It’s the fact that Shauna would have been a good mother. Pre-crash she had flaws, thats undeniable, but one notable part of her character is how she was always protecting Javi. Their bond was wonderful to see, but ultimately ended up contributing to her descent of cruelty. When Coach Martinez’ body is found in the tree, Shauna’s first reaction is to shield Javi. When he finds her writing in her journal, she gives him a piece of it. During doomcoming, she tells him to run.
Shauna’s instinct was to shield him from the horrors of the wilderness, to give him tools to find a sense of normalcy. Javi was isolated from the rest of the group, Shauna and Travis were his main points of comfort. And while Travis lashes out due to his insecurity, Shauna was warm and protective.
Just as she comforted Jackie and pushed her to contribute to their survival, she watched over Javi.
It makes it even more cruel that she’s the butcher. She had to carve the boy she cared deeply for, all to ensure their survival. Losing her own son, and her pseudo-son was enough to seal her fate.
How could Shauna be a normal mother after returning to society? How could she give birth, and raise Callie, when she is haunted by her child’s small, cold body? The boy she protected was served under the cut of her knife, how could she protect a child again? Shauna's character is tragic, she was a troubled teenage girl, not a unqiue evil. Yet she is pushed, twisted, and her insecurity is amplified by the uncertainty of survival. Everyone she loved died, the winter killed her innocence.
And that bum jeff probably made things worse and was a worthless dad. Even if he contributed, shauna had the resonsibility of the mother. She carried callie during pregnancy, she heard her cries, she might have breastfed her. How could Shauna form a normal attatchment to her baby? Callie would only remind her of the most traumatic moments in the wilderness, the last times Shauna had any hope.
