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The Others

The Others

The Others

Played By: Dayo Ade, Blake Bashoff, Michael Bowen, Nestor Carbonell, Brett Cullen, Andrew Divoff, Michael Emerson, MC Gainey, Jorge Garcia, April Grace, John Hawkes, Malcolm David Kelley, Kimberly Joseph, Paula Malcomson, William Mapother, Rob McElhenney, Elizabeth Mitchell, Lana Parrilla, Mark Pellegrino, Tania Raymonde, Andrea Roth, Hiroyuki Sanada, Diana Scarwid

The Others, referred to by the DHARMA Initiative as the Hostiles or the Natives, and also by the tail section survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 as Them, are a group of people living on the Island who were followers of Jacob, intermediated by Richard Alpert. Jacob never showed himself to his people, and they took orders from a succession of leaders including Eloise Hawking, Charles Widmore, Benjamin Linus, and briefly, John Locke, before being led by Hugo Reyes, with Linus second in command.

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• Anti-Villain: The Others are a mixture of Well-Intentioned Extremist and genuine killers; they're all pretty ruthless but they care for each other and their goals are largely directed by whoever the leader is at the time.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Many of the Others introduce themselves as polite, reasonable people or even as victims. It doesn't take long before they show just how far they'll go to carry out their goals.
• The Chosen Many: They are ultimately revealed to be something like this. Jacob enlists them to help him protect the Island from outside forces, as well as to protect the rest of the world from the malevolent force that exists on the Island.
• Crazy-Prepared: More often than not.
• Cryptic Conversation: They're masters of this. It's a wonder not one of them ever stops and asks for clarification about what the hell they're talking about.
• Cult: They are very similar to one, engaging in odd rituals and treating Jacob as a deity.
• Divided We Fall: We slowly learn that power struggles and varying levels of secrecy have resulted in the Others' fracturing as a group. There are the Others we originally meet, who are led by Ben and are occupied with both the pregnancy issue on the Island and unwanted visitors such as the Oceanic 815 survivors or the Freighter group. Then there are the Others at the Temple, who appear to work in accordance with Ben's group but are also entrusted with far more knowledge and instructions from Jacob than Ben is. Finally, you have the Others led by Ilana and Bram, who are Jacob's trusted protectors as well as those who seem to carry out his will off the Island, and who possibly were not known to the Island-based Others.
• Good is Not Nice: Although their mission is pretty noble, they themselves rarely are.
• In-Universe Nickname: The Others, as dubbed by Rousseau, which subsequently becomes the survivors' name for them as well.
• Jerkass: There are few things The Others do that put them in a positive light.
• Knight Templar: "We're the good guys."
• A Lighter Shade of Black: Definitely come off as this once The Man in Black surfaces.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: During their initial appearances, they seem to be a group of insane, savage hillbillies that dwell in the wilderness, getting by on their Crazy Survivalist skills. The survivors eventually discover this is a ruse, and they are far more advanced than they let on.
• Rag Tag Bunch Of Misfits: Much like the Oceanic 815 survivors, the Others are comprised of men and women from all walks of life.
• Shout-Out: Likely a nod to the Others from A Song of Ice and Fire, at least initially. A mysterious, extremely hostile group of unseen individuals who live in the land beyond a forest and kidnap children for unknown purposes.
• Shrouded in Myth: For most of the first two seasons.
• Skewed Priorities: Under the leadership of Ben Linus (and his predecessor, Charles Widmore), the Others' original purpose is mostly lost. They're largely concerned with solving the problem of pregnant women on the Island and assaulting anyone who happens to land there.
• So Last Season: Their cryptic nature and ruthlessness make them a serious threat for awhile, but ulterior motives, Confusion Fu, and constantly cloaking their goals and intentions even to each other ends up hindering them a lot in the long run. Jack eventually exploits this in the third season, and so does the Man in Black during the fifth and sixth seasons.
• Undying Loyalty: Most of them are highly dedicated and firm in their beliefs, to the point where some have willingly died to protect their cause, and the Island. They hold Jacob in extremely high esteem, despite never meeting him.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Not all of the Others are bad people, but they are all conditioned to go to crazy lengths to fulfill their tasks.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: In the final season, most of the Others are killed by The Man in Black. The ones who joined him instead of dying were later attacked by mortars from Charles Widmore's faction, killing all but a few who fled into the jungle. It's implied that whoever remained were later led by Hurley and Ben.
• You Kill It, You Bought It: The Others have a habit of commandeering the resources of the enemies they kill, adding to their strength. This is what they do to the U.S. soldiers who arrived on the Island in the 1950s. They do it again after the DHARMA Initiative purge in the late '80s or early '90s.

Ben

Benjamin Linus

"I always have a plan."

Played By: Michael Emerson & Sterling Beaumon (child)

Centric Episodes: "The Man Behind the Curtain", "The Shape of Things to Come", "Dead Is Dead", "Dr. Linus", "What They Died For", "The End"

"Those things had to happen to me. That was my destiny. But you'll understand soon enough that there are consequences to being chosen. Because destiny, John, is a fickle bitch."

A long-time resident of the Island and a leader of the Others. Though often a calm, eloquent antagonist, Ben's insecurity and jealousies sometimes brought out a petulant, reckless side. He remained, however, an expert manipulator, a liar and a murderer, and he served as an antagonist to the survivors for a long time.

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• Aborted Arc: Ben's fixation on Juliet is never brought up again after "The Other Woman"; they never interact again beyond the flashbacks in that episode, and Ben never so much as mentions Juliet for the rest of the series.
• Abusive Father: Had one in Roger Linus, a self-loathing drunk who blamed Ben for the death of his mother.
• Affably Evil: He's very charming, polite and softspoken even when manipulating you and planning your demise.
• Anti-Villain: For all his awful deeds and less than admirable qualities, Ben has genuinely suffered in his life, his goals are often for the betterment of his people, and, in later seasons, he pits himself against greater evils like Widmore and the Man in Black.
• Arch-Enemy:
  • For the survivors as a whole, particularly Jack, for much of the series. It's to the point that Jack declines to help save a twelve-year-old boy's life in season 5 because he knows that boy will grow up to be Ben.
  • Ben and Charlies Widmore have been at odds ever since Ben ousted him as leader of the Others, and it's Widmore's desire to kill Ben that brings Martin Keamy to the Island in season 4. Keamy's murder of Alex redoubles Ben's hatred for Widmore, and Ben very nearly murders Penny for revenge. Even after they end up on more or less the same side, Ben and Widmore's hatred remains, and after Widmore is forced to cooperate with the Man in Black to save Penny, Ben shoots him dead, bitterly remarking "he doesn't get to save his daughter".
• The Atoner: Eventually moves into this, particularly after the death of his daughter.
• Badass Bookworm: Ben might be slight of build, but he's fast and highly skilled. Plays up the bookworm part of it so much that it's still jarring whenever he decides to remind you that he's a merciless and capable killer. Put a baton in his hand and watch him wreck everybody.
• Badass in Distress: Even if beaten and bound, he not lose his composure and the possibility to do snark comments.
• Being Evil Sucks: Ben is slow on the draw, but he realizes this as the guilt over allowing his daughter to die begins to eat away at him and he realizes, as he put it to Iliana, the one thing that really mattered was already gone rather than the power that he so craved.
• Big Bad: Ben was a Hidden Villain during the first two seasons for the most part; the Others were shrouded in mystery and nobody even knew about Ben's existence, although he was the one who sent Ethan and Goodwin to infiltrate the survivors. When he finally appears in Season 2, he masquerades for most of it as 'Henry Gale' and claims that he crashed on the island just like the survivors. When he's revealed to be one of the Others, he pretends to be a regular mook until the Season Finale. In the third season he's the Big Bad in earnest, but becomes an Enemy Mine for the fourth and fifth seasons before finally graduating to Token Evil Teammate in Season 6.
• Blatant Lies: He's so good at it, he convinces people he's regularly betrayed to eat from his hand. It occurs so much that Sun even lampshades it by asking him why she should trust him (in one of the few occasions that he’s actually telling the truth) and he straight up says she shouldn’t.
• Breakout Character: Michael Emerson's debut performance was so good the writers changed the script, they wanted him so badly. Emerson also ended up getting more Emmy recognition for his performance than any other cast member, earning nominations for each of the show's last 4 seasons (and one win for Season 5).
• Breakout Villain: Originally scheduled for a three-episode run, the writers evolved him into the main antagonist for most of the series.
• Cassandra Truth: He spends most of "Through The Looking Glass" telling Jack that the Freighter crew aren't who they say they are and that the Survivors shouldn't trust them. Jack, naturally, refuses to listen because he assumes Ben's lying again. Except, as Charlie discovers, Ben was actually telling the truth for once.
• The Chessmaster: He's well-known for his skills in manipulation. Even people who know not to trust him end up doing his bidding. Even when trapped in the Hatch, he plays Jack and Locke against each other with minimal effort.
• The Chew Toy: It seems Michael Emerson's contract required him to get beat up and/or tied up at least twice a season.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Ben has a tendency to change his loyalties. He betrayed the Dharma Initiative to join the Others under Widmore's leadership, then betrayed Widmore and took his place. He later betrayed Locke, Jacob and the Man in Black (although he wasn't really on the Man in Black's side to begin with).
• Consummate Liar: "I Lied." is his Catchphrase, if that means anything. Even in the final season, his first instinct when confronted with a problem is to lie his way out of it, and he's vaguely annoyed whenever people who've dealt with him for any length of time are surprised to find that he lied to them. This creates a bit of a issue in a Played for Laughs way after his reformation, as Ilana found it hard to believe he wasn't the one who knocked out Sun even though he is now telling the truth.
• Cool Teacher: In the flash-sideways, he's this to Alex, tutoring her for her upcoming test in the library before school.
• Crazy-Prepared: To the point of keeping a shotgun in his piano bench, just in case.
• Creepy Blue Eyes: Ben's eyes are a light shade of blue that goes well with his manipulative nature. It's even brought to attention a few times when other characters such as Sawyer refer to Ben as a "bug-eyed bastard".
• Creepy Good: He's still shown to be a bit creepy in "The New Man In Charge", but is definitely a changed man.
• Creepy Monotone: He has a calm, long drawl that can be very creepy.
• Cultured Badass: He speaks a few languages, is an excellent cook, plays the piano and is very well-read.
• Deadpan Snarker: Ben is a major provider of snark, rivaling even Sawyer.
  "We have two giant hamsters running in a massive wheel in our secret underground lair."
  
  "No, John, unfortunately we don't have a code for "There is a man in my closet with a gun to my daughter's head" although we obviously should."
  
  "I'm a Pisces, John."
  
  "It's C4, Richard. I put some thought into hiding it."
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: In the Season 5 finale, he kills Jacob. Yes, that Jacob; the guy who's pretty much been played as God since his offscreen introduction to the series.
• Disc-One Final Boss: In the early seasons he was portrayed as the Big Bad, but it became much more questionable with his enemy, Charles Widmore, entering the picture. Finally Ben was revealed to be a pawn of the real Big Bad, Man in Black/Smoke Monster the whole time. It's played pretty straight too, since Ben was defeated and captured in the season 3 finale, the halfway point of the series, in which it seemed everything was finally going to be okay for the Oceanic survivors, until the Your Princess Is in Another Castle! twist ending. This leads to the second half of the series, which depicts Ben as slowly gearing toward a Heel–Face Turn, which he finally does in the final season.
• The Dog Bites Back: While he's pretending to be The Dragon to the Man in Black (who had manipulated Ben for most of his life), he learns of the location of the boat Smokey intends on using to escape the Island. After rejoining the survivors and getting stuck under a tree saving Hurley, he tells Kate where MiB's boat is. This not only helps some of the main characters get off the Island, but results in Kate arriving in the nick of time to stop Man in Black from killing Jack, and finally Man in Black's Disney Villain Death.
• The Dragon: Ben inadvertently became The Dragon to the Man in Black, who was pretending to be John Locke at the time. When the Man in Black revealed who he really was, he offered Ben the role of The Dragon again but Ben refused. He then pretended to be The Dragon for a final time, when actually he was just trying to survive while also covertly helping the survivors.
• Driven by Envy: He attempts to kill John when it seems that he is The Chosen One by Jacob and later succeeds in Season 5. In the finale, after reuniting in the afterlife, Ben apologizes to Locke and tells him that he killed him "because [Locke] was special. And [Ben] wasn't."
• Enemy Mine: Pretty much this to the rest of the cast.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: His adopted daughter, Alex. When she is killed, Ben is crushed and spends the next seasons trying to atone for it.
• Even Evil Has Standards: He has a thing about not hurting children, and he couldn't bring himself to murder Penny in cold blood in front of her son.
• Fatal Flaw: He has three core flaws.
  • Pride and a need for control: Ben has a constant need to feel like he is in control, which causes him to cajole and manipulate the people around him. Unfortunately for Ben, this is not a good way to earn trust and he is disliked and distrusted by everyone who comes near him.
  • His desire to feel accepted, and his feeling that he is meant for more, which causes him to overcompensate for his insecurity by becoming a ruthless, controlling leader.
  • Insecurity: deep down, Ben Linus is a scared, confused little man who desperately wants agency in his life, and he will do anything in order to keep power for himself because of his feelings of inadequacy.
• First-Name Basis: Calls everyone he works against by their first name, showing his affable side.
• Foil: To John Locke. The two of them come from rough backgrounds, with fathers who abused and exploited them and having a strong constant desire to belong somewhere and have agency in their lives. The difference is that John, while being opaque and more than a little eccentric, is generally a decent man who wants to help others, while Ben is a swarmy, amoral Manipulative Bastard who uses people at will, though he does come to be a better man as the series moves along.
• Forgot to Gag Him: The amount of times the other characters don't do this is amazing. They may as well have not even tied him up if they're going to let him talk.
  • A truly shining example from Season 4: Sawyer finally wisens up and tries to just shoot Ben on the spot while he is beaten, bloodied and with his hands bound. Linus talks himself out of it on the spot, but is still locked in a solitary room in a basement. Then he talks himself out of it too and is allowed to eat with everybody in the kitchen while still being closely watched. Skip one episode and he is left totally by himself, playing a piano with a shotgun hidden inside it, just in case. And by this point he has already lied to, manipulated and even ordered to kill main characters multiple times, so they REALLY should have known what to expect.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Phlegmatic.
• Freudian Excuse: His father was horribly abusive to him, blaming him for the death of his mother. He was also corrupted by the Others and Jacob from a young age, which is largely Sayid's fault since he shot an innocent, abused child who had risked a great deal to help him because of things he hadn't done to him yet, so the other survivors were forced to turn to the Others to save his life (which involved an almost literal Deal with the Devil which basically life-binded Ben to the Others, which set him up to be their main antagonist later on in the future.)
• From Nobody to Nightmare: From a quiet young boy to a ruthless mass murderer pulling all the strings.
• Genius Bruiser: He's a small, scholarly-looking man capable of beating the hell out of big tough guys like Sawyer and Keamy.
• Genocide from the Inside: He helped the Hostiles exterminate all his fellow Dharma Initiative members. Although it wasn't his decision but a order given by the Leader at the time.
• Go-Karting with Bowser: In one of the "missing pieces" mobisodes, Jack plays chess with Ben, with the latter noting he's the first person in a long time to be giving him a challenge at the game.
• Going Down with the Ship: When the Island is sinking in "The End", he decides that he will stay behind and comes as close as it is to namedrop this trope while still referring to the Island.
  "If this Island's going down then I'm going down with it."
• The Heavy: He's the main antagonist for the majority of the series. Even when he was the Token Evil Teammate, it seemed that he was ultimately going to wind up as the show's Big Bad until towards the end of Season 6, when the true Big Bad is revealed to be the Man in Black, aka the Smoke Monster, who manipulated even Ben's actions the entire time, and finally plays the role directly in the final season, while Ben winds up pulling a Heel–Face Turn.
  Ben: When I'm at war, I'll do what I need to do to win, but I will not kill innocent people.
• Heel–Face Turn: Done beautifully in a gradual build-up before finally being solidified in "Dr. Linus".
• Heroic Sacrifice: A non-fatal one. He pushes Hurley out of the way of a fallen tree and ends up stuck under it as a result. Thankfully, the survivors recognize him as on their side now and manage to get him free.
• He Who Fights Monsters: The majority of his kill count are people who have tried to either hurt/destroy the Island or his people (and those that REALLY deserved it *cough*Keamy*cough*). He dedicated his entire life to keeping the Others and The Island safe from harm.
• I Choose to Stay: In the series finale, Ben is one of the only characters to remain in the Flash-Sideways reality after regaining their memories. When Locke inquires about this, Ben says he "still has things [he] needs to work out," which, based on the season's previous episodes, implies he wants to look after Alex for the time being.
• I Just Want to Be Special: The Season 5 finale reveals that Benjamin Linus deeply wants to be as special as Locke seems to be. When he gives Jacob a speech about this, Jacob basically tells him that he was never special. Ben, not taking this very well, stabs and kills Jacob.
• Iconic Sequel Character: Big time. He's easily one of the most important characters in later seasons and yet he wasn't introduced until halfway through the second season.
• Idiot Ball: Sending Ethan, the Others' "brilliant" (and apparently only) surgeon on a dangerous infiltration mission was not one of Ben's smarter ideas, especially since Ben had discovered a fatal tumor on his spine two days prior.
• Iron Butt Monkey: Despite the many brutal beatings Ben takes over the course of his appearances, he never suffers long-term consequences from his injuries and survives to the end of the series.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Zigzagged, Ben Linus is a swarmy bastard who often and shamelessly manipulates other people for his own ends. He does show the human side of himself to people, but just as often reveals to be lying or using people. Ultimately he does see the error of his ways, and becomes a better person in the process.
• Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: While Ben Linus spends most of the series rotating through the Heel–Face Revolving Door, his most heinous act is his callous murder of John Locke, strangling and hanging him just minutes after talking him out of suicide for no other reason than petty jealousy. It's treated as an In-Universe Moral Event Horizon and is one of the few things he ever shows genuine guilt for. Locke forgiving him in the afterlife makes him almost break down in gratitude, and it is this moment in which his redemption is solidified.
• Karma Houdini: Some may see him as one of these. He survives the series and is forgiven by the characters despite the fact he committed several murders and put the survivors through hell. However he isn't a true example, as he constantly gets his ass kicked, loses everything he cared about, and he finally realizes what a monster he has been in his quest for power and decides to redeem himself of his actions. In the afterlife, he is shown to be a much better person, and despite all of the forgiveness and redemption, he still decides not to move on since he feels he hasn't earned it yet. Lampshaded musically by the track "Karma Has No Price" that plays during his redemption scene.
• Karmic Butt-Monkey: Ben is the series' main Manipulative Bastard, an unrepentant murderer and makes the survivors' time on the Island a living hell for no good reason. He's also on the receiving end of a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown so many times it comes across as a Running Gag.
• Kick The Son Of A Bitch: More and more during the progress of his Heel–Face Turn.
  • Knocking out Anthony Cooper with his walking stick.
  • Killing Martin Keamy.
  • Killing Charles Widmore.
• Knight Templar Parent/Papa Wolf: Toward his adopted daughter, Alex, to the point of attempting to brainwash her boyfriend to prevent Alex from getting pregnant. His direct responsibility for her death is a major driver of his Atoner status in Season 4 and beyond.
• The Lancer:
  • Post Heel–Face Turn in Season 6, Ben serves this role to Ilana for a short period before she blows herself up with dynamite. Where Ilana's primary goal is serving Jacob's last will by helping the candidates achieve their destiny, Ben has no love lost for Jacob and is more concerned with the immediate problems of survival and defeating the Man in Black. Ilana also prefers to solve her problems by pointing guns at them, while Ben resorts more to tricks and duplicity.
  • Becomes Hurley's lieutenant on the Island at the end of the series.
• Laser-Guided Karma: When he was the manipulative leader of the Others who killed and tormented people, he lost everything (his adopted daughter, his leadership, etc.). It worked both ways as well, since when Ben redeemed himself, things went a lot better for him and even saved his life.
• Manipulative Bastard: He plays damn near everyone like a fiddle through lies, nuggets of truth and emotional exploitation. He's manipulated almost the entire cast at some point or another, and they only continue to even pay attention to him because he convinces them to.
  Alex: "That's what my father does - he manipulates people. He makes you think it's your idea but it's his."
• Meaningful Name: In The Bible, Benjamin was Jacob's twelfth and youngest son, whose mother Rachel also died in childbirth. Though in Genesis, Benjamin was not the name given by his dying mother.
  • Linus was the name of the second pope in the pope line, successing st Peter, and is thus mostly remembered as "the second pope". Ben Linus is Jacob´s second, and later Hurley´s second.
• Minored In Ass Kicking: Ben's The Chessmaster, through and through. That being said, if push comes to shove he will wreck your shit in the blink of an eye, though he's still not quite as much of a fighter as Sayid, Keamy or Desmond.
• Missing Mom: His mother died in childbirth. (Interestingly, she was played by Michael Emerson's wife.)
• Moral Myopia:
  • When he attacks Ana-Lucia in season 2, Ben describes the two Others she killed as "good people who were leaving you alone"; the only way this statement works is if Ben means Ana-Lucia specifically, and even then, he's disregarding the fact that said Others (and the group as a whole) were kidnapping members of her group.
  • While fatally stabbing Keamy, Ben is furiously reminding the mercenary that he murdered Ben's daughter. When Locke points out that Keamy's death will doom everyone on the freighter due to his Dead Man's Switch, Ben coldly replies "so?".
• Morality Pet: He sucks as a father, and isn't exactly a saint in other aspects of his life, but his love for his adopted daughter is genuine and drives forward his redemption arc. When she is killed, Ben blames himself.
• More than Mind Control: He's able to convince people who want him dead to do his bidding.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Has this expression after he tries to save Alex's life by telling Keamy he doesn't care about her. When Keamy kills her as a result, Ben has a look of horror as he realizes the last thing Alex heard was that he didn't love her and only used her as a pawn. He spends the rest of the next few episodes in genuine shock and guilt.
• The Napoleon: Even compared to Napoleon in the show on one occasion.
• Non-Action Guy: He almost never uses a gun or engages in a fight. which made his No-Holds-Barred Beatdown of Keamy all the more terrifying.
• Number Two: To Hurley, post-finale.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Not so much stupidity as weakness. His bookish appearance makes it easy for him to appear harmless and vulnerable — right up until he stabs you in the neck or takes your gun and shoots you with it.
• Odd Friendship:
  • Ben and Hurley form a strange friendship over the course of the last few seasons starting from Hurley sharing his candy bar with him. At the end of the series, they work together to protect the Island, and in the afterlife are clearly happy to see each other.
  • Also with Sun, who after finding out he didn't kill her husband, the two can be found talking to the point that Ben of all people is actually "honest" with her and tries to protect her from Flocke even before his Heel-Face Turn is completed. She also shows small signs of concern for him, and was happy he was back in "Dr. Linus".
• Pet the Dog: The first instance is in "The Man Behind The Curtain". Despite being responsible for The Purge, the only member of the Dharma Initiative Ben shows actual remorse for killing is Horace and respectfully closes his eyes. In the flashsideways, he's a gentle and good-natured teacher.
• Redemption Equals Life: Ben's newfound selflessness results in him surviving the series.
• Revenge by Proxy: He kills Jacob partially for manipulating him his entire life, leading him into misery and bloodshed and then dismissing him thoughtlessly, but also for allowing Alex to die when Ben believed she was under Jacob's mystical 'protection'.
• Reverse Psychology: Attempts to invoke this with Martin Keamey when Martin has Alex captured and threatening to kill her so he can draw Ben out. Ben, in an attempt to save Alex's life, says that he doesn't love Alex and that he stole her as a baby to be used as nothing more than a pawn for him, and for Keamy to just shoot her since she's not leverage...but Keamy shoots her anyways, resulting in Ben realizing he screwed up seeing Alex's corpse fall to the ground.
• Reverse Psychology Backfire: Part of the above trope. When Keamy actually kills Alex after Ben insists he doesn't love her in an attempt to save her life, Ben stares uncomphrehendingly at her corpse.
• Self-Made Orphan: His mother died shortly after he was born and he eventually killed his father with toxic gas during The Pruge of the Dharma Initiative.
• The Sociopath: Ultimately subverted. Ben displays almost every sign of being a sociopath, but his love for Alex and regret for his actions prove that he isn't one.
• The Starscream: His goal was to become ruler of the Island, so he played this role quite frequently. His actions came back to haunt him big time, leading him to not only pull a Heel–Face Turn, but even willingly accept the role of Number Two to Hurley, who had become the new Big Good, and remained loyal to him for the many years the protected the Island. Several years before the series, he was this to Widmore, exiling him for being involved with a woman in the outside world (a relationship that produced Penny), and usurping his position.
• Summon Bigger Fish: After being Forced to Watch Keamy murder his daughter Alex, Ben calmly summons the Monster to the Barracks to attack the mercenaries. It takes several hours, but once the Monster does arrive, he effortlessly takes the mercs down and gives Ben's group the opportunity to escape.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: When Locke mentions the possibility of Richard taking him to see Jacob, Ben very quickly says that Richard "doesn't know where Jacob is, he doesn't talk to Jacob". Locke doesn't pick up on it, but Ben's slightly panicked response basically confirms what the show will later explicitly state, that Richard is the only one of the Others who actually talks to Jacob.
• Take Over the City: His primary goal throughout the series is this, albeit it's an island, not a city. He succeeds in becoming leader of the Others, though he eventually loses his leadership role and tries to reclaim it frequently. However at the end of the series he gives up on this goal as a result of him losing his adopted daughter Alex as well as guilt and remorse towards his past actions in trying to achieve this goal, leading to him pulling a Heel–Face Turn and even rejecting promises by the Man in Black that he would be ruler of the Island if he helped him escape. He later seems to accept this offer, but is shown to actually be plotting against the Monster and immediately rejoins the survivors once Man in Black goes with Jack and Desmond to the Heart of the Island. In the end, he even willingly accepts being the loyal Number Two to Hurley.
• Token Evil Teammate: For the survivors, after he falls from leadership.
• Tranquil Fury: "Ah... well."
• Unwitting Pawn: While Ben loves to use this against literally everyone, he ironically turns out to be this to the Man in Black, who begins exploiting him from a very young age taking on his mother's appearance and eventually infecting him with cancer.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Ben was a shy, quiet, bookish little boy who was twisted by circumstances into a monster.
• Villainous Breakdown:
  • Toward the end of the third season. His slow recovery from surgery, the war with the survivors, Alex's rebellion, Naomi's appearance and the rest of the Others growing dissatisfaction with his leadership result in Ben becoming angry and bloodthirsty.
  • When faced with the man who killed his daughter (who, it should be pointed out, is a highly trained mercenary), he manages to take him down in a straight fight and stab him to death with his own knife. Honestly not too horrible on its own, but both he and Locke are aware that Keamy’s heart monitor would cause the freighter to explode with dozens of people on it when Keamy died. His only reaction when Locke points that out is a “So?”, delivered with absolutely zero emotion behind it.
• Villainous BSoD: After Alex dies, he stares outward in blank incomprehension. For several episodes after that, he shows almost no emotion.
• Villain Protagonist: In his centric episodes.
• Warrior Therapist: A villainous example; a master of More than Mind Control and Break Them by Talking, but he has killed a Crazy-Prepared ex-Marine with a telescoping baton and nearly choked a former cop to death in hand-to-hand combat while his hands were tied.
• Wouldn't Hurt a Child: One of his earliest redeeming features. Alex became his adoptive daughter because he refused to kill a child. He also decided not to kill Penny because he saw her with little Charlie. He is not above kidnapping them though. This trait is what allows the show to show Ben as someone capable of redemption by comparing that with the other Big Bad of Season 6, Charles Widmore, the man who ordered him to kill Alex in the first place.
• Wicked Cultured: Ben is well-read and cultured; he speaks a few languages, he's in a book club, enjoys literature like Ulysses, plays the piano and, unsurprisingly, he's an excellent chess player.
• Yandere: For Juliet, in Seasons 3 and 4. He even orchestrates Goodwin's death because he's his romantic rival. Then he shows Juliet the body and tells her "You're mine.".

Juliet

Dr. Juliet Burke (nee Carlson)

"It's very stressful being an Other, Jack."

Played By: Elizabeth Mitchell & Rylee Fansler (child)

Centric Episodes: "A Tale of Two Cities", "Not in Portland", "One of Us", "The Other Woman", "The Incident, Part 2", "The End"

"I've been trying to get off of this island for more than three years, and now I've got my chance."

A medical fertility specialist who was recruited to the Island by Richard Alpert. On the Island, she tried to solve the fertility problems, but was unsuccessful. She had an affair with Goodwin, until a jealous Ben sent him to the Tailies, where one of them killed him.

After the crash of Oceanic Flight 815, Juliet was sent as a mole to the survivors' camp. However, she betrayed the Others and chose to stay with the survivors.

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• Action Girl: Juliet is a stone-cold badass and one of the best combatants in the series. She flips Kate over with the skill of a mixed martial artist, frequently gets the better of other people, and is a crack shot with a pistol. Even when she's injured, she just pops her dislocated shoulder back in.
• All Girls Want Bad Boys: With Edmund Burke, Goodwin and especially with Sawyer.
• Ambiguously Evil: Season 3 plays around with what side Juliet is really on, with her aiding the survivors and working as Ben's mole in their camp in the same episode. By the end, it's made clear that she has fully defected to the survivors' side, and is working with Jack to derail Ben's plans.
• Back for the Finale: Like everyone, she returns in the finale.
• Badass Bookworm: She hosts her own bookclub and is a fan of Carrie.
• Betty and Veronica: The Betty to Kate's Veronica for Sawyer's Archie.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Juliet is sweetly charming, but cross her and she will put you down without hesitation.
• Break the Cutie: Poor, adorable Juliet goes through absolute hell both on-island and off, usually due to Edmund Burke or Ben Linus.
• Cut the Safety Rope: Of the "letting go of hands" variety.
• Dark Action Girl: Before abandoning the Others in favor of the Survivors.
• Deadpan Snarker: No amount of trauma can stop her snark.
  Sawyer: So, you screwing Jack yet?
  Juliet: No, are you?
  
  Sawyer: [after his food gets stuck in a vending machine, Juliet catches him reaching into it] It's okay, I'm a cop.
  Juliet: Then why don't you read the machine its rights?
• Defecting for Love: At first, she shows romantic interest in Jack, but later falls in love with Sawyer. Then dies. A bit of an expansion: the Others and the Losties were usually opposing forces, similar to the Montagues and Capulets. Juliet was The Dragon to Ben until her Heel–Face Turn.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Played straight, but also inverted in her backstory. In the three years since she'd been an Other, she pretty much completely froze over.
• Despair Event Horizon: Comes close on several occasions, resulting in her personality change during her time with the Others. She crosses it when she realises that the life she and Sawyer built for themselves on the island is ending forever. This brings on her Heroic BSoD at the end of Season 5.
• The Dog Bites Back: Via cue cards — "Ignore everything I'm saying." "Ben is a liar" "...And he's very dangerous." "But it has to look like an accident." "It's a very complicated surgery. No one would ever know."
• Establishing Character Moment: One of her earliest episodes demonstrated that she doesn't mess around. When Sawyer and Kate acted out of line, she aimed a gun at Kate's head. And Sawyer commented that she would've done it too without even batting a lash.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: The flashbacks to before came to the Island show her with curly hair. By the present day it's much straighter, reflecting how hardened she's become by her experiences.
• Extreme Doormat: Before joining the Others, she worked for her ex-husband who walked all over her and flaunted his affair with his sexy new assistant. It took a literal Bus Crash to free her.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Choleric.
• Heel–Face Turn: She leaves the Others to join the Survivors, acting as a mole.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Juliet detonates the hydrogen bomb to reverse the timeline, being fatally wounded in the process.
• Hospital Hottie: Ed Burke, Goodwin, Ben, Jack and Sawyer all agree she's extremely attractive. She's a tall, stunning blonde who also happens to be a highly skilled OB/GYN.
• Iconic Sequel Character: Made her first appearance in the third season premiere and ultimately the only character introduced after the second season to appear in the Grand Finale's final scene.
• Informed Attribute: Apparently she looks uncannily similar to Sarah, Jack's ex-wife. The only real resemblance is that they're both blonde. This is lampshaded by the cue cards Juliet uses to secretly communicate with Jack; the season 3 DVD boxset shows that the last one reads "and your ex-wife is much prettier than me".
• Insecure Love Interest: Juliet's parents divorced when she was a child, and the negative effect that had on her is visible in the romances she pursues as an adult; despite her beauty, charm, and intellect, Juliet is never quite comfortable in her relationships, and some of her partners have been less than decent people. Her ex-husband Edmund was a rude jerk who flaunted his new relationships in her face, Goodwin was married (albeit unhappily) and may have developed feelings for Ana-Lucia, and Jack, though a good man, was in love with Kate, and Juliet knew it. Even after forming a happy relationship with Sawyer, the moment Kate came back, Juliet's insecurities bubbled up again and she was sure that her romance with Sawyer was doomed, which drove her to support Jack's plan in the season 5 finale, which led to Juliet's death.
• The Lancer: After Sawyer takes over as leader in Season 5 with Jack and Locke both off the Island, Juliet becomes his Lancer, firmly committing to always having Sawyer's back, even when she thinks his "plans" are terrible. This eventually leads to the pair getting together.
• Meaningful Name: Much like her namesake, she ends up one half of a pair of Star-Crossed Lovers.
• The Medic: For the Others and the Survivors. She helps Sun with her pregnancy.
• The Mole: Ben sends her to infiltrate the Survivors, but it's revealed that when she joined them she instantly confided her true role in Jack. From there on, she pretended to aid the Others while truly helping the Survivors.
• Nice Girl: Despite her traumas and deceptively hard edge, Juliet is a sweet, charming woman whose main interest is in doing what's best for others.
• Not So Stoic:
  • When Juliet first appears, she's a very cold, clinical person with an even voice and logical tone. However, when she leaves the Others and settles with the Survivors, she shows a more genuine side, appearing bright, friendly, warm and considerate.
  • Normally, Juliet is very calm under pressure, but when a young Widmore threatens to cut off her arms (intending to hack off one just to show he's serious), Juliet is clearly panicked and afraid.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: She gives a coldly logical speech to Sawyer and Sayid, calling them out on their distrust of her.
  "You know, it's interesting that you two are now the camp's moral police. I'm curious, Sayid, how long was it before you told everyone on that beach exactly how many people you've tortured in your life. Do they know about Basra? And I'm sure the first thing you did when you got here, James, was to gather everyone in a circle, and tell them about the man you shot in cold blood the night before you got on the plane. So why don't we just skip the part where you two pretend to be righteous. I'm taking that medication back to Claire. And you're gonna let me. Because if she doesn't get it, she's gonna die. And the last thing that either of you need right now, is more blood on your hands."
• Romantic Runner-Up: Plays this three times over, with her ex-husband flaunting his sleeping around with younger women in her face, knowing that her lover Goodwin probably had feelings for another woman (Ana-Lucia) before he was killed, and losing Jack to Kate. It's the possibility of having this happen a fourth time, losing Sawyer to Kate, that causes her insecurities to rise to the top and eventually leads to her death.
• "Shaggy Dog" Story: She never gets off the island to see her sister again, even in the afterlife.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Watch her normal cool, soft-spoken nature, and then watch her big smile when Sawyer brings her a flower.
• Statuesque Stunner: At 5'9" she's one of the taller female characters.
• The Stoic: Most of the time, Juliet is cool and even-tempered. Even after watching the freighter explode (and with it her biggest hope of getting off the Island and, as far as Juliet knows, half a dozen of her friends), Juliet just drinks on the beach without breaking down, her lack of outward emotion initially making an oblivious Sawyer think she's celebrating their imminent escape.
• Take My Hand!: Sawyer desperately tries this to save her. It ultimately isn't enough.
• Took a Level in Badass: She used to be an Extreme Doormat. Now, not so much.
• Would Not Hurt A Child: Even given the chance to avoid her the terrible things Ben put her through, she won't hurt his younger self.
  Juliet: That kid was bleeding out. You're a surgeon, and I needed you.
  Jack: That kid is Ben.
  Juliet: It's not Ben yet. He's just a kid.
• Wrench Wench: As a member of the DHARMA Initiative.
• Working with the Ex: With Edmund in flashbacks and Jack in the flash-sideways.

Richard

Richard Alpert

"This was a gift from Jacob. Only...it's not a gift at all. It's a curse."

Played By: Nestor Carbonell

Centric Episodes: "Follow the Leader", "Ab Aeterno"

Ben: He's Richard Alpert. He's a kind of...advisor. And he has had that job for a very, very long time.

The enigmatic and seemingly ageless advisor to the leader of The Others.

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• Accidental Murder: Accidentally killing a cruel and elitist doctor is what led to Richard (then Ricardo) being but on the Black Rock in the first place, thus bringing him to the Island.
• The Ageless: Jacob gave him immortality; Richard can be killed, but he doesn't age and hasn't for hundreds of years.
• Blessed with Suck: When Jacob dies, Richard quickly becomes disillusioned and describes his "gift" of agelessness as "a curse".
• The Consigliere: To the Leader of the Others, whoever that may be at the time.
• Crisis of Faith: Following Jacob's death, Richard loses his faith and becomes a Death Seeker.
• Deadpan Snarker: He's right up up there with Sawyer and Ben in this department.
  Locke: What is this?
  Richard: It's a compass.
  Locke: What does it do?
  Richard: It points north, John.
• Death Seeker: When Jacob dies and he believes there's no point to his life.
  "I devoted my life, longer than you can possibly imagine, in service of a man who told me that everything was happening for a reason, that he had a plan, plan that I was a part of, when the time was right that he'd share it with me, and now that man's gone so...why do I want to die? Because I just found out my entire life had no purpose."
• Enigmatic Minion: Richard's agelessness, his tendency to turn up at unexpected times, strangely gentle yet ruthless actions and innate charisma ensured that many fans were very interested in the exact nature of Richard Alpert.
• First Gray Hair: Notices it in the series finale. He’s overjoyed that he’s aging again, as it means he can finally die.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Melancholic.
• Heartbroken Badass: Due to the death of his wife. Hundreds of years later, he still loves her dearly and grieves for her.
• Heroic BSoD: After Jacob is killed.
• Honest Advisor: To the leader of the Others. Richard is fully aware of how valuable he is, and isn't afraid to tell whoever the leader is exactly what he thinks. It's up to them whether or not they take his advice, but since he's responsible for choosing the next leader, it's in their best interests to keep him satisfied. Richard clashed with Widmore frequently while he was the leader, and Widmore was subsequently desposed by Richard's chosen successor: Ben. And Ben himself was ousted when Richard began to believe that he was 'wasting time' with all the effort he poured into solving the pregnancy problem.
• I Cannot Self-Terminate: Like all of Jacob's followers, Richard is unable to kill himself.
• I Have Many Names: His original name is Ricardo. He's been variously known as Richardus and eventually Richard Alpert. Technically, they’re all variations on the same name.
• Immortality Seeker -> Who Wants to Live Forever?: Richard wanted to live forever because he was afraid of going to hell, but later becomes disillusioned following Jacob's death.
• The Lancer/The Dragon: To whoever is leading The Hostiles/Others at the time, and Jacob all the time.
• Meaningful Name: He is named after contemporary spiritual teacher Ram Dass, whose original name was Richard Alpert.
• Mouth of Sauron: For Jacob, who is notoriously distant and dislikes being around people. Richard is the only member of the Others to speak to Jacob (and even then, it seems to be infrequent) and relay his commands.
• Not So Stoic: Even with a gun aimed at him, Richard stays unflappable. However, there are times when he loses it, especially in Season 6 when he has to deal with the Man in Black.
• Older Than They Look: And how. Richard looks to be in his 40s, but is closer to being 200 years old at the time of the series.
• Promotion to Opening Titles: Nestor Carbonell was elevated to the main cast for the final season after recurring heavily in the show since Season 3.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: He'd have to in order to stay the most constant member of the Others. Richard shows himself to be a capable fighter and a good shot.
• Really 700 Years Old: Looks about 40. He's closer to 170.
• The Starscream: Richard isn't a starscream himself, but he's a facilitator for The Starscream; he chooses who the next leader of the Others is going to be, and helps to oust the previous leader to make room for the new one.
• Trauma Conga Line: His backstory episode really does showcase one horrible event after the other.
  • His beloved wife is dying.
  • A snobby doctor treats him terribly and refuses to help.
  • His wife dies as a result.
  • He's imprisoned for accidentally killing the doctor and sentenced to die.
  • A corrupt priest tells him he's going to hell no matter what.
  • He's sold as a slave to Magnus Hanso.
  • He crashes on the island and watches as the other slaves are slaughtered right in front of him, and he is nearly killed himself.
  • Although he is the sole survivor, he spends days dying of thirst locked up in a ship.
  • The Man in Black manipulates him into trying to kill Jacob, resulting in him getting his ass beaten.
• Wham Line: Not said by him, but about him: "Hello, Richard. It's good to see you out of those chains."
• Wham Shot: His appearance in Ben's flashbacks... looking no younger than he does in the present.