The Characters: Jack and Locke

I am constantly surprised how my reactions rewatching the series contrast with my impressions the first time around. It is not just plot points that I remember differently than they actually occurred. Whole relationships seem to unfold differently than I remember. Often times I found there wasn’t the textual evidence for theories I planned to advance. In this case, it’s the relationship between Jack and Locke that played out differently than I thought. I remembered them arguing about philosophy while the camp burned around them. Their stalemate is one of the reason’s I grew to like Sawyer. Rewatching the series though, their conflict is less debilitating, and ends sooner, than I remembered.

Their relationship goes through five short stages. They initially cooperate but with disagreement. When Claire and Charlie are kidnapped by Ethan, Jack wants to immediately follow their trail while Locke wants to form a larger search party.[1] Locke’s probably right and Jack is guilty of the show’s greatest sins: the belief that one’s knee jerk reaction is the best strategic approach to a problem as long as it’s accompanied by the right amount of self-righteousness. They disagree again after Claire, and Ethan, return. Jack wants to go on the offensive while Locke is more cautious.[2] Again, Locke is probably right that the castaways are fighting a losing battle, until Jack shares with him the existence of a briefcase full of guns. As I have also said from the first post, Locke is a very attractive leader during the 1st season.

But soon enough Locke is hatch crazy and Boone is dead. This is Jack’s first wanting to kill Locke stage. Granted, he never actually says he’s going to kill Locke. But after failing to save Boone, he marches off into jungle with an ominous “I am going to find John Locke.”[3] He doesn’t find Locke until Boone’s funeral. Jack attacks Locke and blames him for Boone’s death. Locke kind of talks his way back into camp. That begins the suspicion stage. When the gun case key is stolen, Jack immediately suspects Locke.[4] (Sayid deduces correctly that Shannon stole it.) Jack and Locke also call each other names over Jack’s hiding the guns and Locke’s lying about the hatch.[5] Finally, Jack tells Kate that they’re going to have a Locke problem going forward and asks if she has his back.[6] However, that is on the return trip from the Black Rock. They worked together long enough to retrieve the dynamite and blow open the hatch even if their motives for doing so are at odds.

That begins the second working together but disagreeing phase. They do have a long debate about faith, but the button still gets pushed.[7] They also search for Michael together. Jack is right that Michael is in danger and Locke is right that even if they catch him, he’ll just run off after Walt again and that’s probably his right.[8] Either way, it’s Kate who gets captured and forces the castaways to give up their guns.[9] The central exhibit in the “Jack versus Locke to the detriment of them both” show is Sawyer’s conning them out the remaining guns. It has nothing to do with faith versus science though. It’s about peace versus war with the Others. What is annoying about Jack and Locke’s relationship is how often they switch sides between hawk and dove. Jack wants to build an army while Locke wants to respect the Others’ supposed offer of peace.[10] Locke wants Sayid to torture Ben while Jack wants to threat his arrow wound.[11] Then Locke makes friends with Ben while Jack says Locke and Sayid were right originally to torture him.[12] All during their holding Ben prisoner, Jack and Locke largely work together. Their relationship finally breaks when Locke loses his faith. Locke decides the button is a fake and goes off to the sulk while Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley follow Michael into the Others’ ambush. Then when Jack finally returns to the castaways’ camp, Locke joins the Others.

There is one last stage to their relationship: the Jack trying to kill Locke phase. After the 2nd season, Locke and Jack are in sight of each other only a few times. One of those times, Locke puts a knife in Naomi’s back.[13] That’s pretty cold blooded, even if Locke didn’t have faith in her promise of being rescued. Yes, her freighter has a group of murderous mercenaries on board. But Naomi may have been on the good side. If there any Locke apologists out there, I ask you, what if Locke had put that knife in Daniel or Miles’ back? This time, Jack does promise to kill Locke.[14] He takes Locke’s gun, points it at Locke’s head and pulls the trigger…but it’s unloaded.[15]

My argument is that Jack and Locke accomplished more together than I previously considered. And their disagreements had less to do with a faith vs. science debate than legitimate tactical differences. Locke also abruptly switched sides to fight for the Others. But even if their conflict was over blown, Jack too often bought into it. In the end, he let Locke provoke him into attempted murder.

[1] “All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues”
[2] “Homecoming”
[3] “Do No Harm”
[4] “The Greater Good”
[5] “Born to Run”
[6] “Exodus”
[7] “Orientation”
[8] “The Hunting Party”
[9] Id.
[10] “The Long Con”
[11] “One of Them”
[12] “Two for the Road”
[13] “Through the Looking Glass”
[14] “Beginning of the End”
[15] Id.