go to a science camp that again would have taken him to the Island. He refused. About that same time, Benjamin Linus and his father joined the Dharma Initiative. The implication, it seems, is that Ben has been walking the path that was originally meant for Locke. Ben was the contingency plan, the course correction, for Locke's altered destiny. But Ben is his own person and he has done things differently from what Locke would have done, and this has created further changes in the original order of things. Changes that a certain ticked-off, Island-deprived billionaire named Charles Widmore is trying to reverse. The scene at the rehab center between paralyzed adult Locke and his wheelchair pusher, the creepy Matthew Abbaddon, who accepted the description of "orderly" with knowing irony was meant to suggest one way Widmore is scheming to restore the original order: by getting Locke on that Island and taking back the birthright that was supposed to be his. It seems that people have a way of showing up in John Locke’s life when he needs the most encouragement. This time it’s Abbaddon who takes watch, coaching Locke back from the brink of self-pity and inspiring him to seek out his infamous walkabout. Abbaddon’s actions are all about restoring Locke’s faith, getting him "back in the game" as the poster behind them reads. Abbaddon eerily assures Locke they will meet again later on, and when they do he will owe him one. There is one theory out there that I'm not really buying into that suggests that Abbaddon is a future version of Walt. Abbaddon refers to John as “Mr. Locke” in hauntingly the same way that Walt always did. He picks Locke up off the floor of despair and gives him guidance, just as Walt did when Locke was left for dead in the body pit.




Here's the twist that could turn Locke into a mass murderer of sorts. As we saw at the end of the episode, Locke's plan for saving the Island is moving the Island. No idea how he intends to do that. But track the weird science LOST has been laying down this season correctly, and where we might be headed is a catastrophic gambit in which Locke will move the Island not only in space but also in time, which will cause some kind of massive retroactive course correction or, rather, already has enacted a course correction. In fact, if the secret to many of the metaphysical mysteries of LOST is that all of the shows drama is playing out against the backdrop of a timeline that's in flux, where old history is giving way to new history as the consequences of Locke's future Island-saving actions trickle down through time. So that wreckage of Oceanic 815 at the bottom of the ocean? That isn't a hoax, at least not in the new timeline taking hold. That's real. And it will be John the Quantum Ripper's fault.



OTHER THINGS

During Locke's dreamy encounter with dead Dharma dude Horace Goodspeed we learned that Jacob's cabin was actually built by the Dharma mathematician as a getaway pad for himself and his wife, Olivia. But other than tip Locke off to the whereabouts of the map that could help him find his now on-the-loose lodge, Goodspeed didn't give up any more factual info. Other details may be symbolic or foreshadowing of events to come. Did the nosebleed mean that Horace was a Dharma time traveler? Was the looping nature of the dream a clue that the castaways are caught in a time loop? And where was Olivia? Full-blown log cabin blueprints? Even for a mathematician that was kinda stretching it. But Horace’s appearance this episode was extremely telling in the grand scheme of how the island works. Locke’s island-induced vision, which once again happens while he’s unconscious, differs historically from most of LOST’s visions in that he sees someone he’s never met. Hurley seeing Dave, Eko seeing Yemi… these are images that could’ve been taken from their own consciousness. But with the appearance of Horace, now we’re seeing the island’s consciousness. What we’re seeing is a small loop of past time – an event that actually happened. Horace felled that tree a dozen or more years ago, and the island was there to see it. Therefore the island can replay that scene for Locke, over and over again, by memory. It uses Horace as a vehicle to speak to Locke, the way it used Yemi to speak to Eko, and it chose Horace because the blueprints were in his pocket. Incidentally, this isn’t exactly the first time we’ve been given this revelation. Hurley had no way of knowing what Christian Shephard looked like, but he still saw him in the cabin a few episodes back. I guess the writers are probably just ready to reveal more at this point. Still, I think the island’s ability to conjure up visions is limited to that which it, or its inhabitants, has experienced. Which may be why so many names, numbers, places, people, and things are constantly recycled.




Now it looks like Ben has lost his faith. Still grieving Alex, he looks forlorn and lost. He seems almost sorry for the purge, but refuses to accept responsibility himself. Ben also revealed that he hasn't always been the leader of the Others and that he didn't order the Purge. So who preceded him in leadership? And who ordered the gassing of the Dharma barracks? Michael Emerson's line reading as always, perfectly intoned to suggest a multiplicity of possibilities and seemed to hint that it might be someone we know. So maybe Charles Widmore? Time-looped John Locke? Who? Shrugging, he follows Locke and Hurley through the jungle with no real purpose, no plan, no underlying secret plan, and little care about what happens next. “I used to have dreams”, he tells Locke, as if knowing his days of receiving instruction from the island are over. Watch Ben’s face as Locke finds the blueprints. He bitterly seems to accept this as a sign that Locke is now the favored one. Later he challenges Locke: “Are you sure John? I was told a lot of things. Then I ended up with a tumor on my spine and my daughter’s blood on my hand”. Sardonically, Ben is now doubting everything the island has ever guided him to do. Where once he thought he had some semblance of control over events, now he realizes he was simply a pawn himself and not the king he thought he was. “These things HAD to happen to me. They were my destiny, and destiny John, is a fickle bitch!”. Cool line. But are you buying it? Cause I sure ain't. Once again I think Ben is farting under the covers and trying to pull them over our heads. At least partially. Ben needs Locke to believe in what he’s doing – without faith nothing works - which is why he’s taken this subdued role. Don’t forget: we already know that future Ben has once again taken up the reins. He’s jumping into the desert, kicking ass, and guiding Sayid on assassination missions. These are not exactly the actions of someone who couldn’t give a crap. So either Ben gets his groove back, or he’s never really lost it. Ben’s allowing Locke to believe he’s in charge right now. Ben’s running the show. He’s just taken a back seat, and he’s telling Locke where to make the turns. Ben came to the calm realization that the Island was never going to let him kill Locke. It didn't let Jack murder him in a pique of temper either. The Island will protect the hero it needs. Now it's up to The Chosen One to face his first Challenge. There is a disturbance in the Force.