Como se Lama

By BILL ERVOLINO

So many revelations, so little time.

In fact, there was so much going on in this episode, I’m not even sure where to start. But, a not-so-subtle reference to the Dalai Lama seems as good a place as any.

In “Cabin Fever,” the forever-young and dark-eyed Richard Alpert returned, one more time, in a flashback not his own, in an effort to claim the pre-pubescent John Locke as the once-and-future crowned prince of Lostville.

The scene paralleled the discovery of Tenzin Gyatso who, at the age of two, was found by a search party and proclaimed the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Then called Lhamo Thondup, the child was presented with an assortment of toys and other relics. And, according to the search party’s reports, he correctly chose all of the items that were owned by the previous Dalai Lama.

Gyatso began his monastic training four years later, and assumed his role as the spiritual leader of Tibet at age 16.

John Locke’s ascent was a bit more complicated. Despite Alpert’s obvious displeasure, the young John insisted that a hunting knife was among his possessions. (The other items he claimed were a compass and what appeared to be a vial of sand.)

Alpert left in a huff, although the man we first came to know as the creepy recruiter from Mittelos Bioscience -- he courted Juliet for her fertility-related medical expertise in “Not In Portland” -- apparently continued to keep a watchful eye on Locke.

This may be the first time we’ve seen evidence that people associated with the island -- Alpert and, later, Abaddon -- may have directly influenced one of the survivors of Flight 815 to get on that plane in the first place.

In Season One, we heard Locke lecture Jack about destiny and insist that “the island brought us here.” In “Cabin Fever,” Ben re-enforced the role of destiny in Locke’s life.

Elsewhere in John’s flashback, we received a couple of other hair-raising references to S-1, and specifically, conversations Locke had with his boss Randy. As a teen, John tells a teacher, “Don’t tell me what I can’t do...” which is

what the adult Locke told Randy during their confrontation about him going on a walkabout.

During John’s stint in rehab -- for the spinal injury that confined him to a wheelchair -- Abaddon turned up, disguised as an orderly, and told John why he should consider going on a walkabout in the first place. In S-1, John explained the trip to Randy in almost the exact words that Abbadon explained it to him.

We don’t know how or even if Abaddon is associated with Alpert. In fact, as far as we’ve been led to believe thus far, they are on different sides. Abaddon was, after all, the man in charge of the mission that sent Naomi, Dan, Charlotte, Frank and Miles to the island aboard the Kahana.

Some other confounding developments:

As Jack is recovering from his surgery on the island, Keamey and his team return to the freighter, where the ship’s doctor is still alive -- though not for long. His throat is later slashed, and he is tossed overboard; a bloody reminder of the cockeyed time difference that exists between the island and the outside world. And, yes, we can’t help but think that this time difference is going to play some pivotal role in what happens in the finale.

On the Kahana, Keamey learns that it was Michael who spilled the beans about him to Ben. Michael doesn’t even bother to lie about what he’s done. But what little protection he enjoys on the freighter disappears after Sayid departs by boat, Frank departs by helicopter, and the doctor and Capt. Gault are murdered. (Is there someone else on board who can protect Desmond?)

In island-time, John, Ben and Hurley head off in search of Jacob’s Cabin, which Ben insists he cannot find. In a dream, John receives “further instructions” from Horace -- a deceased Dharma mathematician who he envisions cutting down trees. After waking up, John heads for the pit on Horace’s suggestion, where he finds a map in the pocket of the dead man’s coveralls.

John finally locates Jacob’s cabin, but not Jacob. Instead, he discovers Christian Shephard and Claire, who seems almost giddy. (Well, giddy for Claire, anyway.) Christian pushes aside John’s barrage of questions and tells him to get to the meat and potatoes. “How do I save the island?” asks John.

Later, relating the experience to Ben and Hurley, John says he was told that only way to save the island is to move it. Ahem, ahem.

That strange piece of advice harkens back to the Mystery Tales comic book that Alpert placed before young John in the flashback. On the cover, we see what appears to be a city rising into the clouds, and coverlines which read, “What Is the Secret of the Mysterious Hidden Island?”

Among the other things that Alpert spreads out before John are a baseball glove and a tattered volume entitled “Book of Laws” a possible reference to “The Book of the Law,” written in 1904 by the British occultist Aleister Crowley, who said he had merely written down the words of an angel named Aiwass, after a mystical summons by the Egyptian diety Horus. (Horace?)

During his visit with the young John in flashback, Alpert -- who was also in the hospital shortly after John’s birth -- notices a drawing of the boy’s, which appears to be a man pummeled by a plume of black smoke.

Onboard the Kahana, when Keamey opens the safe to read “the second protocol,” the folder appears to have the Dharma logo on its opening page.

When his teacher tells the teenaged John that he has been accepted to some science camp, it turns out to be run by the Mittelos folks in Portland.

When Sayid departs the island he is told to bear 305 degrees. I’m not sure I understand what Sayid’s mission is all about though. He says the only way to save the 815’ers is to bring them back to the freighter -- which isn’t exactly the most welcoming environment in the world.

In one ominous moment, John tells Ben, “I’m not you!” and Ben agrees, “No, you’re not.” As we’ve pointed out in the past, however, John and Ben have so many things in common that it’s rather eerie. There is the implication here that John has somehow been chosen to replace Ben on the island. Based on what we now know, however, it was really Ben who replaced John, assuming the role that John did not because he chose the knife as a youngster, because he turned down the Mittelos offer as a teenager and because he was crippled as an adult. And, despite Ben’s ability to lead The Others, he seemed to B.S. his way into that role. (To date, we still don’t know for sure if he really could see or hear Jacob, or if he merely pretended that he could.)

Ben’s warning -- “There are consequences to being chosen” -- was also rather ominous. Another Ben statement, “The island wanted me to get sick and you to get well” may have been a red herring though. If the island is so powerful, why doesn’t it move itself?

There were a couple of cute little moments in this episode, including the one in which Hurley and Ben share a candy bar. It was just nice.

One thing we do see (and hear) Christian tell John: “The baby’s where he’s supposed to be, and that’s not here.”

I’m tempted to surmise that Aaron is the next in line, after John, to protect the island. The messianic imagery surrounding him is never-ending. This, however, would be different from the Dalai Lama, whose followers believe he is the incarnation of the previous Dalai Lama, and is not born until the one before him is dead.

The song we hear at the beginning of the episode is "Everyday" by Buddy Holly. Like Patsy Cline and Glenn Miller (whose music has also appeared on the show) Holly died in a plane crash.

OVERALL: This was an intense episode, densely packed with plot turns and one Gotcha! moment after another.

But, unless I missed something, I’m not sure we’re any closer to figuring out how the Oceanic Six are “chosen” to leave, and who gets them out of there. (Will Penny come to the rescue?)

We also don’t know what Christian is or has become. Is he alive? Is he a ghost? Was his dead body reanimated in some way? Is he some sort of...oh, I don’t know. And if he’s in Jacob’s cabin, where’s Jacob?

Oh, and what did Keamy have on his arm? (I guess I will have to watch this all again, I was so busy taking notes, I had to miss plenty of stuff.)

I really enjoyed this episode. And I can’t wait until next week.

Comments

[Jeff]

Totally awesome episode. I called the Alpert and Doc thing, but it still didn't make them any less of a surprise when they happened.
This was a great penultimate episode for this season...The finale is going to be great

[chris]

A couple of quick questions/observations:
It took 36? minutes for the package to reack Farady (time delay), but the dead doctor got to the island before he "died" (time sped up). It lloks like the helicopter got to the island way before Sayid, even though Sayid had a huge head start. The Island can't be that far from the freight, Sayid had a Zodiak, maybe 100 miles at the most. Is the Chopper reeally that fast? taking into consideration the package was late through the air, the Chopper should have been late. Going by the doctor washing up, Sayid should have been there before he left. LOL

Nice touch that Keamy couldn't kill Michael. Guess the Island still has work for him to do.

Young Locke knew that knife was his for his walkabout. Too bad his Dad caused that not to happen. Alpert knew he wasn't going.

So is Locke the Man of Faith or the Man of Science?

As for Christian, Why would Locke be able to see him? There is no connection. I think Hurley is right, they are the craziest.

[Sonny]

Christian is dead. Claire is dead. I think Jacob is appearing as Christian, so Locke will be able to grasp what is going on. I still remember when Hurly looked in the window of the cabin and the eye looked back at him. To me it looked like there was a mustache and some sort of mole on that face. A new character? The real Jacob?
I think Claire died in the explosion and the Claire we saw with Sawyer and Miles was a ghost. That's why Miles was so interested in ther. IMHO

[Brian is LOST]

A few Q's ... was Locke's dad (Anthony Cooper) his adopted dad? If that's the case maybe, just maybe, Locke's real dad is Jacob??? That would explain Locke's importance to the Island. All we know is that Locke's real dad was twice the age that his mom was when he was born. Let's assume Locke's mom was 16-17 (she looked about that) ... making Locke's dad 32-35. No way Cooper could be thought of as 30+ years older than Locke. In real life, the actor who plays Cooper (Kevin Tighe) is 63 and Locke (Terry O'Quinn) is 55. So, something to chew on.

Also, does anyone think the backpack that was tossed out of the copter was thrown by Frank so the castaways could monitor Keamy's team (instead of by the team to have the castaway's come to their location)?

[Brian is LOST]

Just looked at the clip again ... the backpack definitely comes out of the window next to the pilot's seat. So, Frank certainly tossed it out ... again, was it done so that the castaways can be alerted?

[Bill Ervolino]

FROM BILL: I don't think there is any doubt that Frank dropped the backpack so the 815'ers could track the copter and Keamey's men. But since Jack & Co. have no idea what's been happening on the freighter, I'm not sure what good the phone will be to them, unless Sayid returns quickly to fill them in. Actually, I think the phone makes more sense as a plot device. Yeah, Frank is trying to help them out. But, I think that having the phone will prove more useful to the plot than it will to the 815'ers. And I'm guessing we'll find out why next week.

[pando20rules]

If Anthony Cooper was Locke's adopted dad, couldn't that mean Richard Alpert was indeed Locke's birth father?

[pando20rules]

after all, Emily's mother went out of her way to say Emily was dating a much older man, could it be the non-aging Alpert?

[Jenny]

Cooper is definitely Locke's father - we have the kidney transplant as proof of that.

I think what we might be seeing is that parents are irrelevant, or even a problem to be eliminated, when it comes to Chosen Ones.

In Locke's case, his father caused big problems for whoever wanted Locke by putting him in a wheelchair. Further, his issues with his father were really getting in the way when they need him to step up, so they eliminated him. There was an attempt to get rid of his mother - the car accident - but since she gave him up and then later went nuts, no problem.

Similarly, Ben's mother was gone immediately, and they kept his father around long enough to get him to the island and established, and grow up. Then the Others set in motion the demise of not only Dharma, but the father.

If Aaron is the next Chosen One (Locke being the true successor to Jacob, and Ben being the temporary solution if you will), then perhaps that's why Claire has now been separated from him. They need him securely placed elsewhere, where they can keep an eye on his upbringing, without a mother interfering. The father is of course long gone.

It's puzzling that Claire would give him up, but if that's the plan, they've simply drugged her to make it happen. Maybe the only reason they didn't kill her is they might need her later, and she's Christian's daughter so perhaps he wouldn't allow it - orrrr, his reason for telling Locke not to tell anyone is that he needed to conceal from everyone that he's going off plan.

[Ed]

Brian - I had similiar thoughts about Cooper's age not seeming right. Locke is +/- 50 years old in island present time. If Cooper was his father he would have been over 80 when died. Further, he would have been in his mid 50's when he was "Sawyer" and destroyed James' family.
I suppose Emily's mother may have been exagerating when made the "twice your age" comment.

[Michelle]

I thought this one was great. I watched it twice and I'm still trying to put it all together.

There is something that got my attention. When Keamy tried to kill Michael his gun jammed - or the "island/jacob" wouldn't let Keamy kill Michael. I'm wondering if that is what Ben thought would happen with Alex - that the island/jacob wouldn't let her die. I think he was referring to Jacob when he said "he changed the rules", not Widmore.

I also thought the whole Christian and Claire in the cabin was very creepy. I don't think they were speaking on Jacob's behalf. We've seen Locke conned before, what if this is just another one?

[Stephanie]

Great ideas Bill, and everyone. I don't post often, but I read all of your comments all the time. A few thoughts: I agree that Alpert could be Locke's birth father. Does the kidney really prove Cooper was Locke's father? I thought all of that was a con too. If Alpert can flash/time travel to everyone's past, present and future then he could have been the girl's "older" date. Her mother seemed very uncomfortable when he was in the hospital after the baby was born. Claire seemed drugged in the cabin or maybe it is a younger version of herself before she had Aaron. There is no way she would give him up. Locke was shocked that she was there. I don't think Ben ever heard Jacob. Anyway... Great episode!

[Jeff]

When army dude opened the 'secondary protocol' from the safe, it had a Dharma logo on it. Does that mean Widmore runs Dharma, and thats what he meant when he said "The island was me, you took it from me" when he said it to Ben?
Also, does that mean Widmore was behind the 'food drop' a few seasons ago?!

[Mike]

Great ep. For the most part, this season has been pretty solid.

re: device on Keamy's arm: not sure, buy my guess is its some sort of explosive device that reads his pulse? Gault looked concerned when he saw it on Keamy's arm. So if Keamy dies, the explosives trigger. (And if that happens, it would be priceless if Hurley said "uh... dude, you got a little Keamy on your shoulder..." a la Arnst from a few seasons ago.)

Michael: did he so readily fess up because he was hoping Keamy would kill him? If so, nice try. Technically, this could make Michael an invulnerable "superhero" who can save Des if/when Keamy's team comes back (is there anyone else left on the ship at this point?). Although once Michael's purpose has been served, he probably will be able to die.

Claire dead?: I joked about the 1980s "A-Team" nature of her surviving the explosion without nary a scratch, so it makes sense that she could be dead. But so may people saw her afterwards -- Sawyer, Hurley, Locke, Ben, Miles -- that I'm just not sure she was a ghost. But on the other hand, she did act different in the cabin and Sawyer was yelling at Miles the other week for the way he was looking at her. It can really go either way.

Time travel: that commando seemed bemused -- rather than confused/concerned -- about the morse code messages asking about the Doc. Is the commando team well-aware of the time travel implications? (and props to Jeff for the great prediction on that scene!)

Vial of Sand and Objects: Assuming the vial of sand is from the island, maybe that's the foreshadowing the the island does belong to Locke? Was the comic book the same brand as the one Walt had in earlier seasons? (although I think Walt's had the polar bear on the cover). And if the hunting knife was the "wrong" object, I wonder what was the "right" object?

[Juliet]

Lots of good things here:

-Vial of Sand- I was thinking it was the ash that keeps Jacob in the cabin.

-Morse Code- Is Omar the only one who understands Morse Code on the freighter?

- The Right object- I was thinking the book?
I'd like to know more about the Book of Laws

-Widmore/Dharma- I've thought Widmore funded Dharma all along, maybe with Hanso and/or Paik... surely seeing the protocol at least confirms a connection. Teh Dharma logo on the protocol could also have been a stolen folder, showing the location of the temple?

-The girl Emily who got hit by the car while 6 mos pregnant was wearing a belt, and didn't look the least bit pregnant. What's up with that? I have had kids and have known prego women, and although some show later on, while some show at 3-4 mos...most of them show by 6 mos!

-I guess Emily's older man could be Cooper, could be Richard...? That Richard was there was interesting, but he could have been "watching " for John's birth...

-Kidney transplant- there are plenty of compatible organ donors who are not family, or related. And some who are related are not compatible donors, so not sure it proves anything...?

-What age do we think Locke is? I thought 40, similar to Ben? I know Terry O'Quinn is older than that, but I didn't think they had Locke being much older than that

-The backpack Frank threw out of the helicopter: He turned on the sat phone prior to Keamy getting on, wrapped it in a yellow thing, put it inside the backpack, but it shows Jack finding it without it being in the yellow thing. Jack just fishes it out of the backpack [I think in the preview for 4.12]

-Jack after surgery- Also in the preview, look at Jack hurrying to the backpack that fell- he practically runs! After appendectomy, I really doubt he could move quickly.