light·house
/ˈlaɪtˌhaʊs/ [lahyt-hous] –noun
1. a tower or other structure displaying or flashing a very bright light for the guidance of ships in avoiding dangerous areas, in following certain routes, etc.
Jack Shephard’s long been in need of guidance, but often to stubborn to accept it — he’s struggled to find some greater meaning or purpose to his life, filling that void with his stubborn attempts to take control of every situation and “fix” whatever needs fixing. Never able to please the father who told him he didn’t have “what it takes,” Jack’s long been driven to take control and prove to his father and himself that he does. He always had to make sense of seemingly impossible and illogical situations — to find explanations for events that others simply took on faith. Damn the consequences, Jack always had to get his answers. Said consequences over six seasons include a failed marriage, alcoholism, drug addiction, losing Kate, and more than a few Island deaths along the way. All the while he’s had this intense longing for some sort of meaning that can’t be quantified with scientific equations or facts; he’s never been able to give up the control he perceived he had over reality, no matter how much evidence was presented to the contrary. He eventually did give up a measure of that control last season when he endeavored to set off Jughead and reboot the timeline, and we’d never seen him more at peace for that brief period of time. The Man of Science had finally taken something on faith.
