24 Series Finale
season, end, TV, show, television, finale, plot, Jack, Bauer, Bower, Twenty-Four, review
So, 24 finally came to its end. By this point, it really had nowhere else to go. Not to say that it was a bad thing, but I feel I should share some of my thoughts on the finale.
Okay, at this point, I will have to spoil a lot of elements of the show, so be warned.
The final season had Jack Bauer start against a Russian nuclear threat, which turned into a Middle Eastern nuclear threat, which turned into a cover-up that involved all the highest levels of governments. Nuclear threats are not anything new in Jack's universe, in fact it seems like holding a city hostage with uranium for reasons unknown has become an annual event in Bauer's America. Thankfully, the writers shrugged it off and focused mostly on the cover-up.
The cover up in this season was also nothing new, season five had already played with this topic. However, in the previous season, it was all of CTU who was trying to take down the government. In this season it was only Jack who was trying to sabotage a Middle East peace treaty so he could get vengeance. This added the inevitable character arc for Jack; he had become the show's villain.
Jack as the villain was a nice touch, as his day went on, his murders became more and more brutal until the point where many happened off screen. He used anything (and everything) at his disposal to get the job done, and did a good job of reminding the audience why he was a force to be reckoned with in the earlier seasons. This was not a man who anyone wants to be up against. The problem with this is, by the end of this season, Jack is no longer likable. And for the only character to appear in every season, he should be someone we can root for. By the final episode, he had lost most the good will he achieved saving America in all the previous seasons.
Allies:
 Thankfully, the show still had some likable characters left to cheer at, the main one being Chloe. Chloe first appeared as an anti-social computer nerd in season three. But as the series progressed, she became a larger and more important character to the cast. By this season, she had fulfilled all her character could fulfill by being promoted to the acting director of CTU. It was a nice deserved jump in status for her, and gave her a chance to hold her own against Jack.
Oh yes, despite having a crush on Jack, Chloe is forced to try and take him down, before he does something really stupid, like shoot a head of state and start a war. Despite showing some resolve, she never is able to out-think or take down Jack. But in all fairness, no one else has really been able to do that either. At the end of the series, she promises to protect Jack's family.
I'm very pleased that the writers didn't play up a romantic angle between her and Jack. Despite being the only recurring female character each season, she managed to have some common sense and stay away from Jack's aura of death. If you can root for any one character this season who sticks to their morals, it's defiantly going to be her.
Next ally who survived the series was Cole. Played by an older and more mature Freddy Prince Jr. I know the guy has a lot of haters, but he was good in this series. His youthful looks have faded, and he can be taken more seriously as a tough character. Any flaws in his performance, like lack of range, were the writers' shortcomings and not his own. As he learns that his fiancee is a traitor and will be killed, he takes it in stride, and does what is needed to make sure the truth comes out. He has replaced both Tony, and Curtis as Jack's reserve, and nicely sets himself up as a character that a spin-off could be made out of.
Villains:
 But a season of twenty-four is only as intense as its villains. And to be honest, the villains started off rather weak. The brother of a foreign president, disgruntled Russian mobsters, and extremists were all pretty unoriginal. And that hurts a show which prides itself on how original it can be. It's only after halfway through the season when an old enemy is introduced that the day started to rise in quality.
The return of the evil ex-President, Charles Logan was exactly what the show needed. He was the first villain to survive his day of chaos, and having him looking for redemption by doing cruel but calculated acts was the type of writing which gave the character justice. His attempt to blackmail the Russians, and corrupt the current President made him too much fun to hate. There were even times that I wanted him to pull off the plan so that I could hate him even more, and that is the sign of a great villain.
Sadly President Taylor wasn't as memorable as the previous Presidents, she was more memorable than the one who was shot down in Air Force One, and the guy who played the villain in Sin City, but she never really had much character depth. Besides being approached with harsh choices, there is really not much more to her character than being a female in power. But despite her lack of depth, this season belongs to her.
She has to face off against a rogue hero, and stop herself from being tempted by a corrupted politician. Most the actions what make up the day, and many of people that get written out of the show have a direct connection to her. Her confession at the end doesn't really seem that likely, but besides that, watching her character fall further into a hell of her own making was very interesting to see.
Main Character Deaths:
 Finally as I look back at the show's final season, I should look at the casualties. Sure all the villains get what was coming to them. But the show lost three main characters as the day went on. First was President Hassan. He died a hero, refusing to give into terrorist's demands, placing himself in danger to protect the innocent, and he wasn't actually framed for anything. He finally gave the Persians a positive character with a lasting legacy on the show. And his death was more than cheap shock value, it was very well done, allowing for the second half of the season to take place. This is the type of character that the show used to be about.
Renee Walker, acted completely out of character the entire season. It made no sense compared to how she acted the previous day when she met Jack. But one day with Mr. Bauer will mess up anyone, so I'll forgive it. Like President Taylor, she digs herself deeper and deeper into the underbelly of Jack's reality. But due to a coincidence, and actions she did between the seasons, she was shot and her death caused Jack to go insane.
The last death I'll mention is Cole's girlfriend's. It seems like every other person in CTU is a traitor, so this year, it was her turn to screw her country over. She got killed, which made Cole angry, and gave him a reason to make sure the truth came out, although there was nothing really special about her. But it's nice to she that she suffered the fate as any other traitor that came across Jack.
Resolution:
 So, how was the resolution to the conflict? Well, underwhelming, but that's pretty much how every day of 24 ends. So many ideas and twists, and characters are thrown into the story, that the writers realize that they only have an hour left to give people some kind of conclusion. They always make it seem like all is lost, then in the twenty-third hour, reveal one last Hail-Mary play the heroes can use to save the day. Because of the return of President Logan, this tactic worked. The only thing I really felt was rushed with Logan was violent burst at the end of the series. While I completely believe that he'd put a gun to his own head, he just doesn't seem like the type to get his hands dirty murdering his assistant. That ruined any chance for the character to seek out more power, and seemed uninspired.
Logan beat Jack at every turn, he had more resources, he had positioned himself better, and he was almost as ruthless. His people took every possibility of victory from Bauer. It was only as the last second, when President Taylor listened to an umbrella wielding cricket, that the good guys won the day. And even then, there was doubt if Jack would survive.
Of course, since the possibility of a movie remains open, Jack lives to run another day, although everyone is after him.
President Taylor decides to resign and try and make amends, at the cost of Mid-East peace. Logan goes insane, and shoots himself, he'll survive, but suffer brain damage, and not be a factor in any future political equations. Chloe gives Jack a send off, and Cole just stands there.
Overall:
So overall, did the last season do justice to the series? For the most part, yes. By this time in the series, the formula was starting to get old, and the writers seemed afraid to take chances. After season five, it became clear that Jack's family was off limits, and the show had killed any recurring character that would have made a suitable replacement for Jack. At the end of this episode, Jack is where he was at the end of both season's four and six, on the run from dangerous people.
Anther problem that the show had was that it pretty much killed off or incapacitated all of its interesting characters. Tony, Jack's long time friend was insane. Curtis, Jack's equal in the field was dead. Edgar, the likable hacker, had been gassed. None of the Palmers were of any use. Most of the slimy politicians had left the show, so Washington was a much lamer place. Even Bill Buchanan, the best boss ever, was dead.
The only character besides Jack that appeared in every other season, Aaron the secret service agent, didn't even make a cameo in the final season.
But for a final season, it's okay to strip a show to it's bare essentials to give it a send off. And the bare essentials for 24 were that Jack would survive impossible odds and do morally questionable acts in an attempt to set things right, as unseen plot twists forever altered the characters we rooted for.
So the finale of 24 did give me what I expected, and not much more. Many of the characters reached their inevitable outcomes, but the writers played it too safe to go out with the bang which they came in on. The clock counting down in the final scene was a nice touch, but not enough to help me think that the ending was a high point for the series. Like most of Jack's recent victories, this was bitter-sweet.
But to all those who pine for more Jack Bauer, just remember, a character like Jack can't be cancelled, he's just goes silent.
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May 24, 2010
Author: Mike M. |
