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Walkabout (Lost)
Encyclopedia
"Walkabout" is the fourth episode of the first season of Lost
. The episode was directed by Jack Bender
and written by David Fury
. It first aired on October 13, 2004, on ABC
. In the episode, flashbacks reveal John Locke
's plans to get to Australia
and participate in a walkabout
tour. In realtime, the shortening of food supplies causes Locke to lead a hunting mission after the wild boar in the jungle, while the castaways decide to burn the Oceanic 815 fuselage.
John Locke's backstory was conceived during the writing of the previous episode, "Tabula Rasa
", and the director of "Walkabout" decided to shoot the flashbacks in a way it enhanced the contrast between Locke's life before and after the crash. Problems involving the usage of real boar caused the producers to use computer-generated replacements and shots that suggested the animals' presence. "Walkabout" was watched by 18.16 million people and was reviewed positively, later being considered one of the show's best episodes.
(Terry O'Quinn
) is shown working in an office building for a box company. He has a cruel manager named Randy Nations (Billy Ray Gallion
) who is constantly taunting and demeaning Locke. At one point Locke tells Randy off and feels great about it. He tells a woman on the phone about it, but it is revealed that she charges by the hour to talk with Locke, and that they have been conversing for eight months.
Locke is then shown in Australia
talking to one of the leaders of a walkabout
. He refuses to let Locke come because of his condition, saying it is too big of a risk for the insurance company. As the man gets up to leave, Locke is shown to be using a wheelchair
. Later, in the aftermath of the Oceanic Flight 815 crash
, Locke wakes up on the beach, and notices that his toes wiggle, making him realize that he is no longer paralyzed.
(Matthew Fox
) to decide it should be burned. The survivors discover that their food is exhausted, and wonder what to do. Locke reveals to hold many hunting knives, and suggests to go after the boar in the jungle. On his hunting mission, Locke is accompanied by Kate Austen
(Evangeline Lilly
) – who was given by Sayid Jarrah
(Naveen Andrews
) an antenna, which after being set will help triangulate
the signal of the French transmission heard two days before – and Michael Dawson
(Harold Perrineau).
While hunting the boar, Michael is attacked by one of the animals, and gets his leg hurt. Kate starts leading Michael back to the beach, while Locke goes on his own into the jungle. As Kate and Michael head back, she climbs up a tree to attach the antenna. However, before she can finish, she hears the sounds of the monster
, causing her to drop and break the equipment. The Monster heads straight for Locke, who stares straight at it.
Michael and Kate return to camp, and when she goes to tell Jack about Locke, Jack sees a man in a suit
walk into the jungle. Jack chases after him and Kate follows, but instead of the mysterious figure, they find Locke, who brings with him a dead boar. That night, the fuselage is burned while Claire Littleton
(Emilie de Ravin
) holds a memorial service for the dead passengers using information she found in their passports, wallets, and luggage. Michael thanks Locke for hunting the boar and then asks Locke about the Monster, but Locke says that he did not see anything. Looking towards the fire, Locke sees his wheelchair against the flame and smiles.
", Damon Lindelof
suggested that John Locke was in a wheelchair before going to the island, and while the rest of the writing team initially reacted with shock, they embraced the idea. To enhance the plot twist
, all the flashbacks were shot in a way that disguised the presence of a wheelchair. In the scene where Locke is sitting in his bed, the paralysis is alluded by the electromedical
nerve stimulation machine
on his nightstand. Lindelof also created a title for the episode, "Lord of the Files", a pun on Lord of the Flies
and Locke's off-island occupation, but the writers had already settled on "Walkabout".
To enhance the contrast between Locke's pre and post-crash life, director Jack Bender decided to put very few green and blue imagery in the flashbacks since the two colors are the most present in the island – being the jungle and the sea, respectively. The flashbacks were also shot with fixed cameras and wider lenses, "Godfather
-style", to display the bleakness and sterility of Locke's world, and objects such as vending machine
s were put to remind of the "things taken for granted" that the castaways lack on the island. The scenes featuring the day of the crash were shot in a way that looked similar to the ones from the pilot episode
, with the only shot from the pilot being the one where Jack requests Locke's assistance.
The scenes featuring boar were originally planned to use actual, domesticated animals. Since bringing domesticated boar from continental United States was expensive, and the animals available in Hawaii did not look like wild boar and rarely moved (the script required them to run in most scenes), the producers decided to use computer-generated
boar instead, along with reaction shots from the actors and first-person sequences from the animals' point of view.
The episode is the first to feature Christian Shephard
, but he is not portrayed by John Terry
, who had not been cast yet. Late into writing, the producers decided to start setting up Sayid's backstory by introducing the pictures of Nadia. The scenes where Sayid looks at the photos were reshot when production of "Solitary
" begun and Andrea Gabriel
was selected for the role, as the original pictures depicted a different actress.
. The episode was watched by 18.16 million viewers, an improvement of 1.6 million over the previous episode, "Tabula Rasa".
Reviews for the episode were positive. Chris Carabott of IGN
gave to "Walkabout" 9.5/10, stating that "Terry O'Quinn puts in an exceptional performance", and commenting that showing Locke, who "seemed like a confident and resourceful man with a mysterious and intriguing past", to be a "shell of a human being that is trying desperately to find his place in the world." was "a perfect juxtaposition of the differences between Locke off and on the island". He also praised the supporting stories, claiming that "Matthew Fox does a great job of playing the uneasy leader" as Jack Shephard and that the Shannon-Charlie storyline "does supply a little comic relief". Ryan Mcgee of Zap2it
described the revelation that Locke was a paraplegic as being "one of the show's signature moments", and commented that the episode "cemented the show as 'Must-See TV'" and was "a five-star effort."
David Fury
was nominated for an Emmy Award
for "Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series" for writing this episode. Entertainment Weekly
considered "Walkabout" to be the best episode of Season 1. IGN ranked "Walkabout" as the fifth best Lost episode ever, behind "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham
", the pilot, "Through the Looking Glass
" and "The Constant
". The episode was also featured in similar lists by Los Angeles Times
, TV Guide
, National Post
, and ABC2
.
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
. The episode was directed by Jack Bender
Jack Bender
Jack Bender is an American television and film director, actor, television producer and also a screenwriter. Bender was an executive producer and lead director on the ABC television series, Lost. He directed the series finale of Lost. Bender has also directed on other popular shows such as The...
and written by David Fury
David Fury
David Fury is an American television Screenwriter and Producer, best known for his work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Lost, 24, and Fringe.Fury was a Co-executive producer and Writer for the first season of Lost...
. It first aired on October 13, 2004, on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. In the episode, flashbacks reveal John Locke
John Locke (Lost)
John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after English philosopher John Locke...
's plans to get to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and participate in a walkabout
Walkabout
The walkabout is a purported Australian aboriginal ritual of manhood.Walkabout may also refer to:- Art :*Walkabout , a 1959 book written by James Vance Marshall, set in the Australian outback...
tour. In realtime, the shortening of food supplies causes Locke to lead a hunting mission after the wild boar in the jungle, while the castaways decide to burn the Oceanic 815 fuselage.
John Locke's backstory was conceived during the writing of the previous episode, "Tabula Rasa
Tabula Rasa (Lost)
"Tabula Rasa" is the third episode of the first season of Lost. It was directed by Jack Bender and written by Damon Lindelof. It first aired on October 6, 2004 on ABC...
", and the director of "Walkabout" decided to shoot the flashbacks in a way it enhanced the contrast between Locke's life before and after the crash. Problems involving the usage of real boar caused the producers to use computer-generated replacements and shots that suggested the animals' presence. "Walkabout" was watched by 18.16 million people and was reviewed positively, later being considered one of the show's best episodes.
Flashbacks
John LockeJohn Locke (Lost)
John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after English philosopher John Locke...
(Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
) is shown working in an office building for a box company. He has a cruel manager named Randy Nations (Billy Ray Gallion
Billy Ray Gallion
Billy Ray Gallion played the character of Randy Nations in Lost. He appeared in the episodes "Walkabout", "Everybody Hates Hugo", "Tricia Tanaka Is Dead", "The Beginning of the End", and "The Substitute."- Source :...
) who is constantly taunting and demeaning Locke. At one point Locke tells Randy off and feels great about it. He tells a woman on the phone about it, but it is revealed that she charges by the hour to talk with Locke, and that they have been conversing for eight months.
Locke is then shown in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
talking to one of the leaders of a walkabout
Walkabout
The walkabout is a purported Australian aboriginal ritual of manhood.Walkabout may also refer to:- Art :*Walkabout , a 1959 book written by James Vance Marshall, set in the Australian outback...
. He refuses to let Locke come because of his condition, saying it is too big of a risk for the insurance company. As the man gets up to leave, Locke is shown to be using a wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
. Later, in the aftermath of the Oceanic Flight 815 crash
Pilot (Lost)
"Pilot" constitutes the first and second episodes of the first season of ABC television series Lost, with "Part 1" premiering on September 22, 2004 and Part 2 on September 29, 2004. The episodes were directed by J.J. Abrams, and written by him along with Damon Lindelof, based on a story by them and...
, Locke wakes up on the beach, and notices that his toes wiggle, making him realize that he is no longer paralyzed.
On the Island
Four days have passed since the crash. Boars raid the body-filled fuselage, causing Jack ShephardJack Shephard
Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and protagonist of the ABC television series Lost played by Matthew Fox. Lost follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Airlines flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to survive and escape, slowly uncovering more of the much broader...
(Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox (actor)
Matthew Chandler Fox is an American actor. He is mostly known for his role as Charlie Salinger on Party of Five, and for portraying Jack Shephard on the supernatural drama television series Lost.- Early life :...
) to decide it should be burned. The survivors discover that their food is exhausted, and wonder what to do. Locke reveals to hold many hunting knives, and suggests to go after the boar in the jungle. On his hunting mission, Locke is accompanied by Kate Austen
Kate Austen
Katherine Anne "Kate" Austen is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly. She is the de facto female lead...
(Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as Kate Austen in the ABC drama, Lost.-Early life:...
) – who was given by Sayid Jarrah
Sayid Jarrah
Sayid Hassan Jarrah is a character from the ABC show Lost portrayed by Naveen Andrews.-Season 1:Sayid fixes the transceiver recovered from the cockpit, and leads a group into the jungle in order to send out a distress signal. Instead, he picks up a looping message . He tries to locate the...
(Naveen Andrews
Naveen Andrews
Naveen William Sidney Andrews is a British American actor. He is best known for portraying Kip in the movie The English Patient and Sayid Jarrah on the American television series Lost.-Early life:...
) an antenna, which after being set will help triangulate
Triangulation
In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by measuring angles to it from known points at either end of a fixed baseline, rather than measuring distances to the point directly...
the signal of the French transmission heard two days before – and Michael Dawson
Michael Dawson (Lost)
Michael Dawson is a fictional character played by Harold Perrineau on the ABC television series Lost. After losing a custody battle with Susan Lloyd , Michael does not see his son Walt for almost ten years. They reunite when she dies, but on their journey home, their plane crashes on a mysterious...
(Harold Perrineau).
While hunting the boar, Michael is attacked by one of the animals, and gets his leg hurt. Kate starts leading Michael back to the beach, while Locke goes on his own into the jungle. As Kate and Michael head back, she climbs up a tree to attach the antenna. However, before she can finish, she hears the sounds of the monster
Man in Black (Lost)
The entity referred to most frequently as the Man in Black is a fictional character on the American ABC television series Lost, and is the main antagonist of the...
, causing her to drop and break the equipment. The Monster heads straight for Locke, who stares straight at it.
Michael and Kate return to camp, and when she goes to tell Jack about Locke, Jack sees a man in a suit
Christian Shephard
Dr. Christian Shephard is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by John Terry. He is the father of lead characters Jack Shephard , who becomes the de facto leader of the survivors of Oceanic 815 after it crashes on an island, and Claire Littleton , another of the survivors...
walk into the jungle. Jack chases after him and Kate follows, but instead of the mysterious figure, they find Locke, who brings with him a dead boar. That night, the fuselage is burned while Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton is a fictional character played by Emilie de Ravin on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Claire is introduced in the pilot episode as a pregnant crash survivor. She is a series regular until her...
(Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin born 27 December 1981)is an Australian actress. She is commonly associated with her roles as Tess Harding on Roswell and Claire Littleton on the ABC drama Lost....
) holds a memorial service for the dead passengers using information she found in their passports, wallets, and luggage. Michael thanks Locke for hunting the boar and then asks Locke about the Monster, but Locke says that he did not see anything. Looking towards the fire, Locke sees his wheelchair against the flame and smiles.
Production
While writing "Tabula RasaTabula Rasa (Lost)
"Tabula Rasa" is the third episode of the first season of Lost. It was directed by Jack Bender and written by Damon Lindelof. It first aired on October 6, 2004 on ABC...
", Damon Lindelof
Damon Lindelof
Damon Laurence Lindelof is an American television writer and executive, most recently noted as the co-creator and executive producer for the television series Lost. He has written for and produced Crossing Jordan, and wrote for Nash Bridges, Wasteland, and the MTV anthology series Undressed...
suggested that John Locke was in a wheelchair before going to the island, and while the rest of the writing team initially reacted with shock, they embraced the idea. To enhance the plot twist
Plot twist
A plot twist is a change in the expected direction or outcome of the plot of a film, television series, video game, novel, comic or other fictional work. It is a common practice in narration used to keep the interest of an audience, usually surprising them with a revelation...
, all the flashbacks were shot in a way that disguised the presence of a wheelchair. In the scene where Locke is sitting in his bed, the paralysis is alluded by the electromedical
Electrotherapy
Electrotherapy is the use of electrical energy as a medical treatment In medicine, the term electrotherapy can apply to a variety of treatments, including the use of electrical devices such as deep brain stimulators for neurological disease. The term has also been applied specifically to the use of...
nerve stimulation machine
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation is the use of electric current produced by a device to stimulate the nerves for therapeutic purposes...
on his nightstand. Lindelof also created a title for the episode, "Lord of the Files", a pun on Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding about a group of British boys stuck on a deserted island who try to govern themselves, with disastrous results...
and Locke's off-island occupation, but the writers had already settled on "Walkabout".
To enhance the contrast between Locke's pre and post-crash life, director Jack Bender decided to put very few green and blue imagery in the flashbacks since the two colors are the most present in the island – being the jungle and the sea, respectively. The flashbacks were also shot with fixed cameras and wider lenses, "Godfather
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
-style", to display the bleakness and sterility of Locke's world, and objects such as vending machine
Vending machine
A vending machine is a machine which dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, consumer products and even gold and gems to customers automatically, after the customer inserts currency or credit into the machine....
s were put to remind of the "things taken for granted" that the castaways lack on the island. The scenes featuring the day of the crash were shot in a way that looked similar to the ones from the pilot episode
Pilot (Lost)
"Pilot" constitutes the first and second episodes of the first season of ABC television series Lost, with "Part 1" premiering on September 22, 2004 and Part 2 on September 29, 2004. The episodes were directed by J.J. Abrams, and written by him along with Damon Lindelof, based on a story by them and...
, with the only shot from the pilot being the one where Jack requests Locke's assistance.
The scenes featuring boar were originally planned to use actual, domesticated animals. Since bringing domesticated boar from continental United States was expensive, and the animals available in Hawaii did not look like wild boar and rarely moved (the script required them to run in most scenes), the producers decided to use computer-generated
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
boar instead, along with reaction shots from the actors and first-person sequences from the animals' point of view.
The episode is the first to feature Christian Shephard
Christian Shephard
Dr. Christian Shephard is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by John Terry. He is the father of lead characters Jack Shephard , who becomes the de facto leader of the survivors of Oceanic 815 after it crashes on an island, and Claire Littleton , another of the survivors...
, but he is not portrayed by John Terry
John Terry (actor)
John Terry is an American film, television, and stage actor.-Early life:Terry was born in Florida, where he attended Vero Beach High School. He was also educated at the prestigious Loomis Chaffee prep school in Windsor, Connecticut, and began a career building original custom log homes in North...
, who had not been cast yet. Late into writing, the producers decided to start setting up Sayid's backstory by introducing the pictures of Nadia. The scenes where Sayid looks at the photos were reshot when production of "Solitary
Solitary (Lost)
"Solitary" is the ninth episode of the first season of Lost. The episode was directed by Greg Yaitanes and written by David Fury. It first aired on November 17, 2004 on ABC. The character of Sayid Jarrah is featured in the episode's flashbacks.-Flashbacks:Sayid is torturing a prisoner who will not...
" begun and Andrea Gabriel
Andrea Gabriel
Andrea Gabriel is an actress born 4 July 1978 in Los Angeles who is best known for her role on the American Broadcasting Company show Lost as Sayid Jarrah's love interest Nadia Jaseem.-Acting career:...
was selected for the role, as the original pictures depicted a different actress.
Reception
"Walkabout" received a 6.5 in the ages 18–49 demographic in the Nielsen ratingsNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. The episode was watched by 18.16 million viewers, an improvement of 1.6 million over the previous episode, "Tabula Rasa".
Reviews for the episode were positive. Chris Carabott of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave to "Walkabout" 9.5/10, stating that "Terry O'Quinn puts in an exceptional performance", and commenting that showing Locke, who "seemed like a confident and resourceful man with a mysterious and intriguing past", to be a "shell of a human being that is trying desperately to find his place in the world." was "a perfect juxtaposition of the differences between Locke off and on the island". He also praised the supporting stories, claiming that "Matthew Fox does a great job of playing the uneasy leader" as Jack Shephard and that the Shannon-Charlie storyline "does supply a little comic relief". Ryan Mcgee of Zap2it
Zap2it
Zap2it is an American website and affiliate network that provides news, photos and video, local TV listings and movie showtimes. The site is produced by Tribune Media Services , part of the publishing division of the Chicago-based Tribune Company...
described the revelation that Locke was a paraplegic as being "one of the show's signature moments", and commented that the episode "cemented the show as 'Must-See TV'" and was "a five-star effort."
David Fury
David Fury
David Fury is an American television Screenwriter and Producer, best known for his work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Lost, 24, and Fringe.Fury was a Co-executive producer and Writer for the first season of Lost...
was nominated for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for "Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series" for writing this episode. Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
considered "Walkabout" to be the best episode of Season 1. IGN ranked "Walkabout" as the fifth best Lost episode ever, behind "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham
The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham
"The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" is the seventh television episode of the fifth season of ABC's Lost. The 93rd episode of the show overall, "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" aired on February 25, 2009 on ABC in the United States, being simulcast on A in Canada...
", the pilot, "Through the Looking Glass
Through the Looking Glass (Lost)
"Through the Looking Glass" is the third season finale of the ABC television series Lost, consisting of the 22nd and 23rd episodes of the third season. It is also the 71st and 72nd episodes overall. It was written by co-creator/executive producer Damon Lindelof and executive producer Carlton Cuse,...
" and "The Constant
The Constant
"The Constant" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the American Broadcasting Company's serial drama television series Lost, and the 77th episode overall. It was aired on February 28, 2008, on ABC in the United States and on CTV in Canada...
". The episode was also featured in similar lists by Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
, National Post
National Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
, and ABC2
WMAR-TV
WMAR-TV, channel 2, is the ABC affiliate television station in Baltimore, Maryland, owned by the broadcasting division of the E.W. Scripps Company...
.