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"The Man from Tallahassee"
Lost episode
John Locke ends up in his wheelchair
Episode no.	Season 3 Episode 13
Written by	Drew Goddard & Jeff Pinkner
Directed by	Jack Bender
Production no.	313
Original airdate	March 21, 2007
Guest stars
Kevin Tighe Nestor Carbonell Mira Furlan M.C. Gainey Brian Goodman Cleo King Tania Raymonde Patrick J. Adams Barbara Baehler Marlene Forte Don Nahaku Stephen Bishop
Episode chronology ← Previous Next → "Par Avion" "Exposé"
Lost (season 3) List of Lost episodes

"The Man from Tallahassee" is the thirteenth episode of the third season of Lost, and the sixty-second episode overall. It was aired on March 21, 2007 on ABC. The episode was written by Drew Goddard and Jeff Pinkner and directed by Jack Bender. The character of John Locke (Terry O'Quinn) was featured in the episode's flashbacks.

[edit] Plot

[edit] Flashbacks

Flashbacks reveal Locke's previous life at home and how he became paralyzed. It is revealed that he is suffering from depression, has ceased treatment and is denied his disability benefits. Locke lives like a recluse: in an apartment watching TV and eating TV meals. One day, a young man, Peter Talbot, knocks on his door and asks if he is John Locke. Locke tells him he has the wrong guy, but Peter asks him how many kidneys he has, referring to John being conned out of one of his kidneys by his father, Anthony Cooper (Kevin Tighe).^[1]

Surprised, Locke invites Peter in. Peter tells him that his mother met a man named Adam Seward a couple months ago. Adam said he was a retired computer entrepreneur from Ontario, but something about him bothered Peter, so he checked out Adam's story. Peter discovered Adam's name was actually Anthony Cooper, and that Locke had donated one of his kidneys to him. Locke lies to Peter and tells him it was an anonymous donation.

Locke is in a florist shop where he watches his father with Peter's mother — a kind, older woman. Locke knows Cooper is conning the woman for her money. He warns Cooper to call off the wedding and end it or he'll tell the woman the truth. Cooper reluctantly agrees.

Later, Locke walks through his apartment building's parking lot. Two detectives approach him and tell him Peter died in a car crash and ask him if he has any knowledge concerning the situation.

Realizing that Peter's death was staged by Cooper, Locke goes to Cooper's condo and confronts him, but Cooper denies any involvement in Peter's death. He says Peter's mother was devastated and called off the wedding, and assures Locke that he can call Peter's mother himself if he wants proof. Locke picks up the phone to call her when Cooper suddenly charges him and shoves him through the window, in an effort to kill him. Locke plummets eight stories to the ground, but survives.

As Locke lies in a hospital bed, the two detectives inform him that his father has fled to Mexico and has now disappeared. They leave as a physical therapist lifts Locke out of bed and places him in his wheelchair for the first time; Locke is emotionally stricken at his new predicament.

[edit] On the Island

Concluding from the previous episode, outside the Others' compound, Locke, Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews), Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly) and Danielle Rousseau (Mira Furlan) watch as Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox) and Tom (M.C. Gainey) play football. Unnoticed, Rousseau slips away. Juliet Burke (Elizabeth Mitchell) and Ben Linus (Michael Emerson), who is in a wheelchair, come outside. Ben shakes Jack's hand and they all head inside. The survivors are visibly shocked at Jack's friendly behavior and Kate insists that the Others have done something to him.

Later the trio wait until night to sneak up to Jack's house. Kate quietly enters and finds Jack, he demands that she leave immediately, saying they're watching him, and he points up to a video camera in a corner of the room. Kate says she is not leaving without him again. The door bursts open and two armed Others apprehend her. They bring in a struggling Sayid and ask who else is with them. Kate realizes they did not catch Locke; she lies and says it is only Sayid and herself.

In Ben's house, Locke wakes him up and threatens him to reveal where the submarine is. They are interrupted — first by Ben's teenage "daughter" Alex (Tania Raymonde), whom Locke grabs and hides in the closet with, and then by Tom. Tom tells Ben that they captured Kate and Sayid trying to rescue Jack. Ben tells him to separate them and interrogate them. Then it is revealed that there is another man accompanying Tom (only visible from behind from Locke's perspective), whom Ben refers to as "Richard". Tom leaves the room and Ben tells Richard to bring him the man from Tallahassee. After Richard leaves and Locke and Alex emerge from the closet, Locke asks about the man from Tallahassee and asks if that is a codeword, to which Ben replies it is not.

Locke needs Sayid's pack and tells Alex to go get it. Locke explains that he regained his ability to walk immediately after the plane crash, and that he is afraid he may become paraplegic again if he leaves the Island, with the submarine making this a possibility. Ben guesses he's going to destroy it, using explosives in Sayid's pack gathered from the communication station. Ben shocks Locke by revealing facts about Locke's life: raised in foster care, wasted away most of his life in Tustin at a box company, and spent four years in a wheelchair before crashing on the island. Ben says he even knows how Locke ended up in the wheelchair. Ben explains to Locke to picture a box. He also says that Locke must know a lot about boxes (referring to Locke working at a box factory for four years). He says, "Somewhere on the island is a large box and whatever you imagined, whatever you wanted, would be inside that box." Locke calls Ben a hypocrite; pointing out that if Ben knew what the island really was, he would have more respect for it. This and the fact that Locke spontaneously regained the ability to walk, intrigues Ben.

In a recreation room Kate is handcuffed. Tom lets Jack in to talk with Kate. Jack tells her he knows she slept with Sawyer and that he made a deal with them; they are letting him go home and believes it is the best chance to bring back rescue help for everyone. He then leaves her, alone.

Meanwhile Alex goes to get Sayid's pack; a handcuffed Sayid tells her that she looks like her mother. Before Sayid can continue, his captor, the Other Ryan Pryce, assaults him. Alex returns to Ben's room with Sayid's pack and Locke makes her take him to the sub. On the way, Alex tells Locke that Ben is manipulating him. Rousseau, hidden in foliage, spots Alex and finally sees her daughter for the first time in sixteen years. Locke descends into the submarine.

Jack and Juliet approach Ben in his home. Jack requests that Ben let his friends go. Ben gives his word to do so only if they leave the island. Jack and Juliet are escorted to the dock so they can leave in the sub. They run into Locke as he is walking back up the dock. Jack asks what he is doing there; Locke simply replies, "I'm sorry" as the submarine explodes behind him.

Later, Locke has been apprehended in a room. Ben and Richard Alpert (Nestor Carbonell) open the door, and Locke reveals that he knows Ben wanted him to blow up the sub. Ben reveals that he wanted to find a way to keep Jack from leaving the island, but did not know how to; Locke had solved this problem. Ben and Richard lead Locke down a hallway, and Ben tells him that, for whatever reason, Locke's "in communion" with the island, and that makes him "very, very important." Ben then shows him what came out of the box, which turns out to be Locke's father (the "man from Tallahassee").

[edit] Production

Exposé can be heard on the TV Locke watches in his apartment.

During the last flashback, you can see Anthony Cooper serving a bottle of MacCutcheon 60 Whisky to Locke, the same type used by Mr. Widmore (Penelope's father) and Desmond, Charlie and Hurley in 'Flashes Before Your Eyes', and Sayid in 'He's Our You'

[edit] Awards

Terry O'Quinn submitted this episode for consideration of his work in the category of "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" at the 2007 Emmy Awards, an award he would go on to win. It was also sent for consideration for "Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series". ^[2]

[edit] References