John Locke is one of the most complex characters written, and portrayed in LOST. To me his story is as much a part of the show as the character of Jack Shephard. Do you think he is Evil?

One of the things that became apparent when I rewatched LOST last summer is that John Locke is a series of shadows and blurry lines. I remember from watching the first time through that John Locke appeared to be a hero, the man of faith, the man that could help people with their struggles, provide that single nugget of advice that could help people advance. On rewatching after season 5, my initial thoughts changed slightly, knowing after “Further Instructions” that the one consistent character trait of John Locke is per the FBI profiles is that he is amenable to corecion. After the season 5 finale, we’re clued into the fact that this flawed John Locke is still dead in the sand, not alive on the island, and so we’re left to speculate on the character of John Locke.

Some might project that John Locke on the island was never really John Locke, that he died in that first boar hunt, and his persona was taken over by the man in black at that moment, and immediately began plotting his devious long con. Another group of people may consider that John Locke came under the influence of the MiB after that first glorious appearing, and while coerced and manipulated still made choices consistent with John Locke’s oter character traits. But is he evil? I say no.

The best description of John Locke, and indeed all of the Oceanic Survivors, and other groups of others on the island is given by Jacob in “What they died for”:

SAWYER: … I was doin’ just fine til you dragged my ass to this damn rock. JACOB: No, you weren’t. None of you were. I didn’t pluck any of you out of a happy existence. You were all flawed. I chose you because you were like me. You were all alone. You were all looking for something that you couldn’t find out there. I chose you because you needed this place as much as it needed you.

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