"Cabin Fever"

Episode Rating: A-

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

The stage is set; the players all in place, and the game is about to begin. Everything is ready, and we've passed the point of no return. Lost fans brace yourself, because the finale of season four will begin next week, and judging by the last three episodes, it will be one of the most mind-blowing television events of the decade.

Since the show returned from its three-week hiatus, we've had three episodes dedicated to getting everything ready for the three-hour season finale. "The Shape of Things to Come" got Locke and friends out of the barracks, and into the jungle. "Something Nice Back Home" established Jack's illness and the state of people on the beach, and also featured the disappearance of Claire. Tonight's episode, "Cabin Fever," finished putting all the pieces in place so that the finale could begin without exposition. Keamy and his men got all their weaponry together, people were slaughtered, and Sayid left to save the castaways. Locke learned how to save the island, and Jack was given a tool that will help his actions in the finale.

The stage is set.

Since tonight's episode prepared the plot for the finale, the best way to analyze it is to theorize what will happen in the season finale, based on what we saw in this episode.

Let's start with possibly the most confusing part of tonight's episode, the freighter storyline. Obviously, the island exists in a time period totally separate of the freighter and the outside world. When Keamy came back from trying to capture Ben, the doctor was still alive-on the island, he was already dead. In fact, one of the mercenaries got Daniel's telegraph message before the doctor actually died. Which means that, at that moment in the plot, two doctors existed-one dead, and one alive. This is very important, but I'll cover that later on.

Keamy and his crew had some heavy weaponry-they said they were going to "torch" the island. Whatever device they plan on using to kill everybody is probably triggered by that device on Keamy's arm. When Frank refused to take the villains back to the island, Keamy killed the doctor (one mystery solved) and then shot Captain Gault, who we found out wasn't actually working for Charles Widmore directly. Frank finally gave in, and flew the bad guys away.

What does this sound like? The end of season three also dealt with an attack on the beach, but the castaways had a warning for that. But wait...they will have a warning this time. Sayid left the ship to start ferrying people back to the freighter, but will that accomplish anything? Keamy has the helicopter, Captain Gault is dead, and it takes a long time to get from freighter to island. With the time changes between island and freighter, what will Sayid find when he reaches the beach? Will he get there too late...or will he get there really early? Or right on time?

If he gets there on time, then he could take five people back to the freighter with him...the five members of the Oceanic Six. Sun, because she is pregnant; Aaron, because he's a baby. Kate, because she offers to take care of Aaron. Jack, because he just underwent dangerous surgery in a tent, and Hurley because...well, I don't know. But this is the Oceanic Six, and maybe they will find rescue when Sayid takes them back to the freighter.

But with no helicopter, who will take them home? Penny Widmore, Desmond's lover, has a ship out there too. After Desmond contacted her back in the fifth episode of the season, perhaps she will find the freighter and take home the Oceanic Six. We'll find out soon enough.

The main plot of tonight's episode was Locke, Ben and Hurley looking for Jacob's cabin. This had some really confusing content, but was delicious food for thought. Before we analyze this storyline, let's take a look at Locke's flashback, one of the most poignant flashbacks of the series.

Locke was born to a teenage mother, three months before she was due to deliver. He lived, however, through many various diseases. Amazingly enough, this means that Locke was chosen by the island at birth-it kept him alive, like the island kept Michael from killing himself. Forty years before the island needed Locke, it had chosen him. How's that for mind-blowing?

And then Locke got a visit from Richard Alpert, better known as Ben's right-hand man. In season three, we learned that Richard doesn't age. Ben met the man as a boy, and Richard was the same age then too. In Locke's flashback, he always looked the same. There are lots of theories about Richard, but I think the answer is fairly simple. Richard is an agent of the island. When he was needed to help Locke as a boy, he went to see Locke. When Ben, chosen by Jacob, needed to recruit Juliet, Richard was back on the mainland, ready to recruit. Richard also had a camp in "Portland" for special kids-he tried to recruit Locke early on, but couldn't. I presume that all the hostiles (the original "others") were recruited by Richard at one point or another.

Richard isn't just ageless-I don't think he's human. I think Richard is simply one of the many physical manifestations of the island, sent through time and space to do the island's bidding. Remember that door Ben went through in "The Shape of Things to Come" to summon the smoke monster? That place also probably has time travel abilities, sending Richard wherever he is needed.

And the most shocking part of the flash-forward was a visit from Michael Abbadon, the tall African-American man who we've seen many times before (he visited Hurley in the flash-forward from the season premiere). He seems to be another physical manifestation of the island, and gave Locke the idea to go on a Walkabout. Locke's failed attempt at a Walkabout put him on the island, right where the island wanted him.

The flashbacks showed us moments when the island chose Locke. The present-day storyline showed us Locke ascending to the moniker of "chosen one." In a dream sequence that felt plucked from the mind of Stanley Kubrick, Horace the mathematician told Locke to find the bodies of the Dharma Initiative. Horace was the man who got Ben's father, Roger, a job on the island many years ago.

Locke found a map on Horace's skeleton, and used it to find the cabin. Here's where things really got confusing. Instead of Jacob, Locke met Christian Shepherd and Claire. We've seen Christian many times as an apparition, and I'm moving away from the theory that Christian has been resurrected. I simply think that he is another physical manifestation of the island, to deliver news to various people. As for Claire...she seemed sort of 'out of it.'

Remember when a rocket blew up her house two episodes ago? She seemed to live through the experience, but in last week's episode, Miles eyed her with awe. Miles is a ghost-whisperer, and if Claire isn't, well, alive, he could detect that. She could be a walking apparition, showing herself to Sawyer because the island needs Sawyer to believe her to be alive. Is Claire a ghost?

And then came the most mind-blowing, theory-forming moment of the episode. Locke, stepping out of the cabin, said they needed to "move the island." That was probably a WTF moment to most everyone watching. I'll admit, that was my immediate reaction. But thinking about everything we've seen these past few weeks, I think I have a good idea on what that means.

The island exists in its own time period. "Move the island" most likely means to change what time the island exists in. I'm sure Ben knows what Locke is talking about, and will probably help Locke achieve the goal. The castaways on the beach are totally unprotected against any attack by Keamy, so it's up to Locke and Ben to save everyone's lives. How will they "move the island?" The door Ben went through in "The Shape of Things to Come," the door that probably leads to the "heart" of the island-that's the place where moving the island can be accomplished. I think we'll see that door again before the season ends.

Overall, this was a good episode. No questions were answered (except for "why was the doctor dead?") but it put everything in place for the finale. I was a little bit annoyed that we didn't see the cabin until the very end, but the scene was so good that the concern becomes a minute quibble. I loved the flashback, and the scenes on the freighter were incredibly spooky. Acting all around was good, especially on the parts of Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson (Locke and Ben). Ben's scenes were minimal, but I enjoyed his plot. What must it feel like to lose everything? His daughter is dead, the island had seemingly abandoned him, and he has little purpose left in life. "Cabin Fever" was a good episode, but like last week's installment, it suffered from being, essentially, an exposition-based episode.

Next week's episode will be part one of the three-hour season finale. It will constitute the first hour of the episode. The Thursday after that, there will be no episode of Lost (so that Grey's Anatomy can have a two-hour finale). Then, on May 29 th, the final two hours of the season will be aired in one block.

Season Four has been quite a roller-coaster ride...how will it end? Tonight's episode put all the pawns in place, and the ultimate game of Chess is set to begin.

REFERENCE EPISODES:

(Episodes Tonight's Installment Reference, Directly or Indirectly, or Were Mentioned in My Article, Sorted in Air Date Order)

"Walkabout"-Going way back to season one, we learned about Locke's attempt at an Australian Walkabout, and how he ended up on Oceanic 815.

"Not in Portland"-Only a small reference, but Richard Alpert said his institution was in Portland-the same place he said he would take Juliet.

"The Man From Tallahassee"-Flashbacks put Locke in a wheelchair, which tonight's flashback referenced.

"The Man Behind the Curtain"-Flashbacks showed us Ben killing Dharma, and introduced Horace. We also saw Jacob's cabin for the first time, and took a visit to the grave.

"Something Nice Back Home"-We saw the corpse of the freighter's doctor.