My Enemy's Enemy Is My Friend?

It's an ancient proverb which means that because two parties have a common enemy, they are friends. Often described as an Arabic proverb, there is also an identical Chinese proverb which may be an extension of another Chinese proverb that says, "It is good to strike the serpent's head with your enemy's hand." A historical example of this policy occurred when the Greeks were attacked by the Persians at Thermopylae; the Greek city-states put aside their differences and fought the common enemy.

Could this be the case for Ben? Will he choose to align himself with Fake John because he now views Jacob and his own people as his enemies.

It is conceivable. We saw John remind Ben of practically every failure he suffered as a leader of the Others. He reminded him of all that he apparently was forced to sacrifice in his service to Jacob. And for what? Absolutely nothing. Not even a "good luck in your future endeavours" when John arrived to take over as leader. No gold watch. No shares in the company's stock. No "happy retirement" party.

But serving Jacob is not like working for the company for 35 years, putting in your time and looking forward to drawing from your retirement fund. But, like the faithful who go to church every week and drop all they can into the collection box, all they can hope for at the end is forgiveness for their sins and entry to the place they call heaven.

But did Jacob ever promise Ben a reward? Sure, he made Richard ageless, but we have yet to learn the circumstances of that event. I hope we get to see this next season. If there are any other Others with special qualities, please let me know. And I don't mean Ethan and his super strength.

I was wondering if it really was Jacob who saved young Ben's life back in 1977. I've decided that he did, but only because he knew Ben's fate was not to die then and there, Ben wasn't finished just yet.

Was Ben ever destined to become leader of the Others? I don't think so. I think Ben, like his father, believed he was more than what others assessed him to be. Remember when we saw the flashback of Ben and his father arriving on the island? Remember how angry Roger Linus was to find that he'd been assigned janitorial duties according to his aptitude tests? And we see a grown up Ben also working as a workman, which I'm sure it more than what he aspired to be.

I have a little theory on how Ben became leader of the Others. I could be no where near the ball park on this one, but it's all I can come up with right now.

Other than the promise of a great relief from the restrictive society that Ben finds himself living in, the Hostiles promise an escape from the apparent anger and hatred of his father. Life with Roger Linus had been illustrated as dark, depressing and a serious blow to the kid's self esteem. I don't blame young Ben for wanting to escape such a miserable existence and the promise that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence is too tempting for young Ben to resist. Above all else, Ben believed, like his father, that he was greater than the sum of his parts.

But here's the kicker. Ben was only ever considered to be a member of the flock. Nothing more. Nothing less. He was expected to do what he was asked and not to take the initiative. His reward was acceptance within a society that accepted him for whatever he was. The realization that his position within the Hostiles was equal to his position with Dharma must have been one hell of a shock. So, he manipulated and contrived and insinuated himself into a higher position, eventually taking control in a bloodless coup. He exiled the island's true leader and took what he thought was his rightful place at the top of the pyramid.

Then along came cancer. Whether Jacob could have allowed it to occur, I really can't say either way at this point. Then came Oceanic 815 and a whole host of problems. Remember that Richard and the Hostiles were told in 1954 that a man named John Locke was going to arrive via a plane crash and he would be their leader.

It would have been a long awaited and anticipated arrival of the messiah. Talked about often and how a great leader would come. The current, or interim leader, Ben, must have felt inferior and not very appreciated. He had never seen nor spoken to Jacob, didn't have a communion with the island and really, his instructions arrived by messenger Richard.

Ben did all that he could to sabotage John Locke and maintain his tenuous leadership position. He lied to him and lead him into situations of great danger. On several occasions he tried to kill him or have him killed and ultimately managed to strangle him to death. He manipulated the Oceanic 6, the survivors of the crash who were rescued, into returning to the island, insisting they take the body of John Locke with them.

I believe Ben was taking the body of John Locke back to the island as proof that the Others were without a leader and attempt to reclaim the job. There didn't seem to be any other candidates in the wings. Ben's shock and utter frustration must have been disheartening, to say the least. Only this time, Ben doesn't have a back up plan. He never counted on John Locke's resurrection.

He was used as he had used John. He was manipulated as he had done to John. All, it would appear, by John Locke himself. And yet, despite his loathing of John Locke and all that he seemed to be taking away from him, Ben made a choice. Only time will tell if it was the right one for him to make.

Using a common enemy as the basis for an allegiance is dubious, likely because there are probably very few other areas for mutual agreement. Remove the common enemy and the friends are apt turn on each other.