Immaculate conception, virgin birth and a bogus priest

[MaisterPup]

Hello all, I posted this on the thread for tonight's episode over in the General Discussion area... but then I thought it might better belong here.

An earlier poster commented, "The writers mixed up the Virgin Birth and the Immaculate Conception here...." but she didn't explain.

I too assumed at first that Locke's mother was confusing these two very different things. The Virgin Birth refers to the miraculous birth of Jesus, and it means that he was conceived without a human father (i.e. by God). However, the Immaculate Conception refers to the specifically Catholic doctrine that the Virgin Mary was without original sin from the moment of her conception. (This arose out of the belief that Jesus couldn't possibly have been born of a normal, sinful woman - she had to be special even before he was conceived.)

So yes, I thought that Emily was either a confused Catholic, or a Protestant who simply didn't know what she was talking about.

Now I'm not so sure...

One thing that really struck me about Locke in this episode is that he is basically a surprisingly kind and trusting person. For instance, when Locke saw this rather alarming woman following him, he approached her - not with paranoia, but with a directness that was surprisingly friendly. And when Locke met his father, he accepted him completely at face value, trusting him immediately (even though we viewers may have suspected the man was a creep), and volunteering to donate a kidney as soon as he learned that Pa needed one.

And after all this, when Locke discovered how cruelly both his birth parents had exploited him, his reaction wasn't anger... just terrible hurt.

Maybe Locke is just a very controlled person, and there is real anger boiling and bubbling down there somewhere. But is it possible that his mother was actually right - that Locke is "very very special", that he's actually sinless, free of hate?

And one last comment, about the bogus priest. If I saw his rosary correctly, it wasn't a standard rosary with five decades. It was a smaller rosary, which is often called a chaplet. (I don't think it was a one-decade rosary; it seemed to have more than 10 beads, but fewer than, say, 20. You can find chaplets in different configurations according to the prayers you recite with them.)

Now, the thing about these chaplets is that you use them to pray unobtrusively. It's small; you can tuck it in your pocket and count your prayers or meditations without anyone seeing.

So I don't know, but maybe the lesson of this chaplet is that it reflects something about Locke: that he's actually a very good man, even a "holy" man (in that he seems to bear no one any malice, ever) ... but he's so unobtrusive in his goodness that no one really notices. Looking back on his conduct in previous episodes, I'm really struck by how often his small, private kindnesses (which are usually only witnessed by one person at a time) have made a decisive difference in the happiness or peace of mind of the various characters.

And it's notable that, looking back across all the episodes, I can't think of any examples of Locke expressing hatred or meanmindedness of any sort. Frustration, yes ... but never unkindness.

Is it possible Locke actually IS such a good man that he's "immaculate"? I think it is.

Maister Pup

[Solsys]

This "immaculate conception" (however flawed the use of words, indeed) is not gratuitious at all.

Look at this whole father theme in the X-Files.

My take on this is that Locke is a child from a "Lebensborn" kind of program, genetically enhanced to become some kind of ultimate soldier.

The island reveals him his true nature.

His life before the island is a complete failure. He's a military wanabee or geek. The humour in the office scene is flagrant on this ("Colonel ? Is the line secure ?"). The little soldiers on the Risk board have no other effect than to show the ridicule of the situation (still playing with little soldiers) and if Locke appears to be a good gamer/strategist, the other player is quite completely the geek.

Locke's former life revolves around games, i.e. an imitation / mind game / simulation of life.
He has no family, no friends ("What do you do on Sundays ?" - "Nothing"), and he places all his relationship hopes on a stranger from a phone-relations company. Yet he boastes about her like he had actually a companion - and how sad is that ?

In the same sentences he lies about having a companion, he introduces the Aborigene Walkabout, and we can see it as a geek's wet dream. He does bring in a lot of fancy knives (he probably collects them like the rest of his military attire).

The walkabout is only a game, not a real survival situation, and the idea to go there on a wheelchair shows how far Locke was disconneted from reality.
The Walkabout is Locke's ultimate failure in playing life as a game.
IMHO, this whole probelmatic is a strong metaphor of the western man living in such a protected environment he can't feel alive, since his life is never endangered. We then play soldier, or survivalist, or tramp, trying to forget that our lives are never really threatened in these games.

***

It is the island that reveals his true nature, because the normal life didn't offer any possibility for his hidden skills to develop.

Perhaps Locke is as old as the Hatch, or whatever other WW2 - Early Cold War things there are on the island (like the cable).


One other thing about Locke is that he's very good at manipulating other people, but very weak to protect himself from it (good attacker, bad defender), as was shown with the kidney operation. He's an underdog, and unable to fend off his boss, and kept in infoerior position.

In support of the "Lebensborn" theory, Locke's alleged father knows how to manipulate him in order to have the operation done.

My take is that the Island will manipulate him even worse. Locke is logical , but that's just one of his skills. He is purposeless as ever, and the force which drives him (and manipulates him through dreams) is making him believe he has a purpose.

In the end, to the others he will appear as illuminated, or fanatical. Now I can easily believe a genetic-enhanced baby made by the army to be so clueless as to become easily fanaticised...

[Solsys]

Addendum : there is another superfighter character here, who is seeminlgy also a genetic-enhanced person (judging by the way his fighting skills are depicted) : Ethan.

Ah... I can't wait until the tall black, hard breathing character eventually says "Locke... I am your father !"
:eek

[thoughtform]

And it's notable that, looking back across all the episodes, I can't think of any examples of Locke expressing hatred or meanmindedness of any sort. Frustration, yes ... but never unkindness.
I don't think that it was very nice of Locke to use Charlie as boar bait in "The Moth" or to knock out Sayid in the same episode. If you ask me I think that Locke was on meds and they have run out! He is doing everything for a reason. He wants to keep walking. Whatever the "island" wants him to do, he will do it without question, in order to maintain the use of his legs. He has sold his soul to the island.

[Hanover]

Id like to expound on this further.

So far Walt and Locke have both been called "special" by their parents. .

Locke downed a dove on his first shot.

Walt could win at backgammon every time from the very first time he played it. He seems to be able to "bring" things.

Claire's baby..well, we have no idea other than Claire's psychic knew that her child was powerful and didnt want him falling into the wrong hands.

Who knows if Alex can do something special.

What if some force brought these people to the Island because they were immaculately conceived? What if the people trying to steal these children think that one of these children could be some sort of "chosen one" or christ figure? To do what is a big question...maybe cure people of the sickness that's turning people into The Others? Maybe one of them will help everyone else get off the Island? Who knows?

Danielle desparately stole Aaron thinking she could offer him up as a trade for Alex...sounds kind of wild, but with what I'm saying, it makes logical sense.

We have yet to see the time when Michael and his Wife found out that she was pregnant and the circumstances surrounding that. And if Locke's mother knew that he was "special" how do we know that Walt's mother didn't know something? Perhaps that's why she was so desperate to get him away from the U.S.? They did live in the Netherlands after all! Hanso Foundation Central!

I bet we see a flashback to that period of time when she did find out she was pregnant...