It really bugs me when an entire episode of a show is built around a single reveal, not because the particular reveal is disappointing in any way, but rather because the 40-odd minutes that take place before it are nothing more than filler material. That was the case with tonight’s episode of “Lost.” We finally found out the cause of Locke’s four-year-stint in a wheelchair, all while not discovering much else.
As is expected, the flashback of last night’s episode was dedicated to Locke (is it too late to mention that I desperately miss the old Locke from the first season?). After losing his disability pay for choosing to end rehab treatment, he receives a visit from a young man claiming that Anthony Cooper (the man who conned Locke out of a kidney) is also conning his rich mother. Locke is quick to disassociate himself with Cooper, but he visits him anyway, warning him to stop his latest scam before anyone else gets hurt. Apparently, Locke’s threat didn’t work so well, because a couple FBI agents arrive at Locke’s doorstep a few days later to question him about the young kid – who’s just been found dead. Locke goes to investigate at Cooper’s lavish apartment complex, only to be tossed out through the eight-story window by his very own father.
Fast-forward four years later, and while Kate and Sayid are busy trying to rescue Jack (actually, they get captured, and Kate learns that Jack’s going home in the morning), Locke makes a late-night visit to Ben, claiming that he’s not looking for Jack, but rather the submarine that he learned of from Mikhail. Long story short, the two have an interesting discussion about Locke’s motives to blow up the Others submarine (Ben even mentions a “magic box” that contains whatever you want), but none of it changes Locke’s mind, and just as Jack is preparing to leave, the submarine explodes.
None of this really makes Locke evil (he’s been trying to convince the other survivors that the island is a godsend ever since he first arrived), but he’s certainly prime material to accept a high-ranking position among the Others. And just after realizing that he’s made a giant mistake (you see, Ben manipulated him), he’s taken to a room holding a surprise for him straight out of the “magic box”: Cooper, bound and gagged, and looking surprised as ever to see that not only is Locke alive, but that he’s here on this island. I’m not sure I completely agree with this big reveal by the writers (does everything always have to be so conveniently connected?), but it’s ripe for potential.
