The Tail Section

Unanswered Questions: What Are Walt’s Special Abilities?

Lost News — December 12, 2007 at 3:48 pm by Oscar

Malcolm David Kelley from LostThe release of the recent Lost mobisode "Room 23" reminded me of all the theories revolving around one of my favorite characters on the show: Walt.  For those of you who didn’t see the few minutes of greatness, it was highly implied that Ben and Juliet were afraid of Michael’s son and whatever wacky mind mojo he possesses. We also saw a pile of dead birds outside of room 23, harkening us back to the episode "Special" in season one, where Walt seemingly caused a bird to smash into a window.  Three seasons in, and we still know very little about what makes Walt so important and coveted by the Others.  We still know next to nothing about what his powers consist of, or if he even has powers to begin with.  Let the speculation begin!


The easiest explanation for what Walt can do would be to say that he has the power to make things appear with his mind.  It’s possible that, due to his surroundings and the emotions he was experiencing at the time, he made both the birds and the infamous polar bear appear out of thin air.  The show has hinted at such a thing in the past, though it’s always left things open enough for us to wonder if those animal appearances were mere coincidence.

However, as I said, that is the easiest explanation.  That’s the common explanation that the passive Lost viewer might grasp on to.  I think things are a bit more complicated than that, mainly because nothing on Lost is as simple as it seems.  I also don’t think that Ben and Juliet would seem quite so afraid of him if all he could do was make animals appear every now and then.

My theory is that Walt has the ability to step outside of time, and can project himself into the past, present, and future using his psychic powers.  I believe his ability is very similar to that of Danny Torrance in the Stephen King novel The Shining, which isn’t so far-fetched since we know that Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are big King fans.  The definition of "shining," according to IMDB, is “the ability to communicate with other people in other places and to see events which happened in the past through a kind of ESP."  In the novel, the forces in The Overlook Hotel are strong enough to amp up Danny’s shining ability, just as I think the island has amped up Walt’s.  Maybe it’s the electromagnetic activity that I rambled about last week, but it seems obvious that Walt’s abilities have become stronger since he’s been on the island.

There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that Walt has the ability to "shine" and project his consciousness, with his appearance to Locke in the third season finale being the most recent example.  Aside from that, Shannon and Sayid saw a manifestation of Walt, and the lovely Miss Klugh once asked Michael if he’d ever seen the boy in places he shouldn’t be.  We also have to add in the fact that Michael was able to communicate with Walt via computer, though the boy was likely nowhere near a computer at the time.  If he can’t project his consciousness, what other explanation is there for these events?

This ability could also explain the discrepancies that are bound to pop up regarding Walt’s age.  As we all know, there’s long been a debate amongst fans as to whether Walt had to leave the series because Malcolm David Kelley was growing too quickly.  I believe the producers planned for this.  If Walt can project himself throughout the time stream, it’s quite possible that the visions people are seeing are of "Future Walt," therefore he’s a little bit older and taller.  If the writers felt like it, I believe they could even bring Kelley back as a regular, explaining that the boy we’re seeing is simply a mental manifestation of Walt from the future.  I doubt that will happen, but we’ll know more once Michael returns in season four.

So, what’s with the animals?  If Walt can indeed send his consciousness out to frolic through time, I would think that he could easily handle playing a little Dr. Doolittle and communicate with animals.  The problem is, I don’t think he’s in control of this power or even realizes that he’s doing it.  The birds and the polar bear seemed to appear when Walt was in a state of fear, which leads me to believe that his mind was psychically lashing out.  Perhaps the animals instinctively responded to the mental force he was projecting and acted accordingly.

The only remaining mystery is what, if anything, the Others learned from Walt.  I can’t help but wonder if the out-of-nowhere appearance of Locke’s dad on the island had something to do with the boy.  Anthony Cooper showed up on the island thanks to a "magic box," which is an event that happened after the Others had studied Walt’s abilities.  Is it possible that, through studying Walt’s brain, they learned how to jump through the time stream themselves, and are now able to pull certain people and objects back to the island?  Whatever they discovered, Ben claimed that Walt was more than they bargained for, which leads me to believe that the powers they uncovered were stronger and more dangerous than they expected.  We probably won’t be seeing any other people magically appearing on the island anytime soon, even if the Others are now capable of this "shining" ability.

Speaking of The Shining, my last bit of evidence that Damon and Carlton were influenced by the King story is the name of the mobisode itself: "Room 23."  In the film version of The Shining, it was room 237 that Danny Torrance was told never to enter.  It was the room where an unknown evil force would be able to screw with his mind, as well as his powers, and mentally traumatize him.  Is it a coincidence that the room where Walt was locked up, where his abilities were tested, is one number off from the infamous hotel room?  I don’t think so.  If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Lost, it’s that nearly every coincidence is intentional and part of the grand master plan.  Yes, maybe even those tied to crazy theories involving psychic projection and chatting with animals.

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