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Lost Season 5 Episode 11

Whatever Happened, Happened

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AIRED: Apr 01, 2009

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Episode Summary

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Kate, Sawyer and Juliet try to save Ben. Kate starts to tell the truth about the lie in order to keep Aaron from harm.

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Fan Episode Reviews (39)

A major revelation, and two life altering decisions

8.5

By DavidB226Morris, Aug 15, 2010

The most important thing we learned about the castaways in the first three seasons of the show was that they all had huge issues with their parents. And the one with the most complex ones was probably Kate. Her mother divorced the man she thought was her father, and her stepfather was a drunken lout who beat her mother, and probably abused Kate. She finally killed him when she learned that he was actually her real father. The man who she thought was her father loved her like she was his daughter, but was not related to her by blood. All of this needs to be taken into consideration when we understand Kate's relationship with Aaron, which is basically the same. All the evidence we saw was that Kate was a superb mother, and that she had even less of a reason to return to the island than Sayid did.

Part of the story of the last couple of seasons of Lost will involved all the characters achieving an understanding with their parents. We get the sense of that when Kate finally meets Roger Linus in the aftermath of the 'attack' on the Dharma Initiative. We've only seen him in the worst possible light so far, but when he learns that his son has been shot, the agony and grief he demonstrates feels genuine. Granted, it's a little difficult to feel sympathy for a man who beat his son hard enough to break his glasses, but we do get the feeling from his actions with Kate that he really does feel like fatherhood is a job that overmatched him (no doubt he missed his son's birthday again this year). And it is because of Kate's life with Aaron that she is able to do something that I honestly think would have been unthinkable of her even before she got on Ajira 316 --- try to find a way to save the young Ben's life.

Of course, she doesn't have much choice. Juliet, who now seems to have been promoted to head doctor, is doing to her damnedest to save the boy who grew up to make her life a living hell --- but she's a fertility specialist. When James goes to our resident surgeon, Jack now decides to demonstrate his new philosophy. Rather than jump at the chance to fix something, he decides that he's just going to make sandwiches and let the present work itself. Maybe he's working on the theories that Miles' is espousing in the side-splitting discussions he has with Hurley trying to explain how time travel works. However, I can't help but think there's a certain justification to it. He has saved Ben's life before (in the future; man Carlton and Damon are making this difficult) and maybe he just feels like that this is nothing but a zero sum gain. When Kate confronts him saying that she liked the old Jack, the one who tried to fix everything better, Jack counters by telling her "You didn't like the old me." Snap. He has a point there too, though.

One wonders why Kate ,who was essentially treated as chattel by Ben on the island the first time around, would want so badly to save him to the point of taking him to the Others. Maybe it has something to do with why she came back to the island in the first place. In the flashback, we learn that somehow Kate managed to locate Cassidy and Sawyer's daughter, Clementine. (How she did it is a matter that boggles the mind, considering: a) she never knew Sawyer's last name, b) she did know Cassidy, but she never knew her last name, and c) even allowing for b, Cassidy would never have given her daughter Sawyer's last name.) Cassidy has not forgiven him, and even when Kate tells her of Sawyer's heroic last action, she thinks that he did it because he was a coward and couldn't face his responsibilities. (Some people theorized that Cassidy was lying about Clementine being Sawyer's child, but when we see her at five, she looks a hell of a lot like him.)

Kate was struck by something else. She went to the supermarket to pick up some milk for Aaron. He walked away from her, and just disappeared for almost a minute. Kate panics and runs to the front of the store, only to find him in the hands a woman who looks an awful lot like Claire. I still don't believe Kate went back to the island for Sawyer, no matter what Cassidy might say about him breaking her heart. No, she couldn't live with the guilt that she had taken a child away from his mother, and that has always been bothering her, even as she has been showering Aaron with love. So she makes the decision which is one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the history of the show --- when Kate goes to Carole Littleton, and tells her the truth about what happened to her daughter, and that she's going back to try and find her daughter, because a mother must always act in the best interest of the child. (Again we raise the question, where the hell is Claire. She doesn't seem to have been traveling with the island, and she doesn't seem to be in the present. It's only because we knew that she'd be coming back for the last season that I didn't seriously consider the possibility that Claire was dead.)

Now Kate has come back, and she seems to be raising havoc just by being here. Juliet's behavior is contradictory--- on the one hand, she gives him to Kate, saying she'll stall as long as possible before notifying James, on the other, she then goes directly to James, tells him what she's done, causing him to go back and help her. What's more, she has a really dark scene where she walks in on Jack, and demands to know why he left her in the lurch. Jack then gives the answer that he came back in order to save them, and when Juliet points out the obvious, he admits that he doesn't really know why he came back. Juliet is broken up by the fact that she might lose a patient, but she seems far more disturbed by the fact that she's sent Kate back into the jungle with the man she loves. James/Sawyer seems similarly tormented. He answers Cassidy's claim that he wasn't fit to raise a child by agreeing with it, and then seems all defensive when Kate asks him about the life that he's started with Juliet. It's hard to tell whether he's helping Kate because Juliet asked him to or whether it's because he believes he's supposed to.

In any case, they end up face to face with Richard, who is as enigmatic as ever. When Kate asks if they can save Ben, he says yes, but his innocence will be lost and he will always be 'one of us'. Even though this is probably the exact moment that Ben started down the path of being the monster he became (though as Sayid saw in the last episode, he was already halfway there) Kate doesn't hesitate a moment before handing him over. We're not yet sure what kind of problems Ben will face when Richard takes him to the temple. But his present isn't much safer. For in the last scene of the episode, he awakes to find John Locke standing over him, welcoming him back "to the land of the living." I hope to hell he was going to find out the true meaning of payback.

'Whatever Happened, Happened" is not quite as strong as some of the episodes we've had so far, but it featured superb work by Evangeline Lilly. I defy even the most rapid ant-Kate fan to watch the last two scenes with Claire's mother and Aaron, and not to at least shed one tear. (Giacchino uses some of his best music to wed the scene together as well, once again using the theme that "we're on a journey") Ken Leung and Jorge Garcia also provided this episode with some desperately needed humor as Miles tries to explain to Hurley exactly why and how time travel works. (Talk about the blind leading the blind, though; I think his explanation would give Daniel headaches.) I'm also a little upset with Cuse and Lindelof from cutting away from the Others just when it seemed like we were going to get some answers about the Temple, and basically, everything, but considering what we'll get in the next episode, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

My score:8.6moreless
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A Tearjerker Kate-centric! :)

9.5

By AnilThornberry, Jul 24, 2010

It was AMAZING like all Kate-centric episodes. I felt so sad for her when he left Aaron.

But if you look at it in general, it was a dull episode. Why? > Because all the things turned out just the way we predicted. ;) Like Sawyer whispering to Kate's ear about his daughter and Kate ending up leaving Aaron with his grandma. These are all the solutions that we predicted and we got em' right. :D

So the writers didn't quite ''suprize'' us this week. At all. But it's okay, still a great episode. :)

Miles' and Hurley's humor was hilarious. Hurley is priceless, he is so funny. Richard taking Ben telling Kate and Sawyer that he will never be the same. WOW!

They really did turn Ben into an evil man. He was going to be a nice boy all this time if Sayid hadn't shot him. Speaking of him, where the heck was he tonight?

The ending was worth watching the whole thing. Finally we have Adult Ben and Locke back. Boy I loved Ben's face, like he just woke up seeing a ghost. :D

9.5 out of 10 =)moreless
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Finally! 5 reasons this episode works:

10

By RobGrizz, Jul 24, 2010

Finally! This is the episode I've been waiting all season for. Not this Kate-centric episode specifically, but I've been just waiting for that first A+ episode this year and I think it's finally arrived (Death of Jeremy Bentham and LaFleur were both very close, though). I guess what I liked best about "Whatever Happened Happened" is that it basically played out exactly how I wanted it to. What I mean by this, is it took every twist and turn I wanted, and answered questions (mostly within this contained story- something they haven't done in a while). In a weird way, it was even "thinking" the way I would. More on that later. So I've got the Five Best things that I think worked here.

5. Roger Linus might have the hots for Kate. There was something deviously amusing about Big Bad Ben's dad making googly eyes at Ms. Austin. Maybe cause we know he has no chance in hell! Still, she was oddly nice enough to the guy, especially knowing what becomes of he and his son in the future. Also good to know that the workman wasn't a complete deadbeat.

4. Cassidy returns. I can't express how great it is to see supporting players get solid returning guest spots like this. We get to see little Clementine grown up (so cute!) and seeing Kate having another woman to talk about motherhood (and Sawyer) with was cathartic and very welcome.

3. Richard saves Ben. More generally, it was the whole overall segment that I liked. Ben is brought to the mysterious Uber Other, who obviously knows the greatest secrets of the Island, and you can insert all the literary metaphors you want for the castaways handing away the dying youth to his ultimate destiny. There was something really epic about this moment which is a testament to the director, because it's always hard to make something we already know will happen seem unexpected and important. Looks like we got our answer. He won't remember any of this. (Essentially, a "rebirth.")

2. Jack says no. Yes! Because that's exactly what I would have done, and probably many others. This scene screamed volumes to me. Not only is Jack's reasoning exactly right, but the undertone, not mentioned, is that he's not going to cover Sawyer's ass. Everyone desperately trying to save the most evil bastard on TV was odd to me. What's it to Kate? What's it Sawyer? And especially Juliet, Ben having ruined her life? I'm always gonna have Jack's back, and it's a revelation that he may have come to terms with destiny and fate trumping out logic and reason.

1. Hurley, Miles and the time-paradox debate. Normally, Lost doesn't let asides like this play out this long, but considering the state of fandom right now, this was very necessary. Hurley is the voice of the people. He thinks what we think, and asks what we ask, and here he quite literally takes the words right out of my mouth with the joke about fading from existence, "Back to the Future" style! Considering these shows are shot before the producers can get feedback from viewers, this is brilliant anticipation by the writers! Props also go to Miles for doing his damnedest to explain how time travel *On This Show* is supposed to work. Not only did he clear things up a bit for me, it really almost all made sense! Oh S***! moment of the year: Ben awakes to see resurrected John Locke staring him in the face.

...!!!!!moreless
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Best show on the planet delivers another classic, Excellent kate-centric episode.

10

By zedtaker, Jul 24, 2010

I honestly have loved every single Kate-centric episode and this was nothing short of amazing. We finally get to find out why Kate came back to the Island (I didnt see this coming)and what happened to Aaron and why she left him, also What Sawyer told her during season 4 finale (on the helicopter b4 he jumps).

The whole Ben being shot story continues and was just superbly done (don't worry, everything will make sense once you watch this ep).

I don't like to spoil things incase someone just wanted to know if this was a good ep b4 they watch it, which is why I won't mention what exactly happened but What I will say is this is one of the best episodes of the current season, not to say all of them aren't, but this is one of the better ones of Season 5. Can't believe only 23 episodes left:-(moreless
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Ben clings to life as he gets help from a couple of unexpected friends to keep him alive.

6.5

By marvelfan89, Jul 24, 2010

What? Huh? Why did that person do that when such and such thing happened?

This episode was confusing from start to finish and was frustrating. While I love Lost, I am not a Lost fanboy and so have to call things as I see it when I feel that the episode delivers something that doesn't make sense. I might as well make a list of things that don't make sense:

1) Kate wanting to help Ben. There are various reasons why her actions don't make sense. A) He's the one that tried to take her son...strike that tried to Claire's son that she now has passed as her own away. B) Kate never gave a damn about coming back to the island much less at Ben's request. C) Ben's eventual history as a murderer and manipulator.

We all know what Ben will do in the future and all of his crimes. Kate helping Ben has no benefits for her or anybody else except causing pain and misery.

If the writers really wanted to establish a more credible of making us believe that Kate cares about Ben, they would have given us something we've never seen before....an actual connection between the two. Let's move on:

2) Sawyer and Juliet helping Ben makes no sense either.

The same reasons why Kate shouldn't care about Young Ben applies here. There's never been a close connection with Sawyer and Juliet.

They all know what Ben will do in the future so why would anybody help him. Would you help Hitler as a boy knowing what he'll do in the future? Probably not. Heck boy or not, you know him dying would be the right thing for all of mankind.

So many characters acting out of character here. The writers I don't know what they were doing here maybe they think the audience isn't paying attention here or won't care about the logic of this episode just churned out something really confusing.

One other reason why Sawyer and Kate didn't have to help Ben as it is:

Ben was going to the Others anyways with Richard thus eventually someone from Other side would have helped him. This actually would have made the most sense here!!! It would establish even more the loyalty and connection that Ben has with the Others.

Some people are saying that Jack refusing to help Ben actually is what makes Ben evil in the future along with Sayid shooting him. However, that's such a huge jump to make....However, even if we ponder that logic then why doesn't Ben kill Sayid and Jack when he's grown up and in control? The point is evil men will become evil regardless of what happens to them.

The only character who remained true to his character was Jack. Jack was the only one that "gets it" but the writers elected to make him the odd man out? Huh?

Even the confrontation that Jack and Juliet about Young Ben was also confusing. Juliet says that she was well of without Jack and others coming back, yet she's mad because Jack wasn't "there" for her? Huh?

It's either one or the other. Add to that everything that I just said and well this episode will have you scratching the head. Sure it sets up the eventual

death of Ben but surely they've could have gone a different route here.

At least add in a couple of extra scenes, scenes that we haven't actually seen before showing a closer connection between the characters and Ben. Yet they didn't do and so many of the actions done by several characters don't add up at all.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Matthew Fox	Dr. Jack Shephard
Daniel Dae Kim	Jin Kwon
Josh Holloway	James "Sawyer" Ford
Evangeline Lilly	Kate Austen
Jorge Garcia	Hugo "Hurley" Reyes
Terry O'Quinn	John Locke

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Susan Duerden	Carole Littleton	Guest Star
Sebastian Siegel	Erik	Guest Star
Candace Scholz	Debra	Guest Star
Nestor Carbonell	Richard Alpert	Recurring Role
Kim Dickens	Cassidy Phillips	Recurring Role
Doug Hutchison	Horace Goodspeed	Recurring Role

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Episode Photos

Evangeline Lily as Kate in Lost's 'Whate...

© 2009 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
Doug Hutchison in Lost's 'Whatever Happe...

© 2009 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
Evangeline Lily as Kate and Josh Hollowa...

© 2009 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
Jorge Garcia as Hurley in Lost's 'Whatev...

© 2009 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (15)
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- The phrase, "Whatever Happened, Happened" was previously said by Daniel on two occasions (episodes "Because You Left" and "LaFleur") while trying to explain that the past cannot be changed.
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- When Juliet enters the house in search of Jack, a close up shot of Miles and Hurley shows a glass of orange in front of Miles. When the shot switches to show Miles and Hurley standing up, the glass is gone.
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- After Kate has donated blood, she has no bandage around her arm. Normally a bandage is kept on the wound for several hours after blood donation to avoid small hemorrhages.
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- When Kate and Aaron are in the grocery store, and Kate talks to the man handling boxes, the boxes appear to contain Gatorade with the "G" logo, which didn't begin until 2009.
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- When Sawyer first lifts Ben out of the van, the blood on his bandage is very apparent and bright red. In the next camera angle, the blood is a lot more washed out.
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- When Kate is in the grocery store and Jack calls her, her hand is holding her cell phone differently between camera angles.
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- When Juliet pulls down her mask while operating on Ben, there should have been blood left on the mask since she was still operating. However, the mask is spotless.
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- The Patsy Cline song played in this episode was "She's Got You." This was also played on a DHARMA radio last season when Kate and Claire were living together.
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- Numbers:
  -When Kate's phone rings in the supermarket, Jack's number appears on the screen as 323-555-0156.
  -As Kate runs down the aisles looking for Aaron, this shot shows aisles 3 and 2, only backwards. So it looks like 23.
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- Kate is a universal blood donor. This means that her blood type is O negative.
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- Kate sings "Catch A Falling Star" to Aaron when he is asleep. This was the same lullaby that Claire asked Arlene Stewart to sing to Aaron when she was going to give him away for adoption in the episode "Raised By Another", and, this song also plays in Aaron's would-be nursery in The Staff station as the mobile spins in the episode "Maternity Leave".
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- The episode was first broadcast on April 1st, 2009 (i.e., March 32nd), and it shares a number of themes with the story "March Has 32 Days" from Mystery Tales No. 40, the comic book that was one of Richard's items presented to John Locke as a test in "Cabin Fever". In the 1956 story, a time traveler successfully alters history when he relives a day in his own past.
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- In "He's Our You", young Ben's wound was on the left side of his chest, seemingly where his heart would be located. In this episode, however, his wound is on the right side of his chest.
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- When Kate drives the bus away to take Ben to the Others, there is a detachable face CD player (with face removed) in the dashboard of the bus. The were obviously no CDs in the 70s.
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- In the grocery store, Kate is clearly wearing stabilizers on her heels. She is no longer wearing them when she goes to visit Cassidy.
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QUOTES (8)
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- Jack: (to Kate) You know, when we were here before I spent all of my time trying to fix things. But, did you ever think that maybe the island just wants to fix things itself? That maybe I was just getting in the way.
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- Sawyer: Doc, I need you to come with me.
  Jack: Come with you where?
  Sawyer: Juliet said the kid's losing blood. And we aint got none to put back in him. So we need you to show us where he sprung a leak.
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- Jack: You're telling us ... we're under house arrest?
  Miles: No. You're free to leave whenever you want. But, I'll shoot you in the leg.
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- Kate: He's just a boy, Jack. You can't just let him die.
  Jack: You heard Miles. We can't change what's already happened. This has nothing to do with me.
  Kate: Unless you're the one who's supposed to save him.
  Jack: Thirty years from now, that boy's gonna be a man that locks me in a cage because he needs surgery. And then you're gonna come in and you're gonna beg me to operate on him because he's threatening to murder Sawyer. I've already done this once. I've already saved Benjamin Linus, and I did it for you, Kate. I don't need to do it again.
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- Roger: Welcome aboard, Kate. I'm Roger. Roger Linus.
  (Kate looks up in shock as she connects the name.)
  Kate: It's nice to meet you, Roger.
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- Cassidy: You survived a plane crash. It's amazing. I never thought I'd see you again. What are you doing here?
  Kate: Sawyer sent me.
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- Hurley: Let me get this straight. All this already happened.
  Miles: Yes.
  Hurley: So, this conversation were having right now, we already had it.
  Miles: Yes!
  Hurley: Then what am I gonna say next?
  Miles: I don't know.
  Hurley: Ha! Then your theory is wrong.
  Miles: For the thousandth time, you dingbat, the conversation already happened. But not for you and me. For you and me, it's happening right now.
  Hurley: OK. Answer me this. If all this already happened to me, then why don't I remember any of it?
  Miles: Because once Ben turned that wheel, time isn't a straight line for us anymore. Our experiences in the past and the future occurred before these experiences right now.
  Hurley: (Pause) Say that again.
  (Miles draws on a gun and tries to give it to Hurley.)
  Miles: Shoot me. Please. Please.
  Hurley: Aha! I can't shoot you, because if you die in 1977, then you'll never come back to the island on the freighter 30 years from now.
  Miles: I can die, because I've already come to the island on the freighter. Any of us can die, because this is our present.
  Hurley: They say Ben couldn't die, because he still has to grow, and become the leader of the others.
  Miles: Because this is his past.
  Hurley: But when we first captured Ben, and Sayid, like, tortured him, then why wouldn't he remember getting shot by that same guy when he was a kid?
  Miles: (Starts to answer, then hesitates) Huh. Hadn't thought of that.
  Hurley: Huh.
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- John Locke: Hello Ben, welcome back to the land of the living.
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NOTES (5)
ADD NOTES
- Original International Air Dates:
  United Kingdom: April 5, 2009 on Sky One
  Australia: April 22, 2009 on Network 7
  Norway: April 29, 2009 on TVNorge
  Finland: May 14, 2009 on Nelonen
  Sweden: May 26, 2009 on TV4
  Denmark: June 5, 2009 on Kanal 5
  Czech Republic: June 15, 2009 on AXN
  Spain: June 18, 2009 on FOX
  Belgium: September 28, 2009 on VT4
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- First episode directed by Bobby Roth since "The Man Behind the Curtain".
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- Music:
  "Catch a Falling Star" - Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss (sung by Kate to Aaron when he is asleep).
  "She's Got You" - Patsy Cline (Kate is listening to this song when she is driving to visit Cassidy.)
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- Although credited, Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond) and Jeremy Davies (Daniel) didn't appear. Michael Emerson (Ben) and Patrick Fischler (Phil) appeared, but had no lines. Naveen Andrews (Sayid) and Yunjin Kim (Sun) also appeared, but in archive footage.
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- A Kate-centric episode.
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ALLUSIONS (3)
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- The discussion of Hurley and Miles alludes the Cassandra complex:
  
  The curse of having knowledge of the future, but being unable to alter the path of events or any ability to convince others as to the validity of one's predictions.
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- Mostly Harmless: The episode title could be an allusion to a Douglas Adams (Sci-Fi and Comedy author) quote from his book in the Hitchhiker's Guide Trilogy. "Anything that happens, happens. Anything that, in happening, causes something else to happen, causes something else to happen. Anything that, in happening, causes itself to happen again, happens again. It doesn't necessarily do it in chronological order, though."
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- Hurley: Checking to see if I'm disappearing... Back To The Future, man.
  
  This is in reference to the 1985 movie, starring Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly. In this movie, he played a teen who travelled back in time 30 years in the past to 1955 and ended up hindering his parents' courtship. When it looked like his parents were not going to end up together, and therefore he would not be born, his hand started to go numb and disappear.
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