Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26955524-20161126192429/@comment-3387274-20170329100940

Actually, Jacques caring about the Schnee name is actually quite a good one if you spin it right;

He is well aware he just maried into it, and he's determined to prove he can handle the company and make it great anyway. He's probably not huntsman trained, so he can't possibly do what Nick did even if he thinks it's a good idea. It's also possible he just measure success by things like profit turned and isn't aware that the damage he's done to the company reputation is his problem.

Weiss in V2 said that she didn't want her father to be the end of the Schnee name, but Jacques himself talks about the good of the familiy and having a worthy heir himself, so clearly he isn't trying to be an ending.

And then look at pretty much anyone in position to talk to Jacques about this: Willow is apparently drinking all the time. Winter ditched her inheritence and ran off to Ironwood. Ironwood himself is a blunt instrument who wouldn't think of the right thing to say even if Jacques wanted to listen to him. And Whitley is so determined to be as important and valluable as his sisters that he just echoes back an even stronger version of Jacque's sentiments and never questions them

Weiss is basically the only person left who could have talked him around by the time the series starts, and she has a very short temper, frequently talks and sings about refusing to be controlled and taking over, and finally outright pushes the "you're no true Schnee" button without realizing that it's the thing that would hurt Jaques the most, and what drives him to what he does.

At this point, Jacques is probably on some level becoming convinced that everyone wants him to fail the family and is determined to prove he won't, and nothing around him is providing a gentle push in the right direction, so he just keeps going wrong with ever more force.