Before I start, a quick shout-out to VinegarLips on Walford Web for writing the below and thus inspiring this post:
Spot-on analysis. I wanted to go further, though, and really explore what makes the new Ben Mitchell so similar to David Wicks. As mentioned in one of my previous posts, David is my favourite character to ever have graced the Square. Therefore, the thought of a character similar to him being in the show at the moment is nothing but exciting to me. It also follows the 'revolving door of characters' theme that I discussed in my previous post (to reiterate: the show having characters which are uncannily similar to each other is not a bad thing; especially in this case, where both David and Ben are so complex).
So, let's begin!
1. Daddy issues
David Wicks, son of Pete Beale- not that you'd know it. Pete was absent for almost all of David's life and didn't appear to really give a toss about him. No-one's entirely sure why, but it can be assumed that David represents a bad patch in Pete's life. Pat tricked Pete into marriage by faking a pregnancy, so when David came along and cemented Pete's reluctant ties to his wife, it's likely that his mere existence symbolised the entrapment and unhappiness Pete felt.
Ben's was also a bittersweet arrival. Upon hashing out their marital issues, Phil admitted to Kathy that he'd hoped Ben would be a girl due to his concerns that having a boy would bring out the worst in himself (see 22:55 onward in the below clip).
Phil was also absent for the majority of Ben's childhood due to his separation from Kathy and her decision to take Ben with her to South Africa. However, the similarities between David and Ben's parental issues do not end here.
Both David and Ben are strikingly different to their fathers, perhaps as a result of the absence of a "normal" parent-child relationship in both cases. Whilst Ben can be just as violent as Phil, this is arguably due to Ben's desire to please his father. Rewind to a time before years of difficulties between the two, and Ben was a sweet, sensitive and unabashedly effeminate adolescent. Light years away from Phil Mitchell.
Furthermore, Pete and David couldn't be more different; Pete is an every-man; a working-class cockney barrow-boy with simple ambitions and an old-fashioned view on life. David, on the other hand, sees himself as above that; he looks down his nose at people like Pete. He's a thoroughly modern man with ambitions that ultimately leave him consistently dissatisfied with life. I would have loved for Pete and David to have shared at least one scene together; the antitheses between these two would have been bizarre. There's no doubt, in my mind at least, that part of David's haughtiness stems directly from his desire to be exactly what Pete Beale wasn't.
The only difference here is that Ben tries to be like Phil. Not so much anymore, but certainly back in the Pascoe/Reid eras. Also, it's worth mentioning the issues that these two have with their mothers; Pat was neglectful and abusive towards David and Kathy let Ben believe that she was dead for nine years.
I think it's fair to say that, all in all, Ben and David share similar problems when it comes to their upbringings, and perhaps this is the reason why their characters are so alike now.
2. Insecurities
Behind every great character is a growing shadow of self-loathing. Ben's insecurities have been well-documented on the show in recent years. His struggle to come to terms with his sexuality has been the most prudent of these. For David, it's not how he was born, but what he's done with his life, that has caused him the most self-hatred. David leaves a path of destruction wherever he goes: it started with getting Carol pregnant at 14, and continued as he cheated his way through his marriage to Lorraine and walked out on their young kids.
However, we shall briefly return to the parental issues for this point. Let's not beat around the bush- Phil is the reason Ben is so insecure. His mocking of Ben's sexuality and disregard for him is pretty horrible for Ben to deal with. Remember when he deliberately removed Ben from his will as he "couldn't carry on the Mitchell legacy"? And that was after Lexi had been born (which is especially crazy, considering she's a Mitchell twice over)! Phil's always looked elsewhere to fulfil his longing for a suitable male heir; Jamie, Jay and now Keanu. Ben's never good enough, and he knows it.
The same thing happens with David; Pete abandons him without a care, yet is a stout family man when it comes to Ian, his son from his second marriage. Not only that, but his apathy towards David didn't even extend to Simon. Pete was happy as Larry when Simon turned up; even when it was revealed that he wasn't Pete's biological son, he still saw him as part of the family. Why, then, did he not seem to care about David, his actual, firstborn heir? This disregard from Pete and the Beales is something which clearly built a resentment in David towards his paternal family, and undoubtedly would have created some deep-set insecurities.
3. Style
Everything I've mentioned thus far has formed the men that Ben and David are today; they're smooth-talking, promiscuous, business-savvy, conniving, scamming and flighty.
Max Bowden is great- he brings such charisma to every scene and chemistry to every interaction. These are qualities that are hard to evidence and define, but they're undoubtedly ones he possesses. Michael French brought the same qualities to his performances. With any other character, watching selfish scheming and back-stabbing can be off-putting and unsympathetic. However, both Ben and David are so deliciously flawed and complex that we know their actions aren't driven by evil. They're relatable, even at their most extreme, because their motivations are always rooted in their backstories and personalities.
After reading VinegarLips' comment earlier, I saw Ben in a different light during today's (27.06.19) episode. It was very David, and I'm pretty sure this wasn't just wishful thinking. If it were, would I be sitting here writing this lengthy post at 1am that almost no-one will read? đ There was something about his swagger and his little smirks after successfully manipulating Ruby and Jay. He's very camp, but in a way, so is traditionally macho David. Their mannerisms are also very alike (things like scratching their chins and overall good use of props their whole bodies when acting). I'm struggling to communicate what I mean here, but if you've watched enough of David's scenes (which I know I have!) then you'll see what I mean when comparing him and the new Ben.
4. Little 'coincidences'
Finally, I thought I'd round off this post with a little list of other random similarities which are interesting to note. I don't doubt that, if EastEnders weren't a soap opera, half of these wouldn't be a thing...
- both their dads were married to Kathy Hills
- they share a brother (Ian)
- both accidentally became fathers as teenagers and were absent in their kids' lives
- both were abused by a step-parent as children
- both have worked with cars
- both have embarked upon affairs (Callum, Cindy, etc.)
- both have been beaten up to the point of almost dying
- and this is a weird one, but David had a relationship with Simon's ex, Cindy, whom she had a baby, Steven, with... Ben had a relationship with Abi, who went on to get with Steven and have a baby with him. A weird link, but a fun one to mention!
This is possibly the only scene to ever feature both Ben and David on-screen at the same time. I thought it'd be fitting!
And that's it, really. I'm not sure what the purpose of this blog entry is, other than to basically express my excitement for Ben's new direction. In the past, many fans have said how Max Branning is the modern equivalent to David Wicks, but that's just not true. What makes David memorable is his charm and electricity. Max doesn't have that. But Ben? He oozes it.
-ASIS
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