A LOST Hero: Jack Shephard

This week’s heroic trait is leadership. There is something very powerful about a take-charge man, someone who has the ability to step up and direct people, especially in a stressful situation.

There are people who strive to be leaders, and they do well running businesses and, taken to an extreme, lording their superiority over the world. But those kind are not always the right kind of leader in a crisis.

Jack Shephard from LOST is the epitome of the reluctant leader. The guy people naturally look to, who sees solutions where there are problems, but who fears the responsibility for potential failure. It’s no surprise this trauma surgeon (spinal surgeon, but often called upon in trauma) starts yelling for what to do when people are injured in the immediate aftermath of the plane crash. He knows how to triage, and has more experience in the basics of medicine than the others (the other survivors, not The Others). He’s had a cool head in intense situations before, so he doesn’t freeze when panic hits.


Every man for himself is not gonna work. It's time to start organizing. We need to figure out how we're gonna *survive* here. Now I found water... fresh water up in the valley. I'll take a group in at first light. If you don't wanna come, then find another way to contribute! Last week most of us were strangers. But we're all here now, and God knows how long we're gonna be here. But if we can't live together... we're gonna die alone.

It makes sense, then, that people would look to him for leadership. He doesn’t want it. He’s failed before, and he doesn’t want to let people down now. But the survivors push him into that role, and once he accepts it—however temporarily, however reluctantly—it ignites another trait: Jack is a fixer. His past failures have driven him to save everyone he can, and when he can’t, it kills him.

I told her... I made her a promise I couldn't keep... I told her I'd fix her and I couldn't. I failed.

For many of us, the combination is irresistible. A fixer needs a fixer. Someone who can soothe his torment, assure him he did the best he could. Who can support him in action as well as when he’s trying to convince people that his way is the best way.

Kate is drawn to Jack because of that core of goodness, the desire to help people and to choose what’s best. She obviously can’t. Most of the choices she makes are selfish and end in disaster. She wants Jack because if he can want her back, maybe she isn’t as bad as she knows she is.

On the other side is Juliet, a fellow doctor and quieter, but also natural leader. She’s capable of being an equal partner with Jack, using logic and planning to get them out of whatever they’re in. She’s also a calming force, a balm to Jack’s agitated worry.

A character like Jack can become tiresome after six seasons, but he was incredibly appealing as a leader at various points during the show’s run.

Agree? Disagree? What other reluctant leaders float your boat? Commenters anywhere this full post appears have a chance to win this week's prize, $25 in Omni Bucks from All Romance eBooks/OmniLit!
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I have a guest blogger tomorrow! Keri Ford will be here to talk about writing series. Stop by!

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