I may be way, way off here, but I noticed something again in "Further Instructions" that I have noticed consistently regarding Locke's relationship with Hurley: he (Locke) is very dismissive towards him (Hurley) and even seems perpetually irritated with him or like he has no patience with him or SOMETHING. Is it just me who notices and/or imagines this? I LOVE Locke but am puzzled by how he treats Hurley. The Locke I know is usually so gentle and accepting of people as they are. He is independent, does his own thing, and doesn't let anyone stand in his way, but at the same time, he treats people with respect and acceptance, just as I feel he wants people to treat him. He has been dismissed and treated disrespectfully himself throughout his life by so many people, such as his boss at the box company, so why does he turn around and treat Hurley that way?

I'm wondering if, pre-crash, he knew Hurley somehow without Hurley knowing he knew him. I mean, as has been discussed before, Hurley owns a box company and Locke worked for a box company. If it was the same company (and we all know it just must have been!), it would stand to reason that Locke would know who the owner was, but the owner wouldn't know every little regional manager throughout the company, ya know? So maybe Locke sorta resented Hurley somehow because he just fell into riches and owning the box company...although that doesn't sound like Locke to me. Locke doesn't envy material things, or begrudge people for having them. No, it is family, a place to belong and a sense of purpose/destiny for which Locke longs. So what up with his impatience and dismissiveness with Hurley? It seemed really pronounced last night, like he almost wanted to swat "Hugo" away like an annoying fly. Hurley is one of the sweetest people on the island, and one thing both Locke and Hurley have in common is guilelessness. Also a certain gentleness and acceptance of other people as they are. Yet Hurley is the one person Locke is NOT gentle and accepting towards.

Is it just me? I think maybe the hatch blast did something to my powers of perception. Seriously, though, if it isn't just me and anyone else has noticed this, do you think it has something to do with pre-crash history that we don't know about yet? If so, it doesn't seem to me that Hurley knows Locke from before. Yet it does seem, and it stands to reason, that Locke might have at least known of Hurley, as the owner and big boss of the box co. Maybe he blames him somehow for how he was treated at the box company, because "a fish rots from the head down"? Maybe he therefore treats Hurley with the same disrespect and dismissiveness as he felt he was subjected to on Hurley's watch?

I think he know on some level that Hurley works for them. Hurley isn't part of the family. In the dread scene he was in airline uniform like Des and Ben.

Good post. But it's not just Locke who treats Hurley with dismissal -- Jack and Sayid, at least, do too, all the time. Hurley kind of invites that treatment by behaving frivolously in serious circumstances. It may endear him to the viewers, but I can certainly see how other characters might find him irritating. He's encouraged everyone to think of him as a clown, and they treat him like one.

It's my belief that Hurley would have been a very absentee owner of the box company, so I doubt Locke had ever heard of him before. I think it's just Hurley's personality that causes a lot of people to treat him that way.

It's also weird how Locke always calls Hurley "Hugo" (his real name that no one else on the island has called him).

Locke seems to do the same to Sawyer, by calling him James.

Something's up (I hope).

Great points all around. True, Hurley is so guileless, mild-mannered and even self-deprecating at times, that often people don't take him seriously (when actually he often is one of the most insightful people in the group in terms of knowing what the "society" of LOSTaways needs at any given time, such as a golf game *lol*, or a list of everyone, etc.). He certainly is not looked at as a "leader", although like I said, he often does come up with really good ideas about what should be done in any given situation for the good of the group. He is utterly unassertive, which some people apparently take for a "walk all over me" sign.

But it seems like more than that with the Locke-Hurley dynamic. Again in this episode, Locke called him "Hugo" and with the tone of a parent who uses a child's given name instead of the child's preferred nickname as a way to subtley emphasize authority and make the "child" feel small. I'm really thinking that even though Hurley would indeed have been a very hands-off owner of the box company (he was surprised that he even owned a box company when he was informed of it *lol*), maybe Locke resents that Hurley as the owner didn't do more to change the "culture" within the box company wherein supervisors could treat their supervisees in such a derogatory way as Locke's immediate boss did.

Then again, as I write that, I think: no, come on, Locke wouldn't blame Hurley for that. And that is a good point about how he also calls Sawyer "James".

I dunno. I just notice a distinct irritation that Locke seems to have with Hurley and he TOTALLY dismisses him.

When Hurley asked him to WAIT, don't set off the dynamite, Locke blatently ignored him. How did he know that Hurley didn't have something SO important to say, Hurley certainly looked and sounded panicked at the time and wouldn't you think Locke could have waited just to find out what Hurley was going to say? Then again, maybe he felt Hurley was going to stop Locke physically if he didn't do it right then, and that could be dangerous because the dynamite was so volatile. But back to "Further Instructions": Locke just dismissed Hurley in every way, including literally sent him off alone in the jungle to find his way home, even with a loose polar bear nearby. I would think he would either have had Charlie go home with Hugo, or told Hugo to come along but do everything he says, or SOMETHING. That was pretty brutal, leaving poor Hurley out there.

Something is just off about that whole relationship when you compare how Locke treats Hurley to how he treats everyone else in the world. And the only connection we know of between them in the outside world is the box company. But who knows, there could be more that we don't know about yet.

Edited to add: About the point that Jack, Sayid, etc. also are dismissive towards Hurley: I've been pondering that further and I'm thinkin' yes, they definitely are sometimes, but they also will take him seriously when he lets it be known he wants to talk to them seriously about something. As for Jack, he can be kinda dismissive/doctor-like to everyone at times *lol*, and while Sayid can be that way with Hurley, he is usually quite respectful and kind, willing to listen to what Hurley has to say. Point taken that Hurley's unassuming personality and self-deprecating humor kinda invites people to overlook and/or dismiss him (which, again, is too bad, given that he really does have a lot of good ideas, etc.), but with Locke it is more than that. Something's up (I hope, too, Sickotriz *lol*).

when locke goes into his mission-mode he tends to get dismissive, self-righteous, stubborn, near-sighted, et cetera

I think Hurley has proven himself not to want to lead or make decisions (the hatch food incident), until Hurley steps up to the plate with some initiative, I think people will continue to treat him as a follower rather than a leader.

Nothing wrong with being a follower. We have too many leaders on the island as it is....

Yeah it isn't just Locke, alot of them treat Hurley this way. Not just Hurley though even, alot of characters are treated that way.

I don't think Locke treats Hurley with any particular disdain. He was in "mission mode" when he happened upon Hurley.

It does seem like he dismisses Hurley alot, but like I said this happens alot on the show, with many different characters. Just like in real life some people dominate others.

Umm first a note re the thrown knife - I flashed back to Ana shooting Shannon, the thrown knife was the same sort of error when Locke felt threatened by an unidentified noise in the brush.

Back on topic, I don't view it as disdain but rather as a reaction to Hurley's prior tactics in dealing with people. I think Locke and several others treat Hurley dismissively because Hurley often invites such treatment as part of his unconscious strategy for coping with situations and people when he feels threatened or stressed. You don't strike out at the class clown. But the "He's the class clown" mind set often carries over to other situations where it results in Hurley not being taken seriously even if he wants to be serious.

To me it's like Back to the Future, the principal always calls Marty a 'slacker'. It's how Locke sees Hurley.

"Kids these days don't have any work ethic....blah blah blah......."

I think it also bugs Locke that he can't fully figure him out. He thinks/thought he knows how everyone & everything on the island is (ex: Walt, Charlie) but he can't totally understand Hurley.

Future flashback...Hurley going into a box company office and saying, "I want you to meet your new supervisor, Randy," while Locke wheels himself around the corner (Locke, the sponge of all knowledge, instantly recognizing the recent lottery winner...) I guess he still felt bad about the lawn ornament desecration and wanted to make amends with his old boss...

I think Hurley has proven himself not to want to lead or make decisions (the hatch food incident), until Hurley steps up to the plate with some initiative, I think people will continue to treat him as a follower rather than a leader.

Nothing wrong with being a follower. We have too many leaders on the island as it is....
Hurley did take initiative with the golf course/game, which turned out to be just what the doctor ordered for group morale at that moment. He also was the one who thought of taking a census. I'm not saying he's a born leader or anything, I agree that he is more of a collaborative follower which, as you point out, is just as important in a functioning group/society as a leader is. But he does take initiative and have good ideas, too.

I do see why he tends to be dismissed, for all the reasons discussed in this thread thus far, and it is a shame because Hurley ROCKS, but it seems to me that Locke goes beyond just being dismissive and into being actively irritated with him or somethin'. Maybe it is indeed just that Locke is often in "mission mode" (lol) when Hurley happens into the scene. Man, between how dismissive Jack can be with people sometimes (remember when Hurley told him his bedside manner sucked *lol*?), how Locke treats him, and how Sawyer has more Stay-Puft-related nicknames for him than there are hours in the day, Hurley's self-esteem sure gets some challenging, huh? But he does pretty well and holds his own anyway. Rock on, Hugo...

I think, in this particular episode, that Locke viewed Hurley as just another set back on his quest. If you remember he really didn't want Charlie there with him either and was probably thinking "Oh great, one more person I need to look out for."

Also it's a known factor that Hurley has openly stated how creeped out he gets from Locke, maybe Locke has just picked up on that vibe and doesn't know how to react to it. :shrug:

I do agree though, Hurley does rock! :)

Perhaps we will learn that Locke was on that deck, and that's how he ended up in a wheel chair.:eek:

Njc---------------

Yeah it isn't just Locke, alot of them treat Hurley this way. Not just Hurley though even, alot of characters are treated that way.

It does seem like he dismisses Hurley alot, but like I said this happens alot on the show, with many different characters. Just like in real life some people dominate others.


I don't agree with your point. I think Locke treats some badly or he is short with them but it's really only Hurley that he's dismissive.