When we first meet Locke, he comes off as very mysterious, intelligent and stoic. He seems to have a liking for hunting and tracking but believes there is a spiritual reason for why everyone is on the island. We start to see Locke displaying more emotions and becoming more moody as time goes on.
John Locke’s early life before the crash wasn’t an easy one. His mother Emily was a teenager when he was born and couldn’t care for him. Locke ended up in many foster homes, where the ageless Richard Alpert visited him and described him as “extremely special”. When he was older and working at a toy store, his mother came to visit. She told him that he was immaculately conceived in which prompt Locke to look for his Dad, Anthony Cooper. Cooper was very inviting and welcomed Locke with open arms. They bond over a hunting trip where Cooper informs Locke that he needs a kidney transplant. Locke donates one of his kidneys but becomes depressed afterward when Cooper refuses to see him.
Years later, Helen (his girlfriend) helps Locke get over what his father did and move on with his life. Unfortunately, Cooper comes back into his life looking for his help and Locke agrees. Helen is unhappy with his decision and leaves. Later, Locke finds out that Cooper killed a man and confronts him about the murder. Cooper ends up pushing Locke out an eight story window on to the sidewalk below. At first it looked like Locke had died but with a touch from the mysterious Jacob, Locke survived. He ended up breaking his back which paralyzed him and put him in a wheelchair. Later, after working for an ignorant boss at a box company, Locke decided to go to Australia for a walkabout. Because of being paralyzed, he was denied admission to the walkabout and so he ended up buying a ticket back home. That ticket was aboard Oceanic Flight 815 which ended up crashing on the mysterious island.
After the plane crashed, Locke was able to regain the use of his legs. This made him more spiritual and believed that the island was the reason for him being able to walk again. He had no intention of leaving the island. During the first season, Locke encounters the island’s monster, and helped find the abducted Claire. While looking for her, he and Boone found a hatch for which they spent many a day and night trying to get opened. He takes Boone under his wing and teaches him the ways of the island. After having a vision of a plane, the two of them go in search of it. They find it and Boone climbs inside where the plane falls severely injuring Boone. A devastated Locke carries Boone back to the caves where he dies. Locke heads back to the latch and furiously tries to open it. After giving up hope, a light shines from the hatch, and Locke sees it as a sign. He gets word from the French Lady, Rousseau, that there is dynamite by a black rock. He argues with Jack but doesn’t listen to him and ends up blowing up the hatch.
In season two, Locke enters the hatch and finds a man down there, Desmond Hume. He explains the hatch, what it was used for, and that a sequence of numbers must be pushed every 108 minutes or else the world will end. Thinking that he has found his replacement, Desmond leaves. These numbers were Hurley’s cursed winning lottery numbers that show up several times in the show. This is when Locke meets Ben Linus and holds him captive in the hatch fearing that he is one of “the others”. Ben messes with Locke’s mind, telling him that everyone thinks he is a joke believing in the buttons ending the world. Ben ends up escaping and while looking for him, Locke and Mr. Eko find the Pearl station. This station proved that the button pushing was just a test so Locke decides to destroy the computer. Desmond returned to the hatch, lets the timer reach zero, turns the fail-safe key and causes the hatch to implode.
In the third season and after the hatch implodes, we find Locke in the jungle walking around and unable to speak. He hooks up with Eko to find the Pearl station where they rewire the circuits to view the surveillance for the hatch. After they leave the station, Locke finds Eko dead in the jungle by the mysterious black monster smoke. He sees a sign on Eko’s stick about going north and finds the Other’s village. He finds out about a submarine, takes Ben hostage to find it and blows it up with some C-4. Jack was planning on using the sub to get off the island but Locke firmly believed that everyone needed to stay because it was their destiny. Ben then shows Locke that they captured his father Cooper and he can be part of the Others if he killed him. Locke not able to do it himself, manipulates Sawyer into doing it and he does. Now that he has earned Ben’s trust, he takes Locke to see Jacob. In Jacob’s cabin was an empty chair that Ben talked to. This angered Locke who feels that Ben lied to him until things started flying around and he hears a voice saying “Help me.” As they walk back to the Others camp, Ben shoots Locke and leaves him for dead. He was afraid of Locke taking over as the leader of the Others. A few days later he wakes up, heads back to where the survivor were camped, and kills Naomi a woman from the freighter he believes is a danger to the island. He asked Jack not to communicate with the freighter, but Jack ignores him. Locke is frustrated and hopes that the other survivors will offer him some support.
Things get even stranger for Locke in the fourth season. With half the survivors believing and following Locke, he heads off to find Jacob for advice. Ben tells Locke that Charles Widmore sent the freighter and wants to take advantage of the island and the powers it seems to hold. Many of those following Locke were killed in an ambush by the group from the freighter. Locke, Ben, and Hurley try again to find Jacob’s cabin using a map Locke found. After they finally found it, Locke goes inside by himself. Inside he finds Christian Shepard (Jack’s Dad) and Claire who disappeared mysteriously. He told Locke that he had to move the island and Ben knew exactly where it needed to be done. After arriving at the Dharma station known as The Orchid, the freighter mercenaries were waiting for Ben. Ben gives himself up in order for Locke to continue his quest. Ben later escapes, finds Locke and announces that he is the new leader of the Others. While Locke joins the Others, Ben finds the large wheel and moves the island.
Many of those trying to get back to the island saw it disappear. Where did it go? In the fifth season we find Locke and any other survivors on the island traveling through time. They figure out that every time there is a bright flash; they end up in a different period of time. Many of the events leading up until this time were seen by Locke and the other survivors. Locke is told by the ever ageless Richard that this is happening because of those who left the island. He also told him that he needed to get them to return but also had to die in the process. Locke finds the statue that Richard told him about leaves the island and finds himself 3 years in the future. He meets up with Charles Widmore who gives him the alias “Jeremy Bentham”. Locke finds all those who left but couldn’t convince any of them to return to the island. Later we find Locke hanging believing that his failure to get Sayid, Hurley, Kate, Jack and Sun to return is why he killed himself. It is later revealed that Ben actually killed him when Locke couldn’t go through with it. Jack is told by Ben that all had to return to the island even Locke’s body. His body was a substitute for Christian Shepard’s body that was on the originally flight. After Jack and the other survivors showed up for another flight that will take them back to the island, this flight also crashes on the island. Only Sun and Locke were in the crash, the others simply disappeared after a bright flash. We find out later that they ended up on the island but 30 years earlier with some of the other Oceanic Flight 815 survivors. For Locke, he appeared to come back from the dead much to Ben’s horror. Richard, Ben, Sun and other survivors follow Locke to the base of a giant statue to confront Jacob. Locke and Ben go inside the chamber alone, meet up with Jacob, where Locke gets Ben to stab him. Jacob realizes that “Locke” is his rival, and at the same time outside the statue, Richard was shown Locke’s body that was found in the plane’s cargo hold.
Tuesday, February 2nd is the season premiere for the final season of LOST. I’m hoping that all will be revealed and they present us with an amazing ending. So, mark your calendars and get LOST with me.
~Julie~
