Lost ReWatch: The Man from Tallahassee
Season 3, Episode 13
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Hero of the episode: Alex Zero of the episode: Anthony Cooper, Locke, Ben
Quote(s) of the episode: “This is going to be more complicated than we thought.”—Locke on rescuing Jack | “I felt my back break. What do you think?”—Locke when Ben asks about his injury | “I’m not with anyone, Kate.”—Jack | “You make people think that you’re their family and then you leave their life in ruins. And I’m not gonna let you do it again.”—Locke to his father
Music vibes: imposing with an increasing threat as our survivors see Jack shake Ben’s hand
Little things: Jack is playing the piano and Kate is stunned by him doing something so normal; Sayid tells Alex she looks like her mother and that she isn’t dead; Danielle sees Alex from afar; Locke eats Ben’s food
Episode notebook:
Flashback opens with a depressed Locke applying for disability and being denied.
Locke, Kate, Sayid, and Danielle watch stunned as Jack is getting chummy with Juliet, Tom, and Ben. Danielle takes off.
Sayid isn’t sure Jack wants their help. Locke is convinced Jack has a reason for what he’s doing.
A young man, Peter Talbot, visits Locke, asking questions about a man named “Adam Seward.” The young man thinks Seward might be conning his wealthy mother. Locke knows Seward is his estranged father.
Kate finds Jack, but they’re interrupted.
Locke goes after Ben. John wants the submarine.
Ben talks to Richard Alpert, the man from the Not in Portland episode, and asks him to get the man from Tallahassee. What’s that about?
Ben tells Locke about a magic box. Whatever John wants will be in that box. John thinks he’s spinning fairy tales.
Ben knows a lot about Locke’s past. John gets emotional during their talk.
Danielle’s heart aches when she sees Alex.
Locke foils Jack and Juliet’s plan to leave the island.
Ben reveals to Locke what’s in the magic box.
Episode recap: After navigating several dangerous obstacles, Kate, Locke, Danielle, and Sayid have finally found their missing friend Jack. Finally, our survivors can rescue the good doctor. But they don’t find him locked away in a basement, desperate for freedom. They find Jack running freely, smiling, and playing a game of football with his “captors.” Not exactly the picture of torture that Kate was envisioning. Does this man even want to be rescued? The only way to find out is to wait. Wait for the right moment when he’s alone and ask him the burning question: What are you doing?
When the moment strikes, it’s not all sunshine and roses. Jack might not be locked in a room or shackled to a wall but he’s not exactly free either. When Kate finally catches him alone, there’s no grand escape plan—just Jack, calmly playing the piano. The happy reunion is quickly spoiled when men with guns break up the party. Kate is subdued along with Sayid. Danielle took off once she saw Jack wasn’t a prisoner. But where is Locke? John was supposed to be a lookout, but he had other plans.
Locke had unfinished business with Ben, freeing Jack was never part of his agenda. Locke had something bigger in mind. What? The submarine, he wants it. We know Locke’s life off the island didn’t include a stint in the Navy. So, what could he possibly want with machinery he doesn’t know how to use? John has shown over and over that he doesn’t want to leave the island. His faith in the island was tested in previous seasons, but it has become his home. If he doesn’t want to leave the island, the only thing he could want with the sub is to destroy it. With some help, albeit forced, from Alex, John might get what he wants. Alex is sent to retrieve Sayid’s bag, which holds the leftover explosives from the communications station. In the meantime, Locke and Ben spend some time “bonding.”
Off the island, Locke’s life was devoid of all bonds and relationships. After sabotaging his relationship with Helen, John was a broken man, his days reduced to the monotony of solitary meals in front of the TV. But he’s once again drawn into the orbit of his biological father, Anthony Cooper. Peter Talbot, the son of Cooper’s latest target, seeks out Locke, wanting to know if the man about to marry his mother is a good person. John doesn’t take the opportunity to ruin Cooper’s scheme, choosing instead to confront the con man face-to-face. Locke’s threats to expose him, seem to work on his father, but when Peter is murdered, John can think of only one suspect.
Did John’s father drift further over to the dark side? Murder won’t get Cooper the money he sought but it does get rid of one problem. However, Locke is still around making trouble, and Cooper’s pleas of innocence do not satisfy his son. Rather than let John go squawking to his fiancée or the nearest cop, Cooper pushes his son out a window. We finally know how Locke was paralyzed. The man who pretended to love him, the man who pretended to care, and the con man who stole his kidney also stole his ability to walk—sending him deeper into depression. A depression he didn’t truly come out of until he was on the island. The island healed John physically and emotionally. He’s terrified of going back to the man he used to be, or worse, facing the possibility that his father might hurt him again—a risk all too real if anyone leaves the island.
On the other hand, Jack wants to leave the island. A sentiment he’s allowed to express to Kate. Jack made a deal, nurse Ben back to health and he and Juliet get to leave. Departing on the submarine gives Jack the best chance to get help for the rest of the survivors and to run from his feelings for Kate. But he didn’t count on Locke’s determination to maintain the status quo.
Mere feet from glory, the submarine erupts in flames, and Jack’s ticket to freedom along with it. Locke might have sympathy for Jack’s plight, but he’s not sorry for destroying the submarine. Locke’s life, his new life, is on the island. And Ben, ever perceptive, knows this. He shows Locke just how deeply he’s connected to the island. Everything John is afraid of and running from is on the island, including Anthony Cooper! How? How did Cooper get on the island? I know there is an explanation, but I don’t remember how this piece fits into the puzzle. Hmmm? The island really is magic. Please keep reading my recap of episode fourteen is posted.
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