I’ve put a lot of time into the Jack Shephard vs John Locke debate. My college roommate was a Locke supporter and I thought Jack was the better leader. My friend is eccentric and I just chalked up him liking John to another one of his idiosyncrasies. But there are many people out that that support the Man of Faith.
As I rewatch the series I thought I would gain a tolerance for Locke and maybe even understand some of his bone-headed decisions. But the opposite has been true. The more I watch the show the more I can’t stand the Mr. Clean look-a-like. He acts like he operates for the greater good of the survivors but he selfishly wants to keep everyone on the island so he doesn’t have to go back into a wheel chair. Let’s not forget he blew up the submarine in season 3!
The writers did a brilliant job contrasting John and Jack throughout the series. This allowed people with different personalities to connect with one of the shows “main characters.”
But in the end John turns into the Man in Black, the epitome of pure evil, so I think fans that like Jack more picked the right leader.
Still Missing Lost 