abandoned

This plot summary may be too long or overly detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (June 2009)

"Abandoned"
Lost episode
Ana Lucia raising her gun
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 6
Written by	Elizabeth Sarnoff
Directed by	Adam Davidson
Production no.	206
Original airdate	November 9, 2005
Guest stars
L. Scott Caldwell Sam Anderson Lindsay Frost Francois Guetary Ian Somerhalder Kimberley Joseph Ashleigh Ann Wood Michael Cowell David Ely Maree Miller
Episode chronology ← Previous Next → "...And Found" "The Other 48 Days"
Lost (season 2) List of Lost episodes

"Abandoned" is the thirty-first episode of Lost. It is the sixth episode of the second season. The episode was directed by Adam Davidson and written by Elizabeth Sarnoff. It first aired on November 9, 2005 on ABC. The character of Shannon Rutherford is featured in the episode's flashbacks.

Plot

Flashbacks

Shannon is teaching ballet. She receives a call that her father has been in an accident and goes to the hospital. There, she finds that he has died in a car crash. Shannon's father is the "Adam Rutherford" struck by the SUV driven by Jack's future wife in "Man of Science, Man of Faith". Also there, rushing to perform surgery on his future wife, we see Jack, but he does not speak or play an important role in the episode. At the funeral, Boone arrives to console her. Later, when she wins a dance internship in New York, she finds she cannot go because her stepmother, Sabrina, will not allow her to use any of her father's money. She pleads with her stepmother, who rebuffs her, suggesting her dream of becoming a dancer is just a passing whim, and that Shannon needs to make her own way. Boone attempts to help, but is unsuccessful in convincing his mother. When Shannon asks if she can stay in New York with him, he tells her that he is leaving the city to take a job working for his mother. He offers her money, but she angrily rejects it, telling him that if he doesn't believe she can make it on her own, she doesn't want his help.

On the island

On the far side of the island, Eko, Jin and Michael reunite with Ana Lucia, Sawyer, Bernard, Libby and Cindy. The eight leave for the camp made by the survivors of the midsection of the plane. Along the way, Sawyer collapses from infection; when Michael goes to assist him, Sawyer tells him to leave him behind and that if their positions were reversed, he would leave Michael behind. The survivors, however, make a stretcher and carry Sawyer, even though their journey will be considerably slowed down. After an arduous battle to carry him up a hill, they look around and notice that Cindy has vanished. Immediately after, the seven hear whispering coming from all around them.

Shannon brings Vincent some of Walt's clothes, then follows as the dog searches for his master. Vincent leads Shannon to Boone's makeshift grave, where she stops to reflect. Sayid finds her and asks what she is doing. She tells him she's going to find Walt and gets up to continue following Vincent. Sayid comes along, protesting. Shannon yells at Sayid, telling him that he does not believe in her and is going to abandon her.

Sayid tells her that he loves her and will never leave her. The pair embrace, then suddenly hear whispering; they look up and see Walt, who gestures them to remain silent. Shannon dashes after Walt and Sayid follows her until he trips. A gunshot is heard, and as Shannon is seen staggering back towards Sayid, who catches her as she collapses, bleeding from the torso. The camera pans back to reveal Ana Lucia with a smoking gun, and the episode ends with a view of a devastated Sayid holding Shannon's body.

Production

Malcolm David Kelley (Walt) is credited with the starring cast for this episode.

Reception

Virginia Rohan of The Seattle Times thought the "death of troubled Shannon, just as she was becoming more likable and had found love with Sayid, was sadder than the first-season death of her stepbrother, Boone. Still, it would grieve me far more to lose Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Locke, Sun or Jin".^[1] Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune felt fans echoed this view, describing their reaction as "muted", as they were more angry at Ana Lucia for shooting Shannon.^[2] IGN ranked Shannon's death as the show's fifth-best death. ^[3]

References