By: Brandon Wolfe
‘24’ is a nasty piece of work. It’s a violent, ruthless, completely unforgiving enterprise. Apart from the fleeting moments of catharsis when a villain meets his or her demise or a crisis is averted, there are no happy endings on this show. The heroes never truly win, even when they’ve technically won. In the early goings, ‘24’s’ bleakness set it apart, made it unique. That the show could end a season on a soul-crushing downer gave it a mean-spirited edge that seemed refreshing in the comparatively brighter television landscape into which it was birthed. But ‘24’ has been bumming us out for nine seasons now, never letting even a tiny ray of light sneak through its aura of oppressive gloom. So resolute is ‘24’ in its bid to constantly shock its audience that it doesn’t seem to realize that it has made being defiantly cutthroat into a formula. After 13 years, the most shocking thing ‘24’ could possibly do would be to give Jack a long-overdue Hollywood ending. If there were to be a tenth season, I would welcome new showrunner Garry Marshall with open arms.
“10:00 PM-11:00 AM” is a finale that follows the ‘24’ no-silver-lining playbook to a tee, and it suffers for it. It’s as feel-bad a closer as you could have asked for. The chief catalyst for the massive buzz-killing is the death of Audrey Boudreau at the hands of one of Cheng Zhi’s henchmen. Because ‘24’ is so sadistic, it actually allows Audrey to be rescued from the predicament we left her in last week, staring down the barrel of a sniper’s rifle, before a second shooter arrives out of nowhere to put one in her chest. It’s a cruel moment, and while Audrey has never been the most dynamic character the show has had at its disposal, her death here feels cheap and unnecessary, just yet another familiar face for ‘24’ to knock off for a quick jolt of easy drama.
But if it feels cruel to Audrey, it feels much crueler to Jack, who is really the only character we honestly do care about. When Jack receives the news that the latest love of his life has died horribly, he crumples to the ground, looking lost and defeated. It’s a look we’ve seen on Jack countless times over the years, so many times that this feels like piling on to the tops of several other piles. There is one ominous addition this time, as Jack removes his sidearm for a moment during his turmoil before ultimately putting it away. Sutherland sells the drama like the pro he is, but the fact that ‘24’ has gotten to a point where its lead character can casually contemplate suicide and that seems like a completely reasonable reaction to us proves how far the show has delved into the realm of punishing despair.
But ‘24’ is just getting started, for once the mission has been completed, war has been called off and everyone begins to pick up the pieces, Jack’s day isn’t finished just yet. During the raid on Cheng’s boat, Chloe, who had been helping Jack via comms and satellite (because that’s why Chloe exists), is nabbed by the Russians, who demand Jack turn himself over to them in exchange for her freedom. Jack, of course, agrees to these terms without a moment of hesitation and the final moment of ‘Live Another Day’ (which deploys a first-ever flash-forward of exactly 12 hours) is Jack entering a Russian helicopter, heading off for another round of torture at the hands of a foreign superpower. That this could be our final goodbye to Jack (again, this event series hasn’t been setting Nielsen boxes on fire) makes this development deeply unsatisfying (troublingly, he is even played off with a silent clock, the infamous ‘24’ kiss of death). That this is ‘24’ blatantly plagiarizing itself for the umpteenth time (this is also how Season 5 ended, with Jack being hijacked by the Chinese) is insulting. If ‘24’ is going to insist upon kicking its hero in the face yet again, maybe it could at least come up with a new spot for its foot to land.
The finale does have its moments, however. When Jack channels his rage into becoming a bad-guy-killing force of nature, it’s a fantastic moment, even if that too is the show recycling itself (Jack dealt with tragic news in precisely the same fashion all the way back in the first-season finale). And his ultimate dispatching of Cheng, lopping off his head with a samurai sword that is available for some reason, is one for the books. There’s also a quieter moment with President Heller, grieving over the loss of his daughter, where he suddenly seems to view his impending senility as something of a mixed blessing, as it will soon erase all the pain he’s now experiencing. It’s the sort of subtly heartbreaking moment that this historically unsubtle series doesn’t usually make time for.
‘Live Another Day’ was an overall satisfying experience. It gave us back the old ‘24’ that we didn’t quite realize we missed, enough time having gone by for the show’s once-frustrating repetitiveness to feel welcome upon its return. The London setting was largely pointless, since Jack really only ever dealt with American forces the entire time, and none of the new characters really popped in any meaningful way, but it was nice to step back into this familiar world. But even on a lighter dosage, that familiarity still bristles in its rigidity. If Jack Bauer does step back into our lives again, be it in movie form or another 12-episode run, one can only hope that the old dog will finally have learned a new trick.
Discuss this review with fellow SJF fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @SandwichJFilms, and follow author Brandon Wolfe on Twitter at @ChiusanoWolfe.
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