Lost season 5 episode guide: episode 5.11 "Whatever Happened Happened"

Apologies for the delay but I was gone last week!

Summary:

Dharmaville scrambles to save the life of young Ben Linus, who's been shot by an on-the-lam Sayid.

Things look pretty bad for Ben. Juliette can't save him and Jack refuses to help. Kate can't sit back, though. This is Ben, but it's also a boy. Sawyer feels the same way.



When Juliette indicates that perhaps the Others can somehow save Ben, Kate jumps at the chance, hopping in a Dharma van and into enemy territory. Sawyer follows and leads Kate in the jungle, where they are quickly surrounded by menacing Others. Sawyer demands to see Richard Alpert, who--after some though--agrees to save Ben. Doing so, however, will change Ben forever, he tells Sawyer and Kate. Ben will no longer be innocent. He will be, in effect, an Other.



We then see Richard disappear with Ben inside what looks like an ancient temple.

In flashbacks, we see how Kate decided Aaron would be safer out of her life. She brings him to Claire's mother, explaining the Oceanic 6 coverup and, to a degree anyhow, what's happened to Claire and the island.



At episode's end we flash forward(?) to the smaller island, where Ben awakens from the oar-to-the-head he received from Sun. He opens his eyes to see Locke, who says "Welcome to the land of the living."

Questions/observations/speculation:

* How did/will Richard save Ben, and how/why is Ben changed as a result?

* What is the nature of the temple?



* Richard's fellow Others warn him that Ellie and Charles will be angry if he helps Ben. Alpert responds that he doesn't answer to either of these people. But are Charles and Ellie in charge of the Others at this point?

* Richard tells Kate and Sawyer that Ben won't remember what happened. This explains why Ben seemingly doesn't remember any of the Oceanic 6 members. But why not?

* Kate seems pretty convinced that Claire is alive and she wants to reunite her with Aaron? But is this true? At the end of last season, Claire seemed pretty ghostly.



Also see:

See a preview for next week's episode: "Dead is Dead."

Read spoilers about "Dead is Dead."

What we STILL don't know.

Previous episodes:

* 5.1/5.2: "Because You Left" and "The Lie"
* 5.3: "Jughead"
*5.4: "The Little Prince"
* 5.5: "This Place is Death"
* 5.6: "316"
* 5.7: "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham"
* 5.8: "LaFleur"
* 5.9: "Namaste"
* 5.10: "He's Our You"