Episode 13 - The Man From Tallahassee
2 January 2009
Review
Present: Kate and Sayid are captured trying to talk to Jack. He tells her that once he is off the island he will bring rescue. Locke heads to Ben’s house and admits he is going to blow up the submarine. Ben lets him blow it up and admits that it allowed him to keep Jack and Juliet on the island. He then shows him Anthony Cooper who he claims came to the island from a magic box.
Flashback: John is still depressed from the loss of Helen. A man called Peter Talbot comes to see him to ask about Anthony Cooper because he doesn’t trust him and he is about to marry his mother. Locke claims he doesn’t know him but finds Anthony and tells him to leave town. The police come to see Locke to tell him Peter is dead. When Locke confronts Anthony, he pushes him out of the window breaking his back. Locke faces up to life in a wheelchair.
The Good: A fantastic episode from Lost and the first this season to truly remind you of how good the show can be.
Let’s start with Locke’s flashback. Both the opening and closing scenes of his flashback feel authentic and are ideally acted. The insurance woman is suitably cynical and bureaucratic in a way which was certain to annoy Locke and effectively places his state of mind in the context of the story without feeling forced (because he naturally would have to deal with her). Then the final scene where the physiotherapist puts him in the wheelchair is superb. Again the acting and writing is excellent. The physio isn’t interested in Locke’s feelings, in the nicest possible way. He remains upbeat and friendly while essentially forcing Locke to receive help. It is a very subtle performance hinting at the character necessary to cope with someone in a state of physical and psychological disability. And he even hands Locke a slice of his signature line when he says “You fell eight stories and survived. Ok? I don’t wanna hear about what you can’t do.” Locke is of course excellent in both scenes showing a believable and deeply sympathetic range of emotions.
But it is in the flaws that a great character are made. And the rest of his flashback shows Locke heaping guilt upon himself through his selfish actions. He lies to both Peter and the police about Anthony Cooper because he is so desperate to have a relationship with his father that he selfishly decides to deal with him alone. In the end he costs Peter his life and himself his legs because he refused to do the right thing and admit who Anthony really was. It’s such a brilliant bit of writing because John is both sympathetic and selfish at the same time, just as humans are. Again the makup of his ever balding head is convincing.
And the flashback for once links perfectly to the on-island events. There Locke again takes matters into his own hands only to be manipulated by a more cunning opponent. The verbal sparring between John and Ben is wonderful to watch, both because of the skill of the actors but because they are both scripted to be intelligent and logical. Ben figures out Locke’s plan as it is unfolding but Locke fires back realising that Ben is worried that he is not healing from his spine injury the way Locke did. Then Ben gets the last laugh by using Locke to maintain control over the Others and Jack before revealing Anthony Cooper has been brought to the island. Ben also thinks he has one over on Locke by suggesting that Locke only destroyed the sub to avoid ever seeing his father again. It’s a clever idea from Ben to undermine Locke’s claim to be working on the island’s behalf.
Locke’s fascinating comments about how Ben is cheating by using technology on the island gives us a glimpse into how he interprets the island’s true purpose. He clearly feels that the Dharma Initiative and the Others have lost favour from the island for relying on their own means to survive. Where as he at his best (in season one) was able to survive, flourish and help others simply using the tools the island gave him.
Ben’s house has a couple of really nice touches. The photos of young Alex on the wall add a good touch of authenticity and then Locke’s reaction to eating chocolate is spot on for someone who hasn’t had home comforts for so long (rather like Kate finding chocolate in the hatch in 202). Ben’s response to Locke’s question about code is pretty funny: “No John, unfortunately we don’t have a code for there’s a man in my closet with a gun to my daughter’s head. Although we obviously should.”
Ben is on an acting tour de force here and when Juliet thanks him for keeping his promise his face is priceless as he tries to conceal the knowledge that he has just engineered the breaking of that promise. Rousseau seeing Alex and Sayid sowing seeds of doubt in her mind are nice moments in the story too. Jack’s plan to get off the island and find help makes a lot of sense. The final scene with Cooper appearing out of apparently nowhere is quite the intriguing moment.
The Bad: Jack and Kate’s scene together is a bit too melodramatic. It is meant to convey their deep feelings for one another and to some extent it does. But you would expect him to be more reassuring to her about his plan and his true intentions. Locke seems a bit foolish trusting Alex to get Sayid’s pack. Why shouldn’t she tell the Others so that they can surround the house?
The Unknown: Why did Locke blow up the submarine? Why exactly is he so sure that technology and communication with the outside world isn’t what the island wants? What is the magic box Ben refers to? How did “it” bring Cooper to the island and why? Richard Alpert is back (having gone off the island to recruit Juliet at some point, see 307) and seems quite high up in the Other hierarchy. Or at least higher than Tom. What’s his story? Why is Locke soaking wet? If he planted the C4 in the submarine he wouldn’t have needed to go in the water.
Best Moment: A tough choice but I would go for Ben and Locke arguing because I think it gets to the core of what Lost is all about:
B: “Why are you so angry John?”
L: “Because you’re cheating. You and your people. Communicate with the outside world whenever you want to. You come and go as you please. You use electricity and running water and guns. You’re a hypocrite, a Pharisee. You don’t deserve to be on this island. If you had any idea what this place really was, you wouldn’t be putting chicken in your refrigerator.”
B: “You’ve been here eighty days John, I’ve been here my entire life. So how is it that you think you know this island better than I do?”
L: “Because you’re in a wheelchair and I’m not.”
The Bottom Line: Locke’s character remains the most interesting on the island and this is breathless and dramatic stuff and keeps you gripped from start to finish. For the first time in a long while the flashbacks match the island story really well. Although Ben ends up in control we see that Locke genuinely does have a connection with the island in the end. By driving both the long term and short term plots forward so engagingly this is easily the best episode of the season so far.
Feedback
Add your comments on this episode below. They may be included in the weekly podcasts.
’)