Walt Lloyd

Walter Lloyd
Actor	Malcolm David Kelley
First	"Pilot, Part 1"
Last	"The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham"
Centric	"Special" "Exodus, Part 1"
Age	10
Birth	24 August 1994
Place	New York City, New York, USA
Profession	Student
Reason in Australia	...living with his mother and stepfather
Reason For Trip	...to live in his new home, New York City, with father
Family	Walter Dawson - Grandfather Michael's mother - Grandmother Michael Dawson - Father Susan Lloyd - Mother Brian Porter - Stepfather

Walter Lloyd, more commonly known as Walt, is one of the middle section survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 and the son of Michael Dawson. He has been referred to as "special" by several different people, and seems to have supernatural powers of some sort. He was kidnapped by the Others, and was returned to his father in a prisoner exchange for Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hurley. Since leaving the Island, Walt has become estranged from his father and now lives with his grandmother in New York. When the Oceanic Six returned to the mainland a month later, none of them visited him in fear of blowing their cover. Instead, three years later, Walt was visited by Locke under his alias 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. He does not know Michael is dead.

Before the crash

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. ("Special")

Walt receives Michael's goodbyes as his father relinquishes his rights (unknown actor). ("Adrift")

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 saw he has no chance 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")

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")

"You're not looking!". ("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 4:15 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")

On the Island

Season 1 (Days 1-44)

Michael and Walt rest after the crash. ("Pilot, Part 2")

Locke and Michael argue about Walt. ("Special")

Walt was the first person to find Kate's handcuffs. Walt and John Locke established a friendship shortly after crash landing on the Island. Locke taught Walt how to play backgammon, explaining that the pieces are light and dark. More disturbing to his father, Locke taught Walt how to accurately throw a knife, telling him to "use his mind's eye."

Locke quickly identified something special in the boy, and told his father: "Maybe you haven't spent enough time with him to see it, but he's different... As long as we're here, I think Walt should be allowed to realize his potential." This led Michael to mistrust Locke's intentions with Walt.("Special")

Walt embraces his father. ("Special")

Walt's 'special' qualities have been demonstrated at various points throughout the series. One of the earliest demonstrations of Walt's abilities was his apparent control over the weather. After an argument with his father about Vincent's whereabouts, Michael stated "I'm going to get your dog back as soon as it stops raining" at which point the rain instantly stopped, with Walt glaring pointedly at Michael, who appeared stunned. ("Tabula Rasa")

Sawyer and Walt on the raft ("Exodus, Part 2")

Without having any apparent knowledge of "the Hatch," Walt appeared to exhibit some form of psychometric clairvoyance: after touching Locke's arm, he told him ominously: "Don't open it. Don't open that thing." ("Born to Run")

Walt secretly set fire to the initial raft that Michael built, mirroring Michael's burning of the comic book. Locke was the only person on the Island who realized this and Walt admitted to him, "I like it here." The day before the second raft was set to be launched (a raft he helped to build with his father), Walt confessed to Michael that he was responsible for burning the first raft, because he did not want to leave the Island. Michael told him that they didn't have to go, but Walt replied solemnly, "Yes, we do." ("...In Translation")

Before leaving the Island on the raft, Walt gave Vincent to Shannon. This was an effort to help her cope with the death of her stepbrother Boone.

While on the raft, Walt and his companions ran into another boat. Instead of rescuing them, however, the crew of the other boat kidnapped Walt, destroyed the raft, and left Michael, Jin, and Sawyer in the sea. It was later revealed that the kidnappers were part of the Others. ("Exodus, Part 2")

Season 2 (Days 44-67)

Walt appears before Shannon in the jungle. ("Man of Science, Man of Faith")

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")

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")

Walt and Michael are reunited on the Others' boat, before leaving the Island together at last. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1")  (promotional still)

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")

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. ("Three Minutes"). 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")

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 1")

After the Island

Walt gazes out at his estranged father Michael from the window of his grandmother's house in New York. ("Meet Kevin Johnson")

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 the mainland. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 1")

It is suggested (though not completely confirmed) that Michael couldn't contain the guilt of his two murders and had to share them with someone, so he told Walt. It is believed that this caused Walt to lose his faith in his father and move in with Michael's mother.

When Michael tried to visit him, his mother told him that Walt doesn't want to talk to him. 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")

Walt appears to Locke. ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 1")

Back on the Island, after Locke 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". ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 1")

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." ("Confirmed Dead")

Walt is visited by Locke after School. ("The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham")

Walt visits Hurley in the Santa Rosa Institute. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")

None of the Oceanic Six attempted to contact Walt after their rescue, but John Locke later visited Walt outside Fieldcroft School under the alias "Jeremy Bentham". 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. ("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, who was aboard the freighter Kahana offshore of the Island as it was destroyed by C-4. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")

Trivia

• Walt's episode count so far is 31 (as of "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham").
• Walt was the eleventh character to ever have a flashback.
• Walt has never met Desmond, Ana Lucia, Eko, Libby, Daniel, Charlotte and Miles. Walt has met the rest of the main characters.
• While playing backgammon with Hurley, Walt said, "My dad Brian said I was the luckiest person he ever knew." Hurley won 17th place in a backgammon tournament and owed Walt as much as $83K for losing to him. ("All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues")
• 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 is "special". ("The Hunting Party")  (Regularly spoken phrases)
• 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.
• 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" 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 last line of Season 1.
• After the crash, Walt was not hurt at all. Most other characters had at least a few graises or scratches but Walt had none whatsoever.
• Walt spent 23 Days in the care of the Others.

Unanswered questions

Unanswered questions
Do not answer the questions here. Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer. More details...

For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Walt Lloyd/Theories

• What tests did The Others make him take? ("Three Minutes")
  • What did Walt "give the Others" that let Ben say that The Others "got more than we bargained for when Walt joined us" ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1")
• Why did Walt not want Locke to open the Hatch in the first place?
• How was he able to communicate with the Swan computer?
• Was it really Walt who appeared to Shannon in the jungle and to Locke at the mass grave? If not, then what did Shannon and Locke really see?
  • Was Walts appearence to Locke and Shannon a physical appearance or a ghostly appearance?
  • If it was Walt, then how did he know that Locke had "work to do"?
  • Why was Walt "taller" when he appeared to Locke?

• What was he doing for over three years after he left the island?
  • How was he hiding his identity for over 3 years?
• Are Walt's dreams him actually seeing, or predicting the future, similarly to Eloise Hawking?

External links

• 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.