The hit ABC series Lost captivated audiences with its supernatural undertones and many mysteries, some of which have gone unsolved to this day. One of the biggest mysteries -- and one of the show's earliest -- centers on the nature and powers of the young boy Walt Lloyd(Malcolm David Kelley).
Everything in the show seemed to point to Walt being hugely important to its mythology. He appeared to have telepathic control over animals, polar bears included. Many of the early plots centered around Walt being in danger or having gone missing. But then Kelley hit a growth spurt, and he was effectively written off the show in Season 2, not to return until Season 5. What was so special about Walt? Let's follow the clues.
In Season 1, Episode 2, "Pilot, Part 2," Locke (Terry O'Quinn) teaches Walt how to play backgammon. Walt shows the ability to roll exactly what he needs to further his game. Similarly, in Season 1, Episode 3, "Tabula Rosa," Walt seems to make the rain stop on command after his father, Michael (Harold Perrineau), said they could look for his missing dog, Vincent, when the weather improved.
But it was Season 1 Episode 14, "Special," that really laid the groundwork for the growing belief that Walt was -- well -- special. In this one episode, we see the following strange phenomenon:
- While playing backgammon with Hurley (Jorge Garcia), Walt thinks a number aloud, and instantly rolls that same number.
- Locke teaches Walt to throw knives and by imagining the throw in his mind's eye. Walt hits a bullseye.
- In a flashback, Walt is studying native Australian birds, specifically a bronze cuckoo. He tries to tell his stepfather about what he's learned, but he's getting ignored. Walt exclaims that his stepfather isn't listening, and suddenly a bronze cuckoo slams into the glass back door, killing itself.
- Back on the island, Walt is reading a comic book which features the appearance of a polar bear, and then he gets chased through the tropical jungle by a real polar bear.
Walt later gets kidnapped by The Others, and when he reappears and we learn that he was given "tests." Ben (Michael Emerson) also stresses that Walt is, again, "special." Later in the series, Walt seemingly astral projects to give Locke some encouragement in Season 3, Episode 22, "Through the Looking Glass, Part 1." All of this points his having supernatural abilities, especially given the general theme of the show allowing for such interpretations.
Fan theories get wild when it comes to theorizing the nature of Walt's powers and their possible origins. Everything from exposure to magnetism to Walt's secretly being the Smoke Monster has been proposed for the cause of his gifts. Many theories center around his powers being either telepathic, wish-based, time-and-space bending, or some combination of the three.
In reality, the truth is probably less thrilling. For one, it's become well known that the Lost creators never had a master plan mapped out for the series like they lead us to believe. Some of the mysteries were even mysteries to the writers themselves. So, it's entirely likely that Walt's powers were simply arbitrary plot devices meant to intrigue us without one specific end in mind.
Lost Co-creator Damon Lindelof all but came out and admitted as much when it came to Walt's powers. At Comic-Con 2011, he said the source of Walt's powers was never intended to be mysterious. Why is Walt special? "Because he is," Lindelof said.
That may seem like a cop-out, but maybe it's not. Maybe it's just the simplest way to put it. In "The New Man in Charge," the Lost epilogue that was released on both the Complete Sixth Season DVD and the Complete Collection boxset, there's a continuation that may hint at the secret to the mystery of Walt. In it, Walt, in the future, is recruited personally by Hurley and Ben to return to the island for a special role.
Based on the context and title of the epilogue, he'll seemingly be a future leader/protector of the island. This makes sense because we didn't see him in the "afterlife," indicating he hadn't died yet, and possibly never died. Remember, The Island's protectors are ageless. That destiny itself might be the "cause" of his powers, since other leaders have demonstrated special gifts before assuming the title. Maybe he was simply born to fulfill that role, and those are the abilities he needed to do the job.