LOST Opportunity Normally, I refrain from posting my "what might have been" vision of a creative work. As a writer myself, I think about such things all the time, but I usually save them to bore my friends with. However, the more I think about Wednesday's episode of Lost, "Abandoned," the more I want to get a few things to get off my chest.
For the first time, I was genuinely and thoroughly disappointed in an episode of Lost. There were a number of things that bothered me about this episode.
First, I had allowed myself to build up some significant expectations about Shannon's flashback. The fact that she was the last of the core group to be featured gave her an air of mystery, enhanced by the fact that her character did not seem to be blessed with an abundance of intrigue. I had hoped we would get a shocking revelation from her past.
I had also hoped we would get some insight into why a guy like Sayid (Naveen Andrews) would be attracted to Shannon (Maggie Grace). Sayid doesn't seem like the type who would fall for long legs and petulance. We had already seen dark hints about Shannon's past, from Boone's flashback as well as in glancing references here and there.
What we got was flat and shallow. Yes, Shannon got screwed over in her past life. But the events shown did not account for her personality, nor were they actually that interesting. In pondering all this, as well as Shannon's untimely death, I thought a lot about how I would have handled the episode differently -- especially in light of the fact that this was (presumably) our last opportunity to find out about her history, now that both Shannon and Boone are dead. (I know this may not actually be the case, but from a viewer's standpoint, that's how it feels.)
Sayid has had a dark and violent life. In watching their relationship grow, I could not help but think that Shannon must have something inside her that Sayyid could relate to. Her flashback should have been intense and dark -- instead it was the story of a spoiled rich girl's problems. Yes, she did get treated badly and I was sympathetic, but this wasn't a dark journey into a tortured soul. This was, at best, prequel to her real story.
I would have played it much differently. Her flashback should have gone into depth about one of her failed relationships, which were hinted at ominously by Boone at various points last season. It should have been violent and extreme -- showing us a really, really good reason why she was so angry and alienated.
It should also have involved some hint or implication of a psychic gift. Walt decided to appear to Shannon, of all people. Why? Sure, it could have been because of Vincent, but that isn't an especially satisfying explanation. Her flashback should have depicted her seeing ghosts, perhaps her father, but finding that no one would believe her and that no one else could see them. This would have raised questions about Walt's status -- could he be dead? -- and it would have explained why she was the one to whom Walt chose to reveal himself.
Finally, the flashback should have tied back to the show's central mysteries. Now, the writers have said that they are primarily interested in developing the characters first and the plot second. I commend that attitude. But this is a special case. It was her last flashback (at least as far as we, the viewers, know). Therefore, her "bad relationship" partner should have been revealed in the closing moments as an important clue to the Dharma Initiative or the Hanso Foundation, a clue which would help our castaways -- if only she had told someone before being killed!
These two changes would have dramatically heightened the tension of Shannon's death. First, we would have become more invested in her as a character and in her relationship with Sayyid. Second, we would be painfully -- excruciatingly -- aware that her death leaves our surviving heroes in the dark about an important fact, a fact that we all now know, but a fact that none of the other survivors know.
There is one more tweak that could have been layered onto this development. Ana Lucia could have played some key role in Shannon's flashback. The role could (and should) have been as ambiguous as possible. Perhaps Shannon saw Ana Lucia interacting with her bad relationship partner, but Ana Lucia was not clearly demonstrated to have seen Shannon.
The previous two items of tension still apply, but then we would also be twisting in the wind over whether Ana Lucia deliberately shot Shannon to protect her secrets, or whether it was an honest accident. We would keep on twisting until we eventually got Ana Lucia's own flashback, a delcious agony which could have been stretched out for quite a while.
Furthermore, it would raise a question that Lost has inexplicably failed to raise thus far -- is some one of the survivors working for "them" (whoever "they" are)? Did someone on Flight 815 sell out the passengers for a secret agenda? Again, the suspense could have been dragged out for the entire rest of the season, until we finally get the flashback that clarifies the question. Instead, this excellent question remains unasked, and Shannon is dead.
Perhaps there is a better twist ahead that will account for all of this, and I should be more patient. But the new season of Lost has left me feeling worried about the future. I'm still enjoying the show, but I'm not hanging on every episode like I used to.
The commercials for "Abandoned" promised the "most-talked about" episode of the year. That simply wasn't the case. Suspense isn't just about "unanswered questions" -- it's about unanswered questions that the viewer is DYING TO HAVE ANSWERED. The Dharma Initiative is intriguing, the question of the others is intriguing, but they are external to the very thing the writers have developed most and best -- our heroes and their internal struggles.
The mysteries must involve the characters themselves -- their histories and their dispositions and the question of whether they are good and evil. A story like the one I outlined above would have delved directly into those dark waters -- and people sure as hell would have been talking about it around their water coolers the next day.
I'm not abandoning hope for Lost, and maybe I should have more confidence in the writers (who have earned a significant degree of confidence). But this week, I found myself doing something I had never done before with this show -- I found myself wanting more and feeling a bit let-down. The second season has, thus far, been a roller-coaster ride, but it has been more sizzle than steak in many ways. I enjoy the sizzle, but I am ready for my steak now.
I have blood sugar issues -- when I don't get fed promptly, I get cranky. Here's hoping somebody puts a big plate of something tasty in front of me next week.
Posted by J.M. Berger || Permalink
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7 Comments:
I totally agree about this episode being a major dissappointment. I mean it only had two real plotlines (Sawyer dying and Shannon's erratic behavior), during which nothing happened. It wouldn't have been nearly as bad if there hadn't been all this "someone's going to die" hype, as if that's all it takes to please us. (not to mention leaking that Shannon died, which killed any suspense whatsoever
I was actually critical of Boone's death episode, too. It would have been much more exciting if the character to die hadn't been the most obvious one.
PS. That thing you posted a couple weeks ago about supervolcanos really bummed me out.
Have to disagree with your overall assessment, although Shannon's death was for me the most painful since Madeline Ferguson was brutally dispatched by her uncle Leland Palmer fifteen years ago. Shannon's demise seemed to me quite capricious, at the very moment of her impending emancipation from the view that she was merely a selfish debutante. As for Ana Lucia having any awareness of just who she took down, this week's episode revealed that it was a case of one lost soul being the agent to somehow relieve the tormented existence of another - a plot decision that to me seems rash, but it did serve Maggie Grace's cinematic interests and she gave what was by far her most touching performance, comparable to Michelle Rodriguez's this week. Finally, I'm wondering if anyone else has evoked Bruce Cathie's exhaustive and dangerous research yet as it relates to the Magnolia-like confluence of this breathtaking series. I'm fairly certain that the island's unusual electromagnetic properties were somehow utilized to bring down Oceanic Fight No. 815, and that indeed, a Cathie-like conspiracy will become increasingly obvious.
I have to say, I never in a million years would have compared this episode to the death of Maddie on Twin Peaks. Overall merits of each show aside, the killing of Maddie was the single most disturbing thing I ever saw on television.
The problem for me is that Shannon was not in the least emancipated from being a selfish debutante but rather reinforced in that role. Her experience sucked, sure, but it didn't in the least justify her becoming the bitch on wheels we saw on the island.
J.M. - J.M again. You're right; Maddie Ferguson's death on Twin Peaks was extraordinarily violent and disturbing, comparable to some of those on Hawaii Five-O, one of my all-time favorites all the same. And while for some reason it never occurred to me in my last posting, Shannon's inexorable downward spiral towards her demise was creepily evocative of Laura Palmer's in "Fire Walk Wth Me", and the tragedy associated with both was palpable. My last word on Shannon's behavior is that it seems to have been very much a result of fear if not sheer terror, and I can forgive her for that.
Although I didn't quite villefy Shannon as much as you did (what did she do exactly that was so appalling? Sure she used Boone, but I'd say it does indeed take two to tango... and Boone was a big boy. He knew what Shannon was and yet perpetually played enabler to her more negative traits). However, I was considerably disappointed in that I too had been thinking there was some greater purpose in holding off on Shannon's backstory so long. This compounded with the Walt-visions and her father (named Adam, conspicuously enough) dying on Jack's operating table c/o his future - miraculously cured - wife? I thought, "They must have some big plan in store for her to explain not only her demeanor, but also tying her to Walt / the big mysteries in some significant way..." But nothing. I suppose they could have something in line later tying back to her somehow, but honestly, I doubt that very much. Utterly disappointing.
I also concur to something someone said above, this death had to be one of the worst kept secrets ever. Worse than the brouhaha around Boone's death. At least then there was some chance of it being someone else (several hefty bets were put on Sayid too if I recall). How many people, upon finding out another castaway was going to go, thought it would be anyone but Shannon? The news was all but confirmed early in the summer. Which adds another dimension of disappointment to Shannon's death... how exactly was this character's death a 'risk' at all? She was always, easily, one of the most expendable in the show after Boone died. There was nothing really all that overwhelming about it, at least in my opinion. She certainly wasn't a "Jack", "Kate" or "Sawyer", who clearly seem to have more importance where the writers are concerned.
I don't know that I intended to vilify Shannon. She has consistently been portrayed as petulant, spoiled, callous and deeply alienated. In order to sympathize with her, these qualities needed to be explained in the context of her life. Certainly, it needed more than one flashback to do that, but even more importantly, it needs a more extreme flashback -- something seriously f---ed this girl up, and getting ripped off of her inheritance, to me, is not a deeply compelling, profoundly scarring event. If this was the first of many flashbacks telling her story, it would have made more sense. For the writers to claim -- as they have -- that in this one stroke they did a fantastic job of making Shannon "incredibly" sympathetic is simply horrifying...
I will be writing my version of this story for the upcoming debut of the Society for the Online Study of Lost. I'll blog the link when it's available.
I admit, I kind of was expecting rape or sexual abuse of some kind. I do think it's possibly implied, somewhat, in the course of the show (as it now seems, I was apparently grossly overanalyzing). Shannon, from what I understand about things, sounded like she turned into something of a high-end hooker as a means of survival... and I doubt it was much en par to the romanticism of one of Collette's baudy tomes. I actually thought the 'high-end hooker' lifestyle was where the writers were going to focus (that, to me, does strike as the more interesting path), but they copped-out and went from some origin storyline. Some paltry homage to "Cinderella". Not sure if they did that fearing to go to the dark places or... they seriously thought that would tie up her storyline in some nice, neat little package. I suppose it did... but why does everything have to be so damn "nice" and "neat"? Oh yes, because they were killing her off one way or another and that's all she was ever getting. Eh.
Also disappointing to see they couldn't even so much reference Shannon had a serious case of asthma. Once. Yet another thing sacrificed unfortunately to the black hole of continuity.
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