Amph 24: The Jack Bauer Power Hour (and Spin-Offs)

No, no...I think smaller dozes of 24 are precisely what'd for this show be best going forward. A full 24 episodes always give the writers far too many opportunities to go into meaningless, meandering filler sub-plots. 24 was always at its best when it stayed tightly focused.

 

I think the writing has been astoundingly poor this season--the "WTF?" moment of this week was how the President's headquarters was apparently accessible from a back alley on a crowded London street--but I do like how gutsy and big this moment was. I'm interested where the main storyline is going to go from here, since it was pretty well established that Margot is the "honorable" sort of antagonist.

 

I dunno. It's not the first time Jack has had to get to an official. The fact that Boudreau basically gave him all the locations of the Secret Service agents and pulled most personnel away made it a bit easier to swallow. Not much, but a bit. This is a show where terrorists managed to make it inside the White House, take out the secret service and capture POTUS. This was far easier by comparison.

One thing I forgot to touch on. I was wondering if Heller would pardon Jack before resigning. Glad he did, but worried Mark will squash it. Though really, not sure where Russian plot can even go. Heller's death makes it hard to argue that Mark forged the signature. And given the President's state of mind and how events changed, they can easily argue Jack earned the pardon so the extradition order doesn't stand. I do however still think Mark is on borrowed time. I'm half surprised he didn't buy a Heller mask and stand in the stadium himself. Granted, his role in Heller's death and Mark's decision to cover up Jack's involvement seems like it pushes Audrey into Jack's arms-which I find very interesting.

Given the movie seems dead and there is no guarantee of a series or mini series pickup, I wonder if this will end with Jack being able to go back to Audrey and live happily ever after- as best as Jack can anyway. Season 8 ended on the belief that a movie was a certainty. Here though, they have a chance to wrap things up if they so choose. I suppose, they could even off Jack if they really wanted.

Also, Wake the ***** up is definitely my new favorite Jack line. I also loved Heller's comments about it being a good thing Jack never became a surgeon. All I could think of was Jack resorting to a hacksaw for his 'surgeries'

 

This didn't have as much concentrated insanity as last week (Drone attack chaos! Jack punching out random motorist! Jack stealing a brick at gunpoint from a hobo!) but there were some amazing bits "Wake the **** up." and the fact that they blew up the goddamned president with a surgical missile attack.

 

Please, this had False Flag written all over it. The Magic Missile Theory from Alex Jones in 3...2...1...

 

Gonna be an awkward soccer game with the pitch having a giant hole in it filled with bits of POTUS.

 

Aaaaaand out you go. Weeeeeeeeee.

 

Jesus Christ, Jack. Stone Cold Judging, Jurying and Executing.

 

Can't have Michael Wincott without being one of the sleazy bad guys now can we?

 

I have to say that as much as I love Judy Davis as an actor, her dropping out and being replaced by Michelle Fairley was the right twist of fate. She's definitely able to portray one stone cold lady.

Another great sign of the compactness of this season, previously the time to identify the assassin would have been at least an episode or two. This time, 15 minutes.

 

You know what I found most unbelievable out of everything last night?

Ian: Who is that?
Margot: His name's BAUER! Former CTU.

All I could think of was that on her last trip with her husband to TERRORCON in some remote cave, all the groups have a session devoted to hating Jack and lamenting his takedown of another one of their fellow organizations. I could even see t-shirts with Jack's kill count and DAMMIT! all over. And terrorists dressing up at him for this fictional convention. I'm sure the number one question in the Q&A is "When does he go to the bathroom?"

In all seriousness, I'll just rationalize it as her knowing Jack through her obsession with Heller. Kind of hard not to come across Jack if you know everything about Heller. But still the immediate recognition and the sheer venom as she bit out BAUER just made me think of that.

The episode was great though. I waiver on Heller being alive. I think we knew it was likely (no clock, footage clearly reused and Chloe hacking away, plus Jack's objection to the whole thing). But I do worry this has opened the door for one of two beloved 24 characters to bite it by the end. Chloe has never been in more danger than she is now. But I am hoping she's going to learn Adrian killed Moris (and kidnapped Prescot) to get her to join, she'll kill him in a total Jack-like way with a Chloe twist perhaps, take back her son and run back to the USA. Sarah Walker meanwhile will get to take out Navarro and get her little revenge for hubby and Jordan. It does seem at least like we're heading towards Ladies Night in 24. But given Jack just showed Margot the express elevator to the ground floor this past episode, who knows. And until we hear something about 24's future, I'm not ruling out the possibility that Jack dies or that he and/or Chloe pull some sort of self-sacrifice thing. Much as I love this show, it's tradition for a beloved and/or major character to bite it. And if it's not Heller, that leaves Jack, Chloe and Audrey. And since Margot wasn't smart enough to just send the drones to kill Audrey (thus destroying Heller far more), I'm going to say Audrey is safe. But maybe her hubby isn't long for this world if they intend for her to ride off with Jack by the end.

 

Jack Bauer and Petyr Baelish now have something in common.

 

Well now, that was actually a somewhat unexpected twist towards the end.

Spoiler

Did not see the return of Cheng. Great for Jack to have a chance to tie up that loose end along with likely killing more Russians. Mark also seems to be done for. Time to throw Audrey into Jack's arms then.

 

Your butt has just been saved by Jack multiple times in the last 10 hours and you've just found out that the override device is still out there. At what point is attempting to throw Jack to the wolves a smart idea on multiple levels?

 

My dad and I figured that that character would come back sometime.

 

At least it was not Logan who was brought back in.

 

True that. We are still waiting for Jack's dad to come back.

 

The real twist will be in the last episode where the terrorist mastermind behind everything that ever happened in 24 is revealed to be Jack's mom played by Betty White. We'll see just where Jack got his ruthless side from and she'll rival him in her use of the word Damn it!

 

god, him as an actual villain. and it would be a satisfying conclusion

No. NO NO NO NO!

NO! NO! NO!

Not happening. that was just a bad storyline with daddy bauer.

 

The Return of Cheng Zhi is 24 firing on all cylinders. I'd love it if he didn't die but constantly came back to destroy Jack's plans for World Peace.

 

Well now, that preview for next week:

Spoiler

Casket with a flag. Whose the body?

1) Heller- Makes sense. We see him collapse in the preview for next week. And as far as a twist-it would mark the first time a sitting president was shown dying in office (as opposed to the offscreen deaths for Wayne Palmer and Keeler)
2) Audrey- Sure. Let's make Jack's life more miserable. Every woman he loves must die.
3) Mark- Well he's been a dead man walking for a while, but if he was gonna go, it was this episode not next. Of course he could do some heroic rescue Audrey and die thing since aside from Jack, every man Audrey loves must die.
4) Chloe- This would not do and given her current affiliations. I have trouble seeing her get the flag. Still, she is a hero and depending on how she would die, I could see Heller ordering it.
5) Kate- Would be really depressing. Of all Jack's Robins to his Batman, she's right up there with Rene Walker. IF the show continues, I would hope it would be with her returning as well. But honestly doubting the show is going to return.
6) Jack. If they truly wanted to end 24 and give it that surprising twist, killing Jack would do it. It does not necessarily end a movie either as they could set the movie in the time between 8 and this day. But it would close the door on any further series. We do see Jack on the ground looking like he's about to make some big last stand. And we know there is a time jump to get back to America and presumably this scene. Transporting back Jack's body could be that jump.

OR

7) Empty- Because if there's one thing 24 loves to do, it's fake deaths. And its time Jack faked his death again. Perhaps to avoid yet more Russian/Chinese fun time, they fake Jack's death letting the audience think he's truly dead until that last minute where we see that of course he's alive. As far as shocking twists though- not so much.