"The Man From Tallahassee" -Episode 3.13-

Greetings fellow LOSToholics!

Did ya miss me? =) I regret not being able to comment on the past few episodes, but I HAD to make time to begin the discussion again because so many new things are beginning to happen. From Mikhail to "the box" to Mr. Cooper's apparent Island visit, we are certainly getting a much clearer picture of what is going on...or are things getting even more muddled?

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"The Man From Tallahassee" -Episode 313-

What an awesome episode — perfect for following "Par Avion." It was nice to see some of the questions that were raised just last week answered in this episode, because I was starting to get used to waiting a season or two to get an answer! Aaaanyway, let's look at some of the most important events from last night's "The Man From Tallahassee."

1) Locke's paralysis revealed — Fans have been wanting this answer since we first learned of Locke's former wheelchair days in season 1, and I can't believe we waited this long. But it came at the perfect time. This episode yet again strengthened my faith that the writers/creators know what they are doing. (For a second there it felt like we were heading nowhere, but the momentum is picking up again and I feel it is going to continue to build until the end of the season.)

So, Anthony Cooper is one heartless bastard, eh? I mean pushing your son out of a window because you are trying to hide the fact that you killed (directly or indirectly?) your future son-in-law is like...well, what we would expect from Mr. Cooper, I guess. Right? Any ideas on when this flashback took place with regards to Locke’s previous ones?

2) Cooper: the REAL Sawyer? — For some fans, this episode furthered the theory that Anthony Cooper is the real Sawyer, the one that conned James Ford’s parents. We have learned from this flashback and others that Anthony Cooper is a seasoned conman, who has been in the business for quite some time. His specialty, as Locke pointed out, is pretending to be family to people who need it. This fits very well with Ford’s story and would be a great reveal at some point in the series…BUT, will he live long enough for Ford to find out??

3) The Box, Locke’s revenge and Ben’s manipulation — So there is a LOT of discussion on what the box is that Ben mentions in this episode. Some believe it is just a ploy to fool Locke while others believe there is actually a physical box that can produce what Ben claims. Right now, I am under the impression that the box is the Island itself. Here, Locke can receive anything he wants — with being healed and closure to his daddy issues at the top of this list. However, some claim that the box is actually the smoke monster since we have seen it appear in various forms throughout the series. Which leads to the question, “Is Cooper actually there?” I am not convinced of Coop being the smoke just yet but it would make an interesting twist. So what exactly is Locke going to do? Both him and Cooper looked extremely frightened when they saw each other and I have a hard time trying to predict what is going to happen with this situation.

What we do know is that Ben was really coming for Locke when he was captured in season 2. Now it makes sense why he would put himself in such danger when he had a tumor. Here’s how I think it went down: Ben learns that Locke’s paralysis was healed when he crashed on the Island. Ben does not understand how Locke can be healed while he cannot. Ben gets jealous, rounds up Cooper for leverage, and goes to get Locke under the guise of Henry Gale. Ben also uses his trek to learn about the spinal surgeon on the Island as a back-up plan. Of course I am not sure if this is how/why it happened but it does seem that Ben wants what Locke has. And there is ALWAYS the possibility that Ben is lying about everything and he is very carefully manipulating Locke in order to get what he wants.

4) The end of Locke…as a LOSTie — So Jack and Juliet were getting ready to leave the Island…and Locke possibly ruined it all. Man, that look Jack gave Locke after the sub (apparently) blew up looked like it might be the beginning of the end for our friend John. His motivations are purely self-serving, as he does not care about the safety or welfare of the LOSTies. I can really see Locke staying behind with Ben to learn more about the Island and what his role might be. Seems like Ben has plans for Locke…. But…

5) Locke manipulating Ben? — Did Locke really blow up the sub? We see Locke enter the sub and it looks like he is going to place the C4 somewhere inside. But when Jack and Co. arrive at the site, Locke is dripping wet. Soooo, is it possible that Locke moved the sub (or set it adrift) and blew up the dock (or something else) just to create the illusion that there is no way off the Island? Like how Ben created a similar illusion? Maybe he accepted that Ben was manipulating him and so he did not want to give Ben what he wanted. However, it does seem more likely that Locke was simply acting selfishly to kill any chance of escape.

6) Jack and the Others — Does anyone else think that Jack knows a little more about the Others than we do? At one point when we was talking with Kate alone, it almost sounded like he was going to repeat Mikhail’s line: “You…are not…capable of understanding…” Makes me wonder how much Jack knows about the Others’ mission and if there were any other conditions to the deal he made with them.

7) Alpert appears — Dr. Alpert aka Richard aka the Mittelos recruiter made an appearance last night. Where has he been all this time? Seems like he is Ben’s right-hand man as Ben was not afraid to discuss anything around him (for example…when he told Locke that he had to create the illusion that the Others could leave any time they wanted…something he probably didn’t want any of the Others to know). Well we do know that there is definitely a direct connection between Mittelos, the Island and who is controlling the Island (although we don’t know who that is).

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Well I know I’m just scratching the surface here, and I would love to hear what you thought of the episode, so feel free to respond and voice your theories!

Until next time…

Namaste.

SFO