Abandoned

"Abandoned"
Season	2
Episode number	06
Airdate(s)	9 November 2005
Flashback	Shannon
Days	47-48
Writer	Elizabeth Sarnoff
Director	Adam Davidson
Special Guests	Ian Somerhalder - Boone Carlyle
Guests	L. Scott Caldwell - Rose Sam Anderson - Bernard Lindsay Frost - Sabrina Carlyle François Guétary - Philippe
Co-stars	Kimberley Joseph - Cindy Ashleigh Ann Wood - Nora Michael Cowell - Doctor David Ely - Intern Maree Miller - Sophie
Uncredited	Patti Hastie - Nurse Sandra Le Bat - Dominique
Transcript	S2E06 - Abandoned Transcript

"Abandoned" is the sixth episode of Season 2 of Lost and the 30th episode of the series as a whole. When Shannon sees Walt in her tent, she becomes convinced that he needs her help. Meanwhile, Sawyer's bullet wound starts to become infected, prompting the tail-section group to pick up the pace, and risk cutting across the jungle where the Others attacked them from.

Synopsis

Flashback

Boone comforting Shannon, at her father's wake (promotional still)

An eighteen-year-old Shannon works as a ballet instructor and dreams of landing an internship with a prestigious dance company in New York. During a dance class, her friend Nora tells her about a man named Philippe who asked her to be an au pair. After her class has ended, Shannon receives a phone call from her step mother, who informs her that her father has been in a car accident. The two rush to St. Sebastian Hospital, where a doctor tells them that Adam suffered massive internal injuries, and that he had stopped breathing at the scene of the crash. He then says that they were unable to resuscitate him.

At her father's funeral, a man arrives behind Shannon, saying, "Death sucks, doesn't it?" The man is revealed to be Boone, and Shannon is very glad to see him. At the wake Boone gives her alcohol, claiming that there is always booze at wakes. At first Shannon protests, saying, "Your mom's going to freak," but gives in, taking some alcohol. Boone suggests that Shannon come and visits him in New York, but she tells him that she is planning to move there if she gets the internship at the Martha Graham Dance Company. Although Shannon says that it is a 1 in 3000 chance, she remains optimistic that she will get the internship. Boone asks if she has spoken to his mom. Shannon says that, "She's going through her thing and I'm going through mine." Shannon claims that Sabrina has hated her from the moment she met her.

Sabrina tells Shannon that there was no will (promotional still)

Shannon eventually gets the internship at the dance company, but finds out that her rent check has bounced. She asks for help from Sabrina, or at least her part of her father's will, but Sabrina says that there was no will, because Sabrina and Adam had a living trust, and everything passed to her. She tells Shannon that she has to work for her money, and refuses to lend her money for her trip to New York. Sabrina says that from now on, Shannon is on her own.

Shannon gets kicked out of her own house, and as she's packing her things, Boone comes in. Shannon had apparently asked him to ask his mom for some money, but he comes back empty-handed, saying Sabrina knew why he asked for the money. Shannon asks if she can move to his place in New York, but he informs her that he is leaving New York, since his mom offered him a job and he accepted. He offers Shannon some of his own money, but she rejects it, asking him whether or not he believes she can make it on her own. When he doesn't answer, she rejects his money again, saying she does not need his help.

On the Island

Shannon tells Sayid she saw Walt in her tent (promotional still)

As Shannon gives Vincent water outside her tent, Sayid comes along and tells her to pack her things. He takes her for a walk, and presents her with a brand new shelter, saying that it is all hers. Shannon invites Sayid into the tent for the night, and the two share a kiss. When Sayid pulls a gun out of his waistband, Shannon asks him if he carries it around all the time. Sayid replies that he only carries it because he has someone to protect. They make love, and Shannon asks if they are serious now. Sayid playfully says that he does this "for all the girls I meet on deserted islands." Afterward, Shannon wants to leave to get a drink of water, but Sayid leaves instead to get it for her. While he is gone, Walt appears in the tent, dripping wet and speaking backwards. He says what appears to be, "They're coming and they're close."

Shannon screams at the top of her lungs but by the time Sayid gets to her, Walt has disappeared. Half the beach is awake now and they all rush over. Sayid tells her (and everyone listening) that it was only a dream -- everything is fine. The fact that Sayid publicly refutes her story leaves Shannon feeling angry and hurt.

When Claire, who heard Shannon's screams, arrives with the baby, Charlie acts very paternal and scolds her for waking the baby up. A bewildered Claire ends up apologizing to Charlie.

Locke tries to get Aaron to sleep (promotional still)

The next day, as Locke helps Claire get the baby to sleep, she complains to him about Charlie, saying that he acts like the baby's father, but she knows very little about him; he could be a "religious freak" for all she knows. Why else would he carry a statue of the Virgin Mary around with him?

Halfway across the Island, Ana Lucia and Mr. Eko are leading their party on a trek to join the middle section survivors and unite the two groups. Sawyer is now so ill from his bullet wound that they are carrying him on a makeshift stretcher. The group manages to get the stretcher up a steep hill, only to find that while they were doing so, another of their group, Cindy, has simply disappeared. Eko and the others then hear whispers. They then run in fear.

Shannon and Sayid fall into an embrace (promotional still)

Shannon has resorted to using Vincent to try and track Walt. She has Vincent sniff Walt's clothing and tells the dog to "find Walt." Vincent leads her directly to Boone's grave, where Sayid finds her and assumes she's there to mourn her dead step-brother. Feeling misunderstood and marginalized, she takes off again. When Sayid finally catches up to Shannon in the jungle, she tells him that she knows Walt is not on the raft because they found the message bottle from the raft. After running further into the jungle, Shannon trips. As Sayid tries to help her up, she angrily asks him why he doesn't believe her and tells him that she knows he will leave her as soon as they are rescued. But Sayid tells her he believes her; he promises her that he will never leave her and tells her he loves her.

As they fall into an embrace, Sayid and Shannon hear whispers and look up to see Walt, again dripping wet and this time putting his finger to his lips and saying, "Shhh." Shannon goes after him into the jungle and it takes a moment for Sayid to jar himself into action. He is running after her when a gunshot is heard and Shannon stumbles out of the jungle with a bullet hole in her stomach. The tailies are seen standing, shocked, behind Ana Lucia, who is holding a smoking gun. Shannon dies in Sayid's arms.

Trivia

Production notes

• Jack is seen walking past Shannon and Sabrina at the hospital when they are informed of Adam Rutherford death which is seen from Jack's perspective in "Man of Science, Man of Faith".
• A deleted scene from this episode depicts Shannon talking to Sabrina after the wake. Sabrina notes that the only thing that they have in common is their love for Adam Rutherford. Sabrina ruins this emotional moment by asking Shannon "when will you be leaving?".
• A deleted scene from this episode shows Shannon on her first night of the Au Pair job with Phillipe. Shannon meets Laurent for the first time along with Phillipe's wife Dominique. Shannon and Phillipe share intimate looks while Dominique stands oblivious.
• A podcast rehash for the episode was released on November 14th, 2005. (Official Lost Podcast/November 14, 2005)
• Kate and Sun do not appear in this episode.
  • The first episode in which Kate does not appear.
  • Jack appears but has no dialogue
• This was the last time Walt was seen -- and the last time Malcolm David Kelly was credited -- until "Three Minutes".
• This is the only Shannon-centric episode and the episode in which she dies.
• Shannon was the only member of the original main cast that did not receive a centric episode during Season 1, although part of her back story was featured in the Boone-centric episode "Hearts and Minds" and a flashback in the multi-centric finale of season one.
• This episode has the distinction of being the only Season 2 episode to credit every Season 2 cast member, as Adewale Akinoye-Agbaje, Maggie Grace, Malcolm David Kelley and Cynthia Watros were not credited for every episode this season.

Recurring themes

• Sawyer told Jin that his arm is about to fall off. (Missing body parts)
• Sayid told Shannon that her vision of Walt was a dream. (Dreams)
  • When Shannon sees Walt for the first time, she screams leading Charlie to ask Sayid what happened. Unlike Charlie, Sayid doesn't believe Shannon when she tells him that she saw Walt and tries to explain to her that seeing Walt was just a dream, as opposed to Charlie who automatically sided with Claire when she was "attacked" by Ethan while she was sleeping in "Raised by Another". (Dreams and visions)
• Shannon instructed children with ballet. (Children)
• Jack passed Shannon in the hospital halls. (Character connections)
• Adam Rutherford died in a car accident. (Car accidents)  (Life and death)
• Shannon has a troubled relationship with her step-mom. (Parent issues)
• When Shannon instructed Vincent to "find Walt", he led her to Boone's grave. (Animals)  (Life and death)
• Locke swaddled Aaron, and told Claire that "babies like the feeling of being constricted. It's not until we are older that we develop the desire to be free." (Imprisonment)
• In a flashback, Boone told Shannon that "death sucks". (Life and death)
  • Before Ana Lucia shot Shannon, the whispers say "dying sucks."
• Shannon receives an internship for her dancing but cannot go as no one will help her stay afloat. (Fate versus free will)
• Ana Lucia referred to the Others as "animals". (Animals)
• It started to rain when Shannon was about to be killed. (Rain)
• Shannon and Sayid see Walt. (Dreams and visions)
• Shannon was shot and killed by Ana Lucia. (Life and Death)
• Locke and Charlie played Backgammon on the beach. (Games)
• Ana Lucia called Sawyer a "cowboy" and a "hick". (Nicknames)
• Sayid and Shannon have sex. (Sex)
• Both Boone and Christian Shephard enjoy booze at wakes. (Character connections)

Cultural references

• Star Wars: In response to Jin's Korean, Sawyer once again refers to him as "Chewie," a character from the film franchise who speaks an unintelligible language. (Movies and TV)
• Ponce de León: Sawyer called Ana Lucia "Ponce de León", referring to the Spanish explorer. (Nicknames)
• The music heard during Shannon's ballet class is "Meditation" from the Jules Massenet opera "Thaïs". (Music)
• "Stay (Wasting Time)": This song by the Dave Matthews Band is heard in Shannon's apartment when Nora visits. (Music)

Literary techniques

• Speaking of Shannon, Rose told Hurley: "Poor thing, it can't be easy losing the one person you love on the Island." She said this even though her husband was missing and Hurley presumed him to be dead. (Irony)
• The same exchange between Rose and Hurley can be seen as foreshadowing the death of Libby, the one person on the island that Hurley loves. (Foreshadowing).
• Walt appears in the jungle soaking wet and speaking backwards twice in this episode. (Plot twist)
• Cindy mysteriously disappears while The Tailies (Jin and Michael as well) are carrying Sawyer up a hill. (Plot twist)
• Shannon rushes out of the jungle and is shot by Ana Lucia. (Plot twist)
  • Earlier, Ana Lucia tells Mr. Eko that Cindy's disappearance is "on you" because he made the group travel inland rather than journey around the coast. This is ironic seeing that a few minutes after she says this she is the one to accidentally shoot and kill Shannon. (Irony)
• Shannon, in both her past and present, is very needy, but determined to succeed on her own. While Boone and Sabrina's lack of belief in her was more metaphorical (they didn't think she could live on her own), Sayid's was quite literal (he did not believe she had seen Walt). (Juxtaposition)
  • While her family's lack of faith brought nothing but abandonment and more neediness to Shannon, Sayid ends up in love with her, promising never to leave her. (Juxtaposition)

Storyline analysis

• Sayid built a hut to share with Shannon. He told her he carried a gun because "he has someone to protect", referring to her. Later in the episode, he says he "loved her", but then Shannon was shot and killed by Ana Lucia. (Relationships)
• Ana Lucia chose to wait for Mr. Eko to return before they continued on their journey across the Island. (Leadership)
• Mr. Eko chose to cut through the jungle to save Sawyer. Ana Lucia was very hesitant to help who she called a "cowboy" and "hick". She was frustrated that Sawyer was slowing them down. (Rivalries)
• Locke nonchalantly accused Charlie of still being a heroin addict. (Rivalries)

Bloopers and continuity errors

• At 35:10 into the episode, we can hear Michael whisper "F@#k Me!" as they carry Sawyer up the hill.

Episode references

• This episode confirmed that the Adam Rutherford that was injured in the same crash as Sarah Shephard is Shannon's father. It also implied that he was not the driver of the SUV, as was implied in "Man of Science, Man of Faith".