Okay, I can honestly say that being pushed out of an eight-story building is not one of the ways I imagined Locke became paralysed. I guess I didn't give it that much thought, but I presume many online have speculated and theorized the whole thing, so I'm curious to know what everyone thinks about it.

Also, part of me wonders if such a fall could actually be survived... Can anyone shine a light on that?


P.S. The look on Cooper's face just before and while he shoved Locke was what I imagine some form of pure evil must look like. :eek2:

I always thought that it had something to do with his dad. Mostly, I believed that it was due to some complication because of his surgery. But when I saw the glass windows of that place where he talked to his dad, I suspected that he was going to fall.

I know I might get killed for this, but...

I thought the CGI was pretty bad. Almost as bad as the polar bears in Locke's last episode. :redface:

But you know what? The payoff was so gut-wrenching and so completely worth it... that scene where Locke is lowered into the chair for the first time will haunt me everytime I look at Locke now. It made me cry and I was already a mess from the Jack/Kate scene.

I knew it involved his father, although I don't read spoilers and ultimately, it makes sense. I just don't like the character that much, but as long as Locke's there and it creates this sort of drama for him... It's all good.

I was underwhelmed by it. We've been waiting since the third episode of season one for the grand reveal, and THAT was it? I'm not sure what I was expecting, but.. not that.

Oh well. Part of me feels it was so hyped up that I wouldn't have been satisifed no matter what they did.

I did have a thought that he might have fallen from somewhere but I think I pushed it from my mind a while ago. I heard that Locke's paralysis was going to be crazy and interesting but I don't take it too seriously when they hype episodes up anymore. I didn't think it was disappointing. I think it was a satisfying answer to the question but I didn't have great expectations to begin with.

I'd have to go back and watch a replay of the scene, because on first glance I totally thought that his dad came thru the glass also just by sheer force of pushing Locke thru it, so I assumed it was gonna be that while Locke got the injury, at least his "dad" was finally dead from it. That's why when they cut to the cops talking to him in the hospital saying "he could be anywhere in the world by now" I was immediately like Oh man there's no way in hell he coulda survived that!! But then a minute later realizing he simply didn't follow John down.

But I for one absolutely was not let down by that reveal. Probably the first time in the series where fans were looking forward to the flashbacks just as much as (if not more than) the island time story :D Built up for 2.5 seasons and was a helluva payoff.

I was underwhelmed by it. We've been waiting since the third episode of season one for the grand reveal, and THAT was it? I'm not sure what I was expecting, but.. not that.

Oh well. Part of me feels it was so hyped up that I wouldn't have been satisfied no matter what they did.

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I thought it was perfect. As soon as I saw the windows, and the apparent long drop to the ground outside, I knew Anthony was going to push John out the window. But it was still a great "reveal" to see it in action. I mean, I was aware that Anthony Cooper was a bad, evil, bad, bad man, but willing to murder John? That I didn't necessarily see coming.

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Wow, no need to be vicious.

I think penumbra was perfectly reasonable by admitting that it was so hyped up that no answer would have really satisfied him/her. It's much like the situation with Jack's tattoos; by the time we learned about them it was so overhyped that the explanation just seemed like a silly waste of time.

In Locke's case, I thought that it was too obvious to have it related to Cooper. However, his reaction to the paralysis, Terry O'Quinn's absolutely amazing performance in the episode, and the subsequent connection to current on-island events redeemed it for me. As a result I wholly enjoyed it.

There is a certain tragic poetry to Cooper being the culprit. I mean, the man took EVERYTHING from John... his kidney, his pride, his woman, and then his mobility.

I know I might get killed for this, but...

I thought the CGI was pretty bad. Almost as bad as the polar bears in Locke's last episode. :redface:

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Why would you get killed for that?!!!! It was bad. No doubt about it! After the commercial though I soon forgot about it when Locke was in the hospital all battered and near tears when he had to sit in that wheelchair and couldn't feel his legs. My poor baby.

Unfortunately, CGI isn't cheap and fast enough for a television program to create a scene like that flawlessly. At least it wasn't as bad as that train on the mountain scene in the finale of ALIAS.

I'll have to admit that I was a little surprised at how he ended up in a wheelchair. I guess it's because of so many people guessing that he might have gotten hurt in Hurley's deck accident, or in a car crash with Shannon's dad.
I'm glad that I was surprised.

I am, however, glad that they didn't make his paralysis "all in his head". Some theories said that his paralysis was a result of depression, and I thought that was going to be it when we learned he was getting benefits because of his depression. That would have been a little weird for me.

I didn't notice the CGI, hey he fell out a window, did you slow-mo it or something? Really, I was more taken by the savage way Cooper attacks Locke and send's him spiraling. I was more shocked really that after that charge Cooper himself didn't go flying.

I liked that they didn't just show how Locke was paralyzed but tied it in with events in present day time on the island. We've got an interesting parallel between Locke and Ben and now there's Cooper bringing a new element of fun to the story.

I also wondered if Ben has father issues too.... he asked so pointedly how it felt to have your father try to kill you.

I figured Locke's paralysis was because of his father in some way, but I didn't expect it to be at the hands of his father. And that Locke survived that fall is amazing. Not only did we see surprise on Locke's face to see his father in the room, but we also saw surprise on Cooper's face that Locke is alive/out of the wheelchair.

I thought the direction was superb. Like the bus scene from Not in Portland, it was another one you could "feel" coming, but still a completely surprising "OMG - did you see that!?!" moment anyway.

And I thought O'Quinn did a great job of conveying the feeling of finality and hopelessness about his paralysis in the wheelchair scene. It was as if the chair itself delivered the final blow, and Locke felt as if he could just avoid sitting in it, he could avoid being paralyzed.

Also, part of me wonders if such a fall could actually be survived... Can anyone shine a light on that?


Well, my father fell 5 stories while working on a building as an ironworker and survived. He was seriously messed up (broken ankle, fractured skull, dislocated shoulder, chronic back and neck) problems and was in the hospital for over three months. Locke's fall was from 8 stories though. It's possible he could have survived.

That was a great reveal to me. And I wondered if he was maybe the man that Hurley saw fall when he was at his attorney's office. I asked my husband and he said he didn't remember that - it had been so long. I said me either, I read speculation on the boards. So not my original idea, someone else gets the credit.

It's not that the WAY he was paralyzed was particularily shocking. I assumed he fell or had some car accident...I didn't expect anything really wierd to have happened.

I was sure that it had something to do with his father even before this episode because they've been playing that relationship up in his flashbacks.

What is shocking is just the way that it went down. Watching Locke's dad talk to him in this earnest voice...playing that role so well...and then in a split second without any forethought...the second Locke turned around he was shoved out the window. It was like this hideous transformation. I was literally blown away just by watching it happen. The horror of it kept my mouth hanging open for almost the rest of the show. It was so cold...I can't imagine anything more emotionally damaging to a person.

Personally, I thought it was masterfully written and played.

Locke in the hospital, refusing to get up and get in the wheelchair; the physical therapist making him do it - that had me tearing up.

I am glad his paralysis wasn't psychological, because it really does add more to the "miraculous" nature of his recovery.

Yes, it's unlikely he would have survived that fall - but it's also quite unlikely that anyone would have survived the Flight 815 airline crash, either... :rolleyes:

I hear a lot of people complaining about the CGI for the scene.. But it's a television show. It looked fine, if it was a movie, they would have worked harder on it. Honestly I think it just should have showed the angle where it shows him falling from a distance, and omitted the angle where it's following the front of his body to the ground. That's always a cheesy effect that movies seem to like to repeat. But hey, I rewatched the scene and it looked fine to me, I wasn't going "Man, this is crappy." I think it's just the shock of seeing it first makes people think it's bad effects, but if you watch it again, the scene is pretty decent.

Also, part of me wonders if such a fall could actually be survived... Can anyone shine a light on that?

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/local_story_288161321.html

I found other stories of fall survivors too, but 7 was as close as I could get. I think it is reasonable that he would have survived that. Then again, Locke is special and it looks as if Ben is a bit jealous of Locke's specialness.

I was so shocked when he fell I guess I didn't have time to worry about how well the CGI was. I guess I always thought that Locke was hit by a car, so I was surprised. I hadn't read the theories about Locke's paralysis being in his head, I'm glad that wasn't true.

Someone above said that the fact that it was his own father that pushed him out the window was pure evil, and I agree.

I thought it was a great scene, even though I was kind of expecting it - as others have said, Terry's performance was top-notch last night.

The writers/TPTB are really in a catch 22 when it comes to things like Locke's wheelchair origin and Jack's tattoos. They've stated more than a few times that they never really thought people would ask about things like that (and assumedly didn't have entire episodes dedicated to them), but fans were interested, and thus they decided to try to please some of those fans. As with any myth-related show, when you reveal an answer, a bunch of people aren't going to be happy with it - (most) everyone wants an answer, but they definitely don't all want the same answer. So, before folks get riled up about TPTB wasting time or whatever on episodes like this one (which I thought was brilliant, even though I didn't give 2 shoots about how Locke got in his wheelchair), remember that these episodes probably wouldn't exist if the fans didn't ask for them.

Though in that vein, I can't help but chide TPTB for listening to the audience, since doing just that has been the downfall of many many shows, not the least of which the mighty Twin Peaks. :(

I always thought that Cooper had something to do with Locke's paralysis, but WOW! I figured that maybe Cooper hired someone to off Locke, and it was a job gone wrong. Maybe like shooting him in the back and severing his spine...but, OMG!! I NEVER expected that!!! Brilliant!

It was definitely a shocker! In some twisted way, I'm almost "relieved" that it was something quick like that, as opposed to something .. slower.

I thought the direction was superb. Like the bus scene from Not in Portland, it was another one you could "feel" coming, but still a completely surprising "OMG - did you see that!?!" moment anyway.

And I thought O'Quinn did a great job of conveying the feeling of finality and hopelessness about his paralysis in the wheelchair scene. It was as if the chair itself delivered the final blow, and Locke felt as if he could just avoid sitting in it, he could avoid being paralyzed.

I agree. Even though, once seeing those tall windows, I predicted that we would see how Locke became injured, by him somehow going out a window, it was still a "Holy crap!" scene for me.

Terry is a great actor too. He was WELL chosen for the role of Locke. :hypocrit:

So, before folks get riled up about TPTB wasting time or whatever on episodes like this one (which I thought was brilliant, even though I didn't give 2 shoots about how Locke got in his wheelchair), remember that these episodes probably wouldn't exist if the fans didn't ask for them.

Though in that vein, I can't help but chide TPTB for listening to the audience, since doing just that has been the downfall of many many shows, not the least of which the mighty Twin Peaks. :(

Um, I have a hard time believing that TPTB didn't always plan on explaining how Locke got in his wheelchair. Clearly, its not just the fact that Locke was paralyzied and now can walk that is important to the arc of Lost, but also his relationship with his father and the fact that his father took EVERYTHING away from him. Locke's motives would be pretty weak if it weren't for the circumstances that led to his paralysis in the first place. Likewise, its not likely that they would have bothered giving Jack tatoos unless it was going to figure into the story arc somehow. TPTB may have been surprised that people picked up on little things like that and were interested, but it just doesn't make much sense that they considered them trivial details that only got attention to please the fans.

Moving on, does everyone think its safe to assume that Locke was the man Hurley saw falling in his Accountant's office? I haven't been able to go back and compare the building, etc, but it seems to me that's a pretty safe bet.

I wasn't shocked by how Locke became paralyzed. I had suspected for some time that Locke was the guy Hurley saw falling. But the confirmation was certainly a great payoff. It seems to me that people might be underwhelmed because there were all these complicated, grandiose theories about clones and time-travel figuring into it, that a straightforward, but thematically driven explanation was a let down.

For me, I just keep reminding myself that not everything about this show is Sci-Fi. Locke being healed is Sci-Fi, but that doesn't mean how he got paralyzed needs to be, nor do I think it woudl be better if it was. The show has to be grounded somehow in reality, and sometimes I just have to laugh at how far-fetched some theories get about the minutia of the show. The larger mystery, however...I don't think the term far-fetched can be applied. :rolleyes:

For some reason I always pictured Lockes father running him down with a car.
Something really sad, like Locke trying to get his dad to talk to him and his father just trying to get away from him.

So the window took me totally by suprise.

It was fantastic. I love how they've been Cooper a pure evil guy since Season One and everyone's been hating him and wanting him to get his... can you IMAGINE the satisfaction that I felt when I saw him beat up and tied to that chair? CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

Okay, I can honestly say that being pushed out of an eight-story building is not one of the ways I imagined Locke became paralysed. I guess I didn't give it that much thought, but I presume many online have speculated and theorized the whole thing, so I'm curious to know what everyone thinks about it.

Also, part of me wonders if such a fall could actually be survived... Can anyone shine a light on that?


P.S. The look on Cooper's face just before and while he shoved Locke was what I imagine some form of pure evil must look like. :eek2:

I never expected that Cooper would have actually pushed him out of that window...I thought that his face was pure evil before he pushed him...and I thought his face was pure terror when he saw Locke come into the room...

I actually thought the effects were decent, ok they weren't brilliant but they weren't embarassingly bad either. Plus it was just a shocker when it happened, i was expecting Locke to phone the woman up and she would have agreed with his father, and then when Locke would have got home his father's cronies would be waiting to break his legs or something. Still really suprising and a great scene, loved the heartbreaking scene after aswell.

I'm not sure about the err hurley guy falling down the building, i mean did Hurley win the lottery 4 years before the crash? Because that's how long Locke had been paralysed for before it. If not it wouldnt add up.

I think Locke's paralysis reveal has pleased more fans than it's alienated, i mean if there was scientific basis between his paralysis and then his non paralysis it would of peed me off, i prefer it to be a faith in the island thing and i think the majority of true Locke fans do aswell :D

Moving on, does everyone think its safe to assume that Locke was the man Hurley saw falling in his Accountant's office? I haven't been able to go back and compare the building, etc, but it seems to me that's a pretty safe bet.

And again, the Hurley/accountant scene was less than a year prior to the crash of Oceanic 815, as Hurley won the lottery a year before the crash. Locke was in a wheelchair for four years.

Also, the man in the Hurley/accountant scene is falling face down, right body side towards the building. Locke was falling face up, feet towards the building.

I thought the direction was superb. Like the bus scene from Not in Portland, it was another one you could "feel" coming, but still a completely surprising "OMG - did you see that!?!" moment anyway.

My thoughts exactly. It was nearing the end of the episode and he was going to see his evil dad... in a room with enormous windows. 'Oh no, he's going to fall!' was my immediate thought then, but I still gasped when Anthony charged at him.

So sure, it could've been something more interesting, but I think it had the right effect. I've been getting annoyed with Locke this season, since he seems to mess up one thing after another... but I can't stop feeling sorry for him. Did I mention that I hate Anthony? Grr... :mad:

The payoff was so gut-wrenching and so completely worth it... that scene where Locke is lowered into the chair for the first time will haunt me everytime I look at Locke now. It made me cry and I was already a mess from the Jack/Kate scene.
I agree: and Terry O'Quinn certainly deserves an Emmy for that scene.

I had always believed his paralysis was psychosomatic and caused by some trauma related to Helen. I never believed they could actually pull off a recovery from a 'true' physical paralysis in a way we would accept. Given that, I was stunned and happily shocked that they did it in a way I could buy into. Surviving the fall from 8 stories was a tiny bit of a 'miracle' that actually does happen in the real world occasionally but is still miraculous. That leads nicely into the whole mystical 'we were brought here for a reason...' school of thought that I wasn't quite sure of. Or, at least I wasn't quite sure how they were going to sell it.
I think the writers, and especially Terry, did a marvelous job of setting us up for the bigger mystery (as spoken by Ben): 'I'm in a wheelchair and you're not!' I'm looking forward to the roller-coaster ride ahead! Whoopee!

Oldwiz

For some reason I always pictured Lockes father running him down with a car.
Something really sad, like Locke trying to get his dad to talk to him and his father just trying to get away from him.

So the window took me totally by suprise.

I thought this too. I remember when he was standing in the street and his father drove up and told him to go away, and then Peggy Bundy dumped him, I thought he was going to be hit by a car in the street and paralyzed. When it happened last night I actually gasped:o , I did NOT see it coming!