open/close all folders
Helen Norwood
Helen Norwood
"I needed to find help. You help me John. And I can help you."
Locke's girlfriend for a period during his life before the plane crash, whom he had intended to marry.
- Bus Crash: She dies off-screen, after the actual crash of Oceanic 815.
- Character Death: Helen dies off-screen from a brain aneurysm.
- Deadpan Snarker: Part of what makes her such a Fiery Redhead is her quick wit and dark sense of humor. She even jokes about Locke's missing kidney.
- Dropped a Bridge on Her: She sadly dies off-screen between seasons from a brain aneurysm.
- Fiery Redhead: She's much more emotional and snarky than Locke, who's more passive (at that point, anyway).
- The Lost Lenore: She didn't die until well after the crash, but her walking out on Locke had this effect.
Word of God indicated that the phone sex operator named "Helen" was not the same person, showing that Locke was trying to recreate the relationship he had.
Emily Annabeth Locke
Emily Annabeth Locke
Played By: Swoosie Kurtz & Holland Roden
The biological mother of John Locke.
- May–December Romance: With Cooper, who was apparently twice her age.
- Missing Mom: To Locke, whom she abandoned at birth. She comes back into his life just long enough to send him Cooper's way, then skips out on him again.
- Look Both Ways: During a fight with her mother, she runs onto the road without looking and gets hit by a car.
- Only in It for the Money: Emily only contacts Locke because she's being paid by Cooper to help with the con.
- Sanity Slippage: According to Frainey, she's been in and out of mental institutions.
- Teen Pregnancy: She was 15 when she gave birth.
Eddie Colburn
Eddie Colburn
"You're not a murderer. You're a good man. You're a farmer."
Played By: Justin Chatwin
An undercover police officer who befriended John Locke and infiltrated the commune which Locke had joined.
- Jerkass: Eddie is generally an unpleasant person; he has every reason to dislike the commune considering they're criminals, but he dismisses innocent-minded members like Locke as having daddy issues, treating them with scorn, and when Locke trains a gun on him he's smug and dismissive.
- The Mole: He's a cop going undercover to take down the commune.
- Perma-Stubble: His undercover look, it seems.
- Puppy-Dog Eyes: Has a great big pair of them.
- Undercover Cop Reveal: He's a young cop fresh out of the academy, infiltrating Mike and Jan's hippie commune to find their weed stash.
- You Wouldn't Shoot Me: He pulls this card on Locke, and it works.
Jimmy Bane
Jimmy Bane
Played By: Theo Coumbis
A criminal from whom Anthony Cooper stole $700,000 in a retirement con.
- Beard of Evil: He has a little goatee and is clearly a nasty fella.
- Evil Sounds Raspy: He has a low, gritty voice that fits with his shady appearance and even shadier deeds.
- Evil vs. Evil: He's an intimidating criminal who was cheated by and wants to get revenge on Anthony Cooper, a sociopathic con artist.
- Faux Affably Evil: It's clear he's a shady criminal, and his friendly overtones are laced with menace.
- Lean and Mean: He has a very gaunt appearance, and keeps a big guy around as muscle.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Jimmy Bane is not a name that inspires confidence.
- Obviously Evil: Jimmy's raspy voice and transparent pleasantries quickly make it clear that he's a shady, untrustworthy person.
Peter Talbot
Peter Talbot
Played By: Patrick J. Adams
A young man who sought John Locke's help for his mother when she was wooed by a suave con man named "Adam Seward."
- He Knows Too Much: He was implicitly murdered by Anthony Cooper because of his investigation into Cooper's "Adam Seward" identity.
- Killed Offscreen: By Anthony Cooper. Locke only learns of his death from the detectives investigating the case, and it's never stated how he was killed.
- Posthumous Character: Cooper murders him long before the main timeline of the series.
- Properly Paranoid: Peter is very suspicious of his mother's fiance, and rightly so. Her fiance is Anthony Cooper, a seasoned con artist who has no qualms about adding murder to his list of crimes.
- Tempting Fate: "If somebody gave the guy his kidney, how bad could he be?"
GL- 12
Warren Goldberg a.k.a. "GL-12"
Played By: Stephen J Rafferty
The man John played a war game with during his lunch break while working at the box company.
- Only Friend: He seems to be Locke's only friend at his work, and even in general. They play board games on their lunch break and have nicknames for each other.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Locke only ever calls him 'GL-12'. His real name of Warren Goldberg is only mentioned in the script and credits.
Frainey
Frainey
Played By: Lawrence Mandley
A private investigator hired by Locke to investigate his parents.
- Ignored Expert: He warns Locke about finding his father, having seen similar circumstances end badly many times before. He's completely right, but Locke doesn't listen."Here's the thing — your mother sought you out, so she's fair game. But this guy — maybe he doesn't even know you exist. I've done this enough times to know this stuff isn't meant to be, even though it may feel that way. But this probably won't have a happy ending. So, do you want it, or not?"
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Frainey doesn't think that Locke seeking out his birth father will end well, doubting that Locke's father even knows that John exists. He's right that Locke meeting Cooper will come to a bad end, but it's because Cooper is well aware of Locke's existence, and is just using him to get a kidney (which turns out to just be the start of Cooper's negative impact on John's life).
- Small Role, Big Impact: Frainey only appears in one scene in one episode, but he's the one who tracks down Anthony Cooper, allowing Locke to meet his biological father and setting off all the misery that follows.
Mike & Jan
Mike & Jan
Played By: Chris Mulkey & Virginia Morris
The overseers of a self-sufficient commune.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: They're initially friendly and welcoming, talking about 'family' and the like. They show a much more unforgiving side when Eddie is revealed to be a cop.
William Kincaid
William Kincaid
Played By: Stephen Bishop
A physiotherapist based out of a California hospital.
- Nice Guy: Locke at least got blessed with an excellent carer. Kincaid is optimistic and determined to help John but never patronizes him.
Gellert
Gellert
Played By: Phil Abrams
John Locke's science teacher at Cowin Heights High School.
- Stern Teacher: Gellert isn't the nicest guy in the world, but he does genuinely want to help Locke, even if the advice he gives is harsh.
