Well, that's exactly what the flashback is hoping to explain. Our appetite was already whetted with the sinister close-up on the man at the end of Tabula Rasa. Now it’s time to see his past. We see Locke on a telephone, talking in Military dialogue. Of course! He's in the Army, we say. But then we pan out to reveal he's working in a cubicle at a box factory.
The John Locke we see in flashbacks is very different from Island Locke. He's weak, frustrated and lonely. He's...normal, basically. His boss Randy belittles him that he can't be a hunter. Locke tells him not to tell him what he can’t do. And eventually he proves Randy wrong.
Walkabout's main plot is the boar hunt, but the episode has more subplots than any other episode. There's Kate and Sayid's attempt to get a signal, Charlie getting a fish for Shannon, Claire preparing a memorial speech and Jack talking to Rose.
I can't help but feel the writers are overplaying the threat of the boars. They're not exactly huge or dangerous creatures – seeing the whole camp running from them in the first scene was pretty farcical. Michael does however somehow manage to get injured by one.
The trek itself is not that exciting, that at least we learn more about Michael as he tells the story of how he got on the plane. Kate is interrupted before she can give hers, luckily. Michael's choice of babysitter for Walt is interesting at best, considering he picks one of the few people who doesn't speak English (yet). Their attempts to communicate are amusing however, and more proof that a Michael/Sun relationship was originally planned.
Kate and Sayid is a double act which is often underrated. They trust each other, they work well together and are often thinking the same thing. Another more obvious double act is introduced in this episode – Charlie and Hurley, LOST's number one comedy pairing. They try to catch a fish together for Shannon.
The Boone and Shannon pairing is often irritating but they can produce comic moments too – Shannon belittles Boone by calling him Captain America and her general lack of not caring what he has to say is amusing. Boone also makes jokes at Shannon's expense telling her "the ocean won't accept your gold card".
Shannon has always used her sexuality to get what she wants. And she couldn't have picked better than Charlie to do her bidding, he was practically slobbering all over her in the Pilot. After Walkabout, the Charlie/Shannon relationship is never revisited. Obviously Charlie saw he had been used and gave up.
Rose and Jack sit together for a bit, and Rose gives Jack some kind words, saying he has a good soul. Rose is insistent that her husband from the tail section is still alive, but Jack says it is more logical he is dead. An early instance of man of science vs. (wo)man of faith. If you’ve seen season two, you’ll know who was proved right.
Claire deciphering details from strangers' possession has a lot of subtle grim humour. She points out one of the deceased was on organ donor. "Or at least, would've been".
The final scene of the episode is one of the shows most brilliant endings. It's a strong contender for best LOST scene ever. Not only is it a huge surprise, but a heavy emotional beat too. And as with all great twists, previous moments now make more sense. We understand why the episode opened showing Locke's feet twitching after the crash, a shot which was mimicked again later on.
10/10 – Perfect introduction of John Locke with an amazing performance from Terry O' Quinn
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