a "Lost" Friday — does anybody understand this?

Note: As always, we at the DP are spending a good chunk of time on a Friday trying to decipher exactly what the hell is going on in ABC's "Lost," which debuted a new episode Thursday notice. Also, as always, SPOILERS ARE ABOUT TO OCCUR. SO STOP READING QUICKLY. OK? OK.

One other note: for those not interested in "Lost," read about the story of Rolando McClain, who hurt himself in a motorcycle accident late Thursday. Lord, help us all.

Ready, then? On with the show ...

Last night's show — synopsized here — was all about revealing more about the complexities of John Locke, a character who, from the moment we first meet him, seems desperate to find his purpose in life. And because the Island brought him to said purpose, he's hell-bent on defending the Island. Exactly what does he mean when he says he's going to "move" it? We don't know, and to be honest, the harder we try to figure it out, the more confused we get.
With that, here are a few things I think I think about "Cabin Fever."
• I think I was battling a stomach bug yesterday, and thus may have drifted in and out during last night's episode, so I'm open to critiques and commentary if anything here doesn't make any sense. I'm also certain I saw an open-mouthed man-kiss on Grey's Anatomy, but I'm not entirely sure.

• I think the notion that Claire is dead now has more ammunition, which makes me squeal with delight.

• I think I have no idea what's going on in this scene:



• I think that's an interesting scene where teenage John is encouraged to go to science camp. His responses "don't tell me what I can't do!" and "I'm not a man of science" echo back to the first season, when the adult Locke — suddenly having the use of his legs and carrying on like a boar-hunting savage — uses the phrase, "Don't tell me what I can't do!" before killing a boar on his own. Also, there's this exchange between Jack and Locke from the Season 1 finale:

Locke: That's why you and I don't see eye-to-eye sometimes, Jack -- because you're a man of science.

Jack: Yeah, and what does that make you?

Locke: Me, well, I'm a man of faith. Do you really think all this is an accident -- that we, a group of strangers survived, many of us with just superficial injuries? Do you think we crashed on this place by coincidence -- especially, this place? We were brought here for a purpose, for a reason, all of us. Each one of us was brought here for a reason.

Jack: Brought here? And who brought us here, John?

Locke: The island. The island brought us here. This is no ordinary place, you've seen that, I know you have. But the island chose you, too, Jack. It's destiny.

Jack: Did you talk with Boone about destiny, John?

Locke: Boone was a sacrifice that the island demanded. What happened to him at that plane was a part of a chain of events that led us here -- that led us down a path -- that led you and me to this day, to right now.

• I think I've made myself look like a jackass the last few weeks, wondering who the sixth member of the Oceanic 6 is, without even considering Claire's child, Aaron. Feel free to ridicule at your leisure.

• I think I never did figure out exactly what that was on Martin Keamy's arm that prevented the captain from shooting him. I also found it interesting that Keamy couldn't shoot Michael, considering he's tried so hard to shoot himself.

• I think the parallels between Locke and Ben Linus are downright scary, as detailed in the EW recap.

Locke is born early. At age 5, he takes a test that most likely would have taken him to the Island if he had passed. He didn't. That same year, Benjamin Linus is born. At age 16, Locke is invited to go to a science camp that again would have taken him to the Island. He refused. About that same time, Benjamin Linus and his father joined the Dharma Initiative. The implication, it seems, is that Ben has been walking the path that was originally meant for Locke. Ben was the contingency plan — the course correction — for Locke's altered destiny. But Ben is his own person, of course, and he has done things differently from what Locke would have done, and this, in turn, has created further changes in the original order of things — changes that I think a certain ticked-off, Island-deprived billionaire named Charles Widmore is trying to reverse. The scene at the rehab center between paralyzed adult Locke and his wheelchair pusher, the creepy Matthew Abbaddon — who accepted the description of ''orderly'' with knowing irony — was meant to suggest one way Widmore is scheming to restore the original order: by getting Locke on that Island and taking back the birthright that was supposed to be his.
(Unless I’m getting this reversed: What if Ben was the man of destiny, but for decades, various forces — including Alpert and Widmore-Abbaddon — have been vainly trying to change destiny by getting Locke to the Island to supplant the über-Other?)

• I think there's some kind of a time lag between the island and the ship — somehow, the doctor washes up on shore at the Island several hours before he was actually killed. Something strange is going on here, and Locke's intention to "move the Island" may have something to do with it, as well.

• I think I'm about to lose my mind over this thing. The season finale is next week, and then eight months of no show. Yikes.

For more "Lost" thoughts, check out TBL.

wlh