Locke and the Sub - Page 4

02:59 PM

Okay, I'll throw my two cents in here.

From the start (at least since Walkabout) there has been an emphasis in Locke's flashbacks on stategic game playing. At the box factory, he plays a battle strategy game with a co-worker. At the Walmart-type place, he works in the toy section and explains the game of mousetrap as moving about the board, contructing a trap to catch the elusive mouse. When they are packing up the TNT, Locke asks Jack if he liked to play games as a kid. Makes a joke about the game Operation and almost laughs as Jack jumps when he goes, "Bzzzzt!"

At the time, I took it as a metaphor that Jack doesn't like surprises, and Locke loves the idea and enjoys anticipating them.

Now, when Locke tells Ben that Ben and the Others "are cheating" I think that Ben's talk at the end about the ways that Jack and the Sub could have played out seemed as if he was taking the time to explain his actions as though they were the moves to further a game-type strategy. Like, "I can move this way, or this way, or that way. And here's what would happen if I did each of them."

Now...Locke being soaked to the skin is a clue. He either placed the C4 charge on the outer hull of the sub, after he checked out the inside of the submarine (and that sub is too big for one man to operate, which might mean his first idea was to steal it, but since he couldn't, he blew it up)...or he opened the ballast tanks and sunk the sub in place and then rigged the C4 to detonate in the water above the sub to make it seem as though it had been blown up.

Strategic thinking.
Like playing a table-top war game with real people and things.

I really like this theory Charlie!!

Wow Charlie, that is great. (don't forget that it was Locke who was attracted to the weird chess game at the Flame, too) Don't you have to think several moves ahead when playing chess?

11:00 PM

In chess, yes.

In war gaming, you have to anticipate how and where your opponent will move his forces, and how he will react to your own moves. Locke seems to be thinking militarily. He destroyed the Others communications equipment, so if the folks on the mainland reset their equipment they won't be able to re-establish communications.

Same for the submarine.

Locke is removing the assets which give the Others an advantage over the losties.

Ben is playing differently than Locke. Ben seems to like moves which exploit the psychological weaknesses of his opponents.

I totally agree with ya Charlie... Great Ideas and observations!

I would agree he sunk the sub, and may come into play later. I think the sub did not get destroyed, maybe the port.

Quote:

Originally Posted by benos

I would agree he sunk the sub, and may come into play later. I think the sub did not get destroyed, maybe the port.

It would really be interesting if Locke had destroyed the entrance or exit to the lagoon and left the sub completely unharmed.

Then the Others would still have a functioning submarine, but no way to use it.

And that would be a big psychological hit to them as well.

Found this from the podcast on 3/26 I believe
Source: Official Lost Podcast transcript/March 26 - Lostpedia

Carlton Cuse: Did Locke really blow that submarine up?
Damon Lindelof: Well I would say that it certainly appeared that he, uh, that he blew it up. You know-
Carlton Cuse: Exactly.

I find it intresting that Cuse says APPEARED that he blew it up...

But if he didn't blow it up, it doesn't seem like it would take very long for the Others to figure it out. There would be debris from whatever blew up, you can figure out what exploded by looking at that. And if the sub is still accessible to Locke (why else would he keep it) then it is accessible to the Others, meaning they could find it.