Before the crash Walt is the 10-year-old son of
Michael Dawson, a construction worker and part-time artist. He was born August 24, 1994, and is named after Michael's father, Walter. His mother is Susan Lloyd, a law student, who refused to marry Michael. When offered a job in Amsterdam, Susan persuades Michael to let her take Walt with her while he is still a baby. Two weeks before Walt's second birthday, Susan tells Michael that she and her boss, Brian Porter, are planning to get married and will be moving to
Rome,
Italy, at the end of the month. A legal battle ensues between Walt's parents. Several months later, they settle their dispute amicably and Michael lets Susan keep Walt with her. Eight years later, Susan dies in Australia due to a "blood disorder". Brian pleads with Michael to take custody of the boy and even gives him tickets for the flight to Sydney and back, plus money for travel expenses. Brian reveals that he had never wanted to adopt Walt and that he is scared of him. When Michael arrives in Australia to collect Walt, he does not take too well to him. Michael spares Walt's feelings by telling him that Brian wants to keep him, but that it is up to Michael and he has decided to take him.
After the crash Soon after the crash, Walt is left under the care of different people due to Michael's involvement in helping other survivors—in particular, Walt spends time with John Locke. He is intrigued by Locke's hunting instincts, and constantly tries to sneak away with him, always unsuccessfully. He sneaks away with Locke and
Boone, and exhibits a natural talent in knife throwing. Michael soon arrives and is enraged, taking Walt away from them and forbidding him to see Locke again. Walt takes Vincent, the dog, and leaves camp, heading into the jungle, where he encounters a polar bear. He is rescued by Michael and Locke. Later, Walt confesses to burning the original raft, explaining that he did not want to leave the island, but decides they need to leave. The next morning, Walt gives Vincent to
Shannon before he leaves on the raft with Michael,
Jin and
Sawyer. That night, however, they encounter the
Others, who kidnap Walt. Walt remains in captivity with the Others, but frequently appears to Shannon. In the mobisode "Room 23" it is revealed Walt posed a greater threat to the Others than they had expected, as he had been doing something unspecified that frightened them so that they would not go in to see him. Ben responds to a particular situation with a blaring alarm and people in commotion, and Juliet suggests that Ben take responsibility of the situation and bring Walt back to Michael. As Michael is inspecting the technical equipment inside the hatch, he unexpectedly receives a message that he believes is from Walt. Michael is briefly reunited with Walt after he is brought to the Others' camp. Later, Michael returns with
Jack,
Kate,
Sawyer and
Hurley, in an exchange for Walt and their freedom. Walt waits in a boat, and he and Michael sail off.
After the island While off the island, Walt learns that Michael killed Ana-Lucia and
Libby and decided to live at his grandmother's house so as not to speak or have anything to do with his father. In "
The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham", Walt is shown to be living in
New York City. He is visited by Locke, using a wheelchair at that point, having returned from the Island. Locke does not ask Walt to return to the Island as he does with the rest of the Oceanic returnees, as he felt that the boy had been through enough already. In "
There's No Place Like Home", after being visited by Locke, Walt visits Hurley at the Santa Rosa Mental Institution with his grandmother. He asks Hurley why the Oceanic Six are lying and is told that they're lying to protect the people left behind on the island. Walt is under the assumption that his father is still alive and living on the island. In "
The End",
Lost final episode, neither Walt nor Michael feature among the main characters moving on to the afterlife. However, in the 12-minute epilogue to the series, "
The New Man in Charge" (included on the DVD box set), Ben and Hurley visit Walt in the mental hospital that Hurley had previously been in. Ben promises Walt he can "help his father," even though they both know Michael is dead. Hurley and Ben take Walt "home" to the Island, where Hurley promises him he will have a "job". ==Development==