Welcome to The TV MegaSite's Lost Site!

Please click on the menus above to browse through our site!

PLEASE CLICK TO DONATE TO OUR SITE!!!!

Lost Opinion Article

By Lola Denise Johnson

The Man From Tallahasee

One Woman's Opinion

**Warning: If you haven't watched this episode, this article does contain spoilers**

     Please tell me you were sitting on the edge of your seat for this episode like I was? It's quite un-ladylike, but I was jumping and pumping my fist into the air “Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!” by the end. Lost is back on track, provided of course by a Locke-centric episode.

     To me, John Locke is a key figure in the island mystery – if not the key figure. He's both soft and hard. Enigmatic, smart, and mysterious – on so many levels. He's my favorite character. (Although if you were to shove bamboo under my fingernails, I'd admit to a thing for Sawyer – but what woman wouldn't?) Throw Locke and Ben together, and it's perfect television! So, if I still have your attention:

Some of the best quotes in television come from this show, and the majority of them were between Ben and Locke. Here's my favorite quotes of the episode:

1. John Locke: You think I'm temporarily disabled? (After his disability payments have been temporarily suspended when it's discovered he's quit going to therapy.)

2. John Locke: This is going to be more complicated than we thought (after observing Jack playing Football with Mr. Friendly & the Others, and shaking Ben's hand)

3. Peter Talbot: How many kidneys do you have? (In trying to get Locke to pay attention to what he has to say about his Locke's father.)

4. Ben: No John, there's no code for 'there's-a-man-in-my-closet-holding-a-gun-to-my-daughter's-head', although there should be. (After asking Tom to bring him 'The Man From Tallahasee.”

5. John Locke: I felt my back break. What do you think? (When Ben asks him if it hurt)

6. Ben: We have two giant hamsters running on a massive wheel in our secret underground lair. (When Locke asks him how they have electricity.)

7. John Locke: Is that supposed to be an incentive NOT to blow it up? (After Ben tells Locke he'll have a problem with his people if John blows up the submarine.)

8. John Locke: You're not going to start talking about the “magic box” again are you? (While handcuffed to some pipes, and Ben is explaining that Locke blowing up the submarine solved all his problems.)

     I was really looking forward to the flashback scenes because all week I'd been reading about how this was going to be the big reveal of how Locke ended up in the wheelchair. What we learn in the flashbacks is that John was more than likely suffering from depression after his father 'stole his kidney.' We learn that John's father, Anthony Cooper is the biggest con man of all time and could give Sawyer a run for his money – and then some. And, most importantly, we learn that when Locke gears up for the ultimate confrontation with his father, his father shoves him out of the window and he falls eight stories, breaking his back, and eventually his spirit, when he's in the wheelchair due to paralysis.

     I could see the shove was coming, and I really wanted to warn John to get out of there, but in the end I was astounded that John's own father tried to kill him. I thought everyone on this show had redeeming qualities of some sort, but apparently they don't apply to Anthony.

     Back on the Island... Kate's face is very transparent as she's watching Jack play football with Mr. Friendly and the Others. You see disbelief, doubt, and even a touch of anger. But mostly she's convinced that the Others have done something to make Jack be this way. She's going to rescue him, and her mind is very made up. I had two big surprises with Kate and Jack. The first was when Tom led Jack into the room where Kate was being held, and warned Jack that the Others were listening. Huh? I thought Mr. Friendly was an Other? And when Kate asked Jack why he trusted them his reply was “I trust them because you told me to, Kate, when you asked me to save Sawyer's life.” That seemed a really low blow for Jack. Although he promised to come back for her, I really felt all he cared about was getting off of the Island. Can't blame a guy though, right?

     Sayid's encounter with Alex was a great scene. He was trying to convince her that her mother, (Rousseau) is alive. Unfortunately, Alex has been told that her mother is dead, and Sayid gets a beating for opening his mouth.

     As for Ben and Locke, and their time together, it didn't take long to see who the real puppet master was. Obviously Ben was going out of his way to get Locke to blow up the submarine – and you knew it was going to happen. There was no way that he was going to let Juliet leave the Island, never mind Jack. Of course, Ben admits to this later when Locke's handcuffed to the pipes.

     The most intriguing part was Ben explaining 'the box.' “What if I told you that somewhere on this island there's a very large box and whatever you imagined, whatever you wanted to be in it, when you opened that box, there it would be? What would you say to that, John?” Obviously Ben is speaking metaphorically, and there is no actual box. But is there some sort of portal? A time machine? I can't wait to see where the writer's are going with this...

     In the end... Kate is broken hearted. (And I'm bummed – I really think she's a better match with Sawyer.) Locke blows up the submarine preventing Jack and Juliet leaving the Island. There was no love lost between Locke and Jack before, and things are definitely going to get worse between them – although I think Locke is the better adversary. In a touching moment Rousseau gets a glimpse of her daughter, Alex.

     Finally, Lost prevails in true form when Ben's opens the door, to show Locke what 'came out of the box.' It was.... Anthony Cooper, John's father! Holy ****! I swear I didn't see that coming at all!

     All in all, I think it was the best episode this half of the season – if not the entire season. How Locke's father (is it really his father?) ended up on the Island is beyond me – and the whole concept totally blows me away. I see a future alliance between Ben and John. (But why was Locke healed when the plane crashed, and Ben hasn't healed at all?) I wonder what's going to happen now that Sayid, Kate, & Jack (and even Locke) are in the hands of the Others? And is Juliet in big trouble now that she can't leave the Island?

I'll be writing articles for the rest of the season, so check back to catch up on them. As I watch previous episodes again, I'll write more accordingly. Also, you can email me your comments at:

loladenisejohnson@gmail.com

{The Man From Tallahasee, Season 3, Episode 13, Air Date: March 21^st, 2007}

Back to The TV MegaSite's main Lost page

(Best viewed in IE or Netscape 6 and above)
 

This is just an unofficial fan page, we have no connection to the show or network.