John Jaqobis: Peacemaker

[The Crazed Spruce]

From the official press release....

Aaron Ashmore takes on the role of John Jaqobis, a Level 3 Killjoy who, despite his profession, is a peacemaker who hates conflict. Cheerful and kind-hearted, John prefers not to fight, but his sarcastic wit has put him into the fray enough over the years to teach him how to do it well, and dirty. Give this man any machine or situation, and he can fix it, build it, and fly it.

[Uncle Benzene]

Aaron Ashmore, bitches! And he's bringing the chuckles? Yes, please!

[Wynterwolf]

From the character bio, he's listed has having a genuine disability:

 

John is dyslexic with learning and reading disabilities and was labeled as “stupid” all of his life. He is not. Decisively. Give this man any mech, any tech, and he can fix-it-build-it-fly it. Just don’t ask him to read the instructions. Or to believe that he’s actually intelligent. OK yeah, John has some self-esteem issues but one thing he's completely sure of is his devotion to his fellow teammates.

 

I will be very interested to see how they develop his character.  

[Danny Franks]

The idea of dyslexia being the cause of self-esteem issues is a cool one to use on a television show. My dad was an undiagnosed dyslexic, back before it was even recognised as a disability, and it severely impacted on his academic education but, like Johnny, he has plenty of technical knowledge (he's an electrician).

 

A peacemaker with confidence issues should provide for a very sympathetic protagonist, as long as he doesn't end up being wishy-washy.

[Wynterwolf]

A peacemaker with confidence issues should provide for a very sympathetic protagonist, as long as he doesn't end up being wishy-washy.

 

Dragging this up from the depths of the threads... I think we can now adjust this to 'a fixer with abandonment issues and a potentially undiagnosed disability'.  There have been some very definite signs of the dyslexia (particularly his getting left and right mixed up), and I can't help but wonder if his heartfelt "I don't want to be a killjoy without you", is an indication of that lack of confidence lurking in the background.  But with everything else going on, we've mainly only seen John in relation to the others.  I need a season 2 so we can get as much of an exploration of John, and all his strengths and weaknesses, as we have Dutch and D'avin!!  

[call me ishmael]

This may also explain why he seems most comfortable with Lucy.  If he was harassed because of dyslexia (this seems a pretty cruel society) and was also, as he sees it, abandoned by D'avin then it would make sense both that he would be most comfortable with the machines and also cling to the security he gets from Dutch who, it seems, he saved and nursed back to (psychic ?) health when he found her. 

 

I realize that this is not a comparison thread but this is yet another reason why understanding the backgrounds of Dutch, Johnny, and D'avin seems infinitely more interesting than the lost memories of Dark Matter.

[sjohnson]

They're going to have neural links that can transmit what people are seeing or control minds, but neuroscience is still so limited that there's no cheap, common ways to diagnose or treat dyslexia? If you say so, show.

 

Johnny's too cool to have real flaws. Also, the show has already explored his great "flaw," which is caring too much and trying to fix things that aren't fixable. 

[Wynterwolf]

but neuroscience is still so limited that there's no cheap, common ways to diagnose or treat dyslexia? If you say so, show.

 

Or maybe, neuroscience is so advanced that they've realized that you can't "treat" dyslexia without intrinsically changing the mind of the person you're treating, and so ethically they have chosen not to do that (though there would likely be unethical treatment available), or the "treatment" might be purposely cost prohibitive or regulated to keep the lower social tiers from having access to it.   

[sjohnson]

Learning intrinsically changes minds, so I'm not seeing where you get a new kind of ethical problem. The prohibition argument is intriguing, but I think if it were the case Johnny would know that there were diagnosis/treatment available and that doesn't seem to be on screen. 

[Wynterwolf]

Learning intrinsically changes minds, so I'm not seeing where you get a new kind of ethical problem. The prohibition argument is intriguing, but I think if it were the case Johnny would know that there were diagnosis/treatment available and that doesn't seem to be on screen. 

 

If you're interested in what I'm referring to regarding potential ethical issues related to neurological issues such as dyslexia, autism, ADHD, among others, google the term "neurodiversity".  And so if by "treatment", your talking about him being given tools to learn how to work with the way his brain is naturally wired, then yes that would be what I'd hope they would have developed (although, see below), but the term "treatment" can cover a great many atrocities in the name of "mental health".  

 

As to the likelihood of Johnny having access to that knowledge (if it exists), the flow of information and technology seems very tightly controlled in this universe, it actually seems more likely to me that a lot of potential health treatments and benefits are also tightly controlled by those in power, as a way of controlling the greater population. Johnny and D'avin seem as though they come from very (socially) humble origins so I think they would more likely be in the 'have-nots' category, but this is another good reason for a season 2... so they can flesh out these kinds of details more!  

[innocuouspuff]

Agree with the ethical argument, but just throwing out other ideas, it could also be that there's a treatment and Johnny isn't interested or doesn't qualify. For example, Captain Kirk being allergic to the treatment for farsightedness in Star Trek. The human body is complex and diverse, I'll never find it unbelievable that a universe hasn't figured out a way to imprint an identical set of abilities onto everyone.

Edited August 21, 2015 by innocuouspuff

[crowsworks]

Just saw Aaron on a Lifetime movie Maid for Murder. Surprisingly good movie. Not run of the mill.