(Group1): Who is “Special”?
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By jazprof
- (Group1): Who is “Special”?
- Created: Jul 20, 2007
- Last updated: Aug 13, 2008
- After episode: 3.22: Through The Looking Glass
- Status: Current
- Flag this theory:
Why is it so important to Susan to separate Walt & Michael?
— jazprof
Rewatching this episode, I was initially having the same reaction I did last time which was to wonder why Susan is such a biatch to Michael—to the point of not letting Walt see his letters. But then I started wondering maybe in a bigger picture kind of way—why is it so important to Susan to separate Walt & Michael? Then when Michael got hit by the car right after he said “I’m getting my son back” to Susan on the phone (too reminiscent of Juliet’s husband getting conveniently hit by the bus), I began to wonder if it was just Susan or actually some larger group that was engineering the separation. Especially when Susan shows up offering to pay off all of Michael’s bills—I begin to think one of the big corporations is somehow involved. And then the questions is, why?
Well, I had actually forgotten up until now that Michael was an artist. And in both the episode before and in this episode, Locke uses being an artist as an illustration of how to have something in your mind’s eye and then make it so. I wonder then if it’s not just Walt who is special, maybe he inheirited his ability from his Dad. Then why the need to keep them apart? I think one thing that occurs to me is that the PTB wanted both of them to survive but thought it might be too dangerous to have a child and parent together—both of whom had these powers—because of the intense anger that can sometimes come up between parents and children. And in fact might be evidenced by Susan’s death.
There was an interesting juxtaposition of flashback and present story around Susan’s beginning to develop symptoms which actually led me to believe that it might be Michael who had summoned up the polar bear and not Walt. After Michael burns the comic book, he is sitting around, absorbed by his own anger and frustration. Hurley comes by and tells him that his son is gone. Then you get the flashback scene in which Walt is doing his homework about the birds of Australia, Brian and Susan aren’t paying enough attention to him (he thinks—he starts to say “You’re not looking” as Susan gets ill) and the bird flies into the window. Maybe both father and son (far more excusable in the son) have the kind of immaturity in which their needs supercede everything else, and that kind of narcissism coupled with their special abilities would make them very dangerous to each other.
My further question then is about Vincent’s role. He is shown by Walt’s side when Walt is doing his homework and when Walt is looking at the comic book. Vincent is also Brian’s dog. Were both Brian and Susan being paid by whatever group wanted to harness both Michael and Walt’s abilities and is Vincent part of the scheme? Is he able to help focus or guide those abilities?
Here are a few left-over questions/observations:
- Locke knows that Michael didn’t raise Walt—he says to Michael that Walt is special and adds “You haven’t spent enough time with him to realize it.”
- The card that Michael made for Walt’s birthday (penguin with a suntan=polar bears on tropical island?) why does Michael draw himself as a white man on the cover?
- Claire’s dreams of the black rock (more visualization)—Jack’s “sense” contrasted with Locke: “no sense going out into the jungle in the middle of the night”—Locke and Boone find Claire.
Key characters
| Short Name | Full Name | Episodes | Theories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael | Michael Dawson | 2.22, 1.14, 4.8 | 300 |
| Walt | Walter “Walt” Lloyd | 2.2, 1.14 | 345 |
Key episodes
| # | Title | Aired | Central character | Theories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.14 | Special | 1-19-2005 | Walt, Michael | 73 |
Wow Jaz that’s really interesting about Mike and Walt. I can well believe Michael also has the same abilities as Walt albeit less advanced I think.
I’m not a fan of Susan. I think her behaviour towards both Mike and Walt was very manipulative. I think by seperating them, she may actually have done more harm than good! I also think Brian’s behaviour following Susan’s death is odd. I know Walt is not his son but he adopted him for goodness sake, how could he give him up so quickly?
Anyway I think you may well be on to something here. +1 from me : )
ahhh, was just rereading Tharde’s post on Vincent here: http://lost-theories.com/theories/2007/jul/19/vincents-timeline/#c22136 and wanted to add that I liked the way Tharde, ragamuffin, and dab wound up with that description of Vincent as the psychic seeing eye dog—I agree! But I don’t think he’s an apparition and that the real Vincent died in the crash—I think his powers precede being on the island. Maybe he’s a result of some of that Dharma genetic experimentation? And that’s where Brian got him from?
It’s because of people like you that I haven’t commented on the Group 1 episodes of the week. :(
I’m joking of course :) Awesome thoughts and observations jaz. I would have never equated penguins with a suntan to the bears. Brilliant!
What you say really gets me thinking about Mike and Walt’s future on the show if they come back together. That could make for some killer material.
o yeah, kat, right, right! I knew there had to be some reason they were drawing attention to the ceiling.
O noeesss Sham :-(
Seriously, I don’t want to be the Group 1 thread hogger—somebody else go first next time.
You aren’t a being a hogger jaz! I was just giving you a hard time. I enjoy all Group 1 observations.
I just haven’t had any real revelations on any one particular episode yet. When I do I’ll put in my two cents worth. :)
totally agree, I am starting to wonder if with every lost character there has been some background plot by a character in their lives to in someway ensure they were on Flight 815? If you look at some of the other characters they seem to also have through persuasion/force been put on the flight.
jaz: while i agree that the dog could absolutely aid in walts powers or have powers of his own, to answer your original question, i think that susan simply wanted to separate michael and walt because she wanted a divorce…she had someone new, she was finished michael and i think it was this simple fact that eventually led michael to realize that he would lose walt if he connect with the boy soon
TT—that explains things up through the divorce, but why go that extra step and keep Michael’s letters from Walt after they are separated by divorce, loss of custody, and being on the other side of the world. It seems extreme to me.
jaz, you’re a genius. VERY very interesting.
I’ve often wondered what Claire saw when she dreamed of the “black rock”. The ship? Or… a rock that was black? Or… what…
ahhhh, interesting, as in it could be the black rock that Jack found.
Thanks :-)
My goodness Jaz that was brilliant! +1 I think we should see more of Michael and Walt (maybe Susan) in Season 4.
Your observations relating to Vincent are quite interesting Indeed! Thanks for the mentionby the way! :) You have me convinced now that the Vincent on the island is the real thing. Thaniks for that. As for his role, I find it interesting that Vincent has been seperated from Walt now. We know Vincent remains on the island because we see him leading Hurley to the van. Was this the purpose of letting Walt and Michael off the island? Perhaps their exodus/rescue was Ben’s way of eliminating the “problem”.
Vincent=”Trick Dog”
Wow, you ARE in some sort of secret communion with Lindelof and Abrams, aren’t ya?
Awesome post, jaz! And brilliant observations as well. I have a thought about Susan and Brian. What if the job Susan took initially overseas was the law firm representing Hanso or Widmore and this is how she met Brian. I find it more than mere coincidence that Susan then wound up in Australia. Even Brian’s attitude towards Walt, seemed a little cold! One would think he would have more compassion for a child who had just lost his mother. So, perhaps there is more to this story!!
Yeah, dab, definitely a possibility I think.
Back to Michael having the same abilities as walt……When Michael was caught and taken to the Others hut, the lady asked him if he had ever seen Walt some where he shouldn’t have. Michael didn’t give an answer. hmmmmm could be something there, Michael might just see things too. hmmmmm
Susan could be keeping the letters and such from walt for hundreds of selfish reasons and they can all still be attributed to the divorce…if you were divorced, and had a child…would you want the expense of flying the child to the usa from australia several times a year? by keeping the letters from him it is easier to alienate walt from michael…?
TT your explanation is equally plausible. I like mine because…it is mine…my theory…all mine……mwahhahahaha…. No, really, I like the idea of explaining some of the flashback, character-conflict stuff in terms of the larger plot elements possibly involving Dharma, Widmore, etc. But really, there is nothing I think which would determine which of these is true. Just have to wait…and wait…and wait….
Love this lead! I jsut want to add an observation. After watching seasons 1,2&3, I am now going back and watching them all again. I know, I’m obsessed. But so are you. =) And I noticed an interesting thing.
Sometimes the perspective of the viewer is as if we are spying on the Losties. In one episode, blades of grass are in front of the camera, and the viewer’s perspective is of the Losties walking through a field on their way to do something. Then, the camera moves back from this view, and we realize we were seeing through Vincent’s eyes.
When I saw this, I thought it surely is intentional knowing the attention to detail on the show. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
beez, that is a fascinating observation—it almost places Vincent in the role of narrator—that we are seeing the show through his eyes. I am not sure what to make of that except that my first inclination is to see him as affiliated with the island—with what the island wants to bring about. I think about the way he also seems to guide people to important places (the Dharma Van).
jaz: you’re right on with one of the big corps being behind this. Brian would not just give Walt up after 10 years. Dab is on the money: Susan getting a job in Amsterdam of all places, to me, is very significant. Normally, international law would be Paris, London, Tokyo, but not Amsterdam. Where’s Amsterdam? In Denmark. Where is Hanso based? Denmark. Bingo.
ahh, Stip, I did not know that connection. Bingo was his name O!