Lost Reviews and News

Before we get into this week's edition of Key Points, let me fast-forward past all the carefully plotted exposition and assorted hoo-ha to get to the Big Development: Ladies and gentlemen ... Shannon is Down! Repeat. Shannon is Down!

If you watched the episode (I'm assuming you did), you know exactly what I mean. If you didn't watch the episode, you probably get the gist of an overstatement like that.

But anyway, we'll cover Shannon's "fall" in more depth later on. For now, we've got some recappin' to do.

The majority of this episode, as you probably gathered, is dedicated to Shannon. Remember her? Pretty girl? Kinda skinny? Sometimes pops up in ill-advised horror remakes? As yet, Shannon hasn't done much in season two ... unless you count seeing visions of a backwards-talking Walt. She's definitely done her share of that.

And so Shannon finally gets some love in this episode. Literally. Early on, Sayid takes his pouty lady love on a midnight excursion to a little side project he's been working on. Somehow, Sayid has found time to construct a full-fledged Den of Iniquity out of sticks and twigs and debris. How and when he constructed this thing is a mystery, especially since his last on-screen task involved digging under the hatch in a vain effort to uncover a big electromagnetic device.

Sayid and Shannon waste little time getting down to business. As love scenes go, it's not all that juicy. They embrace. They kiss. They swap foreshadowing dialogue (example: Sayid unholsters a pistol -- that's not a euphemism -- and Shannon asks "You need to carry that all the time?" Sayid, with complete sincerity, responds: "I only carry it because I have someone to protect." Uh huh). Eventually, jiggyness ensues.

Two minutes later ...

Sayid and Shannon are wrapped in a post-coital embrace. Shannon disentangles herself to get some water, but Sayid, ever the chivalrous sucker, pounces up to gather water for his beloved. Moments after he leaves the tent, a gust of wind snuffs out a candle. Shannon looks up to see ... WALT! He's dripping wet and doing that backwards whispering thing again. A definitive transcript of Walt's ramblings will undoubtedly be forthcoming, but I'm pretty sure I heard him say "Shannon, you are a dirty, dirty whore."

Well, maybe not.

So Shannon screams and Sayid comes running ... and Charlie and Claire come running, too. Apparently, Sayid constructed his Love Tent within earshot of the Beach Camp (who knew Sayid had a thing for voyeurism?). Shannon tells Sayid she saw Walt. Sayid tells her she had a dream. Shannon isn't particularly happy with Sayid's conclusion, so she huffs off.

Clearly, relationship angst is in the air because moments later (after both Shannon and Sayid have huffed off), Charlie and Claire get into a spat over baby Aaron. For some reason, Claire decided to wake her child and run toward the screams -- a fact Charlie points out -- and now the cantankerous Turnip Head is wailing like a banshee. Charlie takes the child and rocks him slowly, leaving Claire to simmer in her maternal doubt. We'll continue discussing the Charlie-Claire dynamic later.

Getting back to the Shannon plot line, Shannon tromps off into the woods, which gives the producers a perfect opportunity to stage ... a flashback! This episode's flashback sequences aren't particularly riveting save for a few key moments (and one confirmed connection between Shannon and another island character). Herein are the high points:

• Remember back in "Man of Science, Man of Faith" when we see a younger Dr. Jack tend to his future wife (and future ex-wife) Sarah after she's been in a car accident? You'll recall that a second victim, a man, was wheeled into the emergency room during that scene. It seemed like an irrelevant development at the time -- Jack ultimately decided to save the pretty girl instead of the middle-aged fella -- but that moment isn't so irrelevant anymore. Keen viewers of this original scene (I wasn't one of them) noted that the man's name was "Mr. Rutherford," which means he shared the same last name as Shannon. Coincidence? Oh helllll no. That Mr. Rutherford was the Mr. Rutherford -- Shannon's daddy.

  And so in this episode, Shannon and her Martha Stewart-esque stepmother, Sabrina, rush to the hospital. As they enter, we briefly see young Dr. Jack run by (it's his only appearance in this episode -- I wonder how much he got paid for three seconds of work?). A separate doctor meets the women in a hallway and drops the bad news: A cocky spinal surgeon decided to hedge his bets on a hot chick, so Shannon and Sabrina's beloved father/husband had to die. Well, that's not exactly how it goes down -- the doctor is a bit more somber and he leaves out that spinal surgeon bit -- but the conclusion is still the same: Mr. Rutherford is no more.

• The death of her daddy sends Shannon into a nosedive. Before his demise she was in the early stages of a dance career -- she had even applied for a prestigious internship at the Martha Graham Dance Company in New York City -- but with daddy out of the picture, her stepmother slides all-too-easily into the "Cinderella" cliche. Shannon initially believes that her dad left her a wad of cash in his will, but it turns out that daddy was a dummy and he transferred all his bling to his wife. So, Shannon is suddenly forced to ask her stepmother -- her mortal enemy -- for assistance. "I'm sorry, Shannon," the Queen Biotch says with faux sincerity. "You're on your own."

• Sooo, who does Shannon turn to in her time of need? Boone, of course! Our dearly departed Boone (last seen fading into oblivion in "Do No Harm") makes a special guest appearance at Mr. Rutherford's funeral (sidenote: his first line upon reappearing is "Death sucks, doesn't it?" Ha ha. Oh Boone. You're so meta.). At this point, Shannon and Boone appear to have a fairly healthy relationship. Boone is off in the world making a name for himself (remember, he was a trained lifeguard) and Shannon is still the needy but sweet 18-year-old step-sister who hasn't been broken by the misery of the world. Their wacked Greek Tragedy relationship hasn't bloomed ... yet.

  In a later scene, the seeds of brother-sister dysfunction start to take root. Boone arrives at Shannon's apartment to inform her that, despite his best efforts, his mom won't lend him any money. Shannon concludes that Queen Biotch must have figured out the siblings' plan to divert funds through Boone (how could she ever have figured out something so well planned?). But Boone has more bad news -- his Mom offered him a "really good job," so Boone will be relocating from New York just as Shannon needs a place to stay in New York (such injustice!). Boone, in a half-assed gesture, gives Shannon an envelope filled with money. Shannon protests and something in her snaps. "I don't want your money!" she screams. Boone, dumbfounded, leaves the apartment. "She so wants me," he mutters to himself. (Well, that's what he should have said).

So let us loop back to the "Shannon is down" moment noted at the beginning of this review. In the closing minutes of this episode, Sayid and Shannon are rushing through rain-soaked woods as Shannon desperately searches for Walt (she's concluded that her visions are a cry for help and she needs to find the little guy). As the rain pours down, Shannon trips and Sayid rushes to her side. "Why don't you believe me?" Shannon asks. "I need you to believe in me!" Sayid, realizing that they're going to be stuck on this island for a while and a love interest is a nice little diversion, assures Shannon that he does believe in her. In fact, he does one better. "I will never leave you," he says. "I love you. And I believe you."

Oh ... crap.

And at that exact moment, as Shannon and Sayid embrace amidst a rainstorm, the sound of whispers starts to swirl through the forest. The lovebirds look up and that's when they both see ... WALT! He's standing amidst dense foliage, holding a single finger to his lips while making an emphatic "Shhhhh!" sound. Now, I'm no expert, but if a ghostly apparition tells me to "Shhhhh!" I'm damn well going to listen. Alas, Shannon fails to heed his warning, and so she screams "Walt!" and runs off in his direction. Walt -- or his ghost, whichever it may be -- runs off. Shannon darts out of view. Sayid stays behind, but his face suddenly drops as he senses danger. He gets to his feet to follow Shannon into the woods, but that's when he hears ...

A single gunshot!

For now, it's time to catch up with the Raftaways/Tailies. When last we left our newly merged tribes, Jeff Probst had handed out new "buffs" and the dominant personalities had spent the remainder of the episode arguing about immunity challenges ... or some such nonsense.

Lame "Survivor" references aside, not a whole lot has happened with the Tailies and Raftaways. Yes, we've learned that the Tailies are holed up in a second Dharma hatch. And yes, we know the Tailies have had some unfortunate run-ins with the Others. But beyond that, we've got nothing.

Until now, that is. In the last episode ("... And Found"), Tailie dictator Ana-Lucia decided that the merry band would pull up stakes and travel across the island to find the other Oceanic survivors. This episode chronicles that journey. As the twitchy group makes its way through Other Territory, we learn/witness the following:

• Sawyer is in rough shape. The bullet wound he received during Walt's kidnapping ("Exodus, Part 2") is infected. Half-way through this episode, Sawyer passes out, thereby forcing the rest of the group to carry him in a makeshift stretcher.

• Ana-Lucia talks a good game (and waves a good gun), but it's becoming apparent that Mr. Eko -- a man with Lockian charisma -- is the group's true leader. He intentionally guides the group on a faster path through the middle of the island to increase Sawyer's chances for survival. It's a risky move since the jungle is where the Others do their business. "You would risk our lives to save him?" Ana-Lucia asks. "It's the only way I know," Eko calmly responds. Seriously. How awesome is this guy?

• Foreshadowing Alert No. 1: Ana-Lucia says to Eko that she liked him better when he "wasn't talking." Seeing as next week's episode focuses on the travails of the Tailies, I'm pretty sure we'll witness a mute Mr. Eko very soon.

• Foreshadowing Alert No. 2: Ana-Lucia, speaking with her fellow Tailies, references a previous run-in with the Others. She's vague, but it's clear that the Others did something to these people. She also makes note of a former Tailie named Goodwin. And it just so happens that Jin ran into Mr. Goodwin -- what was left of him, anyway -- in "... And Found."

• Michael, fed up with the Tailies' secret society, finally gets some answers about their twitchy ways. Ana-Lucia tells him that the first night they arrived on the island, the Others appeared and took three of the survivors. Two weeks later, the Others nabbed nine more people. "They're smart, and they're animals" Ana-Lucia sneers (she's not going to win any Emmys for this speech). "And they could be anywhere at anytime." Michael responds with his new catchphrase, "They took my son." Ana-Lucia fires back with her own little zinger, "They took a lot of things."

• Math Update: I think I missed something. Back in "Everybody Hates Hugo," Libby tells Michael that the Tailies originally had 23 members. But in this episode, Ana-Lucia says 12 Tailies were taken by the Others. Combine those 12 with the remaining five (Ana-Lucia, Eko, Bernard, Libby and Cindy) and we've only got 17. So, where are the other six?

This seems like a perfect place to return to the Shannon thread ...

In the very final scene, moments after Shannon races into the woods in pursuit of Walt, a gunshot rings out. Sayid rushes toward the treeline, but he's stopped dead in his tracks. Shannon stumbles forward, blood pulsing from a wound in her stomach. She falls into Sayid's arms as he looks on in horror. As her neck goes limp, Sayid looks up, and that's when he sees ...

Ana-Lucia holding a pistol!

Welcome to the camp, Tailies. Make yourselves right at home!

Locke? Yes. The Obi-Wan of the Jungle plays an important role in this sub-plot. You see, Locke is a whiz at whipping up hallucinogens made of monkey spit and sloth bile, but he also knows a thing or two about handling babies. Early on, when Aaron fusses, Locke tells Claire that babies like to feel constricted. Locke whips up a snug blanket contraption and wouldn't you know it, Aaron settles down instantly. During an ensuing conversation, Claire expresses her frustration with Charlie, noting that they really don't know one another all that well, yet they seem to be raising a child together. She points out that Charlie could very well be a religious freak -- after all, she's seen him carrying a weird Virgin Mary statue he found in the jungle ...

Locke's eyes slowly break off from Claire's gaze. Memories of a Beechcraft airplane filled with Virgin Mary statues and copious amounts of heroin swirl through his brain (I'm assuming). "Hmm," he says.

Later, Locke and Charlie are sitting alone, playing backgammon on the beach. Charlie decides to launch into a diatribe about Claire's poor parenting skills.

"She's got a bit to learn about being a mum -- responsibility and all," Charlie says while perched on his high horse.

"Now that's an interesting thing to say, for a heroin addict," Locke retorts.

I feel a Very Special Charlie episode coming on ...

• The black/white stone symbolism has been dormant for a long time, but it makes a subtle reappearance in this episode when Locke and Charlie play backgammon. It's hard to determine which player is playing with which set of stones, but the camera lingers on the pieces for a long, intentional moment.
• Rose is a little freaked out by the hatch. She tells Hurley that she prefers to do laundry outside, even though the hatch is equipped with a washer and dryer.
• Rose, in reference to Shannon, says it would be horrible to lose the only person you love on the island. Hmm ... "Paging Bernard! You're needed on the other side of the island for a heart wrenching death scene!"

That's it for now. Be sure to drop by our "Lost" Forum for stimulating conversation and conjecture.