Jack is Dalton’s most promising student, his protégé, the Dalton to his own Wade Garrett. He’s the quickest both physically and mentally, he sees things others do not, he is seldom far from Dalton’s side (except when duty-bound to be elsewhere of course), he shares his observations of the world and receives Dalton’s in turn. Throughout, whether with the genuine happiness of “I didn’t know she could sing!” or the shocked disbelief of “Jesus Christ!” or the exasperated incredulity of “This is a Sears credit card,” he is never less than a hundred percent open to the world and honest in his reactions to it. He moves through life the way one should, even before the Dalton Path lies before him.
But now that it does, even his wordless responses evince that same willingness to take life as it comes. Witness how he handles Dalton’s extremely utilitarian advice following the throwdown with Ketchum and the Men Who Iron Their Jeans Gang. “Give me the biggest guy in the world: You smash his knee, he’ll drop like a stone,” Dalton says, and QED. Jack, however, does not react the way one might to fighting tips, but the way one might to good old-fashioned common sense one has never had the common sense to figure out for oneself until a wiser soul relays it. His eyes widen, his head tilts, his eyebrows go up, he nods slightly, and his smile says “Huh, I’d never really thought about it that way before, but you’re right!” It’s as if Dalton just said “Don’t worry, you won’t have trouble making it to the Fotomat before closing—school’s out, so traffic’s gonna be lighter this afternoon,” or “If you tell the kid no, he’s just gonna sneak in, so at least buying him the ticket to the R-rated movie yourself keeps the lines of communication open.” “Oh yeah,” says Jack’s face, “good point!” Which it is, I suppose, if faced with a big guy and a knee. But Jack teaches us here as much as Dalton does.
Tags: bouncers, dalton, fight scenes, jack, road house, staff