The divisive yet poignant series finale of “Lost” brings nearly the entire cast back together at the end — but one major character doesn’t appear, because the show ended up resolving his storyline in an epilogue that was exclusive to its DVD release. A special 11-minute short included in the Season 6 DVD box set revealed that Malcolm David Kelley’s Walt, the 10-year-old son of original Oceanic 815 survivor Michael (Harold Perrineau), actually went on to become a steward of the island.
The enlightening epilogue — which also included a section where Benjamin Linus (Michael Emerson) emancipated two Dharma Initiative employees, revealed major company secrets, and answered some of the series’ long-standing questions — gave fans an open-ended view into what Walt’s life was going to look like in the years beyond the ending.
Walt had been a key character in the show’s narrative from the beginning, particularly as it pertained to the central mystery of the Island and who truly inhabited the strange land mass. But because Kelley joined the cast at 12 years old, the series had to contend with Kelly aging rapidly as he went through puberty.
Walt’s future with the island gave fans a truly open ending
The issue of Malcolm David Kelley aging out of his “Lost” character extended to the series finale — consideredone of the best finales of all time — which came four seasons after Walt’s last canonical appearance on the island at the end of Season 2. In the final moments, the majority of the characters share joy in a church representing a purgatorial space their souls inhabit until they’re ready to move into the next phase of the afterlife as a group. It’s a beautiful sentiment, but Walt and his father don’t appear in that poignant ending.
Ultimately, Walt doesn’t appear because he is still alive serving the island. With the help of Ben, who told Walt he could help his dead father if he returned to the island, Walt left the Santa Rosa Health Institute in the epilogue. After joining forces with Ben and Hugo “Hurley” Reyes (Jorge Garcia), who became the new leader of the island, Hurley offered Walt the special job.
That epilogue was initially meant solely for the DVD release, but it has been widely available on YouTube for many years now through unofficial accounts — and it’s considered canon to the story by the show’s creative team.
