'Lost': Locke gets in touch with his feelings

 

Back in October of 2004, I was deeply intrigued by "Lost," but I wasn't yet sure if it was a fair-weather intrigue or if I was seriously hooked. I liked the novel concept of the show, I liked the way the show used flashbacks to comment on its characters, and I liked the aura of mystery surrounding it. But I just wasn't sure if enough of the characters were going to prove deep enough to be worth following. I was certainly intrigued by all of them, but they seemed rather thinly sketched. Then again, this was a show with 14 regular characters and what already appeared to be a hefty number of recurring players. I was willing to cut them some slack on developing characters. I was in for half a season at least.

And then along came the first John Locke flashback episode -- "Walkabout" -- and I knew I was going to follow this show until either it or I left the face of the Earth. 

Now, "Walkabout" is a fairly traditional take on the ol' twist ending. In fact, it's such a traditional take on it that it was fairly easy to predict just what the final twist of the episode would be. But that didn't mean that the moment -- Locke sitting in a wheelchair and angrily berating the folks who wouldn't let him go on a walkabout to not tell him what he couldn't do -- wasn't absolutely spine-tingling. The combination of Michael Giacchino's soaring score, the camera finally cutting away from its tight close-ups on Locke to allow the audience the freedom he could never have and Terry O'Quinn's stunner of a performance created one of those indelible TV moments, where you'll always know where you were when you first saw it. If pilots are there to show us what a new series might look like, then the earliest episodes of a series are there to show us the varied tones the show is capable of pulling off. "Walkabout" is one of the most confident episodes a series has ever unveiled that early in its run (just the third episode!). I'd wager it cemented more "Lost" fans than just me, maybe more than any other episode.

Now, continuing the self-conscious mirroring of the first season, "Lost" sends out the third episode of its final season, a Locke-centric episode. This one doesn't have the powerful punch of the conclusion of "Walkabout," but it does still have the tremendous performance of O'Quinn. That's enough to fuel multiple television shows. Indeed, when you combine that with the way O'Quinn plays off his other cast members -- here sharing nice screen time with Jorge Garcia, Michael Emerson and especially Josh Holloway -- you've got an episode that reveals this final season is off to a confident start. There may not have been enough answers for the hyper-mythological crowd (though we got a good deal of interesting conjecture), but it was a great showcase for the finest character "Lost" ever cooked up.

Yeah, I said finest character. I've speculated here a few times that the characters who became the most memorable ones on "Lost" were the ones for whom the writers and actors were both able to contribute excellent shading, turning what could have been two-dimensional stereotypes into far more compelling figures than they had any right to be. It's what separated something like how Holloway turned the roguish Sawyer into a tragic figure forced to grow up on the Island instead of just another riff on Han Solo, while Boone pretty much just remained a spoiled little rich boy. 

This was not the case with Locke, who was the writers' finest creation even before O'Quinn got to shout, "Don't tell me what I can't do!" O'Quinn's charisma and boundless ability to play mystery and well-meaning confusion still brought the character a fair distance from the writers' conception of him, but one has to admit that a middle-aged man confined to a wheelchair after a life in which he was mostly used and abused by everyone he knew, a man who would never get to live the special destiny he believed to be in his future who suddenly gets a chance to when he regains the use of his legs and gets a special place to show off his mad survival skills when his plane crashes on a mystical Island, is a pretty meaty role even without a great actor. This is not to say that Jim Belushi could have knocked it out of the park, nor is it to denigrate what O'Quinn has accomplished, but Locke was already, pretty much by default, the most intriguing character the show had when it started up. 

And he's mostly continued on that path as the show has gone along. Aside from the rather frustrating second season, which saw the grand irony of Locke being confined to a chair again for very different reasons, Locke has been the voice for the Island, the primary one who has been convinced that he alone can help guide the castaways to their true destinies. He's seemed like a religious zealot at times, but if he hadn't, well, he wouldn't be Locke. And then, of course, he was revealed to be just another pawn in a game played by two men we've only begun to understand. And that was perhaps the series' most heartbreaking moment.

I dwell on Locke and his history and importance to the show so much because "The Substitute" is almost entirely a showcase for O'Quinn, a chance given to him to once again knock it out of the park (perhaps for the final time). He plays two wildly different characters who converge in some interesting ways. He is allowed to play the full range of emotions for both Locke himself and the fake Locke who is actually the smoke monster. He's also allowed to share most of his scenes on the Island with Holloway, who's always been a strong companion for the actor. For some reason, Sawyer's devil-may-care attitude has always blended well with Locke's headstrong faith, so their journey to the cave with all of the countless names crossed out was the perfect blend of psychological test, religious ritual and Boy's Life adventure story cover.

"The Substitute" does so many of the things I love about "Lost" that I have to break hard with the folks on my Twitter feed who said immediately after the episode that it was yet another filler, an episode designed to space out the time between now and the end when we presumably will get the "answers" we're owed or something. I get that there are plenty of people just watching the show because they want to see the puzzle pieces snap into place, but I'm not convinced the puzzle pieces coming together will work if the picture they're painting isn't at least of interest to the audience. Lots of people would finish a jigsaw of a mountain vista. Few would be as intrigued to put together a picture of a rundown strip mall on Cahuenga.

And even if the answers are the only things you want to see, look more at just what we've begun to see filled in this evening. Fake Locke turning Sawyer was the sort of thing that was almost inevitable, I suppose (though I assume Sawyer will get a final turn toward good in the end), but I, for one, did not see the reveal that the famed Numbers -- which I had long ago given up on ever seeing explained -- would all refer to one of the survivors on the wall of that cave where Jacob had been hastily scratching in what appeared to be hundreds of names (just how long has this island been here?). And then the final reveal: With Jacob dead, the Man in Black, in the form of Locke, is able to leave the Island, presumably to walk among us, and he wants to take Sawyer with him. That is, if Sawyer doesn't want to take Jacob's place as guardian of the Island, the one to both protect it from the outside world and, presumably, protect the outside world from the Monster. It's a huge amount of information to download, and the elegant way "Lost" just dropped all of it on us was truly impressive.

The flash-sideways, which occupied a similar amount of time when compared to Kate's flash-sideways last week, also offered up some great moments. This one was primarily about Locke learning to accept that he didn't have a great destiny, that his destiny was just to marry a wonderful woman and have a nice house in the Los Angeles suburbs. (On a box company middle management salary? Psh.) There's a real heart to these scenes, to the notion of a man who could have been great giving up on miracles and on anything other than a nice, quiet life with a woman he loves. And there's a terrific sense that the show understands that, in some ways, this was better than his quest for greatness. In one universe, he ends up in a hole in the ground, his murderer delivering his eulogy while a force of ultimate evil borrows his skin to go walk about. In ours, he gets fired and becomes a substitute teacher (where he ends up working with, surprise surprise, Ben Linus), but that's not such a bad destiny after all, even as he looks impossibly small behind that desk.

American fiction doesn't talk often about giving up. It's all about having big goals and either realizing those goals or being completely crushed by the realization that you won't become what you always dreamed of becoming. Yet, out here in the real world, most of us are living out that old John Lennon axiom that life is what happens when you're making other plans. For those of us who dream big, the world is a long series of sideways flashes into lives that we couldn't have comprehended living when we were younger but that we come to love all the same. If there is such a thing as destiny, it also needs substitute teachers, and this episode of "Lost" is about the fact that sometimes that's a viable path after all.

But none of this would land with the resonance it does if it weren't for the sad, soulful gaze of O'Quinn, the man who just longed to be given a greater purpose and saw that longing twisted and perverted by others with lesser ends. There's a marvelous bit of editing here where fake Locke shows Sawyer all of the names of the people Jacob chose as candidates for his job, interspersed with shots of Jacob touching each of them in last season's finale. It's a nice way to clear up a tiny point that most of us were wondering about last season, but it's also a wonderful way to outline one of the underlying themes of "Lost": What does it mean to choose someone? We all make choices every day, but we also all choose which people we're going to support, which people we're going to surround ourselves with. In a world as starkly drawn between good and evil as the world of "Lost," that means choosing between representatives of God and the devil. But it can also mean choosing to mourn the woman you loved or choosing to stand by the man you're to marry, whether he's in a wheelchair or not. Life is all about substitution, really, about replacing some of the things you wanted with the things you now want. "The Substitute," then, is a reminder that the one thing you don't want to substitute too heavily on is the people you have in your life.

Some other thoughts:

• "Search and Destroy"? Awesome. Sawyer getting drunker and drunker to it? Even more awesome. Really, Holloway's in support throughout this episode, but he reveals himself to have become a large portion of the show's soul.
• Speaking of awesome, I have to borrow a phrase from the old Television Without Pity discussion of the show "Everwood." Seeing things from the Smoke Monster's perspective? So cheesy. So AWESOME.
• I love the high priority that the series places on ritual. From the way Ilanna gathers up the ashes of Jacob to the brief funeral for Locke, this is an episode replete with moments that seem filled with a religious portent we can't yet grasp the significance of.
• And, yeah, Ben makes just about the worst person to have deliver your eulogy, doesn't he?
• On the music front, I'm rather loving the way Giacchino has flipped the traditional Locke theme upside down to invent the "dark" Locke theme. Nice work.
• Locke tearing up Jack's card is an interesting development in the flash-sideways, particularly when he described him as a "nice guy" earlier. Certainly our real Locke would never say such a thing about Jack, and certainly it seems like the show will be taking its time to bring the alternate timeline castaways together.
• So, this week's discussion question: How did Lil' Ben get off the Island, if we assume the bomb sank it (and I still am)? 
• Remember: Tomorrow's "Lost" Wednesday. Send me your favorite links via e-mail or Twitter, and be sure to share your crazy theories and ideas in comments.

--Todd VanDerWerff (follow me on Twitter at @tvoti)

Photo: John Locke (Terry O'Quinn, far right) becomes a substitute teacher in the alternate timeline on "Lost." (Credit: ABC)

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Comments

[The TV Obsessed]

Wow, what an episode! The alternate world finally interested me with a fantastic Locke story that had the same themes with a different veneer. Fake Locke was manipulating Sawyer back on the island, and we finally learned what the numbers are for—as long as we believe Fake Locke.

Review of the episode on my blog:
http://th3tvobsessed.blogspot.com/2010/02/review-lost-season-6-episode-4.html

[joel]

Yep, Locke's first episode was the one where I picked my jaw up off the floor and committed to this show hook, line, and sinker. I can't believe anyone described this as filler. You should untwitter them.

As for Ben, I'm wondering the same thing but then again, wasn't Ethan on the island at the same time as Ben (but much younger)? Are we to believe Ethan escaped with his Mother on the sub before the incident but in the original timeline returned? Because I thought the mythology was that he never left and became Ben's prodigy after the Purge. My memory is weak, so correct me.

Our theory is that Richard, knowing about the bomb and afraid of the result, somehow got Ben off the Island. But how, where, and why?

[Kevin Cassidy]

despite how grossly overrated Lost is, Terry O'Quinn is indeed a fine actor - and was well before Lost first aired

it came as no surprise to me that he would dominate the series with his performance - even with a mediocre character, script and plot

imagine what he could do with a real character and a better story

[jon lake]

Why didn't Ben die on the island when Juliet detonated the Jughead? I understand that Ethan probably went on the sub with the rest of the Dharma kids. But, we know that Ben was still with The Others when Jack and Kate left with Daniel Faraday to find Eloise. Was he returned to the Dharma Initiative shortly before the sub departed? This is too obvious to be a continuity error. I'll be interested to see how the producers explain this one.

[KarenJ]

Last night's episode really was one of 'those' episodes for Lost fans. It wasn't heavy in the mythology - outright. What's been detailed in your entry is true about the Locke character and O'Quinn's acting abilities. But, what struck me the most about last night's episode was the progression of everyone's lives in the sideways flashes - or parrallel universe. It appears to me that our characters have been returned to their lives - but as better people more accepting of the 'destiny'(?).

We watched Locke go through some real soul searching last night - with the help of Rose and Hurley - two people who have 'already' become accepting of the lives and destiny. Think back on Boone's conversation on the plane. He was no longer tortured over his love for his step-sister. He gladly left her with the current lover.

How did Ben get off The Island? I'm not sure I care... but he sure did appear to be at ease with his life. Certainly a change from his past life of struggle and insecurity. I'm sure we'll find out how everyone gets to this sideways timeline. My guess for now is one of our characters has taken his place as The Protector of The Island - and the rest of the candidates have gone back to happier lives.

The numbers - never would have guessed that they were assigned to individuals. I want to know where Kate's number was? She was 'touched' by Jacob also... what's up with that? Hmmmmm.....

[joel]

That's an interesting take, KarenJ, but all the candidates were alive and on the plane in "Alterna-LA" so how could anyone have stayed behind to take over for Jacob?

[KarenJ]

Jacob appeared in other time periods and not 'on' The Island to 'touch' our characters, why would anyone think the 'new' protector couldn't do the same? Besides, this is all nothing but guesswork on our part. I may or may not be wrong....

[marc]

@jon: There is no continuity error.

It should be clear by now that more is different in the alternate reality than just the plane not crashing. Helen left Locke before he went to the island. Locke's father crippled him before he went to the island. But now Locke is engaged to Helen and Locke's father is invited to the wedding.

There are any number of explanations for Ben being off the island: 1. His mother never died in childbirth and Ben grew up happy and well adjusted. 2. He did go to the island but his father was disgusted at being a janitor and left. 3. Ben left later in life for some reason or 4. There never was an island (above water) for anyone to go to. The alternate reality can be as alternate as the writers want to make it.

However, I agree with KarenJ. If you have been watching for the answers than you have wasted 5 years. The reason to watch is for the characters.

[Adam]

I'm fairly convinced that Smokey doesn't just qant Sawyer to accompany him from the island, but needs him to. And he would certainly not have revealed Kate's candidacy (if she was chosen by Jacob...) to Sawyer if he was trying to get him off the island.

[Brian]

It would seem pretty logical that Sawyer is The One. He sees Young Jacob (when Richard can't), which really surprises/scares MIB. After trying to chase down Young Jacob, Young Jacob tells MIB "you know you can't kill him" - "him" meaning the new incarnation of Jacob - Sawyer. MIB challenges Sawyer to shoot him, knowing now that (by the Jacob/MIB rules) Sawyer can't kill him. I assume that the only way for MIB to escape the island is with Jacob/The One in tow. Otherwise, MIB could have left already. My thought is that the Temple folks are so scared of MIB because they believe he will try to kill all of the Candidates until he finds the one he can't kill (The One). MIB was probably planning that (he told Richard he would see him again - probably at the Temple, where he knows Richard will go), but then Sawyer saw Young Jacob, which gives MIB the answer, and no longer requires him to deal with the other Candidates. His only challenge now is to convince (he's not allowed to force) Sawyer to leave the island with him. I think it's a pretty fair guess that Sawyer is going to change his mind soon, which will force MIB to go to a Plan C (or maybe back to Plan A). Maybe Sawyer will head back to the Temple, which is where we might have a final confrontation.

[Laura]

Great episode. "Walkabout" was also the episode that hooked me in, and "The Substitute" is one of the best ones they have put out.

I still don't completely agree that Smokey is "evil" and Jacob is "good". Jacob has manipulated too many people, and the Others (who presumably follow Jacob) do some pretty horrible things. Maybe it is not so much a question of good vs. evil, but something more subtle?

[joel]

I agree Laura. Jacob's behavior can be just as easily construed as malevolent or benevolent, depending on the point of view. There's no reason to assume either one has a side. And when MIB throws away the white rock (an "inside joke"), it reminds me of Locke's early games of backgammon with Walt. If I recall, he explained to Walt that the pieces are simply white and black, but that doesn't make either good or evil.

I also don't see any reason to believe that Locke's Father in the alterna-LA is any different from Locke's father in the original timeline. Alterna-LA Locke has not been entirely forthcoming about everything that is going on. He misled Boone on the plane regarding his walkabout and he lied to his boss about the business trip. He also lied to Helen when he called Jack's office number. It's possible Alterna-LA Locke hasn't told Helen about his Father yet and she is simply including him on the guest list because she doesn't know any better.

So far, the major events of these character's lives are essentially unchanged as far as we know in the Alterna-LA timeline. The only character that seems to be noticeably different is Hurley. It's fair to assume (for now) that Locke's past isn't radically different, just his reaction to it.

[Silas]

"On the music front, I'm rather loving the way Giacchino has flipped the traditional Locke theme upside down to invent the "dark" Locke theme. Nice work."

Yeah I loved that too. I've been listening to "Locke'd out again" nonstop for a week, so that was a pretty awesome moment when I realized that.

[Mike]

Wow. Just read this and what a fantastic writeup. In trying to figure out what exactly I'm seeing, I looked past some of these deeper meanings.

Fantastic.

[Melanie]

One thing you missed in this review- MIB does not "want" Sawyer to leave with him, he needs Sawyer in order to be able to leave. It hasn't been explained yet, but MIB, and his "friends" need someone to take them off the island and cannot leave themselves. So it turns out that the same person who can be a substitute for Jacob- a nemesis to MIB, can also be a facilitator to MIB.