Ben is actually a good guy ( in a sense. ) What if even though he has done some very questionable things to our losties, he is actually refraining from doing worse things and is doing enough that's required of him without hurting them as badly as he's supposed to ?
I've always assumed that Both groups are really really nastybut since they've thrown in the Alex/Ben connection it's made me wonder.
Perhaps Ben is the one who is going against the grain. Juliettes group wants him dead because he is really not supportive of them as they've like him to be. So, he has to do what's required to as much of a minimum as possible to keep up appearnces and stay accepted by the group as he tries to figure out how to get things right ?
Basically having to do necessary evils in order to prevent worse evils ? Like Sayid for instance was forced to do things he was ashamed of, but had no other choice. Yes, he helped Nadia, but what if the opportunity hadn't arrived ? He tried to refrain from torturing her, but he did so at minimal in order to not get himself killed or tortured. But what if he would have had no other choice by to torture her to some extent ? Would he have done so ? Would the necessary evil to prevent the greater been applied there too ?
Locke didn't want to kill the police officer. This arguement is weaker because he would have just gotten kicked out of the group. But at any rate, he was forced to decide to go against his morals to be accepted in the group. Stuck between a rock and a hard place if you will.
I've been stauntly against Ben from the beginning. And I still lean that way, but not so far that I can't see another possibility.
Or like in the NIne, for instance. Two brothers rob the bank. One feels like he has no way out so he tries to influence the other and behave in a way that keeps his damage to a minimal. bad things happened in the bank to the hostages, but the one brother did everything he could to keep the bad thigns from being worse things. he was in between a rock and a hard place. Not wanting to hurt these people, but knowing that some of them would be hurt and trying to figure out how to minimize it but not also become a victim himself.
Huh...OK... I see where this could be that case, and it could help explain why he was the one that was "Captured" by the losties. He was doing what he needed to do to keep things going the dirrection he needed. He would more than likely have sent one of the lackeys fromt he group had he had their ear. BUT...he needed to prove himself to them by giving himself up for them. By doing this he proved his dedication to the group, and maybe took back some of the power he could have lost/been loosing due to the deaths of Ethan and Goodwin. I still don't believe that he is the lesser of two evils, but he could very well be doing what you are saying Lion.
OH yeah...I was also going to make the comment that we don't know that Locke shot the police officer for sure do we? I thought they cut away from them before any shot was actually fired. Yet again leaving a question there for us. Did he or didn't he?
I cried, "Oh, Lady Midnight, I fear that you grow old, the stars eat your body and the wind makes you cold." "If we cry now," she said, "it will just be ignored."
hey!!! i have said from the beginning that the others are not necessarily the bad guys!!! look at how they hvaen't had the physical fighting that has been so prevalent among the LOSTies... sawyer and sayid...jack and locke... boone and sawyer... michael and jin... these LOSTies of our have always seemed to resort to violence to resolve their problems. the others do problem solving in a more cerebral way.... except pickett and that was an extreme provocation... death of a loved one makes you do strange things... juliette is manipulating... sort of 'i can't do this but you can...' to jack... ben has done nothing but mind games... it's a hard habit to break... if you truly look at their society, it is a peaceful one... until disturbed by this unruly group of survivors from flight 815...
Well, see, I never said the others were not bad. What I am saying is, what if Ben is sodeep within them that he can't just revolt, but he does what's required of him to the base level just to continue to survive among them. So, he does bad thins to Sawyer and the others in order to keep from doing worse things ?
I absolutley believe that Ben is in an overarching way a good guy. That in order to accomplish a good goal the others have to first break a few eggs. With the types of clashing personalities we have seen in the others it is probably a miracle that Ben is able to keep them from killing each other.
Imagine that the goal of the others is no less than to save the world. In that position one would do some pretty drastic things to achieve the greater good. It is possible that some outside influence, for example Widmore industries, is trying or has tried to destroy the others work. Possibly setting loose the mystery disease that is talked about on the island. If this were the case then the others would be extremely cautious about 40 or so mysterious people suddenly showing up on their impossible to find island.
I am basically repeating alot that was shown in the lost experience. In this case everything that seems evil that the others have done can be shed in a good light.
One last thing... Juliets major objective was to get off of the island. Therefore in some way killing ben must have provided for that oppurtunity.
And see, I'm just being hypothetical here. Because personally, I feel all the others are really insane people - as LL pinpointed - A CULT. BUT, the only way to redeem Ben at this point is to show that while what he did was bad in itself, what he could have done, but didn't was much worse and shows that he didn't really want to do any of it, but because of how deep he is in it, he had no choice. There's also been some talk they their own children have also been used to keep them in line and doing the bidding of whoever is at the top.
