Lost episode recap ' Whatever Happened, Happened" (S5E11) airdate 4/1/09

Ugh – this is going to be a Kate-centric episode. I have sad.

We pick up where we left off: Jin regaining consciousness to beside his VW bus. Phil contacts him over the walkie and Jin absently says that Sayid has gone north, then checks on young Ben. He’s not dead yet – of course. “Please help,” moans young Ben. And Jin scoops him up and drives off in the van. Back at the compound, Horace is calming his troops, hoping that there won’t be another attack, but the Hostile – who obviously had help escaping – is to blame for all of this. Kate is noticeably not helping until Ben’s dad asks her to help him with a winch. They chat, introducing themselves. Kate does a double take at Roger’s last name – “Linus” – but he is distracted from her response when Jin drives up with his unconscious child. “That’s my kid!” shouts Roger as Kate stares.

Flash to the mainland, back when Aaron was still a baby. Kate and Aaron walk up to Joanie Stubbs/Shelby Saracen/Cassidy Phillip’s house – you know, Sawyer’s ex-squeeze. Cassidy recognizes Kate, remembers her, and asks what she’s doing here. “Sawyer sent me,” says Kate. And we cut to commercial.

Cassidy thumbs through a thick wad of cash – “Sawyer, that sonofabitch is still alive?” Kate says he was, at least, and the money is for Clementine, Sawyer and Cassidy’s daughter. Cassidy asks why Sawyer didn’t make it back with the rest of the Oceanic 6, calling him a coward who tried to get away from the rest of them. Kate tries to explain that Sawyer is a good guy, but Cassidy runs right over her, saying that the expression currently on Kate’s face is the same one that Cassidy found on her own when Sawyer ditched her. She asks if Kate’s son is Sawyer’s. Um, no. But Cassidy sees through the bigger lie and says that the baby is not Kate’s – why is Kate lying about everything? “Because I have to,” quavers Kate.

Flash to the Island, 1977. Sawyer is flipping through the video feeds when Kate finds him. She tells him that Sayid shot young Ben but Sawyer’s not interested, telling her to get the hell out of here before someone notices her. Too late: Horace and flunkies come into the Station (whichever one it is). Horace wonders who Kate might be. Sawyer covers that she’s new and was telling him about something suspicious around the motor pool, then tells her to skedaddle, which she does. That Kate, always around to fuck stuff up. After she’s gone, Horace asks “LaFleur” if he’s checked out the Hostile’s cell but Sawyer retorts that he’s been a little busy. “Well, then, let’s do it,” says Horace. They check it out and Sawyer notices that there are janitor’s keys in the door. There are only three janitors – Roger, “Willie,” and the new guy, Jack. Sawyer and Miles volunteer to go interrogate the new guy.

Topside, Sawyer tells Miles to put Jack, Kate and Sawyer in a house and sit on them so they can’t talk to anyone. Sawyer then goes to the infirmary where Roger Linus is pacing outside, worried about his son. Sawyer says he’ll ask Juliet to let him in and then, disingenuously, asks Roger if he’s got his keys. Yeah, sure, says Roger, patting his pockets … but no keys. Hmm, thinks Sawyer. Roger looks uneasy about this as well, remembering young Ben’s fascination with the Hostile prisoner. Inside the infirmary, Juliet is operating on young Ben. She’s unable to stop the bleeding, however, and tells Sawyer that they need a real surgeon, someone who can get in there and fix the damage the bullet has caused. Sawyer gives her a “I can’t believe what you’re asking me to do” look but goes off to find the one surgeon on the Island.

Who is currently under house arrest per order of Miles. Jack is antsy although Kate says that Sawyer is just doing his job by keeping them safe. In his role as Audience Stand-in, Hurley sits at the kitchen table, examining his hand for the Back to the Future effect: since they came back in time and had an effect on events, a la killing young Ben , which would negate adult Ben, he’s watching to see if his hand starts fading away like Michael J. Fox’s did. Miles calls him an idiot, saying that they can’t change anything – their “maniac Iraqi friend shot Linus so that’s what’s always happened – we just weren’t around before to experience it.” And, luckily (a matter of opinion, I guess), young Ben is not dead yet. “If I’m wrong,” says Miles, “then we all stop existing and I guess it doesn’t matter anyway.” Have I mentioned recently that I love Miles? Just then Sawyer bursts in, telling Jack that he’s needed to stop the bleeding in young Ben’s chest. Jack: no. Sawyer: Are you kidding me? - he’ll die! Jack: “Then he dies.” Everyone stares at him, in shock/horror/pride.

Kate watches out the window as Sawyer returns to the infirmary without Jack. Turning, she asks Jack what he thinks he’s doing – the boy could die. Jack says that they can’t change anything. Pluswhich, thirty years from now, adult Ben will be dying and Kate will ask Jack to operate him, to save Sawyer – and then he’ll do it, for her, but he’s not doing it again/now. Kate snaps that she doesn’t like the New Jack; she liked the Old Jack who didn’t sit around and wait for things to happen. Jack looks sadly at her and says, “You didn’t like the old me, Kate.” And Kate, as usual when faced with the truth, turns and runs away, slamming the front door. Miles snaps to attention: “Hey! Where you goin’?!”

In the infirmary, young Ben is awake, coughing wheezily. Juliet tends to him, interrupted by a nurse who says one of the new people is here to give young Ben some blood, as she’s a universal donor. Juliet looks up and smiles at Kate. Later, as she’s sticking the needle and tubing in Kate’s arm, Juliet says that she heard Jack refused to help young Ben but didn’t say why he wouldn’t help. Kate grimaces, saying that if she knew why Jack did (or didn’t do) anything, she wouldn’t be here right now. Whatever that means. Juliet asks if anything happened between the two of them and Kate admits that they were engaged, if that counts. Juliet smiles wryly.

They are interrupted when Roger Linus bursts in, angry at being kept outside and in the dark. Kate tells Juliet that Roger can stay here with her while Juliet checks on young Ben to gives his father an update. When Juliet leaves the room, Roger tells Kate that Ben stole his keys – and was the one who busted the prisoner out of the cell. Why would he do that, asks Kate. “Because of me,” says Roger. They bond over misbegotten parenting skills … while in the other room, young Ben starts gasping and wheezing, going into hypoxic shock. Juliet shouts for someone to get Roger out of here; Kate just stares.

Back in the house, Hurley and Miles are continuing their Audience/Writers meta-conversation. Miles exposits that ever since Ben turned the wheel, time is not in a straight line anymore: their experiences in the past and the future occurred before these experiences right now. Miles is getting the upper hand in the argument – saying things like any of them can die but it won’t matter to the future because the future, for them, has already happened - until Hurley asks him this: When we first captured Ben and Sayid tortured him, why wouldn’t Ben have remembered being shot by that same guy when he was a kid? Miles: “Huh, hadn’t thought of that.” Hurley, smugly: “Huh.”

Roger paces outside the infirmary; Kate sits quietly. Juliet comes out and tells them that young Ben is stable for now, but she needs Roger to go to the medical station for some supplies, handing him a list. Roger thanks her and heads out. Juliet tells Kate that Ben is going to die unless someone helps him – since Jack won’t. Kate starts to rant until Juliet cuts her off: maybe there is something They can do. Kate: They? Juliet: The Others. Juliet and Kate load young Ben into an ubiquitous blue VW van. Kate insists that she is going to take Ben by herself - Juliet can’t risk her life here with the Dharmites. Juliet is grateful but tells her that Sawyer is going to need to know what happened, that Kate took Ben … but she’ll give Kate as much of a head start as she can.

Flash to that scene on the docks, with Ben, Jack, Sayid, Sun, Kate cradling toddler Aaron. Ben has Sun’s gun under his chin and tells them that there’s someone in L.A. who can get them all back to the Island. Kate snaps, saying they’re all insane and she’s not frickin’ going back to that damn Island. She gets back in her car and drives off. They have to make a pit stop, however, because Aaron is thirsty, wanting milk, and then a juice box. In the store, Kate gets a call but it’s from Jack and she ignores the call. While she’s fusing with the phone, Aaron wanders off/disappears …there’s a small moment of panic (Kate looks gorgeous and really thin in her tight skirt and high heels) until Kate sees a young blonde woman leading Aaron away by the hand. She catches them and, no, it’s not Claire, just a good Samaritan trying to help a lost child. Kate sweeps Aaron into her arms and gets tears in her eyes for being a bad parent.

Flash to the Island, 1977, as Kate drives young, dying Ben into the jungle, trying to make up for being a bad parent. They come up to the sonic fence and young Ben’s wheezing is heartrending. He asks her to tell his dad that he’s sorry for stealing his keys. Kate hears an approaching engine: it’s Sawyer. “I know you gotta stop me,” she says, “but I can’t just let that kid die.” Sawyer, totally adorably: “Damnit, Freckles, I ain’t here to stop you. I’m here to help you.” That’s fine, but don’t you leave Juliet for Kate.

Flash back to the mainland, Cassidy’s house. After the lost-child-in-the-store incident, Kate goes straight there to tell Cassidy that the O6ers are planning to go back to the Island. Kate is all sorts of wigged out and Cassidy tries to get her to relax, but Kate confesses about losing Aaron in the store. She says she was upset but not surprised, thinking that it was about time for Aaron to be taken. Cassidy: “That’s because you took him, Kate.” Kate insists that she had too – he needed her. Wise Cassidy: “You needed him; Sawyer broke your heart – how else were you supposed to fix it?”

Flash back to the Island, 1977. Sawyer shuts off the sonic fence. Kate asks why he’s helping her and he says that he asked Juliet the same question when he learned what she and Kate were up to. Juliet told him that no matter what Ben grows up to be, it’s wrong to let a kid die. “I’m doing it for her,” he says to Kate, and picks up young Ben. They walk into the jungle.

Juliet storms into the house arrest house and kicks Miles and Hurley out, saying that she needs to talk to Jack alone. He’s in the shower and she doesn’t care. “I needed you,” she accuses him (not even copping a peek). She runs over his protests that “the kid” is evil Ben, saying that it’s up to Sawyer and Kate now – “what?” says Jack – as they’re out there trying to help. Jack gets all self-righteous, saying that he came back to the Island to save those who were left behind but Juliet is Having None of It. “We didn’t need saving!” she tells him. They’d been fine for three years – he came back for himself. Jack doesn’t deny it. She asks why, what’s in it for him, but he falls back on the “I came back because I’m supposed to” and she scoffs at him, walking out.

Kate offers to take her turn carrying young Ben, but Sawyer’s got it covered. The talk turns to parenting, and Sawyer asks if she took care of his daughter like he asked. She did, and tells him how awesome Clementine is. He notes that she and Cassidy must have found a lot to talk about; Kate brings up Cassidy’s theory on why he jumped from the ‘copter – being worried about what would happen if he stuck around. Sawyer looks nervous for a moment and then says, “You and I never would have worked out, Kate,” and you know he’s serious because he calls her “Kate,” not “Freckles.” She won’t look at him but notes that he’s doing all right with Juliet. Sawyer says he’s done a lot of growing up in the last three years.

This tender moment is interrupted by armed and angry Others aiming guns at them and claiming truce violation. Nope, says Sawyer, and you better take us to Richard Alpert right now.

Flash back to the mainland, Kate visiting Claire’s mom at her motel. It’s the night after Jack stopped by in the downpour. Kate tells the other woman that (a) this “Aaron” is her grandson and (b) Claire is still alive, back on the Island. Claire’s mom wants to know why they would leave Claire there and Kate says that she disappeared, leaving Aaron behind. Kate admits that she lied about Aaron’s parentage to protect him, saying that he was hers … because she needed him more than he needed her. She’s brought pictures. Claire’s mom wants to know where he is – two doors down in the same motel. Kate has told Aaron that she’s his grandmother and she’ll take care of Aaron while Kate’s gone. “I’m going back to find your daughter,” Kate says, tears spilling over. Tears are still falling when she kisses Aaron goodbye (sappy violins playing all the while).

Island, 1977. The Others lead Kate and Sawyer, still carrying Ben, through the jungle until Richard meets them. He asks what happened to Ben. Kate asks Richard if he can save the boy’s life. Richard: “If I take him, he’s not ever going to be the same again … he’ll forget this ever happened [that’s convenient] and his innocence will be gone. He’ll be one of us forever. Do you still want me to take him?” Kate: Yes. An Other says, “Richard, you should do this without asking Ellie. If Charles finds out …” but Richard retorts that he doesn’t answer to either of them and walks into the jungle, young Ben in his arms. Sawyer drags Kate away.

Richard walks to the well surrounded by the hieroglyphic-covered stonewalls. He faces out into the jungle, grimaces, and then backs into a secret passageway in the way, bearing young Ben into the darkness.

Now: Adult Ben, roughed up from the Ajira crash, rests on his cot. He awakes to find John Locke watching him. “Hello, Ben. Welcome back to the land of the living,” smirks Locke. Ben is not all that happy to see the man he murdered apparently alive and well.

Hee hee hee! Much better than the usual Kate-centric stuff!

Previously on Lost / next time on Lost