Oh my God!! Oh, my shattered nerves! What the ****? WOW! Last night’s episode of Lost was so action/emotionally packed that I have no idea where to even start. I don’t even know how to begin!
Last week I said that the writing on this show is brilliant, and this week I have to say again that the writing is just exceptional! How clever are these guys?? Here we have a character that most don’t really care about one way or the other, we start sympathizing with her, and a smidgeon of care actually dares rear its head and then… they kill her off. Oh, so cruel! So, very very cruel;
ingenious yes, but cruel.
This week’s Shannon-centric episode focuses on a younger, 18 year old Shannon. Surprisingly, she comes across as a very sweet and caring person. Her world is turned upside down by the death of her father, and she and her step-mom have a rocky relationship. Shannon gets the internship at a prestigious dance company, and goes to see her step mom about when she is due to receive her inheritance.
Step Mommy turns out to be a bit of a bitch, and tells her that her father left no will, and therefore there is no inheritance. Meanwhile, Mommy dearest inherits her husbands sizable estate. She tells Shannon its time to fend for herself. Boone tries helping Shannon, but she refuses his help when he pretty much admits that he doesn’t believe she can look after herself.
As with most flashbacks, it’s quite insightful, but what I realized is that Boone and Shannon had a good relationship. Ok, so maybe it was fueled by his love for her, but back then they had a pretty good relationship – it was quite obvious that they cared deeply for each other and they talked things over.
Back in present time, Sayid presents Shannon with a new shelter, and she invites him to spend the night with her. When he later leaves to collect water, Walt appears again. Still sopping wet, he says something to her, Shannon screams at the top of her lungs. But by the time Sayid gets there, Walt’s disappeared again.
Sayid doesn’t believe her and she takes off. The following day, she asks Hurley where Michael and Walt had left their belongings. She roots through their stuff and finds a t-Shirt belonging to Walt. She tries using Vincent to track Walt down, and he takes off, finally bringing her to Boone’s grave. This is where Sayid finds her.
She eventually tells him that they found the bottle of messages, and that she must find Walt. She runs off into the jungle again.
Meanwhile, the tailes plus Sawyer are trekking through the jungle. Michael, Jin and Mr Eko show up, much to Sawyers and my own surprise. There goes my theory about the three of them going to find Walt together. They all hike out of the jungle, and along the shore.
Something really interesting was said here by Ana-Lucia)... When Mr Eko tells them that they have seen the others, she asks him if he saw the children!
Children, not child. And I don’t think she means Walt either. The teddy bear one of the Others carried last week..bingo! So, who are these kids? It can’t be Danielle’s Alex, because Danielle’s Alex would be about 15-16 now, and it certainly wasn’t Walt. Maybe the Others are breeding?!? Heaven Forbid! Or it could just be other kids that they have kidnapped.
Sawyer is getting weaker and weaker, and so Mr Eko says that they should move back into the jungle. Unfortunately Sawyer passes out, and Michael refuses to leave Sawyer behind (which is more than Sawyer would have done; “I’d have left you behind” he says to Michael) and a stretcher is made to move Sawyer around in.
They reach a hilly thing and have to move Sawyer up it, which was no mean feat. Once they reach the top, they realize of their party is missing. Suddenly they hear whispers in the jungle. Ana-Lucia pulls out her gun. The whispers get louder. “Run!” she screams.
Shannon, meanwhile, is desperately looking for Walt. Sayid is still following her. She is quite desperate now, and near hysterics. She tells him that she knows that he thinks she’s crazy, and that she knows that he will leave her, just as everyone else has left her. She knows this because everyone she cares about, leaves her. He tells her that he believes her and he will never leave her. He tells her that he loves her. She falls into his arms, crying.
A light-bulb went off in my head here, and I am so shocked that I didn’t see it before. I finally understand Shannon; understand that her character is borne from a deep-seeded fear. In retrospect, if we look back at Shannon, we can see bits of it showing. I don’t think I would have liked her more, but I would have certainly understood her better.
Anyway, while embracing, they hear whispers. Walt appears and “shhhhh’s” them. Shannon asks Sayid if he can see Walt, and as stunned as he is, he can see him! Walt “shhhhh’s” them again, but Shannon runs off after him.
We hear and gun shot, and as Sayid runs towards Shannon, she turns and has been shot. She collapses in his arms. Not a few meters away is Ana-Lucia, who has clearly shot Shannon, although much to her credit, she looks mortified.
It’s not all too clear if Shannon is dead or dying, but judging from the look on Sayid’s face, I hold no hope for her. Oh man, that look on Sayid’s face!! I’m always so impressed with actors and how they convey emotion, but how Naveen Andrews did that face, I’ll never know. It’s so filled with different emotions – disbelief, heart-brokenness, anger! Hoo boy. I don’t want to be Ana-Lucia.
I actually feel more for Sayid than for Shannon. It’s terrible, I know, but it’s the truth. Sayid’s one of my favourites, and I have never really cared much for Shannon. When Boone died last season, I sobbed my heart out... and he was just starting to grow on me!! Maybe this was
totally unexpected, but not a tear was shed.
On our way into work this morning, Lost was naturally the topic of conversation - my friend thinks that Ana-Lucia is to blame. I can’t blame Ana-Lucia. Those tailies are petrified! If I had been in her shoes, I’d probably have pulled that trigger too.
I don’t even know what else to say, I knew that someone wanted to leave the show, and I have long suspected that it was going to be Shannon, but it’s always a bit of a shock when someone dies. At least Step Mommy dearest can now loll in Daddy’s millions, she has no kids now.
RIP, Shannon
After that, I really don’t want to get into this next bit, but the little side story from last night’s show is going to be explosive in a later episode. Charlie and Claire and little Aaron seem to be a little unit. But appearances are deceptive, and Claire is upset with Charlie.
Well, I’d be too, if I was reprimanded by someone about
my own kid. She obviously trusts him though, because she allows him almost free access to Aaron. This situation between them is going to get worse, and Claire is going to finally explode. They are going to either get into a huge argument or it’s going to explode in other ways. But then again, we’ve already established that I suck at theorizing, so it could just be a bit of filler.
But we know fillers in Lost should be watched very closely. At least we know that Charlie has not smashed open the statue as yet, and is still drug-free. I was surprised that Locke didn’t mention it to him, but not surprised either. As with all things with Locke, there’s a time and a place for everything.
This has got to be my favourite show ever! Apart from being so intelligent and so brilliantly written, the entertainment and shock factor is what keeps me hooked. Oh hurry up next week! It seems an eternity away.