What Happened, Happened

After just an OK episode last week (besides the ending of course), Lost once again knocked it out of the park with this week's "What Happened, Happened." There were great conversations -- people are actually talking about relevant stuff -- and a few of season 5's lingering questions were answered.

The Whisper
The first question we get answered tonight is what Sawyer whispered to Kate just before jumping out of the helicopter in "There's No Place Like Home." As many fans speculated, he told her about his daughter Clemintine. He told Kate where to find her and to look out for her, all in the brief couple of seconds before he jumped.

Kate did as Sawyer asked and found Clemintine with Cassidy, who Kate had previously met in season 2's "Left Behind." She also never would tell Jack what Sawyer had told her and that killed him. Cassidy didn't seem very appreciative and her words to Kate were a reminder of just how far Sawyer has come, and as he would later mention, the growing up he's done in the past three years.

Kate tries to give Cassidy part of her Oceanic settlement, trying to first pass it off as Sawyer's money. It's interesting that Kate came right out and told Cassidy the truth and it didn't take long for Cassidy to put two and two together and figure out that Aaron wasn't Kate's son. With all the worrying Jack did about Hurley possibly spilling the beans, he should have kept a closer eye on Kate.

Who's Aaron? He's Your Grandson.
As many people also guessed, Kate decided to leave Aaron with his grandmother, Claire's mom Carole. What was a surprise though, was Kate's reason for going back to the island. For someone who was supposed to be keeping the island and their time there a secret, Kate had the hardest time not talking.

Kate's reason for deciding to go back wasn't Sawyer (or so she says), but rather to find Claire. After raising Aaron for three years, Kate realizes that she can't keep up the charade. Aaron needs his mom, and Kate's convinced that she's still alive on the island. Landing in 1977 DHARMAville isn't exactly going to help her find Claire, but neither is the fact that last time we saw Claire she was hanging out with Jack's dad at Jacob's cabin. Is Claire really still alive? That is the big question surround her at the moment.

What Kate Did
We had an episode season 2 called "What Kate Did," but Kate's actions this week may be more important in the grand scheme of Lost. Kate did everything in her power to save Ben after Sayid shot him. Without Jack's help, Juliette was unable to stop his bleeding. After donating blood and consoling Ben's dad, Roger, Kate and Juliette hatch a plan to bring Ben to the Others for help.

Sawyer shows up, not to stop her, but to help her. They get Ben to the Others and request Richard Alpert. As Sawyer told them, saving Ben was both group's problem. They get Ben to Richard, and fans are treated with the second best conversation of the night.

Richard immediately asks who Kate is and Sawyer's reply that she's with me is a loaded response, not so much that they are together, but I think it was a subtle way of letting Richard know that she's from the future too. Richard lays down the rules and Ben's future path is decided then and there.

Ben will lose his innocence and will forever be one of them (an Other). Most importantly, he won't remember this incident. So just like that Lost cleans up some major plot points. It turns out that Sayid, Kate, Sawyer and Richard are the reason that Ben turned out the way he did. They set him on his path to becoming an Other, and the group's future leader. It was awesome seeing Richard take Ben to the Temple. We're going to be seeing more of that place soon. Since Richard saved him, is that why Widmore can't kill Ben in the future?

The last point opens up another question, how much will Ben remember? Does he only not remember Sayid shooting him? Will he remember Sayid at all? Surely, he'll still remember the rest of the 815ers that he lived with, right? This would help explain why his list included Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley in season 2, but not Sayid. But it throws out all the speculation that Ben had Sayid do all the future killing to become the man who would pull the trigger and shoot a 12-year-old boy.

Back to the Future
I said the conversation between Sawyer and Richard was the 2nd best of the night because my favorite was Hurley and Miles' talk about time travel. Hurley once again played the voice of the viewer and asked just about every question that fans had been asking all season. He even reference Back to the Future, a reference that many have made when trying to explain/understand time travel on the show.

Miles was basically rehashing everything that Daniel Faraday had told them about time travel. It was confusing, but understandable at the same time. The people in 1977 can't die unless that's what had already happened to them, but the time travelers can die because 1977 is their present and future...basically, what happened, happened, as Faraday has said all along. The past can't be changed, but a person's present and future can. So Hurley, Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Jin, Juliette, Miles and Faraday are living out their future in 1977, while for everyone else its their past.

The best part though was when Hurley stumped Miles by asking if Ben would remember Sayid shooting him. Miles wasn't worried about Ben surviving because he was alive and well in 2004, but what Kate understood and Miles didn't was that maybe they were the reason that he survived. So she sprung into action to save the little guy.

Jack's refusal to help surprised Kate, but fits right in with Jack's current character. Juliette later chastised him for not helping her, but Jack's the new Locke. He's waiting for the island to show him his purpose, and he doesn't feel that purpose is saving Benjamin Linus.

Other Tidbits:
Did you catch the reference to Charles and Ellie by one of the Others? Looks like Widmore is the leader of the Others in the '70s, but Richard says he doesn't answer to him. Could this be the beginning of Widmore and Ben's feud? Ultimately, it was Sayid, Kate, Sawyer and Richard who made Ben into who he is in the present.

After almost losing his son, will Roger treat him differently? Again, the question becomes has something been changed? If Roger starts being nice to Ben, will he still want to kill him in the purge? If "What Happened, Happened," then I think Roger doesn't change and blames Ben for getting shot because he stole the keys and let Sayid out. Either that or the damage was already done with the 12 years of abuse Roger gave Ben.

Sawyer acknowledges to Kate that they wouldn't have worked out, but for some reason I don't think this is the end of the two of them together.

Glad to see Locke back at the end. Ben truly looked surprised to see him alive. I can't wait for their conversation.


Next on Lost: "Dead is Dead"

*Photos from GetLostPodcastMedia.com & lost-media.com