S1Ep14 - Special (Michael and Walt's first flashback)

[This message was initially sent as an email to friends, it was loaded into this blog 2.5 years later]

Hello my dear friends -

I am writing this from my hotel room in NYC late Tuesday night and regret to tell you that I will not have as much info for you as usual as I have not had normal internet access for a while so have not been on the boards since "Special" aired. However, I was nerdy enough to go down to the public internet kiosk in the lobby of this hotel, go quickly to Ain't It Cool News, click to an interview they had with one of the Lost writers and then cut and paste some people's reactions into the section below. It has not been edited at all by me as usual but I think there may be a few good things in there. The writer being interviewed confirmed that the episode 3 new ones from now entitled "Numbers" is Hurley's flashback, hallelujah. People have speculated that he lived with his mother and ended up helping her die, some sort of euthanasia thing, but the writer would only say that that seemed too dark for Hurley, so I guess we will have to see what happens. As you will see in the below, all the nerds on the message boards are REALLY hoping that he's a TBer (talk-backer, one of the people who post on the message boards of this particular site), but I highly doubt that will be the case, but the nerds can dare to dream, stranger things have happened.

ISSUES FROM ‘SPECIAL’:

THE CHARACTER OF MICHAEL (Walt’s dad) OVERALL
Michael seems to be a truly good person. Unlike most of the others whose flashbacks have shown them to be flawed or ethically/morally challenged in one way or the other, Michael wasn't "bad" in any way. I think that is something to consider, especially in light of the fact that Locke may have now finally won him over....

And how about Walt's mom? Can anyone say bee-otch?

WALT
So is Walt some freaky evil child who makes bad things happen, or does he have powers he is unaware of and therefore is innocent? The bird that he was reading about slammed against the house and died when he was annoyed with his parents, at the same time that his mom started not feeling so well. Did he cause the bird to die? I think so. Did he cause his MOM to die? Not sure about that. The fact that the step-dad told Michael that "bad things happen when he's around" and "he's different somehow" lead me to believe that the bird was not an isolated freak incident. However, I'm not so sure that Walt could somehow will his mom to have a strange blood disease, but who knows. Or maybe his powers manifest themselves in ways that he didn't intend. All I know is that since he's been on the island, it has stopped raining when he wanted it to (pilot episode I believe that was), he rolls dice and they turn up how he wants them to, and the polar bear has now appeared twice after he looked at the bear picture in the comic book... Many of us thought that Walt just had these powers once he got to the island, but to know that he had an effect on things before the crash is very interesting...

I must admit that when the polar bear returned I was totally convinced that Walt was evil and that he was luring Michael into a trap to be killed because he was mad at him, and then Locke could be his new dad. But it ended much happier than that and it was actually nice that what was in my warped mind didn't happen.

THE MIND'S EYE
Early in the episode Locke emphasized to Walt the importance of "seeing" the knife go into the tree and the power of the "mind's eye." I think this was important and ties into the whole theory about people being able to will things to happen on the island. When Walt nailed the throw and then said "It was weird, I actually saw it in my mind, like it was real" and Locke replied, "Who's to say it wasn't?"... I believe that was a big clue.

Also, we are starting to see the lines of reality and hallucination/dreams being blurred on several occasions... Claire's dreams, Jack's zombie dad, Boone's encounter with the monster... I'm now beginning to wonder if Sayid's visit with Danielle was actually real or in his mind. He could have been in the old hideout, taken the maps, etc.... THOUGHT he was talking to her, but maybe it never even happened?

LOCKE
And once again we have much to discuss about our good friend Locke in this episode. First off, he had been training Walt with the knives since early on. Is that because he KNEW he would need to use one as he finally did in this episode to fend off the bear? Or will he still need to use one again in the future? Similarly, in addition to seeming to know what's going to happen in the future on the island (when it will rain, how people need to be prepared for certain things, how to find certain people at specific times, etc.), he also seems to know details about everyone's PASTS that he shouldn't know from the limited conversations he's had with everyone. In Jack's episode he seemed to know that Jack was being haunted by something and encouraged him to figure it out in order to be able to truly lead the group. In Charlie's flashback he knew Charlie was on drugs and also knew that he needed his guitar to get through it. In Boone's episode he clearly knew about Boone's strange relationship with Shannon. In this past episode he told Michael that Walt's "different" (the EXACT same words the step-dad used), prompting Michael to respond "WHAT did you say?".... This all leads me to believe that either the time loop theory is correct, or alternatively, when Locke saw "the monster" he was enlightened with info to help him become a leader of the group. Perhaps the biggest support of the latter theory is that Boone is now Locke's little gimp boy or something and is snarling at and beating up anyone who messes with Locke. At which I laugh, since Boone is just so lame that it's ridiculous. But he clearly is now a Locke disciple like Charlie is, since Boone was tempted by Shannon with another plea for help from her and he totally dissed her this time. At the end of this episode I think that Michael will also now be indebted to Locke.

Finally on this topic, Boone had on a shirt with 4 Aces on it... I'm sure someone on the boards somewhere has a theory about this so I will let you know...

CLAIRE RETURNS
That was crazy. I totally thought that either Michael or Walt was going to emerge but Locke would've already thrown the knife at them and killed them. I really need to get help. But anyway, this is proof positive that the writers of the show have done a great job at keeping some things secret because EVERYONE, and I mean everyone on the boards was convinced that Claire returned two new episodes from now in the episode entitled "Homecoming" and that she returned in a coma without the baby with a "look on her face that will haunt viewers." So clearly she returned earlier than that, but we couldn't see (we paused and slo-mo'd) if she was still pregnant. I’m assuming she's not since she'd been gone a week and Jack said she was due within a week, and since clearly the "others" just wanted the baby... and also she was NOT in a coma but did have a freaky look on her face. Some people wondered if she returned only because Charlie had read her diary and was thinking about her... I don't know about that. But I do think they will finally go looking for the black rock... I just hope it's not before they realize she's back.

And to all of you people who would NOT have read Claire's diary if you were Charlie… then I hope you are never on a deserted island with me if I were to disappear because that is the first thing I would've done if I was Charlie. Obviously they are on some whacked out island where weird things have happened and who knows what she could have witnessed that might be in her diary for a clue. Plus, I was thinking they would read that she had had a previous encounter with Ethan or something like that.

That's all folks, I'm tired. I apologize for the stream-of-consciousness nature of this message.

Now it's Wednesday afternoon and I just briefly skimmed the pasted in section below and there is some good stuff in there. Enjoy.

FROM THE MESSAGE BOARDS
(Warning: These people like to swear)


- If there is a God, Hurley's flashback episode will be NOTHING but him sitting on the Internet and using talks! Seriously, how cool would that be? The entire flash episode is fuck-all just him posting away on the Internet, then he gets on a plane to Australia to attend some LOTR convention and it crashes? Fuckin sweet. It'd be a total waste, but it'd be funny. (e: If Hurley is shown going to a Lord of the Rings convention, I will seriously die and go to heaven)
- It was a flight out of Sydney, Australia, that crashed... not a flight into Australia. Most people were on their way to the U.S. except for the pregnant girl, who was the only one we've met who is really Australian. Which makes me question why the Korean couple were on the flight to the U.S. instead of on a flight to Korea. Maybe they had a stop over in the U.S., but then why would they be on a flight going Eastward, all the way around the world, when Korea is North and slightly West of Australia? Hmm... I wonder if there is a reason, or if this is just a big ol' plothole.
- I never thought of the fact that the flight plan for Sun and Jin would be a plot point. I am also hoping that we get to see a real twisted side to Hurley, one that blows us away.
- "I'm know as something of a warrior, myself." Uh oh, let's hope he didn't mean Forum Warrior, indeed!
- Jin had to travel to L.A. on official Korean mafia business - this was like episode 6 ya big dopes.
- Personally I'm waiting for the rest of the castaways to eat Hurley... and then Locke can make a radio out of two coconuts and Charlie's empty plastic baggie.
- So Walt is the second person that has experienced something profound BEFORE he got on the plane (Claire being the other). Is it a coincidence that Claire was pregnant with a supposedly "special" baby and Walt seems to have an uncanny ability? Children with special powers... hmmmmm. Or could the island be far-reaching and affected Walt in some way prior to his leaving Sydney? I don't know if you all noticed, but tonight's episode crossed that line they've been balancing since episode one. We are now officially in sci-fi/supernatural territory.
- DAMN good episode of Lost tonite!!! Boone being Locke’s lapdog and getting the shit knocked outta him. Fucking priceless! Walt and Michael story was awesome! This was the best episode since the Locke episode of last year, easily! And how hot has Maggie become? Scorching HOT but she still doesn't hold a candle to the Goddess Sun!
- Yeah, I think Walt's comic is important not only because it has Green Lantern fighting a polar bear (and GL can make things appear with his will much like Walt) but because of the alien ship under the ice. I think that hatch Locke found is to an alien ship or a human device that's just as alien. I really do hope they stay away from the heavy handed religious parallels. They're going to lose a lot of viewers that way.
- I had liked the "the island gives people what they want" but I think this episode pretty much shoots that down. Walt seems to have his abilities before he got to the island.
- Ok, so did that kid crash the plane... because he didn't want to leave with his father???? Too obvious?? The mom being sick because of him was a thought of mine also.
- Come later and tell me how right I was: Locke is forming an army.
Locke appears to be forming a faction within the group -- to what end, I'm not quite sure, but the signs are all there. Boone throws himself at Michael after he threatens Locke, to which Michael says, "What are you, his attack dog?!" The foreshadowing of Charlie and Jack's conversation in which Charlie says, "Out of everybody on the island, I'd follow that man to the end." The moment in the first episode when Locke shows Walt how to play gammon, saying that there were two sides, one light, and one dark...and then holds up the black piece to his eye. There will come a time very soon in which Locke and his people (of which I believe we can count Boone, Charlie, Michael, Walt, Sawyer, Sun & Jin) will come to clash with Jack and his people (Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Shannon, Claire, and Rose). I believe most of what's happening in the ground is to mask the fact that the evil is all around them...and it has manifested itself in Locke.
- "Your son belongs to me now." I kept waiting for Locke to say that. That would have been killer. Tumultuous, but killer nonetheless. I guess this is better though, now he has them both, Boohahahahaahah.
- Would loved to see a Locke people VS Jack group, but I don't think Michael and Walt would get involved in any struggle. Still loving the bitch-slapped Michael gave Boone! DAMN, swatted him away like he was an insect.


- e