THE MAN FROM TALLAHASSEE

Or, Felix's Magic Bag of Tricks

[Originally Aired March 21, 2007]

Locke is meeting with a government bureaucrat, and she asks him lots of personal questions. She asks why he's stopped submitting his therapy paperwork. He's stopped going. The woman decides he must be better then, and suspends his benefits. Locke gets up and walks out. Meanwhile Locke, Sayid, Kate and Rousseau watch Jack play football. Jack wanders away from the field and talks to Juliet and Ben. Locke, Sayid, and Kate continue to watch. Rousseau disappears. They pull back to the jungle and Kate loads her rifle, apparently planning a shoot out to rescue Jack. Sayid tells her Jack may not want to be rescued. She is uncertain. (And is it just me, or have the writers kind of made Kate dumb this season?) "The first time I saw him he was risking his life pulling people out of burning airplane wreckage. If he's shaking hands with the Others, I'm sure he has a good reason. We wait till it's dark, we approach Jack when he's alone... and if he wants out, we get him out." Flashback and Locke hears a knock on his apartment door. It's some kid named Peter Talbot and he asks how many kidneys Locke has. Talbot tells Locke his mother is dating a really charming retired computer entrepreneur from Ontario. (California or Canada?) Locke asks what any of this has to do with him. Talbot asks why he gave the dude his kidney. Locke lies and says the donation was anonymous. At the barracks, later in the evening, Locke sends Sayid to watch the back of Jack's bungalow and tells Kate to go in the side door. Kate sneaks in and Jack freaks out, telling her to leave, now. She refuses and he tells her they're watching, pointing to a camera in his bungalow. Oops. Two Others bust in and wrestle her to the floor. A moment later some other Others bring Sayid inside. They ask who else is with them. No one, Kate says. Meanwhile Locke sneaks into Ben's bungalow. What is he up to? "You don't have to point the gun at me. I can tell you where Jack is," Ben says. "I'm not looking for Jack. I'm looking for the submarine." Uh oh. Ben plays dumb and Locke tells him Mikhail already told him about it. Then Alex wanders in and Locke grabs her. Tom knocks and Locke drags Alex into the closet. Tom and Alpert enter and tell Ben they've captured Sayid and Kate. Ben sends Tom away, telling him to separate the prisoners. Then Ben orders Alpert to "Bring me the man from Tallahassee." He leaves and Locke comes back in asks if that was some sort of code. "No, John, unfortunately we don't have a code for There's a man in my closet with a gun to my daughter's head. Although we obviously should. " Locke tells Ben to tell Alex to go get Sayid's backpack. Flashback and Locke is a flower shop spying on his dad and a woman as they make wedding arrangements. Dad notices Locke and wanders over toward him. Locke tells dad to call off the wedding and dad tells him he will. Yeah, right. Back on the island, Ben asks Locke to help him into his wheelchair. Then he asks Locke how he plans to pilot the submarine. "I'll figure something out. For all you know I was a commander in the navy." Ben asks why he wants Sayid's pack. Ben says if he met Mikhail, then they visited the comm station and must've seen the explosives. "So you're not planning to pilot the submarine anywhere, are you? You're planning to destroy it." Uh oh. Ben says he knows Locke and Locke tells him he doesn't know shit. Then Ben spouts off some stuff about Locke's life which is pretty spot on. "I know you spent the four years prior to your arrival on this island in a wheelchair. And I know how you ended up in it. Tell me, John. Did it hurt?" Cut to Kate, tied up on a room somewhere. Tom says hello and leads Jack in to see her. Kate asks Jack if he's okay, and he is and he tries to explain but can't only yelling "I told you not to come back for me!" Then he tells her they are letting him go and he plans to bring help back with him. Kate is in disbelief. Juliet enters and tells Jack they need to go. Jack tells Kate he'll come back for her. Flashback and Locke is approached by two detectives. They ask him about Peter Talbot and Locke lies, saying he doesn't know him. Then why was Locke's name and address on a piece of paper in his pocket? Uh oh. Peter Talbot has been murdered. Back in his room Ben is asking Locke about his miracle cure. Ben is amazed. Locke is nonchalant about it. Then Locke asks why the island hasn't cured Ben. In fact, he asks, why did the island let him get sick to begin with? Ben counters with "Are you afraid it'll go away, John? Is that why you want to destroy the submarine? Because you know if you ever leave this island you'll be back in the chair?" Alex walks to where they're holding Sayid and asks for his pack. Sayid looks at her and asks her if she's Alex. Alex wants to know how he knows her name. He tells her she looks like her mother. And when she says her mother is dead, Sayid replies, "I'm sure that's what they told you." Ben tells Locke that blowing up the submarine will fuck things up for him and the Others. Locke doesn't give two fucks, though. Ben tries to persuade him by telling him he has a magic box and he can use it to get whatever he wants. Locke tells him to get a new submarine then. Alex returns with the backpack and the C-4, and Locke makes her take him to the sub dock. After they've left, Jack comes in and asks Ben to let his friends go. Ben agrees and the two shake hands. Way to go Jack, but you forgot to ask him to let you go. From the bushes, Rousseau tearfully watches Alex as Locke heads into the submarine with the explosives. He rigs the sub up with the C-4. On his way out he runs into Juliet and Jack and the Others. They yell at him to surrender. Jack asks what he is doing here and Locke apologizes. Then the sub explodes. Flashback and Locke visits his father and accuses him of killing Peter. His father denies it and tells Locke after the kid's death his fiancé put the wedding on hold. His grift is over: no wedding, no con. Locke asks his dad to call the woman so she can verify this. Instead Locke's father shoves him out the window. Locke falls eight stories, breaking his back. At the hospital, the cops tell him dad fled to Mexico and disappeared. Then Locke starts some physical therapy, despite not really wanting to. Locke cries. Back at the compound Locke is chained to a pipe somewhere. Ben and Alpert come in and lead him down the hall. Ben tells Locke he knows he blew up the submarine because he's afraid of his father and the island is the one place he can never find him. Locke asks Ben what the hell he wants from him. "You seem to have some communion with this island, John, and that makes you very, very important. You have no idea what you're talking about, of course." Of course. Ha! "I want to help you," Ben adds. They reach the end of the hall and open the door. A man is in the room, gagged, tied in a chair. Locke looks at him and says "Dad?"