Monday, August 13, 2007

Did Locke Add Accelerant To
Walt's Fire?

















In Episode 1.17, In Translation, the raft goes
up in smoke, and we learn at the end that Walt was the
one who set the fire. But after watching Season 3's
Locke Explosion Tour, I wonder if the reason Locke knew
Walt set the fire was that he added a little fuel to
flames as well.

Walt tells Locke the reason he set the fire was that he
didn't want to move again, but he also tells Michael he
wants to help rebuild the raft, and by the end of Season 1
Walt definitely wants to leave the Island. So what
changes for Walt? And why didn't Locke who is now
bound and deteremined to keep anyone from leaving the
Island do something to stop raft #2, guards set by Michael
notwithstanding? For that matter, why didn't the Others?
But then I guess they did when they took Walt and left
the rest of the Rafties for dead.

And finally, who would you bet on in this
backgammon game?

4 comments:

Capcom said...

Well, this is a good question. Weren't they lashing together a lot of green bamboo? I can't remember. If so, how does wet green bamboo burn like that TPTB? :-) I dunno, it could very well do that in real life for all I know, heheh.

andrew. said...

way to keep up with the blog Holli. I hadn't checked in since i went on vacation and there are a lot of intriguing questions.

i don't think Locke played any part in the raft fire other than keeping his mouth shut and then shifting the blame to the others. He was probably in the same pickle as Ben & the submarine. The raft represented hope, and he wanted the losties to have hope but he didn't want them leaving the island. Then Walt, very much like Locke in season 3, came to his rescue and burned the raft down.

As far as Walt having a change of mind about leaving, i think Walt came to recognize that his dad wanted to get them off the island so that they could have a better life together.

In the backgammon game, i have to go with walt. He's got wish-fulfillment powers. Locke is just the island's ragdoll.

maven said...

I don't think that Locke actually physically added anything to start the raft fire. By befriending Walt and appearing like such a "cool" guy versus his Dad, Locke might have contributed to Walt wanting to stay on the island. Locke was teaching Walt how to throw knives and live off the island. As a young kid he was having a grand adventure. He really didn't know what his life would be like if they got rescued. Locke might have subtly worked on Walt to stop the raft. But, like Ben, he wanted to give everyone some hope, knowing full well that they'd get nowhere.

I'm also picking Walt in the game. After all, doesn't Hurley owe him a small fortune already?

Unknown said...

Ancient Chinese Proverb: Always bet on the boy with the psychic powers. :)