Season 4 Locke makes me sad

[Jack T Kirk]

I have to say, I'm a bit a bit saddened by Locke's downward spiral this season. Instead of showing concern and compassion for the Losties like he has in the past, he has resorted to demands and threats. He's kept secrets and has lost the trust of everyone, and his only friend now is the worm who shot him. It's not like him to hide behind a gun. I was so mad when Sawyer was trying to get inside the house with Claire, and Locke just stood there pointing a gun at the barricade like a coward. He's completely helpless in the hands of Ben, and Ben is now the strongest character on the show. It seems like Ben has dethroned Locke as the most alluring character on the show.

Finding that hatch really handicapped Locke, as he has never quite been the same. That's when the secrets started, that's when his obsession with the mysteries started, as well as his detachment from the rest of the castaways. At the hatch, Locke started to doubt.

Right now Locke is cast between Light and Dark; between destiny and despair. The evil that is controlling the island has him by the balls. I think the reason why Smokey hasn't killed him is because Locke is weak and the Dark Side (whatever that is) wants him for a trophy. Smokey tried to turn Eko, and Eko basically said !@#$ you, so it axed him. Locke, however, is hanging on by a prayer, and the Dark is trying everything it can to sway him off his course.

All that being said, it frustrates me to no end that Locke has been brought so low this season. I hope he comes out of it soon.

[Homer Noodleman]

Locke has always been portrayed as a simpering boob. His fans have just always ignored the mountains of evidence that that is who he actually is.

I can picture the following scene:

Locke: Are we there yet!
Ben: No, be patient.
[30 seconds pass]
Locke: Are we there yet!
Ben: No, be patient.
[30 seconds pass]
Ben: Well, we're here.
Locke: Huh? It's the pit of dead people? Why are we --
BANG! BANG! Thud.
Locke: Ooooh, me tummy hurts. Why did you shoot me Dad, er... I mean Ben?
Ben: :rolleyez:

Him following an armed Ben into the jungle is just another manifestation of the same idiocy that led him to sit outside his Father's estate whimpering about his kidney. He never learns.

[RangerMel]

Locke has always been portrayed as a simpering boob. His fans have just always ignored the mountains of evidence that that is who he actually is.

I can picture the following scene:

Locke: Are we there yet!
Ben: No, be patient.
[30 seconds pass]
Locke: Are we there yet!
Ben: No, be patient.
[30 seconds pass]
Ben: Well, we're here.
Locke: Huh? It's the pit of dead people? Why are we --
BANG! BANG! Thud.
Locke: Ooooh, me tummy hurts. Why did you shoot me Dad, er... I mean Ben?
Ben: :rolleyez:

Him following an armed Ben into the jungle is just another manifestation of the same idiocy that led him to sit outside his Father's estate whimpering about his kidney. He never learns.

And he's an idiot.

[Locke 'n' Load]

I have to say, I'm a bit a bit saddened by Locke's downward spiral this season. Instead of showing concern and compassion for the Losties like he has in the past, he has resorted to demands and threats. He's kept secrets and has lost the trust of everyone, and his only friend now is the worm who shot him. It's not like him to hide behind a gun. I was so mad when Sawyer was trying to get inside the house with Claire, and Locke just stood there pointing a gun at the barricade like a coward. He's completely helpless in the hands of Ben, and Ben is now the strongest character on the show. It seems like Ben has dethroned Locke as the most alluring character on the show.

Finding that hatch really handicapped Locke, as he has never quite been the same. That's when the secrets started, that's when his obsession with the mysteries started, as well as his detachment from the rest of the castaways. At the hatch, Locke started to doubt.

Right now Locke is cast between Light and Dark; between destiny and despair. The evil that is controlling the island has him by the balls. I think the reason why Smokey hasn't killed him is because Locke is weak and the Dark Side (whatever that is) wants him for a trophy. Smokey tried to turn Eko, and Eko basically said !@#$ you, so it axed him. Locke, however, is hanging on by a prayer, and the Dark is trying everything it can to sway him off his course.

All that being said, it frustrates me to no end that Locke has been brought so low this season. I hope he comes out of it soon.

JLP, it is frustrating to see the path TPTB have taken Locke down. Terry O'Quinn himself, has said he didn't like the way his character was written this season. But, I think in the long run, Locke will prove to be the hero we always believed he was. We have to look at the big picture and not just snippets here and there. The Locke haters are having a field day right now, but in the end they will see the truth.

[sgtdraino]

Bah, this is just the cyclical plot arc TPTB take Locke on every single season, even in Season 1, with the death of Boone. I don't like it, it doesn't make sense to me, but that just seems to be the nature of the beast. Mark my words, by the end of the season, Locke will be awesome again.

[Homer Noodleman]

I'm not a Locke Hater, I'm a Locke Realist. Ana Lucia I hated, Locke I find quite entertaining. I quite look forward to his next act of boobosity.

[ozanna]

I hate the way Locke appears to be totally under Ben's thumb. But thats all it is - "appears". He has his reasons. Unlike Jack, he does not go bellowing around the island full of false promises - like he's gonna take everybody home, well some of them, maybe. " Ooops I have acute appendicitis so I have to have first place on whatever mode of transport is available to us".

I still have faith in Locke. Locke was cured 100% by the island. He will prevail. He has done some suspect things, but I believe there is method in his madness !

[Jack T Kirk]

Yeah! I'm not giving up on Locke either. :Cheers:

[Locke&Load]

Bah, this is just the cyclical plot arc TPTB take Locke on every single season, even in Season 1, with the death of Boone. I don't like it, it doesn't make sense to me, but that just seems to be the nature of the beast. Mark my words, by the end of the season, Locke will be awesome again.

Well said.:)

[Susan B Anthony]

Locke has tapped into the incredible power and mystery of the island. I am not at all disappointed that it is taking him a while to understand what exactly is happening. I like that he is willing to ask the questions and try to understand what is happening. No, he doesn't always make the right choices, but he keeps asking the questions. Most of the castaways are either oblivious or willfully blind to the real nature of the island. I mean, Sawyer just saw a teenage girl shot in cold blood, and a smoke monster apparently unleashed by Ben, yet he wants to run back the beach. Why? If the freighties were really there on a rescue mission, there won't be anybody at the beach. Ben can call up the land-leviathan, but he is a "wacko." The only reason I can see that Sawyer wants to get back to the beach is to satisfy the suffering Skaters.

Everyone is quick to call Locke a sucker for falling for Ben's manipulation, but let's just remember, Ben is pretty much the world-champion manipulator. Who have we seen who is immune to his wiles? Locke is just more likely to get caught in the web because he is sticking close to Ben because he knows Ben holds the answers he seeks.

The only thing that has disappointed me about Locke this season was his Jack-Shepard move of telling Hurley "I'm making the decisions, here." Otherwise, I'm loving it, and I think Locke is getting closer to learning what his true destiny on the island is. Going into such uncharted territory he is bound to make missteps, but I'm sticking with him.

[The 23rd Psalm]

Kudos dudos, Locke needs to pony up and start thinking logically again. He reacts before he thinks about a situation, then becomes inverted by his past.:Cheers:

[Locke&Load]

Yeah! I'm not giving up on Locke either. :Cheers:

Thats the spirit. Don't let the Locke haters that troll this section with their "Locke is a wimpering boob, idiot,etc" speech get you down. That negative view of the character is becoming old news. Get some new material already:nanabobo: I think the next few episodes will be very exciting, and I would like to see Locke go out on a high note this season as opposed to his "I was wrong" season 2 downfall. Sgtdraino said it best.'"By the end of the season, Locke will be awesome again"

[spiral568]

he's always awesome to me, even in his doubting and selfishness. Its part of what makes him more interesting then the multitudes of heroic castaways. Even Sawyer the guy who was willingly tortured is now risking his life to save Claire, who he perhaps has had 5 scenes with ever. Locke rules because of the depth of his character and quality of the actor, and no matter what the writers do He is Lost. Just ask they kind people at Emmy.

[sgtdraino]

he's always awesome to me, even in his doubting and selfishness.

Are you talking about me or Locke? ;)

[Homer Noodleman]

Get some new material already:nanabobo:

I get new material about Locke's boobosity in nearly every episode. :p

[Draco]

I have faithfully followed Locke's rollercoaster ride since the beginning, and I am sticking with him to the end (Desmond still rates higher in my favorite characters ranking, but Locke and Sayid share the second best place).

That said, I cannot deny that there have been some low moments for the character. Some of them were fine, as they were meant to be: all characters in Lost have a darkest hour, make mistakes and make wrong choices. Of course, the Yoda-like Locke in season 1 was awesome, but I realize that a guru-like figure with no further development wouldn't have gone far. Finding out that Locke had his inner demons to fight as well was a good thing; indeed, it mad for some of the most remarkable scenes in the show's history.

Still there were other bad moments which had nothing to do with character development: they had no consistency. Sometimes TPTB just burdened the character with something that had to be done to advance the plot (possibly because, being one of the most popular characters in the show, they knew he had shoulders broad enough to sustain them), sometimes they just mishandled him.

There is just one type of scenes I have a hard time to accept. From time to time, TPTB seem to forget One Very Important Thing about Locke, which (in my opinion, defines the character): he is a good man.

He may want to explore the island's mysteries and he may want to stay on the island, but he truly and genuinely cares about all his fellow losties, and he would never hurt them (Others and Freighties are another story, but that's fair enough to me).
Locke's most defining scene to me is back in season 1, when he summons Vincent with the whistle and, instead of produly marching to Walt with the dog, he quietly gives Vincent to Michael, so that he can bring the dog back to his son and be "a hero". That's Locke at his core, quietly and efficiently helping others without necessarily getting the spotlight or thundering applauses.
Even his issues in flashbacks always seem related to caring: trusting people, and caring for them even to the point of getting blind to the truth, when he should learn and think again.
Of course, we all know that this does not necessarily mean well for Locke: it can spell disaster, and it often has.
Also, I am not blind to the fact that Locke has done shady things on the island from time to time, but I don't think he has never crossed the line of deliberately hurting a member of the original survivor's group... Or at least not intentionally.
Whenever TPTB stick to this simple concept, they do good things with Locke, even though the event in itself may backfire on him. Whenever they try outlandish and bizarre scenes, like the "dictatorship" scenes, it's a blunder.
I think it's a testament to TOQ's skill the fact that heis able to maintain the character popular even after more than one huge false step from TPTB's side.

[spiral568]

Are you talking about me or Locke? ;)

Both of you obviously:D

[The 23rd Psalm]

:)Ekcol si Bocaj, aey taht si tahw I knith.

[Illyria0604]

:)Ekcol si Bocaj, aey taht si tahw I knith.

er'uoy ton eht ylno eno

:)

[The 23rd Psalm]

er'uoy ton eht ylno eno

:)

LOL!

[Illyria0604]

Don't give me too much credit...

At first I thought, "what is that? Hebrew?"

LOL

[AceOfDiamonds]

I genuinely love Locke, he's always been my favorite character on the show, but I also appreciate the fact that TPTB have made every character in Lost multifaceted, with strengths and weaknesses. An omnipotent do-gooder hero version of Locke would be every bit as boring as an omnipotent do-gooder hero version of Jack or Sawyer. Fortunately, TPTB have added wrinkles and warts to every character. Jack's an alcoholic, absolutely insane with women and a much worse leader than he appears at first glance. At times he makes terrible desicions. Sawyer has his own tortured history and has his own issues, and I find it intriguing that after starting out as "worse", "less liked" and "more messed up" than Locke and Jack, Sawyer seems closer to his own personal redemption at this point than either Locke or Jack seem to be.

Point is, it'd be a boring show if Locke was always right, always kind, always good-hearted, and always made the most intelligent desicion. The vast majority of Locke's breakdowns and hiccups seem realistic to me. The only two on-island Locke moments that really struck me as horribly out of character were both in Season Two: one was Locke beating the crap out of Charlie in "Fire and Water," really Locke's entire portrayal in that episode struck me as particularly out-of-sync with Locke's mentality and beliefs. It really seemed forced. And Locke giving up the faith in the "?" episode seemed out-of-character for me too, there wasn't adequate build-up for me to fully buy that Locke would turn on the island that healed him just because of a Dharma orientation video.

Season Three did a lot to redeem Locke for me, and Season Four -- despite a few hiccups -- generally seems "in sync" with my perception of Locke's weaknesses. Locke snapping at Hurley even seemed justifiable to me if not entirely condoned: one of Locke's character flaws is that he always gets angry and irrational (remember anger management seminars with Helen in his flashbacks) when his destiny seems thwarted. At that moment in time Locke was frustrated as the island/Jacob had not been communicating with him and Ben was being a wiseass, so Locke just took it out on the wrong guy.

(For the record, that very same explanation doesn't really justify Locke beating the shit out of Charlie in Season Two for me, largely because A: Locke as the "man of faith" relying on flawed empirical evidence instead of trusting one of his best on-island allies seemed out-of-character for me and B: Locke's anger rarely manifests itself physically. A verbal beat-down of Charlie would have been more acceptable IMO, though I would have preferred it if Locke trusted Charlie. It was all part of the justification for the forced Charlie-turns-dark-and-evil arc that was just pathetically written. Though Season Two was still a great season by general television standards, it's by far my least favorite season of LOST for several reasons, this included.)