General Reactions: Was Your "Cabin Fever" Enjoyable?

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You-Know-Who
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General Reactions: Was Your "Cabin Fever" Enjoyable?

Post by You-Know-Who »

Wow... I caught the fever and I enjoyed it immensely. Dead people cut tree's! The freighter crew self-destructs! Mysterious yet familiar people appear in Locke's flashback! Jacob's cabin is the hippest place on the island to hang out!... if you're dead. So much to get to, and my temperature keeps rising, so let's get to it!

- This episode had one of the best teaser's of the season if not the whole show. It was so jam-packed! First we open on Locke's mother, Emily (who looks a little bit like Claire, and is pretty hot), getting ready to go out with "him" (as her mother says). Whenever someone is mentioned as "him" on Lost you know it's important. Now granted, they could just be talking about Anthony Cooper, but i'm still suspicious about who this "him" is.
Emily than runs out into the rain and promptly gets hit by a car. Now, was this just an innocent accident, or was someone driving with the intention of hitting Emily, someone like... Richard Alpert? (I'll talk more about him later)
We then see Emily at a hospital presumably after the crash, then suddenly very strangely she says she's pregnant. We then witness her give birth to a 3-month pre-mature John Locke. She wants to hold him but the nurses wheel him away.
THEN we crash to grown-up Locke trekking through the jungle with Ben and Hurley (Who's "I wasn't even in front" line was great).
THEN we zoom across the dark water towards the freighter as the helicopter with Keamy and his men on board lands. Keamy then learns that Michael sold him out and proceeds to shoot him (man, that guy is trigger happy!) and when nothing happens (of course) he makes Michael stay with his leg crumpled under a heavy metal bed and punches him silly.... that could've have been half the episode but it was just the teaser...

A few points:

- The scene with Horace the mathematician was nice since we now know some of the backstory of how the cabin came to be.

- Ben was very strange in this episode. Every time he spoke his lines it was in such a typical dead-pan Ben voice that I had to laugh... Hearing Ben say "fickle bitch" is just too funny!
It was interesting how he was watching Locke sleep and how he said "I used to have dreams". Is he being literal or metaphorical? Does he mean he doesn't have island induced dreams anymore or he doesn't dream period and that's why we never saw him sleep in this episode. Come to think of it, have we ever seen Ben sleep?
His conversation with Hurley was also interesting. When he said "Their leaders" (notice the s) I started thinking that maybe Ben is more like a general-on-the-ground-in-touch-with-his-people-kind-of-leader, but higher on the totem pole are elder statesmen leaders who make the big decisions like the wipe out of dharma, though ben is still to blame for that, even if in typical ben fashion he pretends he's innocent by pushing the blame on others...

- I loved this exchange: Locke: "I'm not you"
Ben: "You're certainly not." OHhhhh Burn!

- Emily very clearly wants to hold John after she gives birth to him, yet when she finally gets the chance later she says "I can't do it" (the expression the baby has in the shot right after she says that, watch the eyes look downward, is so sad) and walks away.
So what happened? It could just be nerves. It could also be that the more she thought about it the more she realized she couldn't be responsible for the baby. Maybe her mom thought that she was too young to take care of a baby, and forbade her to do it. It kinda seemed like the mother walked into that scene already knowing that her daughter was not going to take the baby, see how she checks her watch and seems fairly unsurprised when Emily walks away. But the real theory that i'm gonna put out there is that Richard Alpert is behind all of this, and he has been shaping Locke's life since Locke was born

THE RICHARD ALPERT THEORY:
Emily says "I can't do it" because Alpert (who now obviously has 100% something strange going on with his aging process) had got it into her head either directly or indirectly that she can't raise the baby (basically the opposite of Claire). There might be a prophecy that says Locke will be/is special and the only way Locke can be raised is without real parents. Remember when Locke's mom told him he was immaculately conceived. Could that be true? He was born under and in very strange circumstances, did the island just choose a surrogate mother for it's messiah? Maybe that's why emily is scared, because she doesn't know how she got pregnant. I have a suspicion she didn't know she was pregnant until she whispered it to the nurse in the hospital, when she's prancing about to music and putting lipstick on she doesn't seem like a girl who knows she's pregnant.
So maybe' there is a prophecy that the Others/Natives know of that says that a savior of the island will be born at so and so time. The prophecy also says that he cannot be raised by his parents because he really belongs to the island. So Alpert being a native goes to search for the child that fits the prophecy's requirements. Once he finds John Locke he makes sure that he won't be raised by his parents, that's why he's smiling as he looks through the hospital ward window, he knows he's done everything he needs to do and now he will just wait until John gets a little older... Kinda reminds you of "Harry Potter" doesn't it? Well, that's exactly what I thought when Alpert visited some kind of orphange/foster home and said to kid Locke "I run a school for kids who are... extremely special... and I have reason to believe that you might be one of them." It is very similar to the chapter "The Secret Riddle" in "Harry potter and the Half-blood Prince" where Dumbledore goes to meet young Tom Riddle at an orphanage... "I work at a school called Hogwarts. I have come to offer you a place at my school... Hogwarts is a school for people with special abilities." (page 270)


I don't pretend to know what all the objects alpert laid out on the table mean but I have my theory's:

1. The baseball mitt represents a normal life, if he picks it up it means he's not special.

2. The book of laws represents leadership and the ability to understand your role, if he picks it up it means he's a good leader.

3. The little container contains Jacob's cabin ash and represents the supernatural and faith, if he picks it up it means he has faith and a connection with the supernatural and the impossible and miracle-working.

4. The compass represents the ability to not get lost and to gather and make resources, if he picks it up it means he's a good farmer.

5. The knife represents hunting and the ability to vanquish your demons and to conquer all obstacles, if he picks it up it means he's a good hunter.

What Alpert wanted Locke to choose was: The ash, The compass, and the Book of Laws. Which would mean Locke is a good Farmer and Leader and he has faith in the Impossible.
What Locke chose was: The ash, The compass, and the Knife. Which means Locke has Faith in the Impossible, but the problem is that he chose both the knife and the compass which can't be right because your either a hunter or a farmer, and choosing both doesn't make sense and therefore Alpert decides that Locke failed the test.

The "hunter"-"farmer" idea started way back in s03e03 "Further Instructions."

"LOCKE: And then you're supposed to figure out what to do with your life -- you know, what direction to take -- go on in there and figure out if you're a farmer or a hunter."


Locke thinks he's a hunter but again and again he lets himself down.


"EDDIE: I'm sorry, John, but you're not going to shoot me. You're not a murderer. You're a good man. You're a farmer.

LOCKE: Nope. Not a farmer. I was a hunter. I'm a hunter.

EDDIE: I'm going to walk away now, John.

[Eddie turns and walks away. Locke eventually lowers the rifle without shooting.]"


Mr. eko thinks John is hunter, but he got killed by smokey so maybe he's wrong.


"EKO: You will find them. After all, you are a hunter, John."


Obviously Alpert thinks Locke is/should be a farmer

From "The Brig" s03e19

"RICHARD: He wanted to embarrass you.

LOCKE: I'm sorry?

RICHARD: Ben knew you weren't gonna kill your own father (cause Locke's a farmer). He put you in front of everyone in our camp just so they could all watch ya fail.

LOCKE: Why?

RICHARD: Cause when word got back here that there was a man with a broken spine on the plane who could suddenly walk again, well, people here began to get very excited because that, that could only happen to someone who was extremely special (the exact same words Richard used in "Cabin Fever"). But Ben doesn't want anyone to think you're special, John.

LOCKE: And why are you telling me this?

RICHARD: Ben has been wasting our time with novelties like fertility problems. We're looking for someone to remind us that we're here for more important reasons (prophecy?).

LOCKE: What do you want from me?

RICHARD: I want for you to find your purpose. And to do that, your father has to go, John. (the prophecy says no parents can be involved) And since you're not gonna do it (because he's a farmer), I'm gonna suggest someone else."

Locke can't decide between hunter or farmer


The mystery tales comic that was also laid on the table called "hidden land" looks like an allusion to the island, and I think the drawing is obviously of smokey attacking someone (who?)

But I don't think Alpert gave up on Locke yet, he might have just realized that it wasn't the right time yet and he had to wait for Locke to mature. So he tried to recruit him to Mittilos when he became a teenager, but Locke's inefficient leadership and his stubbornness were still present (don't tell me what I can't do!).

I got a chill when it was revealed to be Abbadon who was pushing Locke's wheelchair, that actor is very good, and I love how amazingly foreboding and sinister the character is. I don't know exactly how or if Abbadon is connected to Alpert, but they both have the same goal: get Locke to the island.

- What IS that on Keamy's arm? Anyone know?

- "I've been on that island for three years. I'm never setting foot on there again." I believe those words that Desmond said this episode (one of his only lines sadly :() I don't think he will be on that island again for a very long time. And I'm gonna predict it now... In the finale Penny will meet Desmond face to face in the present-time and they will have a spectacular beautiful kiss.

- Sayid: "I'll be back with the first group as soon as I can". Is this really how the oceanic 6 get off the island, hitching a ride on Sayid's little only-room-for-6-dinghy? Is it really going to be as straight forward as that?

- 5 words: Keamy is the new Pickett.

- So... part of Lapidus's plan is too drop the sat phone to the beachies, but where does it go from there?

- I love how Kate and Juliet are smiling as the copter approaches the island. I'm like "stop smiling, these people are coming to kill you!" :)

- Hurley awkwardly sharing his candy bar with Ben is probably the funniest moment this season! ;)

-We learned when Keamy opened the safe that apparently the secondary protocol "says where Linus is going" So where could that be? Keamy goes on to say "If Linus knows we're gonna torch the island, theres only one place he can go" so where/what is this place?
It's the Orchid station. Think about it. It all fits together. How is Locke gonna be able to "move the island"? Why can't widmore find the island in the future? If Linus knows that Keamy's gonna "torch" the island "theres only one place he can go" The Orchid because thats they're only hope for safety. We saw rabbits get teleported around in the orientation video, so maybe you can teleport the island and people too. That's why widmore can't find the island anymore, because they teleported it to somewhere else that might take years to find. That's why there's only 6 oceanic survivors off the island, because once Sayid had moved that first group offshore and went back for the second group he couldn't find the island anymore because Locke and co teleported it using the Orchid station.
To prove my point with evidence I present a screen-cap of the secondary protocol cover
Image
Recognize that logo from a certain super-villians certain parka?
Image
All the other people will than be stuck on the island and LOST again because no-one can find them. This might be what "the frozen donkey wheel" finale twist could be related too, the island is the wheel and it gets unfrozen by being teleported somewhere. They have to go back.

Overall, I loved this episode. I can't wait for part 1 of the finale to air next week!
Last edited by You-Know-Who on Fri May 09, 2008 11:00 am, edited 2 times in total.

TheRadioTower
Posts: 147
Joined: Tue Feb 26, 2008 1:57 am

Re: General Reactions: Was Your "Cabin Fever" Enjoyable?

Post by TheRadioTower »

I think this was the best episode of this season and probably the second best all time episode of Lost.

redscarf
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2008 4:09 am

Re: General Reactions: Was Your "Cabin Fever" Enjoyable?

Post by redscarf »

I really liked it. I need to see it again though I'm so confused lol. I loved seeing Desmond (it's been too long) and baby John and Richard (shit, how long has he been alive?!) and Horace, and Christian who I didn't recognize cause he has different clothes on, and Claire wtf. This was a really good one.

I didn't even notice Keamy with the Dharma logo.

tanner
Posts: 24
Joined: Sat Feb 16, 2008 9:30 pm

Re: General Reactions: Was Your "Cabin Fever" Enjoyable?

Post by tanner »

This was definitely my favorite episode in a very long time. It confirmed a lot of things that we had already assumed: Keamy's killing spree, Frank's genuine desire to help the Losties, Richard's aging situation, etc. It also shot down the theory that Christian and Smokey are the same being and (possibly) provided Claire with a very interesting death.

And I noticed the DHARMA logo on Keamy's pamphlet, but I thought they intentionally obscured it in editing. That screenshot doesn't say much yet, but at least they seem adamant about getting back to the "DI" (as Horace so nicely abbreviated it) mysteries.

Lastly, something I didn't remember until Lostpedia reminded me, is that we've already met Horace, way back when. And his last name is Go(o)dspeed, which is vaguely appropriate to the situation in which Locke "met" him.
Image

muttonboy
Posts: 100
Joined: Fri Feb 29, 2008 3:19 am

Re: General Reactions: Was Your "Cabin Fever" Enjoyable?

Post by muttonboy »

All I can say is that if LOST was on HBO - with 6 seasons condensed into 12 episodes each, and with no-holds-barred writing (think Deadwood, etc) - it would be so amazing of a show that, when it ended, the Universe would simply say, with a little throat clearing first: "Well, that's a wrap!" We'd hear the gears and chains. We'd see Smokey coming through the trees. And then we would all fade to black...

You-Know-Who
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Joined: Fri Feb 29, 2008 6:12 am
Location: Not in Portland (it's opposite day)
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Re: General Reactions: Was Your "Cabin Fever" Enjoyable?

Post by You-Know-Who »

It's true. It kinda sux that ABC can't be like HBO. Why do they always have to water everything the fuck down? I mean, this episode was so amazing and so mind-tingly dense, I just wish that ABC (and other basic channels) could air whatever the fuck they wanted to.

Perry
Posts: 352
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2008 7:39 am
Location: Sydney, Australia

Re: General Reactions: Was Your "Cabin Fever" Enjoyable?

Post by Perry »

You-Know-Who wrote:Wow... I caught the fever and I enjoyed it immensely. Dead people cut tree's! The freighter crew self-destructs! Mysterious yet familiar people appear in Locke's flashback! Jacob's cabin is the hippest place on the island to hang out!... if you're dead. So much to get to, and my temperature keeps rising, so let's get to it!

- This episode had one of the best teaser's of the season if not the whole show. It was so jam-packed! First we open on Locke's mother, Emily (who looks a little bit like Claire, and is pretty hot), getting ready to go out with "him" (as her mother says). Whenever someone is mentioned as "him" on Lost you know it's important. Now granted, they could just be talking about Anthony Cooper, but i'm still suspicious about who this "him" is.
Emily than runs out into the rain and promptly gets hit by a car. Now, was this just an innocent accident, or was someone driving with the intention of hitting Emily, someone like... Richard Alpert? (I'll talk more about him later)
We then see Emily at a hospital presumably after the crash, then suddenly very strangely she says she's pregnant. We then witness her give birth to a 3-month pre-mature John Locke. She wants to hold him but the nurses wheel him away.
THEN we crash to grown-up Locke trekking through the jungle with Ben and Hurley (Who's "I wasn't even in front" line was great).
THEN we zoom across the dark water towards the freighter as the helicopter with Keamy and his men on board lands. Keamy then learns that Michael sold him out and proceeds to shoot him (man, that guy is trigger happy!) and when nothing happens (of course) he makes Michael stay with his leg crumpled under a heavy metal bed and punches him silly.... that could've have been half the episode but it was just the teaser...

A few points:

- The scene with Horace the mathematician was nice since we now know some of the backstory of how the cabin came to be.

- Ben was very strange in this episode. Every time he spoke his lines it was in such a typical dead-pan Ben voice that I had to laugh... Hearing Ben say "fickle bitch" is just too funny!
It was interesting how he was watching Locke sleep and how he said "I used to have dreams". Is he being literal or metaphorical? Does he mean he doesn't have island induced dreams anymore or he doesn't dream period and that's why we never saw him sleep in this episode. Come to think of it, have we ever seen Ben sleep?
His conversation with Hurley was also interesting. When he said "Their leaders" (notice the s) I started thinking that maybe Ben is more like a general-on-the-ground-in-touch-with-his-people-kind-of-leader, but higher on the totem pole are elder statesmen leaders who make the big decisions like the wipe out of dharma, though ben is still to blame for that, even if in typical ben fashion he pretends he's innocent by pushing the blame on others...

- I loved this exchange: Locke: "I'm not you"
Ben: "You're certainly not." OHhhhh Burn!

- Emily very clearly wants to hold John after she gives birth to him, yet when she finally gets the chance later she says "I can't do it" (the expression the baby has in the shot right after she says that, watch the eyes look downward, is so sad) and walks away.
So what happened? It could just be nerves. It could also be that the more she thought about it the more she realized she couldn't be responsible for the baby. Maybe her mom thought that she was too young to take care of a baby, and forbade her to do it. It kinda seemed like the mother walked into that scene already knowing that her daughter was not going to take the baby, see how she checks her watch and seems fairly unsurprised when Emily walks away. But the real theory that i'm gonna put out there is that Richard Alpert is behind all of this, and he has been shaping Locke's life since Locke was born

THE RICHARD ALPERT THEORY:
Emily says "I can't do it" because Alpert (who now obviously has 100% something strange going on with his aging process) had got it into her head either directly or indirectly that she can't raise the baby (basically the opposite of Claire). There might be a prophecy that says Locke will be/is special and the only way Locke can be raised is without real parents. Remember when Locke's mom told him he was immaculately conceived. Could that be true? He was born under and in very strange circumstances, did the island just choose a surrogate mother for it's messiah? Maybe that's why emily is scared, because she doesn't know how she got pregnant. I have a suspicion she didn't know she was pregnant until she whispered it to the nurse in the hospital, when she's prancing about to music and putting lipstick on she doesn't seem like a girl who knows she's pregnant.
So maybe' there is a prophecy that the Others/Natives know of that says that a savior of the island will be born at so and so time. The prophecy also says that he cannot be raised by his parents because he really belongs to the island. So Alpert being a native goes to search for the child that fits the prophecy's requirements. Once he finds John Locke he makes sure that he won't be raised by his parents, that's why he's smiling as he looks through the hospital ward window, he knows he's done everything he needs to do and now he will just wait until John gets a little older... Kinda reminds you of "Harry Potter" doesn't it? Well, that's exactly what I thought when Alpert visited some kind of orphange/foster home and said to kid Locke "I run a school for kids who are... extremely special... and I have reason to believe that you might be one of them." It is very similar to the chapter "The Secret Riddle" in "Harry potter and the Half-blood Prince" where Dumbledore goes to meet young Tom Riddle at an orphanage... "I work at a school called Hogwarts. I have come to offer you a place at my school... Hogwarts is a school for people with special abilities." (page 270)


I don't pretend to know what all the objects alpert laid out on the table mean but I have my theory's:

1. The baseball mitt represents a normal life, if he picks it up it means he's not special.

2. The book of laws represents leadership and the ability to understand your role, if he picks it up it means he's a good leader.

3. The little container contains Jacob's cabin ash and represents the supernatural and faith, if he picks it up it means he has faith and a connection with the supernatural and the impossible and miracle-working.

4. The compass represents the ability to not get Lost and to gather and make resources, if he picks it up it means he's a good farmer.

5. The knife represents hunting and the ability to vanquish your demons and to conquer all obstacles, if he picks it up it means he's a good hunter.

What Alpert wanted Locke to choose was: The ash, The compass, and the Book of Laws. Which would mean Locke is a good Farmer and Leader and he has faith in the Impossible.
What Locke chose was: The ash, The compass, and the Knife. Which means Locke has Faith in the Impossible, but the problem is that he chose both the knife and the compass which can't be right because your either a hunter or a farmer, and choosing both doesn't make sense and therefore Alpert decides that Locke failed the test.

The "hunter"-"farmer" idea started way back in s03e03 "Further Instructions."

"LOCKE: And then you're supposed to figure out what to do with your life -- you know, what direction to take -- go on in there and figure out if you're a farmer or a hunter."


Locke thinks he's a hunter but again and again he lets himself down.


"EDDIE: I'm sorry, John, but you're not going to shoot me. You're not a murderer. You're a good man. You're a farmer.

LOCKE: Nope. Not a farmer. I was a hunter. I'm a hunter.

EDDIE: I'm going to walk away now, John.

[Eddie turns and walks away. Locke eventually lowers the rifle without shooting.]"


Mr. eko thinks John is hunter, but he got killed by smokey so maybe he's wrong.


"EKO: You will find them. After all, you are a hunter, John."


Obviously Alpert thinks Locke is/should be a farmer

From "The Brig" s03e19

"RICHARD: He wanted to embarrass you.

LOCKE: I'm sorry?

RICHARD: Ben knew you weren't gonna kill your own father (cause Locke's a farmer). He put you in front of everyone in our camp just so they could all watch ya fail.

LOCKE: Why?

RICHARD: Cause when word got back here that there was a man with a broken spine on the plane who could suddenly walk again, well, people here began to get very excited because that, that could only happen to someone who was extremely special (the exact same words Richard used in "Cabin Fever"). But Ben doesn't want anyone to think you're special, John.

LOCKE: And why are you telling me this?

RICHARD: Ben has been wasting our time with novelties like fertility problems. We're looking for someone to remind us that we're here for more important reasons (prophecy?).

LOCKE: What do you want from me?

RICHARD: I want for you to find your purpose. And to do that, your father has to go, John. (the prophecy says no parents can be involved) And since you're not gonna do it (because he's a farmer), I'm gonna suggest someone else."

Locke can't decide between hunter or farmer


The mystery tales comic that was also laid on the table called "hidden land" looks like an allusion to the island, and I think the drawing is obviously of smokey attacking someone (who?)

But I don't think Alpert gave up on Locke yet, he might have just realized that it wasn't the right time yet and he had to wait for Locke to mature. So he tried to recruit him to Mittilos when he became a teenager, but Locke's inefficient leadership and his stubbornness were still present (don't tell me what I can't do!).

I got a chill when it was revealed to be Abbadon who was pushing Locke's wheelchair, that actor is very good, and I love how amazingly foreboding and sinister the character is. I don't know exactly how or if Abbadon is connected to Alpert, but they both have the same goal: get Locke to the island.

- What IS that on Keamy's arm? Anyone know?

- "I've been on that island for three years. I'm never setting foot on there again." I believe those words that Desmond said this episode (one of his only lines sadly :() I don't think he will be on that island again for a very long time. And I'm gonna predict it now... In the finale Penny will meet Desmond face to face in the present-time and they will have a spectacular beautiful kiss.

- Sayid: "I'll be back with the first group as soon as I can". Is this really how the oceanic 6 get off the island, hitching a ride on Sayid's little only-room-for-6-dinghy? Is it really going to be as straight forward as that?

- 5 words: Keamy is the new Pickett.

- So... part of Lapidus's plan is too drop the sat phone to the beachies, but where does it go from there?

- I love how Kate and Juliet are smiling as the copter approaches the island. I'm like "stop smiling, these people are coming to kill you!" :)

- Hurley awkwardly sharing his candy bar with Ben is probably the funniest moment this season! ;)

-We learned when Keamy opened the safe that apparently the secondary protocol "says where Linus is going" So where could that be? Keamy goes on to say "If Linus knows we're gonna torch the island, theres only one place he can go" so where/what is this place?
It's the Orchid station. Think about it. It all fits together. How is Locke gonna be able to "move the island"? Why can't widmore find the island in the future? If Linus knows that Keamy's gonna "torch" the island "theres only one place he can go" The Orchid because thats they're only hope for safety. We saw rabbits get teleported around in the orientation video, so maybe you can teleport the island and people too. That's why widmore can't find the island anymore, because they teleported it to somewhere else that might take years to find. That's why there's only 6 oceanic survivors off the island, because once Sayid had moved that first group offshore and went back for the second group he couldn't find the island anymore because Locke and co teleported it using the Orchid station.
To prove my point with evidence I present a screen-cap of the secondary protocol cover
Image
Recognize that logo from a certain super-villians certain parka?
Image
All the other people will than be stuck on the island and Lost again because no-one can find them. This might be what "the frozen donkey wheel" finale twist could be related too, the island is the wheel and it gets unfrozen by being teleported somewhere. They have to go back.

Overall, I loved this episode. I can't wait for part 1 of the finale to air next week!
That's a long post.

You-Know-Who
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Re: General Reactions: Was Your "Cabin Fever" Enjoyable?

Post by You-Know-Who »

I know, I thought that myself when I posted it. It just kinda happened... Cabin Fever was a very inspiring episode and I was in the zone. I think the transcript excerpts and screen caps make it seem more abnormally long then it really is. I wonder if anyone actually read it all ?...

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