Special

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"Special"
Lost episode
Michael receives a visit from Susan.
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 14
Written by	David Fury
Directed by	Greg Yataines
Production no.	112
Original airdate	January 19, 2005
Guest stars
Tamara Taylor David Starzyk Monica Garcia Natasha Goss
Episode chronology ← Previous Next → "Hearts and Minds" "Homecoming"
Lost (season 1) List of Lost episodes

"Special" is the fourteenth episode of the first season of Lost. The episode was directed by Greg Yaitanes and written by David Fury. It first aired on January 19, 2005 on ABC. The characters of Michael Dawson (Harold Perrineau) and his son Walt Lloyd (Malcolm David Kelley) are featured in the episode's flashbacks.

Plot

Flashbacks

Flashbacks show that Michael and Susan Lloyd (Tamara Taylor), Walt's mother, were unmarried, and when Walt was only a few months old, Susan—an ambitious young lawyer—accepted a job in Amsterdam and took her child with her. She married a co-worker named Brian Porter (David Starzyk) when Walt was two, and their work eventually brought them to Australia. After speaking on the phone with Susan, who refuses to let Michael speak to Walt, Michael walks into the street and is hit by a car. While Michael is in the hospital recovering, he shows his artistic ability by drawing a man in a wheelchair. Susan visits Michael at the hospital but does not bring Walt. Much later, Susan dies from a blood disorder. Though Brian said it was Susan's wish that Michael be given custody, it turns out Brian doesn't want custody of Walt because the boy is "different".

Walt is hinted to have some sort of supernatural power and over his surroundings. As a child in Australia, Walt opens one of his books to a picture of a native bird, and shortly afterwards a real life bird fatally slams into a nearby window. During this time and just before the bird hits the window, a blonde girl is seen in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, Walt appears to see the woman as he says 'Look, look!'.

On the Island

An annoyed Michael Dawson confronts Walt Lloyd, whom John Locke (Terry O'Quinn) has been teaching how to throw a knife, and enlists his help in scavenging parts from the wreck to build a raft. Eventually, Walt tells his dad that he is going to get some water and runs off with his dog, Vincent (Madison). Michael initially accuses Locke of contributing to his son's delinquency despite his repeated warnings, but when he sees that the boy is not with Locke, the two men track Walt into the jungle. Michael risks his own life to save Walt from one of the island's unlikely predators, a polar bear, thus aiding the reconciliation between the two.

Michael gives Walt a wooden box that holds all the letters he wrote to Walt. Susan kept them but never gave them to Walt.

Charlie Pace (Dominic Monaghan) recovers Claire Littleton's (Emilie de Ravin) diary from James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway) with help from Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly). As he skims through it, hoping to find some mention of him in her musings, he reads her description of a dream about a "black rock" which corresponds to a location on the map that Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews) stole from Danielle Rousseau (Mira Furlan)^[1]. He shows this to the others, thinking it might be a clue to her whereabouts. However, while looking for Vincent, who disappeared shortly after Walt was attacked by the bear, Locke and Boone Carlyle (Ian Somerhalder) are shocked by the sudden appearance of Claire, stumbling out of the jungle.

Reception

The episode's premiere gained 19.69 million American viewers.^[2] "Special" was well received by critics. Chris Carabott of IGN said "Michael's flashback is a heart wrenching look at the relationship, or lack-there-of, between him and his son Walt." He added "As Michael's life crumbles around him, it's Harold Perrineau's brilliant performance that really shines through."^[3] Kirthana Ramisetti from Entertainment Weekly called it the best episode since "Walkabout" because of Michael's character development.^[4] She said "One of my favorite scenes of the entire season ... was Michael and Walt bonding over the letters and the drawing of the sunburned penguin. It was moving to see these two finally relating to each other as father and son after everything they've been through."^[4]

References