Christian Shephard
Encyclopedia
Dr. Christian Shephard is a fictional character
on the ABC
television series Lost
played by John Terry
. He is the father of lead characters Jack Shephard
(Matthew Fox
), who becomes the de facto
leader of the survivors of Oceanic 815
after it crashes on an island, and Claire Littleton
(Emilie de Ravin
), another of the survivors on the Island. Christian died of an alcohol-induced heart attack days before the flight, leading to much of his story being told through flashback
s. In the fourth season
and fifth season
he is again featured on the Island several times, seemingly acting as a messenger for the leader of the Others, Jacob (Mark Pellegrino
). In the sixth season
, the Man in Black
(Titus Welliver
/Terry O'Quinn
) admitted that he had "impersonated" Christian during the first week after the crash of Flight 815.
Christian is introduced in the fourth episode
of the series, and goes on to feature in thirteen more, including a pivotal scene in the series finale
, as well as two webisodes. He is an example of two of the main themes in Lost: father issues and character crossovers.
), and the two have one child together, Jack
. When Jack comes home following a bullying incident, Christian discourages Jack for trying to be heroic, saying that he doesn't have what it takes. Years later, Christian meets Carole Littleton (Susan Duerden), a woman from Sydney
, Australia
. The two have a brief relationship before she returned to her home country, and later she gives birth to Christian's daughter, Claire
(Emilie de Ravin
). Christian would often fly over to visit, supporting the two the best he could. Carole and her sister, Lindsey (Gabrielle Fitzpatrick
), do not approve of him juggling time between two families, which leads to Christian being told he is no longer allowed to visit.
Jack grows up to be a doctor, working at the same hospital as Christian. Christian tries to coach Jack on his poor bedside manner, most notably when Sarah (Julie Bowen
) is brought in with severe injuries to her spine; he states that "false hope is still hope." Jack and Sarah grow close and eventually marry.
When he learns Carole has been in a car accident, Christian travels to Australia and pays for the medical treatment to keep her alive. While at the hospital, he introduces himself to Claire for the first time, much to Lindsay's resentment. Christian takes Claire out for coffee and tells her of his other family. Claire doesn't react well and walks out on him, so he returns to Los Angeles
.
After Jack and Sarah's marriage fails, Jack finds Christian's number on her phone bill, and assumes he is the man Sarah was now seeing, confronting him at an AA
meeting. After being assaulted, Christian slips back into drinking heavily after being sober for fifty days. Later, Christian operates on a woman while under the influence, and is exposed by Jack, ending his career. At an airport bar, Christian meets Ana Lucia Cortez
(Michelle Rodriguez
). The two agree to travel to Australia together under different aliases; Ana Lucia names him "Tom", and Christian calls her "Sarah". Once in Australia, Christian asks Ana Lucia to serve as his bodyguard. The two drive to Lindsey's house, where he angrily demanded to see his daughter. After almost becoming violent, Christian is restrained and driven away. He is dropped off outside a bar, where he meets James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway
). The two drink together, when Christian admits his mistakes, and that he isn't able to call his son and apologize.
Christian later suffers a severe heart attack and dies in an alley. His body is discovered and placed in a morgue, where he is identified by Jack. A funeral service was arranged back in LA, but Jack has trouble clearing Christian's coffin onto the doomed plane.
(Terry O'Quinn
), a fellow crash survivor, refers to Jack's hallucinations as the "white rabbit" and convinces him to follow them. Jack does so and subsequently is led to a set of caves where he finds his father's coffin. Christian's body is nowhere to be found. Months later, when Hurley (Jorge Garcia
) stumbles upon Jacob's cabin in the jungle he looks through the window and observes Christian in a rocking chair. Another person inside the cabin peeps through the window at Hurley, scaring him and causing him to run away.
When Claire wakes up one night while returning to the beach with Miles Straume
(Ken Leung
) and Sawyer, she sees Christian rocking his grandson, Aaron. Claire recognizes him as her father, and he then leads her into the jungle. Miles witnesses the encounter while Sawyer sleeps through it. Miles informs Sawyer of the encounter in the morning, and Sawyer finds Aaron lying on a nearby tree stump with Claire and Christian nowhere to be found. Locke encounters Christian acting as an intermediary for the invisible Jacob in his cabin. He tells Locke that the people from the freighter are already on their way back to the island and the only way to keep it safe is to have the island moved. Claire is also present, but Christian tells Locke to keep her whereabouts to himself.
On the freighter, now fated to explode thanks to a failsafe bomb Michael Dawson
is keeping temporarily frozen, Christian appears to Michael moments before the C-4
explodes. He simply says, "You can go now, Michael." The bomb then explodes and Michael is killed.
Some time later, after Jack has escaped from the Island, he sees Christian late one night in the lobby of his hospital. Due to the sudden fright, Jack has a fellow doctor prescribe him medication to deal with the "hallucinations." Jack is continually visited by Christian, causing a mental breakdown.
Meanwhile, on the island, Christian once again appears to Locke as he is attempting to reach the wheel that Ben used to move the island. This encounter took place at a time where the ancient well that led to the wheel had not been built yet, and where the giant statue was still standing. Christian criticizes Locke for not moving the island himself, as per Christian's instructions. He also concurs with Richard Alpert
's assessment that Locke would "have to die." Christian gives Locke additional instructions on what to do when he moves the wheel, including how to contact Eloise Hawking. Christian tells Locke to "say hello to [his] son" for him; though he doesn't give Locke a name, Locke deduces that Christian was referring to Jack and passes the message on, upsetting Jack.
In "Namaste
", Christian appears to Sun and Lapidus after they have crashed on the island circa 2007 in the Barracks. He informs Sun that Jin is on the island, but that Jin is existing in 1977, and they have a long journey ahead of them. During this encounter, Christian's appearance was preceded by both the "Whispers" and by the Smoke Monster. When Sun and Lapidus tell Ben Linus that they were told to wait at the Barracks by Christian, Ben has an alarmed look on his face, but does not elaborate.
In the episode "The Last Recruit
," the Man in Black reveals to Jack that he had been impersonating as his father in a similar way to how he now impersonates Locke and how he impersonated Mr. Eko's brother, Yemi.
, Jack meets Christian again in what is believed to be an alternate timeline in which Oceanic flight 815 never crashed, and in which many characters regain memories of their original island lives. However, in one of the show's final scenes, Jack encounters his father in a church, where he realizes that everyone in the "alternate timeline" is actually dead, in an afterlife constructed by the survivors in an unknown fashion so they could be with the people most important to them before "moving on" together. Jack finally makes amends with his father, and as the various characters seat themselves in the church pews, Christian exits through the front door, filling the room with a bright light.
After his death and reappearance on the island, Christian becomes a very mysterious figure, acting as a messenger for the even more mysterious Jacob. Christian is able to appear anywhere, both on and off the island, at will, and intervenes several times to stop Michael's suicide attempts. He was also able to defy time, in appearing to Locke at the bottom of what would someday be the Orchid Station, at a time when even the ancient well had not been built, the Statue was still standing, and before the original Christian had even died. Christian's posthumous appearances have prompted much speculation from critics. One reviewer calls Christian's appearance a vision. Erin Martell of TV Squad pondered that Christian's appearance is "like the Yemi apparition that turned into the Smoke Monster". Alan Sepinwall notes Christian holds Aaron, thus making him corporeal
, but wondered about the significance of Miles seeing him.
In a review of the season finale he considers Christian "may be the walking dead". It should be noted that the first apparition of Christian had him wearing a clean suit, and having very well kept hair, whereas in his most recent apparition, Christian is wearing pants and a tattered looking shirt, as well as having stubble and untidy hair. This could suggest that he is alive in some sense, though it is unclear. Oscar Dahl commented "I still don't think that Jacob is Christian Shepherd or anything like that" Entertainment Weekly
s Jeff Jensen calls him "Ghost Dad". Chris Carabott "expect[s] th[is] mystery will last until the final season". Lost producers Damon Lindelof
and Carlton Cuse
have confirmed Christian is dead, stating "In terms of actually physically corporally in existence... he's dead". They have also described Christian as one of three characters that are considered "undead", with Mr. Eko
's brother Yemi and Kate's horse as the others. They elaborate that Yemi's post-death appearances are incarnations of the monster.
previously appeared in ER
, 24
and Las Vegas
. His early appearances in Lost are mostly in flashbacks of various characters. He begins to feature more prominently on the island throughout the fourth season.
gave his highest rating, 9/10, to the webisode featuring Christian telling Vincent to wake Jack, describing it as "a shocking new look at ... Christian Shephard", whereas Oscar Dahl from BuddyTV
found the presence of a "supposed-to-be-dead Christian" confusing. Christian's first appearance in Jacob's cabin gave Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly
"the chills". DigitalSpy's Ben Rawson-Jones described it as "a pleasure" when Christian returned in the second half of season 4, adding "John Terry is superb".
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television series Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
played by John Terry
John Terry (actor)
John Terry is an American film, television, and stage actor.-Early life:Terry was born in Florida, where he attended Vero Beach High School. He was also educated at the prestigious Loomis Chaffee prep school in Windsor, Connecticut, and began a career building original custom log homes in North...
. He is the father of lead characters Jack Shephard
Jack Shephard
Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and protagonist of the ABC television series Lost played by Matthew Fox. Lost follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Airlines flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to survive and escape, slowly uncovering more of the much broader...
(Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox (actor)
Matthew Chandler Fox is an American actor. He is mostly known for his role as Charlie Salinger on Party of Five, and for portraying Jack Shephard on the supernatural drama television series Lost.- Early life :...
), who becomes the de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
leader of the survivors of Oceanic 815
Oceanic Airlines
Oceanic Airlines and less frequently Oceanic Airways are fictional airlines used in several films and television programs.The most famous use of this brand is in the TV show Lost, where Oceanic Airlines is featured branded with a highly-stylized logo depicting an Aboriginal dot painting that...
after it crashes on an island, and Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton is a fictional character played by Emilie de Ravin on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Claire is introduced in the pilot episode as a pregnant crash survivor. She is a series regular until her...
(Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin born 27 December 1981)is an Australian actress. She is commonly associated with her roles as Tess Harding on Roswell and Claire Littleton on the ABC drama Lost....
), another of the survivors on the Island. Christian died of an alcohol-induced heart attack days before the flight, leading to much of his story being told through flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
s. In the fourth season
Lost (season 4)
The fourth season of the American serial drama television series Lost commenced airing on the American Broadcasting Company Network in the United States, and on CTV in Canada on January 31, 2008 and concluded on May 29, 2008...
and fifth season
Lost (season 5)
The fifth season of the American serial drama television series Lost commenced airing on the ABC network in the United States and on A in Canada in January 2009, and concluded with a two-hour season finale on May 13, 2009...
he is again featured on the Island several times, seemingly acting as a messenger for the leader of the Others, Jacob (Mark Pellegrino
Mark Pellegrino
Mark Ross Pellegrino is an American actor of film and television. He is best known for his work on Lost as Jacob and for playing Lucifer on Supernatural.-Career:...
). In the sixth season
Lost (season 6)
The sixth and final season of the American serial drama television series Lost commenced airing in the United States and Canada on February 2, 2010. The sixth-season premiere was the first to climb in the ratings year-over-year since the second season, drawing 12.1 million viewers. The season...
, the Man in Black
Man in Black (Lost)
The entity referred to most frequently as the Man in Black is a fictional character on the American ABC television series Lost, and is the main antagonist of the...
(Titus Welliver
Titus Welliver
Titus Welliver is an American actor. He is best known for his recurring roles on the television shows Deadwood, Lost, Sons of Anarchy and The Good Wife...
/Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
) admitted that he had "impersonated" Christian during the first week after the crash of Flight 815.
Christian is introduced in the fourth episode
Walkabout (Lost)
"Walkabout" is the fourth episode of the first season of Lost. The episode was directed by Jack Bender and written by David Fury. It first aired on October 13, 2004, on ABC. In the episode, flashbacks reveal John Locke's plans to get to Australia and participate in a walkabout tour...
of the series, and goes on to feature in thirteen more, including a pivotal scene in the series finale
The End (Lost)
"The End" is the series finale of the ABC television series Lost, consisting of the 17th and 18th episodes of season 6. It is also the 120th and 121st episodes overall...
, as well as two webisodes. He is an example of two of the main themes in Lost: father issues and character crossovers.
Before the crash
Initially, Christian is the chief of surgery at St. Sebastian Hospital. He is a recovering alcoholic. He marries Margo (Veronica HamelVeronica Hamel
Veronica Hamel is an American actress.- Biography :After Hamel graduated from Temple University, she worked as a secretary for a company that manufactured ironing board covers. She began a fashion modeling career after being discovered by Eileen Ford...
), and the two have one child together, Jack
Jack Shephard
Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and protagonist of the ABC television series Lost played by Matthew Fox. Lost follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Airlines flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to survive and escape, slowly uncovering more of the much broader...
. When Jack comes home following a bullying incident, Christian discourages Jack for trying to be heroic, saying that he doesn't have what it takes. Years later, Christian meets Carole Littleton (Susan Duerden), a woman from Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The two have a brief relationship before she returned to her home country, and later she gives birth to Christian's daughter, Claire
Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton is a fictional character played by Emilie de Ravin on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Claire is introduced in the pilot episode as a pregnant crash survivor. She is a series regular until her...
(Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin born 27 December 1981)is an Australian actress. She is commonly associated with her roles as Tess Harding on Roswell and Claire Littleton on the ABC drama Lost....
). Christian would often fly over to visit, supporting the two the best he could. Carole and her sister, Lindsey (Gabrielle Fitzpatrick
Gabrielle Fitzpatrick
-Biography:Fitzpatrick was born in Brisbane, Australia. Fitzpatrick first appeared on television on a Outback Steakhouse commercial. After, she got her first professional job as a model, later becoming a successful actress...
), do not approve of him juggling time between two families, which leads to Christian being told he is no longer allowed to visit.
Jack grows up to be a doctor, working at the same hospital as Christian. Christian tries to coach Jack on his poor bedside manner, most notably when Sarah (Julie Bowen
Julie Bowen
Julie Bowen is an American film and television actress. She played Carol Vessey on Ed and Denise Bauer on Boston Legal. She is best known for playing Claire Dunphy on the sitcom Modern Family, for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011...
) is brought in with severe injuries to her spine; he states that "false hope is still hope." Jack and Sarah grow close and eventually marry.
When he learns Carole has been in a car accident, Christian travels to Australia and pays for the medical treatment to keep her alive. While at the hospital, he introduces himself to Claire for the first time, much to Lindsay's resentment. Christian takes Claire out for coffee and tells her of his other family. Claire doesn't react well and walks out on him, so he returns to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
After Jack and Sarah's marriage fails, Jack finds Christian's number on her phone bill, and assumes he is the man Sarah was now seeing, confronting him at an AA
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
meeting. After being assaulted, Christian slips back into drinking heavily after being sober for fifty days. Later, Christian operates on a woman while under the influence, and is exposed by Jack, ending his career. At an airport bar, Christian meets Ana Lucia Cortez
Ana Lucia Cortez
Ana Lucia Cortez is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Michelle Rodriguez. Ana Lucia made her first appearance as a guest star in the first season finale, and became part of the main cast for season two. After Oceanic Flight 815 splits in mid-air, the tail section...
(Michelle Rodriguez
Michelle Rodriguez
Mayte Michelle Rodríguez , known professionally as Michelle Rodriguez, is an American actress. Following on from her breakthrough role in 2000's Girlfight, she is best known for playing tough-girl roles and starring in Hollywood blockbusters such as The Fast and the Furious, Resident Evil,...
). The two agree to travel to Australia together under different aliases; Ana Lucia names him "Tom", and Christian calls her "Sarah". Once in Australia, Christian asks Ana Lucia to serve as his bodyguard. The two drive to Lindsey's house, where he angrily demanded to see his daughter. After almost becoming violent, Christian is restrained and driven away. He is dropped off outside a bar, where he meets James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway
Joshua Lee "Josh" Holloway is an American actor and model from Free Home, Georgia. He is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford on the American television show Lost.-Early life:...
). The two drink together, when Christian admits his mistakes, and that he isn't able to call his son and apologize.
Christian later suffers a severe heart attack and dies in an alley. His body is discovered and placed in a morgue, where he is identified by Jack. A funeral service was arranged back in LA, but Jack has trouble clearing Christian's coffin onto the doomed plane.
After the crash
After the plane crashes, Vincent, the dog that was on the plane, wanders through the jungle. Christian orders Vincent to go wake Jack, since there is work to do. The first few days on the island, Jack sees his father on the island and is certain that he's hallucinating from fatigue. LockeJohn Locke (Lost)
John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after English philosopher John Locke...
(Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
), a fellow crash survivor, refers to Jack's hallucinations as the "white rabbit" and convinces him to follow them. Jack does so and subsequently is led to a set of caves where he finds his father's coffin. Christian's body is nowhere to be found. Months later, when Hurley (Jorge Garcia
Jorge Garcia
Jorge García is a U.S. actor and comedian. He first came to public attention with his performance as Hector Lopez on the television show Becker and later for his portrayal of Hugo "Hurley" Reyes in the television series Lost. Garcia also performs as a stand-up comedian.-Early life:García was born...
) stumbles upon Jacob's cabin in the jungle he looks through the window and observes Christian in a rocking chair. Another person inside the cabin peeps through the window at Hurley, scaring him and causing him to run away.
When Claire wakes up one night while returning to the beach with Miles Straume
Miles Straume
Miles Straume is a fictional character played by Ken Leung on the ABC television series Lost. Miles is introduced early in the fourth season as a hotheaded and sarcastic medium as a crew member aboard the freighter called the Kahana that is offshore the island where most of Lost takes place...
(Ken Leung
Ken Leung
Kenneth "Ken" Leung is an American actor best known for his role as Miles Straume in the ABC television series Lost and roles in such films as Shanghai Kiss, Rush Hour, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Saw.-Early life:...
) and Sawyer, she sees Christian rocking his grandson, Aaron. Claire recognizes him as her father, and he then leads her into the jungle. Miles witnesses the encounter while Sawyer sleeps through it. Miles informs Sawyer of the encounter in the morning, and Sawyer finds Aaron lying on a nearby tree stump with Claire and Christian nowhere to be found. Locke encounters Christian acting as an intermediary for the invisible Jacob in his cabin. He tells Locke that the people from the freighter are already on their way back to the island and the only way to keep it safe is to have the island moved. Claire is also present, but Christian tells Locke to keep her whereabouts to himself.
On the freighter, now fated to explode thanks to a failsafe bomb Michael Dawson
Michael Dawson (Lost)
Michael Dawson is a fictional character played by Harold Perrineau on the ABC television series Lost. After losing a custody battle with Susan Lloyd , Michael does not see his son Walt for almost ten years. They reunite when she dies, but on their journey home, their plane crashes on a mysterious...
is keeping temporarily frozen, Christian appears to Michael moments before the C-4
C-4 (explosive)
C4 or Composition C4 is a common variety of the plastic explosive known as Composition C.-Composition and manufacture:C4 is made up of explosives, plastic binder, plasticizer and usually marker or odorizing taggant chemicals such as 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane to help detect the explosive and...
explodes. He simply says, "You can go now, Michael." The bomb then explodes and Michael is killed.
Some time later, after Jack has escaped from the Island, he sees Christian late one night in the lobby of his hospital. Due to the sudden fright, Jack has a fellow doctor prescribe him medication to deal with the "hallucinations." Jack is continually visited by Christian, causing a mental breakdown.
Meanwhile, on the island, Christian once again appears to Locke as he is attempting to reach the wheel that Ben used to move the island. This encounter took place at a time where the ancient well that led to the wheel had not been built yet, and where the giant statue was still standing. Christian criticizes Locke for not moving the island himself, as per Christian's instructions. He also concurs with Richard Alpert
Richard Alpert (Lost)
Ricardo "Richard" Alpert is a fictional character played by Nestor Carbonell in the American ABC television series Lost. Alpert is introduced in a flashback of the character Juliet Burke , where he claims to be a doctor for a bioscience company called Mittelos Bioscience; he is later revealed to...
's assessment that Locke would "have to die." Christian gives Locke additional instructions on what to do when he moves the wheel, including how to contact Eloise Hawking. Christian tells Locke to "say hello to [his] son" for him; though he doesn't give Locke a name, Locke deduces that Christian was referring to Jack and passes the message on, upsetting Jack.
In "Namaste
Namaste (Lost)
"Namaste" is the ninth television episode of the fifth season of ABC's Lost. The 95th episode of the show overall, "Namaste" aired on March 18, 2009 on ABC in the United States, being simulcast on A in Canada. The episode was written by supervising producer Paul Zbyszewski and producer Brian K...
", Christian appears to Sun and Lapidus after they have crashed on the island circa 2007 in the Barracks. He informs Sun that Jin is on the island, but that Jin is existing in 1977, and they have a long journey ahead of them. During this encounter, Christian's appearance was preceded by both the "Whispers" and by the Smoke Monster. When Sun and Lapidus tell Ben Linus that they were told to wait at the Barracks by Christian, Ben has an alarmed look on his face, but does not elaborate.
In the episode "The Last Recruit
The Last Recruit
"The Last Recruit" is the 13th television episode of the American Broadcasting Company's sixth season of the serial drama television series Lost and 116th episode overall. The episode was aired on April 20, 2010 on ABC in the United States. The episode was written by producer Paul Zbyszewski and...
," the Man in Black reveals to Jack that he had been impersonating as his father in a similar way to how he now impersonates Locke and how he impersonated Mr. Eko's brother, Yemi.
Afterlife
In the series finaleThe End (Lost)
"The End" is the series finale of the ABC television series Lost, consisting of the 17th and 18th episodes of season 6. It is also the 120th and 121st episodes overall...
, Jack meets Christian again in what is believed to be an alternate timeline in which Oceanic flight 815 never crashed, and in which many characters regain memories of their original island lives. However, in one of the show's final scenes, Jack encounters his father in a church, where he realizes that everyone in the "alternate timeline" is actually dead, in an afterlife constructed by the survivors in an unknown fashion so they could be with the people most important to them before "moving on" together. Jack finally makes amends with his father, and as the various characters seat themselves in the church pews, Christian exits through the front door, filling the room with a bright light.
Characteristics
Whilst living, Christian is a quick tempered alcoholic. He is hard on his son, but is keen to be a better father to Jack than his father (Ray Shephard) was to him. A common theme throughout Lost is father issues. Jack's difficulties getting on with his father are the first instance of this, with many other characters such as Locke, Hurley and Kate also having difficult relationships with their dads. Christian further exemplifies this theme with his poor relationship with his daughter, Claire, where he was barely present in her upbringing. The connection between characters before the plane crash is another frequently occurring theme. Christian is present in flashbacks of Jack, Sawyer, Ana Lucia and Claire. Ben Rawson-Jones from DigitalSpy describes Christian as "flawed character with both wisdom and regret".After his death and reappearance on the island, Christian becomes a very mysterious figure, acting as a messenger for the even more mysterious Jacob. Christian is able to appear anywhere, both on and off the island, at will, and intervenes several times to stop Michael's suicide attempts. He was also able to defy time, in appearing to Locke at the bottom of what would someday be the Orchid Station, at a time when even the ancient well had not been built, the Statue was still standing, and before the original Christian had even died. Christian's posthumous appearances have prompted much speculation from critics. One reviewer calls Christian's appearance a vision. Erin Martell of TV Squad pondered that Christian's appearance is "like the Yemi apparition that turned into the Smoke Monster". Alan Sepinwall notes Christian holds Aaron, thus making him corporeal
Undead
Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
, but wondered about the significance of Miles seeing him.
In a review of the season finale he considers Christian "may be the walking dead". It should be noted that the first apparition of Christian had him wearing a clean suit, and having very well kept hair, whereas in his most recent apparition, Christian is wearing pants and a tattered looking shirt, as well as having stubble and untidy hair. This could suggest that he is alive in some sense, though it is unclear. Oscar Dahl commented "I still don't think that Jacob is Christian Shepherd or anything like that" Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
s Jeff Jensen calls him "Ghost Dad". Chris Carabott "expect[s] th[is] mystery will last until the final season". Lost producers Damon Lindelof
Damon Lindelof
Damon Laurence Lindelof is an American television writer and executive, most recently noted as the co-creator and executive producer for the television series Lost. He has written for and produced Crossing Jordan, and wrote for Nash Bridges, Wasteland, and the MTV anthology series Undressed...
and Carlton Cuse
Carlton Cuse
Carlton Cuse is an AmericanEmmy Award winning screenwriter and producer, most famous as executive producer andscreenwriter for the American television series Lost for...
have confirmed Christian is dead, stating "In terms of actually physically corporally in existence... he's dead". They have also described Christian as one of three characters that are considered "undead", with Mr. Eko
Mr. Eko
Mr. Eko Tunde is a fictional character, played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje on the ABC television series Lost. He is introduced in the second season episode "Adrift" as one of the plane-crash survivors from the plane's tail section. Flashbacks reveal that he became the leader of a gang of guerrillas...
's brother Yemi and Kate's horse as the others. They elaborate that Yemi's post-death appearances are incarnations of the monster.
Development
American John TerryJohn Terry (actor)
John Terry is an American film, television, and stage actor.-Early life:Terry was born in Florida, where he attended Vero Beach High School. He was also educated at the prestigious Loomis Chaffee prep school in Windsor, Connecticut, and began a career building original custom log homes in North...
previously appeared in ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
and Las Vegas
Las Vegas (TV series)
Las Vegas was an American television series broadcast by NBC from September 22, 2003 to February 15, 2008. The show focuses on a team of people working at the ficticional Montecito Resort & Casino dealing with issues that arise within the working environment, ranging from valet parking and...
. His early appearances in Lost are mostly in flashbacks of various characters. He begins to feature more prominently on the island throughout the fourth season.
Reception
Chris Carabott of IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave his highest rating, 9/10, to the webisode featuring Christian telling Vincent to wake Jack, describing it as "a shocking new look at ... Christian Shephard", whereas Oscar Dahl from BuddyTV
BuddyTV
BuddyTV is an entertainment-based website based in Seattle, Washington, which generates content about television programs and sporting events. The website publishes information about celebrity and related entertainment news through a series of articles, entertainment profiles, actor biographies and...
found the presence of a "supposed-to-be-dead Christian" confusing. Christian's first appearance in Jacob's cabin gave Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
"the chills". DigitalSpy's Ben Rawson-Jones described it as "a pleasure" when Christian returned in the second half of season 4, adding "John Terry is superb".