Special (Lost)

Infobox Television episode | Title = Special
Series = Lost (TV series)
Season = 1
Episode = 14
Airdate = January 19, 2005
Production = 112


Caption = Michael receives a visit from Susan.
Writer = David Fury
Guests = Tamara Taylor
David Starzyk
Monica Garcia
Natasha Goss
Director = Greg Yataines
Episode list = "Lost" (season 1)
List of "Lost" episodes
Prev = Hearts and Minds
Next = Homecoming

"Special" is the 14th episode of "Lost". It is the fourteenth episode of the show's first season. 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 and Walt Lloyd are featured in the episode's flashbacks.

Plot

Centric Character(s): Michael, Walt

An annoyed Michael confronts Walt, who has been studying knife skills under Locke, 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. 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.

"Flashbacks show that Michael and Susan (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 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. Susan dies from a blood disorder. Though Brian said it was Susan's wish that Brian 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 over his surroundings. As a child in Australia, Walt opens one of his books to a picture of a native bird, and shortly afterwards the bird fatally slams into a nearby window." On the island, while teaching him to throw a knife, Locke tells the boy to visualize hitting the target, and Walt fires and embeds the blade perfectly on the mark. Later, a polar bear chases Walt and he hides in a tree. The comic book Walt had been reading, which Michael throws into a fire, features a picture of a polar bear. 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 recovers Claire's diary from Sawyer with help from Kate. 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 Sayid's stolen map. He shows this to the others, thinking it might be a clue to her whereabouts. However, while looking for Vincent (Walt's dog, who disappeared shortly after Walt was attacked by the bear), Locke and Boone are shocked by the sudden appearance of Claire, stumbling out of the jungle.

References

http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=recap#t=38115&d=40646

http://www.tvguide.com/detail/tv-show.aspx?tvobjectid=100272&more=ucepisodelist&episodeid=4394639

http://www.ew.com/ew/allabout/episodes/0,,20000067_1018906,00.html