Lockdown (S02E17)
Airdate: 29 March 2006
Written by: Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof
Directed by: Stephen Williams
Running Time: 42 minutes
Following the underwhelming, ‘filler’-like experience of The Whole Truth, Season 2 of Lost resumes its core practice of parceling out answers to the Island’s mysteries while sowing fresh questions. Lockdown (S2E17), however, executes this balancing act with notably greater conviction, efficiency, and a welcome reduction in melodrama. Written by Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, the episode smartly leverages its confined setting and high-stakes scenario to advance several key plotlines, delivering a tense, mythos-enriching hour that feels purposeful where its predecessor meandered.
The central drama belongs to John Locke, who once again finds his faith tested—not only in the Island, but in his fellow survivors. Left alone in the Swan Station with only the imprisoned ‘Henry Gale’ for company, Locke’s routine is shattered by disquieting noises over the loudspeakers escalating into a countdown. When this countdown reaches zero, heavy blast doors slam down, isolating the living quarters from the computer room. Locke’s desperation is palpable; the Numbers must be entered, and his frantic attempts to slow or reverse the doors’ descent are futile. This setup is a masterclass in claustrophobic tension, stripping away the ensemble to focus on one man’s literal entrapment and the extreme measures it provokes.
His only potential aid is the very man he has captive. Forced to release ‘Gale’, Locke recruits him in a perilous, improvised effort to jam the descending doors with objects, hoping to create enough space to slip through. The plan goes catastrophically wrong: the doors shift, trapping Locke and crushing his legs. In a moment of pure, faith-driven surrender, Locke instructs ‘Gale’ to navigate the vents and enter the Numbers himself. Miraculously, ‘Gale’ appears to comply. As Locke lies immobilised, UV light illuminates a previously invisible map on the wall—a schematic of Dharma Initiative stations, a vital piece of logistical lore. The doors retract, and ‘Gale’ returns to help him, claiming he input the sequence and did not flee. This sequence is brilliantly executed, marrying physical peril with psychological manipulation. Locke’s faith is rewarded with a tangible clue about the Island’s infrastructure, yet the audience—and soon Sayid—will question the true cost of that reward.
Intercut with this primary tension are flashbacks to Locke’s pre-crash life with Helen. Now a home inspector, he is content and poised to propose. This stability is shattered by the news of his swindler father Anthony Cooper’s death. At the sparsely attended funeral, Locke notices two distant observers and a mysterious white car—eerie, unresolved details typical of Lost. Later, Cooper reveals himself, having faked his death to evade disgruntled business partners, and enlists Locke to retrieve $700,000 from a safe deposit box. Locke’s tragic flaw—his pathological need for paternal validation—resurfaces. He agrees, returning home to find enforcers Jimmy Bane (Theo Choumbis) and his partner lying in wait. Though Locke convinces them he lacks the money, Helen has witnessed his regression and, in a crushing but justified decision, leaves him. While this subplot reinforces Locke’s fatal vulnerability to his father’s toxicity, it feels repetitive, revisiting emotional terrain already thoroughly mapped in earlier episodes like Deus Ex Machina. Furthermore, the inclusion of Nadia Jazeem as Locke’s client—another pre-crash connection between survivors—feels contrived, a coincidental link requiring overly perceptive viewing to register as significant. It is a clumsy narrative shortcut in an episode otherwise marked by elegant plotting.
Meanwhile, away from the Swan, Jack engineers a high-stakes poker game with Sawyer, wagering a large stash of fruit against Sawyer’s hoarded medicine. This subplot serves a crucial function: rebalancing power dynamics. Jack’s victory, achieved through bluff and cunning, reasserts his leadership and provides a communal win, delighting Kate and the other survivors. It is a smart, character-driven scene that contrasts Sawyer’s self-serving opportunism with Jack’s strategic, group-oriented thinking. Their return to the Swan at night coincides with a discovery of equal importance: blinking lights signal an airdrop of fresh Dharma supplies. This moment of revelation dovetails with the return of Ana Lucia, Sayid, and Charlie, who bring news of discovering the balloon—seemingly corroborating ‘Henry Gale’s’ story. The episode thus skilfully intertwines character beats with plot progression, making even a poker game feel integral to the season’s unfolding mystery.
The final, devastating twist belongs to Sayid. Pointing a gun at ‘Gale’, he reveals that his scepticism led him to excavate the supposed grave of Gale’s wife. There, he found the body of an African American man with identification confirming him as the real Henry Gale. With cold finality, Sayid exposes the prisoner as an impostor. This revelation is the episode’s masterstroke, retroactively casting every interaction with ‘Gale’ in a new, sinister light. His ‘help’ in the Swan becomes a chilling performance, his compliance a calculated move to deepen his infiltration.
At the end of the day, Lockdown is an efficient, tightly constructed episode that propels the narrative forward with purpose. It provides tangible clues about the Dharma Initiative’s operations, delivers a superb set-piece of physical and psychological tension, and culminates in a game-changing reveal. The Jack-Sawyer subplot effectively re-centres Jack’s agency. Where it falters is in its reliance on a redundant flashback that adds little new depth to Locke’s paternal trauma and in resorting to a contrived coincidence (the Nadia connection) that feels unearned. Nevertheless, by focusing on a crucible of faith and deception within the Swan’s metal walls, the episode restores the compelling, mystery-driven momentum that defines Lost at its best.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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