Family Issues: Boone & Shannon
Shannon and Boone show us that their relationship is at best strained.
They continually argue over her not wanting to help and how Boone thinks he's
"god's friggin gift to humanity." (PIL1)
Boone thinks Shannon is
useless, always thinking of herself and not willing to lift a finger to help
their current situation. At one point Boone becomes worried about Rose sitting
on the beach by herself and expresses his concern to Shannon. Shannon replies
with a catty "I nominate Captain America", adding that he "just can't help
himself." Boone in return, reminds her that at least she doesn't have to worry
about starving with him there to take care of her. Rising up to the challenge,
Shannon tells him she can catch a fish on her own. Boone's final comment is,
"Hate to break it to you. The ocean is not gonna take your gold card." Hinting
that she is spoiled and thinks money buys everything.
Shannon
immediately manipulates Charlie into catching her a fish. Using men is her
perception of taking care of herself which Boone pointly tells her is wrong.
"Somewhere in that twisted little brain, you think this proves that you can take
care of yourself." (WALK)
Shannon has a habit of hooking up with the
wrong guy according to Boone. He feels the need to always be the protector and
look out for her. But Shannon has dealt Boone a blow.
She's been
deliberately hanging out with losers to get Boone to pay them off to leave her.
They help her get what Shannon feels Boone's mom took from her out of her
father's money. Bryan is the third and last accomplice of her little game. Boone
offers him $25,000.00 but Bryan tells him he wants $50,000.00.
But this
time Bryan takes the money for himself and takes off. Shannon then heads to
Boone's hotel and Boone's remark is "So a player got played. That's poetic,
don't you think?"
At the hotel room flashback we are privy to how deep
their relationship really is. They are not blood sister and brother and Shannon
uses this to her advantage. Shannon uses Boone's apparent feelings for her
against him when she sleeps with him in the hotel, manipulating him once again
into helping her out of a jam. (HAM)
On the island, Locke gives Boone an
experience he won't forget by drugging him. Subsequently, Boone has
hallucinations about he and his sister in danger of being killed by the monster.
In his hallucination Shannon gets killed. He rushes back to camp to confront
Locke, angry and blaming Locke for Shannon's death, until Locke points out that
it was all in his mind and that Shannon was perfectly fine. He asked Boone how
he felt when he saw Shannon lying dead. Boone replied that he "felt relieved".
(HAM)
When Sayid starts becoming interested in Shannon, Boone has a bit
of a jealous streak. He's annoyed that somebody else is becoming involved with
his sister. Boone gives Sayid a warning:
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"Let me tell you about my sister. She likes older men, guys who
can take care of her. My guess is, in this place, you fit the bill. She'll make
you feel like the greatest guy ever while you get her food, or whatever it is
that she needs. And when she gets whatever it is that she want, she'll move on.
When she does, don't take it personally, man."
Excerpt from In Translation, written by Javier
Grillo-Marxuach and Leonard Dick
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When Shannon realizes that Boone had talked with Sayid she
becomes angry and tries to find him to give him a piece of her mind. She instead
comes across Locke and gives him a message for Boone instead. "Just tell him to
stay out of my business." Locke, somehow knowing the relationship between Boone
and Shannon goes deeper than brother and sister gives her a bit of advice.
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Locke: "Because if you do, like him,
what's it got to do with your brother? You're a grown woman. Sure, you can yell
at Boone 'til you're blue in the face, but all you're doing is giving him what
he wants."
SHANNON: "Yeah, what's that?"
LOCKE: "Your attention.
Everyone gets a new life on this island, Shannon. Maybe it's time you start
yours."
Excerpt from In Translation, written by Javier
Grillo-Marxuach and Leonard Dick
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Although Shannon has used and manipulated Boone, he still
harbored a secret love for her. Angry with himself for feeling this way about
her, he took it out on Shannon by saying things he knew would hurt her. Shannon
in turn would get her defenses up by mocking him about his desire to be involved
and helpful.
Their relationship was a strange combination of love and
hate, mixed with pain.
Mommy Issues:
Boone
Boone has said that his mother ran a huge
wedding empire, that she is "The Martha Stewart of matrimony". Boone ran one of
the subsidiaries of his mother's business. When Locke has his dream about Boone
covered in blood, he asks him who Theresa was.
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LOCKE: "Theresa falls up the stairs.
Theresa falls down the stairs. You were saying that in the dream."
(Later
Boone tells him who Theresa was.)
BOONE: "She was my nanny. Theresa. She was
my nanny. My mother wasn't around much. I needed someone to take it out on - my
bedroom was at the top of this huge flight of stairs, and I would sit in bed all
day calling her on the intercom. One day she took a bad step - broke her neck. I
was six."
Excerpt from Deus Ex Machina, written by Damon
Lindelof and Carlton Cuse
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So it seems Boone harbored some resentment towards his mother
for not being around during his childhood. The guilt of making Theresa run up
and down the stairs resulting in her death, may have contributed to Boone's
desire to be the ever helpful humanitarian.
See also:
Character
connections - Shannon/Jack
MOSMOF body count
Step-Mommy Issues: Shannon
According to Shannon, her step-mother hoarded her father's money after
he died, leaving Shannon nothing. It sounds like the classic children's story of
Cinderella's wicked step-mother. We don't know if this is just Shannon's story
to make men feel sorry for her, or if her father disinherited her. But when
Bryan said the same thing to Boone about her "step-mother screwing Shannon out
of her money", Boone said nothing to deny it.
In (ABANDONED) we find out
Shannon was telling the truth. Her step-mom Sabrina (Boone's mom), had a living
trust (see below for explanation) with Adam. When he died from a car crash with Jack's future wife Sarah, Sabrina cut Shannon off at the knees:
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BOONE: Absolutely. Have you spoken to
my mother?
SHANNON: She's going through her thing and I'm going through
mine.
BOONE: Have you two been getting along?
SHANNON: She hates
me.
BOONE: Just try to talk to her.
SHANNON: From day one she
resented my relationship with him, my dad.
Excerpt from Abandoned, written by Elizabeth Sarnoff
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Then later, she confronts Sabrina with the fact her checks are
bouncing:
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SHANNON: Hello. This is her. Uh,
that's impossible. Okay, are you sure? Of course, I will certainly do that.
Sorry.
DOMINIQUE: What?
SHANNON: My rent check bounced.
DOMINIQUE: But you're, like, rich.
[At Sabrina's house.]
SABRINA: I'm sorry, I would have offered you something to drink, but I
have to be at a meeting in 10 minutes.
SHANNON: Yeah, um, my checks are
bouncing.
SABRINA: Well, that's what happens when you make withdrawals
and don't make deposits, Shannon.
SHANNON: When do I get the money dad
left me? The money from the will.
SABRINA: There was no will.
SHANNON: What?
SABRINA: Shannon, your father and I had a living
trust. Everything passed to me. I'm afraid there was nothing specifically
designated for you.
SHANNON: Why would he do that?
SABRINA:
Well, maybe he just wanted you to find your own way. We all have to work,
Shannon. Most of us are the better for it.
SHANNON: I can work. I just
-- I just got this really prestigious internship. And I'm not going to make any
money for a while but I'm going to be working like 16 hours a day.
SABRINA: The only thing I've ever seen you do 16 hours a day straight is
sleep.
SHANNON: I just need to get to New York. I need just something --
something to get started. I'll pay you back.
SABRINA: This week it's an
internship -- last year it was what -- interior design? You'll never pay me
back. And you'll only hate yourself even more.
SHANNON: I really want
this, Sabrina. I can do this.
SABRINA: I'm sorry, Shannon. You're on
your own.
Excerpt from Abandoned, written by Elizabeth Sarnoff
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*Living
Trust: A living trust (or inter vivos trust) is a type of trust created for the
purpose of holding ownership to an individual's assets during the person's
lifetime, and for distributing those assets after death.
In the United
States it is often used because it can allow assets to be passed to heirs
without going through probate. Avoiding probate may save some costs, time, and
maintain privacy (the probate process is public).
Possible Daddy Issues: Shannon
It turns out that Shannon's daddy had a living trust (see above for
explanation) that gave his money to Sabrina and nothing to Shannon for some
reason, there could be some major issues here. You might even credit it as to
why Shannon uses men the way she does. Not enough information has come out yet
about Shannon's father and her relationship with him.
Shannon's Relationship Issues:
She
begs Sayid to believe her when she tells him she sees Walt.She seems to desperately want people to believe in her,something that she didn't get from her own family.
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SAYID: I know what it is to lose
someone you care deeply about.
SHANNON: You really think that this is all
about Boone? I saw Walt, Sayid.
SAYID: Then why are we sitting at Boone's
grave.
SHANNON [getting up to leave]: Just go back, Sayid.
SAYID: Where
are you going?
SHANNON: To find him.
Excerpt from Abandoned, written by Elizabeth Sarnoff
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[Shannon and Sayid running through
the jungle at night in the rain. Shannon trips and falls.]
SAYID: Shannon!
SHANNON: Do not help me up.
SAYID: Let's go back.
SHANNON: Why don't
you believe me? [Sayid doesn't answer] I need you to believe in me.
SAYID: I
do believe in you.
SHANNON: You don't! No one does. They think that I'm some
kind of joke. They think I'm worthless.
SAYID: Shannon, you are not
worthless.
SHANNON: You say that now, but you don't -- you're just going to
leave me. I know as soon as we get out of here you're just going to leave me.
SAYID: I will never leave you. I love you. I'll never leave you.
SHANNON: You do?
SAYID: I do.
[They
hug.]
Excerpt from Abandoned, written by Elizabeth Sarnoff
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