S2Ep6: Abandoned (Shannon's flashback) - 11/9/05

Hello my dear friends –

I begin writing this message from my second home - the floor outside gate D4 in LaGuardia airport. It is yet another week of being beat down by The Man, and so I fear that this write-up will not be too good because I got about 4 hours of sleep last night and now only have my flight duration to crank this out - so set expectations LOW.

On a side note, last night I was walking through Times Square after watching a random Garth Brooks performance (for the CMA awards) in the middle of the street, and I noticed this huge video billboard for Lost above the ABC studios. It didn't play the preview for this week's episode but rather it was just an overall commercial to "Watch Lost on Wednesdays" and it had a whole bunch of clips from the season, so it was very cool for me to see it beaming down upon the Square in all its glory. Just imagine a several-stories-high Sawyer walking in slow motion, slipping to a several-stories-high Jack creeping through the hatch, etc., etc., and you can imagine my excitement.

Now, on to Abandoned. Everyone on the boards seemed to really love this episode. I thought it was just OK. I think unfortunately I had been inadvertently spoiled and figured it would be Shannon who bit the bullet, so it was anti-climatic for me. Why? Oh, perhaps it was my Us Weekly cover a few weeks ago with a "WHO WILL DIE?" caption in the upper right-hand orner
over Shannon’s picture. Or perhaps it was the fact that LAST SEASON there were already unavoidable rumors circulating that a character would die in the fall and it would be a woman. Then I somehow read accidentally that the character would die at the hands of another. So… seeing as how basically no other women besides the Tailaways were shown this episode, and I knew they weren’t going to kill them off yet, I put all this info together and figured it would definitely be Shannon. For one brief moment at 8:53 PM I thought, "Mon Dieu! Have they actually thrown us off the scent and will kill Sawyer???!?!?!" But no, thankfully they were not that stupid. I still think they were stupid, but I will cover that in just a second. Here are
observations from this episode:

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
There was No Kate this episode. Just wanted to make sure you all realized that. Someone out there’s listening…

INTERTWINED LIVES YET AGAIN
I had mentioned in the season 2 premiere write-up that the patient who died when Jack chose to save Sarah (his future wife) was most likely Shannon’s father, as they shared the same last name (Rutherford). That was confirmed this episode as we saw Jack/Party of Five’s Charlie scurry by when Shannon and her stepmother were given the bad news at St. Sebastian’s hospital. The Major Reason why they were stupid and shortsighted to kill off Shannon is that I feel they could have had a very powerful storyline if Jack had actually learned how his choices ended up affecting Shannon’s life. He consciously chose to save Sarah (the driver of the SUV who crashed into Shannon’s father) over Shannon’s father. Shannon in turn goes from a pampered lifestyle to losing out on the prestigious internship she earned to scamming boyfriends across the world, including Boone, for cash. Perhaps it would’ve taken Jack’s God Complex down a notch to learn this. Alas, we will never know now.

Shout-out to JB for doing a mini-research project on St. Sebastian (of St. Sebastian’s hospital, where Jack worked and Shannon’s father died), who was apparently the Saint associated with helping cure people with bizarre diseases including the plague. This information of course brings to mind "the sickness" and makes me wonder if somehow Jack will be involved in finding the cure to that on the island. Another shout-out to CM who is on the plane (we’re now in flight) a few rows behind me…, just for enduring the same crazy schedule that I have this week.

HORROR MOVIE RULE #1 APPARENTLY ALSO APPLIES TO TV DRAMAS ABOUT FREAKY ISLANDS
The first character to "do the deed" must die. Shannon and Sayid, I hope your Tent Love was worth it…

THE TAILIES/TAILAWAYS
I was glad that Michael finally demanded some answers from the Tailies as to why they are so freaky and paranoid (although I actually don’t understand why the original Lostaways aren’t the same way… I think enough crap has happened to them, as well…). They are definitely setting up Ana Lucia to be more sympathetic between her speech in the jungle, comments like "They took a lot of things" in reference to The Others, and what will undoubtedly be an intense episode tonight. However, the whole killing Shannon thing probably isn’t going to help… But for now we do know that the Tailies have had much more "interaction" with The Others than the original Lostaways have, and for the most part seemed to have had an exponentially worse plight in the past 48 days.

MORE RELIGIOUS UNDERTONES
While "swaddling" babies has become a pretty mainstream technique (if I know about it and I don’t have any kids, then trust me, it’s mainstream) – many people on the boards interpreted Locke "swaddling" baby Aaron as a subtle reference to baby Jesus, often associated with the phrase "Mary wrapped him in swaddling clothes." Additionally, there has always been a prominent theory about Aaron being some sort of Messiah or the opposite, an Anti-Christ.

Then of course we’ve got the good ol’ Virgin Mary Statue O’ Drugs being referenced again. I was hoping that Locke would completely call Charlie out during their discussion, but I actually like the way he approached it better:
CHARLIE: She's got a bit to learn about being a mum -- responsibility and all.
LOCKE: Hmmm, now that's an interesting thing to say -- for a hero!n addict.
CHARLIE: Recovering addict.
LOCKE, with a skeptical, knowing look: Recovering.

MUTE CHICK SPEAKS! BUT THEN DISAPPEARS.
So "Cindy" had a line this episode, so I don’t need to feel bad about making fun of her if she actually couldn’t talk. However, then she vanished. I read on the boards something about Libby taking a bag of Cindy’s BEFORE she disappeared, thus leading to tons of speculation about if Libby is an "Ethan-like" plant in the Tailaway group. Unfortunately I have not been home since the episode last week so I have not been able to analyze this via Tivo, so I cannot take a position one way or the other. I think that if we see Libby in tonight’s episode, then she’s most likely not a plant. Additionally, she urgently asked, "Did you see the kids???" to Mr. Eko when he returned to the group and stated that he had seen The Others, leading me to believe she truly is concerned. Finally, since Mr. Eko was definitely in the previews for tonight’s episode, he most likely was also on the plane. But I guess we shall soon see. I just hope they don’t forget about the fact that Cindy just disappeared into thin air.

THE WHISPERS
In this episode, two sets of people heard the whispers – both the Tailaways/Three Amigos and Sayid and Shannon. Since we now know that they were in the same vicinity as each other, there are a few theories: 1) they were hearing the same thing, and it was signaling the approach of The Others, 2) certain areas of the jungle seems to be more whisper-prone than others (perhaps another experiment station is nearby), or 3) the whispers are actually other nearby voices being scrambled. So what the Tailies were hearing was actually Sayid and Shannon’s conversation, and vice versa. This could be explained once again by something having to do with the experiment.

THE RETURN OF CreepyDrownedWalt
D@mmit, he’s back, and I’m still disturbed. People made obvious note of the fact that he once again appeared to be either dripping wet with water coming out of his mouth when he spoke, or he was covered in some sort of nasty mucus-type stuff. As I mentioned when he appeared in a previous episode, there are all sorts of theories about if he is actually already dead/drowned, if he is actually on the island, if The Others still have him or if he escaped, if he is doing astral projection/teleporting, or something else. But two things were made clear this episode:
1) It was NOT in Shannon’s head, and it was not only Shannon who had some sort of "powers" to be able to see him. There had been a theory that Shannon had a special power so that she was the only one who could see Walt, but now Sayid clearly saw him as well (although there is the theory that Sayid saw something/someone ELSE and was just too stunned to clarify to Shannon what/who he was seeing. Shannon only said "Do you see HIM?" She didn’t specifically say "Walt" until she was already up and running). People are rooting for a replay of those last few minutes from Sayid’s point of view so we can see what he saw.
2) Even if Walt has mastered astral projection, he has not mastered talking/communication during it, as he was still speaking backwards. This time he said, "They’re coming and they’re close." No, I do not have the ability to play the show backwards, nor does Tivo (to my knowledge), but other nerds on the boards do and they had posted the "translation" nearly immediately after it aired.

R.I.P. SHANNON RUTHERFORD
Ah, Shannon. How little we truly knew thee. You brought us lots of skin and snotty expressions; you came up with the infamous "Craphole Island" and "R@pe Caves" monikers; you helped translate the French transmission as well as Danielle’s maps, you were entrusted to watch poor Vincent after the raft set sail, and you gave ever-tortured Sayid a brief respite from his heartache over Nadia. But it was not meant to be for you of the teeny bikinis and pseudo-inc#stual-relationships. Mere seconds after you were "redeemed" by Sayid professing his love for you, BOOM! You took one in the gut thanks to trigger-happy Ana Lucia. Now may you rest in peace next to Brother Boone of the Bushy Eyebrows and Eyeliner.

But Shannon, before you go, know this: you left us with something for which we thank you deeply. Something that may actually make up for the writers’ shortsightedness and anxiousness to keep killing off characters for no apparent reason. You left us with MajorlyP!ssedSayid, whose murderous look after you died in his arms will surely grant him an Emmy nod, if not a win.
MajorlyP!ssedSayid has awoken and is rising up, and he will avenge you. Oh yes, he will avenge you. And we will delight in watching it.


BEST LINES OF THE EPISODE:
SAWYER: She's lost.
ANA: I'm not lost.
SAWYER: Then tell me, Ponce de Leon, which way are we supposed to go?

LIBBY: You want to let me just take a look at your shoulder?
SAWYER: What, are you a doctor?
LIBBY: A clinical psychologist.
SAWYER: You're a shrink? Well, maybe you ought to talk to my shoulder.


SAYID: Why are you doing this, Shannon?
SHANNON: I didn't ask you to follow me.
SAYID: No, you'd rather be out here alone and get lost or hurt.
SHANNON: I don't need your help, Sayid.
SAYID: Walt is not out here. You're following a Labrador, not a Bloodhound.
(I don’t think this was actually meant to be funny, but I laughed)


PREVIEWS
I have been trying to temper my expectations of each episode just so I don’t always end up disappointed. Unfortunately, I cannot temper them for tonight ’s episode. How could they possibly screw up condensing "The Other 48 Days" from the Tailaway camp into one hour? How can it not be action-packed and awesome? I just don’t see how it can’t be anything but spectacular. What will be more interesting is if I will feel any less Ana Lucia Hate after watching it. I am sad because I will have to watch the show late, late tonight (if I can stay awake that long) because I’m watching focus groups until 10 PM. To my peeps, I will be watching it with you all in spirit, wherever you may be.

Do not worry… without giving anything away, next week they WILL return to where we left off last episode in the jungle. And yes, they are having an episode next Wednesday despite the fact I will be driving home to Michigan for Thanksgiving during that time. THE NERVE!

ABC.COM LOST PODCASTS
If you go to abc.com and click into the Lost microsite, you will find these audio "podcasts" they’ve been doing (two to date) that run about 20 minutes each. They have some of the writers and cast members talking about episodes and other various things. I found them to be good and worth the time. There are not really spoilers on there, but they do answer some fan questions that are helpful.

NEW "EXPERIMENT" DOCUMENT LINKS UNEARTHED
On www.thetailsection.com, there are links to two documents found on the Alvar Hanso ("experiment founder/financial backer) web site that appear to be "memos" sent to and from various parties regarding "the experiment." They do not give anything away but allude to a problem with the experiment. However, if you go to this site, you will have to scroll down to get to the documents on the right hand side, and you may have to pass over some spoilers on the way there, so you have been forewarned.

OTHER UPCOMING NERDY EVENTS NOT RELATED TO LOST
Harry Potter 4 premiere – This Friday the 18th – yippee! My prediction: This was my favorite of the 6 books thus far, and the previews look INCREDIBLE. But since I cried for about 2 hours reading the book, I predict I will shed some tears during the movie, as well. Long Live Harry Potter.

Narnia (The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe) premiere – December 9 - Hello, I loved this book back in the day. If you didn’t read it then I’m sorry to inform you that your childhood was not complete. I was so excited when I heard they were making it into a live-action movie (there is a cartoon version already) that several months ago I went to this $6 children’s play version of it across from where I live just to refresh my memory. I was the only adult there (who didn’t have kids with them). It was glorious. The previews look good, and I have high hopes.

King Kong premiere – December 14th - The previews actually have scared me a bit – as in, I’m not sure I will like this movie. It is d@mn long, too – I believe at 3 or over 3 hours. But it is my duty as an LOTR mega-fan to give Peter Jackson the benefit of the doubt. Plus I like Jack Black and Adrien Brody.

Til next week, enjoy tonight,
- e