'Lost' and 'Watchmen's Damon Lindelof is Obsessed With Wheelchairs

By:
'Lost' and 'Watchmen's Damon Lindelof is Obsessed With Wheelchairs

After the Emmy-winning Watchmen TV series, who knows what writer Damon Lindelof will do next? Whatever it is, we're guessing that it will involve a surprise twist in which a character no longer needs a wheelchair. We couldn't help but notice this oddly specific trend in much of Lindelof's work, beginning with Lost, the hit ABC series about a mysterious tropical island filled with monsters, underground bunkers, and improbably hot plane crash survivors. In one of the show's most memorable twists, we learn that the hairless, boar-hunting John Locke used to be in a wheelchair. But now he is suddenly able to strut around the beach thanks to the island's magical healing mojo.

Then in his follow-up series The Leftovers (basically a depressing, prestige cable version of Lost), Lindelof again featured a character magically ditching a wheelchair. Rev. Matt Jamison's wife, Mary, is in a vegetative state for almost the entirety of the show, but she is miraculously cured during an earthquake at the end of the second season.

Then, again, in Watchmen, we meet a character who is wheelchair-bound: Angela's grandfather Will, played by the legendary Lou Gossett Jr.

We later learn that Will was the original masked hero, Hooded Justice. And in a twist that was probably a huge surprise if you hadn't seen Lost or The Leftovers, it turns out he doesn't actually need a wheelchair. Presumably, Will just fakes a disability for the purposes of psychological manipulation, like a certain deranged candy factory magnate. 

So what's next for Lindelof? An offensively inaccurate FDR biopic, perhaps? Or maybe he'll scrap these wheelchair-based fake-outs and go back to the "someone saves the day with their magical blood" well. 

You (yes, you) should follow JM on Twitter! And check out the podcast Rewatchability

Top Image: ABC Studios

Scroll down for the next article

MUST READ

Forgot Password?