Season 2, Episode 17: Lockdown

The return of his father sends John Locke's life before coming to the island into a spiral again, while is seriously injured in an accident at the hatch and only "Henry Gale from Minnesota" can help.

MAJOR PLOT POINTS

Locke has decided to propose to Helen on a romantic picnic, but the plans are scuttled when she reads Anthony Cooper's obituary. For the sake of closure, Locke goes to the funeral, where he is dogged by a couple shadowy figures and notices a silver Mercedes that speeds off as the ceremony concludes. He forgives his father at the graveside. A home inspector, Locke checks out Nadia's home for her and spies the silver Mercedes across the road.

Upon investigation, it's his dad, who faked his death to duck the mob types he ripped off in a retirement con. Anthony Cooper convinces Locke to go retrieve the $700,000 he stole from a safe-deposit box, but returns home to find the thugs in his kitchen waiting for him. He proceeds to lie to Helen about knowing Anthony Cooper is alive. But she follows Locke when he meets his dad at the Flightline Motel to drop off the money. After swatting Anthony Cooper in the face, she storms away from Locke and rebuffs his impromptu proposal in the motel parking lot.

Across the island, Charlie finds the grave of "Henry's" wife and the giant smiley-face balloon, just as the map indicated. But back at the hatch, the shifty and beady-eyed "Henry" continues pitting Locke against Jack. Alone, Locke hears static over the intercom, but realizes too late it is a countdown that slams the blast doors down around him and locks him away from the hatch computer. Unable to lift the doors himself, Locke enlists "Henry's" help, which he grants but only with the promise of protection from the remaining survivors.

Locke gets the door open with "Henry's" help, but when he tries to slide under it with only a toolbox propping it up, the door slides down and pins his thigh. He proceeds to tell "Henry" about the hatch computer and the code that must be entered. Henry goes through the ventilation and enters the code, which causes the lights to flicker before the blast doors are raised. During the flicker, black lights come on in the living quarter where Locke is trapped revealing a detailed map on the back of the blast door.

Jack talks Kate out of going to the hatch and the two suddenly notice a light flashing in the jungle. It a food drop. While checking it out, Sayid, Ana Lucia and Charlie return. So the five head for the hatch and find "Henry" attending to an injured Locke. Sayid trains his gun on "Henry," who as it turns out had lied. The balloon and grave were where he said they'd be, but the grave contained a middle-aged black man with a Minnesota driver's license that read Henry Gale.

At the beach, Jack happens upon a poker game between Sawyer, Hurley and Kate and is dealt in by the ever-taunting Sawyer. Of course, Jack, who learned to play during a stint in Phuket, Thailand, annihilates Sawyer, winning back the stash of stolen medication.

QUOTABLE

"Hey, maybe he left you his kidney." — Helen to Locke after coming across Anthony Cooper's obit