3x13, "The Man from Tallahasee"

Had to rewatch the episode to jog my memory... glad I did as it's one of the most rewarding ones of the entire series. The talk around the office the day after its airing was it's potential place among the Top 5 all time. I'm not going to go that far, but I think a strong case is being made that Locke episodes are generally the best "centrics".

This was a perfect example why: Locke's character arc has itself been the arc of the series. He served as the gateway into the spiritual side of the Island in Season 1, giving the show's mysteries added philosophical weight -- serving as LOST's anchor and assuring us that, yes, it all means something.

Locke's struggles with himself over the Button in Season 2, reflected the audience's own doubt that the series was going anywhere and if any of it would prove worth the effort. But in that moment when Locke confesses to Eko that he was "wrong" -- all doubt is shed and the Man of Faith is reborn, stronger than ever.

It all pays off this episode as Locke reanchors the series' spirtual roots, pointing out the hypocrisy of retaining the amenities of modern living while trying to enjoy the benefits of the Island. Clearly, this is not what It wants. And if there was any doubt, as Locke and finally Ben point out, all you had to do was see who was in the wheelchair -- and who wasn't.

*I have never hated a fictional character more than I hate Anthony Cooper. OK... that may be an exaggeration. But over the two and half seasons I've had to put up with the guy he only seems to get worse and worse. If he was just a con man, like Sawyer, I could maybe find something in him not to hate. But this episode he proved himself more -- he's a craven. Wild guess of where this is going: Locke resolves his father issue as the Island's reward for putting up with The Button, and he paves the way for the same happenning to Jack and everyone else in Season 4.

*The Box: as I'd complained about in an earlier post, the most intense discussion about this eppy at the Fuselage centered on whether Ben's "box" was real, metphorical or something else. Carlton put that to rest in the most recent podcast (dated 3/30) saying it was metaphorical. But what exactly is the metaphor then? Is it for the Island? Is the secret of the Island and thus the show as simple as it gives you what you most want? That obviously can't be true as no one on the Island gets everything that they want. Instead, as the Stones would say it, "You get whacha need."

*On Jack Bender: other than JJ, Bender is the show's best director. The script's subtle complexities were brought out, the acting was pitch-perfect and the shots complimented the story. A key moment was the dueling POV shots of Locke being placed in the wheelchair: you could just see a million emotions play out on Terry O'Quinn's face as he was brought to it, seemingly as if he were about to be thrown into a bottomless pit. It was ultimate despair, the moment he thought he'd lost himself for good, contrasting so starkly with his finding himself on The Island.