Played by: Terry O'Quinn
Reason for trip: Rejected from Walkabout tour of Outback 
Profession:  Regional collections supervisor for a box company. Also a home inspector and a large mega-store employee in the toy department. 
Locke's Courtship Gifts
Locke's Island Experience

In his Deus Ex Machina flashback, it is revealed that his real mother was Emily Annabeth Locke (Swoosie Kurtz), who may have been a drug addict and have psychological problems. She made a sudden appearance when John was already an adult, claiming that his birth was part of a greater plan, that he had no father and was "immaculately conceived." This led to Locke hiring a private investigator to track down his actual biological father-- who turned out to be a wealthy hunter named Anthony Cooper (Kevin Tighe). Cooper seemed to take his newfound son under his wing, teaching him to be a sportsman. However, he was actually laying the groundwork to con Locke into donating his kidney, which Cooper desperately needed. Once the operation was completed, Cooper left the hospital and ordered his security guard not to admit Locke back into his house. Locke was crushed by the revelation that he had been emotionally manipulated.

And it appears that Locke has, finally. He has bought Helen a ring, and is planning on popping the question, when Helen sees an obituary for Cooper. They attend the funeral, along with some shady looking characters, and it appears that for Locke the past is finally buried. Locke apparently also has a new job: a home inspector. He is finishing up an inspection of Nadia's home,when a car pulls up--Cooper's inside, and very much alive. Cooper asks Locke to retrieve a security box for him. It's his last con, and unfortunately, he can't get it out of the bank, because the men he stole it from are looking for him--thus, the fake death. Cooper promises to give Locke part of the cut and Locke agrees. When Locke returns home from the bank, the men from the funeral are there with Helen--they question Locke, but when they search his bag and it is empty, they finally leave. Now Locke just has to deliver the money to Cooper. He meets Cooper in a seedy airport hotel, and that's where Helen finds them. Furious that Locke had lied to her, she walks away when Locke tries to propose.

After Helen left him, Locke joins a commune of sorts. What is known is that the group is armed, use Native American spiritual practices (i.e., sweat lodges) and run a peach orchard. Additionally, they grow a great deal of marijuana. Locke picks up a young hitchhiker, and brings him back to the commune. What Locke doesn't know about Eddie, the young man, is that he is an undercover cop. Locke promises his fellow commune members that he will "fix" the Eddie problem. And he takes Eddie out to the woods, with the intention of killing him, but ultimately can not go through with it. 

Locke is a broken, sad man, seeking disability funding from the government for his depression, but refuses to go to therapy. He is visited one day by a young man, Peter Talbot, whose mother is marrying Anthony Cooper, now going by the name Adam Seward. Peter is certain that "Adam" is not on the up-and-up, but Locke lies and claims he's never met him. Later, Locke seeks Cooper out, demanding that he break off the engagement to Peter's mother. However, before this happens, Peter turns up dead. Locke confronts his father about the young man's death. Though Cooper denies having anything to do with it, the moment Locke's back is turned, he pushes his son out the 8th floor window. And this is how Locke lost the use of his legs. Before the cops could arrest him, however, Cooper disappeared. He could be anywhere in the world...

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