30 Days of TV Meme - Day 14: Favourite Male Character
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Since I'm attempting to avoid this meme being all about The X-Files, I have decided to mention characters who AREN'T Mulder or Scully for Days 14 and 15, so today I will talk about John Locke, from Lost
John Locke is an intriguing character, which is helped somewhat by the fact that Terry O'Quinn is a fantastic actor, and familiar from his roles in most of Chris Carter's shows (Peter Watts, Omar Santiago, et al), although I first "discovered" him when I watched The X-Files Episode 2x12, "Aubrey".
Some of my favourite episodes of Lost centre around Locke. Episode 1x04: Walkabout gave an amazing insight into his life, and provided the unexpected twist that Locke had also been paralysed before the plane crashed onto the island. When he was told that he would not be allowed to go on the walkabout, I felt his pain and anger. I found it very easy to feel sympathetic for Locke, especially as Jack was constantly suspicious of him. When Boone had his accident, which led to his death, Locke suddenly found himself unable to walk, and could not save him, and then I got very frustrated at the end of episode 1x20, when Jack took his gun and announced: "I'm going to kill John Locke".
I also loved the fact that Locke seemed to believe that everyone had a purpose on the island, and I enjoyed watching his determination, particularly in Season 2, a.k.a. "The Hatch Season". Throughout that season, he spent most of his time operating the hatch, and dedicated a lot of his time to it; at the end, of course, he became disillusioned and quite possibly caused another plane crash by not entering the numbers and causing the hatch to "implode".
Episode 2x17: Lockdown was another key episode for Locke, following on from Episode 1x19: Deus ex Machina, in which his father first appeared, and took one of his son's kidneys and then ditched him; in the latter episode, Helen was also introduced, played by Katey Sagal (Leela from Futurama). Locke and Helen is my favourite Lost ship, and the chemistry between them was amazing; in Lockdown, Locke got his legs trapped underneath a closing door in the hatch, and it looked like he could have ended up back in his wheelchair permanently. I felt really sad for Locke in this episode, because the flashbacks showed his father coming back, and causing trouble, along with (evidently) Robert LaSardo, aka Escobar from Nip/Tuck, and this ultimately led to Helen leaving him because she had not wanted him to be involved with his father.
Season 2 also portrayed Locke's battle for power with Jack, and a huge rift with Charlie; at the end of Episode 2x12: "Fire + Water", everyone was angry with Charlie, who had taken Aaron from Claire and was insisting he needed to be baptised. Locke punched Charlie in the face, which seemed unusually harsh; in the following episode, Charlie got revenge by making Locke look like a bad leader by attacking Sun, causing everyone to believe the Others had got back into the camp. Locke's relationship with Charlie had been intriguing, particularly when he managed to concvince him to kick his drugs habit, but it was good that they managed to patch things up.
Locke seemed to get tempted over to the dark side, largely because of his interest in Henry Gale Ben, who took him over to the Others' camp. Episode 3x13: The man from Tallahassee revealed how Locke got paralysed, after being pushed out of a window by his father, who he kills. Locke was becoming almost reckless in season 3, since in a previous episode he decided to test out the barriers (which were apparently to stop the smoke monster) by pushing one of the Others through, causing him have a seizure and apparently die (he wasn't dead, and he returned later to kill Charlie). Locke also destroyed a submarine in the same episode, in an attempt to keep the survivors there, and then announced that he was "on his own path".
Later in the season, Locke got "introduced" to Jacob, and then shot and left for dead by Ben, but in Episode 3x23: Through the Looking Glass (Part 2), he returned to his friends, and promptly shot a girl who had parachuted in, and claimed to be signalling to Penny's boat; this appeared to be following instructions from young Walt. I was actually completely on Locke's side during this, because everyone was far too trustful of her, and what they didn't know (as Charlie and Desmond had just found out) was that this was not Penny's boat. Overall, during the first three seasons, Locke established himself as a character, who seemed to have some idea what was going on, and I wished the other characters could have trusted him more.
During Season 4, Locke caused a huge rift between the main characters, when several of them left Jack and went with him to the Others' camp. At times, I got confused by his motives at times, but he remained enjoyable to watch, and I loved his determination at the end of Season 4 to use the Orchid. His relationship with Jack was deteriorating a lot, but I found the final scene between the two characters in Season 4 to be very moving, as he looked out at Jack through the lift door, as he went to attempt to save the island.
During the flash-forwards at the end of Season 3, Jack had been seen at a funeral, and commented on how disappointed he was that not many people showed up (Jack was certainly the only person from the island who came along), and I started to suspect that it would turn out to be Locke in the coffin - my suspicions were confirmed at the end of Episode 4x13: There's No Place Like Home (Part 2), along with a reference to Locke committing suicide, which I found shocking but intriguing.
As far as the "normal" Lost universe is concerned, Locke died at the end of Episode 5x07: The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham, although technically he was dead from the start of the season, due to the confusing and very non-linear nature of Season 5, as the island became unstuck in time. The whole episode was moving from start to finish; when Locke tried to access the orchid, the island went through a time shift, causing him to be sealed inside, and he was left falling to the ground and breaking his legs again. This episode was full of physical and emotional pain for Locke, as he was found in agony in the middle of the desert, and then given very primitave surgery. The horror in his face was clear, as he was shown the wheelchair he was going to have to use, but his determination in trying to get everyone back to the island was impressive, though I got very frustrated at his last conversation with Jack, who criticised him for what he was trying to do.
During the episode, it was also revealed that Helen had died, and the moment when Locke decided to take his own life was one of the saddest ever for me. Of course, this was not as it first seemed, as Ben talked him out of it, and promptly murdered him. His message to Jack, "I wish you could have believed me" was very poignant, and summed up how I felt about the other characters in general. Locke apparently returned from the dead at the end of the episode, but this turned out to be fake; throughout the season, I wondered if Locke would turn out to be a ghost, as he became gradually darker, and finally announced that he was going to kill Jacob. Episode 5x16: The Incident ended with a particularly cruel twist - that Locke never returned from the dead, and that the island did indeed not have any powers to resurrect the dead. This Locke was the smoke monster, who had decided to take his form, having previously turned into Jack's father, and (evidently) Ben's daughter and Jacob's twin brother.
Season 6 resurrected Locke, in the "bizarro world", confined to his wheelchair. I quite enjoyed the way that he refuses to be seen as somehone who is not capable of doing things that anyone else can do (same as his determination to go on the walkabout), and I found his refusal to let Jack operate on him to be confusing, and Season 6 led to an intriguing reversal of roles for Locke and Jack. Locke also suffered more character torture, at the end of Episode 6x12: Everyone Loves Hurley, when Desmond attempted to kill him; this was either an attempt at revenge for what the fake Locke did on the island, or an actual attempt to get Locke into the hospital so he and Jack would meet again. I also love the fact that Season 6 put Locke and Helen together again.
Overall, the main thing I enjoy about Locke is his intrigue and his complicated backstory; he is definitely a character who I will miss after I watch the final Lost.
(I have only seen up to episode 6x15: Across the Sea as I write this, so please don't give away any spoilers about what happens in the last few episodes).
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best t.v show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First t.v show obsession
Day 29 - Current t.v show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death
Since I'm attempting to avoid this meme being all about The X-Files, I have decided to mention characters who AREN'T Mulder or Scully for Days 14 and 15, so today I will talk about John Locke, from Lost
John Locke is an intriguing character, which is helped somewhat by the fact that Terry O'Quinn is a fantastic actor, and familiar from his roles in most of Chris Carter's shows (Peter Watts, Omar Santiago, et al), although I first "discovered" him when I watched The X-Files Episode 2x12, "Aubrey".
Some of my favourite episodes of Lost centre around Locke. Episode 1x04: Walkabout gave an amazing insight into his life, and provided the unexpected twist that Locke had also been paralysed before the plane crashed onto the island. When he was told that he would not be allowed to go on the walkabout, I felt his pain and anger. I found it very easy to feel sympathetic for Locke, especially as Jack was constantly suspicious of him. When Boone had his accident, which led to his death, Locke suddenly found himself unable to walk, and could not save him, and then I got very frustrated at the end of episode 1x20, when Jack took his gun and announced: "I'm going to kill John Locke".
I also loved the fact that Locke seemed to believe that everyone had a purpose on the island, and I enjoyed watching his determination, particularly in Season 2, a.k.a. "The Hatch Season". Throughout that season, he spent most of his time operating the hatch, and dedicated a lot of his time to it; at the end, of course, he became disillusioned and quite possibly caused another plane crash by not entering the numbers and causing the hatch to "implode".
Episode 2x17: Lockdown was another key episode for Locke, following on from Episode 1x19: Deus ex Machina, in which his father first appeared, and took one of his son's kidneys and then ditched him; in the latter episode, Helen was also introduced, played by Katey Sagal (Leela from Futurama). Locke and Helen is my favourite Lost ship, and the chemistry between them was amazing; in Lockdown, Locke got his legs trapped underneath a closing door in the hatch, and it looked like he could have ended up back in his wheelchair permanently. I felt really sad for Locke in this episode, because the flashbacks showed his father coming back, and causing trouble, along with (evidently) Robert LaSardo, aka Escobar from Nip/Tuck, and this ultimately led to Helen leaving him because she had not wanted him to be involved with his father.
Season 2 also portrayed Locke's battle for power with Jack, and a huge rift with Charlie; at the end of Episode 2x12: "Fire + Water", everyone was angry with Charlie, who had taken Aaron from Claire and was insisting he needed to be baptised. Locke punched Charlie in the face, which seemed unusually harsh; in the following episode, Charlie got revenge by making Locke look like a bad leader by attacking Sun, causing everyone to believe the Others had got back into the camp. Locke's relationship with Charlie had been intriguing, particularly when he managed to concvince him to kick his drugs habit, but it was good that they managed to patch things up.
Locke seemed to get tempted over to the dark side, largely because of his interest in Henry Gale Ben, who took him over to the Others' camp. Episode 3x13: The man from Tallahassee revealed how Locke got paralysed, after being pushed out of a window by his father, who he kills. Locke was becoming almost reckless in season 3, since in a previous episode he decided to test out the barriers (which were apparently to stop the smoke monster) by pushing one of the Others through, causing him have a seizure and apparently die (he wasn't dead, and he returned later to kill Charlie). Locke also destroyed a submarine in the same episode, in an attempt to keep the survivors there, and then announced that he was "on his own path".
Later in the season, Locke got "introduced" to Jacob, and then shot and left for dead by Ben, but in Episode 3x23: Through the Looking Glass (Part 2), he returned to his friends, and promptly shot a girl who had parachuted in, and claimed to be signalling to Penny's boat; this appeared to be following instructions from young Walt. I was actually completely on Locke's side during this, because everyone was far too trustful of her, and what they didn't know (as Charlie and Desmond had just found out) was that this was not Penny's boat. Overall, during the first three seasons, Locke established himself as a character, who seemed to have some idea what was going on, and I wished the other characters could have trusted him more.
During Season 4, Locke caused a huge rift between the main characters, when several of them left Jack and went with him to the Others' camp. At times, I got confused by his motives at times, but he remained enjoyable to watch, and I loved his determination at the end of Season 4 to use the Orchid. His relationship with Jack was deteriorating a lot, but I found the final scene between the two characters in Season 4 to be very moving, as he looked out at Jack through the lift door, as he went to attempt to save the island.
During the flash-forwards at the end of Season 3, Jack had been seen at a funeral, and commented on how disappointed he was that not many people showed up (Jack was certainly the only person from the island who came along), and I started to suspect that it would turn out to be Locke in the coffin - my suspicions were confirmed at the end of Episode 4x13: There's No Place Like Home (Part 2), along with a reference to Locke committing suicide, which I found shocking but intriguing.
As far as the "normal" Lost universe is concerned, Locke died at the end of Episode 5x07: The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham, although technically he was dead from the start of the season, due to the confusing and very non-linear nature of Season 5, as the island became unstuck in time. The whole episode was moving from start to finish; when Locke tried to access the orchid, the island went through a time shift, causing him to be sealed inside, and he was left falling to the ground and breaking his legs again. This episode was full of physical and emotional pain for Locke, as he was found in agony in the middle of the desert, and then given very primitave surgery. The horror in his face was clear, as he was shown the wheelchair he was going to have to use, but his determination in trying to get everyone back to the island was impressive, though I got very frustrated at his last conversation with Jack, who criticised him for what he was trying to do.
During the episode, it was also revealed that Helen had died, and the moment when Locke decided to take his own life was one of the saddest ever for me. Of course, this was not as it first seemed, as Ben talked him out of it, and promptly murdered him. His message to Jack, "I wish you could have believed me" was very poignant, and summed up how I felt about the other characters in general. Locke apparently returned from the dead at the end of the episode, but this turned out to be fake; throughout the season, I wondered if Locke would turn out to be a ghost, as he became gradually darker, and finally announced that he was going to kill Jacob. Episode 5x16: The Incident ended with a particularly cruel twist - that Locke never returned from the dead, and that the island did indeed not have any powers to resurrect the dead. This Locke was the smoke monster, who had decided to take his form, having previously turned into Jack's father, and (evidently) Ben's daughter and Jacob's twin brother.
Season 6 resurrected Locke, in the "bizarro world", confined to his wheelchair. I quite enjoyed the way that he refuses to be seen as somehone who is not capable of doing things that anyone else can do (same as his determination to go on the walkabout), and I found his refusal to let Jack operate on him to be confusing, and Season 6 led to an intriguing reversal of roles for Locke and Jack. Locke also suffered more character torture, at the end of Episode 6x12: Everyone Loves Hurley, when Desmond attempted to kill him; this was either an attempt at revenge for what the fake Locke did on the island, or an actual attempt to get Locke into the hospital so he and Jack would meet again. I also love the fact that Season 6 put Locke and Helen together again.
Overall, the main thing I enjoy about Locke is his intrigue and his complicated backstory; he is definitely a character who I will miss after I watch the final Lost.
(I have only seen up to episode 6x15: Across the Sea as I write this, so please don't give away any spoilers about what happens in the last few episodes).
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best t.v show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First t.v show obsession
Day 29 - Current t.v show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death