Lost Re-Watch / Season 1 - Walkabout

*If you haven't seen Lost, don't read further, go out and watch Lost. Major spoilers ahead for the newbies*

John Locke has always been my absolute favorite character on Lost. I became very attached to this character over the years because I felt connected to this guy. If I look at it in the third person I wouldn't see anything in my life that resembles Locke's, but somehow I found his personality mirroring my own.


I think I'll always follow Lostpedia's recap order from now on, starting with the flashbacks.. This way I won't have to write 6 pages of notes and I can just reference Lostpedia for the basic information. I had a lot of thoughts for this fan favorite episode of Lost, despite only writing down a single page of notes. I've been through the majority of Lost so many times that I can probably link up a personal story, or just random thoughts, to just about every scene in the show. Even though it'll take a lot of hard work and dedication to keep these Lost re-watch articles up until season 6, that is my goal. I hope to achieve it no matter how long it takes.

Once I have all my thoughts written down for each episode of Lost, I believe my entire Lost experience will feel complete. When I first started watching Lost back in the middle of season 3, I had no idea how much it would impact my life. You can read all about my general Lost experiences in this article here. Please check it out and comment as well, if you have anything at all to say. It's actually pretty awesome to get comments, even though I don't get all that many.

Thoughts / Walkabout

"As food supplies run low, John Locke emerges as the hunter after the survivors learn there are wild boars near camp. Meanwhile, the survivors realize that they must somehow get rid of the rotting bodies from the fuselage. The flashbacks in this episode depict Locke's plans to get to Australia and participate in a walkabout tour." - Lostpedia

Now that I think about things a little more, I really should go back to taking a ton of notes for each episode. I love the way Lost transitions into flashbacks and then back to the present. For instance, at one point in this episode Locke shows off his box of knives, and with a bewildered look on his face, Michael asks "Who is this guy?" and suddenly we're thrown into a flashback of Locke being referred to as colonel Locke. By doing the flashbacks first, as how Lostpedia does it, I can't really include that affect so well. Lesson learned! I'll definitely be going back to taking full notes next time and go through the episode in better detail. At any rate, let's continue on.

Locke is at a desk and speaking to someone on the phone. He agrees to meet them at the "usual rendezvous point" and suddenly gets interrupted by Randy Nations. Randy begins heckling Locke, telling him to get back to work. At the end of this scene you can clearly hear the sounds of Smokie, which are in this case office related machines. Probably a printer or fax machine. This is actually the first time I've remembered to look out for it, can't believe I've never noticed it before. I've re-watched this episode most likely more than 10 times over the years.

I really hate that Randy guy. I have no idea what the actor is like in real life but I would have a hard time getting past the character he portrayed if I met him. I think the same would probably go for Ben Linus, although I guess Ben did redeem himself a bit at the end there. So does Randy take the cake as the most hated guy in Lost? Probably not, but he's gotta be up there on the list, no? Wait, is there a list? There certainly should be one. Perhaps I should take a stab at it sometime. I'm sure Frugurt and Mr. Friendly would be pretty high up on the list.

The "usual rendezvous point" that was mentioned in the phone call is actually a game of Risk (or something similar) in the lunch room. Locke explains to his buddy that he's preparing for a walkabout. Randy shows up and begins poking fun at Locke once again. This time telling him that he "can't do any of that." Locke begins telling him of the story of Norman Croucher and Locke's friend asks if he has told Helen about his plans yet. Randy laughs at the idea of Locke ever having a woman in his life.

Watching this scene again in the lunch room I noticed how the writers threw constant hints as to Locke's paralysis. In this scene he states it quite obviously by comparing himself to this Norman Croucher guy. Amazing how they took the chance of writing that stuff in there and yet even still, everyone was shocked at the ending. It's the same with Locke looking at his feet and wiggling his toes a couple times in this episode. They even had the wheelchair make an appearance in the previous episode. Charlie even states at the time, something along the lines of "Whomever this belonged to clearly doesn't need it anymore."

This next flashback scene I find pretty heartbreaking after knowing all about Helen and Locke's life before the island. Locke is laying in bed, on the phone. Dirty dishes in the sink. He's talking to a woman on the phone about his upcoming walkabout trip. He asks her to join him and she's stunned. We find out that this is obviously a 1-900 number phone call and she states that she'll need to charge him an extra $89.99 for the next hour. John shouts that he doesn't care about the money and she hangs up the call. John is extremely frustrated and begins smashing the phone.

So John is clearly having some sanity issues. He must be extremely depressed and almost delusional. At this point Helen had probably just left John and he had all that money Anthony Cooper had gave to him. Assuming John went back into the hotel and picked it up. I'd reference that episode if I could remember exactly which it was, but I'm sure Lost fans know what I'm talking about.


Finally, the last off-island flashback of the episode, Locke is prepared to go on his Australian walkabout. The guide however, won't let him board the bus on account of his "condition." It is at this point the Lost newbies find out that Locke is paralyzed from the waist down. Even after watching this episode, oh.. probably 10 times now, I had this feeling of watching the episode all over again. It's because I remember when I watched this episode for the first time. Walkabout is when I became hooked and I'm sure many Lost fans have similar feelings.

He's paralyzed? But you swore that he was walking around just fine in all the flashbacks you saw this episode. Your brain finds a way to fill in the blanks and for some reason, maybe you don't realize it, you don't want to be fooled so easily. How could you miss that he had no use of his legs? Sure enough though, of course, you go back and watch it again and he's sitting down the entire time, or laying in bed, etc. Lost got me good. I became hooked and it never let me go.




Lost would continue to shock me and play tricks with my head with episodes like Jughead, The Man From Tallahassee, The Man Behind The Curtain, and Flashes Before Your Eyes, which are just a few strong examples of great mind bending episodes.

Okay, so back into the on-island story now. It's the middle of the night, everyone seems to be sleeping. Vincent is barking loudly at some noises coming from the plane's fuselage. Equipped with his tiny flashlight, Jack begins to do some investigating. Sawyer decides to "shed some light" on things and pulls out his over-sized flashlight. Everyone runs in panic as a number of boars flood out of the fuselage and through the camp back into the jungle.

One of my favorite Lost scenes is such a simple one, but it's put together extremely well. The camera shifts from left to right as an assortment of our characters try to figure out what just happened, asking what those were that just attacked the camp. The camera pans over to Locke, he says "boars" and gives a smirk. I absolutely love this and I get this nostalgic feeling in my gut. I realize it's just a television show and all that jazz, but I can't help but really miss the John Locke character. I can't help how I feel about the show. Locke was just so unique and his story is such a sad one. I'll really miss this character. It's a little heartbreaking to know that he's done. Dead and gone forever.

Jack and a few other survivors discuss the fuselage situation with the dead bodies still inside. Jack makes the decision to burn it all the following night, with hopes that a plane would see the large fire burning on the beach. Sayid argues that they should take into account the dead's religions and they deserve something better than to be burned. There's no time to sort out each of the dead's gods, replies Jack. There really is no argument here. They can't keep the bodies in the fuselage if wild animals are going to be scavenging the beach.

After some issues with the food supply, or lack-thereof, Locke chucks a knife toward Sawyer, no doubt finally stepping up and showing that he'll be important from now onwards. They must hunt boar, obviously. In Locke's head, everything must be following down a path that he knows is right. There's some boar, he finds his knives, gets the use of his legs, then the camp runs out of food? I'm very much the same as Locke and want to believe in fate and destiny. After having a seemingly impossible miracle happen to me, I would also be a true believer in this island.

Kate agrees to help Sayid triangulate the french woman's signal and goes on a hiking mission with Locke. Michael also tags along and leaves Walt with Sun, stating that it gives him a chance to get to know Locke better.

Elsewhere, Jack is helping clean out the fuselage and Claire is going through the dead's possessions. Claire wants to do some type of memorial service for the deceased. Jack doesn't want anything to do with it. He is a very human-written character in my opinion. One minute he's giving out orders and taking control, then the next minute he wants nothing to do with situations where he really should take control. I'll have to really pay attention to see if Jack begins his path to leadership with that chat from Locke in the next episode, White Rabbit.

Next we have some more arguments between Boone and Shannon. Shannon wants to prove that she can look after herself while Boone is worried about Rose, who's been staring out at the ocean. Boone asks Jack to speak with Rose because he saved her life and Jack reluctantly agrees to it. He sits with her for pretty much the remainder of the episode I think.



Back to the jungle, Locke, Kate, and Michael are following the boars. Michael inadvertently alerts one to his presence and he gets gored in the leg. Locke also gets knocked down and seems to be panicking. Kate checks on Michael but then realizes that Locke isn't responding to her calls. Locke regains his composure and looks at his feet, remembering the situation that he's in and getting back into the on-island Locke frame of mind.

My brother mentioned that perhaps Locke lost the feeling in his legs, and I replied that this wouldn't be the first time this seemed to happen this season. Later on he loses his faith in his destiny and his legs begin to get weaker and weaker, eventually leading to Boone climbing up onto the Nigerian plane, which of course leads to his death. Perhaps it's the exact same situation here. Locke had everything under control and Michael messed up, causing the boar to rush them. Locke is knocked down and perhaps was afraid the others would see this as a weakness. Locke starts thinking about his past and his depression, remembering Helen. Locke eventually regains his composure and gets up, and decides to go on alone, leaving Kate and Michael behind. This way he would be in complete control of his actions and the results, without having to worry about anyone else.

I really relate to this situation. I find myself wanting to be alone in important situations, for fear that other people will change the results of whatever I'm striving for. For instance, looking for a job. I would much rather plan out my day of job searching how I see fit, without needing to fit another person's agenda and wants. I believe pretty strongly in synchronicity and intention-manifestation. You can create any situation, positive or negative, by focusing on it for a large amount of time. Basically, if you're feeling blue and down in the dumps, things are more likely to just keep getting worse. Thinking positive will allow good things to come into your life. When Locke is positive and in full control, he goes around giving great advice to all of our Losties and things seem to go his way, as this episode begins to show. Later on however, the moment he starts trying to get into that damned hatch, he begins to question his faith and loyalty to the island and things just go downhill. Not until that hatch is finally taken out of the picture in the season 2 finale can he begin to make a new path for himself. Beginning with his sweat lodge adventure with his buddy Boone.

Anyways, back on topic. Kate, up in the tree attaching Sayid's Gadget, witnesses Smokie tearing through the jungle towards Locke. Michael is on the ground with a nasty gash in his leg. Both assume that Locke is toast. We see however, Locke meeting the monster face to face. A very epic moment.

Also, Charlie and Hurley are trying to catch a fish! This is the beginning of their awesome friendship, excellent scene. Like I mentioned in my last article, and will probably keep mentioning, our Losties really need to open up a bit. Jin is an excellent fisherman as they all find out later on. Charlie and Hurley show that they really aren't any good at poking a fish with a sharp stick.



I feel really bad for Charlie when he finally arrives with his freshly caught fish for Shannon. She takes the fish and completely ignores him, cue the sad Charlie face. Aw dude, cheer up. There's a hot preggers blond right around the corner that'll show you some attention. Eventually.

Jack is still sitting with Rose and she is finally beginning to speak. She notices that something is going on at the fuselage and Jack fills her in on the situation. She wants to be a part of the memorial and Jack helps her up. Out of nowhere Jack sees a man in a suit standing by the jungle's edge. As I stated in one of my previous articles, this season is hella creepy. Downright scary if you really think about being in that situation. So, is this Christian Shephard manifestation really Smokie? He says so in season 6, but perhaps it's a hallucination as well, since we know that Jack is hardly sleeping nor eating. Personally? I think it's Smokie. He's, for some reason or another, luring Jack away from the camp. Locke already had his Smokie encounter earlier in this episode, so perhaps it does make sense that Smokie has already scanned the body of Christian and hidden it away, therefore knowing all about Christian Shephard's son and ....okay who knows. I'm sure something is going on here, and clearly it's not all that important to know ALL the details.

Kate is speaking to Jack about how Locke most likely didn't make it. Once again though, Jack sees his father on the edge of the jungle. Jack runs into the jungle to find John Locke with a freshly Smokified boar. But of course everyone assumes Locke killed it.






Night falls and they begin to burn the fuselage. Jack is staring off at the ocean, much like Rose was earlier in the episode. Also, this totally mirrors a scene in the season 6 episode, Lighthouse. Jack is seen staring out at the ocean and Jacob states that "Some people just need to stare at the ocean for a little while" to Hurley.

Claire is reading off a bunch of random information about passengers that died in the crash while Locke tells Michael that he didn't get a good look at the monster, even though we know he was up close and personal with the thing. Similar to how the episode began, we see Locke this time, staring at his wheelchair next to the fire. Locke gives a smirk and all the Locke fans get goosebumps. Was that just me? I certainly hope not. Please, if anyone out in internet land reads this, leave a comment. I've been getting a decent amount of page views lately, at least 30-40 daily. I know you're out there. Even just to say "howdy", please leave a comment. Take care everyone, thanks for reading.