Jack: the not-so-reluctant hero

[Steve580]

Did anyone else really hate this aspect of tonight's episode?

Right from the beginning (the scene after commercial break, where Charlie asks Jack to make a decision about something), I thought, oh, I guess this is going to be an episode where he acts like he doesn't want to be the leader, but then something happens, and he decides that he'll do it after all. Which would have been more convincing if, from episode one, he hadn't assumed for himself the role of leader. The first part of the pilot, he was ordering panicky folk around, telling everyone what to do. Suddenly he doesn't, in "White Rabbit." and then at the end, he does again.
Aside from being super-predictable, it was...redundant. It just seemed like the writters, four or five episodes in, suddenly decided to make Jack a reluctant hero type.

Sayid seemed to be pretty good at being in command...why not let him have a go at it?
-Steve

[feenie1010]

He was reluctant in the last ep too, remember when Claire asked him to do the service and he said he couldn't (wouldn't, can't) and she said she would. He responded "that's good, whatever everyone else wants"

I get the impression he just doens't want to FAIL them; he knows what to do in order to save the others, it's the aspect of not getting THEM to do it that scares him. If they fail, in essence he has failed them by not movitating them, teaching them etc.

It is a daunting challenge.

[azteclady]

Seems to me that Sayid/Saeed/Syed did have a go at it, but didn't take it far enough.

Also, would it be credible for a group of mainly US citizens to accept leadership from an Iraqi citizen? even if they don't know -yet- that he was in the Republican Guard under Saddam? Since the show is current (2004) that wouldn't seem credible to me at all.

Locke would seem to be a good alternative, except that his character seems to get off more on being the provider. He told Kate and Sayid/Saeed/Syed to stay on the beach in Jack's absence and nominated himself 'exploration party' - which also turned out to be 'search and rescue party.'

Jack is not my favorite character, but so far he seems credible to me. *shrug*


Beto

[drypelia]

Except for the triage moments after the crash (and instinct was kicking in), I thought Jack was showing reluctance to lead right from the get-go. He didn't want to talk to Rose. He didn't want to help with the memorial. He didn't want to decide to end the marshall's life. He did his best to ignore Hurley's and Charlie's following him waiting for instruction. I may be remembering wrong (wouldn't be the first time), but I think he started saying that he didn't want to be in charge in Ep. 3. Except for life-saving things, the only other decision he was willing to make was to burn the bodies, and again, that was a medical decision.

Maybe I'm just quite sensitive to nuance, but I thought it was very clear that he didn't want to lead the group. I also think that the clarity he had in last night's show is not going to be permanent or continuous. I suspect there will be a few more times when he at least starts to run from responsibility.

dry

[MaisterPup]

I think Jack has mixed feelings about leadership. On the one hand, he's a surgeon (a role that people have been taught to respect, almost to venerate) ... and it was in that role that the survivors first called upon him to help. So it's natural for him to provide medical help, and he did so unhesitatingly. This is a man who takes his Hippocratic oath seriously, and it's wonderful to see.

On the other hand, everyone has begun to look to Jack to decide virtually everything for them now. And this isn't surprising, since people who are scared or unsure of themselves do tend to back away from making important decisions, preferring to leave the hard work to those who seem able to take that role. Problem is, once someone starts to play the role of Daddy, even inadvertently, that person will also attract all the resentment and projections that go along with the Daddy role... including rebellious outbursts from young would-be silverbacks who should really know better.

So Jack doesn't like the burden, and (I imagine) he especially dislikes having to be the butt of emotional outbursts from those who covet a leadership role he never even asked for. On the other hand, Jack probably also knows that he has a more level head (on the whole) than most of the people around him. So of course he's ambivalent: split between his desire to shrug off this unwanted new responsibility, his need for self-preservation, versus his innate desire to help those around him, and especially to prevent them making foolish (and potentially fatal) mistakes.

I really, really don't envy Jack's position one little bit. If he's smart, he'll begin deputizing elements of his role to Kate, Locke and Sayid, or whoever else shows promise. Otherwise, he'll be in the grip of a full-on Messiah syndrome... which is never much fun for anyone involved.

Maister Pup

[dsera]

I have watched all the episodes again. And for the most part, the only time I can recall Jack stepping up to take control over anyone /any situation is when it came to medical issues.

He didn't attend the journey to the top of the mountain with them to look for a signal. He didn't go with to hunt down the food. He's staying where he thinks he'll be needed, medically. When Claire said something to him about saying a few words, he right out said no. When Boone said something to him about talking to Rose, he was more than reluctant, even though he did go talk to her. I think that's only because he already knew her somewhat from the plane.

So overall, I think he has been the reluctant hero.