Episode 5.11 — "Whatever Happened, Happened"

Greetings!

First, I just want to apologize for not getting to my LOST blog these past couple weeks. Some major things were brought up in the last few episodes and those of you who know me have probably already had a deep discussion with me about them. There are a lot of amazing LOST blogs out there, but it you are anything like me, you like to get your hands on as much dissection info as possible! I should be able to write a recap for each episode for the rest of the season so come back each week and let me know your thoughts!

-----

1) The Circle — There has been a lot of “chicken or the egg” discussion on LOST boards recently regarding the making of Ben the Monster. This episode solidified that our LOSTies (plus Juliet) were the major factors in creating the man we love to hate. Sayid shot him. Jack refused to operate on him. And Kate, Juliet and Sawyer took the final step in handing him over to RA (ahem…I mean Richard Alpert).



So I guess the assumption is that the Island is taking care of the course correction? Getting everyone back to the right place at the right time? One thing that’s fairly certain is that Ben would have become an Other no matter what happened. A lot of people are complaining how Jack should have operated on the Little Monster and how different things would have turned out. But as we learned: what happened, happened.

And even if Jack did put on his surgeon garb again, how do we know he would have been successful? And if Jack was successful and little Ben recovered without the help of Temple Zombie Manufacturing Inc., the Island would have course corrected another way, allowing Ben to complete all the wonderfully despicable acts he has over the last several years. Don’t you think?

2) Mr. Alpert, I presume? — So have all of the Others gone through a similar process as young Ben? Richard doesn’t seem to be as evil (or creepily bug-eyed) as our short, manipulating little Island buddy, but I don’t know if we have seen the full extent of Richard’s power or influence.

When our Dharmites brought Ben to the Others, there was an interesting, subtle mention of Charles and Ellie, whom Richard firmly claims he does not answer to. The fact that Charles and Ellie are still on the Island shows us that there are some super secret goings-on behind closed (Temple) doors. Seems like there is some sort of disagreement or tension between Charles, Ellie and Richard, which makes me very excited because it seems we are finally going to get a glimpse into the Island's “control room.”

(Random aside: Does anyone else think Daniel ran off to join his parents in the 70s, aka Big Bad Widdie and Ellie?)

So what exactly happens to Ben when Richard brings him into the Temple? Does he die and then become resurrected Island-style? Does something go horribly wrong to create a Gizmo-eating-after-midnight beast? And how does Ben go back to living a relatively normal life with Dharma after he returns? Does he really not remember these events or the LOSTies as Richard implied?

3) WHAT’S INSIDE THE FRIGGIN’ TEMPLE???

4) The New Jack — I, like a lot of people I imagine, have gone through phases of completely despising Jack and rooting for him as my number one. Kate may not like the new Jack, but I sure as hell do. He is FINALLY abandoning himself to the Island and is FINALLY looking at the bigger picture. He was SO Season 1 Locke in this episode.



Jack realizes that the Island is its own entity and will do what it wants. He does not want to get in the way, but I think he might be having a hard time with waiting to learn what his purpose is. Or maybe he already knows and he is just being patient. Either way, I much prefer this Jack to the one running around trying to save EVERY person ALL the time.

5) Kate’s Flashback/forward/are these terms even relevant anymore? — *shakes his hand* Ehh. Yeah, it was okay. I don’t know why I thought the whole losing Aaron thing would have been much more sinister, but I did. I understand Kate loves Aaron and “needed him” after returning from the Jungle of Mystery, but with the way Kate reacted when Jack asked what happened to Aaron, this episode’s Kate/Cassidy/Carole encounters seemed a little tame.

However, I will say I am glad that Kate claims she is returning to the Island to find Claire. Although I wonder what she’s thinking now that she is stuck in 1977. Is this her real reason for returning or what she just saying that to appease Aaron’s baby mama’s mama?



Oh, and who was that woman that found Aaron is the grocery store? Sure, she probably was a sweet, helpful lady concerned for the well being of a “lost” child, but she looked damn creepy, man. Did anyone recognize her?

6) Miles/Hurley “Back to the Future” chat — Best. Exchange. Ever. The heated, in-depth time travel discussions that have been going in LOST nation this season were well represented in this back-and-forth between “Tubby” and Miles. Hurley is the voice of us fans, asking questions and presenting points many of us have been thinking…or sometimes screaming at the television…



I really liked this discussion coming from Miles’ point of view rather than Daniel’s. His sharp wit and sarcasm made confusing time travel jargon much more entertaining. I have a feeling if Daniel would have had this talk with Hurley, I would be even more confused than ever.

And how hilarious was Hurley’s reaction when Miles said, “I haven’t thought about that before…Huh”?!?

7) Locke — Locke only appeared in the final scene of this episode, but it just might have been my favorite appearance of his this season. “Welcome back to the Land of the Living,” he tells Ben. Did you see Ben’s face?? What the frick is going through Ben’s mind right now?? The last thing he remembers is telling Frank about the dock across the channel and then all of a sudden he’s looking into the eyes of a man he murdered not long ago. Something tells me Ben is in some serious trouble with the Island. And Locke knows it.



So Locke has been resurrected by the Island. Does this mean he is now officially an Other? Part of me likes this idea and part of me doesn’t. But it does make me wonder if there are good Others and bad Others. As Locke said, there are two sides: one light, one dark.




8) Favorite lines/scenes (feel free to add your own):
-Miles to Hurley: “Dude, ask me more time travel questions!”
-Locke to Ben: “Welcome back to the Land of the Living.”
-Ben’s reaction to the previous quote
- Jack: "You're telling us we're under house arrest?"
Miles: "No, you're all free to leave whenever you want, but I'll shoot you in the leg."

-----

I know some people are paranoid about spoilers, and some even include the previews for next week in that category. I don’t know if you watched the promo but HOLY GOOD GRIEF IT’S LOOKS FRIGGIN’ AWESOME!

That is all.

Until next time…

Namaste…and good luck.

SFO