Lost – “Cabin Fever”

“Cabin Fever”

May 8th, 2008

Last week’s episode was a “Jackflash,” but I would contend that it really wasn’t a story about Jack. It was a story about the impact of the island, and the struggles of being haunted (Something that is apparent especially considering recent theories surrounding Claire). Similarly, the flashes in “Cabin Fever” are on the surface a story of John Locke, but in reality are much more a story of his relationship with the island, and its current gatekeepers.

What felt right about this episode was that it was a fantastic reference point both for the series as a whole and the future of our storyline. It wasn’t an episode that spent much time with plot, although there were certainly some intriguing developments on both sides of the Ben/Widmore battle; rather, it was an episode that reminded us of the narrative thus far. Our brief glimpses into the history of Locke’s missed connections with his destiny on the island is something that we need right now, a return to the power struggle that we were forced to abandon after we lose Nestor Carbonnell to CBS’ Cane.

It’s the perfect fit, however, for the action at hand: as Widmore makes his final stab at the island, Locke is called to action at a pivotal moment. His discovery of the cabin is not particularly action-packed, but its subtle humour combined with the meaningful flashbacks creates an episode that makes me extremely excited as we march onto the finale.

Our flashbacks were, without question, the most important part of this episode, even if we didn’t really learn anything particularly new. The central point was very simple: Locke has been destined to go to the island since birth, with various interactions with Alpert, with Lance Reddick’s returning Abaddon, and with a side of himself that he never quite embraced. That was the basic lesson we took away: Locke was meant to take over the island. Alpert essentially told Locke this last season before he disappeared, so there isn’t exactly a news flash at play here.

But I couldn’t help but be giddy throughout the entire thing. It was the little things that got me, like how Teenage Locke quoted word for word from Locke’s speech in “Walkabout” with “Don’t tell me what I can’t do!”; it was just an extremely well structured flashback that perfectly summed up where this character has gone and why this journey is so important for this character. This is becoming Locke’s island, as Ben said, but to this point the season has largely abandoned Locke’s journey in favour of emphasizing Ben or the external battle with Widmore. This flashback was necessary in order to relate Locke, even in known terms, to the emerging battle and allow for the transition of power from Ben.

That transition was necessary because it’s quite simple: as Ben points out, the island made him sick and made Locke healthy, so it pretty much writes itself. I like how simple it is for Ben to transition power, almost too simple; I don’t think that Ben gives up the fight so quickly, especially when you consider that we know he plays a key role in challenging Widmore once everyone is off the island. The role that Ben plays in the future of the island, even as Ben takes over as the leader, seems to be similar to the role Alpert now plays, although one feels as if the leaders never quite so gracefully step down from their posts considering how much Alpert was willing to usher in Locke’s rule.

There’s a lot of questions left about the power structure of this organization, just as there remains questions about how Dharma works, and how Widmore is related to it. These questions seem particularly important at this moment, considering the advice Locke finally gets: he needs to “move the island,” which implies that it is some form of lost city that can be moved to protect it. We don’t have any definite answers, so this episode was about reframing the questions: a tough exercise to swallow for plot junkies, but a necessary one for a kickass finale.

And the pieces are certainly moving, a reminder of the third season finale where everything was moving in different directions but in perfect harmony. At this point in the story, we have Sayid on his way to the island, the helicopter on the way to the Temple (Likely, anyways), Jack/Kate/Juliet and Co. following the chopper, but it feels like they are all headed in the same direction – it is proof positive that the decision to include flashforwards has not killed the series’ suspense. We know what happens: we know Jack and Kate get off the island with Aaron, Sayid and Hurley despite being in very different places each find their place on the chopper or the boat, and that Sun makes it but Jin does not.

But now that we’re so scarily close to the answers, I remain riveted – there are enough questions flying around that even when we know the end result I love the uncertainty of it all. For example, the entire question of Claire has grown complex, although the theory that she is dead certainly has some credence. It’s a theory that makes too much sense, although it certainly raises a lot of questions about how these ghosts of sorts are able to interact with reality (Christian holding Aaron last week at least sets a precedent for this kind of interaction). Still, it does kind of suck the suspense out of the whole thing, although I loved Emilie de Ravin’s sly smile and attitude in the cabin.

The other side of the story is more intriguing than full featured: Michael still has work to do on the island, considering he wasn’t killed, while Desmond is most certainly done with the place (But he can’t be done with the show). The real question now becomes what, precisely, is going on with the attack on the island: torching the place makes sense, but that arm band has to have a purpose: some have suggested it is a device to repel the smoke monsters, but either way Keamy is coming into his own as a villain of sorts.

We did finally get to see the doctor’s death, though, which again raises the question of the passage of time. What’s fascinating about it is simple: before, as per Faraday’s test, there was about a 34 minute delay in the rocket traveling to the island from when the phone call takes place. In this instance, however, the island seemed to be calling from the future and not the past, unless I am terribly mistaken. It’s all a bit confusing, but the point still stands that that time issue has got to play a fairly big role considering how much time we’re spending on it.

I think we’re done with the boat for now, however, outside of Michael and Desmond perhaps getting the engine up and running. I’m actually really curious to see what happens with Michael: is his destiny to be found off the island or on it, or is he going to die once his debt to the island (I presume helping the Oceanic Six be rescued) is paid? Now that this is certainly Locke’s story, there are certainly other puzzle pieces to fit into place (We’re still missing a lot of Dharma information, as an example), so I’m curious to see where we focus the flashes in the finale (Which airs in two parts over three weeks, starting next week and then culminating in a two hour conclusion two weeks late on May 29th). I’m spoiler-free, so here’s hoping for a doozie.

But, before that, I need to discuss my favourite part of the episode: Ben and Hurley bantering back and forth, culminating in the rather wonderous exchange of the chocolate bar. I can’t help but wonder the entire time, as I explained to my mother, when Hurley will fall into the tragedy that apparently has him racked with guilt over going with Locke, but these moments were so delightfully light-hearted and airy in an episode that needed it. It kept things brisk, allowing for the storyline to move without much plot in favour of a certain charm that kept things easy to watch. Garcia and Emerson knocked it out of the park, and this side of Ben is another reason Michael Emerson should get his turn to win an Emmy next year.

And on that note, it’s finale time.

Cultural Observations

• The soundtrack to Season Three was released on CD this week, and the entire second disc is pretty much the full soundtracks to “Greatest Hits” and “Through the Looking Glass.” Michael Giacchino does amazing work on the series, and when parts of “Hollywood and Vines” (A track from the first season, and used extensively in “Through the Looking Glass”) started playing as Sayid drove the zodiac away from the boat, I got chills.
• We haven’t really gotten to see whether or not Sayid and Desmond are as aware as we are that Widmore (Penny’s Widmore) is behind this whole shebang. I’m pretty sure that we’ve only heard them discuss Widmore in private, but it’s just a little odd to see them being patient when we know so much more about the situation.
• Just thinking about it for a moment, I have to think back to how perhaps moving the island is related in some way to the Hatch. It’s been awhile since Desmond blew himself up and gained his Flashes, but my question is whether or not that moment was the one where the island moved (In time or in space, I’m not sure, but now that I think of it Locke never specified which one did he?). We can’t be sure why that button needed to be pushed, or how precisely that all plays into this, but something tells me that the button was there for a definite reason, and that its explosion (And Locke’s fascination with it pre-explosion) may be returning to the forefront.