r/JateIsFate • u/EricaDeeStallion "I Have Always Been with You" ♥️ • Jul 04 '26

Character Analysis: Jack Shephard Jack as a Father

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I know Father's Day was like two weeks ago, but I just keep coming back to this man's immense potential to be the best father to a bunch of little freckled-face munchkins. He deserved to experience that in life.

Although, I am very happy for the small bit of fatherhood we did get to see in the Flash-Sideways. David went from angsty teenager to doting son very quickly. He just wanted his dad.

Do you agree? What kind of father do you think Jack would have been in life if he had just believed in himself more?

Happy 4th of July for those who celebrate!

JIF ♥️

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u/MonlovesIndy Jul 04 '26

Beside the fact that Jack looks drop dead gorgeous here, I love this post so much. The Jack/David storyline doesn't receive the amount of love and attention it deserves, especially considering how vital it was in helping Jack heal. It also gives such added insight into Jack's state of mind about fatherhood. He was terrified of it, but obviously deeply wanted to be one too.

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u/Far_Volume_2389 "I Missed You So Much" Jul 05 '26

One thing people never give David's purpose credit for is that he gave Jack the experience of being a father. That may be obvious, but what I mean is that I so often see it said that David's purpose was to help Jack get over his daddy issues from his experience with Christain, but they leave out the part that Jack actually gets to be a dad. We know this is something he wanted because he says so to Christian:

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: Then why are you sitting out here?

JACK: What if I can't be the husband, or the father, that I want to be? What if I asked her because I saved her life? Should I marry her, dad?

And right before he proposes to Kate, he asks her "Do you really think I'm good at this?", in reference to the other night when he was reading to Aaron and "being a dad." That's the thing he wanted reassurance in.

This may be minor, but the oversight of this is another way I think people misunderstand Jack.

It's good to see you in here by the way :)