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]