WHAT ONE CANNOT DO

“ The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do. ”
— Walter Bagehot 

"Don't tell me what to do!" 
That was John Locke's defensive line in the series.

Did the main characters succeed in doing what other people told them they could not do?

Jack's father told him he could never be a leader because he lacked the guts to make hard life and death decisions. Jack became the leader on the island, and his decisions did lead to life saving and life taking decisions. Did the 815 survivors respect and follow Jack? Yes. Did Jack earn the respect from his father? Apparently all is forgiven after you are dead.

Locke's counselors told him to stay in school and push for a math and science career. But he rejected their advice. Locke wanted to be a jock, a popular guy, in the "in crowd," to be cool. As a result of his own perception of what he wanted to become, Locke curried favor with no one. He went from dead end job to dead end job. He was not happy. He was the low man on the totem pole. He had no family support so he sought out surrogate families such as the commune, which turned into a bitter betrayal of his trust. On the island, he was given an opportunity to remake himself one last time: as a heroic survivalist who was both feared and respected. Did the island inhabitants respect and follow Locke? At times, maybe a little. Did Locke earn the respect from those who doubted his abilities and beliefs? The only person who came to that conclusion was Jack after Locke died at the end of the O6 story arc.

Kate's mother told Kate that she needed to turn herself in for her crimes. That she had to stop running away from her problems and face the consequences for her actions. But Kate continued to run away. First from her mother, then from her husband, and then from the island. She never truly faced any punishment for her actions (the legal story arc in the series was a farce). The one glimmer of redemption was her quest to find and reunite Claire with Aaron. But in reality, Kate was running away from the responsibility of raising Aaron. She had no idea if Claire was still alive on the island when she agreed to return. And she had no idea whether she would survive the trip or escape the island a second time. Did Kate earn the trust and respect of her mother? No. Did Kate earn the trust and respect of her fellow 815 survivors? Yes and no, because Kate was a fence sitter on most major decisions, often changing sides in a leadership battle for no apparent reason.