Whatever happened, happened

I've had a lot of trouble coming to terms with the "whatever happened, happened" concept used to explain the interaction of the Oceanic survivors and other "time skippers" with the DI and Island Originals.

I think most people take that phrase to mean that:
1- the time skippers cannot change the course of events and
2- anything that the time skippers do in the past has already happened.

Even in the carefully crafted conversation between Hurley and Miles, that is the basic explanation that Miles gives. To paraphrase...the conversation we are having right now has already happened, even though I can't tell you what you'll say next because it hasn't happened for us. I'll admit, that is confusing.

But then Hurley asks the question we all have asked - why didn't Ben recognize Sayid as the man who shot him when he was younger? And this stumps Miles, he doesn't have an answer.

Some point to Richard Alpert's remark when he takes the dying Ben that he won't remember anything as an explanation. But I give the Lost writers more credit than that. They may as well hit him on the head and tell him he had amnesia if they are going to resort to that kind of explanation.

But I think there is more to it than that. I don't believe that in 1977, an adult Sayid shot a 14 year old Ben Linus. But I do believe that in 2007, Sayid traveled back in time to 1977 and shot Ben. I'll explain the difference.

Whatever happened, happened. What that means it that all of the events that occurred between 1977 and 2007 - from the Purge, to the crash to the freightor to the skips in time - they all happened. No event or action taken by the time skippers in 1977 can unravel those events and that timeline. They all happened. But...


Whatever hasn't happened yet, hasn't happened! Those events or actions from 1977 CAN AND WILL affect those things that have not happened yet - from 2007 and beyond. A good example of this is Desmond remembering a visit from Daniel at the hatch door only AFTER it happened to Daniel. In other words, because that event occurred on two separate time lines (pre-crash Desmond and post-crash Daniel), it only really happened when it happened to both. That is what triggered or released the memory for Desmond. That set in motion a new set of events for Desmond who went off looking for Daniel's mother. This event did not change the past (Desmond didn't search for Daniel's mother as soon as he got off the island), but it did change the future.

This same theory can then be applied to the Ben/Sayid shooting. Sayid shooting Ben did not change the past. Ben still initiated the purge, led the others, met the survivors of flight 815. But that gunshot, and the effects of the gunshot may affect Ben in 2007 and beyond - because now it has happened to both Ben and Sayid.

Consider that after the Ajira crash, Ben was up and walking around. He had removed his arm from the sling and was ready to row to the main island. After a knock on the head with an oar from Sun, we next see Ben unconscious on a cot with others who were injured in the crash. Ben was not injured in the crash, and I doubt Sun could have knocked him out for that long.

But what if, at that very time, a 14 year old Ben was shot and nearly killed by Sayid. According to the "whatever happened, happened" theory, young Ben cannot die. But according to my "whatever hasn't happened yet, hasn't happened" theory, a 2007 Ben can die. To take it one step further, 2007 Ben feels the same effect as 1977 Ben, thus his unconscious state in 2007. But just as we see Richard carry young Ben into the temple to be healed, we see older Ben wake up and regain consciousness! Could the former have led to the latter? I believe so.

So where do we go from here? 2007 Ben is almost reborn as it were. There is speculation that by taking Ben into the temple to be healed, Richard has warned that Ben will never be the same. Does this mean that the temple has had a negative impact on Ben and led him to become the overzealous manipulator we know? This seems plausible, if we believe that the Others are evil. But what if the opposite is true, what if the temple heals not only Ben's body, but his soul and he turns away from the "dark side"? Since it has now happened in both young Ben's time line and the time skippers' time lines, it has now "happened" and 2007 Ben might transform right in front of our eyes! Ben can now live the rest of his life doing what is right and truly in the best interest of the Island.

We've seen whatever happened, now we get to see whatever happens next!