Lost 2.6: "Abandoned"

Written by Elizabeth Sarnoff
Directed by Adam Davidson

In which Shannon has another vision of Walt, which sends her on an unfortunate quest when Sayid doesn’t believe her, and things go from bad to worse for Sawyer and his new friends…


Status Report

One of the more unfortunate aspects of promotion, in terms of episodes of a popular series, is the management of expectation. Events that would be shocking and effective as a storytelling tool under normal circumstances can be undercut considerably by the decision to hype them up and generate buzz. In this case, the death of a main character was tossed out as a promotional tool, and as a result, it was very hard for the material to live up to expectations.

At the heart of the episode is a tragic tale. On the one side is a young woman with massive emotional and self-confidence issues, despite all her obvious beauty, searching for a means to validate her own worth. On the other, an embattled leader, unable to see past her own need to survive and keep her people alive. When the two intersect at the worst of moments, the results are deadly.

All of which would make perfect sense and work on a number of levels, if the audience hadn’t been propped up to expect something far more substantial. In keeping with all of the episodes since “Orientation”, this is a relatively small but powerful story. Shannon was initially one of the least-loved characters, and it has been hit or miss for her ever since that point. Many saw her as the “rich bitch” character, when the reality was far less alluring.

The reality appears to be far more tragic. Shannon was a bit spoiled by her father, but that didn’t justify how she was misused by Boone’s mother. It paints a picture that places Shannon in a more sympathetic light. Whenever she seems to get what she needs, what she really desires for that sense of validation, it gets ripped out from under her. And every time, it seems like it’s out of a lack of faith in her, which feeds the self-doubt even more.

Thus, to a certain extent, it makes sense that she would die moments after finding someone who can believe in her so completely. Sayid represented everything she wanted, and so she must consequently lose everything. Granted, getting killed is a bit harsh, but it works thematically. It also works to reinforce the negative aspects of Sayid’s personality. Once again, he has lost someone he loved, and it probably won’t matter that the Others seemed to manipulate it into happening.

What was the purpose of Walt’s “presence”? Without the vision of Walt, Shannon would never have gone on her quest for validation, and she wouldn’t have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Did Walt try to warn her not to look for him? Why was she seeing Walt in the first place? Does Vincent have something to do with it?

The real question comes with the final vision. Was Walt really there, or was it some manipulation by the Others? If Walt was trying to save Shannon by warning her to stay quiet, then it would make sense, but why not try to stop her before that? Or were the Others baiting her, hoping for the advantage that the shooting would give them, thanks to the confusion? There are a lot of questions, but the structure makes it seem as though Shannon was destined to die at that moment, either through terrible timing or outside manipulation.

Speaking of the Others, their goals are rather mystifying. So they steal people, kill some, keep others. They seem to be focusing on children, which makes sense from several perspectives: long-term survival, behavior conditioning studies, effect of the island on developing minds. They also seem to be a lot smarter than “animals”, despite what Ana might think.

For one thing, it may be that Libby might be one of the Others, and that like Ethan before her, she served the function of identifying subjects to be stolen or otherwise killed. She seemed rather interested in the welfare of the members of the JackLocke tribe and getting them back to their own camp, and she was also the last one to be near Cindy prior to her abduction. It’s just a slice of supposition at this point, but it could add depth to what has been, otherwise, a bit too straightforward.

While the immediate impact on Shannon is quite obvious, the real question is how this will affect those at the scene: Sayid, Michael, and Ana. Ana will be lucky to walk away alive, because Sayid is not pretty when the better angels of his nature are overcome with rage. Michael looked sickened, as if he somehow thought he might be responsible. Whatever the case, the two tribes are probably not going to get along for a while.

In terms of the other characters, many of them were absent again, which as usual, made the success of the episode more dependent on the main plot threads. Beyond Shannon/Sayid and Sawyer’s rapid decline, the only plot thread of note was the tension between Claire and Charlie and Locke’s part in it.

Claire brings up an interesting point. Just what is her relationship to Charlie? They are strangers, for all intent purposes, and while he feels a great deal of responsibility towards Claire (through attraction and the Ethan incident), Charlie has no reason to claim anything when it comes to Claire and Aaron. She has every right to be wondering why his criticism is something she should endure.

Of course, that is likely to play into Charlie’s growing temptation to return to his heroin addiction. If Claire puts him at arm’s length in a bid for independence, he’s not likely to take that rejection well. He sees Claire as a symbol of his redemption a bit too strongly for that. It also wouldn’t help to have Locke stepping into his “husband” role, since he would be less likely to accept Locke’s advice if he saw him as “competition”.

From Locke’s point of view, he might seem to be helping Claire without an agenda, but he has always been a little too interested in Aaron and the meaning of the child’s existence. If he learns more about Claire and her background, he’s only going to be more intrigued. The fact remains that Claire could use the guidance, and nearly everyone else seems intimidated by Charlie’s involvement.

Thus far in the season, so close to the end of the “introduction” phase of the season arc, not much has happened. This is one of the more active episodes, thankfully, but there still seems to be a lack of depth, which is slightly disappointing. Sure, this episode had some actual sex, and Shannon looked damn fine with wild bedroom hair, but the structure was still too simple. The writers seem to be struggling with all the changes brought about by the season premiere. There’s plenty of time to turn things around, however, so panic hasn’t set in just yet.


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode had a nice enough structure, and this will be remembered by many for the events of its final minutes, but there is still a distinct lack of depth that leaves one wondering when the complexities will return to the character arcs. The overly revealing promos certainly didn’t help. This episode still feels like a lot of set-up for the rest of the season, which is a trend that will hopefully end soon. Even so, it’s good to see a previously unsympathetic character get a moment to shine.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 7/10