Get Ready: The Man From Tallahassee

Yet another great new episode of LOST last night, with the airing of season 3, episode 13 of LOST, The Man From Tallahassee. Got any thoughts about the episode? Thoughts about Locke? Speculation about what happens next?

We'll be podcasting this weekend, so get us your thoughts by posting them here, sending us an email or leaving an audio comment by calling our automated audio comment voicemail at: 206-666-2278.

Comments

[tracic67]

Loved the episode last night. Some really great dialogue between Ben and Locke. I have searched through a couple of websites and everyone seems to think that Cooper, aka Locke's dad, is "The Man From Tallahasee". Why is that? When Ben tells the guy to bring me the man from Tallahasee, and he responds with why do you need him, isn't it obvious that Ben needs him as leverage? So, we would he ask that? So...my thought is, could the man from tallahasee be the guy that recruited Juliette in Miami? Or have I missed something? Thanks and I can't wait for the podcast.

[Anna]

So I can't take credit for this thought, but when Ben was talking about "the box" my friend brought up Leonard when he was telling Hurley not to use the numbers and that he would "open the box". Just thought that was an interesting connection...

[alex's slingshot]

McCutcheon whiskey makes a return. I guess it's the official drink of rich, but terrible father figures.

[Brian]

This was a great episode. Although I wish Locke hadn't blown the sub, I can see haw it contributes to the story. Ben left that situation scott-free!

Locke's fall off the balcony was a great carry-over from his last encounter with his father. Why is Cooper on the island...? Well, if we believe what Ben is alluding to, then the island made Locke's father "materialize" (either through another accidental arrival on the island like a crash, or through some worm hole). He materialized because of that "feeling" that Locke had when he realized his father tried to kill him. I think the island connects with Locke because his follies are not of his own doing. His follies are mostly at the fault of others around him...his father, the drug cartel, Ben, Eko, etc...

This contrasts with the faults of Jack, Sayid, Kate, Sawyer...and many others. They are responsible for the evil that has entered their lives through their own decisions. Therefore, they are the ones who suffer on the island, not knowing their own fate. Locke has "seen inside" the island and made a connection with it because of his honesty and integrity. So, the island has "delivered" to Locke the one person/thing that has caused him so much pain. I think he will have an opportunity to confront his father and either make peace, or make war. This decision will determine whether he is free to leave, or whether he stays forever and dies there.

One more thing..Anyone think that Ben is the DeGroot's son?

[Jamie (c)]

@ Anna - I wonder if there's a box connection there? I thought that Leonard was referencing Pandora's box.

It's really too bad that Locke is such a tool. Even when Alex told him that Ben was a manipulating him, he went ahead and blew up the sub.

His behavior is like he's the island's (or Ben's) puppet.

Now I know this is a stretch, but for a moment there I got this feeling Ben was sizing Locke up like one might a car they're about to buy.

Could Ben be planing a brain transplant into Locke’s body? I mean the box can deliver anything you really want, right? ;)

[Alex]

@Jamie

I don't want to start a big discussion on this, but if the episode last night said anything, I believe it said that Locke is not a tool. it pretty much confirmed that everything crazy he has been doing lately was for a reason. And he blew up a submarine. Even if Ben wanted him to do that, Locke wanted it ALSO, so it wasnt just being a tool to blow it up.

[scott]

wow. That was a really, really great episode. I was starting to lose faith in poor stupid Locke - but now I remember why I love him so much! I thought that ALL of the character interactions were fantastic... I found myslef on the edge of the seat just wanting more out of each conversation. Especially Locke & Ben's conversation. so much was written into the show without using words - very brilliant.

"You've been on this island for 80 days, I've been here my whole life. What makes you think you know so much more about this place than I do.

Because you're in a wheelchair and I'm not."

best lines of dialogue I've heard from both these characters... so great.

[Jamie (c)]

@ Alex - not what I got out of it. To me it feels like he's manipulated to think he's on a special mission and to not think for himself.

But I could be wrong. Also, what was the comment about 'them' leaving the C4 in Sayid's bag? I thought it was in Locke's bag. (scratch scratch)

And why was Locke soaking wet? Was the it a sauna sub? ;)

[daviboy]

Great episode! After two and a half seasons we finally learn about Locke's accident...albeit a little over the top with the 8 story fall. However, I felt so sorry for Locke when he didn't want to sit in the wheelchair. Terry O'Quinn is an amazing actor when it comes to emotion.

Also, I think Ben's reference to a "box on the island" is just an analogy. We all know Ben knows a little too much about our Losties and I don't see it being a stretch that he could have Locke's father kidnapped and brought to the island so that he could have some leverage over Locke and his connection to the island.

BTW, wasn't the dude who opened the door for Locke at the end of the episode a member of the Hanso Foundation? I'm pretty sure he was in the LOST EXPERIENCE over last summer. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Can't wait for the podcast! Stay LOST!

[Radzinsky]

Another GREAT episode. With the exception of Hurley's feel good VW ride and Juliet's branding, Lost has been ridiculously good since it came back (I didn't think that the first 6 episodes were so bad either).

So... let's get the theorizing started today.

I'd like to start us off with a biggie. And controversial.

We suspect that the Island now has some "wish-granting" power. Ask for something hard enough, want something bad enough, open up this proverbial box, and inside will be the object of your desires. And this has supposedly brought Locke's Dad to the Island.

Who else do we know who wanted something very badly and, against all odds, it appeared on the Island? Who said that he believed in God because a miracle just dropped out of the sky?

**** Could it be... that the Island's "wish-granting" powers brought Ben a spinal surgeon? Is that what crashed Flight 815? ****

Let's chat about it...

~Radzinsky

[Courtney]

Anyone get the feeling that someone in the past opened the box and smokey is what came out? I got the feeling that Locke's dad was a manifestation of smokey - not really there in person. Could how smokey reacts to you in its manifestations have something to do with whether or not you're on the list?
And can I just say that Ben doing comedy was HILARIOUS! "we have two giant hamsters running on wheels..."
I also felt incredibly sorry for Locke when he was being put in the wheelchair. Almost shed a single tear for him. He is such a great actor.
As for the guy opening the door... I'm pretty certain he was the same guy that recruited Juliet, posing as someone from the Mittelos corp. This gives even more credibility to the theory several of us talked about last week - believing that Juliet was recruited by the others posing as Mittelos rather than her having been a DHARMA recruit.

[Alex in Dallas]

One of the many things I found interesting about this episode was that Locke's dad told the lady he was conning that he was from Ontario. Isn't that the same story Ethan Rom told the Losties right before they exposed him as an Other? Hmmmm?

[daviboy]

@ Courtney

"As for the guy opening the door... I'm pretty certain he was the same guy that recruited Juliet, posing as someone from the Mittelos corp."

Thanks for the clarification on the guy opening the door. I knew I had seen this guy before but I wasn't for certain.

[Jamie (c)]

Just a thought - might all the odd shiat on the island "bad wishes"?

Smokey, Polar Bears, that mechanical noise thing that sounds like a dinosaur?

Could the sonic killer fence be a way to keep the bad wishes out of the compound?

Though it's fun to believe in 'the box' - remember who told you about it. Ben 'the puppet master'.

So, I also have to wonder when Penny and her search party are going to arrive. The last episode for the season?

[Bernie]

Why couldn't the man from Tallahassee be Jack. When Ben said to go get him, Jack was urged to go by his "keepers" and then he ended up in Ben's place. Any thoughts on this?

[Kathy aka Fangirl]

@radzinsky

I was thinking that too about the spinal surgeon falling from the sky bit. Here's the thing though, so far anything that seems supernatural at the time gets a scientific explaination it seems. So, in 80 days they could have found out Locke was there, got his file, realized if they wanted him to be a part of their group they would need some leverage, and then had their people go find him ala recruiting Juliet. If they did this quickly enough, he could have been on the island before the sky went purple.

[Bernie]

BTW, I am from Tallahasee, so that aspect interests me. We even had a write up in the paper about the Man from Tallahassee. I love Brian's theories and the theory about bad wishes. That would tie things up well - some of the wierder aspects of the first episodes.

[mudshark]

The Man From Tallahassee may have just showed up one day (recently?) and Ben's people took him prisoner. How much info do they have on the Losties? They figured out his connection to Locke in any case, and the attempt to further manipulate (recruit? test?) our hero goes on...

As far as blowing up the sub, it may not be for selfish reasons. Consider that 'Entering 7 7' may not have been what blew up the flame, but initiated another Candle film full of further instructions.

[sam]

HOLY SHNIKY MUFFINS!!!
that was one ending I didn't expect.
How, to address the whole Locke is more intune w/ the island thing, Ben is playin him sooooooo bad! He has known this since the moment that Locke landed on the island, and he knew that he would need to use him. Ben, like Alex said, is a manipulator. He knows how to use people to benefit himself. He knew that Locke would come in handy, and thats why he hasn't killed him yet. Ben has plans for Locke, because if Locke has a "communion" with the island, then wouldn't he kill Locke so that he couldn't mess up Ben's plans or something.
As for the whole Ben speach about how he couldn't kill Jack because that would be going against his word. He said that his people feel this way. Well, not all of his people. Remember Ethan Rom? ohh yeah, and that guy who was with the tallies (can't remember his name)? Well, they didn't seem to feel that way.
And did anyone else think that Jack was talking more and more like the others when he was talking to Kate?

STAY LOST!!!

-Sam

[sam]

HOLY SHNIKY MUFFINS!!!
that was one ending I didn't expect.
How, to address the whole Locke is more intune w/ the island thing, Ben is playin him sooooooo bad! He has known this since the moment that Locke landed on the island, and he knew that he would need to use him. Ben, like Alex said, is a manipulator. He knows how to use people to benefit himself. He knew that Locke would come in handy, and thats why he hasn't killed him yet. Ben has plans for Locke, because if Locke has a "communion" with the island, then wouldn't he kill Locke so that he couldn't mess up Ben's plans or something.
As for the whole Ben speach about how he couldn't kill Jack because that would be going against his word. He said that his people feel this way. Well, not all of his people. Remember Ethan Rom? ohh yeah, and that guy who was with the tallies (can't remember his name)? Well, they didn't seem to feel that way.
And did anyone else think that Jack was talking more and more like the others when he was talking to Kate?

STAY LOST!!!

-Sam

[my-2-cents]

As previously hinted, we're gonna need to brush up on Flann O'Brien's "The Third Policeman" and the relation between the magic box mentioned there and the mysterious box Ben describes. Also, I think it's reasonable to believe that Leonard did in fact have a life-altering encounter with "the box", whether it is a form of Pandora's Box or not.

[Bryan from the Dena]

Hey guys,

Great Episode, it always feels good to be out of breath (figuratively speaking) at the end of a Lost episode. So here are my thoughts:

1. Ben confirmed for us that the only way on or off of the island was by the submarine, and since the beacon had been destroyed the sub can leave but not return. I am fairly positive we can take this as truth since we get Ben's little explination about Jack leaving. My question is this, where does that leave Michael and Walt? If what Ben said is true, the Michael and Walt could not have been able to escape the island (or rather group of islands [more than the 2 we know]). And if they couldn't escape the island then they are either driving around in their boat still or the bearing given to them lead to a third island. Of course on the other hand, if the bearing given them was accurate, then Locke blowing up the sub still wouldn't solve Ben's problem because the have Desmond/Libby's husbands boat. So because they still have that boat, and Ben definately doesn't want Jack to leave I must conclude that they still have plans for Walt and the bearing given them was to another island, not the way home. However (and i need to go back and see how the scene played out) if a promise was made to Michael about being set free, then that just raises the whole, if Ben breaks a promise he would be seen as week and unable to lead the group. So was it a group decision to lie to michael and walt or what? (Sorry I am so long winded today)

2. The box that Ben talks about. I know most of us immediately thought of Pandora's Box ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandora%27s_box ) for the obvious similarities. The wiki article has interesting information pertaining to it. I could be way off here but this seemed interesting to me:

Pandora's Gifts Lost Characters
Healing Locke, Rose, Jin
Curiosity Locke
Cunning Sawyer, Jack, Ana Lucia, Sayid
Boldness Sawyer, Kate, Jack, Locke, echo
Charm Sawyer, Kate, Hugo, Rose, Bernard
Mischeviousness Sawyer, Kate, Charlie
music Charlie
Molded her Claire, Sun, Aaron
Clothes Hugo (clothed naked desmond)
jewels Bernard (i think it was him who wanted the pearl)

Obviously I am missing some, but the gifts of the gods given to Pandora seem to be our losties. (although i guess i could've done this with ay show. Oh well!)

Anyways, that is my rant for now, what do you think?

[Black Eyed Dog]

Wonderful episode...Lost has hit its stride again.

But remind me why Sayid has such a bad-ass reputation? I can't remember the last time one of his plans DIDN'T fail. I almost laughed out loud when it was revealed he'd been captured. Anyone else getting a "Monty Python" feel about Sayid?

Deadly serious delivery: "I am a torturer."

"But you didn't get anything out of Ben."

Deadly serious: "I have a plan to rescue Jack, Kate, and Sawyer."

"But you blew up Desmond's boat and didn't get them."

Deadly serious: "I will cover the front. You go around back. Locke will take the side."

Five minutes later he's on his face, hands tied behind his back while Kate and the box salesman have infiltrated the compound.

[Lorne]

Why is noone mentioning Walt? I thought it was theorized that he had the power to materialize thoughts.
Maybe Ben has Walt somewhere?

[Drederick_Tatum]

What a great episode! What a great twist! But is this Cooper the same Cooper from outside the island, or is this Cooper a "copy"(ie; "The Prestige") of the Cooper from the outside world. Now, I'm off to rewatch the entire series to see which "manifestations/teleportations/faxes"(call it what you will) might be on the island!

Also, I think Locke did NOT blow up the sub, but rather let it sink and blew up the dock area around it after swimming to the surface...