Christian Shephard

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Christian
John Terry as Christian
First appearance	"Walkabout"
Last appearance	"Par Avion"
Information
Name	Dr. Christian Shephard
Status	Deceased
Profession	Chief of surgery
Portrayed by	John Terry

Dr. Christian Shephard is a recurring fictional character seen in various characters' flashbacks on the ABC television series Lost played by John Terry.

[edit] Fictional character biography

Married to Margo Shephard, Dr. Christian Shephard fathered Jack Shephard and also Claire Littleton through an affair with Carole Littleton. He was the chief of surgery at St. Sebastian Hospital before he was dismissed for drinking on the job, which Jack reported. According to Jack, Christian was the reason that Jack became a doctor; however, he was often hard on his son, encouraging Jack to avoid trying to save everyone and instead focus on letting go when the time calls for it so that he could "have what it takes". Jack says that Christian was hated by many people throughout his life, but instead of taking responsibility he blamed it on fate. Although Christian's relationship with his son is unstable at times, he occasionally provides Jack with inspirational advice, particularly the night before Jack's wedding. After his divorce, Jack suspects Christian of cheating with his ex-wife, Sarah, and the conflict results in Jack attacking Christian during an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and Jack's subsequent arrest. Christian falls off the wagon; Sarah tells Jack that an extremely inebriated Christian called her and begged her to bail Jack out of prison.

Later, Christian's drinking problem proves to be the major final chasm in the father/son relationship. Christian operates on a patient while he is intoxicated, severing her hepatic artery (a vague accusation as the Common hepatic artery leads to the Hepatic artery proper before bifurcating into the right and left hepatic arteries) and causing her death. Christian initially convinces Jack not to report his inebriation, but Jack changes his mind when he discovers that the patient was pregnant. Christian's medical career is ended. (A review-board-ordered autopsy and Christian's confession were required because Jack's written recounts contradict each other and are defensively biased as he too operated on Christian's patient.) Christian and Jack never spoke to each other after this incident.

Christian later meets Ana Lucia at a bar in Los Angeles International Airport. After a brief conversation, he convinces her to accompany him to Sydney as a bodyguard, saying that it is fate. After several days of drinking, Christian has Ana Lucia take him to a house where he confronts a blonde-haired woman.

Christian then demands to see his daughter, but is beaten away by the woman, later revealed to be the aunt of his daughter Claire. The next day, Ana Lucia leaves Christian, calling him "pathetic." Christian subsequently goes into a nearby bar and meets Sawyer, where he tells him that he is made to suffer by fate, explaining "why the Red Sox will never win the damn series". Christian tells Sawyer about Jack, and how, despite what Jack thinks, he loves his son and is proud of him for doing the right thing, calling him a great man.

Not long after his meeting with Sawyer, Christian has a heart attack caused by a high blood-alcohol content and dies. Jack, in Australia looking for him, identifies his father's body at the morgue and has it put on Flight 815 with him. He wants to have the funeral as soon as the flight lands in order to be "done with it." After the crash, Jack finds Christian's casket on the island, but the body has disappeared. In "Walkabout" and "White Rabbit", Jack has visions of Christian on the island.

At first Sawyer doesn't tell Jack what Christian said to him in the bar. However, before boarding the raft, Sawyer repeats to Jack what Christian said, finally allowing Jack to rid himself of the guilt brought on by the death of his father.

[edit] Trivia

• Christian is among the few characters on Lost who crosses over to the flashbacks of other characters; rather than being confined to his son Jack's flashbacks, he has also been seen in Sawyer, Ana Lucia and Claire centric episodes.
• It is later revealed through Claire's flashbacks that he is her father, and therefore she is Jack Shephard's half-sister, though neither of them know it. This makes Christian Aaron's grandfather and Jack his uncle.

Lost
Production:	DVD releases • Episode list • Season 1 • Season 2 • Season 3 • Soundtrack
Main characters:	Ana Lucia • Ben • Boone • Charlie • Claire • Desmond • Hurley • Jack • Jin • Juliet • Kate Libby • Locke • Michael • Mr. Eko • Nikki • Paulo • Sawyer • Sayid • Shannon • Sun • Walt
Supporting characters:	Alex • Bernard • Christian • Cindy • Ethan • The Others • Pickett • Rose • Rousseau • Tom
Organizations:	DHARMA Initiative • Hanso Foundation • Oceanic Airlines
Elements:	Crossover list • DHARMA Initiative stations • Flight 815 • Mythology • Thematic motifs
Miscellaneous:	Gary Troup • In popular culture • Lost Experience • Rachel Blake • Video game