Warning in advance: A discussion of Walt cannot be had without addressing the epilogue, so if you have not seen the epilogue please do not read.
I am sure some of the Lost Community, either in an effort to fill the gap in their television lives, or just because it is an awesome show, have begun watching Fringe, whether it was at its inception or only just recently. I am halfway through Season 1 personally, and one of the episodes, Episode 105, entitled "Power Hungry", had me thinking about Lost all over again, and in particular, Walt.
The common link between Fringe and Lost is, of course, creator J. J. Abrams. Walt was an unfinished story for Abrams in Lost due to Malcolm David Kelley's rapid growth, which led to his story line being dropped as the show headed a different direction. Upon watching "Power Hungry", what Abrams may have originally intended for Walt and the dead birds he seemed to bring about. In this episode of Fringe, a man named Joseph Meegar was submitted to experimentation in which his cerebral electrical impulses were realigned and therefore, in times of great emotional distress for him, he is able to manipulate the power of electricity in anything electrical around him, which led to an elevator crash as well as his mother’s pacemaker failing. These things happened beyond his control, as he did not even remember how he was changed at first. The key part for us is that Walter (from Fringe) uses homing pigeons, subjected to Meegar’s distinct electrical signature, to find and track Meegar after his kidnapping. The pigeons fly directly to Meegar and circle overhead and the rescue plan is successful. This is not unfamiliar to Lost fans.
Locomotion and migrating patterns of many animals, especially of birds, depend on EM fields. If Walt had some sort of electromagnetic properties in his body, he could unknowingly manipulate EM fields, and these birds could get messed up by his signal and fly toward him when he shows emotion, like when Brian and Susan weren’t listening to him, or when the Others were testing him in Room 23. Just like the homing pigeons that were subjected to Meegar’s electrical footprint, these birds get interference from Walt’s frustration, which causes them to fly toward the interference. Realizing that the dead birds are linked to electromagnetism in this way, some more realizations come as to what Walt’s powers meant and how he acquired them.
Walt’s only centric episode was entitled “Special”, but the question arises: what is special? Who is special? Why are they special?
WALT: I kept hoping one day somebody would come back for me. They said I was crazy.
HURLEY: You're not crazy, dude. Not even close. You just need to get back to the island, that's all. It's where you belong. It's where you've always belonged.
Walt was meant to be on the island the whole time, and Ben and Hurley come to rescue him from his life in Santa Rosa (Didn’t Walt live in New York, how did he end up in LA?) and bring him to the island to help his father, presumably to save him from being stuck as a Whisperer. Walt’s special powers included premonition of future events (he was terrified and wanted to leave the Island after seeing something and telling Locke to not open the hatch), appearing in places where he shouldn’t be (to Shannon and Locke), *possibly* making that angry polar bear appear, along with causing the birds to flock toward him. But was he special? Hurley was special, as he could see and speak to those who had passed on, and was strongly hinted at having a special connection when the cabin needed to be found (although the cabin thing was never fully explained). Hurley was the only one who Jacob told up front who he was, that what he has is a gift, not a curse, and then the exact same thing that Hurley later tells Walt: “You’re not crazy”. Hugo Reyes was always supposed to be the protector, Jack just needed a minor stint before him to do what he was meant to do, only to hand it over to the true protector.
JACK: It needs to be you, Hugo.
HURLEY [crying]: I can't... it's supposed to be you!
JACK: It was only supposed to be me so I can do this. But if someone has to take care of the Island, if someone has to protect it then... then it should be you. Hurley... I believe in you.
The Man in Black was also special, as he could see his dead mother on the Island and knew how to manipulate the light to remove himself from the Island via his wheel. Furthermore, Mother originally wanted him to be the leader of the Island, not Jacob. Jacob became somewhat special when he was made leader, but he never seemed to have the true potential that his brother had.
Locke was never meant to be the protector of the island, and was only “special” because he told Richard that he was the leader of the Others in 1954 (per Man in Black’s plan), and then a time-traveling Jack backed him up to Richard after Richard wondered what the big deal was after visiting a young John three times and seeing nothing. Locke’s healing also has nothing to do with him being special; it had to do with the Island’s healing properties, which healed others as well. Special meant something else- it meant a physical connection to the Island’s electromagnetic properties.
Walt was indeed special, and for the same reasons: he is associated to the Island, connected to it in a way that will make him play a future role for it. His supernatural powers, including being somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be (we know the electromagnetism of the island can transport you elsewhere), messing up the EM signal for bird travel, premonition of future events or events which he never was told about (which we knew Jacob had and we also know that time is a special property on the Island), all relate to the Island and its properties, which minimally exist in Walt as a result of his eventual return and role on the Island.
Walt could appear in places he is not meant to be, but it didn’t seem like this was entirely the case. The Walt we see speaking “Don’t push the button. Button Bad” backwards to Shannon is clearly Walt’s physical body and is clearly physically there, but it does not seem like this is Walt’s psyche. It feels to me like a work of the Man In Black, especially since not pushing the button would lead to death and destruction (similar to why I believe Harper in “The Other Woman” was the Man In Black). Additionally, following Walt causes the candidate, Shannon Rutherford, to get shot at the hands of Ana Lucia. Walt returns to the Island again to tell Locke he needs to get up out of the DHARMA body pit and kill Naomi, and continue his work, presumably the same work that Christian had him start, to move the island. The Man In Black could not have Locke die, for Locke going back in time to plant his leadership was one of the most important parts of his loophole plot to gain access to Jacob. The Man In Black was able to become Walt because of the power he held, the properties he shared with the Island. Like stated earlier, the Man In Black also once was special, until Jacob killed him and his soul fused with the dark smoke. This connection to the Island he once had allows him to take over Walt’s body, wherever he is, and bring him to places he shouldn’t be. This is why Bea Klugh is so worried when she asks Michael if Walt has ever appeared somewhere he shouldn’t be: she wanted to know if Walt was already being compromised by the darkness, similar to the sickness Dogen is so afraid of.
Furthermore, Walt foresaw something bad happening to him, such as his kidnapping, which is why he wanted to get as far away from the Island as he could so suddenly. He was the one who burnt the first raft, but then he says to his father that they need to leave. Walt must have also envisioned Locke digging up the hatch, and mistakenly associated the opening of the hatch with his abduction, which occurred around the same time in “Exodus”. Walt was only a kid, and was spooked by this, so he told Locke, “Don’t open that thing!”, and wanted off the Island. Little did he know that it was by leaving the Island on the raft that would lead to him being taken.
Now, why did the Others want to capture Walt? Jacob knew about Walt’s future role in helping the Island, and although he was not one of Jacob’s candidates, he was the not-so far off future. Ben never met Jacob until he stabbed him to death, but he did receive many lists from the “Island diety”, one of which I am assuming had Walter Lloyd written on it. From the mobisode “Room 23”:
JULIET: This is your responsibility. You were the one who wanted him here.
BEN: Jacob wanted him here. He's important. He's special.
The same line repeats again: He’s special. It could very well have possibly been that the Others were testing Walt under Jacob’s written orders to make sure of his connection to the Island, as we never found out what the tests actually were, and protecting him from harm as the Island’s chosen one. His connection was so strong that the Others, possibly under Jacob’s order, couldn’t handle him anymore and sent him off the Island until he matured and was able to control his anger, his emotion, and refine his powers. After all, his anger and resistance presumably caused many problems for the Others because of his electromagnetic powers. Once he matured, he would be ready to come back to the Island. Ben apologizes sincerely for kidnapping Walt because he knew he was doing it blindly under Jacob’s orders, and Ben did not care so much for Jacob’s methods in the end, telling Hurley there would be better ways to run things. Ben and his people did not necessarily know exactly why Walt was needed, just that Jacob had wanted it done, and so Ben presumably regrets his power-hungry actions after his redemption.
Walt was always meant to be on the Island, and although he never understood why he was special, he held some of the Island and its special properties in him, and once he refines his skills, he will hold the future of the Island in his hands. Please, comment and discuss.
