Walter Lloyd, more commonly referred to as Walt, is one of the middle section survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 and the son of Michael Dawson. People have noticed something "special" about Walt throughout his life, and he seems to have psychic powers of some sort. Walt was separated from his father as a baby and spent his early childhood living with his mother and stepfather. After the death of his mother when he was ten years old, Michael became Walt's guardian, shortly before the crash of Flight 815. On the Island, Walt had trouble getting along with Michael, even burning down his father's first attempt at building a raft to get off the island but they eventually bonded during their time on the Island.
Walt later left the Island on the raft with Michael, Jin, and Sawyer to search for rescue. However, while they were out at sea, they were attacked by the Others and he was kidnapped. He was eventually returned to his father in a prisoner exchange for Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and he and Michael left the Island on a motor boat. Since leaving the Island, Walt became estranged from his father and went to live with his grandmother in New York.
When the Oceanic Six returned to the mainland, none of them visited him, for fear of blowing their cover. Instead, three years later, Walt was visited by Locke under his alias of Jeremy Bentham, and in turn he visited Hurley to question their cover story. Locke told Walt that he had last heard that his father was on a freighter near the Island, keeping the knowledge of his father's death from him. Eventually, after spending some time in Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute, Walt set off to return to the island with Hurley and Ben, who claimed they had a job for him.
Before the crash[]
Separation from Michael[]
Walt, born August 24, 1994, is the 10-year-old son of Michael Dawson and Susan Lloyd, a law student. His mother Susan rejected marriage with Michael, who was at that time a construction worker and struggling artist. While Walt was still a baby, Susan accepted a job offer at Plum International, and moved to Amsterdam, taking Walt with her. ("House of the Rising Sun") ("Special")
Two weeks before Walt's second birthday, Susan returned to New York, after Michael was hit by a car, which occurred right after an argument the two had on a public pay phone. Susan updated him about her and Walt's life, and revealed that she is planning on marrying her boss. She also said that the three of them would be moving to Rome, Italy, at the end of the month. Susan asked Michael the unthinkable - to give up his parental rights to Brian Porter, who would adopt him. Michael refused, and a legal battle began between the two, as Michael hoped he could get his son back. ("Special")
During the process, Michael became worried about his chances of winning against Susan and dropped the lawsuit after Susan convinced him that she and Brian could give Walt a better life. Susan brought Walt to New York, where he reunited with his father. The two-year-old boy hugged his emotional father, who gave him a stuffed polar bear. Michael believed that this would be the last time he would see his son. ("Adrift")
Reunion with his father[]
Eight years later, Brian tracked down Michael in New York, and told him that they had moved to Australia and whilst there, Susan had died of a "blood disorder". Brian arrived in New York the day after Susan's death. He pleaded with Michael to take custody of Walt once more, and gave him tickets for the flight to Sydney and back, plus extra money for travel expenses. Brian had never wanted to be a father, and had only adopted Walt to appease Susan. Brian also admitted that he was afraid of Walt, saying: "There's something about him. Sometimes, when he's around, things happen. He's different somehow." ("Special")
One thing that made Brian suspect Walt was "different" happened shortly before his mother Susan's death. As Brian and Susan were discussing her recently diagnosed illness, Walt was studying a book of Australian native birds, seemingly oblivious to the conversation happening in the room. He wanted Brian to look at the entry for the Australian Bronze cuckoo. When Brian ignored him, Walt became angry and insistent, demanding "You're not looking!" Suddenly a bird slammed into the sliding glass door, killing itself on impact. It was an Australian Bronze Cuckoo. ("Special")
Walt's best friend is Brian's Labrador Retriever, Vincent, because he is the only one Walt feels comfortable talking to. When Michael picked up Walt, Michael told Walt that Brian said that he could keep Vincent, and that it was Michael's choice to take custody of him because Brian really wanted to remain Walt's father. In fact, Michael took Vincent without Brian's permission, and Brian did not wish to have custody of Walt any longer. ("Special")
From the beginning of their newly formed relationship, Walt resented Michael. On the morning of their flight back to LA, Walt woke up at 5:23 am, in their hotel room and turned the TV on, to the TV show, Power Rangers S.P.D.. Michael asked Walt to keep the volume on low, so Walt antagonistically increased the volume. When Michael turned it off, Walt stormed out of the room with Vincent, screaming that Michael was not his father, and almost made it to the elevator before Michael grabbed him. ("Exodus, Part 1")
At the airport the following day, Michael began questioning if he could be a father to his son and made a call to his mother asking her to care for Walt - even offering her money for it. Having hung up, Michael noticed that Walt was beside him - having heard the conversation. The estranged father and son then boarded the doomed plane and crashed on the Island. ("Exodus, Part 2")
On the Island[]
Days 1–44 (Season 1)[]
After the crash, Michael struggled to find Walt and desperately called for him, worried for his safety. He found Walt later and the two remained together and were among the group who discussed what to do with the bodies (with Hurley attempting to sugarcoat the danger of the situation to Walt, in vain.) At first sight, Michael and Walt seemed like any father and son, possibly drawn together now that they were living with strangers, but over time the cracks in their relationship started to show. ("Pilot, Part 1")
The first instance of this was seen on the second day on the Island when Walt walked into the jungle to look for his missing dog Vincent. What he did find, however, was a set of handcuffs but his curiosity was interrupted by Michael eventually finding him. The furious father scolded him, but couldn't help hide his own intrigue. Back at the beach, Walt approached the mysterious John Locke who invited him to play backgammon. The two formed an unlikely friendship when Locke told Walt of the miracle that had occurred - John Locke regaining his ability to walk. After being asked why he didn't have an Australian accent (Locke had asked where he came from), Walt revealed that he moved a lot growing up. ("Pilot, Part 2")
Walt and Michael became further distanced by Walt's desire to find Vincent, culminating in an argument in which Michael was goaded into agreeing to find the dog when the rain stopped (which it curiously did as soon as he said it, indicating Walt made the rain stop.) In the end, however, it was John Locke, of whom Michael was skeptical, that found the dog but he gave him to Michael to give to Walt so they could build a relationship. ("Tabula Rasa")
When Michael went on a boar hunt and came back injured, their bond seemed to grow as Walt expressed worry for his father. A few days later, Walt was present when Jin attacked his father over the Rolex watch and pleaded with Sun to stop Jin before he killed Michael. After Michael recovered from the attack, Walt had seemingly started to want Michael to become a part of his life and took interest in him - asking when his birthday is. Michael and Walt both decided to take residence at the caves. ("Walkabout") ("White Rabbit") ("House of the Rising Sun") ("The Moth")
Michael's parenthood was still questionable and this was demonstrated after Hurley created the golf course. Michael initially left Walt at the caves and when Walt arrived at the course, Michael left his son to take part in the tournament leaving Walt to walk back to the caves himself. This isolation inspired Walt to get closer to John Locke. The bond the two formed was displayed by Walt's desire to join John on his search for Charlie and Claire. ("Solitary") ("All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues")
Walt's friendship with Locke worried Michael greatly, but more so when he discovered Locke was teaching his son how to throw knives (with Walt showing unusual natural proficiency.) When Michael found them, despite Locke commenting on Walt being different, Michael warned him to stay away from Walt. In a bid to bond with Walt and have the same relationship with him as John did, Michael tried to engage him in building a raft together (with Michael refusing to let Walt grow up on the Island. However, when Walt spotted Locke and Boone walking into the jungle he escaped Michael's supervision and followed them. Locke told Walt that it was important that he helped his father and the two spent time together but, when Michael found them, a confrontation occurred in which Walt said that Michael wasn't his father because he hadn't been there all his life.
Enraged, Walt took off into the jungle with Vincent. Michael initially went to find Locke but, finding Walt wasn't with him, his only choice was to ask for Locke's help in finding his son. In the jungle, Walt encountered a polar bear and, after Vincent ran away, found himself in real danger. He ran in between vines and tree stumps to protect himself, but Locke and Michael found him and managed to work together to save the boy. This seemed to bring Michael and Walt closer than they had been before and Michael finally showed Walt the box of all the letters that Susan had kept from him. ("Special")
As the completion of the raft drew nearer Walt, like John, found himself not wanting to leave the Island (understand how special it really was) and so he set the raft ablaze. While the main suspicions fell to Jin, Locke knew it was Walt and the two agreed they didn't want to leave because they liked the Island. Despite knowing this, Locke protected Walt by insinuating that the Others were behind the raft burning. ("...In Translation")
After Boone's death, Walt's opinions of his friend John changed and he stopped talking to him. Instead, he focused his attentions on his father and building the raft. However, when Michael fell ill just before the raft was supposed to be launched, Jack suspected foul play. Walt, however, wanted Locke to know that he didn't poison Michael (thinking Locke may suspect it after he burned the raft). When Locke grabbed his arm, Walt ominously told him to not "open that thing" - despite having no previous knowledge of the discovery of the hatch. After Michael recovered from his poisoning, Walt finally told him that he burned the raft. Michael asked if he wanted to stay on the Island but a changed Walt said that they "need to go". ("Born to Run")
The day that the raft was intended the launch, Walt, having woken first and gone into the woods to relieve himself, spotted Danielle Rousseau arriving in the camp, and bringing with her a dire warning of the Others' imminent arrival in camp and recalled that the day her own child was kidnapped, she saw a pillar of black smoke. Despite much skepticism about Rousseau's warning, it was Walt who noticed a pillar of smoke in the distance, implying some truth in the French woman's warning. With the raft fully prepared, Walt made the valiant gesture of leaving Vincent in the care of Shannon to make up for her losing her brother. He told her that Vincent helped him when his mother died, and he could do the same for her. When the raft was eventually launched, Vincent attempted to follow Walt but eventually returned to Shannon when the raft sailed too far out. ("Exodus, Part 1")
Onboard the raft with Michael, Jin and Sawyer, Walt showed more concern for the survivors they left behind than for their own personal salvation. Most of all, however, Walt displayed his repaired relationship with his father - with Michael teaching him how to sail the raft. Walt took this opportunity to question his father over his separation from Susan and Michael told him that Susan thought it was best for Walt that they didn't see each other. Walt responded simply with "She was wrong." As night fell, the raft encountered a small fishing boat but their jubilation was short lived when the boat's captain ominously demanded they hand over the boy. It became apparent that they had encountered the Others as they took kidnapped Walt and blew up the raft (thus creating the realization that Rousseau's warning about the Others wanting the boy referred to Walt, not Aaron.) With Walt with the Others and Michael adrift in the ocean, father and son were once again separated. ("Exodus, Part 3")
Days 44–67 (Season 2)[]
Not long after he was taken off the raft, a water-drenched Walt appeared before Shannon, who had just followed a fleeing Vincent into the jungle. Shannon heard him whisper incomprehensibly, which has been ascribed to reversed or backwards speech. The translation of the speech is reportedly "Push the button. Don't push the button. Bad." Whether it was actually Walt or a vision is unclear. ("Man of Science, Man of Faith") (Access: Granted)
Three nights later, Walt again appeared to Shannon, this time in the new tent that Sayid had just made for her. Walt was again dripping wet and spoke in reversed speech, "They're coming and they're close".[1] Sayid returned to Shannon's screams, but Walt had disappeared and Sayid did not believe her account. The next day, Shannon resorted to using Vincent to help find Walt, with the Labrador leading her into the jungle. A doubting Sayid followed her, contesting that Walt was still on the raft, but Shannon revealed that they had found the message bottle. Later in the jungle, the two heard the whispers and Walt appeared wet with his finger to his lips, saying, "Shhh". Sayid saw him this time, and when Walt walked back into the jungle, Shannon followed him, only to be accidentally shot by Ana Lucia. ("Abandoned")
At some point after he was taken off the raft, Walt was held in Room 23 at the Hydra compound by the Others. Walt posed a greater threat to them than they expected, as he had been doing something unspecified that frightened them so that they would not go in to see him. Ben responded to a particular situation with a blaring alarm and people in commotion, and Juliet suggested that Ben take responsibility and bring Walt back to Michael. Ben refused, saying Jacob wanted him there, and that Walt is important and special. After Ben denied Walt's dangerous nature, Juliet took him outside to show what Walt had done: a group of dead birds were lying on the stairwell beneath a boarded up window. ("Room 23")
While examining the equipment within the the Swan, Michael discovered a message reading "Hello?" on the station's computer screen. Typing in a response and identifying himself by name, Michael was shocked when the other party returned with "Dad?". ("What Kate Did") (Access: Granted)
Convinced that the user on the other end was Walt, Michael continued communication with him. When he inquired if he was alone, Walt responded that he couldn't talk long, because "they're coming back soon." Walt concluded by telling Michael he needed to go somewhere, but cut off the communication when Jack entered. ("The 23rd Psalm")
When Michael went after the Others to retrieve Walt, he was captured. An Other who called herself Ms. Klugh asked Michael, "Has Walt ever been somewhere he wasn't meant to be?". Later, Michael demanded to see his son, to make sure he was still alive. Ms. Klugh shouted for an Other by the name of Pickett to bring him inside, and gave them three minutes together. ("Three Minutes")
Walt inquired about Vincent's health and told Michael that the Others made him "take tests" and that "they're not who they say they are - they're pretending". Ms. Klugh became agitated and threatened to put Walt in "the Room" again. (This room was later revealed through a mobisode to be Room 23, the same room that Karl was apparently being brainwashed in when Sawyer, Kate and Alex rescued him.) Walt instantly froze up at the mention of this, and Ms. Klugh told him to leave. Ms. Klugh proposed a deal: if Michael brought them Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hurley, they would let Michael and Walt go free. Later, Juliet commented to Michael that Walt was special, that he wasn't an ordinary boy, and that's why she was worried about him. Juliet was glad that Michael was going to get Walt away from the Island. ("The Deal") ("Three Minutes")
After Michael led Kate, Hurley, Jack and Sawyer to the Others to complete his deal for Walt, Ben returned the boy as promised, commenting that he was "more than we bargained for." Michael was also given a boat and a bearing of 325 to an apparent escape. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 2")
After the Island[]
2004[]
After he and Michael left the Island on the Others' boat, they sailed to an island, sold the boat, and took a ship back to mainland USA. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 1")
It is suggested that Michael couldn't contain the guilt of his two murders and had to share them with someone, so he told Walt. This sparked a dramatic change in their relationship as Walt lost all faith in his father and didn't want to see him. He then moved in with Michael's mother. When Michael tried to visit him, his mother told him that Walt doesn't want to talk. She mentions that Walt barely speaks to her, and often wakes up in the middle of the night screaming. She said that until Michael can tell her where he's been for the past two months, she will not let him see Walt. As Michael turned away, saddened, he peered up and saw Walt looking at him through a window. Walt quickly pulled down the curtains.
When Tom confronted Michael later that night, he insinuated that Michael may have told Walt about his murder of Ana Lucia and Libby, making Michael despise himself for sharing this dark secret with his son. Michael neither confirmed nor denied Tom's claim. ("Meet Kevin Johnson")
Back on the Island, after John awoke in the DHARMA mass grave, he found a gun and was preparing to kill himself. A manifestation of Walt appeared seconds before he was about to pull the trigger and told him to get up. Locke protested, saying that he couldn't move his legs. Walt said that he could use his legs because he has "work to do". After the survivors split into two groups, Locke's group, namely Sawyer and Hurley, questioned Locke on how he knew what to do. He revealed that he received his orders from Walt. When the group questioned him further on this, Locke merely stated that it was definitely "Walt, only taller." ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 1") ("Confirmed Dead")
2007[]
None of the Oceanic Six attempted to contact Walt after their rescue, but John Locke later visited Walt outside Fieldcroft School. Walt informed Locke that he had been having dreams of him back on the Island wearing a suit, surrounded by people who wanted to hurt him. Walt asked Locke if his father was back on the Island, as he had not seen him in three years. Locke avoided the true answer by telling Walt that the last he heard, Michael was on the freighter near the Island. ("The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham")
Walt subsequently visited Hurley at Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute to ask why he and the others were lying about what happened on the Island. Hurley told him that the lie was meant to protect everyone they left behind—including, Hurley asserted, Michael, whom he maintained was still alive on the Island when Walt asked. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")
2010[]
Walt, presumably due to the stress of keeping the lie, in addition to the traumatic experiences he suffered from, was sent to Santa Rosa as a patient under the name of Keith Johnson. At some point, Walt came to the conclusion that his father was dead.
After Hurley became the Protector of the Island, both he and Ben traveled off the Island to visit Walt. Ben sent Walt a note, informing him he was with a friend of Walt's. In the recreation room, Walt was playing Connect Four alone as Ben approached him. As Walt brought up his kidnapping by Ben years ago, Ben apologized and once again referred to Walt as "special." Ben claimed that if Walt returned to the Island, he would be able to help Michael, even though he was dead. The two left the institution and entered the parked DHARMA van, where Hurley was waiting. Hurley explained to Walt that he has a job to offer him, as the Island is the only place Walt truly belongs. Walt showed relief at knowing that he was not crazy; Hurley insisted that Walt is far from it. The three then took off, starting their journey back to the Island. ("The New Man in Charge")
Trivia[]
- Walt's episode count is 33, as of the epilogue "The New Man in Charge".
- At Comic-Con 2011, co-creator Damon Lindelof stated that the source of Walt's powers was never meant to be full-throttled mystery. He said the answer to question, "why is Walt special?" is that "because he is" and nothing more.[2]
- Walt was the eleventh character to ever have a flashback.
- Walt was the only member of the Original 14 main characters who never had his own centric episode.
- Walt has never met Desmond, Richard, Bernard, Ana Lucia, Eko, Libby, Daniel, Charlotte, Miles, Lapidus, Eloise, Penny, Christian, Pierre and Ilana. Walt has met the rest of the main characters.
- Walt was aware of Ana Lucia and Libby, as he disowned Michael upon learning that he killed them.
- Walt has never been shown meeting Nikki or Paulo, but they lived in the same camp for 44 days before he was taken.
- Similarly, Walt has never directly interacted with Rose on-screen, but it can be assumed that they've met as they both lived in the same camp for 44 days.
- Walt shared no scenes with Juliet, but "The Deal" and "Room 23" imply they met at some point.
- During his captivity with the Others, Walt may also have met Richard.
- Walt is one of three main characters who were neither dead nor shown to be present in the flash-sideways timeline, the other two being Frank and Richard.
- Walt, along with Ana Lucia, Eko, Nikki, Paulo and Michael did not return to Main Characters status in "The End".
- Walt is one of the five main characters not seen at the crash site of Oceanic 815's middle section, along with Kate Austen, James "Sawyer" Ford, Sayid Jarrah and Sun-Hwa Kwon.
- Although Hurley owed Walt as much as $83K for losing to him in backgammon, Walt never collected, even though he visited Hurley in the hospital. ("All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues") ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")
- Walt was named after his grandfather. ("Special")
- His picture was displayed under the word "MISSING" on the milk carton Hurley was holding in his dream; Hurley did not appear to notice the picture, nor did he have the knowledge yet that Walt was missing. ("Everybody Hates Hugo")
- In the special feature Access: Granted on the Lost: The Complete Third Season (DVD) Blu-ray edition, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse said that it was Walt who communicated with Michael on the Swan computer. ("What Kate Did")
- Tom said that while in their care, Walt was safe, along with Zach and Emma. Tom also said that Walt was "special". ("The Hunting Party") (Regularly spoken phrases)
- Walt is one of 13 main characters to not have their name appear in a soundtrack title.
- Ben once said that the Others would never give Walt back, but they did. ("S.O.S.") ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1")
- For "Three Minutes" and "Live Together, Die Alone, Part 2", Malcolm David Kelley was shot at odd angles to disguise his obvious growth.
- In "Meet Kevin Johnson" he was shot at an odd angle but the shot was also edited heavily using CGI. (DVD audio commentary for "There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")
- Something major has occurred involving Walt in the first four season finales: he was kidnapped in "Exodus, Part 2", escaped the Island in "Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1", appeared as an apparition in "Through the Looking Glass, Part 1" and admitted to a visit from "Jeremy Bentham" in "There's No Place Like Home, Part 2".
- When Walt appeared to Locke in "Through the Looking Glass, Part 1", and in "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham", he called him John. Before Walt left on the raft at the end of season one, he always called him "Mr. Locke."
- Walt is one of three characters portrayed by principal cast in Season 2 never to appear in the Swan (the other two being Claire and Shannon).
- Michael screaming "Walt!" is the first and last line of Season 1.
- After the crash, Walt did not appear hurt at all, whereas most other characters had at least a few grazes or scratches.
- Walt spent 23 days in the care of the Others.
- Walt is one of the five original Main Characters still alive at the end of the series.
- Walt is also one of the few confirmed Oceanic Flight 815 survivors by the end of the series, along with Zach, Emma, Kate, Sawyer, Claire, Aaron, Hurley, Cindy, Rose, Bernard and Vincent.
- Walt is one of nine male main characters alive at the end of the series, not counting the flash sideways.
Unanswered questions[]
Unanswered questions |
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- For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Walt Lloyd/Theories
General
- What abilities does he possess?
- How much knowledge, if any, did Walt's mother have of his abilities?
- How did Walt have knowledge of the hatch, and why did he warn Locke not to open it?
The Others
- What happened to him in "The Room"?
- What tests did the Others make him take?
Manifestations on the Island
- Why did he warn Shannon not to "press the button"?
References[]
- Reversed Speech.mp3 (40kb) Walt's words from "Abandoned", played in reverse.
- On the Oceanic homepage, the words 'THE BOY' hidden in the pull down menus suggest that Walt is in fact not a red herring at all as others claim, but is very important.
- This is because of a hidden message: If you go to the Oceanic page, hit 'track flight' on the toolbar and track flight by number, you'll find that the second flight down (flight 572) holds the message 'Give us THE BOY'.
- Also on the Oceanic homepage; Click on from ---> airport code and select "THE" and then select the "To airport" code "BOY" and click the "find" button you get either a card with a drawing from Michael to Walt on it, or Claire's boarding pass.
- 25 Nov 2008: Oceanic homepage - Entering "THE" in 'From --->airport code' and "BOY" in 'To --->airport code' then clicking "Find" and moving the cursor over the flight cancellation note reveals this message embedded beneath: "I survived a horrific plane crash and am stranded on an island somewhere Northeast of Australia and Southwest of Hawaii. In the event that I am never found, please forward word of my fate to my parents." This message suggests that "THE BOY" may not refer to Walt, since Walt has only one live parent who would have known about his fate.
- There is another message above this, which is covered by the cancellation note. It can still be read by looking at the webpage source, and it says: "If anyone should find this message, please get word I'm alive and stranded on an island somewhere in the South Pacific. Please send help soon. Things are bad. And they're getting worse...", apparently signed from someone called Sally.
- This is because of a hidden message: If you go to the Oceanic page, hit 'track flight' on the toolbar and track flight by number, you'll find that the second flight down (flight 572) holds the message 'Give us THE BOY'.
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