The Others: Who's on Whose Side?

Whose side is each of The Others on? The executive producers have stated in The Official LOST Podcast that there is more than one faction of The Others. I've put together an analysis of information from the show that may help sort out who's on whose side. My basic assumption is that Ben and Juliet are on opposite sides, primarily because Juliet told Jack via the cue cards on the video tape that "Some of us want a change" and asked Jack to kill Ben.

This page and the chart below may be updated occasionally as new information is revealed in the show or from official sources.


Click on the chart to view a larger version in a new window.

Following is a list of Others for whom we both know their names and have seen them on the show, along with an analysis of their apparent loyalties.

Adam:

• took Ben's side during the book club debate

Alex:

• seems to be on Ben's side
• she demanded of Pickett, "I want to talk to Ben"
• she apparently opened the door to Jack's room, and Ben was there moments later; perhaps Ben asked her to open the door so Jack would see Kate and Sawyer sleeping together on the security monitor
  
• before the surgery, Ben asked whether Alex had asked about him
  
• not loyal to Pickett or his team
  
• she ran in and surprise-attacked them with her slingshot
• loyal to Karl
• she asked Kate if she had seen him
• she referred to him as her boyfriend
• seems to also be on the Flight 815 survivors' side
• she helped Claire escape when The Others tried to take her unborn baby
• she spoke with Kate in private, hiding from the Others who were making Kate work
• she warned Kate and Sawyer to not trust "them" (presumably, Pickett and Juliet's faction)
• apparently freed Jack from his cell, as her voice came on the intercom and told him to try the door
  

Amelia:

• seems to be on Juliet's side
• seemed to be a good friend of Juliet when greeted at the door
  
• took Juliet's side during the book club debate

Bea (Ms. Klugh):

• seems to be on Ben's side
• gave Michael the list with Jack's name on it, presumably on Ben's orders because Ben needed Jack to perform surgery on him—plus, according to Pickett, Jack "wasn't even on Jacob's list," which also indicates that only Ben wanted Jack
  

Ben Linus:

• not loyal to Juliet
• willing to let Jack kill her
• willing to let her die in the flood
• seems loyal to Alex
• before he underwent surgery, he asked whether Alex had asked about him
• he knew when Jack had escaped from his room, and apparently Alex was the one who let him out, which might indicate that Ben and Alex were working together
• seems to be friends with Tom
• Tom followed his orders in bringing Kate to the beach breakfast
  
• he and Tom had a friendly conversation after Colleen's surgery
  

Colleen (deceased):

• loyal to her husband, Pickett, who seems to be more on Juliet's side
• may be on Ben's side, in spite of her husband
  
• the brief scene in which she interrupted Ben and Juliet's conversation implied friction between Juliet and Colleen, so they may have been on opposite sides (thanks to Claude and Justin from The Lost Lowdown podcast for pointing this out; I still want to rewatch the scene and possibly update the chart to reflect this)
  

Danny Pickett:

• seems to not be on Ben's side
  
• wanted to kill Sawyer, while Ben wanted Sawyer alive
• left during Ben's surgery to go kill Sawyer, indicating a lack of concern for Ben and a lack of respect for Ben's wishes
• opposed Alex, while Ben apparently supports her
  
• seems to be on Juliet's side
• works with Juliet at keeping Kate and Sawyer busy breaking up and hauling rocks
  
• when Ben asked Juliet whether Alex had asked about him, Pickett stood by Juliet by not saying anything about Alex
  
• may also have loyalties to Ben, perhaps only superficially
• followed Tom's orders when Tom said that Jack was going to kill Ben
• obviously very loyal to his deceased wife, Colleen

Ethan Rom (deceased):

• followed Ben's orders in infiltrating the fuselage survivors' camp
• worked on Juliet's plumbing, and the scene seemed to hint that there might have been a relationship between them
  

Goodwin (deceased):

• followed Ben's orders in infiltrating the tail section survivors' camp

Jason:

• may be on Pickett's side
• left Ben's surgery right after it began to help Pickett with Sawyer's execution, even though they didn't have Ben's permission to kill Sawyer
  
• held Kate at gunpoint while Pickett was about to shoot Sawyer
• may be on Ben's side
• assisted Matthew with Sawyer's injection, thus helping Ben to con Sawyer
  
• went with Ben and Sawyer to the lookout
• was hesitant to leave Ben during the surgery, as indicated by his line to Pickett, "Ben's just gone into surgery" as the two were already leaving; nevertheless, he chose to go with Pickett
  

Juliet:

• apparently not loyal to Ben
• covertly asked Jack via her video to kill Ben during surgery
• didn't care whether Ben was in her book club
• after Pickett's crew captured Alex, Juliet "took her home," but when Ben asked Juliet whether Alex had asked about him, Juliet lied and said "No"
  

Karl:

• apparently may have been loyal to Alex
• probably not "Friendly" with Tom, since Tom treated him roughly after the escape attempt

Matthew:

• may be on Ben's side
• injected Sawyer per Ben's plan
• went with Ben and Sawyer to the lookout
• may be on Pickett's side
• first seen walking with Colleen

Tom (Mr. Friendly):

• seems to be on Ben's side:
• seemed genuinely concerned about Ben during the surgery, especially when Jack cut Ben's kidney sac
  
• took Jack's orders when Jack threatened to let Ben die
• hung out and chatted with Ben after Colleen's surgery

This article was discussed in The Lost Lowdown podcast, episode 18 [MP3 link], from 4:13:37 to 4:18:53.

Do you have any further light to shed on The Others' apparent factions? Please post your comments here.

[Last updated Friday, 17 November 2006 @ 7:23 AM PST]

"The Cost of Living" Analysis and Spoilers for "I Do"

Early in the fifth episode of Season 3, The Cost of Living, an apparition of Yemi appears to Mr. Eko in his tent and says to Eko, "It is time to confess, to be judged, brother. I will be waiting. You know where to find me." Eko's tent then catches on fire—a tangible evidence that Eko was not merely dreaming, since Yemi had been holding a burning candle.

Ben asks Juliet at Colleen's funeral, "Why did you show him my X-rays?" thus proving that the X-rays really are Ben's and that Ben really did not intend for Jack to see the X-rays yet.

Ben reveals, "We had a plan to break you, Jack," and tells Jack that it wasn't a coincidence that Juliet looked like his ex-wife, Sarah. In other words, it seems that The Others intended all along to try to get Jack on their side by kindling within him a romantic interest in Juliet.

When Eko looks inside the plane, Yemi's body is gone. We know from Official LOST Podcasts that when people die on LOST, they're really dead. There are very obvious parallels between Yemi's appearance on the island and Christian Shephard's appearance in the Season 1 episode White Rabbit. The deceased person continually tries to stay out of reach, walking or running off into the jungle, and eventually leading to the place where the deceased person's body had once been. You might recall that Christian Shephard's casket was empty when Jack found it on the island. Initially, this prompted speculation that Jack's dad really wasn't dead, or that Christian's body never was on the plane to begin with. In light of new evidence, however, it seems apparent that when the smoke monster disguises itself as a dead person, the person's body is no longer where it should be. Apparently, when Jack thought he was seeing his dad on the island, he was really seeing a manifestation of the smoke monster. We might also assume that the black horse that Kate and Sawyer saw was really an appearance of the smoke monster, as could have been other character appearances on the island (possibly Hurley's imaginary friend Dave, who tried to get Hurley to jump off a cliff, or some post-kidnapping appearances of Walt, for example—or perhaps even some appearances of the dog Vincent, if you believe that crackpot theory).

Further evidences that the fake Yemi was tangible: Eko pulled out of his pocket the photo that Yemi gave him in the tent, and Locke found the cross necklace in the jungle.

One of the most interesting scenes in The Cost of Living is when Mr. Eko sees Yemi again, and rather than confessing of his sins, he explains that he feels that he has not sinned, but has done only what was required of him. The apparition of Yemi mysteriously remarks that Eko spoke to him as if he was his brother. This could be taken many ways, but based on the explanation in this week's Official LOST Podcast, apparently this was supposed to be understood to mean that this was not really Yemi, but that it was the smoke monster posing as Eko's younger brother.

At the end of the episode, Eko is thrown around violently and killed by the smoke monster, which shows that the smoke monster is not imaginary, but is a tangible entity. Before Eko dies, he whispers to Locke that the other survivors (perhaps specifically those who went to the Pearl Station) will be the next to die.

In the October 30th edition of The Official LOST Podcast, it was revealed that Jae Lee (with whom Sun had extramarital relations) did, in fact, commit suicide. Damon also said that the polar bears escaped "during the collapse of DHARMA."

In the November 6th Official LOST Podcast, Damon and Carlton reminded us that Bernard is not the only surviving "tailie." They confirmed that Cindy (who appeared to have been taken while Ana Lucia and her crew were hiking back to the fuselage survivors' camp) and Emma and Zack (the children who were among the tail section survivors) are still alive, among others. "Yes, we will be seeing Cindy and the kids" and "find out what The Others are doing with the children" after the 13-week break, sometime around episode 8 of this season.

Carlton indicated that the monster "could manifest itself as people, like Yemi."

Damon and Carlton indicated that "our time on Alcatraz [a nickname for the second island] will be coming to a conclusion" in this week's episode.

ABC's official synopsis for this week's Kate-centric episode, "I Do," is as follows: "Jack makes a decision regarding Ben's offer, Kate feels helpless when it looks like an angry Pickett is going to make good on his threat to kill Sawyer, and Locke discovers a hidden message that may guide him through the next steps of his journey to unlocking the secrets of the island. ... Guest starring are Kiele Sanchez as Nikki, Rodrigo Santoro as Paulo, M.C. Gainey as Mr. Friendly, Tania Raymonde as Alex, Michael Bowen as Pickett, Nathan Fillion as Kevin, Eden-Lee Murray as Suzanne, Mark Stitham as minister and Frederic Lane as the marshal."

**SCENE SPOILERS FOLLOW.**

Based on promotional clips for this week's episode, it appears that Jack initially turns down Ben. Later, Jack is permitted to talk with Kate, who tries to get Jack to do the surgery because Juliet has convinced her that it's the only way The Others will spare Sawyer's life. Based on last week's promo for the upcoming episode, Ben will probably end up undergoing surgery in this week's episode after all. Would Jack dare trust Juliet and intentionally kill Ben, turning his back on morals, or will he try his best to save Ben's life? If the latter (which seems more likely based on what we know about Jack), will the surgery be a failure, leading Juliet and The Others to think that Jack intentionally killed Ben?

If Jack is correct that Ben only has a few days left to live, why would it be so important to Juliet that Jack kill him? Why wouldn't Juliet just wait for Ben to die?

It's starting to become a lot more clear why The Others felt that they needed Sawyer. Apparently, they needed to be able to threaten to take Sawyer's life in order to get Kate to convince Jack to perform the surgery on Ben. Jack was the only one The Others really needed, because Ben needed him to perform the surgery. Kate was just the bartering chip they could use against Jack if it became necessary to coerce him, and Sawyer was just the bartering chip they could use against Kate to get her to talk Jack into performing the surgery.

In this episode, we'll also see Kate get married in one of her flashbacks. Presumably, the man she will marry is Kevin, who will be played by Nathan Fillion. As you might recall, in the Season 1 episode Outlaws, when Kate and Sawyer are playing "I never," she reveals that she was once married, but that her marriage didn't last long.

Press Release: "LOST" guest star Nathan Fillion appears in podcast novel

Following is a press release about a "podiobook" (a podcast audiobook) called 7th Son. Nathan Fillion, who will play "Kevin" in this week's Kate-centric LOST episode, "I Do," will be a guest reader on the 7th Son podiobook.

Fillion fans and sci-fi fans can check out the press release below and download the November 14th edition of the 7th Son podiobook.

As an aside, some of you may recall that J.C. Hutchins became a part of LOST history when he received a phone call from Hugh McIntyre of The Hanso Foundation during the post-Season 2 LOST Experience. "Cranky Fanatic" Big-O's interview with Hutchins about his connections with LOST can be found here [MP3 link].

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 1, 2006
CONTACT: J.C. Hutchins, 7thSonNovel@gmail.com

"LOST" guest star Nathan Fillion appears in podcast novel
Sci-fi star of "Firefly" makes cameo in hit podiobook series, 7th Son

Fresh from the first-ever launch party for a novel in the popular online community Second Life, the 7th Son podcast novel trilogy has achieved another "first" in podcast history: Actor Nathan Fillion, star of the TV sci-fi series "Firefly" and film "Serenity," will appear in the free audionovel 7th Son, Book Two: Deceit on Nov. 14 as a special guest reader.

Fillion, whose current projects include appearances in this season of ABC's hit series "LOST" and the lead role in the supernatural thriller film "White Noise: The Light," will read a segment at the beginning of the Nov. 14 episode. Called "The Story So Far...", this segment recaps events of the novel's previous episode.

This is the first time Fillion has appeared in a podcast novel, and may be the first time the actor has recorded original content for any podcast.

Fillion is best known for his role as Capt. Malcolm Reynolds in the TV series "Firefly." 7th Son author J.C. Hutchins is thrilled to have Fillion appear on the podcast just one week after the actor's Nov. 8 guest role on "LOST."

"It's an absolute honor to have Nathan on the podcast," Hutchins said. "Folks best know him as a well-grounded hero in a science-fiction epic ... and I'm certain he'll bring those characteristics to 'LOST.' 7th Son -- a reality-driven, conspiracy-laden thriller -- is a good fit for his cameo. Current listeners of 7th Son will love his 'previously on' reading ... but this also provides a terrific reason for new listeners to hop aboard."

Fillion's appearance is the latest in a series of "very special" guest readers for Book Two: Deceit. Best-selling science fiction, fantasy and comic book writers have also appeared on the podcast, including: Robert J. Sawyer (Mindscan, the Hugo-award winning Neanderthal Parallax trilogy), Mike Resnick (Santiago, the Starship series), Tracy R. Hickman (Dragonlance series), Jeph Loeb (writer/co-executive producer for NBC's "Heroes," Batman: The Long Halloween) and Mark Waid (Superman: Birthright, Kingdom Come). Patrick Lussier (film editor for the "Scream" horror trilogy, and film director for "Dracula 2000") also recently read a recap for the novel.

7th Son, a free weekly podcast, is the most popular "podiobook" series in history. More than 11,000 listeners currently tune in each week to hear new chapters of the thriller. 7th Son is the #1 most popular program at the podcast directory PodcastPickle.com, and is listed in iTunes as one of the Top 25 podcasts in its Literature category. The first novel in the series -- titled Descent -- was nominated for numerous awards for excellence in podcast fiction. The novel has also been featured on such popular blogs as BoingBoing.net and MissSnark.com.


ABOUT 7th SON:
7th Son is a free weekly podcast novel. The story chronicles the lives of seven strangers who have been brought together after the recent assassination of the U.S. president. These men quickly discover they all appear to be the same man, with identical childhood memories. Unwitting participants in a human cloning experiment, these "John Michael Smiths" have been assembled to catch the man who murdered the president. Their target? The man they were cloned from ... the original John Michael Smith, code-named "John Alpha."

7th Son, Book Two: Deceit and Book One: Descent can be found at www.JCHutchins.net, and at www.Podiobooks.com.


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Link to the novel's audio promo: http://homepage.mac.com/wordherder1/7SDownloads/Book2_Promo_Long.mp3
For more informaton, please contact J.C. Hutchins at 7thSonNovel@gmail.com.
Visit http://www.JCHutchins.net for additional news about the 7th Son podiobook trilogy.