The two “Jacks” and their personal brands

Just a quick note reflecting on the end of two of my “appointment” TV shows in the last two days and how their main characters were true to their personal brands (SPOILER ALERT FOR THOSE WHO ARE CATCHING UP ON DVR’s)

The two “Jacks,” Jack Bauer on 24 and Dr. Jack Shephard on “LOST” remained true to those brands till the very end.

Whether you liked the endings in either case or not, Bauer stuck to his guns (literally) as the defender of truth justice and the American Way by killing all in his wake to set the President straight and not settle for peace at any cost.  His suggested banishment to Europe also sets up the expected motion picture nicely.

For the ever-searching Jack Shephard, he finally found what he was looking for, his purpose, in the late episodes.  And while he fought off unconventional thinking to the very end, he found final peace as a leader knowing he accomplished what he set out to do — helping his friends get off the island.  In the final scene, his found his peace and stayed true to himself and his purpose.

As we all struggle to figure out who were are and who and what we represent, we will miss these two characters and their shows.  We will likely look back at them as two who helped define a decade and a generation that desperately needed that definition and loyalty.