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Lost

The Man from Tallahassee

Season 3, Episode 13, Aired 3/21/07

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Episode Summary

As Kate and Sayid focus on rescuing a strangely placid Jack, Locke reveals his own agenda for finding the Barracks.

9.6

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Cast & Crew

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Terry O'Quinn

John Locke
Naveen Andrews

Sayid Jarrah
Michael Emerson

Benjamin Linus

Fan Episode Reviews (135)

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The unraveling of some of Locke's past experiences help to define him even more in this episode.

10

"Perfect"

By Picklepiss, May 05, 2010 Report Abuse

With what Locke endures after his father tries to give Locke the same fate as that of Peter is quite a testament to Locke and his destiny which at that moment in his life he can definately conclude that he is a cripple. But this exchange between Ben and Locke creates this sort of a two leader system even though Locke has not aware of hardly anything that is going to come to pass. Overall this episode was very revealing of what Locke thinks of the island and about anyone who tries to leave it like Jack and Juliette. And to see the man whom put Locke through 4 years of such a trial was unexpected. What is the box Ben is talking about anyways?moreless

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2 0
A Locke-centric episode.

7.0

"Good"

By Writer2000, May 01, 2010 Report Abuse

All things considered, I thought that this was good episode, but it definitely wasn't the best episode ever of Lost by any means. In my opinion, the most exciting thing about this episode was Ben's story line. I'm really starting to like Ben very much. Michael Emerson plays the role of Benjamin Linus so well, and after having seen this episode, I think that the show did an excellent job of casting the role of Ben. I really wish that this episode had featured Jack and Kate more, as well as the rest of the cast because I really missed them in this episode. All in all, I thought that this was a good episode of Lost, but it was definitely far from perfect. Hopefully, the rest of the episodes for the season will be much better than this one was.moreless

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1 5
One major revelation, a confrontation we've been expecting, and a doozy of an ender

10

"Perfect"

By DavidB226Morris, Dec 13, 2009 Report Abuse

It's easy enough to say that this is a vital episode because it finally answers the question "How did John Locke end up in a wheelchair?". But as is the case with every episode where Locke is at the center, we get a huge insight into some vital part of the island, and in this case, we learn far more about the characters than we've ever seen.

Locke is the island's disciple, and has been on a roller coaster of emotions since the plane crash--- his healing, his discovery of the hatch, his encounter with 'Henry Gale', his unilateral decision to stop pushing the button--- all of which have shaped. But now, he seems to have moved away from his earlier role, and is no longer taking anyone else into consideration. He seems to be following some hidden message to get the other side of the island, and is renouncing all the old relationships he had. He's acted against Sayid and Kate, he's blown up another Dharma station, killed a man, and now seems determined to destroy the only possible means of rescue these people have. He seems to be acting for himself, which means acclimating with the Others.

Not that seems that strange at first. When the tease ends, we see Jack playing football with Tom, chatting pleasant with Juliet, shaking hands with Ben, and settling in a house with his own piano (!) What exactly has happened in the last week? I ask because the show has never seen fit to provide us with an answer. Did Jack, convinced that he was finally close to freedom, and tired of the leadership roles that had been place around his neck for the last 80 days, simply give in, and decide that he would play along? That seems to be the best explanation we have, for when Jack comes face to face with Kate, who he ordered not to come back for him in 'Not In Portland', he seems to sell her out without a second thought. The confrontation between Jack and Kate (in what appears to be the Other's game room) is especially painful because now Kate seems to feel that she has been in the wrong all along. She has been trying to save a man who didn't want to be rescued (and she's going to feel a hell of a lot guiltier by the time the episodes over), and now he seems to be telling that she might of well have stayed on the beach with Sawyer(The Others don't seem to have told him about what the anomaly has done to their communications)

The far more important reunion is going on elsewhere when Locke appears in Ben's room for the first confrontation since Ben/Henry tried to trick him in 'Two for the Road'. The scenes are among the high points of Season 3, for even though Locke seems to hold all the cards, he doesn't seem to have realized that Ben is just as great a manipulator as his father was. Locke's probably wanted to blow up the sub since the last episode, and though Ben seems to be telling him 'I can't have you do this', everything we know about him would seem to suggest otherwise. (Is it perhaps because he knows that even without the submarine, there are ways to travel to and from the island? We won't learn about this until Season 4.) There's also the fact that Ben has some truly brilliant deadpan lines. (Still my personal favorite, Ben tells Richard to bring him 'The Man From Tallahassee'. Locke suspicious, comes out of the closet demanding: "Is that some kind of code?" Ben responds: "No John, strangely enough we don't have a code for 'There's a man in my closet with a gun to my daughter's head--- although clearly, we should.") Ben also has the same advantage he had with Jack and Sawyer--- he's read their files and has a good idea how to manipulate them. He reveals this to Locke as well, but this kind of lying is part of Ben's genius, so it's not that shocking Locke doesn't seem to pick this up.

Locke has only one real advantage, but it's a killer: We've seen very clearly how quickly people heal from wounds and injuries, especially in Locke's case. But Ben was operated on a week ago, and he's still in a wheelchair. For that matter, how does an island where no one's gotten so much as a head cold, does Ben end up getting a fatal tumor on his spine? At one point, Ben asks Locke flat out why he thinks he has a better communion with this island than a man who's lived on his whole live, and Locke replies bluntly: "Because you're in a wheelchair, and I'm not." Locke clearly has regained his communion with the island, which is probably the reason that Ben is so desperate to keep him here, and let him complete his 'quest'.

(Of course, there is the question as whether Locke actually did blow up the submarine. Locke is dry when he comes on tot he deck, but is soaked when Jack and Juliet walk up to him. furthermore, even though there's a terrific explosion, we don't actually see any parts of the submarine go flying through the air? Is it possible that he piloted the submarine somewhere, swam back, attached some explosives to the dock, and blew that up? It seems unlikely, but it makes a certain amount of sense from the point of view of a couple characters future actions.)

Oh yes, and we learn how Locke ended up in the wheelchair. He learned his father was conning somebody, and tried to intervene. However, Cooper found out, and killed the son of the woman he was conning. Locke found out about and confronted him. Cooper managed to con him one last time--- long enough to push him through an eight-story window. What makes it particularly devastating was that Cooper told him just before: "I'm a con man, not a murderer." Only he could have bought it.

Which leads to one more question: Was Ben right? Is the whole reason that Locke wanted to destroy the submarine because he had finally found refuge from his father? Was that the real cause of the message? I don't believe for a second Ben's line about a 'magic box' (we've never seen it on the series, after all) and it's pretty obvious that somehow Ben arranged for Cooper to end up on the island in order to keep Locke in play somehow. And did Ben know that Locke would be coming after him? Did he perhaps see it on one of the security cameras? Did Mikhail warn him somehow? I'm not ruling that out either. Ben has the best poker face of anybody on the island, and as he's already demonstrated to Sawyer, he's better at it than they are.

'The Man from Tallahassee' is nothing short of superb, because Terry O'Quinn (who almost certainly won his Emmy for this episode) is such a brilliant actor, and Michael Emerson is just as good as he is. We have other flashes of skill (Evangeline Lilly has a couple of fine moments, and the expression on of pure joy on Mira Furlan's face when Rousseau finally sees her daughter for the first time is remarkable), but it's their show all the way. Ben and Locke are both (as we shall find out, but not for a while) men of destiny, and right now they have just started down a path that neither is quite sure where it leads.
My score:9.7moreless

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Great Interaction, with some Revelations and with Another surprise in the End make this Episode one of the Best 3 episodes to date in Lost Season 3!!!!!

9.1

"Superb"

By Dante_Edy, Jul 12, 2009 Report Abuse

Objective - This time the objective was very attractive: Make Ben and Locke Conversation, also Kate and Jack meeting and make Sayid captive and the indirect meeting between Alex and her mother. Get a shocking ending and a flashback revelation. Was this well done

Flashbacks - Locke flashbacks seemed to be random. As usual beginning was nothing special, just information, then the complication phase arrived, but one more time it was about Lockes father, until there I was disappointed. Then the confrontation between Locke and his father and then things get more complicated and the climax, well, what a surprise, you reallu dont expected that form Lockes Father. The ending was the usual Lost previous episode, dramatic and Sad

Locke and Jack Events on The Island - This one was very good to. The beginning was about splitting the players and place everyone in their position. This allowed the complication phase be interesting, because Locke wanted to blow up the Submarine. The conversation Between Locke and Ben is one of the Top, with Ben manipulating the events for himself. Jack and Kate interaction was good, but above top but a emotional one, the same goes when Alex was found by her mother. Maybe the Climax was when Locke exploded the Submarine, Jacks and Juliet Faces, well, beautiful. The ending phase was simply wonderful. The last five minutes guarantee a good interaction, and a shocking ending.

Overall:

1 - Plot Holes: Gold. Didnt Notice.

2 - Time and Scenes Management: Gold. Lost continues to deliver scenes like this and you cant notice that scenes that are there just to stole time. The nice details about Locke and Ben conversation had a great pay off.

3 - Surprises/Twist/Shocks/Cliffhangers: Gold. What happened in the Lockes Flashbacks, help to build the shocking surprise at the end. 4 - Action: Just people get caught and a explosion.

5 - Funny: Nothing that I can Remember.

6 - Drama: Silver. The last scene of Lockes Flashbacks and Jack and Kate interaction.

7 - Tension/Fear: Silver. What Locke pretended to do.

8 - Excitement Level (curiosity/Mystery/Doubt/Revelations: Gold. You will want to know if more secrets will be revealed, why is Jack with them and what will be Lockes actions consequences.

This episode follow the last episode quality, but manages to be better. The focus here is John Locke, both in the Island and the flashbacks. There are some scenes apart, like Jack and Kate interaction, Alex and Sayid. Revelations, Drama, interesting interactions, with a amazing, surprise at the end will make you love this episode.moreless

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0 0
Because you're on a wheelchair and i'm not

10

"Perfect"

By napen, Dec 22, 2008 Report Abuse

Locke al fin nos cuenta cmo qued paraltico (y vaya forma de quedarlo). l junto a Kate y Sayid van a rescatar a Jack y se dan cuenta que ya se haba rescatado slo, sin pensar en ellos.
Ahora, de la caja mgica sali l, s, y por un lado dije qu bueno ah tiene su revancha pero por el otro fue un poco obvio.
O sea que ya no tienen forma de salir? El grosso que llevaba a Ben de la silla al final podra permitirse eso? No creo. Por qu John est sanito y Ben no? Qu es lo que no pueden controlar? Qu? Qu es lo que John tiene de especial?moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- Goof: In Locke's dad's hotel, supposedly in Tallahassee, when you look out the window you see big buildings and an ocean. However, there are no large bodies of water within a 150 mile radius of Tallahassee. Edit
- Goof: When Alex returns from retrieving Sayid's bag for Locke, the clock on the wall reads 1:40. There is a brief shot of Locke as Alex hands him the bag, and then it returns to Alex's shot and the clock now reads 4:20. Did it take her around three hours to pass over a bag? Edit
- At the beginning of the Season 3 premiere episode, "A Tale of Two Cities," the overhead view of the barracks shows them located in a deep valley surrounded by mountains, far from water. And in the episode "Enter 77," Sayid's map of the island shows that the barracks are entirely surrounded by the sonic security fence. However, in this episode, Locke and Alex are able to walk quickly from the barracks to the pier where the submarine is docked, and return to the barracks, without passing through the security fence. Edit
Notes
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- The music that Jack plays on the piano was really played by Matthew Fox, and composed by the show's musical score composer Michael Giacchino. Edit
- Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond), Emilie de Ravin (Claire), Jorge Garcia (Hurley), Josh Holloway (Sawyer), Daniel Dae Kim (Jin), Yunjin Kim (Sun), Dominic Monaghan (Charlie), Kiele Sanchez (Nikki) and Rodrigo Santoro (Paulo) do not appear in this episode. Edit
- International Airdates: Denmark: April 18, 2007 on Kanal 5 Belgium: October 15, 2007 on VT4 Spain: Monday October 22, 2007 on FOX TV Spain Finland: Thursday November 8, 2007 on Nelonen The Czech Republic: Sunday November 25, 2007 on TV Nova Macedonia: Thursday December 13, 2007 on A1 Germany: Monday January 7, 2008 on Pro7 Sweden: Wednesday April 11, 2007 on TV4 Edit
Quotes
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- Jack: They hurt you? Kate: No. Did they hurt you? Jack: No. Kate: What is all this? Jack: This is where they live. Kate: And the people they took? The kids? Jack: They're all safe. Kate: Safe? So, you're with them now? Jack: I'm not with anyone, Kate. Edit
- (Kate slowly walks into Jack's house, she watches him play piano before he realizes she's there) Kate: (emotional) Hi. Jack: What are you doing here? Kate: I came to get you. Jack: Get outta here, right now! Go. (He looks around worried) Kate: Jack - Jack: Kate, they're watching me! Get outta here. Kate: I'm not leaving you! (Armed men enter screaming at Kate to get down) Jack: Don't hurt her! Don't hurt her! Edit
- Ben: I want you to bring me the man from Tallahassee. Edit
Allusions
ADD ALLUSIONS
- In Ben's house, we see this two 2 books: -The Gunslinger by Stepehn King, next to Ben's bed. -A Brief History Of Time by Stephen Hawking, in the living space. It was also seen in the episode "Not In Portland". Edit
- Locke: You're a hypocrite, a Pharisee. A Pharisee was a Jewish scholar and religious leader in Biblical times. In the New Testament, Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for their hypocrisy in following the letter of the Jewish law, but not the spirit. Edit