Go Get A Ruler: Character Cup Consolation Round

I am probably flushing whatever future I might have had writing on DarkUFO down the toilet by addressing this ultra-sensitive issue. I wrote a long piece on the love triangle (A Couple of Bandaids, A Bottle of Peroxide in the Theories section) that received my lowest ratings of any work on this site. People made some intense criticisms and accused me of being a Jater, because I tried to show Jack’s side of the issues alongside Sawyer’s side. Still, I couldn’t resist offering my two cents. Keep in mind that the following judgments are completely subjective. If you disagree, then feel free to comment with your own breakdown of each category.

The Consolation Round: Jack vs. Sawyer


Attractiveness - Physical

As a male, I must say that I would rather look like Matthew Fox than Josh Holloway. To use a football analogy, Jack looks the part of a quarterback while Sawyer looks the part of a linebacker. Jack is not only attractive because of his physical characteristics, but he is also attractive because he looks intelligent enough to be a doctor. Admittedly, I have a strong bias towards the lean, short-haired, Ivy League standards of masculinity than the heavy, long-haired, Red State standards. Nevertheless, I’ll defer to the ladies on this issue, who seem to worship Holloway as some sort of god.

EDGE: Sawyer


Attractiveness – Personality

This category would most likely generate the strongest difference of opinion among Lost viewers. I’ll use the same standard I used to compare Locke and Desmond. Which guy would you rather have dating your daughter? If you were to read some people’s opinions on Jack, you would hear that he is the worst protagonist in the annals of television, the most despicable human being on the face of the planet, the most incompetent leader in political history, the cruel dictator of an authoritarian regime, a misogynist woman abuser, and the devil incarnate. If you watch the show, you would find that he is none of these things, but just one lost soul in a cast of many. Strangely, only a minority of fans and not a single one of the characters on Lost agrees with that assessment of him. I have watched every episode several times and I still have absolutely no clue where these people are coming from. Although the shipper debates will rage on, more men and more women wanted Kate to be with Jack according to the Polls section of this site. I’ll defer to their judgment. If you can honestly say that you would prefer to see your daughter dating Sawyer rather than Jack, then feel free to choose him in this category.

EDGE: Jack


Admirability

Again, I will use the same standard I used before. Which man would you prefer as a role model for your child? People will most likely hold wildly varying opinions on this topic. Neither character is perfect, and their flaws are vastly different. For the most part, I would feel extremely proud to raise a child that mirrored the adult life of Dr. Jack Shephard, and I would feel much less proud to raise a child that followed the adult life of James Ford. This comparison still may be unfair, because Sawyer was forced to raise himself. Not every person who experiences a traumatic childhood, though, leads a life similar to Sawyer's. Once again, if you can honestly say that you would consider Sawyer as a better role model than Jack, then feel free to reverse this category.

EDGE: Jack


Humor

One of Sawyer’s main functions is to provide comedy in the midst of the island drama. Jack takes his responsibilities on the island very seriously and rarely does he have time to launch into a joke. When Jack once felt that he was not in the mood for jokes, Hurley made the ironic comment that Jack is ‘usually Mr. Ha-Ha.’ Intentionally funny Jack Shephard moments are few and far between, while Sawyer manages to score a few laughs nearly every episode.

EDGE: Sawyer


Mystery

Neither Jack nor Sawyer has involved themselves in the island’s mysteries to the extent of other characters. Jack witnessed visions of his father early during his stay on the island, and still never located Christian’s body. Jack also survived two close scrapes with the Smoke Monster, and played a key role in the exploration of the Swan hatch. Sawyer heard whispers in the jungle early on. Later, he became involved in the Magic Box mystery through his encounter with Cooper. The Season Three finale, though, pushed Jack’s mystery component over the edge. The mystery of the coffin has become one of the most compelling questions through the show’s history. In the flash-forward, Jack is shown actively seeking the island for unknown reasons. Although this situation could change in the future, right now there are larger question marks surrounding Shephard than Ford.

EDGE: Jack


Episodes – Lead

Jack Shephard boasts an impressive catalog of flashback (and flash-forward) episodes that rivals any other character: Pilot, White Rabbit, All the Best Cowboys, Do No Harm, Man of Science Man of Faith, The Hunting Party, A Tale of Two Cities, Stranger in a Strange Land, and Through the Looking Glass. The Season Three finale won the DarkUFO Episode Cup, while the Season One and Season Two premieres both reached the Semi-finals. We can forgive the tedium of Stranger in a Strange Land, because all of the other episodes were so strong. Regardless of your interest in the flashbacks, Jack takes center stage in the island conflicts of each of those episodes. Amazingly, Sawyer has only appeared as the lead character in four episodes: Confidence Man, Outlaws, The Long Con, and Every Man for Himself. Although each of these episodes are fairly strong, the stories are also quite smaller and more personal. Only a major Sawyer fan would list his flashback episodes among the series’ top efforts. Many fans indifferent to Jack’s character would still list his episodes among the top episodes of the series.

EDGE: Jack


Episodes – Support

Both Jack and Sawyer offer some strong supporting turns in a variety of episodes not focused entirely on themselves. Both men have interacted with nearly every other character on the island. It is no coincidence that both Jack and Sawyer have made appearances in 65 and 64 episodes, respectively. Throughout all three seasons, Jack and Sawyer always have something to contribute to the story, whether to add to the conflict of an episode, to drive along the overarching plot, to divert the audience on a side plot, or simply to say a few words about the situation. For better or worse, both men hold strong opinions on nearly every topic, and the writers let us hear them out.

EDGE: Even


Acting

I have read people write some very nasty comments about the quality of these two actors. Personally, I think that both Matthew Fox and Josh Holloway have done a tremendous job to create extremely convincing characters. Neither actor is perfect, of course. For the most part, Holloway relies upon two stock facial expressions in almost every scene, either the Forehead Scowl, or the Dimpled Grin. He also stumbles upon the occasional awkward delivery of a nickname. Fox overuses a few stock techniques as well, particularly his crying and his frequent scoffing. Fox shows more inventiveness with his facial expressions, but some people regard these efforts as goofy attempts at overacting. We’re not exactly talking about Laurence Olivier and Marlon Brando here, but both actors are consistently high-quality on the whole.

EDGE: Even


Identifiability

The audience of Lost is primarily made up of adults, and Jack’s plotlines revolve around many more problems relatable to most adults. Off the island, Jack struggles with his parents, his marriage, and his career. On the island, he also struggles to balance his personal relationships with his larger responsibilities. By contrast, Sawyer’s range of experiences (his childhood and his criminal past) only speaks to a much smaller portion of the audience. As further evidence, check out a recent survey from the Polls section of this site. 21% of voters responded that they see themselves most as Jack, while 11% of voters said they see themselves most as Sawyer.

EDGE: Jack


Complexity

One of the most frequent arguments posed in the Jack-Sawyer debate centers around the question of static versus dynamic characters. People on both sides have made such accusations about the other character. I think that neither of these positions are correct, because both characters have undergone constant changes. Jack and Sawyer continue to face different challenges, and to respond to those challenges differently. To take two examples from late Season Three, Sawyer was forced to decide whether to kill Cooper, and Jack was forced to decide whether to let three people die to help save the rest of them. Both characters embraced an extraordinarily complex series of motivations in their decision-making process, their reactions in each situation were difficult to predict, and the aftermath of both crises was even more difficult to foresee. Both men represent extremely complex characters, which will continue to evolve in the face of new challenges.

EDGE: Even


Conflict – Internal

In a sense, both Jack and Sawyer suffer from similar conflicts of identity. As I wrote previously, “Essentially, James needs to decide which identity represents his true self. If he continues to go by the name Sawyer and to lead a life with no defined moral standards for himself, then Cooper will have won the ultimate battle for his soul. Ironically, although the death of the original Sawyer released Locke from Cooper’s influence, the man from Tallahassee still dominates the mind and life of James Ford more strongly than ever.” Jack’s most important internal conflict centers around the roles of faith and empiricism in his life. Locke described Jack’s conflict very well: Jack believes in destiny, but he has not come to terms with those beliefs yet. The end of Through the Looking Glass showed just how greatly this conflict had affected him. Jack took the rational course of action and sent his people off the island, but ultimately found a meaningless existence apart from the island. Jack has become a man of faith, and his beliefs match Locke’s more closely than ever. While both of these identity conflicts are understandable, James reflects upon his struggle more visibly. On the island, Jack was always been too wrapped up in the larger action to stop and think about himself. Only after leaving was Jack able to pause and reflect, but he waited far too long to pay attention to his own crisis.

EDGE: Sawyer


Conflict – External

Both Jack and Sawyer possess strong personalities that put them constantly in disagreements with other characters. Most of these disputes are minor in the grand scheme of things. Essentially, Sawyer has three major nemeses on the island: Jack, Tom, and Cooper. Sawyer killed two of those men at the end of Season Three and arrived at an understanding with his third. Perhaps Sawyer will find new enemies in the upcoming seasons, but a great deal of his intrigue has already been eliminated. Jack essentially competes with three main doppelgangers: he rivals Sawyer in efforts to win Kate’s heart, he rivals Ben as leaders of two warring factions, and he rivals Locke for spiritual control over the island’s destiny. These three nemeses help define Jack’s character perhaps better than any other. All three of Jack’s primary conflicts remain as complicated as ever, and all three of these rivalries will attract viewers to the show in the upcoming seasons.

EDGE: Jack


Suffering

On the island, both men have suffered through painful ordeals. Jack was forced to bear the burdens of several tragic dilemmas (the Marshall’s death, Joanna’s death, the kidnapping of Charlie and Claire, Boone’s death, the loss of Michael and Walt, etc.). Although Sawyer did not involve himself very much in those circumstances, he did suffer through his own journey, during which Cooper forced him to relive his childhood trauma. To evaluate this category, though, simply compare the actions of their two fathers. Christian Shephard made Jack think that he hated him, in order to ‘turn soft metal into steel’. Sawyer’s father shot his wife and then shot himself, while 8-year old James watched helplessly under his bed.

EDGE: Sawyer


Expected Future Contributions

The end of Season Three left Jack and Sawyer in different places, but facing similar challenges. Sawyer has not been the same person since his encounter with Cooper, and it might take him a long time to begin to heal. Kate’s possible pregnancy might play an important role in the future. Aside from his personal identity crisis, and his relationship with Kate, Sawyer’s story might be complete, for the most part. With Jack, we still need to find out the details of the rescue, whether he will be able to return to the island, and what his relationship to the island will be once he returns. At this moment, Jack appears to offer the potential for a much more central involvement in the storyline.

EDGE: Jack


Prediction: Sawyer
Preference: Jack

I am not one to change my predictions midstream, so I still expect Sawyer to win this contest. I may have underestimated Jack’s popularity a bit throughout this Character Cup, but I still think that Sawyer had better odds at winning it all. Regardless of your personal opinions on the two characters, you must admit that Jack and Sawyer have always played some of the most important and the most memorable roles on the show. The Jack-Sawyer debate can bring out the worst in people, but it can also bring out the best. We should credit the creative minds behind the show for developing two characters that are so different, and yet so similar. Supporting either Sawyer or Jack does not make you any better or worse of a person. Interestingly, although you might not realize it by reading fan wars, the characters themselves have become close friends, with a great deal of mutual respect for one another. Perhaps one day the fanboys, fangirls, and shippers alike will all be able to support their men in peace. Today, I’m going to cast my single votes for Jack and Locke, and then leave with a clear conscience.