MEET THE FAMILY,
ALIVE & DEAD
Jaque’s arc from stoicism to reconciliation:
THE ANCESTORS DREAM
JAQUES, 50s
The quintessential immigrant success story. Tenaciously rebuilding the village that he once left. Jaques runs a real estate company and believes that playing the monopoly game is synonymous with success. Building his company from the ground up, his family has witnessed his perseverance, the long days and the long nights, and is grateful for his sacrifices. Of course, they also would’ve liked it if one of the sacrifices didn’t have to be time spent with them. While he has adopted many American values since moving to the U.S. over 20 years ago, he still holds on to certain traditional and contradictory views about patriarchal powers, strong women, and following Vodou. He still listens to konpa, but now he interlaces English when he speaks Creole.
Though no longer romantically partnered, he is still friends with Irina and considers her part of the family. She is perhaps his closest accomplice, but he sometimes finds it hard to take her seriously. He believes in the power of the lwa (spirits), but also in the power of wealth. While he similarly finds himself daydreaming of a past life with rose colored glasses, he pushes his feelings down instead of staying open to further investigation. He loves his children, but he also loves money. At times, it’s hard to say which one he listens to more.
At the beginning of the season, we see Jaques reserving himself in almost every situation, including Gabrielle’s disappearance. He chooses work meetings over spending time with his family and doesn’t know when to shut the news off. This unravels as Roseline eventually goes missing. Turning to the forces that he once let guide him before, he must reconnect with his roots and remember where he comes from if he has any chance of finding his daughters.