METAMORPHOSIS

METAMORPHOSIS

Protective Jack vs Papa Jack

Inspired by this post of awesome protective Jack scenes, and @januarydivide asking me to explain my tags 😃

Protective Jack is hard edges and intense glares and guns.  He stands between Mac and danger, throws himself into the fray to keep Mac safe.  He grips Mac's belt when he leans out car windows and throws punches and shoots bad guys.  

Papa Jack is soft touches and concerned looks and worry.  He examines Mac for wounds with light hands and gently squeezes the back of his neck.  He checks that Mac's okay whenever they have a moment to breathe and reminds his boy of his worth and takes the Phoenix jet to Boston to be there for his partner.  

~~ I never got over those blue eyes ~~ ~~ I see them everywhere ~~ ~~ I miss those arms that held me ~~ ~~ When all the love was there ~~

MacGyver 5x05 Jack + Kinematics + Safe Cracker + MgKNO3 + GTO

Ok i just started watching Macgyver (i was a convert via fanfic) and Ive only watched a few episodes but Ive already counted half a dozen times that Jack has teared up.... its just so sweet! I love it especially in such a conventionally masculine character

Welcome!! So excited to have you join in on the fun!

Oh gosh, I think that’s why my love for Jack Dalton knows no bounds. It would be so easy for him to just be a rough and tumble, masculine, military ooh-rah (yes, I know he’s a Delta not a Marine) type character, but he’s so much more than that. And even though he occasionally says things like “I’d tell you I love you, but you know I don’t do that kind of stuff” he’s a big ol’ liar liar pants on fire.

Who loves ya, baby?

And his absolute panic as he lands the helicopter and races to where Mac landed on the highway after Mac’s improvised parasailing out of the truck carrying the bomb and bioweapon

Getting off track here, sorry, but I could write a dissertation on why Jack is my favorite. But lets move onto the next episode.

You can say whatever you want, but I’ll be forever grateful that the MacGyver writers decided to give the second episode of the series (the very first episode after the pilot) to Jack Dalton… to diving into his character and his past and so many lovely moments where he just knows his boy so well.

It might be my favorite cold open. Jack turns off the radio to express his concerns about Mac, to Mac privately.

he sits here and lies to Thornton’s face that Mac is alright, when he is very clearly not. When just hours ago, he was calling Mac on the same concerns that Thornton is expressing now.

Apparently leaves this meeting and goes right to find Mac. In Nicki’s apartment, and again calls Mac on the fact that he is not okay.

But I’m getting off track again…

Tears. The whole point of this was about tears. Well, we got them and they are glorious, and oh so painful

Not many shows would let “the muscle” cry, especially this early in the series. And the level of heartbreak. The minute details in the moments right before he cries, the devastation…

excuse me while I cry for minute.

Jack + Being Protective of Mac (requested by anonymous)

Saw your tags. Consider this an opportunity to talk about Jack Dalton 😁

you have no idea what you just unleashed. in this essay i will

first off, i just love him as an individual. ignoring (for now) the relationships he has with others, he himself is a gem of a character. Like (i think ) you and lailuh were talking about, the way that he openly expresses emotions- whether that be through tears, yelling, relief colouring his face, whatever, is just so brilliant. He's this ex-delta, ex-CIA super secret agent who's tradtionally known as "the muscle" and yet he still shows these emotions so openly. He's not afraid of what these emotions mean for his "image" because he's just so comfortable in himself that he's able to express them, something I deeply admire about him. Even in front of Matty, he's not afraid to show her what he's feeling, and she (typically) doesn't take advantage of that. Not only that, but his abilities (although often overshadowed or ignored...i'm still salty) aren't soley being strong. He's intelligent, even though he's the butt of most jokes, and he is knowledgeable in his craft. When it really comes down to it, Jack knows what he's doing, and he's confident in that fact. He has fears, he has his moments where he doesn't make the best decisions, but that doesn't ever take away from his character (until he left dot dot dot) and I think it's amazing how he, despite being a "side character", still has such a robust and unique personality. If I could rewrite the show, I would totally show Jack some more respect. He doesn't have to be shown being the only "not nerdy" one in the team all the time, he doesn't need to be constantly disrespected (bathroom tile salesman....really?).

next up is his relationships with other characters. I actually love that he takes time to really get to know each individual he interacts with (except the bad guys but like who cares about them) and that he forms a real, deep bond with the people he cares about. Did Mac and Jack's friendship start with them instantly being besites? Hell no! And that makes the relationship between these two so much stronger. Like he says, it was "forged in fire". He has real, human conflicts and actively tries to solve or at least reduce them, and that, to me, is an admirable trait. He's not perfect. He's not kind, sweet Jack all the time, because humans aren't always the same when they're under extreme stress! But he still tries his best not to burn bridges (tries is keyword), to make things he's done wrong right, and overall protect the people he cares about. He's not one-dimensional at all imo and he has so much potential to create long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships because he's such a good person.

i also believe he is fundamentally a good person, despite having so much red on his leger. He signed up for that, sure, but I think he's the type of person to still believe that people are naturally good even after seeing all the evil in the world. He, again, made mistakes, he screws things up, but he's still good at heart. He doesn't do things maliciously, he does them through a deep-seeded compassion.

i love him so much 😭