Shannon Rutherford

Shannon redirects here. See also: Shannon Widmore (from Bad Twin).

Shannon Rutherford
Actor	Maggie Grace
First Island Appearance	"Pilot, Part 1"
Last Island Appearance	"Abandoned" "What Kate Did" (Corpse)"Exposé" (Flashback)
Age	21 (Born: 1983)
Origin	Los Angeles, California, USA
Status	Deceased
Profession	Ballet instructor
In Australia...	...to live with her latest boyfriend
On the flight...	...to return home
Family Members...	Adam Rutherford - Father Sabrina Carlyle - Step Mother Boone Carlyle - Step Brother Unnamed Former Husband
Images	Images of Shannon Rutherford

Shannon Rutherford was a middle section survivor of Oceanic Flight 815 and was Boone's stepsister, who she frequently argued with. She was very selfish at times, though she eventually formed a romantic relationship with Sayid. Shannon was on the Island for 48 days before she was unintentionally shot and killed by Ana Lucia Cortez.

Before the crash

After Shannon's mother died when she was young, her father, Adam Rutherford, married Sabrina Carlyle when Shannon was 8 years old. She had always been a daddy's girl and they remained very close throughout her childhood. When she was 18, Shannon was a ballet instructor in Los Angeles

Shannon finds out that her father is dead

.

File:Shannon Boone Wake.jpg

Shannon at her father's wake, comforted by Boone

While working, Shannon received a call from her stepmother telling her that her father had been in a car accident. He was taken to St. Sebastian Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 8:15AM. Jack Shephard was the attending doctor in the ER and he chose to save the other driver, Sarah, while Adam Rutherford passed away. Adam's death hit Shannon hard because of their close relationship and her stepmother Sabrina offered little help. Shannon applied for a prestigious internship at Martha Graham Dance Company in New York in hopes of getting a chance to prove herself. While she was accepted, she did not have the money to go since her stepmother had cut off her funds from her father's fortune. Although Boone offered her money to get her started, she refused to accept it because she wanted to prove that she could support herself. ("Abandoned")

Next, Shannon spent a year in France, working as an au pair, a job that Philippe offered to her friend Nora in the ballet studio. She accepted the job despite telling Nora that it wasn't a good idea. While in Paris she learned some French while watching Philippe's children, Laurent and Sophie. There are indications from the Season 2 DVD deleted scenes that she had an affair with Philippe.

After returning from the au pair job, Shannon began to routinely con money out of her stepmother and/or Boone in an attempt to get the money that she felt was owed to her. Boone said he had paid off 3 men to break up with her. Shannon's most recent attempt to get money was by faking an abusive relationship with Bryan, the man she was living with in Sydney, Australia. After Bryan took the money and ran, Shannon tried to make up with Boone and seduced him. ("Hearts and Minds")

According to Boone, Shannon had been married once, but was not anymore. In the airport prior to boarding, Nikki and Paulo were interrupted by Shannon loudly complaining about a lack of seating in the waiting area and Boone being responsible for them not getting first class tickets. Boone politely asks Paulo for their extra chair, and he agrees, but Shannon pulls Boone away, accusing his "flirting with random guys" of delaying them. ("Exposé")

Shannon "warns" the security guard.

Shannon is then seen in the waiting area doing a crossword puzzle. Sayid asks Shannon if she can watch his bag and that he'll be back in a moment and Shannon replies rudely saying, "Sure, whatever". She later leaves with Boone, leaving the bag on the chairs unattended. She later tells a security guard that "some Arab guy left his bag in the chairs downstairs and then just walked away", hoping to prove to Boone that she is capable of things that he never expected. ("Exodus, Part 1")

Shannon sat in seat 9F, Business Class, next to Boone on the plane. ("Exodus, Part 2")

On the Island

Season 1 (days 1-44)

Traumatized Shannon, right after the crash

At the time of the crash on the Island, Shannon was 20 years old. Initially, Shannon wanted little to do with everyone else and refused to help build camp, believing that they'd soon be rescued. She was offered a candy bar by her brother, which she flatly rejected, stating that she wasn't going to give up on her diet, because they would be off the Island soon enough. ("Pilot, Part 1")

When Boone criticized her for not helping out, she went on a jungle trek with Sayid, Kate, Charlie, Sawyer and Boone to prove to him that she wasn't useless.

Shannon translates the distress signal.

Her assistance was vital in translating the French distress signal that Sayid received on the radio from the cockpit. ("Pilot, Part 2")

After Boone left her in charge of their part in triangulating the signal when he ran to the caves to help Jack after he fell victim to a cave-in. Although distracted, she did succeed in letting off the needed bottle rocket. ("The Moth")

Later, Shannon began experiencing asthma attacks, which was unusual since many of the other survivors' physical ailments ceased after the crash. To compound the problem, Boone could not find the extra inhalers that he had brought in his luggage on the plane. As Shannon's attacks became more life threatening, Boone began to suspect that Sawyer was hoarding them like he had done with other items from people's luggage. The conflict escalated to Sawyer being tortured by Sayid, but it was later discovered that Sawyer did not in fact have the inhalers. ("Confidence Man")

After Sayid returned from his encounter with Rousseau, he asked for Shannon's help in translating the French writing on the maps. Shannon reluctantly agreed but had trouble at first and began to become frustrated with Sayid and herself.

Shannon holds Vincent as the raft leaves

It was during her work with the maps that Shannon began to fall for Sayid. ("Whatever the Case May Be")

Shannon's attraction to Sayid grabbed the attention of Boone, who was visibly displeased. He explained to Locke, "You don't know Shannon. She's smart and she's special in a lot of ways". ("Hearts and Minds")

When Boone later talks to Sayid, causing him to temporarily reconsider their relationship, Shannon heads to the jungle to quarrel with Boone, but only finds Locke. In their conversation, Locke tells Shannon that everyone gets a new life on the Island, and advises her to start hers. An advice by which she returns to camp determined, only to find a willing Sayid. ("...In Translation")

When Boone was killed after falling in the drug smugglers' plane, Shannon was however distraught and looked for someone to blame. Because John Locke was with Boone for so long in the jungle and when he died, Shannon assumed that he was responsible for his death. After hearing from Kate about the Halliburton case containing guns, Shannon stole the key from Jack and took one with the intent to kill Locke. However, Sayid intervened, and consequently caused Shannon to turn away from him. Eventually, she did manage to forgive him. ("Deus Ex Machina")  ("Exposé")

Right before Walt headed off on the raft, he gave Shannon the responsibility of looking after Vincent which she proudly accepted. After Claire was attacked by Rousseau, Shannon was the first on the seen with Sayid and Charlie. Shannon ran back into Sayid's arms when he arrived from rescuing Aaron. ("Exodus, Part 1")  ("Exodus, Part 2")

Season 2 (days 44-49)

Shannon tells Sayid she saw Walt

After Michael, Walt, Sawyer and Jin had been gone for some time, Shannon began to see visions of Walt in the jungle, where he appears wet and speaks backwards to her. ("Man of Science, Man of Faith")

She became the second to know about the second raft being destroyed after Claire told her. ("Everybody Hates Hugo")

Shannon and Sayid see Walt in the jungle

Later, Sayid built Shannon a new tent to live in, which they eventually made love on the same night. Moments after, when Sayid stepped out of the tent, Shannon had another vision of Walt. When she told Sayid what she saw, he does not believe her, saying that it was only a dream. Shannon once again felt that no one takes her seriously and left Sayid in frustration. ("Abandoned")

On day 48, Shannon set off into the jungle, determined to find Walt. Sayid caught up with her and tried to apologize for doubting her. Later, Shannon once again saw Walt, but this time, Sayid did too. Sayid then told her that he believes her and loves her. As Shannon ran toward Walt, she was shot once in the chest by Ana Lucia Cortez, who thought she was one of the Others. ("Abandoned")

Shannon was buried next to Boone and the others in the graveyard the next day. ("What Kate Did")

Producers' commentary

• On the Season 2 DVD special, Lost: On Location (Season 2), Damon Lindelof comments:

“

We knew that Shannon was going to die before we started Season 2. Shannon's death served a number of story purposes, the most important being, that we wanted the tail section people, and our core group of castaways to be sort of forced to merge under incredibly uncomfortable circumstances.

”

Trivia

• Maggie Grace was billed as a special guest star in "Collision".
• Shannon was the second main character to be killed.
• Shannon was the first main character to be killed at the conclusion of her last flashback episode.

Unanswered questions

Unanswered questions
Do not answer the questions here. Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer. More details...

For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Shannon Rutherford/Theories

• Who was her mother?
• Who were her other boyfriends (as alluded to by Boone)?
• Why could she see Walt (or his apparition)?
• Who was her husband? Why did they separate?