'Lost': Special

I don't have firm recollections of watching this episode of Lost initially. Which isn't to say I don't remember viscerally enjoying it; I just don't remember exactly how I phrased my realization that this show was both darker and weirder than I'd previously thought. Walt's backstory showed that not only did weird vibes happen off the Island, but straight up strange THINGS happen off the Island as well. In many ways, no other flashback for Walt was needed: the answers to those events do not lay off the Island, but on it.

Special

4) In Short

"I'm not sure Walt's the best candidate for induction into the Audubon Society."

8) On the Island

I spy Michael's eye, in close up, looking for Walt. Sort of a trend, early in the show's history. Hurley thinks Michael hates being a dad, since, well, all Michael does is shout, "WALT!" over and over again. (Honestly, I make jokes about this, but the dude DOES scream "WALT" a lot.)

Locke hands Walt a knife. Looks like backgammon's off the table for a while. Walt tries to throw it into a tree, but it bounces harmlessly off. Locke tells him to focus on a particular knot in the trunk, to picture it in his "mind's eye." He tells Walt to see it in his head before actually doing it. Walt then goes into what seems like a bit of a trance, and voila, hits the knot. Boone speaks for us all when he says, "Whoa."

Michael finds them, and rips Locke a new one for teaching his kid how to throw knives. A pretty understandable response, really. The two have an insanely loaded conversation about Walt's "potential," and how "different" he is, and it's really one of my favorite scenes in all of Season 1. The "Boone attacks Michael" is slightly weird, but these three actors knock it out of the park.

That night in the caves, Sun asks Michael if he's OK. He's less angry than that day, but insistent that Walt not be raised on the Island. The following morning, Sayid's laying out Rousseau's maps for Jack and Shannon, overlaying them to show a possible source of the transmission signal. Michael interrupts their pow-wow with a new plan: building a raft. The Map Trio are skeptical of the idea, to which Michael says, "Screw all y'all, I'm doing it on my own."

Walt's reading the Spanish comic book again. Michael tries to engage Walt with talks of tracing comics as a child, but Walt's not too interested. He snags the comic from Walt, and orders him to follow him.

Charlie's looking for Claire's diary, which Sawyer correctly points out is a leetle weird. Charlie socks Sawyer in his wounded arm, Sawyer fires back across Charlie's jaw, and it's all made of extreme win. Later, in the caves, there's a great bit of physical comedy involving Charlie and the diary which either tickles your funny bones or makes you angry they didn't devote more episode time to Walt's insanely interesting storyline.

Walt wonders if he's being punished, having to work with his father. Right about now I am glad I didn't have a dad who was a handyman. He spies Locke and Boone walking nearby, and pretends to get water in order to give Michael the slip. Locke tries to get Walt to leave, asking him to respect his father's wishes. No dice, as Michael sees the two of them together, telling Locke he'll kill him if he ever sees the two of them together.

Alone with Walt, the two have it out. Walt accuses Michael of never being there while he grew up. Michael states it's complicated. After a few back and forths, Michael throws Walt's comic into the fire, which prompts a glower in Walt's eye that brings chills to my spine.

Walt takes off with Vincent soon after, prompting Michael to prepare to open a can of whup ass on Locke. But Walt's not there, so Locke and Walt go looking for him. Elsewhere, Vincent gets a scent of something, goes ballistic, and bolts from Walt. Walt soon finds himself alone in the woods, with a polar bear breathing down his neck.

Locke and Michael hear Walt in the distance. The two Cirque du Soleil their way over towards the banyan trees. Locke tosses a knife to Michael, who tosses it down to Walt. The two men then construct a pulley system to lower Michael down and pull Walt up. Michael manages to stab with the bear with the knife, climbs up the banyans, and reunites with his son. Locke and Michael share a knowing nod and smile.

That night, Michael finally finds a way to bond with his son: the box shown in the previous episode. It's filled with every card and letter written by Michael, to Walt, over the past eight years. It's as corny as the card drawn eight years ago, but hey, I'm a softie. It works for me.

Charlie finds a mention of the "Black Rock," in Claire's diary, and brings it to Sayid and Jack's attention. He posits it's a possible location of Claire. But just as soon as you can say "Black Rock," Locke and Boone run into a disheveled Claire in the middle of the jungle.

15) Off the Island

Michael and Walt's mother, Susan, are in a store shopping for baby furniture. Michael picks out a crib that's worth three months of their rent. Nice taste, Michael. He tells her he's putting his art career on hold in favor of construction, at least until she passes the Bar and gets the big bucks for a high-paying law firm. We then learn the two are not married, nor even engaged. Danger, Will Robinson!

Awww, widdle Walt! He's freakin' adorable, but the situation is not: turns out Susan just got a job in Amsterdam, which will put Walt on another continent. We see a parental side of Michael we have never seen on the Island. Susan rightly points out that with him out of work, no court would ever allow him custody of the child. Now I feel bad about all the "WALT" jokes.

On a pay phone to Amsterdam (can you hear me now?), Michael learns Susan's been seeing the man who hired her. Scandal! Michael vows to come get Walt, and is promptly greeting by the front grill of an oncoming car. That's not good.

Recovering in the hospital, Michael's making a few drawings for Walt. He's surprised to see Susan come into his room. Turns out it's been two months since the accident. Susan tells Michael she's paying for the medical bills, which gives Michael pause. His instinct is right: she's getting married, and Brian wants to adopt Walt.

The new family is in Australia, with Walt in need of help with homework, and Susan in need of medical help, and Brian in need of "holy crap this kid's creepy" help. It might be my favorite flashback scene ever, full of creepiness and portent, and takes the stakes of "Raised by Another" and ratchets it up twentyfold.

Brian visits Michael in the States, stating Susan died yesterday due to a blood disorder. Brian conveys Susan's apparent wish that Michael raise him. Michael cries "fowl," and Brian reveals he in fact simply doesn't want to be a father. You stay classy, Brian! Brian then uses the magic word to describe Walt: "different."

In Australia, Michael greets Walt's nanny. She gives him a box which she believes Walt should have. Whole lotta paper in there. He greets Walt, who doesn't know who he is. Walt gets incredibly mad at Michael, whom he feels is stealing him from the only father he's ever known. It's a brutal scene, as Michael covers for Brian and makes himself the bad guy. So much misunderstanding, so much pain. Very little "WALT!"

16) The Mythology

Well, how long ya got? Walt's "special" nature remains both a focal point and a focal mystery. We have a basic grasp on his powers, although there are tantalizing elements to his character that may in fact never be explained. It's unclear how Walt can turn mind into matter, how he can appear in places he simply shouldn't be, and why he's a magnet for wildlife in the same way I'm a magnet for da ladies. But I would wager a non-small sum of money that he's the key for the Oceanic 6 come Season 5.

23) The Moment

That sickening thud of the bird, a moment amplified tenfold in the mobisode "Room 23."

42) In Retrospect

1. Susan died of a blood disorder, apparently. Know who else has a blood disorder, a potentially lethal one? Alvar Hanso, according to The Lost Experience. I've gone back and forth here trying to bring elements of the ARGs into my analysis of the show, and taken into account all the warnings by Darlton on the topic. And I've kinda come to the conclusion that they can suck any one of my four toes, honestly. With the upcoming launch of yet another ARG next week at Comi-Con, analysis is ON, y'all.
2. As if the blood disorder wasn't enough to call into question Walt's inherent connection to the Island, we have this rather interesting ceiling in their Australian home. I wish I could find the site that initially pointed this out; I don't want to claim to be the first person to notice this. But while you can simply call this coincidence, I'd argue that the show wants you to see this ceiling in order to make later parallels with a certain set of logos.
3. The Locke/Walt interaction in this episode gives me another excuse to link this, an insanely cool promo shot for the show's British audience during Season 1. In many ways, it plays as fan-fic, given how off a few bits are. But Locke/Walt as ringleaders of the events on the Island is a potent image, and one definitely explored in this episode.

108) In Summary

Here's one way to justify the fairly odd way in which Lost handled Michael's character in Season 4: Walt can now take his rightful place as the Luke to his father's Anakin, returning to the Island to bring the type of balance Michael could never quite achieve. Just like Anakin, Michael did horrible things in the name of protecting those he loved most; just like Luke, Walt can turn paradise lost into a paradise regained. This is all a way of saying that once again seeing Michael's paternal instincts reborn makes all those actions which come after come more fully into context. I'm giving this ep four "WAAAAALT"s out of five.

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