Cabin Fever
"How do I save the island?" Apparently, that was the question that needed to be asked and now Locke has received his direction- move the island. Who was giving the orders you ask? Not Jacob, but Christian Shephard. For months now, I've been thinking that Jacob- whoever or whatever he is- was using Christian's corpse as a vessel. And yet tonight, when John met up with him in the cabin, Christian came right out and introduced himself. So is he dead? An apparition? And why does Claire seem so freaking calm after having effectively abandoned Aaron in the jungle? Is
she dead?
I have to admit that the first half of this episode left me pretty cold, but things certainly heated up in the last 20 minutes. I think my issue is that I am still not feeling the freighter angle or Michael's re-entry into the fray. And frankly, with the exception of Frank who appears, for now, to have good intentions, the freighter folk haven't given us much to like. Case in point, the cold-blooded Martin Keamy added two more to his body count tonight and it would have been three if the gun would have allowed him to shoot Michael. (Though we all knew
that wasn't going to happen.) The action on the freighter took a deadly turn as the ship's doctor and captain met their untimely deaths. Now that we've learned how the doctor ended up dead in the water, the question that remains is how the heck did he wash up on the beach before he actually
died on the boat? I'm also not convinced that we've see the last of the captain.
Tonight's episode also delved even further into Locke's past- his rebellious teenage mother whose dalliance with an unnamed older man led to his conception; his premature birth; his detached childhood and frustrating, self-doubting adolescence; and, most importantly, his encounters with the Dorian Gray-like Richard Alpert (Nestor Carbonell) and the equally mysterious Matthew Abbadon. I was thoroughly confused by the test that John had to somehow pass to be "accepted" to Richard's school and why Richard reacted so abruptly to John's selection of the knife. I did enjoy the interplay between Locke and Abbadon, who turned up as an orderly at John's post-accident rehab facility. His hopeful advice to John about not giving up hope seemed to be a stark contrast to his earlier appearances with Hurley and Naomi. I am hoping that his motives turn out to be more good than bad, but his suggestion of a walkabout for John leads me to believe that someone knew about (or even triggered) the fatal crash that was to come.
Ben's declaration that "Destiny, John, is a fickle bitch," certainly seemed to ring true. As a guy who has dealt with more than his share of betrayal, disappointment, and physical pain, it now seems like it was all leading John to the island. Whether or not he is actually meant to replace Ben remains to be seen, but that certainly seems to be the case for now.
With all the gloom and impending doom, I was happy for a light-hearted moment as Hurley shared his candy bar with Ben. Seeing his spirit and heart on the island makes it even harder to think about the bleak future for him that we saw laid out last week as he seemingly dips into a depressed and defeated shell of himself. Is there some hope that the strange time-space issues might allow for some change in future circumstance? Or is Ben right and destiny will have its way like a pre-determined chess game. In the next few weeks, I think that answer will become clearer.
So what did I miss tonight? How does Abbadon fit in this puzzle and how is Richard Alpert traveling through time, untouched by its usual ravages? What's Christian's role in all of this and what's going on with Claire. Make sure to post your thoughts, your guesses and your comments so we can keep this party going right down to the last minute of the last hour of this fantastic season.
