The other answer might be, pre-boarding is often done quietly and a lot of people don't notice it's happening. And once he's in the seat and the wheelchair is all folded up and stored someplace, who's to know?
The real question is, why does he get to be called by his last name, when everybody but the crazy Frenchwoman has to go by first name? Clearly this is a marker of insanity rather than coolness. Let us all give a moment of thanks that this is fiction, and thus there are not five people all named Rob, two of whose last names are Polish.
Kate was manacled to the marshall, etc.
Actually, she'd be my best candidate to have recognized Locke, because she would have been extra-alert looking for a possible escape. (And thinking about it, I'm much more surprised that people didn't notice the chick in handcuffs than the guy in the wheelchair. Unless she was pre-pre-boarded so nobody ever saw her standing up.)
They may have assumed that the owner was among the dead.
Someone, I think Charlie, made a comment about the wheelchair's owner being "one of the lucky ones" or something like that.
Unless she was pre-pre-boarded so nobody ever saw her standing up
They always preboard people with small children and special needs. My assumption is that Kate would get on first so she can be cuffed to the seat (afterwhich she had her hands in her lap to draw as little attention as possible to herself). Then Locke with the wheelchair and then everyone else.
They always preboard people with small children and special needs.
I know. My point was that an average looking guy in a wheelchair isn't an odd enough sight to turn any heads, but a woman in handcuffs probably would have been. So I wonder where they hid her.
I thought of all those things too. I still find it odd that not one person noticed him. Maybe it is all Walt. He seems like the observant type.
Secret message to lisah:
Hi! Florida is 75 degrees and sunny today. It will get back down into the low 50s as a high early next week, but it will be back up into the 70s by late in the week. It's good to be home. I miss you. Does the band have a CD yet?
I don't know a lot about philosophy, and I'm late to the thread so maybe this has been discussed, but has anything been made of the fact that his name is John Locke?
The real question is, why does he get to be called by his last name
They all call Sawyer by his last name, too. It could also be the way they introduced themselves to the other passengers.
Is Hurley a last name or a nickname?
Hurley's a nickname. IIRC, his actual last name is Garcia.
eta: Ha! As it turns out, IDNRC, IRI.
Also:
My real world answer to this would be that a lot of people don't tend to see a person in a wheelchair, they see the wheelchair.
Yup, this. Not extremely nice, but extremely likely.
