John Locke (Lost)

Template:Infobox Lost character John Locke, most often referred to by his surname, is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Terry O'Quinn. In 2007, O'Quinn won the Emmy award for acting in a supporting role for his portrayal of Locke. The character's name is a tribute to John Locke, the famous empiricist author and philosopher. Although he typically has a calm demeanor on the island, his flashbacks portray him as angrier and more emotional. He is the antithesis to Jack Shephard and to a certain extent Ben Linus. The Season 4 finale saw him assume the leadership role of The Others.

Character's background

Prior to the crash

Born May 30th, 1956 to Emily Annabeth Locke and a man who went by the name Anthony Cooper. At the time of his birth, Emily was sixteen, and had been dating Cooper for several months, despite that fact that he was roughly twice her age. One night, when Emily was preparing to go on a date with Cooper, her mother attempted to stop her, which resulted in Emily running out of her house and being hit by a truck. The accident caused Locke to be born roughly three months premature. Miraculously, he survived his premature birth, but his mother was unable to cope with the fact that she had a child. Locke's birth is witnessed by the seemingly ageless Other, Richard Alpert. Due to Emily's inability to deal with him, her mother had Locke placed in government care, where he found himself in a multitude of foster homes. In one of these homes, Locke experienced the death of his foster sister Jeannie, an event which left her mother distraught. Her grief would be overcome when a stray Golden Retriever comes to live with the family, even sleeping in Jeannie's room.

Locke's childhood is exposed as having been a lonely one in foster care, but he is a gifted child and it seems that members of the "Others" have been following him since he was very young. This is made evident when Alpert visits Locke at one of his foster homes, claiming that he runs a school for children who are "extremely special", and saying that he has reason to believe that Locke may be one of them. While speaking to Locke, Richard becomes fascinated by a picture Locke drew, seemingly of the Smoke monster. Later, Richard asks Locke to look at a number of objects, asking him "which of these belong to you, already?" The objects include a baseball glove, a worn Book of Laws, a comic book entitled MYSTERIOUS TALES about a "hidden land", a compass, a rusted knife, and a vial of an unknown granular substance (possibly sand from The Island). Locke chooses the vial, the compass, and the knife. Alpert then asks him if he is sure the knife is his, and Locke nods. Alpert then becomes upset, claiming that it isn't, and he leaves abruptly, but not before telling Locke's current foster mother that Locke isn't ready for his school yet. Later, in his high school years, Locke is harassed by bullies, who at one point lock him in a locker. His counselor rescues him, then attempts to cheer him up by excitedly reporting that a "Dr. Alpert" called from a company based in Portland, called Mittelos Laboratories, which is apparently doing exciting experiments in chemistry and new technologies. He says that Alpert is very interested in finding "young, bright minds to enter into these new fields of science", and that they want Locke to attend their summer camp. Locke is outraged, claiming that this sort of thing is the reason that he is bullied. He says that he is not a scientist, but prefers boxing, fishing, cars, and sports. The counselor then tells him that science is who he is, and that he can't be "the prom king, quarterback, or a superhero". John retorts "Don't tell me what I can't do."

As an adult, while working at a toy store, Locke is visited by a woman claiming to be his biological mother. Now curious about his origins, Locke hires a private investigator who tracks down the location of Locke's biological father. Cooper warmly welcomes Locke into his life, and the two bond over hunting trips and activities. Cooper eventually makes it known that he is in need of a kidney transplant. Locke agrees to donate a kidney to him, but following the surgery, discovers that Cooper has abandoned him and refuses to see him.

Distraught over being conned by his own father, Locke attends an anger-management group where he meets Helen. Helen begins helping Locke overcome the issues with his father. The two begin dating and move in together. While Locke plans to propose to her, he is informed of his father's apparent death. At the funeral, Locke is approached by two men who question him about Cooper's location, believing that he faked his death. Locke is thereafter visited by Cooper, who reveals that he conned the two men out of $700,000 in retirement money, which now sits in safe deposit box and which Cooper needs Locke to reclaim. Locke reluctantly agrees and without Helen's knowledge, delivers the money to Cooper, just as Helen appears and confronts the two. Disgusted with Locke's relapse and his willingness to lie, she abandons him just as he proposes marriage.

To escape his past, Locke joins a commune that secretly grows marijuana. One day, he picks up and welcomes a hitchhiker named Eddie into the commune. Six weeks later however, Locke discovers that the hitchhiker is an undercover police officer. Under orders by the commune, Locke leads the officer into the nearby forest to kill him, but is ultimately unable to when Eddie tells him he's not a killer. Locke allows him to escape. Sinking further into a state of depression, Locke retreats into a life of solitude, until he is visited one day by a man asking for information about Adam Seward, who intends to marry the man's wealthy mother. Locke, initially unfamiliar with the name, realizes it is Cooper, and after dismissing the man meets with Cooper and orders him to not marry the mother. Cooper surprises Locke by revealing that he has decided against the marriage after the mysterious death of her son, a death Cooper denies involvement in. Locke, unsure of Cooper's sincerity, prepares to call the mother but is shoved out of a window by Cooper, sending him tumbling 80 feet to the sidewalk below. Locke survives the fall with a broken back, an injury that puts him in a wheelchair. Matthew Abaddon come to visit Locke and tells Locke that he needs to go on an Australian Walkabout, since he will go through a period of self discovery. While Locke is doubtful, Abaddon insists, claiming that the next time they would meet that "He would owe him one".

In Tustin, California, Locke was a Regional Collections Supervisor at an industrial box company and is constantly harassed by his boss Randy. Locke has decided to take Abaddon's advice and go on the Walkabout tour, a choice that Randy mocks. Locke responds by retorting "Don't tell me what I can't do!" Later that night, Locke speaks with a phone sex worker he has nicknamed "Helen," whom he invites on the aboriginal walkabout. She steadfastly refuses, throwing him into a rage.

Despondent but determined, Locke flies to Australia alone, where his frustration reaches a boiling point when he is denied admission on the walkabout because of his paraplegic state, and is offered a ticket back home on Oceanic Flight 815. Again, he is enraged, repeating "Don't tell me what I can't do!" At the airport, Locke is the first to board the plane, being carried on by staff. He is seated behind Rose.

After the crash

Season 1

After crashing on the island in the fuselage section, Locke miraculously regains the use of his legs. Locke's survival skills influence Walt to bond with him, much to Michael's resentment. It is on a hunt that Locke first encounters the "Monster". Later, Locke accompanies Jack, Kate and Charlie to the caves for examination, where he learns of Charlie's heroin addiction. Locke decides to help Charlie overcome his addiction, which pays off when Charlie throws his stash into a fire. When Sayid attempts to locate Rousseau's signal, Locke knocks him out and destroys the transceiver, then places the blame on Sawyer. When Claire is abducted, Locke accompanies Jack, Kate and Boone to look for her. During the hunt, he and Boone discover the hatch. From then on, Locke and Boone spend most of their time contemplating ways to open it. Locke helps Michael find Walt after he leaves the camp, due to Walt's desire to go hunting with Locke; he and Michael no longer appear to be at odds after his safe return.

One morning, following a dream he'd had the night before, Locke takes Boone into the jungle, where the two discover a Beechcraft airplane lodged atop a cliff. Locke, struggling to maintain the use of his legs, watches as Boone climbs up into the plane. Boone discovers a working radio, a store of heroin-filled Virgin Mary statues, and African dead bodies on the plane. It is only after the Beechcraft falls down that Locke is able to stand again, and carries a fatally injured Boone back to the caves. Instead of staying to help Jack, Locke sneaks away to the hatch, where he bangs furiously on the door; Locke's faith is restored when a bright light shines from the other side of the glass. Locke returns to the beach (still wearing a shirt covered in Boone's blood) in time for Boone's funeral, and apologizes; he is forced to reveal the hatch to Sayid after Shannon holds him at gunpoint, holding him responsible for Boone's death. Locke takes Sayid and Jack to the hatch to discuss how to open it. When Rousseau arrives on the beach one morning, she takes Locke, Jack, Kate, Hurley and Arzt to the Black Rock. After collecting dynamite stored there, Locke has a close encounter with the "Monster" (black smoke) once more, managing to escape with Jack's help. Upon returning to the hatch, Locke blows open the door using the dynamite, ignoring Hurley's protests after seeing the numbers (4 8 15 16 23 42) on the hatch door.

Season 2

Upon blowing open the hatch, Locke and Kate descend into the hatch against Jack's wishes. Once inside, Locke convinces Desmond to lock Kate in the pantry, and finds himself at gunpoint when Jack enters the hatch after them. Locke and Jack are shown the orientation video for the hatch as Desmond prepares to flee, the station's computer having been damaged. When Sayid manages to fix the computer, Locke sets up a schedule for people to enter the numbers into the computer, a task which he takes pride in. He soon welcomes the arrival of Mr. Eko, who gives him the missing film reel from the orientation video. After giving Michael some shooting lessons, he finds himself locked in the armory with Jack, released only when Sawyer arrives for medical treatment. The three of them chase after Michael in the jungle, only to encounter the Others. In return for Kate's safety, the three of them are forced to hand over their weapons. Later, Locke suspects Charlie of taking heroin again. When Charlie attempts to baptize baby Aaron, Locke beats him to the ground. It is following the attempted kidnap of Sun that Locke and Jack's decision to consult each other about the guns is broken. Locke gives Sawyer the guns to hide, unknowingly falling victim to one of Sawyer's cons.

Upon the arrival of "Henry Gale", Locke holds him in the empty armory, much to Jack's resentment. Because of their disagreement, Locke fails to enter the numbers in time, but manages to prevent a system failure. Later, Locke is caught in a lockdown, with only him and "Henry" present. After being injured, Locke relies on "Henry" to enter the numbers. However, as he disappears into the vent, Locke notices a strange map drawn on one of the blast doors when the lights go out. Following the hatch's restoration, Locke learns that "Henry" hasn't been truthful to him. Following these events, plus "Henry's" taunts of not having entered the numbers into the computer, Locke becomes frustrated and loses faith in the island. It is only after he speaks with Rose that his faith is briefly restored. He manages to sketch an accurate copy of the map he had seen. After the death of Ana Lucia and the injury of Libby, Locke and Eko enter the jungle to search for the '?' on Locke's map. The two discover another hatch beneath the Beechcraft, and enter it to discover the Pearl station. While Eko is convinced to continue entering the numbers, Locke abandons the Swan hatch.

Locke, furious that Eko is wasting his time on the computer, attempts to destroy it, only to be thrown out of the hatch by Eko. When Desmond returns to the island, Locke informs him of the Pearl's orientation video and of his belief that the Swan's computer is just a mind game. The two sneak into the hatch and initiate a lockdown, trapping Eko outside of the computer room. As the two wait for the timer to reach zero, Locke prevents Desmond from entering the numbers by smashing the computer on the floor. However, when the electromagnetic force builds up following the timer running out, Locke realizes that he has been wrong all along; he is still in the hatch when Desmond turns the fail-safe key that causes the hatch to implode.

Season 3

Locke wakes in the jungle the next day, unable to speak. He builds a sweat lodge to induce a hallucination, while Charlie waits outside. In a vision, he encounters Boone, who advises him to "clean up his own mess" and rescue Eko. Locke and Charlie head into the jungle, passing the crater left behind after the implosion. Locke approaches a polar bear den, and proceeds inside to rescue Eko. Locke and Charlie carry Eko back to the beach. Locke announces that he will rescue Jack, Kate and Sawyer, who are being held captive by the Others. The next day, he leads Desmond, Sayid, Nikki and Paulo back to the Pearl station. They rewire the circuits in the monitors to view surveillance from another hatch, and are rewarded with a view of a man with an eye patch. Shortly after, Locke hears a commotion outside, and discovers a dying Eko in the jungle. He decides to bury him on the spot rather than back on the beach. Placing Eko's stick at the head of the grave, he notices an inscription instructing him to go north. He allows Desmond to inform Charlie and Hurley of Eko's death.

When Kate and Sawyer return to the beach, Locke and Sayid follow her into the jungle in search of Rousseau. The four head north, until they discover the Flame station. Inside, Locke is drawn to the computer, where he continually plays a game of chess. Upon winning a game, he watches the station's orientation video, instructing him to enter different codes for different situations. As they are about to leave, with Mikhail as hostage, Locke enters the code that causes the station to self-destruct. They continue their hike the next day, eventually coming across a sonic barrier. Locke pushes Mikhail through the sonic barrier, which apparently kills him. Sayid discovers a pack of C4 in Locke's bag, which he had taken before destroying the Flame station. Locke is questioned about his motive for coming along, but dismisses the matter. The four arrive at the Others' barracks, where they watch Jack bonding with Tom. That night, Locke barges into Ben's home, and demands to be taken to the submarine, holding Alex at gunpoint. Once inside the submarine, Locke rigs it with the C4, and detonates it. Locke is taken away by Ben and Richard, who lead him to a room where Anthony Cooper is tied up and gagged.

Locke is then offered the opportunity to join the Others as they leave the barracks. He accepts. He says goodbye to Kate the next morning before leaving. As they set up camp in a large clearing, Locke is approached by Cindy, who tells him that everyone is excited about him being among them. That night, Ben tells Locke that he must kill Cooper before he can officially join them. Locke is unable to do it, and the Others abandon him the next morning, leaving behind a trail for him to follow should he kill his father. Before leaving, he meets Richard again, though he appears not to recognize him. Richard hints to Locke about finding someone else to kill him. He returns to the beach and brings Sawyer to the Black Rock, where he locks him in a room with Cooper. After Sawyer, for reasons of his own, kills Cooper, Locke gives him Juliet's recorder and tells him she is a spy. He carries Cooper's body with him to the Others' new pitch. He then demands Ben take him to see Jacob, much to his resentment, and the shock of the others. Ben agrees, and takes him to an isolated cabin. Locke is cautioned not to use his flashlight, but Locke grows impatient and uses it, causing Jacob to erupt in anger, sending objects flying across the room. The next day, Ben takes Locke to a pit full of long-deceased DHARMA members. Ben tells Locke of the purge of the original DHARMA personnel in which all men, woman, and children were killed with nerve gas. Visibly distraught at the heinous act of which he has been told, Locke pulls his knife but is shot by Ben before he can act. He falls into the pit of long-deceased DHARMA members and is left to die. Locke contemplates suicide, but his faith is restored upon witnessing an apparition of Walt. (It is later revealed that Locke's bullet wound was non-fatal, due to his missing kidney.) He makes his way to the radio tower and fatally wounds Naomi by throwing a knife into her back, and begs Jack not to contact her freighter, threatening to shoot him if he doesn't put the radio down. Jack refuses, but Locke is unable to kill him. Locke tells Jack he wasn't meant to do this, then walks away, shaking his head, disappointed with Jack's decision.

Season 4

Locke finds a distraught Hurley in the jungle, who tells him about Charlie's warning. When all the survivors meet at the cockpit Locke is attacked by Jack, who knocks him to the floor, seizes Locke's handgun and aims it at his head. Locke says that Jack won't shoot him, but before he can finish the sentence, Jack pulls the trigger. Locke then explains that the gun wasn't loaded. Locke insists that he has only ever tried to act in everyone's best interests, and that they need to hide from the people coming to the island, saying, "If you want to live, you need to come with me." His plan is to head for the Barracks, and stay there until he thinks of something else. A few of the survivors, including Hurley, Claire, and Sawyer, as well as Ben, Rousseau, Alex, and Karl, join him, and they head off into the jungle. Locke tells everyone that they first must go to a cabin and that he received his instructions to kill Naomi from Walt. He later runs into Charlotte Staples Lewis, who parachuted onto the Island, and takes her hostage. Ben later tries to shoot her, but she is wearing a bulletproof vest. Ben tells Locke he can provide answers if Locke spares his life. Locke asks him what the Monster is. Ben replies that he doesn't know, and as Locke is about to shoot him, he shouts out everything Charlotte has ever done, as well as the other members of the members of the freighter, and that they are here for him. He also says that he has a spy on board the freighter. Locke is unable to find Jacob's cabin where it had originally been located, so they proceed to the Barracks. There, they ambush Kate, Sayid, and Miles Straume, and Locke and Sayid trade Charlotte for Miles so that Sayid can gain access to the freighter and find out more about the freighter's objective.

Over the next few days, Locke tries to get information out of Ben and Miles with little success. Ben taunts him constantly. Finally Ben agrees to show Locke who his spy is, who sent the freighter, and other answers if he will allow Ben his freedom. Ben shows Locke a tape of Charles Widmore. Ben tells Locke that Widmore is the man who sent the freighter, and that he wants to exploit the Island for everything it is worth (e.g., the Island's paralysis-healing properties). Once he gets more information out of him (including the identity of Ben's spy), Locke allows Ben his freedom.

After the barracks are ambushed by a group from the freighter, Locke leads Ben, Hurley, Sawyer, Aaron, Miles, and Claire to look for the cabin; however, Claire, Aaron, Sawyer, and Miles break off to go back to the beach, while Locke and Ben forcefully convince Hurley to come with them as he is the last person to have seen the cabin. Even with Hurley they are unable to find the cabin, until Locke has a dream in which a member of the Dharma Initiative named Horace, who initially built the cabin, shows up in his dream telling him that Jacob is waiting for him. Locke finds Horace's body (in the pile of Dharma Initiative members' bodies) and discovers a map to the cabin. Locke, Ben and Hurley follow the map and as night falls John enters the cabin and discovers Claire and her father, Christian Shephard, who says that he represents Jacob. He tells him that the way to save the island is to move it.

While Ben is moving the island, John officially takes over Ben's lead over the others.

After the Island

In "There's No Place Like Home", Locke is seen dead in a casket under the name of Jeremy Bentham. Apparently, he has been visiting the Oceanic Six and Walt under this alias, telling them that they need to return to the island. Jack tells Kate that he was told that Locke commited suicide, although he didn't seem convinced that this was true. Ben meets Jack , while the latter has broken into a funeral home, and is looking at the body in the casket. Ben tells Jack that if he wants to go back to the island, he cannot go alone; all of the Oceanic Six would have to return to the Island. Jack then begins walking away, but Ben stops him, repeating that "All of you have to go back." and motions to Locke's apparent corpse, saying "You have to bring him too."

Themes

Games

Locke is frequently connected with games in Season 1. He teaches and plays backgammon with Walt and Sawyer, which he refers to as a game between "Dark and light...good and evil," demonstrates Mouse Trap to a child in a flashback scene in "Deus Ex Machina", plays a card game on one of the others' computers and has fun playing Risk with a co-worker in "Walkabout". In a deleted scene from "Tabula Rasa" Locke is shown giving Walt tips on how to play poker, identifying the "tells" of the various castaways. In "Exodus: Part 2" while handling dynamite, Locke asks Jack if he ever played Operation, joking that he "always got nailed by the funny bone"; he then proceeds to make a buzzing sound while lifting one of the fragile explosives. A startled Jack asks, "Do you like to play games, John?" Locke smiles and says, "Absolutely." In "Enter 77", Locke plays numerous matches against the Flame Station's computer chess program, eventually beating it. The finished chess board is a reference to the "Brisbane Bombshell" match between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov. In Season 4, Locke plays a game of Risk with Hurley and Sawyer.

Philosophy

John Locke, after whom the character John Locke is named, was a famous social contract philosopher who dealt with the relationship between nature and civilization. As an empiricist he proposed that humans are born with a tabula rasa (the title of the third episode of the first season, featuring Kate). Also, the fictional Locke's father is named Anthony Cooper, named for Lord Anthony Ashley-Cooper, the real-world John Locke's political mentor and patron.

Other influential social contract philosophers include David Hume and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. These two authors also appear in Lost namely in the names of the characters Desmond Hume and Danielle Rousseau.

The real Locke believed that, in the state of nature, all men had equal rights to punish transgressors; to ensure fair judgment for all, governments were formed to better administer the laws. This philosophy is paralleled by the character of Locke, who embraces both nature and the need for organization among the survivors. Further, the flashback in which Locke donates his kidney to his father mirrors the historical relationship between the philosopher John Locke and Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper, whose life was saved by Locke when the latter persuaded Ashley-Cooper to undergo an operation to remove a cyst on his liver.

In "There's No Place Like Home", Locke's alias away from the island is revealed to be Jeremy Bentham, a reference to another philosopher of the rights of man. The real Jeremy Bentham is best known for his advocacy of utilitarianism, for the concept of animal rights, and his opposition to the idea of natural rights. Bentham found pain and pleasure to be the only intrinsic values in the world: "nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure." From this he derived the rule of utility, that the good is whatever brings the greatest happiness.

Faith

Locke's life has a repeated pattern of believing in a higher being or purpose (for example, his father, pressing the button in the hatch). He begins to suspect that he was destined to be on the island, which coincided with the partial loss of his recovered ability to walk.

Midway into Season 2, however, his faith begins to falter as he slowly grows disillusioned with repeatedly pressing the button. The season finale of Season 2 concludes with Locke ultimately deciding not to press the button, despite the protests of Mr. Eko, who tries unsuccessfully to convince John to keep believing (and keep pushing). After the cataclysmic events that occurred when they stopped pushing the button, Locke admitted that he was wrong to stop believing.

At the beginning of Season 3, Locke's faith seems to be fully restored. This is supported by the fact that Locke's first action after regaining consciousness is to "talk to the island," a strongly spiritual action that harkens back to the Locke of Season 1, who considered the island to be a nexus of spiritual energy, and an entity that could be communicated with. After Mr. Eko is killed by the smoke monster, it is Locke who buries him, thanking him for restoring his faith.

Cast Notes

Terry O'Quinn was the only actor who did not have to audition during initial casting for the series, as J. J. Abrams believed that he was perfect to play Locke.

When Damon Lindelof was asked on the chatroom of Lost.com if Locke would come back to life upon returning to the island, he said, "remember the linear timeline of the island and in real life. Also, remember when Jack found his Dad's coffin in season 2 on the island. Where was the body? Consider Locke's coffin on the island. Also, season 3: what happened to Eko's brother in the plane?"

Popular Culture

• A new slang term "Locked" has been circulating among some groups of fans of the show Lost. It is used when someone does a seemingly brash action that is destructive, while following a hidden agenda.

• Canadian band Moneen released a song called "Don't Ever Tell Locke What He Can't Do" on their album The Red Tree.

See also

• John Locke
• Jeremy Bentham