LOST: Every "Special" Character & What Their Powers Were
In ABC’s Lost show, people with unique abilities were defined as “special”. This particular phrase, which was initially used to describe Malcolm David Kelley's Walt in season 1, ended up being applied to a handful of characters in Lost’s universe. Some were key players in the show’s story, while others were just minor characters who momentarily crossed paths with the Flight 815 survivors.
For the most part, the people who were truly special in the series had qualities that couldn’t really be explained by the island or anything else from the Lost mythos. Being “special” is just the way they were. They were all born with some sort of mysterious gift. For some, it was apparent early on in their stories that they were different from everyone else in one manner or another. Either way, most were eventually drawn to the island on account of their “special” status.
Of course, not every different character on Lost can be fairly classified as special. Richard Alpert, for example, was immortal, but only because of a deal he made with Jacob. Fans speculated that Eloise Hawking was special due to her knowledge of the future, but it’s more likely that time travel is the real explanation for that mystery. Lost led viewers to think Locke was special, but his ending revealed that tragically, he never was. There’s also the matter of Desmond, whose time travel powers made him the key to Lost’s ending. But regardless of his unique attributes and his impact on the show, he doesn’t fit with Lost’s definition of “special” since an accident made him that way. Here’s who does, and what ability each of them had.
Lost’s first special character was Walt, who was recognized for his uniqueness by both Locke and the Others in the show’s first season. Flashbacks indicated that his step-father was aware of it as well. Before the crash, he saw birds crash against the window when Walt was angry. Walt continued to display mysterious traits after coming to the island. He shocked Locke when he suddenly warned him not to open the Hatch, even though he had no way of knowing that Locke had found it, or what was down there. And after being kidnapped, both Shannon and Sayid saw visions of him on the island.
What’s known about Walt indicates that he has multiple powers in Lost’s world. Apparently, he can psychically influence animals, create projections of himself, and possibly read minds. Whatever his powers were, they seemed to be telepathic in nature. Also, they may have tied into the Others’ reasoning for taking him away. Being special made him one of Jacob’s Candidates.
Miles was made a part of Charles Widmore's plan to find the island because of his ability to pick up “feelings” when standing near a dead body. According to him, this is very different from being able to communicate with the dead (which he didn’t think was possible). He couldn’t see ghosts and he couldn’t ask any questions to the dead, but he was capable of “listening” to their remains and hearing their last thoughts. His power depended on having a corpse to work with. Thanks to this ability, Miles heard messages from several of the show’s dead characters, including Danielle, Karl, Alex, and more. Some have theorized that like Desmond, Miles got his powers from the island’s electromagnetic properties, but this was never proven.
In contrast to Miles, Jorge Garcia's Hurley could speak directly to dead people. In the show’s later seasons, he had full conversations with Charlie, Michael, Jacob, and even Richard’s wife, who had been dead for centuries. Unlike the others, Hurley’s abilities manifested later in life. He didn’t even know he had this power until after he left the island. It’s likely that it has a lot to do with why he was one of Jacob’s final Candidates at the end of Lost season 6.
Seeing and talking ghosts was a gift that wasn’t exclusive to Hurley. Chronologically, the first Lost character to have it was the Smoke Monster himself. In fact, much of what is known about special people in the show comes from season 6’s “Across the Sea”, which was the episode centered on the Smoke Monster's backstory. Centuries ago, the Man in Black spoke to the spirit of his dead mother, who told him that the mysterious woman caring for him and Jacob murdered her. It makes sense that he saw her for the same reasons that Hurley could communicate with ghosts. The person who raised Jacob and the Man in Black said multiple times in “Across the Sea” that the latter was special. He later used this to explain how he knew that he could use the wheel to finally leave the island.
Played by Nick Jameson, Richard Malkin is widely regarded as one of the show's special characters, although this was never confirmed outright in ABC's Lost show. He first appeared in Claire’s season 1 flashback episode as the psychic she visited when she was pregnant. To her surprise, Malkin ended his reading of her without explanation, prompting her to come back later. During their second reading, Malkin was oddly insistent on Claire keeping her unborn child. He left a disturbing impression on Claire by continuing to pester her by phone. Later, he changed his tune once more and arranged for her to get on Flight 815. He explained that it was of utmost importance that Claire use that specific flight.
After hearing the story, Charlie interpreted this to mean that Malkin knew all along that the plane would crash and that Claire would end up raising the child alone (just as he had originally intended). Interestingly, Malkin’s second appearance cast doubt on the idea that he was a real psychic when he met Mr. Eko. He admitted to being a fraud when Eko tried to investigate the miraculous recovery of his daughter. However, that doesn’t explain his eerie predictions for Claire and why he spent so much money and time making sure she and Aaron went to the island. Lost certainly made it seem that Malkin really did have visions of Claire’s future. A deleted scene from a season 2 episode hinted that Malkin was paid by a mysterious character to get Claire on the island, but since the scene was ultimately cut from the episode, it doesn’t count as canon.