Jack Shephard

Template:Otherpeople4 Template:Infobox Lost character Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Matthew Fox. Jack is the de facto main character of the series and leader of the crash survivors.

Background

Jack has the most flashback episodes of all the characters with a total of nine to date, and is the first to have a flashforward. He is the son of Christian Shephard, half brother of Claire Littleton, and uncle of Aaron Littleton, though neither he nor Claire know this.

Jack is a talented spinal surgeon at St. Sebastian Hospital in the Los Angeles area, where his father, Christian, is Chief of Surgery. Jack had previously attended Columbia University and went on to graduate from medical school ahead of the rest of his class. Jack has been portrayed as a “man of science” and a natural leader. He has tattoos on his left arm that he received in Phuket, Thailand, which reads in Chinese, "He walks among us, but he is not one of us."

After the crash of Oceanic 815, the survivors defer to him as their leader from the start. Though reluctant at first to accept this responsibility, he gradually grows comfortable with taking charge.

Fictional character biography

Prior to the crash

Jack was born into a wealthy family, with aspirations of following in the footsteps of his surgeon father, who told Jack at an early age that he would never make a great leader. Following college and early in his career as a spinal surgeon, Jack operated on a young girl, in the process accidentally severing a nerve sac in her spine. Following a brief panic, he counted to five and fully repaired the damage, a story he would later recall to Kate as a way to manage fear. Jack would operate on Sarah, a woman involved in a car accident with Adam Rutherford (Shannon's father). He speaks with Sarah before the operation, acknowledging that despite the high probability of never being able to use her legs again, he vows to "fix her." After the operation, he runs the stairs in a stadium to relieve stress, where he meets and races Desmond for the first time. Returning to the hospital, Jack is surprised to discover that Sarah can move her toes. Following her recovery, the two marry on August 15.

Months later, as Jack's marriage grows strained, he and Christian are approached by an Italian man with a inoperable tumor, who asks Jack to operate on him. Jack reluctantly agrees, but is unable to save the man during surgery, who dies on the table of heart failure. As Jack consoles the man's distraught daughter in the parking lot, he is drawn into a kiss. He returns home to Sarah and apologetically confesses to her, at which point she admits that, although she loves him, she has been cheating on him, and proceeds to leave him. Unable to bear this loss, Jack refuses to cooperate during the divorce procedures, demanding the identity of the man she is seeing. When Sarah refuses, Jack steals her phone bill and calls all the listed numbers, one of whom belongs to his father Christian. After following him to a Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, Jack attacks his father, resulting in Jack's arrest. As Sarah arrives to bail him out, she reveals that Christian has relapsed back into alcoholism.

Jack retreats to Thailand for several months, where he has an affair with Achara, a secretive young woman with a unique gift of seeing a person's true self. Jack follows her to her tattoo parlor and demands that she give him a description of his true character. She reveals that he is a great leader, but is also angry and lonely as a result. Jack requests a tattoo of his description, but Achara secretly brands him an "outsider," prompting the previously friendly locals to ambush him and banish him from the country. Jack returns to the United States and resumes his surgeon duties, on one occasion being called to relieve his father during an operation on a woman. Following her death, Jack discovers that Christian was intoxicated during the operation. Although Christian initially persuades Jack to sign a report and ignore his intoxication Jack, upon learning of the woman's pregnancy, exposes his father as a chronic alcoholic, shattering Christian's career.

Months later, Jack's mother summons him to her home and asks that he find and bring back Christian, who has exiled himself to Australia. An irate Jack travels to Sydney to track down his father, but instead discovers his body in a morgue, having died of a severe heart attack from his alcohol abuse. Jack arranges for a funeral back home, but has trouble clearing the casket at the airport. His request is eventually granted, and Jack spends the last few minutes at the airport bar, where he meets and strikes up a flirtatious conversation with Ana Lucia before boarding the doomed flight. Mid-flight, air hostess Cindy slips him two bottles of vodka to ease his tension. He keeps Rose company while her husband is in the toilet at the rear of the plane when turbulence hits. Before crashing, however, Jack passes out.

After the crash

Season 1

Jack wakes up in the jungle, with a large gash on his back. He emerges from the jungle, bewildered at first, to discover the crash site. He immediately rushes over to help as many people as possible; he pulls a man from beneath the plane wheel, he rescues Claire and Hurley from a collapsing wing, and manages to revive Rose. Later, he encounters Kate, and asks her to sew up his gash. That night, he and Kate plan to head inland to find the cockpit, as well as the radio transceiver. They are soon joined by Charlie, and the three successfully find the cockpit. After a brief encounter with the "Monster", Jack returns to the beach, where is called to examine an unconscious Marshall impaled on shrapnel. He manages to control his bleeding, and learns of Kate's criminal past. When Sawyer fails to kill him, Jack performs euthanasia on the Marshall.

Deprived of sleep, Jack begins hallucinating, and follows visions of Christian, discovering a set of caves, complete with a fresh water source. He leads a handful of survivors to take up residence. However, during an argument with Charlie, he is caught in a cave in. Charlie comes to his rescue, and helps him escape. Since then, Jack deals with the survivors' illnesses up until Claire and Charlie's abduction. He, Kate, Locke and Boone search for the two, but only succeed in rescuing Charlie after Jack is beaten by Ethan. Jack also takes possessions of the guns contained in the Marshall's briefcase. After Ethan threatens Charlie to return Claire to him, Jack conducts a plan to capture and interrogate him; the plan backfires when Charlie shoots and kills him with Jack's dropped gun. Later, Locke brings a critically injured Boone to the caves, and Jack and Sun work into the night to try and save him. The next morning, Jack informs Shannon of her brother's demise.

Kate drugs Jack in order to get him to sleep. When he awakens, the key to the guns is missing. His suspicions fall upon Locke, and he, Kate and Sayid enter the jungle to find Locke at gunpoint by Shannon. The next day, Sayid takes Jack to the hatch, discovered by Locke. When Rousseau arrives on the beach, she takes Jack, Kate, Locke, Hurley and Arzt to the Black Rock, in order to gather some dynamite. After the sudden demise of Arzt, Jack and Locke set up the dynamite around the hatch, and successfully blow it open. The four peer down into the hatch.

Season 2

Shortly after the opening of the hatch, Jack declines to descend, and tells Locke and Kate not to go in. When Locke and Kate later go in after all, Jack climbs down after them. He finds Locke at gunpoint again, this time by Desmond, who had been living in the hatch for the past three years. He shows the three of them an orientation video, but flees as soon as Kate damages the computer. Jack chases after him, where he recognizes him from the stadium, and is given the code to enter into the computer. Since then, Jack and Locke set up a rotation for certain survivors to enter the code into the computer. Jack and Kate spend a day playing golf when they encounter Mr. Eko carrying a critically injured Sawyer. They take them to the hatch, where Jack prepares to extract revenge for Shannon's death, but changes his mind when he learns more about the accident. Jack and Kate take turns in tending to Sawyer. After the funeral Jack and Locke return to the hatch to find the counter close to zero and Sawyer on the ground. Jack helps Sawyer then goes off looking for Kate. He finds her and she says she is “sorry I’m not as perfect as you”. Jack grabs Kate and she begins to cry and claims that the island is driving her mad. Kate then kisses Jack passionately then runs off.

Jack finds Locke unconscious in the hatch armory, only to be locked in with him by Michael, who insists he doesn't follow him. Regardless, Jack, Locke and Sawyer pursue him, only to encounter the Others, who have Kate held hostage for ransom of their weapons. Jack gives Kate the cold shoulder upon returning to the beach. Later, Jack becomes an unsuspecting victim in Sawyer's long con to steal the remaining weapons and medicine. Jack, Locke and Sayid bring captured "Henry Gale" into the hatch and begin to interrogate him, suspecting him of being an Other. Since his arrival, Jack and Locke's grudge is toyed with, until Sayid, Ana Lucia and Charlie expose Henry as an imposter.

Jack and Kate decide to return to where he encountered the Others to propose a trade with Henry for Walt. Jack starts yelling saying “We’ve got your man” over and over again, until he loses his voice. Kate and Jack set up camp for the night, when sitting by the fire, Kate tells Jack she is sorry for kissing him, Jack replies saying he's not. The two almost kiss but are interrupted by Michael emerging from the bushes. After he comes to, Michael promises to take Jack to the Others' camp. As Jack asks Sawyer for the guns, he learns of Ana Lucia's intention to kill Henry, and he, Kate, Locke and Sawyer rush to the hatch to discover her already dead, and Michael and Libby severely injured. At first, Jack intends to pursue the escaped Henry, but is reminded of the current situation. He administers the confiscated heroin to Libby, but is unable to save her. He agrees to go with Michael to the Others' camp, and sets off the next day, having been cautioned by a wary Sayid. On the way to the camp, Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley are gagged, tied up and taken to a pier. Jack witnesses Michael and Walt leaving the island, while he, Kate and Sawyer are taken away with the Others.

Season 3

Jack finds himself held in a room with a glass wall, where he is questioned by Juliet. Jack refuses to cooperate with her or Ben, almost flooding the hatch. Since then, he eventually begins to settle down. On his second day as captive, Juliet seeks his medical expertise to operate on Colleen, but she flat lines and dies on the table. Jack notices some x-rays on the wall, and asks about the tumor on the spine. After attending the funeral, Ben reveals that he wants him to operate on him, to which Jack spitefully refuses. Juliet wants Kate to talk to Jack to ask him to do the surgery or they will kill Sawyer. She agrees. She is brought to the room where Jack is, emotion overcomes the both of them. Jack asks Kate why they are letting her talk to him, she says they need him to do the surgery, warning that they will kill Sawyer if he doesn't do it. Jack is initially very hostile after this revelation and demands that they remove Kate from his room. However, after seeing Kate and Sawyer together in the cages, he reluctantly agrees. Under Juliet's secret instruction, during the operation Jack deliberately slices open Ben's kidney, and holds Ben hostage until Kate and Sawyer escape. Juliet attempts to call his bluff, but Jack reveals her intended plan. After a discussion with Juliet and Ben, Jack resumes and completes the surgery. He is then questioned by Isabel about Juliet's motives, to which Jack denies his claims. He succeeds in sparing Juliet execution for killing one of her own, and is taken back to the Others' barracks.

Jack appears to have bonded with some of the Others during his time there. When Kate attempts to rescue him, Jack warns her that he is under surveillance, and later admits that he has struck a deal to go home, along with Juliet. However, Locke thwarts his plans by destroying the submarine. Later, Jack is knocked out by nerve gas, and is later found by Kate. Noticing the barracks completely abandoned, Jack, Kate, Sayid and Juliet return to the beach. Jack remains protective of Juliet, and intervenes whenever Sayid attempts to interrogate her. Upon arriving back at the beach, Claire suddenly falls critically ill, and Jack learns of the fate of all pregnant women on the island. He allows Juliet to treat her, to which Claire makes a full recovery. Later, Jack and Juliet learn of the arrival of Naomi. Soon after, Jack and Juliet head into the jungle to seek Rousseau's help, and ask her to retrieve some dynamite.

Upon returning to the beach, Jack and Juliet walk in on a camp meeting, who are now aware of Juliet's purpose for being amongst them. However, Jack leads them into the jungle the next day to reveal their true intentions; to rig the targeted tents with dynamite in order to destroy the Others when they invade the camp the following night. However, Jack is forced to drastically change his plan when Karl informs them that the Others are coming very shortly. Jack allows Sayid, Jin and Bernard to remain behind while he leads everyone else to the radio tower. They witness the plan backfire that night, but Jack insists they press on. On the way to the tower Sawyer tells Jack he is going back to the beach and Juliet goes with him, but gives Jack a kiss before she goes. Kate see's this and is very jealous. He eventually encounters Ben and Alex in the jungle, to which Ben tricks Jack into thinking that Sayid, Jin and Bernard are dead. Jack takes Ben hostage again, and takes him with them to the tower. After Locke apparently kills Naomi, Jack uses her satellite phone to make contact with her freighter.

Season 4

Jack tells Hurley that they've made contact with the freighter, and that they're all headed back to the beach. As they're about the leave the satellite phone rings again, and the man on the other end explains that they can't get a lock on their signal. He asks to speak to Naomi; Jack lies and says she's gone to get firewood, but then realizes that the supposedly 'dead' Naomi has disappeared. Rousseau and Kate find two different trails; Jack opts to follow Rousseau's, and tells Kate to take the others back to the beach. Kate hugs him, and then Jack, Rousseau and Ben head out to look for Naomi. When they reach the end of the trail Rousseau explains Naomi has fooled them, and then Jack realizes the satellite phone is missing - Ben tells him Kate took it when she hugged him, and that she obviously found the right trail as well. They eventually meet the other survivors at the cockpit; Jack attacks Locke and aims a gun at his head. Locke tells him that he won't shoot, but before he can finish speaking Jack pulls the trigger - the gun isn't loaded. When Locke explains that they need to hide Jack tells him he's crazy. As some of the survivors, including Sawyer and Hurley, head off with Locke to hide in the Barracks, Jack and Kate stay to wait for the helicopter. When it arrives and a man parachutes out, Jack and Kate run into the jungle and meet him.

After the Island

In The Beginning of the End, sometime after leaving the Island, Jack is mixing a drink in his apartment, when he sees a car chase on television, who he recognizes as Hurley. Shortly after that, Jack goes to Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute to check on Hurley's mental condition and starts playing a game of HORSE. Jack asks Hurley if he was "going to tell." Jack then gets his coat and proceeds to leave. Hurley then apologizes to Jack and said that he was sorry that he went with Locke instead of him, and Jack accepts his apology. Hurley finally asks Jack if they should go back to the Island since it keeps calling to him, and Jack responds, "Never." Hurley then says, "Never say never, dude."

In Through the Looking Glass, some time has passed. Jack has become a drug-addicted alcoholic. While on a plane, he finds a small note in a newspaper, and is obviously deeply disturbed by it. Once he has landed, he takes his car and drives up on a bridge. He looks at the note again, and starts to cry. He gets out of the car and climbs on top of the ledge of the bridge, meaning to jump. Just before he can jump off the bridge, however, a car crashes and he rescues a woman and her son from the wreckage. Back in the hospital, he encounters his pregnant ex-wife, since her name was still listed as his Emergency Contact. The next day, Jack wants to perform back surgery on the woman from the car accident, but the Chief of Surgery rejects his offer.

Jack then goes to a funeral of an unidentified person and is the only person to show up. Later he attempts to fill a prescription for Oxycodone; however the prescription is out of refills. Jack pulls out a new prescription and after reviewing it, the pharmacist tells him that she can not accept a self written script. He then unsuccessfully tries to explain that it was written for him by his father, also a doctor. She again refuses to fill it. Visibly frustrated, Jack staggers out knocking over several displays in the process. He then returns to the hospital and steals several small packages of Oxycodone. Confronted by Dr. Hamill, Jack is informed that the woman has awoken from her surgery and had divulged the reason for the accident; she saw a man standing on the bridge railing and had been distracted. Upon being accused of being drunk, Jack tells the Chief to get his father and we'll see which Shephard is more drunk.

Jack leaves angrily and returns to his apartment, a mess with dozens of maps of what appears to be the Pacific Ocean and many items that are marked "Oceanic". Here he calls a woman, asking her to meet him at the airport. When she arrives, the woman is revealed to be Kate. He tells her about the funeral and that he has been flying across the Pacific Ocean every week (using a "Gold Pass" provided by Oceanic Airlines), hoping that the plane will crash. Distraught, Jack tells her that it was a mistake to leave the island, that they "weren't meant" to leave the island and that they have to go back. She disagrees and, crying and visibly distraught, comments that "he'll be waiting for me" and gets back into her car and drives off into the night. A passenger jet soars off overhead as Jack yells after her "We have to go back!"

Character Notes

• In the original outline of the pilot episode, Jack was supposed to be killed halfway through the two-part pilot; however, early readers claimed killing him off would lose viewers. The producers subsequently cast Fox in the role as a permanent character after considering a well-known guest star such as Michael Keaton.
• Jack's tattoo is an actual tattoo Matthew Fox has in real life. It contains a 5, two letters BC, a Lebanese Phalangist symbol, and four Chinese characters 鹰击長空, which means "eagle striking the sky", a sentence taken from Changsha, a poem by Mao Zedong.
• Claire is Jack's half-sister, but neither of them know this.
• It is possible that Jack has eidetic memory. On more than one occasion, he has been able to recall sets of numbers instantly without prompts, such as the numbers for the computer and the combination of the vault in the hatch.
• In the episode Pilot, Part 1, Jack tells Kate that he "took a couple of flying lessons" prior to the crash.