I absolutely love “Walkabout“. I think the big twist at the end of this episode (and what happens in the next episode with Jack chasing his dead father around the Island) was what really got me to sit up and take notice of LOST. The episode opens so innocently with Locke putting on his shoes and getting to his feet, but that’s soon to change.

Locke

This is the episode where we discover boars on the Island and Jack makes the decision to burn the fuselage and the bodies inside instead of burying them saying “any bodies we bury are not going to be buried for long” – how true that would turn out to be!

Introducing.. John Locke
This is Locke’s first episode, where we are introduced to a pathetic man playing at being a colonel during his lunch hours, calling chat lines at $89.95 an hour and desperately looking for meaning and purpose. Although we see Locke becoming a much more confident character as the series progresses, in the end we know he dies as he lived – a pathetic man. This makes his origin all the more sadder.

Jack also sees Christian for the first time, though the full effects won’t be revealed until “White Rabbit” but it certainly acts as a hook for the next episode.

Kate, thinking Locke got killed by the Monster says “Locke’s gone. It was going in his direction” – and of course eventually we learn that the Man in Black was going in Locke’s direction all along.

I think the episode is even better because although the main focus is on John Locke and the huge reveal that he’s in a wheelchair at the end, there is quite a bit of character development here as well between Michael and Walt, Michael and Sun, Hurley and Charlie going fishing, Boone and Shannon and Jack and Rose.

Mystery One
Locke encounters the Monster and he tells Jack later that what he saw was “beautiful”. Well from our experiences looking at Smokey, he certainly is anything but “beautiful”, so what exactly did Locke see?

Season One Rankings

1. Walkabout
2. Pilot
3. Tabula Rasa

“Walkabout” was truly a jaw-dropping episode that stands the test of time even six seasons later. Brilliant writing to introduce us to one of the best characters on LOST and perhaps television history.

Continuing my thoughts from LOST S01E01 – Pilot Part One, the episode resumes with reminders of much simpler times like Charlie being a junkie and the mystery of the handcuffs.

Character Moments
More in-depth introductions are made particularly with the fist fight between Sayid and Sawyer and a tense moment between Sun and Jin, in which I loved Sun’s silent defiance and resentment.Yunjin Kim is an awesome actress. Meanwhile, Kate decides to… go… on.. another.. hike… yawn…

Shannon, just like Boone in “Pilot Part One“, has a scene that sums up her character’s role for as long as she’s alive, “being worthless”. Of course, to prove she isn’t “worthless”, she decides to go for the hike as well, resulting in the party consisting of Sayid, Kate, Charlie, Sawyer, Boone and Shannon. At this point I need to say once again that Michael Giacchino’s music is magical while they’re climbing the “hills”.

Locke makes his bigger appearance this scene and tells Walt about Backgammon with his now-famous scene.

Locke Backgammon

“Two players. Two sides. One is light, one is dark.”

How true those words would be by the time we reach Season Six.

The Polar Bear Party
Before long, our little party comes across the polar bear (I’ll list this as a mystery later) which Sawyer shoots pretty dead. And so the gun bickering begins.

Danielle Rousseau’s transmission is also picked up and the Losties are understandably shaken up when they hear that something “killed them all” and that the transmission has been going on for 16 years… A puzzle that would be solved later in the season.

The second half of the Pilot was definitely more character driven and you got to know the characters rather quickly from the few scenes they shared together. Not much in the larger mythology was introduced, but that would quickly be rectified in the subsequent episodes.

Mystery One
The polar bears – where did they come from and what was their role on the Island? We know of course they were kept in the cages on Hydra Island in Season Three, and that the Dharma folk were using them for experiments. But how did the remains of one end up in Tunisa, where people appear after turning the Frozen Donkey Wheel? Were they used for that purpose or is there some other reason?

First off: There will be spoilers in this blog post, so if you haven’t watched the Lost season five finale, don’t read this until you have!

Wow where to even begin? I guess the best way would be to tackle 1977 and 2007.

1977:

Lots of stuff here. Pity Sawyer didn’t kill Phil, but glad he died anyway.

I never thought I’d say this, but I really felt tormented when Juliet was falling down the Swan shaft. I mentioned after four episodes that I like how they’re making her a sympathetic character, but I never thought I’d feel real emotion when her “death” was about to happen. Poor Sawyer. He should know no one stays happy on Lost for long.

Jack, this season, has been the man for me. Finally throwing off his “man of science” ways, I’m liking how he’s just doing what he thinks he should do.

Dharma Food

Hurley for me, is the mystery. Why was he the only one Jacob spoke honestly to? What’s in the guitar case?

All in all, I had a great time in 1977, meeting Horace, Radzinsky, Dr. Chang and the rest of them, but it’ll be great to get back to our core Losties and the battle that is certainly coming.

2007:

Nice part reaching the Losties old camp. I liked Sun’s role in reaching over Aaron’s cradle and finding Charlie’s old Drive Shaft ring. Sun hasn’t had enough to do this season but I’m glad she had that moment to shine.

I guessed the revelation of what’s in the cargo box, but it was still a shock. I guess we unfortunately have to accept that John Locke is dead, but will it be for the better?

Jacob:

Watching Jacob meet Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Sun, Jin, Sayid, Locke and Hurley was really nice. For awhile I was thinking “Why just them?”, then I realised they’re the only survivors of the original Losties on 815 out there. RIP Boone, Charlie, Shannon, Michael and the rest of you. Another question is why did Jacob choose those moments to meet the Losties? Why while Kate shoplifted? While Sawyer was writing his letter? Why Jin and Sun’s weddings? Perhaps there’s no significance…. But nothing on Lost happens without a reason.

Okay who the hell is pulling who the hell’s strings?! If Jacob helped Locke when he was thrown out of the window, did he know he would one day be “possessed” by his enemy? And if Charles Widmore (and Abaddon) helped Locke to get back to the island, was he helping Jacob, or his enemy? If Smokey told Ben to follow “Locke”, is the Island on Jacob’s side? Oh my mind explodes just thinking about it.

The only weak parts of the episode as a whole were the emotional flip-flopping of Juliet and Kate. “No Jack’s got a bomb we must stop him” “Yes I’m with you Jack”. I mean, come on already. Kate has really been a character that has no use anymore and I would not be sorry if she dies.

So what next? Now that Juliet has triggered the bomb, what happens? I have a feeling we’re going to see the 1977 Losties reunited with the 2007 Losties, but what happens then? Will they be back on the plane? Back on the beach? Did reality “reset”? How will Jacob’s death affect the upcoming battle? Who will be the players? Team Richard? Team Jacob’s enemy? Team Widmore?

Gone are the days where it was as simple as Team Jack vs Team Locke for moving into the caves vs staying on the beach. It’s bigger than any of us would have thought back in season one. It’s madness, and I can’t believe we have to wait till 2010 to find out.