LOST- Whatever Happened, Happened

Previously on LOST: Sawyer found out he had a kid, Kate befriended the mother, Sawyer jumped off the helicopter, Kate decided to unofficially adopt Aaron and, in 1977, young Ben broke Sayid out of jail only to get shot by him in return.

Things pick up right where they left off last week- Jin is stirred to consciousness by Phil calling him on the walkie. Jin knows that Sayid is heading north because he was attacked by him. That's good work. I wouldn't know which way the assailant went if I got mugged; I'd just be crying. Jin finds young Ben gravely wounded and loads the dying boy into his van.

Back at Dharmatown, Horace is rallying the troops to prepare for another attack. Jack has the audacity to question Horace's assumption that Sayid set the Dharma van on fire, which seems to ruffle the Dharma leader's feathers a little. I'm sure what's really perturbing him is that he knows there was no security breach and therefore, someone on the inside had to have helped Sayid. Meanwhile, Ben's dad asks for Kate's help getting the extinguished van dislodged from the side of the house and quickly deduces that she has no idea what she's doing. "I guess they couldn't sucker anybody into getting on that sub if they told us we were going to be greasemonkeys and janitors." They shake hands and make friends. Luckily Roger doesn't notice the strange look on Kate's face when she figures out that she just met Ben's dad. Just then, Jin returns and Roger goes running after him in a panic when he sees his boy is injured.

Kate flashes back, er, forward, uh, she thinks about when she got off the island the first time and carried out her promise to Sawyer. Pretty obviously, that promise was to check on his daughter, Clementine. Cassidy answers the door, happy to see her old friend again. The mood turns quickly, however, when Kate reveals that Sawyer sent her. Cue creepy LOST title screen.

During the commercial, Kate gets Cassidy up to speed on WHAT REALLY HAPPENED. Cassidy sees Sawyer jumping off the chopper as an act of cowardice, not heroism. She is not surprised to learn that the money Kate is trying to fork out isn't even Sawyer's. "Is it his?" she asks Kate, referring to Aaron. Cassidy can tell from Kate's practiced answer about her pregnancy that the baby is not even hers. But why would Kate trust Cassidy with the truth about the island and then lie about Aaron? "Because I have to," Kate says with a forced smile.

In '77, Horace and Sawyer check out Sayid's cell and find the janitor's keys still in the keyhole. This leaves three suspects, one of them Jack. Outside, Sawyer tells Miles to round up the O6ers and keep them under unofficial house arrest. Things are starting to spin out of control. At the infirmary, Sawyer runs into Roger and asks him for his keys, which the janitor can not produce. Case solved! A look of realization comes over Roger's face as Sawyer goes inside to get a medical update from Juliet. Juliet, the car mechanic! Why does no one question this?? Inside, Sawyer learns that Juliet can do little to help Ben- he needs a real surgeon. And Sawyer just happens to know of one!

Meanwhile, Miles informs the gang of Sawyer's house arrest plan, which Jack doesn't take kindly to. Miles laughs at Hurley's notion that they are all going to disappear because Sayid changed the future by killing Ben. Miles restates Daniel's thesis that whatever happened, happened. Hey, that's the name of this episode! Sayid always shot little Ben in 1977, they all just hadn't experienced it yet. This only leaves Hurley more confused. Sawyer bursts in and asks Jack for his help with Ben. Jack shocks everyone by refusing to help, fully prepared to let Ben just die.

Later, Kate tries to play the "he's just a boy" card, but Jack is not biting. He says he is done trying to fix everything because he was only getting in the island's way. Kate storms out of the house and "surprisingly", Miles does not make good on his earlier threat to shoot anyone who leaves in the leg. Kate then turns up at the infirmary to offer her blood as a universal donor to young Ben Linus. While Kate gives blood, Juliet asks what's going on with Kate and Jack and learns that the two used to be engaged. Roger comes in to get an update and agrees to stay with Kate while Juliet gets back to work. He reveals with very real pain and regret how Ben stole his keys to break Sayid out and get away from him. He now has to cope with how terrible a father he has been.

Back at the house, Miles is getting more and more frustrated as Hurley tries to wrap his brain around all this time travel business. Miles begs Hurley to shoot him. Hurley says Miles can't die in 1977 because then he will never come to the island 30 years later. Miles assures him that he can die because he has already experienced coming back to the island. Hurley then asks why adult Ben, while being captured and tortured in the hatch by Sayid, would not remember being shot as a kid by that exact same guy. Miles finally concedes a point to Hurley and everyone is just as confused as ever.

[My take on the whole thing, which may or may not help you: Their minds and bodies are moving in a normal, human chronology, but their life experiences are not.]

At the infirmary, Juliet sends Roger off to get more supplies, telling him that his boy is stable. She then confides to Kate that that is not exactly good enough. They begin to discuss their options and a look of sick, frustrating, gosh-darn-it-all-ness sweeps over Juliet's face. The Others can help.

Kate and Juliet load Ben into a Dharma van and Kate gets to experience the other end of the line she usually says. "I'm coming with you." Kate insists that Juliet can't come because she has too much to lose. Kate has much less of an established life in the Dharma Inititative and can more afford to go on this crazy adventure. Juliet says she will stall Sawyer as long as she can.

Back at the pivotal dock scene in Oceanic Six time, Kate finds out the plan to go back to the island and leaves in disgust. Aaron wants some milk so she takes him to the grocery store. Inside, she gets a call from Jack that she chooses to ignore, but when she turns around, her boy has disappeared! After a few panicky moments, she finds Aaron at the front of the store walking away and holding a blonde woman's hand. The woman explains that the boy looked LOST so she was taking him up front to have an announcement made. Kate thanks the woman and hugs Aaron tight.

In '77, Kate arrives at the sonic fence and gets out to check on Ben. The dying boy asks her to tell his dad he's sorry he took the keys. Kate looks terrified as another van approaches her. It is Sawyer, but he is not there to stop her. He is there to help.

Back in O6 time, Kate has returned to visit Cassidy, as apparently their friendship has been repaired and maintained over the last three years. Cassidy is also surprised that Jack and company want to go back to the island. Kate then recounts the tale of how she LOST Aaron in the store and wonders why she more than half expected him to be taken. "Because you took him," Cassidy replies. Kate says Claire was gone- she had to help the baby because he needed her. Cassidy tells her friend knowingly that Sawyer broke her heart and Kate was the one who needed Aaron.

Back in '77, Kate asks Sawyer why he is helping. He says it's because Juliet asked him to. No matter what Ben may grow up to be, they can't just let a kid die. Back at the house, Juliet dismisses Miles and Hurley so she can confront Jack in the shower. And she sees his whole con-front. She expresses her sadness and disappoinment that Jack wouldn't help her in the infirmary. She doesn't need his help, she just wants to know why he came back. Jack again spouts that Locke-esque "nonsense" about the island and purpose and destiny, even though he doesn't yet know what he's supposed to do. "Well, you better figure it out," Juliet tells him with a pained look on her face.

In the jungle, Kate tells Sawyer how she did what he asked and helped Clementine. Sawyer asks about Cassidy and Kate tells him Casssidy's theory about why he jumped. Sawyer's face says that he can't disagree with his ex's assessment of him. He tells Kate that he never could have been her boyfriend because he wasn't cut out for it at the time. Kate mentions how well he's doing with Juliet and Sawyer agrees, saying he has grown up a lot in three years. Before things can get any mushier, the two are confronted by the Others, who have their guns drawn. Sawyer demands to be taken to Richard Alpert.

Back in the future, Kate visits Claire's mother at the motel and comes clean about everything, including how she has a grandson and how Claire is still alive. Kate tells her that she is checked in with Aaron two doors down and the boy knows that his grandmother will be taking care of him. As for Kate, she is heading back to the island to find Claire. In her room later, Kate strokes Aaron's hair and cries while he sleeps. This is good-bye...probably forever.

In '77, the Others are marching their prisoners to see Richard, when he suddenly just appears like he already knew they were coming. Richard correctly identifies the hurt boy as Ben Linus, which startles Sawyer. Richard can help the boy but...

"If I take him, he's not ever going to be the same again...he'll forget this ever happened and...his innocence will be gone. He will always be one of us."

Uh, what the hell does that all mean? But, sure, go ahead and take him anyway.

Richard takes Ben in his arms and is questioned by one of his Other buddies about doing it without asking Ellie or Charles. Hmmm. Richard says he doesn't answer to them and walks away. He keeps walking until he gets to the temple, where he ominously takes young Ben through its mysterious doors.

Back in the most present of all LOST's presents, Locke watches Ben wake up from his encounter with the business end of an oar and welcomes him back to the "land of the living." Hardy har har, I thought of that one while I was creepily staring at your unconscious body! That was a good one, right?

Next time: The holes in Ben's post-island story are filled in, such as, how did he get so badly beaten! Yay!