Seemed to me that the cave dream was a birthing dream in reverse, that it was leading him to a past that was no longer accessible to him. The dreams of seeing Rod, did james know Rod was dead? It seems only Hank knew this little bit of information. After knowing Rod is dead, and James is dream seeing him in the mirror, it is like the dreamwalker want James to move toward the future, that it wants him to see something, and that that something is not going to be pleasant, so sort of conditioning James for the experience. Still blown away by this story.