Special 

A mysterious island beast reappears when Michael and Locke clash. Sayid enlists Shannon to help decipher the French woman's map.

Director:

Greg Yaitanes

Writers:

Jeffrey Lieber (created by), J.J. Abrams (created by)

Stars:

Naveen Andrews, Emilie de Ravin, Matthew Fox

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Naveen Andrews	...	Sayid Jarrah
Emilie de Ravin	...	Claire Littleton
Matthew Fox	...	Dr. Jack Shephard
Jorge Garcia	...	Hugo 'Hurley' Reyes
Maggie Grace	...	Shannon Rutherford
Josh Holloway	...	James 'Sawyer' Ford
Malcolm David Kelley	...	Walt Lloyd
Daniel Dae Kim	...	Jin-Soo Kwon (credit only)
Yunjin Kim	...	Sun-Hwa Kwon
Evangeline Lilly	...	Kate Austen
Dominic Monaghan	...	Charlie Pace
Terry O'Quinn	...	John Locke
Harold Perrineau	...	Michael Dawson
Ian Somerhalder	...	Boone Carlyle
Tamara Taylor	...	Susan Lloyd

Storyline

John Locke is teaching Walt Lloyd to throw knives, and Michael Dawson feels jealous with the situation. He forbids Walt to meet Locke, and recalls his romance with Walt's mother Susan Lloyd (Tamara Taylor), an overachieving executive who took the infant Walt away, and having an awkward reunion 10 years later with the uncertain and spoiled Walt in Australia. Walt becomes upset with the situation and decides to hike with his dog Vincent into the woods. At the end, Locke and Boone Carlyle find Claire Littleton wandering in the forest.

---

Plot Keywords:

map | australia | diary | mysterious island | polar bear | 

---

Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Certificate:

TV-14

Did You Know?

Goofs

During one of the flashback scenes, Walt, Susan and her husband are in their living room in Australia and Susan sits on the couch after feeling light headed. In the second shot of her on the couch a blond crew member is visible in the top right corner of the screen.

---

Quotes

[about Michael's parenting]
Hurley: He seems to hate it, doesn't he?
Jack: What?
Hurley: Being a dad.
Jack: No, it's just... a lot of hard work.

---

Soundtracks

End Title
(uncredited)
Written by Michael Giacchino
Performed by The Hollywood Studio Symphony

User Reviews

Almost special

When 'Lost' was in its prime, it was must-watch television. Remember first watching it, found it remarkably easy to get into, was hooked from the start and was on Season 3 by the end of one week. The general consensus is that the final season is a disappointment and cannot disagree.

After a dip in quality with "Whatever the Case May Be" and "Hearts and Minds", though to me they were far from bad episodes (just that after such a very good to outstanding run with the previous episodes they were steps down), "Special" very nearly is a special episode and sees an almost return-to-top-form for 'Lost'. My only complaint is the effects, which were less than special to put it lightly.

Otherwise, it was very difficult not to appreciate Michael finally seeing some development. As far as Michael-centric episodes go, "Special" is one of the best ones. An episode that sees him at his most interesting up to that point in the show, being the first episode to properly develop him, and one of those where he was much easier to relate to and empathise with, which is why it is a shame that they didn't continue with this later on.

"Special" is advantaged by very good performances all round, brilliant in the cases of Malcolm David Kelley and especially Harold Perrineau. The bond between Michael and Walt is both sweet and poignant, particularly in the letters and sunburned penguin drawing moments, and the flashback and back-story is one of the season's most emotionally impactful, heart-breaking actually, and intriguingly executed.

Dominic Monaghan's comic timing as Charlie was appreciated and didn't in any way feel out of place, giving "Special" some welcome levity even. The cliff hanger was a pretty good one. The story is riveting and beautifully paced, the script is one of the season's most taut and nuanced and the more intimate approach to the direction was refreshing also.

Visually, "Special" is well made with the island as beautiful and mysterious as ever and is beautifully shot. The music is understated and chilling, even beautiful at times.

Overall, great and almost special. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

Korean English

Release Date:

19 January 2005 (USA)

Filming Locations:

O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bad Robot, Touchstone Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

43 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1