Title’s significance: This episode draws its title from Daniel’s repeated aphorism that time travel can’t change the past because “whatever happened, happened.”
Recap: Kate’s flashbacks reveal that Kate visited Cassidy and Clementine after returning to L.A., at Sawyer’s wish. After almost losing Aaron in a supermarket, Kate takes him to Carole Littleton before rejoining Jack. As the Dharma folks try to figure out who torched the Dharma van, Roger starts to get a little interested in Kate, but his affections are put on hold when Jin arrives with the wounded young Ben. Juliet struggles to save young Ben as Sawyer realizes that Roger’s keys were used to free Sayid; Jack refuses to save Ben, even at Kate’s insistence that she doesn’t like the way he’s changed. Roger deduces that Ben stole his keys, and Hurley stumps Miles by asking why Ben doesn’t remember being shot by Sayid. When Juliet hits a wall on Ben’s surgery, she mulls bringing him to The Others, and Kate volunteers; Sawyer joins her at the sonic fence, while Juliet tears Jack a new one about not helping Ben. Kate tells Sawyer about Clementine as The Hostiles arrive, and Richard Alpert agrees to help Ben, cautioning that Ben will “lose his innocence and... always be one of us.” Richard brings Ben into The Temple; in 2007, Ben awakes to find Locke sitting by his bedside.
Thoughts: Maybe not Damon & Carlton’s finest hour, but still a pretty good episode that fills in a lot of gaps about Kate’s time off-island. What’s tantalizing about this episode – and promising, since we know that these guys never do anything without getting around to explaining it – is the situation with Ben at The Temple. I have a sneaking feeling we haven’t seen the last of The Temple. Also, a really powerful performance from Evangeline Lilly in this episode.
Favorite moment: Hurley and Miles discuss time travel – “This is really confusing... Say that again?” That, or Cassidy muttering, “Well, Jack sounds like a piece of work.”
Characters introduced (in order):
- No new characters introduced in this episode.
What we learned:
- Sawyer told Kate to visit Cassidy.
- Kate is a universal donor.
- Cassidy and Claire’s mother know the truth about Oceanic 815.
- Widmore and Ellie are the leaders of The Others in 1977, but Richard doesn’t answer to them.
Questions:
- When Harper told Juliet that she looked “just like her,” did that have something to do with Juliet’s time trying to save Ben in 1977?
- How did The Temple heal Ben?
- What’s going to go down between Ben and the man he supposedly killed?
- Did Ben know that Locke would be revived?
Things that are going to be important in Season Six:
- Can the past be changed?
- Miles tells Hurley, “Any of us can die!”
- With so many people who know about the lie that the Oceanic 6 told, is this going to be a problem later?
- Kate leaves Aaron with Carole, except we’ve been told time and time again that Claire is the only person who can raise Aaron. Is Kate going to have to reunite Aaron with Claire, or does the prophecy of Richard Malkin no longer apply?
["•Kate leaves Aaron with Carole, except we’ve been told time and time again that Claire is the only person who can raise Aaron. Is Kate going to have to reunite Aaron with Claire, or does the prophecy of Richard Malkin no longer apply?"]
ReplyDeleteIt never did and Kate did what she should have done when she first met Carole Littleton in 2005.