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Cabin Fever (Lost)
Encyclopedia
"Cabin Fever" is the 11th episode of the American Broadcasting Company
's fourth season
of the serial
drama
television series
Lost
and 83rd episode overall. It was aired on May 8, 2008 on ABC in the United States and on CTV
in Canada. The episode was written by supervising producer Elizabeth Sarnoff
and Kyle Pennington
and directed by Paul Edwards
. According to a press release, "John Locke
(Terry O'Quinn
) is enlightened as to the whereabouts of Jacob's cabin, and life aboard the freighter becomes perilous." The episode was written alongside "The Shape of Things to Come
" and "Something Nice Back Home
". "Cabin Fever" was watched by 11 million American viewers.
(as an adult portrayed by Terry O'Quinn
). John's life is monitored by Richard Alpert
(Nestor Carbonell
) and Matthew Abaddon (Lance Reddick
), each of whom attempts to influence his life.
In the present day, Locke, Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia
) and Benjamin Linus (Michael Emerson
) are attempting to find a cabin inhabited by Jacob, the de facto leader of the Others. They are initially unsuccessful, but an apparition of deceased DHARMA Initiative
member Horace Goodspeed (Doug Hutchison
) assists Locke by pointing him to the Initiative's mass grave. There, Locke extracts a set of blueprints from Horace's jacket, and uses it to locate the cabin.
On the freighter Kahana, mercenary
Martin Keamy
(Kevin Durand
) returns from his unsuccessful attack on the Barracks, the former home of the Others. Enraged that his mission was unsuccessful and several of his colleagues were killed, he accuses Gault (Grant Bowler
) of giving him up to Ben, but Gault tells Keamy that Michael is the actual spy. He tries to kill Michael by shooting him, but just as in "Meet Kevin Johnson
" when Michael tries to commit suicide, the gun jams. Gault (Grant Bowler
) then tells Keamy that Michael is vital to repairing the engines, because he is the one that sabotaged them initially. Sayid Jarrah
(Naveen Andrews
), fearing Keamy's intentions, uses a Zodiac boat to return to the island, hoping to save as many people as possible. Desmond refuses to accompany him, saying that he would never return to the island after he left.
Several hours after Sayid leaves, Keamy stages a mutiny. A soldier receives a message from the island saying they found the doctor's body (as shown in "The Shape of Things to Come
"), but the doctor protests that it's impossible since he's alive on the boat. Keamy orders Frank Lapidus
(Jeff Fahey
) at gunpoint to prepare the freighter's helicopter; Lapidus refuses, and Keamy kills the ship's doctor Ray (Marc Vann
) and Gault in response. Lapidus acquiesces and Keamy leaves the freighter with a group of mercenaries, intending to "torch the Island". When the helicopter passes over the survivors' beach camp, Frank drops a bag containing a satellite phone onto the beach.
At the end of the episode, Locke enters the cabin alone and meets the deceased Christian Shephard
(John Terry
), who claims he is speaking on Jacob's behalf and is accompanied by his daughter Claire Littleton
(Emilie de Ravin
). Christian warns Locke that Keamy's mercenaries from the Kahana are already on route to the Island, and that the Island must be moved.
"Cabin Fever" was the fifth episode to be directed by Paul Edwards
. It was the first installment to be written by Kyle Pennington
, the eleventh by Elizabeth Sarnoff
, and was the first that the two wrote together. Recurring
guest star Nestor Carbonell
appeared in seven episodes of Lost' s third season as Richard Alpert and the mysteries surrounding his ageless character were heavily discussed among the fan community. While producing the final episodes of the third season, Carbonell was cast in a starring role on the new CBS
series Cane
. The writers modified their original story plan for the third season in anticipation for Carbonell's potential unavailability. Despite Carbonell's willingness to return to Lost, CBS president Nina Tassler
ruled out another Lost guest appearance. Cane
, freeing Carbonell from his contract with CBS. Executive producer Carlton Cuse
cited this as an unintended positive consequence of the strike.
Robin Abrahams of the Boston Globe published an analysis exploring disability on her blog. A paragraph analyzed the scene where the "disabled-in-the-eyes-of-others Hurley" and the "disabled-in-his-own-mind Ben" shared a candy bar, which she thought was "kind of good and ... awful"; she said "It was great to see the most hateful and most lovable characters sitting on a log sharing a chocolate bar." However, she thought that the scene did not use its full potential in emphasizing Hurley's empathy and Ben's reaction. However, Kristin Dos Santos of E!
, who gave the episode a mostly positive review, was critical of the scene; she thought that the scene wasted time and was "cruel and unusual punishment" to air before the cliffhanger ending. Erin Martell from TV Squad stated "This episode put everyone, including the freighter folk, in place to carry out their plans. I'm already stoked for the finale".
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's fourth season
Lost (season 4)
The fourth season of the American serial drama television series Lost commenced airing on the American Broadcasting Company Network in the United States, and on CTV in Canada on January 31, 2008 and concluded on May 29, 2008...
of the serial
Serial (radio and television)
Serials are series of television programs and radio programs that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode by episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from...
drama
Dramatic programming
Dramatic programming in the UK, or television drama and television drama series in the US, is television program content that is scripted and fictional along the lines of √a traditional drama. This excludes, for example, sports television, television news, reality show and game shows, stand-up...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
and 83rd episode overall. It was aired on May 8, 2008 on ABC in the United States and on CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
in Canada. The episode was written by supervising producer Elizabeth Sarnoff
Elizabeth Sarnoff
Elizabeth "Liz" Sarnoff is an American television writer and producer. She has written episodes of NYPD Blue, Crossing Jordan, Deadwood and Lost.-Career:...
and Kyle Pennington
Kyle Pennington
Kyle David Pennington is an American television writer. He is credited with writing episodes of the American television series, Lost. He is currently a staff writer on Lost. He was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Dramatic Series at the February 2009 ceremony for his work on...
and directed by Paul Edwards
Paul Edwards (cinematographer)
Paul A. Edwards is an American cinematographer, camera operator and television director. He has worked as a camera operator and cinematographer on various mainstream films and has also directed several episodes of many series, including Lost and Fringe.- Cinematographer :* The Master * Eye of the...
. According to a press release, "John Locke
John Locke (Lost)
John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after English philosopher John Locke...
(Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
) is enlightened as to the whereabouts of Jacob's cabin, and life aboard the freighter becomes perilous." The episode was written alongside "The Shape of Things to Come
The Shape of Things to Come (Lost)
"The Shape of Things to Come" is the 81st episode of the American Broadcasting Company's Lost and is the ninth episode of the fourth season. It aired on April 24, 2008 on ABC in the United States and on CTV in Canada. The episode was written by co-executive producer Drew Goddard and...
" and "Something Nice Back Home
Something Nice Back Home
"Something Nice Back Home" is the tenth episode of the American Broadcasting Company's fourth season of the serial drama television series Lost and 82nd episode overall. It was aired on May 1, 2008, on ABC in the United States and on CTV in Canada...
". "Cabin Fever" was watched by 11 million American viewers.
Plot
The episode begins with a flashback to the 1950s, when 16-year-old Emily Locke (Holland Roden) is preparing for a date with a man twice her age. Her mother tries to stop her from going out, but Emily escapes and is struck by a car. The trauma triggers the premature birth of JohnJohn Locke (Lost)
John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after English philosopher John Locke...
(as an adult portrayed by Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
). John's life is monitored by Richard Alpert
Richard Alpert (Lost)
Ricardo "Richard" Alpert is a fictional character played by Nestor Carbonell in the American ABC television series Lost. Alpert is introduced in a flashback of the character Juliet Burke , where he claims to be a doctor for a bioscience company called Mittelos Bioscience; he is later revealed to...
(Nestor Carbonell
Nestor Carbonell
Nestor Gastón Carbonell is an American actor, known for portraying Richard Alpert in ABC's drama Lost and Mayor Anthony Garcia in the film The Dark Knight...
) and Matthew Abaddon (Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick is an American theater, film and TV actor and musician born in Baltimore, Maryland. He starred in The Wire as Cedric Daniels, appeared in Oz as Detective Johnny Basil and appeared in the fourth and fifth seasons of Lost. He now has a prominent role in Fringe...
), each of whom attempts to influence his life.
In the present day, Locke, Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia
Jorge Garcia
Jorge García is a U.S. actor and comedian. He first came to public attention with his performance as Hector Lopez on the television show Becker and later for his portrayal of Hugo "Hurley" Reyes in the television series Lost. Garcia also performs as a stand-up comedian.-Early life:García was born...
) and Benjamin Linus (Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost and fictional serial killer William Hinks in The Practice.-Early life:...
) are attempting to find a cabin inhabited by Jacob, the de facto leader of the Others. They are initially unsuccessful, but an apparition of deceased DHARMA Initiative
DHARMA Initiative
The Dharma Initiative, also written DHARMA , was a fictional research project featured in the television series Lost. It was introduced in the second season episode "Orientation". In 2008, the Dharma Initiative website was launched. Dharma's interests were directly connected with fringe science...
member Horace Goodspeed (Doug Hutchison
Doug Hutchison
Doug Anthony Hutchison is an American actor, known for his roles in The Green Mile, as corrections officer Percy Wetmore, Eugene Victor Tooms in The X-Files, as Horace Goodspeed in Lost and as Davros in 24. He owns the production company Dark Water Inc.-Personal life:Hutchison was born in Dover,...
) assists Locke by pointing him to the Initiative's mass grave. There, Locke extracts a set of blueprints from Horace's jacket, and uses it to locate the cabin.
On the freighter Kahana, mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
Martin Keamy
Martin Keamy
First Sergeant Martin Christopher Keamy is a recurring fictional character played by Kevin Durand in the fourth season and sixth season of the American ABC television series Lost. Keamy is introduced in the fifth episode of the fourth season as a crew member aboard the freighter called the Kahana...
(Kevin Durand
Kevin Durand
Kevin Serge Durand is a Canadian actor known for his roles as Joshua in Dark Angel, Martin Keamy in Lost, Fred J. Dukes in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the Archangel Gabriel in Legion, and Little John in Robin Hood....
) returns from his unsuccessful attack on the Barracks, the former home of the Others. Enraged that his mission was unsuccessful and several of his colleagues were killed, he accuses Gault (Grant Bowler
Grant Bowler
Grant Bowler is a New Zealand actor who has worked in American, Australian and New Zealand films and television.He is known for playing the role of Constable Wayne Patterson in Blue Heelers and also appeared as Wilhelmina Slater's love interest Connor Owens in Ugly Betty.In November 2010, he was...
) of giving him up to Ben, but Gault tells Keamy that Michael is the actual spy. He tries to kill Michael by shooting him, but just as in "Meet Kevin Johnson
Meet Kevin Johnson
"Meet Kevin Johnson" is the 80th television episode of the American Broadcasting Company's Lost and the eighth episode of the fourth season. It was written in October and November 2007 by supervising producer Elizabeth Sarnoff and co-producer Brian K. Vaughan, and directed in November by...
" when Michael tries to commit suicide, the gun jams. Gault (Grant Bowler
Grant Bowler
Grant Bowler is a New Zealand actor who has worked in American, Australian and New Zealand films and television.He is known for playing the role of Constable Wayne Patterson in Blue Heelers and also appeared as Wilhelmina Slater's love interest Connor Owens in Ugly Betty.In November 2010, he was...
) then tells Keamy that Michael is vital to repairing the engines, because he is the one that sabotaged them initially. Sayid Jarrah
Sayid Jarrah
Sayid Hassan Jarrah is a character from the ABC show Lost portrayed by Naveen Andrews.-Season 1:Sayid fixes the transceiver recovered from the cockpit, and leads a group into the jungle in order to send out a distress signal. Instead, he picks up a looping message . He tries to locate the...
(Naveen Andrews
Naveen Andrews
Naveen William Sidney Andrews is a British American actor. He is best known for portraying Kip in the movie The English Patient and Sayid Jarrah on the American television series Lost.-Early life:...
), fearing Keamy's intentions, uses a Zodiac boat to return to the island, hoping to save as many people as possible. Desmond refuses to accompany him, saying that he would never return to the island after he left.
Several hours after Sayid leaves, Keamy stages a mutiny. A soldier receives a message from the island saying they found the doctor's body (as shown in "The Shape of Things to Come
The Shape of Things to Come (Lost)
"The Shape of Things to Come" is the 81st episode of the American Broadcasting Company's Lost and is the ninth episode of the fourth season. It aired on April 24, 2008 on ABC in the United States and on CTV in Canada. The episode was written by co-executive producer Drew Goddard and...
"), but the doctor protests that it's impossible since he's alive on the boat. Keamy orders Frank Lapidus
Frank Lapidus
Frank J. Lapidus is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Jeff Fahey. Frank is introduced in the second episode of season four as a pilot hired on a mission to the island where Oceanic Flight 815 crashed. He aids the survivors of the crash against mercenary Martin Keamy ...
(Jeff Fahey
Jeff Fahey
Jeffrey David "Jeff" Fahey is an American film and television actor. He has portrayed Captain Frank Lapidus on the ABC series Lost and the title role of Deputy Marshal Winston MacBride on The Marshal.-Early life:...
) at gunpoint to prepare the freighter's helicopter; Lapidus refuses, and Keamy kills the ship's doctor Ray (Marc Vann
Marc Vann
Marc Vann , is an American actor. He is known for his role as Conrad Ecklie in the CBS television series, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Although this role as the agitator of Gil Grissom has earned the character the dislike of CSI fans, Vann himself has a small, but growing fanbase...
) and Gault in response. Lapidus acquiesces and Keamy leaves the freighter with a group of mercenaries, intending to "torch the Island". When the helicopter passes over the survivors' beach camp, Frank drops a bag containing a satellite phone onto the beach.
At the end of the episode, Locke enters the cabin alone and meets the deceased Christian Shephard
Christian Shephard
Dr. Christian Shephard is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by John Terry. He is the father of lead characters Jack Shephard , who becomes the de facto leader of the survivors of Oceanic 815 after it crashes on an island, and Claire Littleton , another of the survivors...
(John Terry
John Terry (actor)
John Terry is an American film, television, and stage actor.-Early life:Terry was born in Florida, where he attended Vero Beach High School. He was also educated at the prestigious Loomis Chaffee prep school in Windsor, Connecticut, and began a career building original custom log homes in North...
), who claims he is speaking on Jacob's behalf and is accompanied by his daughter Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton is a fictional character played by Emilie de Ravin on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Claire is introduced in the pilot episode as a pregnant crash survivor. She is a series regular until her...
(Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin born 27 December 1981)is an Australian actress. She is commonly associated with her roles as Tess Harding on Roswell and Claire Littleton on the ABC drama Lost....
). Christian warns Locke that Keamy's mercenaries from the Kahana are already on route to the Island, and that the Island must be moved.
Production
Paul Edwards (cinematographer)
Paul A. Edwards is an American cinematographer, camera operator and television director. He has worked as a camera operator and cinematographer on various mainstream films and has also directed several episodes of many series, including Lost and Fringe.- Cinematographer :* The Master * Eye of the...
. It was the first installment to be written by Kyle Pennington
Kyle Pennington
Kyle David Pennington is an American television writer. He is credited with writing episodes of the American television series, Lost. He is currently a staff writer on Lost. He was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Dramatic Series at the February 2009 ceremony for his work on...
, the eleventh by Elizabeth Sarnoff
Elizabeth Sarnoff
Elizabeth "Liz" Sarnoff is an American television writer and producer. She has written episodes of NYPD Blue, Crossing Jordan, Deadwood and Lost.-Career:...
, and was the first that the two wrote together. Recurring
Recurring character
A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in an episode, sometimes being the main focus...
guest star Nestor Carbonell
Nestor Carbonell
Nestor Gastón Carbonell is an American actor, known for portraying Richard Alpert in ABC's drama Lost and Mayor Anthony Garcia in the film The Dark Knight...
appeared in seven episodes of Lost
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
series Cane
Cane (TV series)
Cane is an American television drama created by Cynthia Cidre, who also served as executive producer alongside Jonathan Prince, Jimmy Iovine and Polly Anthony. The pilot was directed by Christian Duguay...
. The writers modified their original story plan for the third season in anticipation for Carbonell's potential unavailability. Despite Carbonell's willingness to return to Lost, CBS president Nina Tassler
Nina Tassler
Nina Tassler is an American television executive, a graduate of Boston University , and holds the position of President of CBS Entertainment since September 2004....
ruled out another Lost guest appearance. Cane
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly referred to as simply the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
, freeing Carbonell from his contract with CBS. Executive producer Carlton Cuse
Carlton Cuse
Carlton Cuse is an AmericanEmmy Award winning screenwriter and producer, most famous as executive producer andscreenwriter for the American television series Lost for...
cited this as an unintended positive consequence of the strike.
Reception
"Cabin Fever" was viewed live or recorded and watched within five hours of broadcast by 10.78 million American viewers. It attained a 4.7/13 in the key adults 18-49 demographic, ranking Lost as the nineteenth most watched program of the week, two places up from the previous episode, "Something Nice Back Home". "Cabin Fever" was watched by 392,000 Australian viewers, making Lost the thirty-third most watched program of the night.Robin Abrahams of the Boston Globe published an analysis exploring disability on her blog. A paragraph analyzed the scene where the "disabled-in-the-eyes-of-others Hurley" and the "disabled-in-his-own-mind Ben" shared a candy bar, which she thought was "kind of good and ... awful"; she said "It was great to see the most hateful and most lovable characters sitting on a log sharing a chocolate bar." However, she thought that the scene did not use its full potential in emphasizing Hurley's empathy and Ben's reaction. However, Kristin Dos Santos of E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
, who gave the episode a mostly positive review, was critical of the scene; she thought that the scene wasted time and was "cruel and unusual punishment" to air before the cliffhanger ending. Erin Martell from TV Squad stated "This episode put everyone, including the freighter folk, in place to carry out their plans. I'm already stoked for the finale".