LOST - A BRAND NEW SEASON

Welcome back to the Lost Secret Clue, where we dig deeper to find the clues and secrets you might've missed to fuel your theories! This week's episode, 'Cabin Fever'', was filled to the brim with hidden clues, mysterious visits, a few tests of faith, some deaths and a long awaited return to a certain cabin...

On the freighter, life got seriously dangerous this episode - unless you're Michael. Having returned after he and his men were attacked by Smokey, Keamy immediately accuses Captain Gault of selling him out before learning the truth about Michael. He goes to shoot Michael in the head but, of course, his gun jams. He then forces the Captain to assist him in unlocking a secret safe containing "the Second Protocol" as it will lead him to Ben. Did you notice the Dharma logo on the file's cover? The very same as the one seen on Ben's parka...

Keamy is something we've not seen on this show before - pure, untempted evil. Whatever Keamy wants, he does. Seeing as his attempts to retrieve Ben have failed thus far, it looks like he's rigged himself with a device to "torch the island" by blowing up should his heart stop. In order to continue his mission, he kills the captain and assumes control. His most despicable act, the cold-blooded slitting of Doc Ray's throat, actually turned out to be a good thing for the Losties at the beach. Keamy kills the Doc, but in doing so let the Losties know he was a bad guy almost a day and a half before he actually did the deed. Even weirder, Keamy and his men learnt of the doctor's death hours before it took place via Daniel's Morse code. It's a good thing Sayid is on the case with the raft; if anyone can save them, he can.

On the island, we witnessed Locke having another strange dream where he was met by Dharma Initiative member/Cabin builder/long time corpse Horace Goodspeed. Horace seemed to be acting on a loop, almost as if the island was using a memory of that location in order to communicate to John. Horace told Locke to find him in order to find the cabin, a feat he, Ben and Hurley were able to eventually achieve. While Ben and Hurley shared an Apollo bar outside, Locke had a chat with Jacob's spokesman Christian Shepard. As mysterious as the cabin has been before, this appearance truly won out; not only does Claire now reside within Jacob's cabin with her father, not only does she seem happy to be there but she doesn't even seem to care for Aaron anymore? According to Christian, Aaron is "exactly where he's supposed to be"; surely in Sawyer's arms heading for the beach is not that place? Whatever happened to "He mustn't be raised by another"? Furthermore, why can't Locke tell anyone he saw her there?

Through Locke's flashbacks, we were witness to events that prove the island has long had intention for him. Miraculous survival three months early at a traumatic birth, fighting off diseases that would kill a normal baby, surviving an eight story fall... it is pretty clear to see the island won't let Locke die. In addition to his amazing survival prowess, he also appears to be aware of moments in the future; just as he has drawn his later confrontation with the smoke monster, on the island he often predicts weather changes to the second. It is this skill that Richard Alpert expects Locke to display when he sits down and performs his strange test, presenting Locke with a compass, a vial of sand, a Mystery Tales comic, the Book of Laws, a baseball mitt and a knife. This test was very similar to the Tibetan Buddhist ritual used to find the next Dalai Lama, whose spirit is believed to be reincarnated into a human child.

While we don't know what already belonged to Locke, we know it certainly wasn't the knife, as much as he wanted to. It was this same problem that drove Locke away from Alpert's attempt through Mittelos Laboratories. Locke wants to choose his own destiny and make his own way, in direct opposition to what the island wants of him. It isn't until he meets Matthew Abbadon, who appeals to his sense of adventure and manhood, that Locke begins his journey to the island. Who Abbadon is still remains shrouded in mystery but, considering the way we've seen him interact with the people he's convinced to come to the island, could it be that he is Jacob and is behind Locke's eventual mission to move the island, the favour Locke would owe?

For a detailed analysis of Locke's decisions throughout this episode, make sure you check out the Lost Ninja's new blog as he's gone in-depth on whether John Locke is Lost's superhero - or super villain.