5x11, "Whatever Happened, Happened"

And now:

YOUR reigning, defending, undisputed champion of worst LOST line ever is....

"He will forget this ever happened and his innocence will be gone."

I think they could've just gone with, "Oh, the Temple healed Ben, but then he became embittered by Sayid betraying him and turned evil and he kept quiet in Season 2 about having ever met Sayid in his own past just to fuck with him even more."

I mean I feel like we've dealt with equally annoying bullshit before.

Instead, the writers knew they'd backed themselves into a corner and turned The Temple into a two-in-one plot device/deus ex machina that not only raises you from the dead but erases your memory, too.

There's a reason that soap operas are always made fun of for using amnesia storylines: it's easy and a cop-out. LOST typically doesn't go the easy route so why go there now?

What else has been (or *will be*) conveniently forgotten in the history of the show? The mind reels at the possibilities...

What annoys me the most though is how they're saying Ben was given his diabolical personality by having his "innocence" (WHAT?) removed, as if he just couldn't become a dick the regular way: by being born one. Benjamin Lynus has been one of the most fascinating villains in television history because you almost couldn't believe how consistently manipulative and self-serving he always acted. Yet you could because you've met people like that or people who could've become like that if certain paths had been followed, certain choices made. Again, it just feels like another cop-out.

*Meanwhile...

Kate thinks abandoning Aaron to his grandmother after telling him she was only stepping out for a bit is OK? I mean how fucked up will Aaron be when he grows up?

I can almost accept her seeing Aaron walk away so easily with someone who sort of, kind of looks like Claire as the moment when she realizes she'll never be his mother. But it's just not that strong enough a moment for me to buy. After seeing her broken on Jack's bed I thought something tragic must have happened, maybe Widmore or Ben blackmailed her, maybe she saw the ghost of Claire.

And the Cassidy/Kate storyline really needed more time. I can't believe it was compressed into this one episode. Easily could've been two or even three.

*Overall, a second disappointing episode. I think the season is careening headlong toward the season finale with plot development taking precedence over character development. I also think a very scary ending is being set up when amnesia and turning evil can get so easily exported out of The Temple.