"The Man from Tallahassee" (Season 3, Episode 13)

For everyone who stuck it out through the first six episodes of this season and the change to the 10:00 p.m. time slot (even you who record it, go to bed, and watch it the next night), we are being rewarded with one spectacular show after another. And last night's episode was no exception. From the opening flashback making us believe Locke was already confined to a wheelchair when in fact he was just clinically depressed (don't worry, John, it has to get better, right?) to the quiet moments between Jack and Kate to the verbal sparring between Locke and Ben to Rousseau seeing her baby all grown up for the first time to us learning how Locke was paralyzed to that jaw-dropping moment at the end ("Dad?"), this was a great show.

Best Lines - There were a number of lines that could qualify but my two favorite ones were:

• "No, John, unfortunately, we don't have a code for 'There's a man in my closet with a gun to my daughter's head.' Although we obviously should." Ben responding to Locke's query as to whether "the man from Tallahassee" was a code phrase.
• "We have two giant hamsters running on a massive wheel at our secret underground lair." Ben answering Locke's question regarding where they get their electricity.

Did You Notice?

• Locke's dad used the alias of Adam Seward. Adam was the same name as Shannon's father. The name Seward is very close to Sawyer and rumor has is it that Locke's dad may be the real Sawyer who ruined island Sawyer's life.
• "The man from Tallahassee" that Ben asked for was apparently Locke's dad. As to why he referred to him this way, only time will tell.
• When Locke is talking to his dad at the florist's, through the shop's window a Bonneville can be seen driving by. This same make and model of car hit Michael in Season 1, putting him in the hospital; it almost ran over Locke in his Season 1 flashback when he was chasing after his mother; and this is also the car Kate ran into when fleeing the hospital in her friend Tom's car. Coincidence? I think not.
• Prior to Jack talking to Kate, Tom gestured to him that there were listening devices in the game room.
• Ben decorated his house with a number of tribal masks.
• Locke looking down into the hatch of the sub was nearly identical to him first looking into the station's hatch oh those many episodes ago.
• Locke's dad poured two glasses of McCutcheon whiskey, the same brand that Charles Widmore refused to give Desmond.
• Ben's associate, Richard Albert was the doctor who recruited Juliet to come to the island.
• After the shock of seeing Locke being pushed through a window by his dad, I remembered the scene from Season 1 when Hurley was speaking with his financial planner of his bad luck and the body plummeting past the office window. Could they be one and the same? After re-watching last night's show and the DVD of the earlier episode, I don't think so. Although both men wore dark pants and lighter-colored long-sleeved shirts, Hurley's guy fell face first parallel to the building whereas Locke fell face-up perpendicular to the building. However, Locke's fall marks the third of its kind, the first being in Hurley's scene and the second being Sun's tutor/lover who landed on Jin's car. Could Locke's dad have been behind these two as well?

The Numbers - 4 8 15 16 23 42 (108) and the rest (2 & 6)

• Someone in the movie on Locke's television spoke the line "The Bolivian coal deposits were stolen last night around 2 a.m."
• Peter Talbot told Locke that Adam Seward met his mom 2 months ago.
• Locke spent 4 years in a wheelchair.
• When the detectives visited Locke, Peter Talbot had been there 2 days ago.
• The Talbot family fortune was worth over 2 hundred million dollars.
• The Barracks use 2 giant hamsters to provide elec- oh, wait, never mind.
• Locke fell 8 stories to the ground after his father pushed him.

Red Herring - If there was any doubt that the color red is a new aspect of this season, try to ignore all the references from last night's show.

• Benefits Suspended - The stamp on Locke's form.
• Purse - Hanging on the wall of one of the office cubes as Locke stormed out.
• No Soliciting - The sign on Locke's apartment door.
• Shirt - Hanging on the clothes line outside Jack's house at the Barracks.
• Curtains - Both in Ben's bedroom and above his kitchen sink.
• Flowers - At the florist between Locke and his dad during their confrontation.
• Fire Extinguisher - Hanging on the game room wall where Kate was being kept.
• Volkswagen - Locke's car, which in previous flashback's was not red. Hmm?
• Swing Set - Where Sayid was handcuffed.
• Plate - Ben's chicken leftovers.
• Lights - On the submarine when Locke first boarded.
• Blouse - The female detective wore this in Locke's hospital room.
• Shirt - Locke's therapist's.
• Pipes - Where Locke was handcuffed.
• Doors - Outside of where Locke was kept prior to seeing his father.
  

Crazy Theory of the Moment

• Locke's dad is not a captive of Ben but is the big man himself and the bound and gagged scene was yet another con to throw off Locke from what is really happening. Or is there really a big "box" somewhere on the island?

Previews - In next week's show, "Expose", we are going to learn the back stories of our least favorite castaways. No, not the Professor and Maryann, but Paulo and Nikki. Rumor has it we may even feel a little different about them afterwards. Also, Sun learns the details behind her abduction. Hence, the slap to Sawyer's face.

Good news! "Lost" has been renewed by ABC for a fourth season. There are also discussions going on to air the whole season over consecutive weeks from January through May, just like "24" does.