Is it actually supposed to be Richard? :confused:

Not clear to me. John's grandmother says "he's twice your age!"... when she sees him at the hospital, she is either just weirded out by him (cause he's creepy) or she is just not going to acknowledge him at all because now he is out of her life completely.

It would explain why Richard knows that John is special, though.... since Richard is special in his own ways...

I don't think it's Richard. Funny how he showed up like that.

I am thinking that Locke's real dad is still Cooper. But, I think that Cooper and Richard might have communicated with each other. Can't think of how Richard knew to show up. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

I'm pretty sure Locke's dad is Cooper judging by the way the mother reacted in the first scene to him being an older bad-boy type.

I don't think Alpert being at the hospital was supposed to be an indicator of him being the father at all.

Emily was about 15, and her mom said "he's twice your age".

So - IF Locke was conceived the old-fashioned way, that would make his dad about 30 years older than him. No way Cooper was that old, unless he was travelling a la Richard.

I posted the same question and I guess one of the mods deleted it...I love how they decide what real fans want to talk about...but anyway...

She did say that he is twice your age. So was Cooper twice Emily's age? I don't think so...they looked about the same age. The Immaculate Conception comment that Emily made a few seasons back has me wondering too...

Not to go off on a tangent here but I have always thought that Locke has been on the island before...even posted a thread in the theory section last year and now I'm wondering if he did go on that field trip to "Portland".

Back to the topic, who would be twice Emily's age that we have seen so far? Is there a possibility that it could be Christian? I don't think he is old enough tho.

Very confused and hoping that someone has a good theory here.

If Cooper isn't Locke's dad, he must have believed he was enough to con John out of a kidney...& it was a match, so who knows?

I think it could be Cooper, easily. If she was 15 then Cooper would be 30. I think he could have been 30 years older than Locke. Obviously, when we saw his parents in his adult flashbacks, he wouldn't have been twice her age then, just 15 years older than her.

I think it must have been Cooper also. The whole kidney storyline was based on the fact that Cooper needed John's kidney and knew that it would be a match because he really was his father. Richard's being there just indicated that somehow "they" knew that John would be a special child just as "they" knew that Walt was special. I wonder if Richard was there at Walt's birth too. Just a thought.

I think it could be Cooper, easily. If she was 15 then Cooper would be 30. I think he could have been 30 years older than Locke. Obviously, when we saw his parents in his adult flashbacks, he wouldn't have been twice her age then, just 15 years older than her.

lol good point about the age thing, Jenny. Emily could have been 50 and Cooper 65. I would buy that.

And you are all right-- Cooper has to be his father, because of the kidney issue. Plus, they actually cast an actor who could pass for Locke's father.

So much for my idea that Richard is Locke's father and that is why Locke is special ;)

Yeah I think it must be Cooper too. the only thing that bugs me is if Cooper was about 30 I'm thinking he was already a Con Man by then. What would a Con Man want with a 15 year old girl with no money??? Unless her family was rich??? Or maybe he really loved her??? So does anyone think that Cooper hit her with the car? Maybe after finding out she was preggers? Doesn't sound like he loved her?

Not based on the description by Locke's grandmother that Emily's love interest was more than twice her age.

It would make perfect sense that someone of Cooper's ...skills would be able to land a much younger girl.

The only other reason I can see is that they needed a way to reunite Sawyer with Cooper, and they decided to use Locke to do it, but that doesn't really explain the donor match.... unless that was all a setup too.

I was surprised to see this thread. I just assumed it was Cooper, and the profile of the man standing looking in looked like a young Cooper. I do admit the ages are a bit off, but if Locke is supposed to be 40 and Cooper 70 in the flashbacks...that might be pushing it.

I still think his pop is Cooper, I think Richard is probably just drawn to kids that are special like Locke.

This may sound crazy, but i've got a suspicion that Christian may be John's real father...

Emily's Mom

"He's Twice Your Age!"

Christian is NOT twice Locke's age nor his mothers. I don't buy it.

He wouldn't *still* be twice Locke's mother's age but I agree, Shepherd is no way old enough. If Emily was 15 when she had Locke then the father would have had to be 30ish, meaning that when Locke's in his late 40s (born 1956) his father would be in his late 70s. Shepherd couldn't have been more than 65.

I thought long and hard about this while watching the episode, but I agree the age doesn't cut it.
Of course, we don't know if John's father fathere travelled to and from the island, thereby retaining a semi-youthful appearance.
We don't even know if John HAS a father...

Cooper looked to be around the same as Christian to me....just saying.

But what about Richard. Standing at the window, twice her age, creepy. Could Richard be Locke's father. Mrs. Locke recognized him. She was scared.

Cooper looked to be around the same as Christian to me....just saying.
Yes.
As has been mentioned in several other threads, Cooper certainly didn't appear to be 30 years older than Locke either...

Cooper looked to be around the same as Christian to me....just saying.
Both actors were born in 44, I know that's not necessarily their characters' age but yeah, neither seem to be old enough to be Locke + 30 years.

My money's on Halpert.

lol good point about the age thing, Jenny. Emily could have been 50 and Cooper 65. I would buy that.

And you are all right-- Cooper has to be his father, because of the kidney issue. Plus, they actually cast an actor who could pass for Locke's father.

So much for my idea that Richard is Locke's father and that is why Locke is special ;)
Locke was born on May 30, 1956. At the time of the crash he's 48 y.o. That means Cooper would be 78... I am not sure that he is John's father.

Emily's mom did not recognize Alpert.

I took the "twice your age" to be more of an exaggeration - as in, maybe Cooper was 20-25 at the time.

I think it is Cooper and I hope it is Cooper for simple reasons: my favorite episode of Lost ever is The Brig, and that episode would lose so much meaning if it turned out Cooper wasn't his father.

As I said in another thread, the "twice your age" could quite possibly have been an exaggeration.

I took the "twice your age" to be more of an exaggeration - as in, maybe Cooper was 20-25 at the time.


Yep us moms tend to exaggerate. I took it that way too.

Richard is just Johnny on the spot then? Juliet's husband gets smacked by a bus, there is Richard. Emily gets hit by a car, there is Richard! What does Richard have to do with all of the conceptions? Juliet's sister concieves when it is not physically possible and Emily saying John's conception was immacualte and Sun with her conception and Claire? Who knows?

Could Richard be Locke's father.I'm thinking there might be something to this...

So how does Cooper know Locke is a suitable match for a kidney if he's not the father?

He's a flippin' con man. We don't know yet the relationship between Emily and Cooper. Or if there is any. But, people get organ transplants from strangers everyday. You don't have to be related to be compatible.

He's a flippin' con man. We don't know yet the relationship between Emily and Cooper. Or if there is any. But, people get organ transplants from strangers everyday. You don't have to be related to be compatible.
For kidneys, they don't, for sure. The match only has to be slightly closer than a blood-type match, which means in many cases strangers are better donors than relatives.
I never quite believed that Cooper's Locke's bio dad until the scene where Cooper was tied to the pillar. I'm still not sure he's the dad, but I think Cooper *believed* he was the dad.
This is one of the mysteries I think they'll eventually answer.

I'm still not sure he's the dad, but I think Cooper *believed* he was the dad.
That I could believe.
No way I can believe Cooper sought out Locke simply because he's a "flippin' con man".
Still... I do think Cooper is his real father.

That I could believe.
No way I can believe Cooper sought out Locke simply because he's a "flippin' con man".
Still... I do think Cooper is his real father.
I'm not saying that he sought out Locke, I'm saying he, as a con man, was very observant. We still don't know the story of Emily and Cooper.

After doing the math, if Cooper were twice Emily's age when she was 16, that would make him 86 years old when Sawyer killed him. An 86year old kidney transplant patient. I ain't buying it. Someone or something else impregnated that girl, I think.
100%
Oh! And if Locke were conned into giving away his kidney, it ultimately saved his life.

After doing the math, if Cooper were twice Emily's age when she was 16, that would make him 86 years old when Sawyer killed him. An 86year old kidney transplant patient. I ain't buying it. Someone or something else impregnated that girl, I think.
100%
Oh! And if Locke were conned into giving away his kidney, it ultimately saved his life.

i'm not sure what year Locke was born, but the transplant was before Locke was even in a wheelchair... and it was before he met Helen, so he could've been around 70ish... i'm not quite sure about my dates...

I'm not sure any form of normal math works with LOST.:confused:

I don't think we should take "twice your age" literally. If he was 25 or so, that would put him in his 60s at the time Locke gave him the kidney.

Based on the info presented, Cooper can not be Locke's father. I questioned this from the beginning anyway, given that Locke grew up in foster homes.

His father could be anybody. Including Richard Alpert.

But this would make past 80 years old in 2004. And we have no proof Cooper was Locke's father. Cooper was a Con Man who needed a kidney.

Doesn't anyone question this?

So was Emily not crazy when she said that Locke was emaculately conceived?

I don't think we can conclude that Cooper is not the father based on her mom's comment. Firstly, Cooper is a con man and could've claimed to be much older than he really was. Secondly, we don't know how old John's mom was when she gave birth. Thirdly, John is 48 years old. If Emily was say 15 when she gave birth, Cooper could've been 30, making him 78 now. I don't think that's all that far off.

I think it had to be someone connected to the island... Locke was born in what looks like the late 50s, early 60s-- Dharma Initiative wasn't formed until the 70s.

I kept thinking during this whole episode... "they're looking for a leader." Evidently Ben wasn't it. Both times, though, potentials are being recuited at young ages. What was going on on the island before the DI got there? Why is Richard able to move to and from? And not age?

Is he time traveling? That tells me the DI wasn't responsible for whatever teleportation machine Ben was using to get to Tunisia... that it was there since long before.

or he coulda just been "immaculately concieved" tha way his mom said he was

I don't think Alpert is the father...Neither Emily nor the mom reacted especially to him in the hospital.

He just read something in the paper about a "special" preemie who survived against all odds. He likes to follow the lives of very special young people.

I'm not completely sure that Alpert is the father, or if he is just in on some sort of experiment done on Emily. Her mother seems to know/recognize him in the hospital, yet the look she gives him is more uncomfortable than angry or disgusted or upset. Which is what I would feel if a man twice my kids age got her pregnant. :23:

Also, I hope I am not the only person who thinks that Emily getting hit by the car was no 'accident'. :undecide:

I agree with the above poster in saying that Alpert is just there following up on a 'special' baby.

Cooper in my opinion is still the 'baby daddy' lol

only if you're taking "twice your age" as a literal statement.

Most mothers who have daughters dating older men could use a statement like that express the age difference, not mathmatical intent.

Cooper contacted Locke in 2000 which could still have in him in his early/mid 60's

I don't know. I thought Locke's grandmother acted strangely when she saw Alpert. I'm not sure if it was just a "wow, why is that guy looking in here?" type of reaction or an "it's that creepy guy from my past again" reaction.

He might not be his father, but perhaps he's been keeping an eye on this family for a while now.

I think it's a possibility! I really dont think Cooper is his real dad, just wanted his kidney. I def thought it could be Richard or maybe even C Shep! he's got babies all over the place!

Cooper was his father. That investigator was hired by locke to find his father and he found Cooper. The line about him being twice locke's mom's age was the writers way of letting us know that it was cooper. He targeted John for that kidney con because he was his son.

Not based on the description by Locke's grandmother that Emily's love interest was more than twice her age.


The phrase “twice your age” can be just a figure of speech uttered by an excited mother that didn’t like her daughter’s older boyfriend. Most likely, if he was several years older, she wouldn’t even know his exact age. She may have been just making a point that she didn’t like that he was a lot older.

Sure, Cooper could just want John's kidney, but the body is a bit touchy about that whole blood type, and donor match thing. I don't remember Cooper ever being unsure that John would not match him donor-wise.

My mother is entering her 50's. Sometime in the future, due to a disease, she may have to have a kidney transplant herself. So somebody in they're 60's or 70's needing a kidney transplant is really not that out of the ordinary in my opinion.

I don't think Cooper ever needed Locke's kidney. Ultimately, Locke not having that kidney saved his life. I also think that whatever Locke is, so is Aaron.

1. We have no idea when Dharma setup shop on the island. It could have been the 1920's for all we know. Just because the first time we saw them in the story was the 70's doesn't mean they were not there for decades before that.

2. Alpert is time travelling via the island, so it could be paranormal, but the machine doesn't have to be there in the 50's to send him to the 50's, or to retrieve him from the 50's. And since we have no idea what is actually sending folks through time, we have no idea how it works.

I think Emily's mother and Alpert were in cahoots in some way, and the most likely scenario is that Emily was not pregnant with John Locke by "accident." I'm not sure whether the plan was for her to go into labor prematurely--THAT might very well have been an accident--but that look exchanged Alpert and Emily's mother was very Angela Lansbury in "Manchurian Candidate"! I don't think Alpert is the father; he's the "broker" for conceiving these "special" children.

Not based on the description by Locke's grandmother that Emily's love interest was more than twice her age.


"twice you're age", Kidney, daddy issue's, pushing Locke through window, walk-about, ending up on Isle, walking again, current purpose,... Im 99.98% sure that Cooper was Locke's dad.

Emily was just a girl. I don't see how she'd be any more in cahoots than Claire was when she got pregnant with Aaron. BTW, Claire was on the pill and became pregnant. I definitely think that Aaron is eventually supposed to be the leader.

Locke is 48 yrs old in 2004. If Emily was 16 when she had John and we are taking the "twice your age" comment literally, the father was 32. That would put Cooper at 80 yrs old in 2004. I don't think that's unreasonable. The kidney replacement was several years prior. Remember, Cooper has alot of money. They would certainly do the surgery for him. And yes, a kidney donation from a family member with the same blood type would definately be better than an anonymous donation.

or he coulda just been "immaculately concieved" tha way his mom said he was

This brings up an interesting point. Locke was born in 1956. While artificial insemination is common today, and was probably even used on animals in the 1950s, it would *not* have been a common technology back in the 1950s, and especially would not have probably been known to a young girl like Emily.

What if Locke (as part of some kind of Mittelos experiment) was gotten by artificial insemination on Emily? They seem to be well-versed in the use of drugs and tranquilizers (think of Juliet's trip to the Island.) It would be consistent with Emily insisting she hadn't had sex.

I have zero evadence to support this theory, but as i told my girlfriend last night, I think Widmore is Locke's Father. I know it seems nuts but trust me on this.

Time will tell if I'm wrong, but I have a gut feeling I'm right.

If Alpert is Locke's father - which I'm not completely buying yet - it could lead to a very interesting conflict if the island requires John to kill his father, as the island prophecy for revealing 'the one' has been presented thus far. Locke could be eventually exposed (by Alpert or Ben?) to the Others as having Sawyer kill Cooper, eroding his position as Ben's replacement. Until it's revealed that Alpert is his true father and the prophecy could be still fulfilled by Locke killing Alpert by his own hand. Perhaps there is only one way to kill the seemingly immortal Alpert and Locke has to figure out how to do it. Just wild speculation, but it would make for some good conflict and additional mystery.

Cooper is Locke's father. Not Alpert, not anyone else. I really really believe it's Cooper.

Of course Anthony Cooper is Locke's biological father. They would have done DNA tests on both men as part of the kidney matching process.

Of course Anthony Cooper is Locke's biological father. They would have done DNA tests on both men as part of the kidney matching process.

Let's assume that Locke's father and the "older man" Emily is "in love" with are the same, and that there was no "funny business" (immaculate conception, artificial insemination, etc.) involved. And let's assume that man is "Anthony Cooper."

This means that the man Sawyer killed was supposed to be nearly 90?!?

Cooper was completely unapologetic when he spoke with Sawyer, and as much as said he never does anything unless there is something in it for him. He made similar remarks to Locke once his deception (to get the kidney) was uncovered. So would there have been anything "for him" in seducing and impregnating a teenaged girl?

Couldn't someone have recruited him for this purpose? Couldn't he later have been recruited again to get Locke's kidney? Maybe he DIDN'T need a kidney, but someone knew that if Locke had that kidney, he would be killed by Ben's bullet. Maybe the REAL purpose of the surgery was removing Locke's kidney, not specifically for implanting in ANYONE, but to preven his dying when Ben shot him.

Anyone else thinking of Terminator 1? I cant help but think that maybe Alpert [?someone else] was sent back to protect/befriend Ben's Mom but fell in love with her instead. Maybe resulting in John. Can Widmore kill/hurt Ben's Mom before she had Ben? Maybe if the rules changed. *My head is spinning*

When I heard the Mom say "Are you going with Him?" and that he is 20 or so years older.. I knew Cooper was NOT Locke's real father. But maybe it was used to cover his real Father.


D/


Based on the info presented, Cooper can not be Locke's father. I questioned this from the beginning anyway, given that Locke grew up in foster homes.

His father could be anybody. Including Richard Alpert.

Could jacob be lockes father ? We know the guy was alot older than her , and that would explain why he so eager to meet locke

I think it is Cooper and I hope it is Cooper for simple reasons: my favorite episode of Lost ever is The Brig, and that episode would lose so much meaning if it turned out Cooper wasn't his father.

Interesting though, if Ben instructed John to kill his father and bring his body to him, maybe he didn't mean Cooper, but someone else.

I like this thread but I just think we can't even come close to the answer. I do think we're going to get into some crazy stuff. The immaculate conception comment by Emily was no mistake. As for the kidney thing and DNA, this is from wikipedia: "Since medication to prevent rejection is so effective, donors need not be genetically similar to their recipient. Most donated kidneys come from deceased donors, with some coming from living donors."

So apparently Cooper doesn't need to be related to take John's kidney. All he had to do was con Emily. He didn't even have to know her back at John's birth.

All we know for sure is that Richard Alpert was there, and that connects the island and it spookiness. Are they Baby Farming for a sterile island. Jack and Claire could have been similarly conceived. And maybe baby Ben. Maybe Aaron. The real dad's maybe someone we've never thought of, or maybe the sperm was genetically manufactured and there is no dad.
Or genetically engineered from cells from a deceased person. Perhaps they have very similar DNA. Maybe not even human.

Sorry, I am rambling.

Hmm, I'm pretty sure that Cooper is his dad. If not, the whole "kill your father" thing would have been for nothing, and that seems to be a pretty big part of the "special" thing. Ben killed his father as well. Like someone else said, he could have to kill someone else, but I dont think so after making it such a big deal.

Also, I know a lot of young women give up their children for one reason or another, but something occured to me. Perhaps the reason she couldn't cope with him was because he reminded her of the dad (assuming he's not immaculately conceived) which would lead me to the train of thought that Cooper WAS conning her, and after she gave birth, he split. Of course a lot of guys split too for various reasons.

All speculation of course, but then look at Aaron. HIS daddy split too. A connection I didn't realize until just a few minutes ago. Walt's parents separated as well. And Ben's, in a way.

Anthony Cooper is not John Locke’s biological father. Just don’t ask me how Locke was able to give him his kidney.

In Cabin Fever, we learn that Emily Locke was 15 at the time of Locke’s birth. Emily’s mother said “He is more than twice your age” From Locke’s detective we find out Emily was born Oct 15, 1940. So that would mean Cooper was born around 1925.

When Locke gave Cooper his kidney it was about 10 years prior to the Crash. That would make it around 1994. So Cooper would have been around 69.

If the timeline is consistent, then at the time of Coopers death, he would have been around 79.

If Cooper is Locke’s dad, he sure looks good for his age…..

http://www.thefuselage.com/Threaded/showthread.php?t=95352

think it must have been Cooper also. The whole kidney storyline was based on the fact that Cooper needed John's kidney and knew that it would be a match because he really was his father

Absolutely, I don't think Cooper would have gone through all of that trouble just to maybe have a match. He somehow knew that Locke would be a good match. While siblings are often the best matches when it comes to transplants, usually a family member would be better than someone completly unrelated. I kind of took the twice your age comment to be more of a figure of speech implying that the guy she was seeing was too old for her but not actually twice her age.

Could Cooper have simply had the funds or connections to find out who he could be genetically compatable with? Locke was the best match and he had never known his dad... sounds like a good con to me.

Why wouldn't the Conman Cooper bribe, pay, or blackmail someone in the hospital to make sure no one would question Locke being his biological son.

I don't think Cooper would have gone through all of that trouble just to maybe have a match.

I agree. And why would Cooper continue the charade after he got the kidney?

If Cooper is not Lockes dad,

why would he lie to Sawyer about it?

I will admit it. I was wrong. I went back and rewatched "The Brig" Alpert did call Cooper Locke's father, Cooper did call Locke his son. Ben did call Cooper Locke's father.

jacob is his dad

Richard is a recruiter for special children... I think if he were that important as to be the father, he wouldn't also be the recruiter. So, I think Jacob might be Locke's father... or Jacob is the one they were hoping that he would be.

I just rewatched the scene where Alpert is looking in the nursery and Locke's grandma is looking back.

Granny looked at Alpert with recognition. The way she said "I don't know who he is" made me think she was lying. It also seemed to me granny and Alpert had eye to eye contact as if there was an understanding.

Kinda made me feel like a "you sold your grandsons soul to me" type of look

I agree. And why would Cooper continue the charade after he got the kidney?

For all Cooper knew... he was Locke's father...perhaps he was lied to about it also. Perhaps it was all set up by someone like... Richard or Abbadon? Another test is my guess.... will Locke keep taking his dead beat dad back? Yes and yes and yes. What that means I'm not sure ... have to ponder more.
100%
I just rewatched the scene where Alpert is looking in the nursery and Locke's grandma is looking back.

Granny looked at Alpert with recognition. The way she said "I don't know who he is" made me think she was lying. It also seemed to me granny and Alpert had eye to eye contact as if there was an understanding.

Kinda made me feel like a "you sold your grandsons soul to me" type of look

Cool. I'm gonna rewatch tonight.

I'm still going with Cooper being Locke's father. Emily's Mom was just saying "twice your age" as a way of emphasizing that her boyfriend was too old for her. Emily's Mom would have known her age but there is no way she could have known Cooper's age, especially if he was a con-man. I'd say that would place him anywhere from 20 to 30 years old. If Locke was 44 when he was thrown out the window, that would put Cooper in the age of 64 to 74. That seems believable.

I agree, I think Cooper is Locke's dad.

As for Alpert, I think based on the events that happen on the island, Alpert decided to go travel back to when locke was born to confirm and perhaps steer Locke in a direction to prevent or change the outcome of the events to come.

I think you're reading too much into the "twice your age" comment - it's something that a disapproving mother would say even if it wasn't strictly accurate.

I don't think it can be Alpert. When he went to see five year old Locke and ask him which item belonged to him Locke's mother answered the door. She didn't act like she knew Richard, or act like you would expect a person to if the father of their child just randomly showed up five years later.

Funny, I thought after Locke asked Cooper why did he con him? Cooper said you needed a father and i needed a kidney". I took that as admission that Cooper was not his dad. We know the island has some sort of time travel capabilities so what about a Star Wars theme here. Ben says to Locke " Locke I am your fater".

I've read the thread :smile: it's awesome thinking on so many counts ...but I gotta date with Foxy and a nine year old fit to burst over seeing Speed Racer in less than an hour so:

I used to think Coop was not John's father and the kidney thing was done with information bought from someone with access to hospital files - then I believed Coop was John's bio dad because of the emphasis (read about in LOST magazine) that TPTB placed upon Anthony being a calculating murderer; I believed John had been DI-ed at some point in his life and had the 'killer' Room 23-ed out of him or something.

Then I thought he was spoken of with a familiarity by Tom "what do you want him for?" that suggested a relationship more than running a guy off the road and abducting him - his favoured tipple suggesting at least a Widmore connection... this evolved recently into a fully-fledged (though probably flightless) idea that Coop died for Ben in The Brig as Bea and others of his people had done.

He was conning John alright but not the one we though he was pulling. And he may have been conning Charles too ...or Ben; as a double agent in it for himself deal, ultimately rumbled but coerced/bought into one last act. Perhaps.

And then John killed Naomi and my head really started hurting :biggrin:

If people can time hop for nookie all bets are off (...or on - I can't word that bit out either).

ETA: Locke's bio father is some bloke named 'John' - Emily said so (kinda). ;)

I've read the thread ETA: Locke's bio father is some bloke named 'John' - Emily said so (kinda). ;)

I think she was telling the nurse to name the BABY John (John Locke).

What I don't understand is that her mom said "adoption" yet John is apparently NOT adopted, but is raised in foster care, retaining his birth name. What kept Emily's mother from going through with the plan to put the baby up for adoption? She clearly had no wish to raise it, and her 15-year-old daughter had neither the desire nor means to do so. As it turned out, John's early birth spared the family the embarassment of an unplanned teen pregnancy, as Emily delivered before she began to show. Why didn't she just cut ties to the baby?

stevenscorsece!!!! Yeah! He had a plausible idea, you know the kind that just rings out? Now I hafta go back and find out his thread number.
Aw, I forgot it already, it was on p, 7.
Point being, Locke was required to kill his dad by the island or by jacob....and he didn't really kill Cooper....so they could certainly pull a "new" dad out of a box and maybe Locke will kill him. Maybe that's why Alpert was so pissed when little locke chose the knife!!!!! (cuz he's the dad) (that last part was by ....me!!!)

I think she was telling the nurse to name the BABY John (John Locke).[quote]

Emily's mom (to her daughter) : "You going out with him?" (I'm paraphrasing but that was close)
Emily (to a departing nurse): "Name him John. His name is John"

The thread raises the possibility Coop is not John's father - I was running with the idea Emily's 'his' was her mother's 'him'.

[quote]What I don't understand is that her mom said "adoption" yet John is apparently NOT adopted, but is raised in foster care, retaining his birth name. What kept Emily's mother from going through with the plan to put the baby up for adoption? She clearly had no wish to raise it, and her 15-year-old daughter had neither the desire nor means to do so. As it turned out, John's early birth spared the family the embarassment of an unplanned teen pregnancy, as Emily delivered before she began to show. Why didn't she just cut ties to the baby?

Because daddies have rights?

Emily - the redhead who approached adult John - claimed Anthony had supported her financially, yet we witnessed her flight at the prospect of holding her infant son. We're missing something.

Emily saying the father's name was John doesn't neccisarily rule out Cooper. If Cooper was running a con when he met Emily then he was probably calling himself John, since as a general rule con artists don't use their real names when working a job.

Emily saying the father's name was John doesn't neccisarily rule out Cooper. If Cooper was running a con when he met Emily then he was probably calling himself John, since as a general rule con artists don't use their real names when working a job.

When did she say Locke's father was named John?

Emily saying the father's name was John doesn't neccisarily rule out Cooper. If Cooper was running a con when he met Emily then he was probably calling himself John, since as a general rule con artists don't use their real names when working a job.

Exactly. 'Anthony' was about to commit matrimony once under the name Adam and told James' mom he was Tom! - or something close to those lines. Coop might go under any name.

When did she say Locke's father was named John?

She didn't say 'my baby's father's name is John' - I was playing with a beautifully crafted script. It didn't seem polite not to as so much effort is put into creating the potential of their ambiguity.

This post won't really even attempt to answer the question of who's Locke's real dad, but seeing the way Emily's mother looked at Richard Alpert got me thinking. If he was Locke's father, then it would seem appropriate for her to be angry at him, as she indicated earlier on that she didn't like him, especially considering his age. And that expression which was on her face and her hesitation in answering the nurse when she asked if she knew him, makes me think Richard could be Locke's grandfather. As in Emily's father - it would explain that look which her mother gave him, which I thought suggested that she had previously known him but he had left her life. What does everyone think of this?

Sorry this is post is so jumbled, I hope it makes sense :)

I don't think "twice your age" was an exaggeration.

In fact, I think Locke's dad may have been a time traveler from the island. Maybe one of the people Locke is interacting with right now in the show. Let's look at it from a writers perspective. The dad was "twice her age". He can't be shown on screen because we would recognize him. How would we recognize anyone from that era unless he was a time traveler from the future? Locke's real future dad has been trying to craft him into "the one" that he was born to be, but Locke has resisted from the get go (choosing the knife, refusing science camp etc.)

John is an encapsulation of what is happening in the show. The island is supernatural, yet many of the attempts to tame the island have been scientific. The unknown vs. the known. John's name is "Locke". A philosphers name. Philosophy is the science of reason. Ben and Jacob are old testament names. Religious names. There is some kind of climax building between the natural and supernatural that involves John being the bridge between the two.

Also, Ben is an old testament name and John is a new testament name.