Ben Paul

Gender Male Hair Color Light Brown Eye Color Blue Age 26 Occupation Pre-Apocalypse Student at Stone Mountain High School Post-Apocalypse

Former Lookout for the Motel Survivors Family Mrs. Paul - Mother Mr. Paul - Father (Unnamed) - Sister Ethnicity Caucasian-American Generally awkward, insecure and self-conscious, Ben lacked any sense of confidence or assertiveness, making him easily intimidated and pushed around by more imposing characters, like Lilly and Kenny. He usually had a glum demeanor and was often in a depressed mood, as his traumatic experiences caused him to develop a pessimistic view of the world and a low opinion of himself. His nervous tendencies made him clam up in stressful situations, such as when he abandoned Clementine in Savannah when cornered by walkers, earning himself a reputation as a bit of a coward and bad person. Though he was mature enough to understand the full weight of all the horrors he had witnessed, he was also too naïve and clueless to avoid general incompetence, making him notoriously disaster-prone. All that being said, he was ultimately a good kid who tried his best to be helpful and always had good intentions, even if the outcomes were less than desirable for him or others. He desperately wanted to be seen as useful, and saw his glaring ineptitude as immensely shameful, driving him to self-loathing. He occasionally tried to be more noble and correct his wimpish attitude, such as by sacrificing himself at Crawford, or joining Lee on his crusade to rescue Clementine from the Stranger. If rescued at Crawford, Ben will try to become a stronger person as a form of thanks, which is best exemplified by his standing up to Kenny in "No Time Left".

Ben had a younger sister and was a high school student who played in his school band in his native town of Stone Mountain. During the summer, Ben would work on a goat farm. He also sometimes took his parents' car into Macon but felt there wasn't much there to make the trip worthwhile. He was traveling with his school's marching band on the way to the football playoffs when the outbreak occurred. At the start of the outbreak, Ben took shelter in the school gym along with a few of his fellow students. At first, the place seemed like it could be suitable to survive in, but after an undetermined period of time, one of the cheerleaders committed suicide through an overdose. Somebody found her in the bathroom afterwards and discovered that she had reanimated, thus giving Ben the conclusion that everyone in the world was already infected. The gym, however, was no longer safe, and Ben was forced to abandon the school with a few surviving classmates and his teacher. It is presumed he stayed with the group until a group of bandits raided their camp. He soon fled with Travis and David Parker into the woods, barely managing to escape with their lives. At some point, Ben desired to try to go back home to try and find his parents and his little sister but no one would dare attempt to the journey with him; he never found out what happened to them.

Ben is first seen in the woods with his friend Travis and his band teacher, David Parker. David's leg is caught in a bear-trap. Based on Lee's decision, either David will be left to be eaten by the walkers, Travis will become panicked and accidentally be shot by Mark, or David will be freed, but Travis will get distracted and will be attacked by walkers who eat him alive. Ben is present later on when David or Travis dies from blood loss and becomes a walker. He tells the survivors that they do not need to be bitten to turn, revealing that everyone is infected. He is also seen accompanying Lee, Mark, and Doug/Carley after meeting the St. John brothers, Andrew and Danny. After discovering some bandits, they arrive at the St. John family dairy where they meet Brenda St. John. Ben, along with Carley/Doug, head back to the Motor Inn to tell the others about the dairy and stay behind to watch the motor inn while they are gone. Ben appears later on with Doug/Carley, but only after Lee, Kenny, Lilly, and Clementine escape the meat locker. Lee informs them of the situation before they abandon the dairy when it becomes overrun by walkers. Ben partakes in looting an abandoned car they find before the end of the episode, stating that they now have plenty of food. At the start of the episode, Ben is shown to be on lookout duty while Kenny and Lee were scavenging supplies in Macon. When questioned, he denies breaking the flashlight and stealing supplies. Later, he is captured along with the others by the bandits but manages to escape with the rest in the RV.

Partway through the journey, Lilly questions Doug/Carley and Ben about being a traitor and manages to pull them outside while Kenny clearing a walker from under the RV. Doug/Carley and Lilly get into a heated argument while Lilly berates Ben and threatens both him and Doug/Carley repeatedly. The following action depends on Lee's decision to save between Doug or Carley in "A New Day". If Lee saved Carley, Ben witnesses Lilly shooting her in the head while the group is distracted. If Lee saved Doug, Lilly will try to shoot Ben, but will accidentally shoot Doug instead. Afterwards, Ben heads back into the RV. Partway through the journey, Lilly questions Doug/Carley and Ben about being a traitor and manages to pull them outside while Kenny clearing a walker from under the RV. Doug/Carley and Lilly get into a heated argument while Lilly berates Ben and threatens both him and Doug/Carley repeatedly. The following action depends on Lee's decision to save between Doug or Carley in "A New Day". If Lee saved Carley, Ben witnesses Lilly shooting her in the head while the group is distracted. If Lee saved Doug, Lilly will try to shoot Ben, but will accidentally shoot Doug instead. Afterwards, Ben heads back into the RV.

Ben is noticeably depressed for the rest of the episode. When the survivors reach the train wreck, Ben helps Lee search them and ends up starting the brakes by pushing a flashing button that gets Lee on track to starting up the train. Later he is seen sitting with Clementine, Chuck, Katjaa, and Duck are innocently eating candy given to him by Chuck. Ben remains leaning over the railing in between the two carriages, noticeably depressed, and eventually reveals to Lee that he was the one who made the deal with the bandits for food in exchange for protection that eventually led to the deaths of Doug/Carley, Katjaa, and Duck and led to Lilly snapping and leaving/being kicked out. He is evidently remorseful. Depending on Lee's decision, Lee tells him to keep it to himself no matter what or that Lee is tempted to kill Ben for his choice.

Ben is walking the streets towards the waterfront with the rest of the group. When walkers attack the group on the street, he is cornered with Clementine. Angered, Lee yells at Ben to help her, but he runs off cowardly in fear of being eaten. In Crawford, Ben tells Lee that he has gotten to know Kenny better and that he wants him to know that he is responsible for Katjaa and Duck's deaths. Lee can then either tell Ben that this is a good or bad idea. Later, Ben removes the hatchet from the door Lee put in while helping Kenny, this causes zombies to break into the classroom at Crawford. Ben says that he cannot live with the blood on his hands, though Lee may be able to. Ben then admits that it was his fault that Katjaa and Duck are dead. Enraged, Kenny goes ballistic and rushes at Ben out of rage but is held back by Lee and Vernon. Lee can either defend Ben, be against him, or make the group vote if they want Ben to stay with the group. They say "no", but if Clementine comes to the Crawford and asks if she has a vote, Lee can respond "yes" or "no". If he says "yes", Clementine will reveal that she was friends with Ben, and friends don't leave friends behind. This will sway Christa and possibly Lee's opinion on the situation. Brie then asks if she will have a say. The door is then bashed opened by the group of walkers which leads to her being devoured. The group then runs up the stairs to the top of the bell tower. While the group is escaping through the window in the bell tower, the bell in the tower rings, temporarily disorienting the two of them. Ben is then grabbed by a zombified Oberson hanging from the bell. Depending on Lee's actions, Ben's outcome will be different:

Save Ben (Alive): Lee shoots Oberson in the head, but before he falls, Ben grabs onto a ledge. Ben begs Lee to let him go in order to get the others out safely, Kenny returning to watch for a moment before leaving. Lee pulls Ben up, much to the latter's confusion. They climb out of the window and escape Crawford with the group, Ben noticeably depressed at missing his opportunity to redeem himself through his death. If Lee saves Ben, he is seen with Christa, Omid, and Kenny after Lee got bitten. If Ben joins Lee in searching for Clementine, Ben promises that he will prove himself to Lee. Ben will appear in this episode if Lee saved him in "Around Every Corner". If you chose to go search for Vernon with only him coming with you, then after Lee passes out, he will try to cut Lee's arm off. but ultimately get too frightened and pass out, Lee would have to cut his arm off himself. If Lee did save Ben, then after Lee and anyone that was with him return to the mansion, then Kenny will start to get furious with Ben. After Kenny says that Lee should have left Ben in Crawford, Ben reaches his breaking point and tells Kenny off, exclaiming that he is sorry for what he has caused, but says that Kenny was lucky that he had time to say goodbye to his family before they died, and that he doesn't even know if his family is alive or dead, or worse.