This prediction will take two years to prove true or false, but I wanted to say “you heard it here first”.
I now understand why most of you despise Jack so much. I knew Jack has been selfish lately, but only after the season finale did I realize how much of a hole he has really dug himself. And that hole, in my opinion, will ultimately become his grave.
I think Jack will die in the Lost Series Finale. I think this 180 degree turnaround from hero to goat that Jack has made was done for a reason by the writers. They are doing everything they can to make him look like the screw up, the liar, the drunk, the bad “father” (to Aaron), the bad “husband” (to Kate), the bad “friend” (to Hurley), and just the all around “Bad Guy” of the series.
Why are they doing this? I think they are doing it so he can pull the ultimate act of redemption in the series finale and remind us all of the Season 1 Jack Sheppard, when he was a leader, a life saver, and a friend. He will sacrifice his own life to make good on everything he has done wrong. It will remind us all of the “live together, die alone” Jack, as opposed to the “leave Jin behind, let Sawyer be the one to jump, leave everyone behind as long as he and Kate get off the island” Jack.
Let’s face it. The writers love once-hated characters pulling unheard of acts of redemption in their final moments of life.
Charlie: In Season One he was a drug addict. In Season Two he was a kidnapper. But, we don’t remember those “Charlies”. We remember his ultimate act of redemption in Season Three when he sacrificed himself not only for the sake of Claire and Aaron, but for everyone on the island by warning them of the true identity of the freighter folk in his final seconds.
Michael: He killed Libby and Ana Lucia. He blatantly stabbed Jack, Sawyer, Kate, and Hurley in the back for his own selfish reasons by turning them over to the Others. But, my lasting image of Michael will be him sacrificing himself and giving the chopper those ever precious few extra seconds to get away from the boat. Even Jin forgave him in the end.
Even Ben: Although he doesn’t look too bad now compared to the likes of Widmore, Keamy, and even Jack, there was a time when Ben Linus was the bad guy of all bad guys. But, you can see it in his eyes as he turned the wheel, he too was sacrificing himself. He did not WANT to do what he did. He HAD to do it. And even though he didn’t die, and even though he was saving the “island” as opposed to a person, in a way, it felt like it was just as great a sacrifice to Ben.
Right now, Jack tells Kate that he was the one who “saved her” and that Sawyer “chose to stay”. Deep down, though, he knows he should have been the one to jump. If he had jumped and stayed on the island all those “very, very, bad things” that Jeremy Bentham had told him happened once he left would not have happened at all. In the end, however, Jack will be the reason why Kate and Sawyer end up off the island together, safely.
Right now, Sun blames Jack for Jin’s “death”. Jack is the person who had the final say so in not going back for Jin after the explosion. I believe his exact words were “It’s over. He’s gone”. Those are some of the most heartless words we have heard all series. You can’t blame Sun for what she thinks of Jack. Looking back in hindsight, the chopper just ended up crashing in the water anyway, so it wouldn’t of hurt going back to look for Jin. But, in the end, I believe Jack will be the reason Jin and Sun get off the island together, safely. Yes, I do think Jin is still alive.
Right now, Jack blames “himself” for the situation with Claire and Aaron, and his nephew being separated from his rightful mother. Remember Hurley’s question to Jack in the season finale: “Once we drop everyone off at the freighter, we will come back for Claire and everyone else, right?” And how did Jack answer that? He said “Absolutely.” That never happened. He never came back and Claire was left on the island with all those “very, very, bad things” that happened as a result of him leaving the island. But, in the end, Jack will be the reason why Claire and Aaron leave the island together, safely. Thus, making Desmond’s prophecy of Claire and Aaron boarding a chopper true, albeit many years after his original vision. And, yes, I do think Claire is still alive.
Somebody is going to die in the series finale. That I can guarantee. And there is no better candidate than Jack. And there is no better way for him to die than to give up his own life to ensure the “happy ending” for all those whose lives he has ruined by his decisions. He “fixes things”. He is in a big mess right now, but he will “fix it”, even if it means sacrificing himself. And in the matter in which he does it in, even all you Jack-Haters might have to applaud him, even if it is for a little while.
Theory by Irocz28
I now understand why most of you despise Jack so much. I knew Jack has been selfish lately, but only after the season finale did I realize how much of a hole he has really dug himself. And that hole, in my opinion, will ultimately become his grave.
I think Jack will die in the Lost Series Finale. I think this 180 degree turnaround from hero to goat that Jack has made was done for a reason by the writers. They are doing everything they can to make him look like the screw up, the liar, the drunk, the bad “father” (to Aaron), the bad “husband” (to Kate), the bad “friend” (to Hurley), and just the all around “Bad Guy” of the series.
Why are they doing this? I think they are doing it so he can pull the ultimate act of redemption in the series finale and remind us all of the Season 1 Jack Sheppard, when he was a leader, a life saver, and a friend. He will sacrifice his own life to make good on everything he has done wrong. It will remind us all of the “live together, die alone” Jack, as opposed to the “leave Jin behind, let Sawyer be the one to jump, leave everyone behind as long as he and Kate get off the island” Jack.
Let’s face it. The writers love once-hated characters pulling unheard of acts of redemption in their final moments of life.
Charlie: In Season One he was a drug addict. In Season Two he was a kidnapper. But, we don’t remember those “Charlies”. We remember his ultimate act of redemption in Season Three when he sacrificed himself not only for the sake of Claire and Aaron, but for everyone on the island by warning them of the true identity of the freighter folk in his final seconds.
Michael: He killed Libby and Ana Lucia. He blatantly stabbed Jack, Sawyer, Kate, and Hurley in the back for his own selfish reasons by turning them over to the Others. But, my lasting image of Michael will be him sacrificing himself and giving the chopper those ever precious few extra seconds to get away from the boat. Even Jin forgave him in the end.
Even Ben: Although he doesn’t look too bad now compared to the likes of Widmore, Keamy, and even Jack, there was a time when Ben Linus was the bad guy of all bad guys. But, you can see it in his eyes as he turned the wheel, he too was sacrificing himself. He did not WANT to do what he did. He HAD to do it. And even though he didn’t die, and even though he was saving the “island” as opposed to a person, in a way, it felt like it was just as great a sacrifice to Ben.
Right now, Jack tells Kate that he was the one who “saved her” and that Sawyer “chose to stay”. Deep down, though, he knows he should have been the one to jump. If he had jumped and stayed on the island all those “very, very, bad things” that Jeremy Bentham had told him happened once he left would not have happened at all. In the end, however, Jack will be the reason why Kate and Sawyer end up off the island together, safely.
Right now, Sun blames Jack for Jin’s “death”. Jack is the person who had the final say so in not going back for Jin after the explosion. I believe his exact words were “It’s over. He’s gone”. Those are some of the most heartless words we have heard all series. You can’t blame Sun for what she thinks of Jack. Looking back in hindsight, the chopper just ended up crashing in the water anyway, so it wouldn’t of hurt going back to look for Jin. But, in the end, I believe Jack will be the reason Jin and Sun get off the island together, safely. Yes, I do think Jin is still alive.
Right now, Jack blames “himself” for the situation with Claire and Aaron, and his nephew being separated from his rightful mother. Remember Hurley’s question to Jack in the season finale: “Once we drop everyone off at the freighter, we will come back for Claire and everyone else, right?” And how did Jack answer that? He said “Absolutely.” That never happened. He never came back and Claire was left on the island with all those “very, very, bad things” that happened as a result of him leaving the island. But, in the end, Jack will be the reason why Claire and Aaron leave the island together, safely. Thus, making Desmond’s prophecy of Claire and Aaron boarding a chopper true, albeit many years after his original vision. And, yes, I do think Claire is still alive.
Somebody is going to die in the series finale. That I can guarantee. And there is no better candidate than Jack. And there is no better way for him to die than to give up his own life to ensure the “happy ending” for all those whose lives he has ruined by his decisions. He “fixes things”. He is in a big mess right now, but he will “fix it”, even if it means sacrificing himself. And in the matter in which he does it in, even all you Jack-Haters might have to applaud him, even if it is for a little while.
Theory by Irocz28
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20 Comments:
Cracking stuff and no waffle.
I am excite!
Great theory, nicely written :)
I do agree with you on most points, but I don't think Jack will die. I think he (and maibe together with Kate) will get the opportunity to get back to the point where Flight 815 crashed, and get a second (? maibe there had been more timeloops?) change to fix things. And I think Locke will be the one to die ultimately. I allways thought that, and maibe I'm wrong because he allready is dead. But I think once he is back on the island, he will be resurrected and chooses to die again to save everyone.
You know it's funny, because I never thought of Jack as a strong leader. What did he do? He was a doctor so of course he helped with the initial medical issues, but that doesn't make somebody a strong leader. He was simply the most clean cut, normal looking guy, and that's why the losties looked to him, but I never particularly cared about him. Locke I thought clearly took the role when he kicked open the case of knives, and ever since then Jack has been fighting to maintain absolute authority, but Locke is just better even with his flaws. At least he doesn't pretend to have all the answers, and he's willing to both listen to other ideas and pay attention to other people's needs, as he did with Charlie, Claire, and Hurley. Jack sucks!
I generally agree with the premise of what you have said. And the reasons you give for why people hate Jack is actually why I like him quite a bit as a character. He is a classic hero. He is somebody who people naturally want to follow and he genuinely wants to help people, but his pride gets in the way. So he is basically a leader with blinders on who won’t consider other options once he decides what is best and doesn’t see the damage he might cause around him.
The iconic Jack moment for me is after he chose to save Sarah over Shannon’s dad, he blindly walks past Shannon and her step-mom without seeming to give it a thought.
This season he has had his epiphany. His blinders are coming off. He is realizing the impact he has had on Sun. He realizes he left a sister behind. He knows now that he has completely misunderstood his father’s motives for leaving for Australia. He’ll likely stumble some more because there are two more seasons to go. But in the end, he’ll likely be the hero. I agree it would be best if he died, but this is a Disney produced show, so I won’t be surprised if they feel they need to find a way for him to live, but I sort of hope not.
Chris, you say Jack wasn't a strong leader because all he did was help save people because he was a doctor? But Locke is a leader because he "kicked open a case of knives"? Huh?
Locke doesn't care about anyone or anything but the island. Even the biggest Locke fans know that, and they will openly admit it.
linglo, I agree with you. Jack really is the classic hero. He doesn't have a spiritual connection to the island like Locke. He doesn't travel through time in his mind like Dez. He can't break someones neck with his legs while being tied up, like Sayid. And even though he took a giant step backwards this year, in the end, he will be the hero once again.
wait a second irocz, you're saying Locke doesn't care about anybody or anything but the island?
Did you watch the season 4 finale?
Who was the guy trying to keep Keamy, one of the men trying to kill everything on the island, alive so that the freighter wouldn't explode and kill everyone on it?
Locke.
timothy,
Yeah, but considering he shook Ben's hand 5 minutes after he killed everyone on the freighter, I think it is safe to say he wasn't too shook up over it.
Is that you tim???
well, by that time i too had pretty much forgotten what Ben just did. At least he shows a little bit of compassion rather than, as you said, "doesn't care about anyone or anything but the island"
Welcome to the Banned list Pau.
Irocz28 : Locke doesn't care about anyone or anything but the island. Even the biggest Locke fans know that, and they will openly admit it.
I'm as big a Locke fan as you can get and no you are completely wrong. COMPLETELY. Was Locke thinking of himself when he came back to try and save his fellow castaways from the freighter people? Even AFTER your body Jack put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger? Was he thinking about himself when he caught bore for the whole camp? Or how bout when he got Vincent back but gave him to Michael so Michael would look better in the eyes of Walt? Or how bout solving Charlie's drug problem and getting Charlie's guitar back? Or building Claire a cradle? Good god some people have very few brain cells.
Almost everything you stated Matt was from Season 1, before Locke became totally obsessed with the island. The one thing NOT from season 1 that you stated is when he came back to save everyone from the incoming freighter people, and even then his primary motive was to protect the island, not to protect any of the other castaways. And save the insults for someone who is actually affected by them. There is no reason for that.
How was bringing the other castaways with him thinking about the island....he doesn't need them to protect the island...he does it simply to protect them I don't see what's hard to understand about that. In season 3 he also saves Ecko from the polar bear GOING HEAD FIRST INTO A POLAR BEAR CAVE. Not to mention that Locke is the one who tries to stop the o6 from leaving and look at each's condition.
Ok, I hate Locke, you like him. I like Jack, you hate him. Lets agree to disagree. I don't want this post to turn into an argument over tiny details about who saved who from a polar bear. This post was meant to look at the big picture.
I love both Jack and Locke very much, but I think, that Jack will die, but he will be ultimate hero of Lost, even heroes have many faults, but Jack knows, that he did these faults, and he will be want to set right these faults, I think, that he will die in Series finale, but as hero as Charlie! I believe, that writers know, what they doing with character of Jack.
And what others! They have many faults too,(Sawyer was bad before, than writers did from him "hero", haha:) stupid thing, and Kate, what as she?!?! She slapped Jack but I think, that Jack doesn´t deserve it, so why Jack wouldn´t be happy, before than he dies.
I don´t care about writers, I still love Jack against all odds!!!
Yes, and I think, that Jack and Kate are Adam and Eve, I don´t think, that Kate gets off the island. Yes, I´m fan of Jack and Kate, yes, I don´t like Sawyer, yes, I think, that he doesn´t deserve Kate, even if writers did from him "hero", haha:)) I don´t want Sawyer and Kate together, but I try to respect them, but I will be fan of Jack and Kate always:)) Sawyer is selfish too, he doesn´t want to go away from island, so he jumped from helicopter, clearly things. That´s all.
Sawyer will be with his daughter and Cassidy.:)) Writers, please, I want it.
The Jack of Seasons 1-4 is definitely a hero in the tragic mold. In fact, he's very similar to Oedipus (if you take out the whole sleeps-with-his-mother thing, which isn't really the most important part of the myth anyway). It goes like this:
Once there was a brave and clever guy who was good at solving problems. He was basically a good guy, but he was stubborn and hotheaded, and he refused to believe in any power greater than himself. When he managed to help out a community of strangers in the grip of a major crisis, they made him their leader. Then, a new crisis came, and our hero, assuming he knew what was best, charged forward without any heed for the council of others, so convinced of his own rightness that even when a prophet told him that his current course would lead to disaster, he dismissed the prophet as a fool and a traitor. Only after everything went entirely to pot did the hero recognize that the prophet was right all along and he himself was the source of his people's misery. Finally, he acknowledged that there were powers in the world greater than himself, and that there were things in the universe hidden even from someone as clever as he was.
That summary fits both the Oedipus story and Jack's character arc pretty nicely. And that doesn't even touch on the whole 'daddy issues' thing.
Of course none of this answers the question of whether Jack will have to redeem himself through sacrifice. Personally, I think a Jack who ended by sacrificing himself would be a Jack who didn't learn his lesson. Jack was brought low so that he could recognize that it's not all about him. One side of that is learning that he's not always right and can't always be in control, but the other side of that is learning to stop beating himself up over things that aren't his fault and realizing that he doesn't have to take all of the risks and make all of the sacrifices himself.
Jack is good guy, but even good guy has many faults:)
Ahh, we have new Lost triangle:) Charlie, Michael, Jack:))