Few scenes on the show left me with the same mix of anger, disgust and sadness as this one.

They used his nightmare to, not only show us Cal elaborating the news about Eddie being the Chosen Son, but also show us how certain truths about the nature of his relationship with Meyer, that he can’t/won’t face when awake, are starting to slowly surface in his mind.

Maybe I’m wrong and I’m reading too much in it but if this is the case I really liked how they handled such a delicate topic.



Cal wanders through a forest at night ( = feeling cornered and lost/ looking for a better understanding of yourself ) and enter a cave ( = unconscious ).

A perfect representation of Cal’s current state ( he is lost and feels the life and future he’s trying to build are threatened ) and of how his looking back ( the photos and letters ) trying to make sense of Steve’s rejection is leading him toward hidden/forgotten corners of his mind.

Cal: What are you doing to me?

Steve: Painting flowers on your walls of doom.

If we take this bit of dialogue literally, Cal is asking Steve what’s the point of his actions/why is he making him suffer now and the other’s cryptic answer (a reference to Cal’s quote from episode 4) can be translated as “making you feel better/help you” or something to that effect.



But we can also see the abuses implied in it - Cal not understanding what the other was doing to him and the older man reassuring him it was a good thing for him and that it would have helped when in reality he was just hurting him.



Every colourful stroke on the wall probably represents a forgotten ( blocked?denied?distorted? ) memory linked to Steve and Cal seems to feel their suffocating weight - he became increasingly ‘agitated’ and moves with heaviness.

Cal: Your necklace… where is it?

Steve: Oh, I gave it to the worthy one.

Meyer is blunt and almost cruel in the nonchalant way he replies Cal’s question.

As Sarah’s mother said in S1 « you’re not just you in your dreams you’re everything » so it is interesting that Cal’s mind concocted a Steve like this, so different from the image he seems to have when awake.

Maybe it’s just a projection of the contempt Cal has for himself or he pictured the doctor like this because he feels betrayed or maybe there is something more - like if deep down he knew Steve didn’t really care/understood how important it was for him.

Because at the end, for Cal, that necklace means more than just access to a position of power – it’s also about stopping his worst fears ( « I had a vision that I was… a no one… a nothing » ) from coming true. Losing it would mean that it was all an illusion and his life - all his sacrifices - have been for nothing.



Cal: I earned the necklace! I earned it!

Despite trying with all his strength Cal is unable to kill or even hurt Steve - it seems to symbolize how powerless he feels, how no matter how much anger and resentment ( consciously or unconsciously ) he feels for the man … he can’t do anything.

Steve menacingly approaching a terrified Cal and putting his hand on his forehead* as a blessing can be seen as Cal fearing the other’s judgement or, also, as a representation of their dynamic in the past - with the older man using his role of guide and protector to ‘intimidate’ and ‘overpower’ the other.

( * he covered his “third eye”: Meyer should have also helped Cal grew spiritually instead he broke his soul and “blinded” him ) .

♪ Hush, little baby, don’t say a word ♪ …

In this lullaby the one singing promises the baby different rewards if he stays quiet.

But, at the end , regardless what happen to all those things the baby …

♪ …You’ll still be the sweetest little baby in town.



So hush little baby, don’t you cry.

Daddy loves you and so do I. ♪



… will still be loved.

And in this context it can be taken as a metaphor of how Steve manipulated him. How he took advantage of the child’s desire for affection and presented himself as someone that would take care of him and give him what he wanted – above all love and approval.

What’s more upsetting during this part is Cal’s silence. Not a word at the unwanted touch.