Walkabout

"Walkabout" directs here, the name of the episode. For the company hosting the outback tour in this episode, please see Melbourne Walkabout Tours.

"Walkabout"
Season	1
Episode	4
Airdate	October 13, 2004
Flashback	Locke
Days	4-5
Writer	David Fury
Director	Jack Bender
Guests	L. Scott Caldwell - Rose Nadler John Simon Jones - Travel Agent Billy Ray Gallion - Randy Stephen J. Rafferty - Warren
Transcript	S1E04 - Walkabout Transcript

"Walkabout" is the fourth episode of Season 1 of Lost. As food supplies run low, John Locke emerges as the hunter after the survivors learn there are wild boars near camp. Meanwhile, the survivors realize that they must somehow get rid of the rotting bodies from the fuselage. The flashbacks in this episode depict Locke's plans to get to Australia and participate in a "walkabout" tour.

Synopsis

Flashbacks

Locke at work

Locke is at work when he receives a phone call asking for "Colonel Locke". Locke recognizes the person's voice and agrees to meet with them at 13:00 hours in the "usual rendezvous point". His manager, Randy, walks by soon after, nitpicking about Locke's work efficiency. Before he leaves, he comments that he heard Locke's phone call, saying "Colonel" smugly.

Apparently, the "usual rendezvous point" is actually the staff lunch area, where Locke and his co-worker play an army strategy board game. Randy arrives and once more attempts to justify his position as manager by belittling Locke. He reveals that he had leisurely read Locke's personal file, as well as documents on his desk about going on a "walkabout" (a hunting trip and spiritual journey). His co-worker asks if Locke would be telling "Helen" about his trip as Randy laughs at the idea of Locke actually having a girlfriend. He says that Locke should stop kidding himself because he can't do any of these things — the walkabout, hunting. Locke replies, "Don't tell me what I can't do."

Locke protesting to be let on the walkabout

Locke speaks on the phone with a woman he calls Helen, ecstatically discussing his upcoming walkabout. He asks her if she'd like to accompany him on his walkabout in Australia. Seeming annoyed, the woman says that she is not allowed to meet customers and suggested he find a therapist. Much to Locke's dismay, she ends the call.

In Australia, Locke is prepared for his walkabout. However, the guide refuses to allow Locke admittance, on account of his "condition" which he had neglected to mention. Locke suffers from paralysis from the waist down and is in a wheelchair. Locke states that he "can do this" but the guide bluntly says, "No, you can't" before leaving. As the bus departs for the walkabout, Locke shouts over and over at the office window to the bus, "Don't tell me what I can't do!"

In the aftermath of the Oceanic Flight 815 crash, Locke wakes up on the beach, surrounded by screams. However, his attention is soon drawn to his feet as his toes wiggle. He suddenly realizes that he can now walk again. Getting to his feet, he is called on for help by Jack to free another survivor.

Realtime events

Jack investigates the fuselage

At night on the beach, all the castaways look over as Vincent barks loudly. However, another noise soon catches their attention, as rustling and roars are heard emanating from the fuselage. Jack moves to investigate with the rest of the group, but the creatures inside begin to move towards them, and the group runs for their lives. With the whole camp flustered, Locke steps forward to provide an explanation: the creatures are in fact wild boars.

Still a little shaken, some of the survivors discuss the situation in the fuselage. The remains of the dead are rotting in the sun, not to mention attracting wildlife. Jack puts forward the harsh truth that the bodies should be burnt, much to the dismay of Sayid, who points out that this act would show no regard to the individuals' wishes or beliefs about death. However, Jack is undeterred, and states that the fuselage itself will be burnt at sundown the next day, which will also provide a strong signal fire that night for possible rescue.

In the morning, Kate finds Sayid, who is working on trying to make antennas to triangulate the distress signal they heard previously. Meanwhile, Hurley and Sawyer fight over the contents of a backpack, which contains the last of the peanuts. The group realizes that they have in fact exhausted all of the food from the plane, and so face the prospect of starvation. As Sawyer mocks Sayid's idea of finding food on the Island, a knife hurtles towards him, hitting a piece of plane wreckage right next to his face. Locke stands up, suggesting that they hunt the boars that attacked them. With the help of two others, he plans to kill the piglets, which would provide food and allow the mother to continue living to possibly breed more in future. As Jack and the rest of the group agree, Locke reveals the case he checked in when boarding the plane, which is full of hunting knives.

Locke's knife narrowly misses Sawyer on the beach

Kate prepares to join the hunting mission, and Jack asks why she is always so willing to sign up for outings into the jungle. She reveals that Sayid had given her an antenna to try to isolate the distress signal, which she is going to use when further inland. Michael is also gearing up for the trek, and asks Sun to watch Walt. Despite not speaking English, she understands quickly what Michael is asking, and agrees to look after him. Walt objects to not being included, but Michael tells him that this is an opportunity to get to know Locke better. Elsewhere, Claire asks Jack about a possible memorial service before they burn the fuselage, but is abashed when Jack coldly responds, "Look, it's not my thing."

Jack speaks to Rose on the beach

Boone speaks to Shannon about Rose, a woman who lost her husband in the crash. She sits staring out at the water all day, and Boone is worried that she is suffering from some kind of shock. Shannon shows little interest, however, and the two argue about her not caring about others, despite the fact that she is relying on them for food. Shannon says that she can look after herself, and Boone smirks at the idea that she could catch fish for herself. Soon after, Shannon finds Charlie in the jungle and uses her charm to make him try to catch fish for her. Meanwhile, Boone asks Jack to speak to Rose for him, on account of him being the man who saved her life after the crash. He reluctantly obliges, but Rose gives him no reply as he tries to chat with her.

In the jungle, Locke tracks the boars' movements while Michael explains to Kate that Walt lived with his mother until her death two weeks before; he and Michael had very little contact prior. They suddenly happen upon one of the creatures, but when Michael speaks loudly as Kate and Locke silently approach, the mother boar charges at them in fear. Michael is injured in the event, with Locke also winded. Kate asks if he is all right, and he calls her Helen in a Freudian slip. While Kate tends to Michael, Locke says that he will find the boar alone, and states, "Don't tell me what I can't do" when Kate doubts him.

Charlie and Hurley attempt to catch food

Charlie and Hurley try to catch fish with a stick, though to little avail, as the tides throw them back. Meanwhile, Claire finds Sayid, giving him a letter she found with his name on it. Inside are photos of a young woman (Nadia). Up the shore, Rose finally begins to talk to Jack, and he reveals amongst other things that he only became a doctor as a result of medicine being the "family business".

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 seemingly stares right at it.

Sawyer offers Claire some diaries and documents he found previously, as Michael arrives back at camp with Kate. Charlie also arrives back from his own hunt, giving Shannon a fish he eventually managed to kill. However, Boone and Shannon busily argue once more about her using people to get her own way, and Charlie realizes what she did. Elsewhere, Jack and Rose move from their spot back to the camp to prepare for the memorial. He comments that she could say something about her husband, but is shocked to hear Rose claim that she believes those in the tail section survived. Suddenly, Jack sees a man in a suit standing by the trees, and is shocked into silence. On second glance, however, the figure is gone, and a confused Jack follows Rose back to camp.

Claire, Boone, and Hurley conduct a funeral

Kate returns the broken antenna to Sayid, with the resolve that they will try again until they succeed. Jack arrives, and Kate reveals that Locke was right in the Monster's path, and probably did not make it. However, Jack once again sees the man, and runs into the jungle, with Kate at his heels. Instead of the figure, however, they find Locke, who brings with him a dead boar.

At sundown, Claire reads off the names of the dead, giving brief bits of trivial information she had managed to glean from the wreckage documents. The only survivor not attending is Jack, who sits away from the service looking out at the sea. Michael asks Locke about the Monster, but Locke says that he did not see anything. Looking towards the fire, he sees his wheelchair silhouetted against the flame, a symbol of his past despair.

Trivia

General

• This is the first episode to feature an on-island flashback.
• The term "walkabout" means to wander around with no certain destination.
• The names of some of the dead passengers mentioned by Claire during the ceremony can be heard: Judith Martha Wexler, Steve and Kristen, Emmanuel Rafael Ortiz, Harold Wollstein (seat 23C) and Millicent Louise D'Agostino.
• Harold, who Claire says was assigned seat 23C on the plane, next to Jack, was never seen in the episodes with Jack's flashbacks on the plane; the seat was always empty.
• The game played by Locke and his co-worker looks similar in some respects to some known games, but not identical. The game board and three red and two white dice are from a Risk board. However, it uses large pieces that are somewhat similar to those of the game Axis & Allies.(Games)
• After Randy confronts Locke about the TPS reports, Locke returns to work, using his adding machine. As the receipt prints, the clicking sound of The Monster can be heard. This makes sense because according to the producer's podcast, the Monster sound was taken from a taxi receipt printer in a NY taxi.

Cultural references

• Walkabout: a "rite of passage" ritual traditionally taken by Austrailian Aborigines at thirteen years of age, where the youth will wander around in the wilderness for six months. (Religion and ideologies)
• Office Space: Randy confronting Locke to demand TPS reports could be a reference to a scene from the 1999 movie Office Space. In this scene, boss Bill Lumbergh demands exactly the same from Peter Gibbons, and the office environment is very similar.(Movies and TV)
• Lord of the Flies: The survivors running in fear from the wild boar could be a reference to this novel, in which the children feared a "beast" in the forest.(Literature)
• Millennium: Terry O'Quinn previously played the second male lead of Chris Carter's series Millennium, which also had an episode called "Walkabout".(Movies and TV)

Recurring themes

• The episode opens on a close-up of Locke's right eye. (Eyes)
• Shannon deceives Charlie into catching fish for her. (Deceptions and cons)
• Locke's boss Randy Nations has later been revealed to also be Hurley's manager at the fast food chain. (Character connections)
• Locke argues that going on the walkabout is his "destiny". (Fate versus free will)
• Locke's paralysis is apparently healed after the crash. (Healing properties)
• Jack is haunted by the figure of his father. (Parent issues)
• Michael talks about his struggles with finding a connection with Walt. (Parent issues)
• Sayid is put off by the idea of burning the bodies in the fuselage, as it shows no regard for their religious beliefs or values. (Religion and ideologies)
• The phrase Don't tell me what I can't do has become one of the catch phrases of Lost. (Catch phrase).

Literary techniques

• It is revealed that Locke couldn't walk before the crash.(Plot twist), (Mindf*ck)
• In Locke's past he was planning to head out on a "journey of spiritual renewal", or "walkabout", in the Australian Outback, he is told that he is incapable of doing what he believes to be his destiny, and is in fact prevented from doing it. After reaching the Island (and being healed), he makes his own destiny by facing the Monster and killing the boar single-handedly. (Juxtaposition)
• When Locke was paralyzed, his sense of self-worth and confidence were low, and his anger was obviously being suppressed; after he miraculously regained the ability to walk, he became confident and at peace with himself.(Juxtaposition)
• After the boar attack Michael removed his watch. The watch was likely broken, because he still wore it immediately after the attack but he had removed it on his way back to the camp. This explained in part that he looked for another watch and wore Paik's Rolex in a later episode.(Foreshadowing)
• Rose's belief that those in the tail section of Flight 815 survived turned out to be true. (Magical negro)

Referbacks

• This episode explains Locke's comment to Walt, in "Pilot, Part 2", about a miracle happening. Somehow, Locke has regained the use of his legs.

Unanswered Questions

Unanswered questions
Do not answer the questions here. Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer. More details...

For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Walkabout/Theories

• Why did the Monster find Locke?
• Why did the Monster pause in front of Locke instead of killing him?