2.6 Abandoned

Sayid leads Shannon to an elaborate shelter he has built for her on the beach, including lit candles and a palm frond door. They move toward each other and kiss passionately, until Shannon discovers his big gun, which he says he only carries because he has someone to protect.

The travelers have stopped to rest, although some want to keep moving to avoid the Others. Sawyer is in the middle of saying that all Michael cares about is himself and his kid, when Michael, Jin, and Echo show up. Echo says he saw ‘them’, and they have to go.

Sayid leaves to get some water, and Walt appears in the doorway, dripping wet and speaking Exorcist-like jibberish. Sayid doesn’t believe that Shannon really saw Walt, believing it was a dream. Frustrated, Shannon leaves. Claire wakes the baby at the disturbance, which upsets Charlie a little.

In flashback, Shannon is teaching ballet to young girls when her mom calls to say her dad was in an accident. At the hospital with her mom, she finds out that he died in a car accident.

Sawyer is getting weak and the group is still a day away from camp, but Libby, a clinical psychologist, tries to convince Sawyer that he’s going to be fine.

Hurley and Rose are hanging clothes on the beach because Rose prefers sunshine and wind to the dryer in the hatch. They are interrupted by Shannon, who asks the location of the personal items that Michael and Walt didn’t take on the raft. She lets Vincent sniff one of Walt’s shirts, and he heads off in tracking mode, with her holding the leash. But Vincent leads her to Boone’s grave.

Claire’s baby has been awake and crying for eight hours straight. Locke wraps the baby up and that calms him down. Claire complains gently that everyone seems to know more about her baby than she does. As Claire talks about how she and Charlie are playing mom and dad, even though they barely know each other, she mentions that Charlie carries a virgin mother statue that he found in the jungle, which perks up Locke’s ears, as he knows what is inside that statue.

In flashback, Shannon attends her father’s funeral. Boone shows up after having been away, and they embrace. Back in her room, they share a scotch together, and Shannon talks about how her stepmom’s resentment of her relationship with her father has poisoned their relationship.

Ana’s groups stops to rest on a rocky outcrop, while waves crash along the beach. Echo says they must head inland to avoid a peninsula that may not be passable.

Claire lets Locke hold the baby, until Charlie shows up and takes over.

Sayid joins Shannon at Boone’s grave, but Shannon leaves again to keep looking for Walt.

In flashback, Shannon opens a letter about her application for a job at the Martha Graham dance company, and finds out that, against all odds, she got it. Her celebration is tempered by her landlord calling to say that her rent check bounced. She meets with her stepmother and finds out from her stepmother that she is getting no money from her father’s will. She asks her stepmother for money but is turned down cold.

Charlie and Locke are playing backgammon and talking about Claire and Aaron. Charlie talks about Claire’s need to gain more responsibility, and Locke skirts around the subject of Charlie’s heroin addiction, without confronting him about the statue.

Sawyer is getting sicker and sicker, and passes out. Ana wants to roll out, but Michael insists on making a stretcher for Sawyer. He gets help from Bernard and Echo.

Sayid follows Shannon on her tracking adventure, despite her protests. He tells her that she will not find Walt, but she is sure he is, and she tells him about the message bottle.

Jin and Michael carry the stretchered Sawyer, but the whole group has to help to get him up a steep cliff. After reaching the top, Ana realizes that Cindy is missing. She wants to go back for her, but Echo will not let her because he doesn’t want to split up the group. Ana blames Echo for Cindy’s disappearance. When she finishes scolding him, the group all hear the whispers of the Others. Ana gives the panic order to "Run!"

In flashback, Shannon packs her things. Boone arrives. His plan to ask his mother for money and then give it to Shanon has failed. Shannon’s plan to crash at Boone’s place in New York also fails; he is leaving New York to work for his mom. Boone offers Shannon money and promises to use his trust fund to keep her afloat, but she says she wants to fend for herself. Angry now, she tells Boone to leave.

Shannon falls down in the rainy jungle, pleading with Sayid to believe her.  She fears being treated as a joke, thought of as worthless, and being abandoned. Sayid promises to never leave her. As they embrace, they hear the whispers of the Others, and this time, they both see Walt. Walt is making the ‘shhh’ gesture, but Shannon yells and runs in pursuit. Sayid falls when he follows; a shot rings out, and Shannon has been shot in the chest by Ana. Sayid slowly rises in anger, staring at Ana…

Comments

When Echo says he saw the Others, someone asks, "Did you see the kids?", inferring that the Others have captured more children than just Walt.

Nits

Just before Claire says, "He just won’t sleep," to Locke in a closeup, there is a wide shot with an unidentified survivor walking in the background. In the next wide shot, the walker is gone, but he wouldn’t have had enough time to get out of frame.

Memorable Moments

• Michael and Anna’s confrontation in the jungle, and Ana’s description of the Others

• Sawyer and Michael’s moving scene together just before Sawyer passes out

• The cliffhanger ending (Is Shannon dead? Is Sawyer going to die? Is Sayid going to kill Ana?)

Quotable Quotes

Ana: You’re doin’ this to get the cowboy back faster, aren’t you? You would risk our lives to help him?
Echo: It’s the only way I know.
Ana: I liked you better when you weren’t talking.

Michael: What happened to you people? You want us to take you back with us? Fine. But you want me to keep quiet? Then you need to tell me why I have to.
Ana: They came the first night that we got here. They took three of us. Nothing happened for two weeks. Then they came back and took nine more. They’re smart, and they’re animals, and they could be anywhere at anytime. Now we’re moving through the jungle – their jungle – just so you could save your little hick friend over here. And if you think one gun and one bullet is gonna stop them – think again. So shut your mouth and keep moving.
Michael: They took my son.
Ana: They took a lot of things.

Sawyer: I would have left you behind.
Michael: Shut up, man, don’t try to -
Sawyer: I did leave you behind.
Michael: Yeah, well, good thing I ain’t you.

Sayid: Walt is not out here! You’re following a Labrador, not a bloodhound, in an effort to find a boy who’s on a raft in the middle of the ocean -
Shannon: He’s not on the raft.
Sayid: What are you talking about?
Shannon: We found the bottle on the beach.
Sayid: The bottle with the messages that they brought with them?
Shannon: I know he’s out here somewhere. I saw Walt. And the raft is gone, and he is all alone.

"I will never leave you. I love you. And I believe you."
- Sayid to Shannon