Doc Jensen on Locke
Aug. 23rd, 2019 03:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stefanie_beanDoc Jensen (an Entertainment Weekly writer who commented on LOST while it was broadcasting) had this to say about Locke right before "The Substitute" (6x04) aired:
Needless to say, Locke fans didn't get either. Season 6 is Jack; Jack is the world and Hurley the Atlas upon whose strong shoulders he ultimately rests. But ultimately Season 6 is Jack's story. I think a lot of Locke fans know this, and take it out on Jack.
Like the prodigal son, who even after all his false starts, personal collapse, etc. Jack was still welcomed back to the Island's bosom, so to speak, even though he doubted Locke. Ben tells Jack that "we're all convinced, sooner or later," and even though Jack starts out (rightfully) skeptical, ultimately he receives the greatest reward of all. Even if you wear the crown only for a day, it's still a crown, and still made of gold.
"Throughout Lost, Locke has been positioned as the "man of faith." All his life, he believed -- or wanted to believe -- that he had a special purpose that he had either missed or not yet recognized. He came to believe that he was brought to The Island for a reason -- to enjoy it; to protect it; to achieve some cosmic destiny upon it. So many viewers have been deeply moved by his journey, especially those who recognize their own struggles with faith in his story. For those same people, though, Locke's story took a dark, even unsatisfying turn last season when Locke was murdered and his faith in The Island proven to be either downright foolish or grossly manipulated by a seemingly evil supernatural force. Many of those same fans cling to the hope that we haven't seen the last of this John Locke, that perhaps The Island has two more miracles left for him: resurrection and redemption." (February 16, 2010 Entertainment Weely article; link is broken)
Needless to say, Locke fans didn't get either. Season 6 is Jack; Jack is the world and Hurley the Atlas upon whose strong shoulders he ultimately rests. But ultimately Season 6 is Jack's story. I think a lot of Locke fans know this, and take it out on Jack.
Like the prodigal son, who even after all his false starts, personal collapse, etc. Jack was still welcomed back to the Island's bosom, so to speak, even though he doubted Locke. Ben tells Jack that "we're all convinced, sooner or later," and even though Jack starts out (rightfully) skeptical, ultimately he receives the greatest reward of all. Even if you wear the crown only for a day, it's still a crown, and still made of gold.