Yeah, it's a "fickle bitch."

Thursday's mind-bender of a Lost episode, "Cabin Fever," was ostensibly a trip through John Locke's past (and future?), starting when the island savior was knocking on his momma's womb a few months early, thanks to a bumper on pedestrian accident. (Is there something to all the car accidents on this show? Has to be).

In "real narrative," the story was pretty simple. Locke, Ben and Hurley go looking for Jacob's cabin and find it. John goes in and communicates with Christian Shepherd and Claire (!), and comes back out to announce that they have to "move the island." Keamy gets hardcore on the freighter, slits the doctor's throat (who will wash up on the shore a couple of episodes back), shoots the captain and straps himself up with some type of device (a "deadman's switch?"). Michael is saved from Keamy by another malfunctioning gun, Des stays on the boat to find Penny, Sayid takes a boat back to the island and Lapidus choppers Keamy and crew back to the island, dropping a sat phone on the beach for Jack and the gang.

The journey through John's past was extremely interesting, to say the least. More than just a man who found his calling once he was healed by the island (or when he embarked on his "walkabout") it appears destiny and/or the island have been working him over since the very beginning. How fucking creepy was it to see the ageless face of Richard Alpert appear in a window at the maternity ward? And then years later, for Alpert to show up testing John, supposedly for enrollment in a school for "special" children? (Notice young John's drawing of "Smoky" killing someone on the wall? Cool).

The test? "Which of these things belong to you already?" A baseball mitt, a knife, a container of "sand," the "Book of Laws," a "Mystery Tales" comic book and a compass. I'm sure more brilliant Lost scholars than I can have a field day theorizing about this assortment. Needless to say, when John grabs the knife, Alpert is disappointed and leaves.

There's another opportunity for John's life to intersect with the island when he is recruited in high school for a science camp sponsored by Mittelos Laboratories. But John rejects it, uttering his famous words, "Don't tell me what I can't do!"

Finally, John gets the "push" he needs to pursue his destiny when Abaddon shows up at the rehab center as an orderly and tells Locke he should go on a "walkabout," setting in motion the chain of events that would put him on Oceanic 815. (Did anyone else think Abaddon was going to dump Locke out of his wheelchair and down the steps?)

When Locke, Hurley and Ben finally find Jacob's cabin (with help from the dead Horace Goodspeed, whose nose was mysteriously bleeding -- time travel perhaps? or just a dream as it was presented?) Locke goes in to find Christian Shepherd inside. Locke doesn't know him personally and his connection to Jack (and Claire), of course, but starts a conversation when Christian introduces himself and says he speaks for Jacob. Oh, and by the way, Claire is casually lounging in the corner, looking smoking hot. (Of course, without the mewling infant, anyone is 100% hotter, but Claire looks great. Death becomes her?). John asks some questions, but they are the "wrong" questions. The "right" question is "how can I save the island?"

Thoughts, observations and yeah, questions:

• Is Claire dead? She's with Christian, who is almost assuredly dead (but spry and mobile for a corpse). If so, when exactly did she die? When she improbably survived the house collapse and Sawyer rescued her? But she was up and around and corporeal and carrying Aaron as she, Miles and Sawyer traipsed around the jungle. Shortly before or after she left Aaron in the jungle for Sawyer to find? And there's this tidbit from last week, which looks more enlightening in hindsight: CLAIRE: "I'm a bit wobbly, but, uh, I'll live." MILES: "Well, I wouldn't be too sure about that."
• Was John always destined to be the island's protector? What about Ben? Was Ben a "placeholder" or "pinch hitter" until John could get there to assume his role? Ben seems resigned to this possibility. The ep's best quote: "Destiny, John, is a fickle bitch."
• Does the directive to "move the island" mean physically? Or in time? Or both?
• Ben denies being completely behind the Dharma genocide. Is this another Ben con, or is there something to this? And who would be calling the shots?
• Could Jacob actually BE Locke, out of time and space?
• What is the "second protocol" that Keamy is now following? And who developed it? Widmore?
• What is Abaddon's role? He's instrumental in getting Locke to the island, but he's also responsible for Naomi and crew (Miles, Charlotte, Frank and Daniel) there, too.
• Who is Alpert working for? How does he fit into the Widmore / Ben / Abaddon puzzle? And is he really "ageless," or just an adept time traveler?
• Hurley theorizes that only he, Ben and Locke can find the cabin because they're the craziest. And that candy bar scene with Hurley and Ben is awesome and brilliant acting without words.
• Alpert's test of young Locke is similar to a test given to reincarnated Dalia Lamas (big hitter, the Lama) to see if they can identify items belonging to their previous lives.
• Is it a coincidence that John was born 3 months early, and all the island pregnant island women seem to die 3 months before their due dates?
• John's mother's name? Emily. Ben's mom's name? Emily.

Overall, I think the producers know what they're doing. Check out this interview from E!

Yet another spectacular outing for Lost, and we're gearing up for the home stretch. Sadly, I'll be out of town much of next week and next weekend, so I'll have to play some serious catch up when I return, all the while holding my hands over my eyes and ears going "lalalalalalalalala" if anyone wants to discuss things on the island.