The Rise and Fall of John Locke
Chronicling the Journey and Possible Ending of a "Lost" Icon
(spoilers follow)
John Locke is the quintessential figure on ABC’s Lost but as Season Four unfolds, he has undergone some dramatic changes. Having been shot and left for dead by the leader of the Others, Benjamin Linus, Locke is about to do himself in when a surprise appearance by Walt motivates John to get up and keep moving. From that moment, Locke has been an edgier, more hardcore character, leaving some to ask, is John Locke’s time on Lost about to come to an end?
From Island Guru to Dictator of the Barracks
We first find John Locke as the only person who is happy to be stranded on the Island after the crash of Oceanic Flight 815. We discover that he has been wheelchair-bound until this point, and that he suddenly regained his ability to walk upon arriving on the Island. Embracing a very shamanistic spiritual philosophy, Locke indulges in everything he has been heretofore unable to do – hunting, vision quests, even becoming something of a guru to fellow survivor Boone. Locke is fairly egalitarian in his approach to others, often butting heads with the de facto leadership of Jack, Kate, and Sayid, and strongly defining himself as a “man of faith” (“Exodus, II”).
However, we eventually witness Locke’s loss of faith. Ben persuades him to stop pushing the button in the DHARMA hatch. Discovering his mistake, Locke ties his destiny closer to that of the Island, destroying or blocking nearly every attempt made by Jack and the survivors to contact the outside world. As a result, he finds himself in the inner circle of the Others.
When Ben takes him to see Jacob, Locke becomes a target as he “hears” Jacob speak, an ability Ben thought he alone possessed. Following Ben’s betrayal and his visitation by Walt, Locke “finds religion”. When Locke kills Naomi, he becomes the darker, more determined character that we have seen in Season Four, eventually convincing half of the survivors to go with him to the now-vacant DHARMA barracks. His leadership style becomes dictatorial, culminating in “Eggtown” when he forces Miles to bite down on a live grenade as a punishment for breaking the rules.
Has Locke’s Time Come?
Given that Locke has not been revealed as one of the Oceanic Six who leave the Island in the flash forwards, he likely remains on the Island. However, there are clues that Locke’s days may be numbered.
First, there is the mysterious Oceanix Six survivor who Jack visits at the former’s funeral. He is the only one to show up, and, when asked why she didn’t attend, fellow survivor Kate asks why he would think she would even go (“Through the Looking Glass”).
Locke has also resolved his major conflict after the death of his father. Throughout the series, whenever a character has remedied the major trauma that marks their history, they tend leave the show. As such, Locke is in a good position to depart.
Finally, Ben has survived the Island, meaning at some point, he escapes Locke’s custody. Having tried to kill Locke before, could he have succeeded by the time of Sayid’s flash forward? Could Jack have done in Locke, as he tried to do in the season debut?
John Locke is more of the most interesting characters on TV today, and while it would be sad to see him go, it seems entirely possible that the character maybe close to running his course as Lost continues its exciting run in Season Four.
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