.gif)
Special (Lost)
Encyclopedia
"Special" is the 14th 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.
), have a son, Walt. When Walt was only a few months old, Susan accepted a job in Amsterdam
and took her child with her. Months later, Michael calls Susan, and she reveals to have started a relationship with her former boss, Brian Porter (David Starzyk
). Michael says he is coming to Amsterdam, not for Susan, but to take his son back. Hanging up, Michael storms away but, forgetting to look, walks out into the middle of the road and is hit by an oncoming vehicle. While Michael is in the hospital recovering, Susan appears and says she will be marrying Brian and he wants to adopt Walt as his legal son. Michael refuses; Susan questions his motives, suggesting that Michael is holding on for his own stubborn principles rather than love for his son.
Eight years later, Brian, Susan and Walt live in Sydney
, Australia
. Walt is hinted to have some sort of supernatural power over his surroundings, when he opens one of his books to a picture of a native bird, and shortly afterward an identical real-life bird fatally slams into a nearby window. Shortly later, Susan dies from an unspecified form of blood disorder. Brian comes to New York to tell this to Michael, and says it was Susan's wish that Michael be given custody. Michael soon sees past this, and realizes Brian does not care for Walt, only pursuing paternal rights in the past to please Susan. He offers Michael plane tickets to and from Sydney, inviting him to come and take Walt. Michael is livid that Brian would willingly abandon Walt, but is confused when Brian says the boy is different, and "things happen when he is around". Michael then goes to Brian's house in Sydney, where he picks up Walt and his dog Vincent.
(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 then gives Walt a wooden box that holds all the letters he wrote to Walt, but his mother never delivered.
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
). 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.
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." Kirthana Ramisetti from Entertainment Weekly
called it the best episode since "Walkabout
" because of Michael's character development. 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."
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
. The episode was directed by Greg Yaitanes
Greg Yaitanes
Greg Yaitanes is an American television and film director.-Directing career:*Damages **"Jesus, Mary and Joe Cocker" **"A Pretty Girl in a Leotard" *Lost...
and written by David Fury
David Fury
David Fury is an American television Screenwriter and Producer, best known for his work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Lost, 24, and Fringe.Fury was a Co-executive producer and Writer for the first season of Lost...
. It first aired on January 19, 2005 on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. The characters of Michael Dawson
Michael Dawson (Lost)
Michael Dawson is a fictional character played by Harold Perrineau on the ABC television series Lost. After losing a custody battle with Susan Lloyd , Michael does not see his son Walt for almost ten years. They reunite when she dies, but on their journey home, their plane crashes on a mysterious...
(Harold Perrineau) and his son Walt Lloyd
Walt Lloyd
Walter "Walt" Lloyd is a fictional character portrayed by Malcolm David Kelley in the American ABC television series Lost. The series follows the lives of over forty survivors of the crash of Oceanic Flight 815. Walt is introduced in the pilot episode as one of the survivors aboard the plane, which...
(Malcolm David Kelley
Malcolm David Kelley
Malcolm David Kelley is an American teen actor. He starred in the 2004 film You Got Served as "Li'l Saint". He also appears in the television series Lost as the character Walt Lloyd. A regular cast member in the show's first season , he has appeared only occasionally since due to a dramatic...
) are featured in the episode's flashbacks.
Flashbacks
Michael and his partner, lawyer Susan Lloyd (Tamara TaylorTamara Taylor
Tamara Taylor is a Canadian television actress.Born in Toronto to a black Canadian father and a Scottish Canadian mother, her most famous role is that of Dr. Camille Saroyan, head of the Forensic Division, on the forensic crime drama Bones...
), have a son, Walt. When Walt was only a few months old, Susan accepted a job in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and took her child with her. Months later, Michael calls Susan, and she reveals to have started a relationship with her former boss, Brian Porter (David Starzyk
David Starzyk
-Career:Starzyk has guest-starred in a number of notable television series, including Home Improvement, Felicity, Pacific Blue, NYPD Blue, Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, Charmed, The Practice, Boston Legal, Lost, Desperate Housewives, Veronica Mars, Victorious and among other series...
). Michael says he is coming to Amsterdam, not for Susan, but to take his son back. Hanging up, Michael storms away but, forgetting to look, walks out into the middle of the road and is hit by an oncoming vehicle. While Michael is in the hospital recovering, Susan appears and says she will be marrying Brian and he wants to adopt Walt as his legal son. Michael refuses; Susan questions his motives, suggesting that Michael is holding on for his own stubborn principles rather than love for his son.
Eight years later, Brian, Susan and Walt live in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Walt is hinted to have some sort of supernatural power over his surroundings, when he opens one of his books to a picture of a native bird, and shortly afterward an identical real-life bird fatally slams into a nearby window. Shortly later, Susan dies from an unspecified form of blood disorder. Brian comes to New York to tell this to Michael, and says it was Susan's wish that Michael be given custody. Michael soon sees past this, and realizes Brian does not care for Walt, only pursuing paternal rights in the past to please Susan. He offers Michael plane tickets to and from Sydney, inviting him to come and take Walt. Michael is livid that Brian would willingly abandon Walt, but is confused when Brian says the boy is different, and "things happen when he is around". Michael then goes to Brian's house in Sydney, where he picks up Walt and his dog Vincent.
On the Island
An annoyed Michael Dawson confronts Walt Lloyd, whom John LockeJohn Locke (Lost)
John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after English philosopher John Locke...
(Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
) has been teaching how to throw a knife
Knife throwing
Knife throwing is an art, sport, combat skill, or variously an entertainment technique, involving an artist skilled in the art of throwing knives, the weapons thrown, and a target.-A throwing 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
Madison (dog)
Madison is a Labrador Retriever, and an animal actor best known for playing the role of Vincent the dog on the hit television series Lost.Even though she is female, she plays a male dog on the TV show Lost.-Biography:...
). 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
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
, thus aiding the reconciliation between the two. Michael then gives Walt a wooden box that holds all the letters he wrote to Walt, but his mother never delivered.
Charlie Pace
Charlie Pace
Charlie Hieronymus Pace is a fictional character on ABC's Lost, a television series chronicling the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island...
(Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan is an English actor. He has received international attention from playing Merry in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and for his role as Charlie Pace on the television show Lost....
) recovers Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton is a fictional character played by Emilie de Ravin on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Claire is introduced in the pilot episode as a pregnant crash survivor. She is a series regular until her...
's (Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin born 27 December 1981)is an Australian actress. She is commonly associated with her roles as Tess Harding on Roswell and Claire Littleton on the ABC drama Lost....
) diary from James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway
Joshua Lee "Josh" Holloway is an American actor and model from Free Home, Georgia. He is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford on the American television show Lost.-Early life:...
) with help from Kate Austen
Kate Austen
Katherine Anne "Kate" Austen is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly. She is the de facto female lead...
(Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as Kate Austen in the ABC drama, Lost.-Early life:...
). 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
Sayid Jarrah
Sayid Hassan Jarrah is a character from the ABC show Lost portrayed by Naveen Andrews.-Season 1:Sayid fixes the transceiver recovered from the cockpit, and leads a group into the jungle in order to send out a distress signal. Instead, he picks up a looping message . He tries to locate the...
(Naveen Andrews
Naveen Andrews
Naveen William Sidney Andrews is a British American actor. He is best known for portraying Kip in the movie The English Patient and Sayid Jarrah on the American television series Lost.-Early life:...
) stole from Danielle Rousseau
Danielle Rousseau
Danielle Rousseau is a fictional character on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of over forty people after their plane crashes on a remote island somewhere in the South Pacific. Croatian actress Mira Furlan plays the scientist who shipwrecks on the island sixteen...
(Mira Furlan
Mira Furlan
Mira Furlan is a Croatian actress and singer currently residing in the United States. She is well known for her roles as the Minbari Ambassador Delenn on all five seasons of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 , and Danielle Rousseau on Lost.-Early life:Furlan was born to an...
). 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
Boone Carlyle
Boone Carlyle is a fictional character played by Ian Somerhalder on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the south Pacific. Boone is introduced in the pilot episode as the stepbrother of fellow crash survivor Shannon Rutherford...
(Ian Somerhalder
Ian Somerhalder
Ian Joseph Somerhalder is an American model, actor and producer, best known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama Lost and Damon Salvatore in the TV drama The Vampire Diaries.-Early life:...
) are shocked by the sudden appearance of Claire, stumbling out of the jungle.
Development
The episode sets up Walt as a character with possible supernatural powers, as two situations imply he summons animals — he causes a bird to fly into a window while reading a book on birds, and makes a polar bear attack him after reading a comic book such a bear. The polar bear was mostly depicted through computer generated imagery, with an animatronic head and puppeteers wearing bear arms being used for close-ups.Reception
The episode's premiere gained 19.69 million American viewers. "Special" was well received by critics. Chris Carabott of IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
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." Kirthana Ramisetti from Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
called it the best episode since "Walkabout
Walkabout (Lost)
"Walkabout" is the fourth episode of the first season of Lost. The episode was directed by Jack Bender and written by David Fury. It first aired on October 13, 2004, on ABC. In the episode, flashbacks reveal John Locke's plans to get to Australia and participate in a walkabout tour...
" because of Michael's character development. 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."