John Locke the hunter and outdoors man. This is our first impression of Locke in this episode that elevated him into one of the most beloved and mysterious characters on the show. He has always been a person of questionable motives on the Island, and no one can quite figure him out even at this late date. In this first encounter with him, most of the survivors are truly freaked out by him and all his hunting knives. On the heels of an invasion of the fuselage by wild boar, Locke steps into prominence by offering his services as a hunter to help solve the food shortage and rid the camp of a threat at the same time. Kate and Michael volunteer to help Locke. But, gasp, Kate has ulterior motives. She is going to do Sayid a solid and put up an antenna to help locate the distress signal. But she drops the antenna while in a tree and breaks it. Kate is lucky that Sayid didn't break her face when she brought it back to him in pieces. The dude tortures women and will go on to break a man's neck using only his legs! I guess she had a good excuse with the whole there was a smoke monster coming thing. Actually, it was headed for the area where she and Michael had left Locke after Michael was gored and they decided to head back to camp. Locke was determined to continue the hunt alone. Since Kate had seen the smoke monster unmercifully rip the pilot to shreds, she took Locke for a goner.Back at the beach, the group is preparing to burn the wreckage filled with rotting corpses in order to prevent further animal attacks to say nothing of the stench that must be unbearable in the heat of the day. Claire looks to Jack to lead the memorial service, but that's not his thing. Not yet, anyway. He gets pretty good at it by Season 4 though. Instead he goes to console Rose who has been sitting alone and silent. She believes Bernard and the passengers in the tail section of the plane are alive on another part of the Island. Jack thinks she is in denial, but obviously she is the wisest character on the show since she is proven correct. I don't think she has ever been wrong about anything. People should really listen to her!
Locke eventually emerges from the jungle dragging a dead boar behind him making him a respectable figure, but through flashbacks we learn that Locke is a very beaten down and pitiable man. He has delusions of grandeur that are displayed in his alternative reality game in which he calls himself "colonel". He believes he is in a relationship with a phone sex operator that he calls Helen. He has made plans to go on an Australian walkabout. But at every turn he is incapable of escaping the reality of his situation. He has a humdrum job at a box company (anyone else notice the smokey like sound his calculator made?) where his boss openly mocks him. "Helen" reminds him that he is her client, and their relationship is nothing more than professional. He is prevented from going on the walkabout. It's hard to understand why everyone seems to be picking on poor John until the big reveal.... 
Locke is in a wheelchair!!!! It was almost impossible to see this coming and is stunning while still being heartbreaking. He has our complete sympathy at this point. I admit to getting teary at the scene in the walkabout office.
Then cut to the moment immediately following the crash when Locke wiggles his toes and cue chill bumps! This is Lost at its finest. Completely shock us, and then show us a scene we've already watched only this time it takes on a different meaning. Some recurring mantras for Locke are introduced in this episode. First, his constant use of the phrase, "Don't tell me what I can't do". He is tired of having to accept limitations he feels don't apply to him. He wants to be extraordinary, but instead is treated as less than average in his daily life. Next is his belief in destiny. He tells his boss at work about a legless man climbing a mountain because it was his destiny. That is what Locke is all about. He believes he has a purpose in life, a special role to play. That gives him some meaning and eases the pain of having others see him as pathetic. All his time on the Island seems to reinforce this concept. But the recent revelation that dead is dead and Locke truly bit it when Ben strangled him is tragic. It means he was nothing but a pawn, and he died a broken and hopeless man.
Looking back at this episode, the moment that stands out the most is the shot at the end. Locke is illuninated by the glow of the burning fueslage. This is shortly after his encounter with the smoke monster in the jungle, and presumably it was an experience similar to Eko's. A sort of information gathering by Smokey. Whatever happened, John was now convinced of his belief that destiny brought him to the Island, and he had a purpose. He should have been questioning whether that purpose was for good or evil.
Because now we know that his purpose was to be a proxy for Jacob's nemesis in bringing about Jacob's death. The scene from Season 5 where Flocke watches Jacob burn in the fire pit is a mirror image of the Walkabout scene. Since nothing is a coincidence, it would appear this was the plan for John Locke after all.
In other island developments:
- Claire discovers Sayid's picture of Nadia. Awww an Iraqi glamour shot!
- Hurley and Charlie have a hilarious fishing adventure.
- Jack's dad, Christian Shephard, appears to him for the first time. Creepy!
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