What did you think of 24: Live Another Day Episode 9?

Discuss 24LAD Ep 9
What’d you think of 24: Live Another Day Episode 9? Let us know below.

Tonight’s episode of 24: Live Another Day was an absolutely huge one credited to four writers – the story was by Evan Katz and Manny Coto with teleplay by Tony Basgallop and Sang Kyu Kim. It was directed by Milan Cheylov.

President Heller was revealed to be alive, Chloe showed off her genius hacking skills, Kate and Erik got into crazy shootouts, Belcheck was a one man Secret Service, Jack Bauer landed a helicopter on a roof and rappeled down a building Splinter Cell-style, the drones were destroyed with no casualties, and then Jack threw both Ian and Margot Al-Harazi out of a window to their bloody deaths! And that was only the first half hour. Wow!

Thoughts on 24: Live Another Day Episode 9?

Bonus Poll – Heller Twist

Obviously the biggest surprise reveal this episode was that Heller is actually alive. So we’re doing an extra poll this week to see what you folks thought of this twist in particular. Was it explained to your satisfaction? Love it, hate it, or do you have mixed feelings?

President Heller is alive! Thoughts on this twist?

407 Comments

Comments Closed
Kiki Vanderway
June 23, 2014 at 9:58 pm
Fanfingtastic! Such a rush!

I don’t know where they are taking us with Chloe. She seems very very nervous around Adrian & I think that she’ll be killed off by seasons end.

This episode was quite good – I think last weeks was better and I voted to wait & see about Heller still being alive. Surprised they killed Jordan Reed off & the part where Bauer threw Margot out the window was awesome… but my live stream cut off just before that and didn’t see what they talked about really.

Kiki Vanderway
June 23, 2014 at 10:05 pm
Mine too Fox affiliates messed up maybe in more than one geographical area.

I am very nervous about Chloe. I am worried that Adrian will either kill her when she doesn’t like what he’s doing or will use her as leverage against Jack. Either way, I think she is going to be sorry she didn’t come back to the CIA when Jack asked her to.

Yeah, I agree that leverage against Jack might be the play. We don’t have Kim around for him to worry about and it looks like Audrey’s protected by Daddy Heller who is still alive.

Meridith Bloom
June 28, 2014 at 12:50 am
Agreed.

To the best of my memory, after Margot screams “Noooooo!” Jack quickly enters through the window, and, before Margot can fire a shot, Jack does.

He subdues her and talks to Chloe, who tells Jack that the missile has already fired. She tells him that he can still try to control it.

In desperation, Jack just takes the joystick and sees that it’s responsive, and directs the missile into a body of water (away from Waterloo Station).

Margot then says something to the effect of “How many deaths are on the heads of you and Heller today?”

To which Jack replies, “The only death on my head today is yours.”

And…you know the rest: she now rests beside her son.

Judging by the way the writers reverted so quickly back to the cliché mode that Chloe had become in the past few seasons, I think you’re right: the plotline does seem to be heading toward her death being the season’s biggest moment for Jack.

I hate to say this, but it’s inevitable that Chloe will find her death this season. Hopefully, it will be similar to Bill’s or Tony’s death scenes in the past.

Is chole turn bad or she still good guys

Chloe would never turn; she’ll be Cross’s downfall in the end.

“Chloe would never turn; she’ll be Cross’s downfall in the end.”

This is what I’m thinking too. He believes he has her under his thumb. He believes he’s more intelligent than her. He believes that in the end, she’ll always come back to his side. But he’s underestimating her. He thinks he has an unbreakable hold over her, and really why wouldn’t he considering she did come crawling back to him after several hours spent working with Jack.

Compare her relationships with both men though. She said to Jack that it was great to see him, that it was “like old times” and she hopes he gets to see his family again soon (sidenote: totally feels like foreshadowing that he’ll end the day in LA, reunited with Kim and Teri Jr). If you wanna talk about unbreakable bonds, Jack and Chloe is it. Years spent apart, both have changed somewhat, they don’t necessarily have identically matching ideals these days, but they still fell perfectly back in step with each other. They’ve been through much together, know each other very well, genuinely care for each other, and trust each other with their lives.

Chloe has also trusted Adrian. She thought she knew him. She thought he genuinely cared for her. She’s about to find out that her mentor in the “expose all the secrets” game has been keeping a whopper of a secret from her. Untrustworthy hypocrite much.

She’s been in a similar situation before, trusting someone she thought was a friend, working closely with them in a group that was operating outside the law so they could help the greater good, and it ended up that she was used and betrayed. She never got to confront Tony about that, so it’d be nice to see her emotions about that situation resonating with the Adrian situation when she learns the truth, and this time she’s gonna put the guy in his place, dammit.

Believing that she won’t stand for Adrian’s crap once she discovers the truth does make me fear somewhat for her safety. Though if they even have half an inkling of maybe perhaps wanting to do a Day 10, I reckon Chloe’s survival chances greatly increase.

“Chloe will never turn; she’ll be Cross’s downfall in the end.”

Jack will be Chloe’s downfall in the end, I’m thinking.

Ugh… me too and I’m not happy.

I don’t think it’s quite so black and white. Clearly she is not into killing innocent people, which is why she stepped it up today to help Jack. But she does believe in the work of Open Cell to make secret government information public. The morality of that is not so clear-cut. Leaks of some information, such as the identity of undercover agents, can seriously compromise their safety. But I also believe that the government keeps way too much a secret under the guise of security, and Chloe isn’t entirely wrong when she says that intelligence agencies keep things secret because [at least some of] what they’re doing is criminal.

Kiki Vanderway
June 23, 2014 at 10:01 pm
Jack certainly knows how to make the most of the free pass/pardon Heller gave him. I also like how even in the compressed season they are finding that last gear to shift into as we come to the end.

Now that we know this is kind of like the ‘Dobson override device’ in Day 4 and
the finale is set on a ship
… could this be something to do with
nuclear missiles
of some description?

what happens next week………

Kiki Vanderway
June 23, 2014 at 10:02 pm
I think Chloe is setting Adrian up she is going to bring him down.

I was surprised to see that Chloe was going to be at Adrian’s side at the end of this episode. I am curious as to what will happen next.

Margot Al-Harazi’s death was inevitable, but it was great. I just wish it was a bit more confrontational. When Jack threw her out of the window, I was stunned. Honestly! An epic way to go for such a great villain.

Steve Navarro will bite the dust soon. He cannot remain alive long enough. However, I am curious to know if Adrian Cross will be the next villain after the Al-Harazis. It will be interesting to see what he will do once he has that override device in his hands.

Kiki Vanderway
June 23, 2014 at 10:07 pm
He must be the middleman with the Chinese. So Cheng Zhi looks like he may be coming back

New West Virginian
June 23, 2014 at 10:14 pm
The Russians might also be involved cause in the trailer for next week they showed something written in what looks like the Russian language.

Kiki Vanderway
June 23, 2014 at 10:17 pm
Well sure if it’s a nuclear sub it has to involve the Russians

Has it been confirmed anywhere that Cheng Zhi is coming back? Has the actor’s name been in any of the press releases?

If not, I feel like it would be more likely that Cross would be a middleman for the Russians since they have played a part in this season.

Kiki Vanderway
June 23, 2014 at 10:32 pm
I agree except what is the link with Adrian and Navarro and Adam Morgan and the selling of secrets to the Chinese?

New West Virginian
June 26, 2014 at 11:19 am
Maybe the Russians want the US to go to war with China to they end up on top.

Cross has stated multiple times that he is just a middleman. Curious to see who he is working for….a Chinese agent perhaps? We also have to see how Mark is going to deal with the Russians. and just from that brief phone call, we can tell Audrey still wants Jack after all this time. I agree that it is not looking good fro Chloe. Will she turn on Adrian?

Margot’s death – and the no holds barred, merciless way Jack handled it was probably one of the series all-time top 10 scenes IMO. I loved how Kiefer flashed the sneer of hatred for her when tossing her out of the window – it ranked right up there with the awesome scene in S8 when he stared Dana Walsh and said “You have nothing to offer….nothing” before killing her and the equally awesome fight scene in S6 when Jack strangles Fayed with the chain just as he says “Say hello to your brother for me”.

Overall, the best episode of the season – and thankfully the past 2-3 have really amped up the action. I just hope Adrian doesn’t end up being the secret mastermind of everything at the end.

Yeah I think Navarro will die in episode 10. Hopefully they’ll let Kate kill him instead of Jack, as it would be far more emotional for her to do it.

My guess is that Cross has something to do with arranging for Navarro’s death – like he’s said twice so far, he’s just a “middle man”. The yet-to-be-named villain that hired Cross will likely want loose ends tied up and Navarro eliminated.

How fitting that Margot and Ian both flew to their deaths (the Jack Bauer specialty). What an intense episode! It looks like Kate will finally find out about her husband and Navarro’s role in his death next week and it’s fitting she’s going to find out from Jack. I’m a bit worried for Chloe right now.

Kates husband was arrested not dead.

He was arrested then “committed suicide” while awaiting trial. Navarro and Cross couldn’t let that case get to the trial stage.

Newspaper article about his “suicide”: http://24.wikia.com/wiki/Washington_Daily_Courier

Adrian Cross hooks up with a certain Chinese character from past seasons

I think the different theories of a Chinese reconnection are off – by Cheng’s own admission, Jack was useless to them because he wouldn’t break.

The more likely link to Cross is the Russian connection IMO.

Cross working with Cheng wouldn’t have anything to do with Jack at all, he’s just selling them secrets / working for them. The only connection is that Jack would be the one to stop them. I’d love to see him reunite with Cheng at the end of his gun, both of them like “WTF? You again?”

Knew Margot wouldn’t make it to the end of the season, but was surprised (and not in a good way) with how quickly they wrapped up her story line. Felt too quick, too many conveniences, and while it was a helluva death scene, it wasn’t all that satisfying. But guess it was all so we can move onto the Navarro/Cross/nuclear submarine B plot. And so that Audrey could get in a phone call that was something out of a rom-com movie.

Oh, and Heller’s alive. I tried to give the writers the benefit of the doubt, but it wasn’t clicking for me. Makes me feel bad for all those reviewers who had such praise for the show after Episode 8.

Are you sure the call with Audrey was a rom com moment? I am just waiting for Mary to come on and say how that fits perfectly with her theory that Audrey is somehow involved with the Chinese subplot.

It doesn’t and, like I said, only a theory. It was kind of hilarious how second fiddle to Jack’s work Audrey was in that scene, though. “Oh, you want me, that’s nice, gotta run, my CIA mole is on the other line…”

yeah well. i think anyone would do the same in that situation. no one going to sing a duet on the phone while there is a big threat hanging out there. but jack did say that he would call her back though. i think your theory about audrey look more and more like wrong. it seems that it’s going to be chloe who is the bad ass here. adrian thinks he playing chloe all along but in fact it’s other way around. or may be even adrian work for chloe and chloe was helping jack and was using him so he can get the device. then she set up adrian to steal it from jack. her evil look in this season might be for a reason. so since it looks more like chloe who is going to be the new enimy , i think the chances of Audrey being a mole is very slim as i think they wont turn 2 main characters bad at the same time.

*shrug* I don’t think Chloe is going to be bad, either. I wish they’d give Audrey more to do than just sit around crying because of the boys. It really would be nice for her to show some agency and actually *do* something…

yeah well. it’s not only audrey also chloe had not much to do this season rather than sitting in front of computer all the time. i am 100% sure chole is going to be the bad ass just like i was 100% sure that heller wasnt dead even before the episode aired. :-)

Agreed. Like, if we didn’t have Kate Morgan and the Al-Hazari ladies, the women situation would be so frustrating this year. But it seems like Chloe & Audrey are getting more to do in these last few hours so that’s good.

So now you don’t think Audrey is a mole for the Chinese? Last night was the first time she has done anything that could possibly be revealed to be a deliberate attempt to help whoever’s behind Adrian/Navarro, but now you don’t think she is a mole?

Of course, it is much more likely that she really was just calling to thank Jack (and maybe because she wanted an excuse to talk to him).

I don’t think that the phone call in the last episode is the first thing Audrey did this year that could be considered potentially mole-y but I’m also not sure she’s a mole. I wasn’t in the first place. It’s certainly possible but I think it’s like… dependent on other characters, in a way. The whole reason why I thought Audrey could potentially have another agenda here (besides that *everyone* today has a personal agenda & that’s a theme) is that it seems like one of the returning characters had to have a motivation twist that made them different than they were before. The plot with Heller was always going to be Jack and Heller getting back to something like they were before because that’s the only place to go with that story. Another day of Jack and Heller on the outs is a waste of a story because it means the story hasn’t moved from where they were on Day 6. That one is relatively clear-cut but Chloe and Audrey are more question marks. Chloe is the kind of character that they can play with but who will ultimately have the same basic goals as Jack, even if they approach it from different angles. They can dress Chloe up as goth as they want but she’s still going to be Chloe under it all. Audrey is a lot more malleable of a character *and* she’s the one character with a past history in the show tailor made for a plot where her allegiances have shifted. It was even sort of foreshadowed earlier in the series.

I think it could go either way at this point. I think Jack has his own (non-evil of course) personal agenda here so it could just as easily be that Audrey is who she seems to be and the one who isn’t is Jack. Either direction is a strong plot so I’m just excited to see what they’ll end up doing, especially when Audrey has a little more to do in these next episodes.

And that is my measured opinion. :)

brainwashed by mary much ? LOL

AgentRez is now more into it than I was, as she’s the one who keeps bring it now :)

Not sure why you were surprised at Margot’s demise and the timing – with the exception of S4 with Marwan being the villain from start to finish, every other season has always started the first half of the season with a villain that gets killed/caught, allowing the second half of the season take a different route:

S1: Gaines, then Drazen
S2: Sayed Ali, then Kingsley
S3: Salazar brothers, then Saunders
S5: Bierko, then Henderson (even though Logan was in the background the whole time)
S6: Fayed, then Gredenko and Philip Bauer
S7: Dubaku, then Juma, then Hodges
S8: Samir, then Bazaev, then the Russians

Wasn’t surprised by either. It was a given Margot wasn’t going to make it to the last episode. I suspected as much with Fairley listed as a guest star, whereas Bratt & Wincott are in the main cast. And it was only confirmed when the Navarro/Cross plot came to light at the exact mid-way point of the season.
My reactions to this episode are more to do with how quickly this threat we’ve been watching unfold was so quickly (& conveniently) tied up. This Navarro/Cross plot may be good, but it hasn’t had a chance to build up & the players involved aren’t that compelling thus far. And I don’t know how/if it can be the amazing end to a season we’re all hoping for with so little time left.

Quick correction to the last two seasons …

S7: Dubaku/Juma, then Hodges, then Alan Wilson.
S8: Bazhaev, then Samir, then Novakovich and Presidents Taylor and Logan.

I agree with your assessment, though.

Amazing episode! Definitely my favorite so far. Very exciting and emotional, and everything was just executed perfectly.

Thoughts:
-The whole finding Margot scenes were fantastic, and Jack throwing her and her son out the window was f***ing awesome.
-I actually thought that Heller was really dead, but I thought the twist worked well.
-Navarro will not live past the next episode.
-I’m worried about Chloe :(
-How the HELL does Jack have Audrey in his phone contacts?! And what did he say to her before he hung up (I couldn’t hear)

Kiki Vanderway
June 23, 2014 at 10:16 pm
He said what he also www days says to Audrey “Audrey, I have to go. I have to take this.”

LOL. He put a new twist on it thankfully and added “I’ll come find you as soon as I can.”

Audrey got to make a Kim-like interrupting phone call after saying “I’m not ready to let him go”, which is akin to Kim’s “I’m not ready to let you go” to her father in 7.24… all after hugging a Heller who was still alive after an explosion had everyone thinking he was dead and saying to him “I thought I’d lost you” which, for parallel perviness, is what Michelle said to Tony while hugging him after he’d arrived back at CTU after being thought dead in an explosion on Day 4. Kind of amusing.

Kiki Vanderway
June 23, 2014 at 10:14 pm
I think the disposal of mother and son was a little too pat. I would have loved Ian to actually assert himself more than a token “But Mom….” — his I instincts about Simone were right on target and about getting out of there as well. I guess I’m not quite buying in to Ian ending up as radicalized and willing to go that far for his step father’s cause.

Loved the episode. I was completely surprised that Jack threw Margo out of the window – that is not like Jack- at least not the old Jack. The old Jack would have brought a highly-priced terrorist in for interrogation. But it seem that Jack reacted impulsively and just threw her out the window on a whim. In an earlier episode Jack said “I hate these people” meaning he hated and despised terrorists. So maybe Jacks attitude is “the only good terrorist is a dead terrorist”.

Yes, that was the most shocking moment of the episode for me, Jack really didn’t need to kill Margot, it was a killing akin to those of Nina and Henderson, really personal, and full of hatred. But as you said, the old Jack wouldn’t have done that, this and his other commentaries through the series show a really darker tone to Jack, I’m just waiting to se how this plays out in the end. Nevertheless two awesome episodes in a role, I’ll even let the re-hash feeling and bad taste in my mouth that the episode 6 left in me. This season is being a blast.

“The old Jack” was just as ruthless – at least, when he got what he needed out of them. He had no qualms or hesitation in killing Gaines, Drazen, Henderson, Fayed, Samir or any of the Russians in S8.

Hmm, you do realise 3 of those 5 examples were life or death combat situations and not cold blooded kills?

Meridith Bloom
June 28, 2014 at 1:09 am
I thought I was the only one who would have preferred to see Margot brought to trial.

New West Virginian
June 23, 2014 at 10:16 pm
I wonder if Heller is still President or if his resignation’ still valid. They didn’t introduce the Vice President yet. I recall the resignation said its effective 7 PM not if Heller dies.

And if the override device is that powerful, I wonder why Margot didn’t go for a more deadly attack, maybe she didn’t have THAT necessary technology but the Chinese, Russians, or whoever Navarro and Adrian are working with do have the technology to use the device to its full potential.

Kiki Vanderway
June 23, 2014 at 10:22 pm
Heller is under the impression he is still president– from his conversation with Belchek.Margo using the drone ploy makes sense since she was going for an eye for an eye retribution. I do think that the device needs a little boost from Adrian to be as powerful as the DOD analyst said.

I was wondering about that too. I believe the resignation must be accepted, which I don’t think it was in the timeframe we had because we never saw a vice president sworn in, and I don’t think it was ever made public that Heller “died”. It’s not clear if the VP even received Heller’s letter or knew what was going on. I would guess that if the resignation was never received and the VP never took the oath Heller could rescind it, but I am not sure. I feel like if Heller were no longer president we would have seen the VP sworn in. But I suppose it could happen that an opportunistic VP tries to take power on the grounds that Heller resigned.

Margot’s plan was drone specific because it was a drone attack that killed her husband, so she just didn’t aim any higher than what was necessary. I dunno that the device needs any boosting of whatever in order to be used for a different, bigger application, it’s just a matter of what the person who has it wants to do.

Funniest part of the episode was the conversation between Bellcheck and Heller.

Definitely thought the same Chlo!

Heller: Gimme your phone – I’ll call the secret service.. have them pick me up
Belcheck: Jack said no phones
Heller: I am the President of United States of America and I just gave you an order
Belcheck: I am not American citizen.. this is not America

then:

Heller: So what’s your name?
Belcheck: Belcheck
Heller: Belacheck what?
Belcheck: Belcheck – just one word.. like Madonna

Whilst waiting for Jack’s call, Belchek was cruising around London, car singing and seat dancing to Madonna’s greatest hits.

“Holiday! Celebrate! Sing along, Mr. President!”

Kiki Vanderway
June 27, 2014 at 11:53 am
I am pretty sure that:

Belchek…one word, like Madonna

is crying out for its own Tee Shirt

*sigh*

Well…I apologize for my posts saying it couldn’t be more obvious heller was dead. It seems I was wrong. And I really wish I wasn’t.

I hate that he’s alive. Hate it. It’s such a cop out and a cheap trick from the writers to have a twist just for twists sake. Maybe I wouldn’t have minded it so much if it didn’t completely ruin episode 8 in hindsight.

Essentially episode 8 was completely pointless now. All the dramatic scenes and emotional moments are now rendered pointless. And the whole episode was essentially jack leading the president to Wembley (pointless) and Jordan running from assassin only to die by him again (pointless)

Episode 8 went from being perhaps my favorite episode of the season to one that you can now skip over watching and not miss anything.

Someone tell me I’m wrong and help me to see the upside in this. I’m just really upset. One of the greatest moments in 24 was just undone in 2 minutes of over the top, absurd techie babble.

That being said I loved everything else about this episode. So sad margot’s gone she was amazing and I got chills when she screamed for Ian and died. Not sure how I feel about the Adrian and Navarro stuff yet

Kiki Vanderway
June 23, 2014 at 10:29 pm
It wasn’t pointless. Without the trip to Wembley they couldn’t have gotten rid of most of the drones. Nor could they have bought the needed time to fix on Margo’s location. Put another way what other moves could have been made? There was a deadline set by Margo something needed to happen or pointless destruction for London.

I do agree about Jordon. Actually none of it makes.sense. if Navarro was his handler why did he call Adrian looking for a cleaner– he already had one. Why the cat and mouse? Why in a room full of spies and cops did no one find Jordon’s phone and figure out Navarro was in the loop the whole time?

It was pointless. Yes they got ride of some of the drones but really what difference did that make? They got to margot’s base anyways so jack could’ve just disabled the device and disarmed all the drones at once instead of arriving just in time to stop one drone.

You make a good point about something needing to happen by the deadline. So how about letting heller die and having Chloe find the video feed AFTER? That would’ve been way more realistic and interesting than what they pulled here.

I just feel very cheated and have a feeling in my stomach I haven’t gotten since the season 6-brother and papa bauer-twist reveal

I know I sound negative and I wish I wasn’t. But I’ve been loving this season so far and especially last episode. I don’t get why the writers need to do stuff like this every season simply for shock value.

Because there was no way they were gonna have Jack be responsible for the death of Audrey’s father. I’m not saying there’s going to be sunshine and roses for Jack and Audrey at the end of this, but there’s no point in bringing Audrey and Heller back if the story is just another round of Jack ruining Audrey’s life in some way or another.

Yeah, that worked out so well for Tony & Michelle…

lol Mary, fair enough. But they were supporting characters, so the writers can exert a level of cruelty with them just above what they will do to Jack. They can lose everything and even die, while Jack can lose almost everything.

sprite, I’d agree that they are supporting characters but Audrey is a supporting one just as much. The writers even went so far as to have Tony go all Lit Expert Meta on us during Day 4 when he’s all hey, Michelle, I just realized our story parallels Jack and Audrey’s and I don’t want us to end up that way because I sense a ton of doom and gloom about to go down there. You can very much argue that Tony & Michelle get the tragic ending and Jack & Audrey get the happy ending for the reasons you said and you’re probably right. Jack is actually a far more static character than Tony ever was because they could get away with doing so much more with Tony simply because he wasn’t Jack. That said… pretty much no one on 24 has ever gotten a happy ending. I think the only one who has gone through hell and emerged relatively sane and happy is Kim and that’s only because she had to keep the Bauer lineage going. I really have no faith that Jack & Audrey are going to wind up together by the end of this day because the second you start hoping for something good to happen on 24, they’ll string you along for a little bit and then rain all hell down upon your characters until you wonder how you got to be such a masochist as to call this your favorite t.v. show lol.

I’m right there with you Mary. I don’t have any grand illusions that Jack and Audrey will end up on a plane holding hands or something. But I’m really really worried about Chloe, and if I’m right about that, the chance that there could be an ending that is hopeful for Jack and Audrey if not explicitly ‘happy’ seems fairly good to me. I mean, anything that ends with them both alive, conscious and not captured by a foreign government would count as a happy ending in my mind lol. But even I, who am as big a shipper as it gets, am dreading the prospect of this storytelling balance being achieved at Chloe’s expense. I can’t handle the heartbreak with this show. But I guess that’s how they do it!

sprite~ totally with you on worrying that hopeful ending for Jack gets balanced out by a miserable one for Chloe. I’m kind of hoping that they realize that even people who want Jack to be happy don’t really want Chloe to pay the price for it. I’m not sure that they’re going for a Jack/Audrey hopeful ending only because I think Jack’s hopeful ending is his family. He still has to lose someone and I’m hoping they’re too gunshy about killing off Chloe, even though this is the first time she’s really been vulnerable maybe ever.

I’m just really glad that Tony and/or Kim are nowhere in this plot right now just because it’s hard to kill off characters who only show up in the finale. :) Those two are Jack’s happy ending, IMO.

“I’m just really glad that Tony and/or Kim are nowhere in this plot right now just because it’s hard to kill off characters who only show up in the finale. :) Those two are Jack’s happy ending, IMO.”

I would love to see the bromance restored. Jack and Tony working together gives me warm fuzzies like nothing else. But I dunno how convinced I’d be if they brought Tony back for one or two episodes and Jack was just cool with him from the getgo. Once someone handcuffs you to a fence while they strap a bomb onto you, that’s gonna leave a significant dent in the relationship, (granted, given the situation, burning up Jack’s diseased body was a great way to prevent anyone from reconstituting the toxin, but I’m just sayin’). I don’t think their situation is clear cut and unable to be salvaged though. Their similarities and differences make their relationship layered and complicated.

If Tony shows up in Day 9, I’d like for there to be some aversion to him on Jack’s part, because the trust they had was so spectacularly broken. Tony’s now had five and a half years to either let his anger fester some more, or realise the error of his ways and long for a shot at redemption. He did some bad shit on Day 7, including believing that the loss of innocent lives was an acceptable byproduct of his all consuming lust for revenge. Perfect way to prove oneself as having learned to no longer be so selfish is for said person to do something selfLESS, and being willing to sacrifice your life for the good of others is the biggest sacrifice one can make.

My preference for their friendship would be a situation where we end up with Jack and Tony chillin’ outside a shack on a small secluded beach, fishing rods stuck in the sand, (handguns at the ready just in case the fish get feisty), sitting in deckchairs, bottle and Cubs mug full of beer. But the reality may be something like Jack not believing they can trust Tony to do whatever, and then there being a suicide mission type situation, and Tony’s up for it, and Jack realises that his old buddy’s come good, and they make their peace right before Tony goes and dies with a big hero moment. Which would make me weep, (because I’d love Tony to still be in the mix on the off chance there’s more 24 in the future), but at least I could take solace in the knowledge that he was finally with Michelle again, (which would probably make me weep some more).

I agree. Having Jack play a role in Heller’s death would have been way too much rehash of season 4, and as you said, there have been enough “Jack ruins Audrey’s life” storylines.

I nearly agreed with you, but then I thought, no, the point is that Heller made a sacrifice in that episode because you have no other choice to save someone else. And Heller made that choice. The fact that someone found a solution after the fact is beautiful. Yes, reaching 8 will always be foreshadowed by knowing the sacrifice isn’t made, but they were making the sacrifice at the time and exposing their true selves.

Cross refused to give him a hitman, stating he was just a middleman. That’s why Navarro used one of his old contacts.

I’m with you. I saw the spoiler & kept thinking there’s gotta be a reason other than just “we can’t let the terrorists win”. What that reason might be, I’m not seeing it. I’m sad Margot’s gone too (adore Michelle Fairley) – would have though Jack would bring her in for questioning (like how did Margot know who Jack was? Did I miss something?). Somehow, throwing her out the window got the “Holy Crap!” reaction whoa moment, but felt undignified in some way, because she really was willing to destroy the drones and we’d gotten more exposition about her late husband and with Ian.

As for the Cross & Navarro stuff, I’m not feeling it yet. It feels like a major plot line introduced too late in the game.

Kiki Vanderway
June 23, 2014 at 10:34 pm
You missed the part in E3 where Simone tells her Mom Bauer was following her on the tube but she stabbed herself and got away– and “don’t worry he can’t find us here.”

But they both just referred to him as “the American”. I don’t know how she knew his name and about him being with CTU.

Didn’t Jack reference knowing of Margot’s husband from a past mission earlier in the season? That suggested that they crossed paths before and indirectly Margot knew of Jack as an agent when he was at CTU.

New West Virginian
June 23, 2014 at 11:12 pm
I missed what Margot said to Jack before he killed her. I got something about how she told Jack he was responsible for people dying even though the attacks were stopped. I wonder if she hinted there were others helping her.

Steve Navarro
June 24, 2014 at 7:22 am
She said “hundreds of people have died today because of you and Heller, and the death is on your hands”, to which Jack replied “the only death that’s on my hands is yours”.

I’m with you. I saw the spoiler & kept thinking there’s gotta be a reason other than just “we can’t let the terrorists win”. What that reason might be, I’m not seeing it. I’m sad Margot’s gone too (adore Michelle Fairley) – would have though Jack would bring her in for questioning (like how did Margot know who Jack was? Did I miss something?). Somehow, throwing her out the window got the “Holy Crap!” reaction, but felt undignified in some way, because she really was willing to destroy the drones and we’d gotten more exposition about her late husband and with Ian.

As for the Cross & Navarro stuff, I’m not feeling it yet. It feels like a major plot line introduced too late in the game.

New West Virginian
June 23, 2014 at 10:23 pm
I noticed that in the earlier episode they said Margot’s husband’s name was Mohammed but in this episode they said his name was Mahmoud al-Harazi.

And didn’t the resignation take effect at 7 PM regardless of Heller being dead or alive? If the Vice President is devious he could take advantage of this fact to usurp Heller’s office.

I think Mahmoud may be the Arabic pronunciation of Mohammed. Not sure about that.

I believe that Heller told Mark to send the resignation Letter as soon as he was dead. Nevertheless he was in the room with the Staff and the PM so he didn’t had the chance to send that.

This is the first episode I’ve rated as only “good”. I so far don’t like the Heller twist…thought Hour 8 was WAY too epic of a send off for Heller just to have him be saved…I love the guy, but am just disappointed. Sean Callery created possibly the best soundtrack of the series for that moment and it means nothing.

The biggest shock of the hour was Jack throwing Margot out the window, honestly. Did not see that coming! There’s that “darker Jack” everyone’s been talking about in interviews.

Thought Cross wanting the override reeked of Cheng in Day 6, and I want him (Cheng) to come back as much as I want to be tortured to death. Cross is a very boring character to me as well, I’d rather have Navarro be more involved in the rest of the season than Cross…eh.

I hope to be blown away by these last three hours, and these stories really go well.

It is strange that they would dedicate an entire episode (especially since there are only 12) to Heller dying to then have him survive due to an explanation that took less than a minute.

As I understand the process, the writers sketched out the broad strokes of the season in advance, not every specific story detail but the basic important story beats. With that in mind, I’m presuming Heller still has a pivotal role to play at some point before the season’s end, hence his survival… at least I hope so, I wholeheartedly agree with some sentiments here that it feels like a cheat and that it better be for a great reason or else the entire emotional thrust of Episode 8 was completely pointless not to mention needlessly manipulative.

The season’s not over yet, let it play out and then cast the stones…

I really don’t think it was pointless. It was a way to explore all those emotions around his sacrifice and get a taste of the consequences without the devastation of their full impact. It was a bit of a ‘have your cake and eat it too’ choice, but it wasn’t pointless in my opinion.

I didn’t say it was pointless in and of itself, just if Heller serves no more important or pivotal purpose in the narrative.

But upon further reflection since I wrote my above post, I can see why the writers didn’t pull the trigger (so to speak) and off Heller; they needed an against-the-clock, edge-of-the-seat climax to end the Margot storyline in ’24’ tradition, just having her dump the drones in the English Channel and get hauled off in handcuffs wouldn’t be terribly exciting, plus even though Heller had every intention of sacrificing himself (and thus his emotional scenes in the previous episode were genuine), we all know Jack just wouldn’t take the murder of the President lying down and would do EVERYTHING in his power to prevent that… and so he did, and thus it does ultimately make sense in that respect and is true to the character of both show and it’s protagonist.

Then again, I have to remind myself sometimes that this is just a television show and to just relax and enjoy it for what it is :-D…

24Nathan, I agree with you. Heller being alive should have some consequences in the plot and it doesn’t. If the drone had blown up Waterloo Station, I think it would have been a whole different ballgame. Instead, we got a plot where the main good guys get to have no honor and “win”. Extremely unsatisfying and just plain shoddy writing.

I think it does have consequences in the story. Not the drone plot but in the issues with the Russians and the extradition which have yet to play out. If Heller had been dead when all that hit the fan, those elements would have lost a lot of dramatic mileage. And those elements connect more directly to Jack, so they ultimately carry more weight in the storytelling than the events/threads in episode 8.

I’m trying not to bitch too much even though I hated this episode because I know I’ll probably like it more after next week since that always happens to me with 24 :) but I feel like with what we know right now, Heller being alive is actually what kills the dramatic mileage of the rendition plot. We don’t know how it’s going to play out yet but it would seem that the interesting options for that were better if Heller was not alive and therefore not a safety net for that storyline. But I’m trying not to judge it all until we see the next couple of weeks.

I totally see what you’re saying Mary. We’ll just have to wait and see how they execute it!

I agree with you. I think it would have been better if maybe they were able to mostly evacuate the station but a few people (crew members, emergency personnel) were left behind and died. It seemed a little unrealistic that not even one CIA agent appeared to die in the raid.

I’m with Nathan on Callery. Epsiode 8 was one of the better ones in the series. Very President Palmer like and the music was unbeliveable. The good parts were mostly spoiled tongiht because making Heller survive seemed cheap. Only time I forgot about it was when Jack threw Margot out. Otherwise, I couldn’t escape what felt like a ‘jump the shark’ moment like when President Logan went from a whiny incompetent man to criminal mastermind in a single show.

New West Virginian
June 23, 2014 at 10:29 pm
I also think its’ safe to say that they pulled a Behrooz on Simone………

I just finished Day 2, and I’d much rather Trepkos and Max make a return than Wilson.

And don’t tell me Max died in The Game.

I’d rather any of those 3 return than fucking Cheng!

Loved this episode. The Heller thing was aight, but Jack throwing Margot out of the window was great.

I thought the last half of this episode screamed of the season 6 shift between the nuke plot to the sub-circuit board plot. And not in a good way.

Also disappointed with the Heller is alive story. I was really hoping Belcheck would kidnap him or something, but it was pretty black and white. Heller’s sacrifice might as well never have happened.

The main purpose of the whole Heller story was to find a way for Jack to upstage Boudreau in Audrey’s eyes.

I refuse to believe it took all that to upstage Boudreau in Audrey’s eyes. I think that was done, like, the moment Jack showed up.

The entire Heller arc was a wasted opportunity for something with real impact. A better story would have been for Heller to really be dead and then for these characters to have to deal with the repercussions of that.

After reading some comments, here a few more thoughts:

Heller’s resignation? This could be something used later by a possibly anti Jack VP to execute the extradition order and hand Jack over to Russia, due to the fact that Heller can’t stop it now. I don’t know logistics and legal talk, but if he isn’t Prez anymore, would it still even be valid? Or maybe since he is resigned, that is what will render it null. Who knows?

Who is the VP? Will he even be in this season?

Audrey still giving Mark the cold shoulder is ridiculous. Her and Jack shouldn’t be together, not after this season. Her whole thing of “you wouldn’t have ever let the President sacrifice himself” is complete BS because he would have and was going to if Chloe didn’t manage to dupe Margot. Now Mark gets to handle all of the drama, and Jack and Audrey ride off into the sunset…not right, and also a copout I feel. Heller, Mark and Jack were right to do what they did. Mark would’ve saved Heller if he could, he didn’t make him walk the plank just to push him off at the end. This makes me so mad.

Cheng better not come back. I am so done with the stupid Chinese story line.

Mark pretty much is a jerk handing Jack over to Russians! & forging the presidents signature. Jerk & what was his motive all along while nursing her back to health he didn’t even know her as fear as I can see-

Brenda, I totally agree that Mark’s story about how he met Audrey/nursed her back to health makes NO SENSE, and it has been bugging me all season. He could have some ulterior motive, or it could just be the writers doing a rushed job of explaining the time between the seasons.

That’s an interesting point about Heller’s resignation. I wonder if perhaps Mark will try to get the VP on board in order to make the rendition problem go away. But I think that is unlikely. I am thinking we may not even meet the VP this season…I feel like tonight was the most likely time we would have met him. That said, it is not 100% clear that Heller is still the president, although everyone seemed to be operating from that assumption.

Re. Audrey giving Mark the cold shoulder, she was understandably upset when she thought her father was dead and that he had helped. Give her time to grieve! It didn’t seem like she was necessarily giving him the cold shoulder after Heller came back. I predict that next week we will see her make peace with Mark and maybe even apologize to him, and then she will find out about the rendition order.

Kiki Vanderway
June 23, 2014 at 11:36 pm
I feel that you have to suspend disbelief for the Jack and Audrey relationship to resonate. It works at least in my mind, if you can imagine that there has been a bunch of stuff that happened before the day started and this day is the straw that breaks the camel”s back. Also.you have to cut the writers a break since they are constrained by the time limits.

Mark and Audrey are not gonna survive as a couple. Mark is overbearing as her protector and she is chaffing under his thumb. It seems like a situation where he is far more.invested than her and- he sees her as weak and dependent and she doesn’t see herself that way so.its a mismatch. He may even need her to be weak.so he feels.strong, but she wants to be an equal.partner and that won’t work for.him. The relationship is doomed.

Mark is not evil but misguided — if he was pure evil we would not understand Heller’s decision to make him Chief of Staff or her decision to marry him so he can’t be all bad but he also has to cross the line in such a way that he is not salvageable — the forged order.does that. I don’t feel sorry for him at all. He knew what he was doing and what would happen if he got caught.

Audrey never gave up on Jack and obviously he has been a presence in the relationship with Mark.from the start. Audrey has been speaking up for Jack or she wouldn’t have told him she should have tried harder to clear his name. She has been thinking of him all along. He is a larger than life figure for her and the fact that he feels.so.attached to her creates an emotional.pull whenever they get a chance to.see one another which is not often so.it makes.it all the more intense.

This is playing out true to.these characters -Audrey does have strong emotional reactions and she is responding exactly as she has been in other seasons. I agree the men in her life would have made these same choices and would feel they were right to have done so but that doesnt mean Audrey has to agree with it. She is passionate and that comes with good and bad points. When Mark said to Jack, “Audrey will never forgive me for.this.” I really wanted Jack to.say to.him, “Been there and done that. Welcome to the club.” The phone call was just like S5 when she calls him before he goes to see Logan. It’s stilted and artificial.to create these moments in this format but I think what the writers are trying to create are moments for her to try and connect and express what she is feeling and show how Jack is caught between those feelings and doing what he has to do.and what he has to do comes first. This is the prototypical conflict for these characters and why it’s a Greek tragedy of a situation.

And I am.not sure they ride off to.the sunset together. “It’s Complicated” is the motto of their relationship and what I think you may end up with is a glimmer of a possibility that maybe in the future they may have a future.

Greek tragedy is exactly it.

New West Virginian
June 24, 2014 at 2:37 am
It IS interesting how Heller had put in his resignation, and minutes later told Belcheck he was the President of the United States.

Honestly if Chloe had failed I think Jack would have run into the field and pushed Heller out of the way, even if it ended up in them both dying. Everything I know about Jack tells me that. If it were in any way possible, even if it meant his own death, he would have done everything he could to keep Heller alive. He never thought it was the right thing to do and said that up until the moment they walked out into the field.

Kiki Vanderway
June 23, 2014 at 11:51 pm
Good point

Lmao Margot, goodbye!



That was epic! I think Jack had every intention of taking Margot in, but when she started to run off at the mouth, things changed!! Got to love Jack Bauer! lol

What an episode!

I hope Cross works for Alan Wilson………I mean his plan in day 7 fail so why not try again?

I just finished Day 2, and I’d much rather Trepkos and Max make a return than Wilson.

And don’t tell me Max died in The Game.

Extremely predictable from start to finish. Not sure what all the praise is about.

Totally agreed. It was one of the worst episodes of 24 ever, IMO.

Definitely, just horrible. The action and the excitement.. Wow. Worst episode since the finale of season 5. Just horrible, what were they thinking bringing this back

Gut feeling: Mandy will return.

You just made Gerry ecstatic with that prediction!

:-D

I was so glad cuz I was so sad. I knew they had a trick up there sleeve! & Audrey is really happy:-)

I’m confused about how Jack navigated the missile into the Thames. I understand Chloe’s explanation that the missile is laser-guided & can be diverted. But, then what’s the point of locking onto a target? And if you divert the missile, how do you get the feedback that the “target” was destroyed? Also, wouldn’t Ian have been able to take out Jack, Kate, & Simone in the car chase scene?

Don’t try making sense of it. It doesn’t. Think about the way they saved Heller. They looped the video feed to make it seem Heller was there. But if that was a loop, then they could have NEVER see the explosion from the missile on their feed. Heller would have still been there on the screen looking at his side and back to the front. The writers must think children watch this show.

This is why I was so sure he was dead. Because for him to be alive would abandon all form of logic. So we’re to assume heller was there when Margot saw him from far away, and then when she zoomed in Chloe started recording footage to loop. Then within that span of 15 seconds she set up a loop. Then somehow when they fire the missile it locks on heller and the camera feed quickly speeds up with the missile and goes straight into heller (wouldn’t happen if it was a loop) and then Chloe quickly switches it back from a loop to the actual feed of an explosion without them noticing!? WHAT!? And it says “target destroyed”

URGH! I just hate this so much! Why!? What is the possible reason. I’m so frustrated

*sigh* That was just me being my geeky scientist self. I should probably just stop wondering how if Cross was the middle man for someone who wanted the override device, and Yates worked for Open Cell, why didn’t Cross keep Yates around before killing him for the device? And how if Adrian’s boss has tons of cash to throw at Navarro, how did our late to the party big bad simply not outbid Margot?

I’m still confused on how Jack intercepted the intel on Yates in the first place.

EXACTLY! Reminds me of Philip Bauer wanting the circuit board from the suitcase nukes at the end of day 6 – hello?! You HAD right in your possession you stupid twat!

LOL. Nearly spat my coffee on my computer reading that.

It’s not that Philip Bauer himself wanted the circuit board, the Chinese wanted it to work, Bauer Sr knew how to fix it, and thus he agreed to do so on the proviso the Chinese grant him safe haven and get his grandson Josh from CTU to take back to China with him and secure the Bauer family legacy… of course, all that would have worked much better had it been Graem who was in league with the Chinese, you could understand better why he’d not want to leave his own son in the U.S. but take him with him as he scarpers to China, certainly less convoluted and both more convincing and credible than Evil (Grand)Father Bauer with the creepy grandson fixation…

We can nitpick the logic and plausibility all we want but let’s remember that this show, as Kiefer has often said in interviews over the years, relies on viewers being willing to accept a suspension of disbelief. There have been a long list of things in past seasons that couldn’t happen the way the story showed – the point is to ignore those and just roll with the action / drama as it happens.

Suspension of disbelief works fine on an in-the-moment, episode-to-episode basis, but some of the things that happened in this episode caused some breaks in continuity. The missile diverting thing, could be argued in multiple ways. In some ways, it makes that exciting drone-car chase feel like an exercise in special effects. It’s strange that Camp Al-Harazi had been planning the drone plot for so long, yet the missile diverting thing never came up. Even if they couldn’t navigate the missiles effectively, it could have made the car chase even more suspenseful, but then we’d know Margot’s retaliation on Waterloo Station would fail.

They could never see the explosion on their feed? No, you’re wrong, If Chloe was controling that she could easily drop the loop the moment the missile impacted. It was a well built twist… not that I liked it though, I still liked the Heller is dead idea better, but that doesn’t change the fact that what Chloe did was very plausible if she found out what the code she could control was all about.

Ridiculous.

“Also, wouldn’t Ian have been able to take out Jack, Kate, & Simone in the car chase scene?”

Sure, if he actually had a comprehensive knowledge of drone operation, but all he really knows is what he gleaned from briefly watching Naveed, so he had no idea he could steer the missile after firing it.

Won’t the 24 writers ever learn? So Cross is a middleman for let’s say, the Chinese, or the Russians. They want the device, so he gets it for them. But he only got the device because Navarro asked him for a favor about an unrelated issue. Very convenient, huh? Did Cross run out of ideas on how to get the device (did he ever implement one?) and was lucky enough that Navarro called him? Or was Cross’ plan all along that the terrorist plan fail so the CIA would get their hands of the device whoever he works for wants to get? Ridiculous, as usual with this show.

New West Virginian
June 23, 2014 at 11:18 pm
I don’t think Cross had expected to get the device at first, he was just greedy and wanted money to fund his illegal operation. I think the opportunity fell into Cross’s lap when the Navarro situation came up. It’s actually great how the two different plotlines converge, the drones and the scandal inside the CIA station. I prefer this over an unrelated plotline like Alan Miliken or Keith Palmer which had nothing to do with the main plot of those seasons and were only there as filler to take up time.

Cross was likely following the entire operation closely. He already had a mirror of Chloe’s laptop up and running, so he could well have been spying on her the whole time. Open Cell probably have setups to monitor chatter on comm channels for law enforcement and government agencies. Basically, it’s believable that he had the capabilities to see how well the override device was working and keep tabs on whether or not they’d found it. He’d probably also be aware of others out there who might want the device and would pay handsomely for it if by chance it became available again. So when the opportunity arose, he jumped on it.

Yeah, that seems rather sloppy on the writers part, especially considering it’s setting up the final arc.

Actually, Cross says “I was just calling you” when Navarro calls. He was calling Navarro at the same time as Navarro called him.

New West Virginian
June 23, 2014 at 11:09 pm
I can’t believe Jack hasn’t tortured anyone yet this season. Would love to see Navarro caught and have Jack torture him to see who he’s conspiring with.

I also don’t think Mark’s games are entirely over. There was that look on his face when Audrey thanked Jack for saving Heller. He could tell Audrey still loves Jack. I don’t know what will come of the rendition order. With Heller alive, Mark is NOT off the hook anymore cause while the pardon came after the forged signature, indicating Heller didn’t want to turn Jack over to Russia, the Russians can still demand to speak to the President about it.

Jack tortured Simone in the hospital room

That was unbelievably mild for him though

One could say he tortured that innocent bystander in the crowd at the Embassy when he shot him in the leg/foot to create the distraction he needed to get by security.

It’s healthy that Jack’s cutting back on torture. He had to give up something, what with the heart condition, the high-stress lifestyle, the estrangement from anyone who provides him with an emotionally healthy relationship, the cigarettes, the heroin, the fact that he’s a bit of a slut, the lack of eating, the never sleeping… :) His doctor said he had to make some changes, even if he did survive a nuclear blast by hiding behind a rock.

I guess the reason Im disliking this so much is that from the moment they revealed heller was alive, this all started to feel like season 6 writing. Very sloppy and over the top with TONS of plot holes for no other reason than to be shocking and crazy.

I hope I’m wrong but its such a shame because this season has been so tight and exciting. Everyone loved episode 8 because it had purpose and dramatic importance. THATS what the writers don’t get. We don’t need constant twists and action to be entertained, we just need engaging writing. And right now with all this heller being alive, video game-like mission of disabling the electicity and guidint the missile (on what looks lile a gaming controller no less) and the cross/Navarro-end of the world device stuff…it just feels like its headed in a terrible direction.

I’m really bummed :(

who the hell would vote poor? damn trolls

I voted poor. I love 24, loved the last episode. But this one was just plain predictable, boring and opened tons of plotholes. The only good moment was Jack throwing Margot out of the window.

But seriously, the plotholes bug me so much. Jack is able to steer the missile, yet they couldn’t steer it while gunning for Jack’s car? Plus Episode 8 just got pointless. There was this huge emotional buildup and an epic score for basically a filler episode.

At least the writers had the decency to let Margot figure out Heller’s death was faked immediately. Would’ve beeb painful if that would have dragged on.

Also, seriously, nobody is looking after the override design? Security cam? Guards? I doubt the CIA would be that sloppy. And why the heck did Navarro call Cross for a hitman when he himself was already the handler of the hitman? Makes no sense whatsoever.

And Jack doesn’t inform anyone but just races after Navarro? Ugh.

Bad episode. Sloppy writing. Rest of the season was amazing and I hope those next 3 episodes will be great, too.

But today’s episode had problems, and people thinking that aren’t automatically trolls.

Also, why did a fully armed drone only fire one missile?

I kinda hoped Margot’s last attack would cause death, so Jack and Heller would feel guilty. But no, everybody is save and happy, disarmed the bomb in the last second. That’s boring. That’s not why I watch 24. 24 is about sacrifice. It’s about winning always comes at a cost. It’s about bad guys sometimes succeeding.

The whole Margot plot got resolved pretty effortlessly, at least for 24 standards. And what do we get now? The last 3h hastily building up a new threat? It could work and I hope the writers will succeed! But my excitement is a bit stifled now.

I agree. This lack of consequences is totally why I felt this episode was just dreadful. Hoping that it leads towards something in the next few episodes but Heller being alive went from potential awesome twist to a total copout that made all the characters in the plot less interesting.

New West Virginian
June 23, 2014 at 11:14 pm
This reminds me of how Cheng wanted the codes from the suitcase nukes right after Jack had defeated Fayed and stopped the nuclear threat. Now we have the drone threat taken care of but whoever Navarro is working with wants the override device.

Liked the action between Jack and Navarro and how he slipped away kind of like Marwan.

When is the time jump coming ?????? Still 15 hrs to cover in 3 episodes and they all say it is coming.

We posted the time jump details a couple of days ago, here’s the story: https://www.24spoilers.com/2014/06/21/24-live-another-day-time-jump/

Chloe!!

This is probably being nitpicky, but how the hell did Jack have Audrey’s number programmed into his phone? I can’t believe that she would have the same number she had 10 years ago, given that a) she was presumed dead for several months before season 6, and b) she’s the president’s daughter and under Secret Service protection.

Before the season aired I had attempting to write this fanfiction where it was revealed during the day that Jack had contacted Audrey a few days prior to Live Another Day to warn her about the threat to her father. I didn’t finish it because it seemed clear that I was wrong, but now I am wondering if there is something I can do with that.

Most likely, the writers just don’t think these things through that much, and they wanted Jack to see that it was Audrey calling because she’s one of the few people he would have left the room to take a call from. But I am feeling like they could go somewhere with it, given how mysterious Audrey’s back story is right now.

New West Virginian
June 23, 2014 at 11:45 pm
AgentRez!!!! Just go ahead and write it.

As you know I started writing my Season 10 after just seeing 3 episodes of Live Another Day and called it a possible future AU where it diverges halfway in LAD. But now that Heller is alive, my story may not necessarily have to be AU after all. I did expect Chris Tanner to be a more important character given the actor that plays him is going to be in the new Star Wars movies if I had known Tanner’s story would end that early I would have brought Belcheck into my story instead of Tanner. But that was a good catch!!

New West Virginian
June 23, 2014 at 11:50 pm
To think of it I don’t think that was Jack’s personal cell phone. I thought it was a “clean” phone that the Secret Service or the CIA gave to Jack, so maybe Audrey’s number was pre-programmed in there, along with probably President Heller’s and Mark’s.

Also its amazing how after all this time on the run, Jack can just call on old friends to do favors for him like that guy in Langley. He did the same with the NSA guy in Season 8.

New West Virginian
June 23, 2014 at 11:53 pm
For a moment I thought that was VERY poignant scene with both numbers there, Audrey and the CIA contact, like Jack choosing between his love and the call of duty (I wouldn’t say its his job at this point). This reminds me of a scene in the Gang Related show where the main character is a cop and secretly a gang member at the same time with split loyalties, and the police chief and the gang boss both call his two cell phones at the same time.

Part of me really wanted Jack to keep talking to Audrey but knew he would always put his sense of duty first. Even though if Jack ignored the call back from Langley and Navarro just got away and the threat continues I don’t know how Audrey would feel about that.

I’m sure if Audrey had any clue that her calling Jack was going to result in a mole getting away she would have picked a different moment to call (unless, of course, Mary’s theory about Audrey being a sleeper agent for the Chinese is accurate, in which case she had the perfect cover to help Navarro escape). But of course, she didn’t know and at that point Jack had no reason to suspect Navarro, so he didn’t see it as a risk to step away to take Audrey’s call.

I don’t think Audrey meant to get in the way. She thought the threat was over and she was calling him, not realizing Jack was in the middle of something else.

I think she probably just got Jack’s number from someone else who had to contact him earlier in the day. He’s been phoning up the White House people and the CIA all day from the same number. I wouldn’t think it that hard for Audrey to get the number and put it in her cell.

That Latin American promo is the dumbest promo ever made. Imagine how shocking this twist would have been? Pretty upset about that.

Thank God throwing Margot out the window wasn’t spoiled. That was incredible.

New West Virginian
June 23, 2014 at 11:47 pm
The American promo did spoil Ian being thrown out the window though

I agree. Watching tonight I was SO mad about the Latin American promo. But I did kind of figure it out even before I saw that.

New West Virginian
June 24, 2014 at 2:43 am
Yes the lack of a silent clock made me believe it was possible he’s still alive.

As for what this does to Episode 8, I remember back in Season 2 we had Jack in the helicopter flying the bomb into the desert basically saying goodbye to Kim as if he was going to die and remember that was in an early season when 24 wasn’t just about Jack. Then George Mason turns out to be on board the plane and Jack gets to live.

Good point. And I don’t think Mason piloting the plane spoiled the Jack/Kim conversation in that episode at all.

I agree that it didn’t spoil what is one of the best 24 scenes ever but it’s also about suspension of disbelief. Absolutely no one watching Day 2 believed that Jack was really going to die and I think a good number guessed that Mason was going to be the one to take the plane down. It wasn’t an out-of-left-field twist because Jack dying would have stopped the show and is (up until maybe Day 9, though I don’t think Jack will die this season) maybe the one definitely-never-going-to-happen thing in the series. Heller potentially dying was a whole other animal.

New West Virginian
June 23, 2014 at 11:47 pm
And AgentRez and others here is MY nitpicky thing…..

the drone that Ian redirected to London was a fully armed one, so why did it only fire ONE missile at Waterloo station instead of blanketing the entire area with 6 missiles? I know the point is for Jack to stop the attack but I felt that was a writing mistake.

Because she had dealings in the way past with Rask and Jack worked for Rask.

Sorry, NewWestVirginian, that comment was meant to go below.

how did Margot Al-Harazi know who Bauer is ex CTU…………..??? I guess it been all over the news

That was one of the things that bothered me too. Made me wonder if there was some connection between Jack and Margot and why he would throw her out the window – she’s already been shot & subdued, and unless we find out otherwise in upcoming episodes, her operation wasn’t connected to some bigger group, so how much of a further threat did she pose? If anyone was gonna kill Margot, it was gonna be Jack, but the route he went was over-the-top/unexpected/sinister (to me), that it seemed like maybe he really needed to silence her.

or it could simply she read him in the paper……..I pretty sure all major newspaper around the world had him on the front place and listing him as former CTU agent

That and there’s also the Rask connection. If she did business with Rask and Jack was working for Rask she might have known who he was from that.

Since the beginning of the show, the writers have been annoyingly selective about how well known Jack is. They often have him as a notorious hero and/or outlaw, yet he is able to go on undercover missions and nobody ever recognizes him.

Your theory about him wanting to silence her is plausible, but I think it’s pretty unlikely. We have seen Jack do that before – with the Drazens, Henderson, Nina, and of course the people he killed at the end of season 8. And we have seen this season that he is more pissed off and fed up with these terrorists than ever. Plus, Jack didn’t have Margot fully secured. If he hadn’t killed her it’s possible she could have made a move on him. Not saying I agree with him chucking her out the window, but I don’t think it smacks of a hidden agenda. That said, something in episode 11 made Kim Raver gasp out loud…that would be one hell of a twist.

New West Virginian
June 24, 2014 at 2:50 am
At this point I don’t see how Jack could be bad. He’s obviously still trying to stop the device from falling into the wrong hands. I think the final piece of the puzzle will be revealed in the next 2 episodes. Navarro is involved in passing secrets and in dirty activities, Adrian Cross is the middle man, so he’s connected to someone. Also I watched the trailer again and there was no Russian lettering on the sub I thought something had been in Russian but no so maybe it’s China cause Navarro sold secrets to China.

I don’t think anyone on this page from what I’ve read is suggesting Jack is “bad.” They’re suggesting that he has another agenda. That’s a whole other thing.

New West Virginian
June 24, 2014 at 2:51 am
Maybe what made Kim Raver gasp reading the script doesn’t involve her character cause I’m sure they all read the entire script. Maybe Chloe really did turn evil and Jack has to kill her. I hope that’s not the case, and I hope the Russians don’t get Jack but I’m very concerned for him!

Except he had more defined if no less problematic reasons for executive Nina, Henderson, and the Drazens. There were ‘revenge’ factors in those killings. In Margot’s case, it’s far more ambiguous which is what gives it a sinister quality.

Sorry, I meant to say *executing*.

Margot being thrown out the window was one heck of a way to go, but it wasn’t the leap out of your seat and cheer moment for me that it seems to have been for a lot of viewers. I wasn’t wishing for Margot to succeed, but I didn’t detest her either. I thought the character was complex and that Michelle Fairley did a great job with what she was given.

Maybe if Margot had unleashed the entire missile payload every time or hadn’t given Heller a 3 hr window or had never intended to dump the drones in the Channel, I’d be less conflicted about the way in which she was killed. Or if Jack & Margot’s showdown had been more confrontational, or if the drone threat hadn’t already been successfully shut down. But her hands are tied behind her back when he throws her out the window, so it seemed unnecessary & somewhat sinister on Jack’s part.

I am with you. Margot was a multi-dimensional villian, and as a matter of policy, I don’t think someone in Jack’s shoes should get to play judge, jury and executioner all in a span of 10 seconds. I understand that the rules are different in a war versus police arresting someone in the US, but I am pretty sure that even in war you are not supposed to chuck an enemy combatant out the window if you are able to capture them.

Kiki Vanderway
June 24, 2014 at 8:46 am
My current what made her gasp theory is that either Mark dies after being revealed as a mole working for the Chinese that kidnapped her in the first place….or Heller dies in some kind of play where Mark is trying to hand Jack over to the Russians and Heller intervenes and takes a bullet meant for Jack

That’s plausible. It would have been hard to keep the events of Day 8 from getting out, though I’m sure the government PR machine did their best, and they’d keep the info. that Jack Bauer, “a traitor & a psychopath” has resurfaced in London to themselves. When Margot ID’d Jack that quickly, it caught me by surprise. And then Jack threw her out the window after (I think) he said he had Margot in custody.

New West Virginian
June 24, 2014 at 2:45 am
Jack’s been in the news a number of times, including when there was a manhunt for him in and after Season 8 and during the Congressional hearings. Perhaps he was even credited with saving Los Angeles from Syed Ali’s bomb back in S2 as well. And since Jack is one of the most prominent counter terrorist agents in the world, its conceivable Margot’s husband also knew about him.

Because Jack used to work with Rask when Margot had dealings with Rask over a year ago.

can you believe it? the missile can even be diverted which makes the drones-chasing-cars scene so fake…

only jack can out run a drone missile and divert it

The episode blew me away from start to finish. President Heller is alive (thank you Chloe), great action, Margot’s reign of terror is over, Jordan Reed gets whacked (for now) and Jack goes after Navarro. The biggest twist was Chloe getting caught between a rock and a hard place with Adrian freakin’ Cross and I think he’s up to no good and at the end when tells Chloe that he’s going to meet a friend, I think that his old friend is Cheng who could be making a return visit in next week’s episode even though we last saw him at the end of Season Six when he was taking into custody by CTU. My favorite moment was when Heller tell Belcheck that it’s just one name like Madonna or Rihanna (that got a laugh out of that). Can’t believe it’s down to the final three episodes of 24 this season and where does Chloe go from here. She got to be with Jack and not Adrian but I’ll be shocked if Chloe gets killed off.

One other mention: will Kate be shock and awe that Navarro is a dirty agent? It looks like the CIA won’t be without a station chief (as in leader or boss) and without an analyst now that Jordan is done.

I can see Kate becoming the defacto boss of the CIA station as soon as Navarro’s status becomes public and the possible exoneration of her husband occurs.

Perhaps the Russians are the ones doing this. It’s been little to no interaction with them for a few episodes.

I’m still under the theory that Jack is really a villain. Margot ruined his plans so he killed her out of frustration.

And so she couldn’t tell anyone he was involved. He tells Kate, etc.. that he has Margot in custody, then chucks her out a window. Oops. Guess she slipped. Must have martyred herself with her son when Jack was re-diverting the device. How convenient for Jack, as now there is no one to explain to the authorities how Jack knew about the threat to Heller in the first place when Margot really hasn’t had any contact with Rask in over a year…

Dunno about anyone else, but all I’ve been worried about the past few episode is the thirsty Russians after Jack!

When Navaro and Cross are on the phone on 30:53 you hear the Chinese soundtrack from the end of season 5.
Cheng is back…

New West Virginian
June 24, 2014 at 5:54 am
Interesting how Cheng went from just head of security in a Chinese consulate to like China’s top intelligence agent at the end of Season 6. I do think he’s involved here.

Great ep tonight. Like others, I also agree that the president’s being alive really killed that shock and sad moment for us.

Those who say that jack is a villain, I don’t understand you guys…. or you don’t understand the ’24 show’. if you are a 24fan, you should know by now that jack has a good heart, wants to kill bad people, wants to protect the citizens, and never executes an evil thing against good guys.

I also don’t like Cross, and his character was badly written. his characteristic is just strange and simple. I think he just wants the device to have an opertunity to leave the country safe, or sell it and have lots of money.

“Never executes an evil thing against the good guys.” That bit was really funny to Ryan Chappelle.

So which specific part was Mary Lynn Rajskub referring to when she said she can’t believe this is happening in episode 9?

Probably Heller being alive, Jack throwing Margot out of a window, and Chloe deciding to go back to Adrian. A combination of those three.

Steve Navarro
June 24, 2014 at 6:56 am
Now that was a FANTASTIC episode! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, and chewing gum like crazy! By far the best episode so far! So glad Heller is still alive, and both Harazi’s are dead.

Was anyone else praying to see Tony (or another returning favorite) when Jack mentioned his “contact” in Langley? Could have been a good opportunity to sneak in an old character without having to have the actor/actress film on location in London.

Anyway, loving this season, can’t wait to see how it all wraps up. Margot getting thrown out the window was an all-time 24 moment and was genuinely surprising.

Would have been nice to have an old character back but I am so amused by Jack having a CIA mole. :)

It crossed my mind that it could be Tony. But I thought it was unlikely.

You make a good point about filming off-site. I am thinking that if Tony is in it, they must have filmed whatever scenes he is in in the US and greenscreened it or whatever, because there is no way someone wouldn’t notice Carlos Bernard being in London.

Yup, it’d be too high risk to ship Carlos over to London because he’d absolutely get spotted. I wouldn’t expect Tony to be in London anyway, so no point in flying him there to shoot scenes set in America. If he’s gonna be in it at all, he shot stuff on the downlow in LA.

I dunno. No one knew that other guy we’re expecting to return was there until recently and that’s only because he went to see MLR’s comedy show. I think they could hide him. They did film with a lot of indoor and/or closed sets for the finale.

Carlos/Tony is in a whole other league compared to that other actor/character though. Whether or not Tony’s gonna be back is something people care a lot about and have discussed a lot. If Carlos is spotted at LAX, or at Heathrow, or going out for coffee in London, he’s so recognisable and the hope is so high for him to be back that the risk is high that someone will see him and the cat will be completely out of the bag. If I were in charge of production, I wouldn’t be taking that risk.

Amazing episode, great shootout, Milan is the best director of action the shows had.

Kiki Vanderway
June 24, 2014 at 8:49 am
Why did Jack think Chloe could walk into the CIA to help with the override device? Is she no longer wanted for treason because she leaked classified data?

I would guess Jack was thinking that since he has an in with Heller now, he could get Chloe her old life back but there’s nothing there for Chloe, so she doesn’t jump on the chance.

Kiki Vanderway
June 24, 2014 at 11:24 am
I’m not sure there is nothing there for her at least she would not be wanted for treason….

She feels there is nothing there for her because she didn’t agree to go and do it with Jack. She has no family left, nothing to live for, and saving the day with Jack today was like remembering what her past used to be like back when she was a happier person. But it didn’t solve anything for Chloe because going to work for the government again doesn’t change the fact that her family is dead. She chose Adrian and Open Cell. It’s probably a terrible choice but it’s pretty understandable considering what her life is like now…

Why is so many people bitching about this episode? It was awesome in my opinion, probably the best of the entire season. People are complaining about the “AUDREY CALLING” thing and saying that it doesn’t make any sense. Mark gave Jack that phone in episode 6, so…

And the fact that Heller is alive, does not make episode 8 pointless. They thought Heller was going to die, until the last minute.

Anyway, loved the episode, and i have a question, has Adrian’s hair changed since the first couple of episodes?



Episode 9 was totally OF THE CHAIN!!! WOW! BUt I knew Heller was alive…and picked that Chloe would ave figured out how to manipulate the other 2 controls just in time and do the ole time lapse record decoy trick!

My Spidey senses tell me that the override devise will be used to target a Russian Base or city of some sort. whoever Adrian is working for has some unfinished business…and only Jack can stop it. It would be the only conceivable action to make the Russians forgive Jack
and end their pursuit to put him on trial..thus giving Jack a happy ending..maybe back as Director of CTU LA, bringing the whole series full circle to where we first met Agent Jack Bauer!



Call me crazy, maybe my memory is wrong, but I thought that Cheng was captured at the end of Season 6; so wouldn’t he technically still be in U.S. custody? I don’t recall seeing or hearing anything about him after he made that comment about how his people won’t abandon him like the U.S. abandoned Jack.

I suppose it’s possible that he was right and the Chinese negotiated for his release – but even so, as someone already mentioned, the Chinese would have no use for Jack as Cheng himself admitted that he (Jack) didn’t utter a word after two years of torture. And personally I didn’t really care for him as a villain. He struck me as more of a weasel than anything else. I’d be more excited to see a Logan appearance (if he survived he did have connections with the Russians) or a Mandy return.

Pretty sure Cheng’s still in prison, yep. (He and Tony pass the time swapping Jack stories.)

Over in the discussion for the ep 10 promo, someone suggested that perhaps the Chinese want the device to trick the US into firing on the Chinese so that then the Chinese have an excuse to start a war. Now I’m thinking…what if that is the case, and the people orchestrating it all are doing it so they can say, “We’re gonna bomb the crap out of America…unless you release Cheng.”

Yeah but why do the Chinese really care that much about Cheng and why now? It’s been nine years since he was arrested by the U.S..

New West Virginian
June 25, 2014 at 11:56 pm
Well Cheng did say that his government won’t abandon him. Maybe they broke him out of prison. After all they did send an assault team to actually attack CTU.

So… let me see if I have this straight…

Adrian Cross kicked Yates out of Open Cell for auctioning off the classified data they stole and for hacking into military weapons systems. Yates then (somehow) comes into contact with Margot, who hires him to create the Dobson-CIPFirewall-Mashup Override Device. Only Margot apparently doesn’t know that it does anything else except hijack drones and her two computer savvy sons never notice this either. They could take over the entire U.S. defense system but either they are just SO into irony that they only really care about the drones for killing Heller or they have no idea that the device does more than hack the drone system.

Adrian, meanwhile, is aware of the device’s existence the entire time and knows what it does. He has known this the entire time but at no point, up until now, has he made a move to try to get his hands on the device. He could have had Yates build it for him. He could have stolen it from Yates. He could have *not* helped Jack retrieve it all day because that’s what Adrian did. One moment after another of Adrian helping Jack get closer to the device.

In the premiere, Adrian gives Jack Basher’s location in order to help find Yates and tells Jack to thank him by never come back. A few hours later, it’s Adrian who identifies the override code and saves Tanner, on top of proving the existence of the override device to others in the first place. Just in the last episode, it was Adrian who found Margot’s location… and led Jack and the CIA straight to the device before getting Navarro to retrieve it for him. I guess I’m wondering why a guy who was basically in possession of this thing at the start, who appears to have kicked out a member of his team for violating the group’s directive by doing things that led to the override’s creation, suddenly wants something now that he could have had earlier with no problem.

Kiki Vanderway
June 24, 2014 at 11:44 am
Not quite my analysis. Open Cell does not actively engage it is a bystander organization of world class hackers who think they are justified in the actions they take. They are able to dig up reams of info and access codes and hack into governmental agencies and organizations– clearly they may not understand the ramifications of what they are digging up. Adrian, however, does.

He is using these idealists to grab bits and pieces of code. In true 24 fashion he does a double play by kicking Yates out but orchestrating the intersection of Yates and Margo at some point– Margo thinks either that Yates is double crossing Adrian or maybe even working for Rask which would explain the Rask/Yates/Bauer play.

Adrian has set it up at least as far as Yates is concerned because Yates thinks he is being clever and thumbing his nose at Open Cell– Adrian is a puppet master pulling the strings– and to be fair he may not have known how far Yates could have gone with his device– he may have wanted plausible deniability of the device didn’t work.

Adrian probably expected Bauer to be mowed down by Basher or perhaps knew Yates would get away– or maybe he though Margo and Yates would have arranged to meet even before Jack got his location– either way I think it was a diversionary tactic and did not go as planned in some respects because Yates loses control of the device– Simone killed Yates maybe Adrian was not expecting that (a la Tony in Season 7, Episode 3 — “The point,” says Bill, “is Tony was supposed to be near the device at all times”).

When Navarro calls, Adrian sees the perfect opportunity to get the device back– I think by happenstance not by having a crazy unnecessarily complicated plan play out.

I agree with a lot of what you wrote but a few things I think don’t quite work.

The first is that Cross didn’t find a way to the device when Navarro called him looking for an escape. They make a point to have Cross say he was just calling Navarro at the same time. Cross knew the device was on its way to the CIA and was already planning on getting Navarro to steal it for him. Navarro being desperate to do anything to get out of the country just made his task easier.

The other thing is Adrian, the puppet master. I’m not so sure that Adrian doesn’t really believe in the ideals of his own organization rather than just hide behind them. It still makes little sense for Adrian to be the middle man with Navarro’s debacle with the Chinese. This is a guy who has access– he has ways of hacking into government systems that gets him all the data he needs. What’s he screwing around with moles and selling state secrets for? What’s Adrian’s motivation for getting involved with this one guy in one government agency who is selling secrets to the Chinese when Adrian has bigger fish to fry here? Maybe it’s a personal motivation. Maybe he owes someone a favor, maybe someone he cares about could be hurt if he doesn’t help Navarro or the Chinese, who knows, but it seems like something that a guy like him ultimately wouldn’t really be a part of. He could want the override device for nothing more than he feels responsible for its creation and doesn’t want it to fall into the hands of any government or group. We really have no evidence as of yet that he’s actually the one about to use the device for evil purposes and they might want us to believe he is because of everything else they’ve set up so far today.

Kiki Vanderway
June 24, 2014 at 12:55 pm
On Adrian maybe being a good guy? Meh. Just doesn’t feel right and doesn’t provide Chloe the opportunity to be heroic…

I’m not saying a good guy, exactly, just not evil incarnate and about to start a third world war, which I’m just not buying with the rest of what they’ve given us about him so far. Chloe is for sure somehow going to get the opportunity to be heroic (and I worry about it being her last opportunity to be heroic) but I’m not so sure that it’s Adrian she’s really going to be going up against.

Kiki Vanderway
June 24, 2014 at 9:49 pm
I am tweaking my hypothesis– Chloe tells Adrian she thinks she can locate the device and that’s why she is helping Jack find Margot still weak with her not following it to CIA HQ but maybe Adriana play is the device but her play is smoking out Navarro cause at this point age doesn’t know it’s him even if Adrian does…ok so it’s actually more like S7 than I thought — same play attack the conspiracy from the inside put the device in the hands of the baddies but be with it so you can control it that’s why Chloe was so eager to go to the projects to find Basher with Jack & Adrian’s acting upset with her bec is all for show meanwhie she is playing Adrian and trying to keep the device out of the hands of the terrorists– maybe there is a deeper set up with Jack but why he didn’t know about Morris and Prescott is unclear unless they aren’t dead and that was part if the set up from the get go …. Oh never mind that doesn’t work unless Chloe and Morris aren’t a couple anymore because otherwise the relationship w/ Adrian is just all kinds of wrong…

Kiki Vanderway
June 24, 2014 at 10:40 pm
Sorry to reply to myself just saw E10 promo (why I’m so checked out IDK) so I think I’m getting close still not quite hanging together though too many weird threads!

I’ve never trusted Adrian to really be who people think he is. He helped them track down Yates far too easily. Actually, now that we’ve seen him admit to running a mirror of Chloe’s computer when she was AWOL, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was doing the same thing with Yates and has therefore been following the device since the moment Yates walked it out the door. I’ve always figured that Adrian had a lot of involvement in developing that device. The question for me has always been whether he really did kick Yates out and he stole it, or if he let Yates go with it as part of a grander plan.

With option one, it just means that Adrian’s spent today trying to help them manouver into a position where they could get it back without being overt about it, and I could buy that story line.

With option two, he’s gotta have some larger plan because he wanted the device out there and in play, but now he wants it back. He and Yates may have had this plan to sell it to Margot and split the profits then steal it back. But then there’s the questions of 1) Why Margot and 2) Why not just keep it for themselves to begin with if they knew what a kickass device they’d created and what they could do with it themselves?

Maybe it’s just that he wanted the device tested in a real world situation and figured it wouldn’t be too hard to get it back once Margot was done? If he’s got some personal plans for using it, it makes the authorities take him more seriously if he can say, “You know someone who worked under me built this thing, you’ve seen it in action, so you know I’m not bluffing when I say I can eff some crap up now that I’ve got it back.” It puts him in quite a powerful position, with government leaders potentially willing to bend to his requests because he’s in possession of such a weapon that could bring them down. He’s a person who believes that governments should be put in their place, that’s why he made it his mission to expose their secrets. He doesn’t like them having the control they do. With the device and the information he’s gathered, HE is the one with the control over the governments. He could pose a MAJOR threat to ALL governments. He could hold any or all of them to ransom. He could force them into situations where he’s dictating international policy. He can make the world a better place by forcing a situation where all information is free and no governments keep secrets from anyone.

If something like that is going on, I’d say it’s a case of someone who started out with a less violent agenda, he was just a left wing kinda guy who always spoke up and tried to do what he thought was right to make the world a better, more informed place. But over the course of his life he’s become increasingly frustrated with the powers that be and now he’s had a gutful and has morphed into this egomaniac who thinks he’s gonna save the world from all the evil politicians by controlling them.

Back to the question of: Why give it to Margot? I’ve still got my little pet crack theory tucked in the back of my mind that Adrian is Margot’s first (not really) dead husband. It’s a pretty random assumption, I admit, (though they did make a point in this ep of putting emphasis on them avenging Ian’s STEP-father, reminding us that some other guy was the bio dad of Margot’s kids), though it could explain why Adrian would intentionally let it fall into HER hands. He’d know her well enough to know that she’d only use it in a limited capacity with the drones and that she (and the device) would remain in a nearby location. He may even expect that she’d be an easy person for him to take it back from when she was done. He could have just knocked on her door, been all, “You’re welcome for the device that let you avenge your second husband’s death, figured I should make it up to you somehow for having ditched you and kids. Seeing as how you’re done with it, can I have it back now plz?”

As to the question of why Adrian was bothering to get involved with selling stuff to the Chinese, it may just be that he needs to make deals for cash sometimes, purely out to necessity, to keep Open Cell up and running. They may not pay rent, but all that hardware don’t come for free. Also, if he DOES have some big plan that this has all been building up to, he knows that Open Cell isn’t gonna keep going forever, at some point he’s gonna make his move, and then people will be after him and he’ll need money in his pocket so he can go on the run.

About Open Cell and Chloe and their role in it all. I think Yates was the only truly nefarious geek in that lot. I think the rest of them just believe in the ideals that Adrian sold them, but they don’t have any idea that the organisation is really a means to his own evil end, and they’re just pawns to help him gather all the information he needs. Chloe’s about to get a reality check, and will be the one in a position to be able to stop him.

Kiki Vanderway
June 25, 2014 at 7:21 pm
I’m still unsure where it’s all going but Adrian wanting to use the device to undermine government in general may be a possibility and makes sense if he thinks of himself as having a noble (albeit twisted) mindset.

If he can force the major governments of the world to draw up a freedom of information whatever so no one has secrets from anyone else, then everyone will work together and there’ll never be any more wars. It’d be (flawed) logic of a left wing extremist who doesn’t consider himself a terrorist in any way (they already touched on this theme by having Margot mention that they perceive her as “a so called terrorist”), he’s just making the world a better, safer place, because he’s a superhero called Middleman who will oversee and approve all the free information and worldwide peace. (Or something.)

We seem to keep getting tantalizing hints about Jack (and a possible hidden agenda) but none of them are coming to fruition which is frustrating me. It may still happen, but time is short. In fact, I just don’t see it happening now. Any of it. I was feeling really optimistic after the last two episodes but this last episode has reignited my general apathy for this season. It all feels so arbitrary to me.

I felt this way last night. I feel less like it this morning. All I know is it is way too obvious right now and that’s usually a good sign of a fakeout to come.

I’m not sure what you mean. Could you elaborate? Was there anything in this episode about Jack that struck you as interesting, Mary? You’ve consistently got the most insightful (if occasionally crazy, haha) thoughts and theories of anyone here. I’d love to know what you think going into the final three episodes.

Awwww :) Warm fuzzies for my homeless self. You are sweet, Brad.

Working the late shift tonight at the store so will have to reply with details later but I went from ‘are you KIDDING me?’ in the first half of the episode to ‘oh WHEW Jack is still totally playing everybody’ in the second half of the episode. Everyone has a personal agenda and Jack’s involves getting the override device, IMO. This has been his bigger goal all day and helping the Hellers is like icing on the cake but wasn’t his primary plan.

Looking forward to it!

That was an EPIC BAUERPOWER MOMENT OF 201 EPISODE OF 24

I was waiting for that epic Bauerpower moment! And boy was I satisfied!

Chloe is kinda doing a ‘stay out of this Jack’ Tony type thing from Season 7.

I hope she’s trying to take Adrian Cross down and find out who the real bad person is since he’s the middle man.

I’m afraid that Chloe will not live through the day.

I just have 2 questions for all of you folks that are nitpickking this story to pieces and aretaking the posture that the writing is so poor that your life is being ruined.
1. Are you done with 24 and refuse to watch the last 3 hours?
2. A year or two from now when it finally hits you that LAD was the last of 24, will you be glad?
I have a feeling that the answer to both questions is a resounding NO. We are all just viewers…none of us had or have anything to do with the script. So isn’t it better to sit back, watch the show and be thankful that, after 4 years Jack is back as opposed to having remember him on the streets of New York? It’s a heck of a lot better than watching a piece of crap like The Blacklist!

Are you saying that a television show available for public consumption is actually immune from criticism or scrutiny?

You can love something and analyze something at the same time, RonnieTheC.

Kiki Vanderway
June 24, 2014 at 1:02 pm
We actually love it because it is so open to analysis.

There is a pervasive misunderstanding, IMO right now, between what is motivating the participants to post their comments and what the critics of the commenters are reading Into those motivations. We all love the show we are all psyched about LAD we see the amazing writing and acting and directing we do anticipate each episode and have fun watching we are devoted fans but we see plot holes we see things that don’t make sense we see lost opportunities we care about all of it. Don’t mistake the nit pucks and digressions for more than what they are.

Exactly right, Kiki. I for one won’t be passing out any firm judgment on this season until it’s over. A lot can – and surely will – happen in these final three hours.

So right, kiki.

Mark my word .. it’s chloe is the new bad ass. she is the boss of Adrian. she helped and used jack so he would recover the device and so she can steal it from jack. may be it’s not adrian who playes her .may be it’s otherway round.

And then she was brainwashed by the Chinese.

I love how Jack wounds Margot, not to take her into custody, but just to have her watch her plans fail before killing her, definitely this seasons biggest holy shit moment. Surprising because Jack usually only kills in cold blood when it’s personal (they killed someone close to him).

And then that truly dark and psychotic look on his face as he watched her body fall. Dude hasn’t been this unhinged since he was hanging Abu Fayed. It’s a little scary. (And pretty awesome.)

Kiki Vanderway
June 24, 2014 at 3:42 pm
As I said making the most of his presidential pardon — he better get it all out of his system by midnight, though…

Heller is going to regret this decision, isn’t he? lol
I liked Kate’s hesitating handshake. She’s like uh you’re telling me I did a good job when I’m scraping the suspects’ bodies off the pavement… not sure how I feel about this one… and what a creepy little smile you just gave me…

New West Virginian
June 25, 2014 at 2:42 am
No he was more “unhinged” when he cut Pavel open in revenge for killing Renee, and when he went on that rampage in Novakovich’s hotel room.

I think you could add the scene in S8 with him in full body armor, shooting up the Secret Service limos to get to Logan – all the way down to the point where he climbs on the car, drops the gas grenade in and then drags Logan by the neck out of the car.

Kiki Vanderway
June 26, 2014 at 2:17 pm
I thought that was actually very logical and controlled (and totally awesome) not unhinged necessarily

New West Virginian
June 25, 2014 at 2:43 am
yes I also wondered why he didn’t just shoot and kill her on the spot.

Love 24. Always have. Love this season. Awesome. Loved, absolutely loved this episode. Except…

Alright, I guess the exec producers thought killing Margot in cold blood would be an “Oh my God, AWESOME”! moment for the fans. Not this fan.

After thinking about it all day, it seems they were kind of pinned in a corner. I couldn’t really think of a better way to bring Margot to justice other than Jack killing her. I get that. Nevertheless, it did trouble me somewhat. Jack has always been a man of honor, and has been able to control his emotions fairly well. I just didn’t think it was fitting; I need to watch it a few more times.

I’ve posted this without looking at any of the other posts on this page, so I don’t know yet what the general reaction to that scene was. I’ll be interested to read others’ views on it, and feel free to comment on my post, whether you agree or not.

Was cool that Heller was still alive, although it was somewhat predictable. I was really wanting a longer conversation between Jack and Audrey. The producers are really stringing us along!! All the other storylines are tight. Unlike other seasons, I don’t dread when certain storylines start up. They are all good.

I think most people (myself included) loved that Jack tossed Margot. The only thing I didn’t like about it was that I wanted more of a confrontation between Jack and Margot. And also, I was sad to see Margot die. Michelle did such a great job portraying her.

But I don’t think Jack tossing her was out of character at all. Don’t forget last season he went on a killing rampage and took out a bunch of russian diplomats in cold blood.

I loved it in the sense that she deserved it. Many people suffered and died because of her. If you go all the way back to season 1, though, it’s out of character. I know a lot has happened to him over the last few years, and he has definitely changed. He DID murder the Russians last season, and I wasn’t a big fan of that either. Just need some more time to chew on it; going to watch it again in a while.

Kiki Vanderway
June 24, 2014 at 8:06 pm
It’s a fine line. He also murdered the dude who pulled the trigger and killed Palmer in S5E1 and also in S5 murdered Henderson. Nina was arguably excusable, she was going for her gun–sorta Drazen –kinda hard to see at night so maybe excusable I have always been troubled by the Palmer revenge killings and equally by the S8 rampage.

At the same time, how can anyone expect that a man who has given up so much, and who was so deeply honorable for so long only to have been abandoned, tortured for months, sold up the river and forgotten about only to be trotted out to be executed by a thug and then hung out to dry by Congress will not be altered and fundamentally changed for the worse by the experience?

And yet he doesn’t pretend or make excuses or prevaricate he owns his behavior he is willing to face punishment– he really didn’t want nor was he looking for a pardon and therefore he is recognizable to me even in those moments.

And actually when you think about it it’s a very bold and unusual choice by the writers to not even have any pretense of Jack’s actions being excusable.

I always found the Senate hearing exchange between Mayer and Jack so interesting because the Senator says isn’t true you detained Ibraham Hadad without due process? And Jack says yes and the lawyerly response would be no because he was not entitled to due process he was classified as an enemy combatant but Jack just says yes. It was again a bold choice– the writers aren’t going to make this easier for us as viewers — it’s messy and complicated and you will not get it wrapped in a convenient bow.

And not to beat a dead horse but it’s why this is a phenomenal series and why Jack Bauer has been one of only a very small handful of truly unique and memorable chactacters ever on TV.

Jack is THE best onscreen television character to date, period!

Robert (Bobby) Goren from ‘Law & Order: Criminal Intent’ a very close second…

Kiki! YES! Everything you wrote = :) :) :) :)

That’s the only “fault” though completely understandable of Jack’s that I can think of. I think it’s good the writer’s added it in, it makes him who he is

New West Virginian
June 25, 2014 at 2:47 am
Doug he shot Nina when she was defenseless and couldn’t reach the gun. He killed Dana Walsh in cold blood after she had already surrendered (I wonder if he would have killed her even if she didn’t run away. He killed Palmer’s assassin after promising to take him to the hospital. So no, killing Margot like this was NOT out of character.

The most “unhinged” Jack was was in Season 8 when he was going after Dana and the Russians out of revenge for Renee.

I think it’s human nature to look at heroes and feel the frustration they do – and the relief they get from eliminating evil is an easy one to adopt as a viewer. I remember pumping a fist and shouting out “Yes! Finally!” as I watched the Dana Walsh death scene, and did the same when Simone got hit by the bus. When Jack just bluntly took Margot and heaved her out the window, it was elation!

I do agree that scene felt somewhat out of character for Jack. He’s executed a handful of villains in cold blood before (Drazen, Nina, Palmer’s assassin, Henderson, Dana), but all of those were for very personal reasons: getting revenge for Teri/Palmer/Renee etc.

This time around I don’t think Jack had as good of a reason for such an over the top kill. Maybe if Heller actually died I could see him being super angry and out for revenge, but that wasn’t the case here.

With that said, I absolutely loved the scene and think it will go down as one of Jack’s most memorable kills of the series. It was a satisfying exit for Michelle Fairley’s character and a shocking moment. I certainly didn’t see that coming.

Taken in context, Margot’s death prevented me from feeling any real satisfaction after it happened, just numbness. Jack had already killed Ian, shot Margot, tied her hands behind her back, pinned her down, & made her watch as the missile was diverted. Threat over.

I knew she would die & Jack would be the one to take her out, but it didn’t feel like winning. Had there been more of a struggle and had she not been physically restrained when he threw her out the window, I might feel differently about it. Margot wasn’t a purely evil character. She had her redeeming qualities, so the “in your face, bitch!” gloating that seems to be going around doesn’t resonate with me. There was something unsettling about the way Jack killed her off and the swiftness with which we’re moving on to the next plot just leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

I know I’m just sad that Michelle Fairley won’t be on my tv next Monday. She’s incredible and it’s crazy awesome what she’s done with roles where she wasn’t the original choice.

tl;dr this could have been a badass kill, but it felt like a rushed and undignified end for a great character

In season2 Jack shot someone at CTU and cut off his head with a hacksaw. Margot was less than 5 seconds away from killing hundreds at a train station. She already used a drone to kill folks at a hospital and in Afghanistan. Was Jack being jack by tossing her out of the window? Absolutely!

Kiki Vanderway
June 24, 2014 at 8:12 pm
The hacksaw killing was exigent circumstances and more justifiable because he needed that head in order to save thousands or maybe millions in LA. Closer to the Chappelle execution in my mind than the other more murderous actions Jack has taken.

Squealed like a virgin on prom night when Margot was killed.

50/50 on the Helle reveal, but loved the whip-pan that revealed it.

24Phandroid, you summed up perfectly the point I was trying to make. It just didn’t feel satisfying, and I was numb as well as you were after the scene. There was just something…..not right about it. Just got through watching ep 9 again, and it obviously wasn’t as shocking the second time (but I guess it was a little more satisfying this time). There have been many things I disagreed with over the seasons, only to have a change of heart later. Time will tell.

Next to poor Paul Koplin’s torture/murder in season 2 (the private detective Kate Warner had at her house), it was the most shocking scene yet. But it matters little; 24 is still the best show ever, without question. I will continue to watch/listen to it regularly, and probably won’t stop for years to come.

I think 24 put Audrey in the eye of Jack again with the fake death of Heller because in this situation the only who keep like the bad was Audreys Hausband. Thats its behinds Hellers Fake death. If you want to see main characters die go to see Game of Thrones. I see 24 since the 1 season and they prove they can kill anyone who wants and once they dont do it, they go 1 step forward and all lose your mind.

The Sprint clip for episode 10 is up for those who are interested: http://www.fox.com/24-live-another-day/sprint?0623201424Week8EFB

It’s a conversation between Audrey and Mark that fellow Jack/Audrey fans will be interested in. I hope that doesn’t say too much. If you want I can summarize it using a spoiler tag.

please tell me anything since I can’t view the clip……in spoilers of course

Sure, here’s a synopsis for those who can’t view it:

Audrey apologizes to Mark for snapping at him when she’s with her father (I guess that happens earlier in the episode). He just brushes her off, and she acknowledges that her father put him in an impossible position by asking for help surrendering himself to Al Harazi. Then Mark says that that’s not what the distance between them is really about; that ever since Jack showed up in London everything changed for her. Audrey protests faintly that what happened between her and Jack was a long time ago; Mark say even so, “you haven’t resolved your feelings for him,” which she basically doesn’t deny. She asks him why he is going there, and he says he is tired of dancing around and wants to know where they stand. Audrey says “I made a commitment to this marriage and I intend to honor it,” and Mark snaps back “I’m glad to know that I’m an obligation that you take seriously.” Audrey says “that’s not what I meant,” and Mark demands to know what she did mean.


Either way, their marriage is over. Audrey has been distant with him all day, even before Jack showed up. Audrey doesn’t love Mark, and they both know it.

Unfortunately, I think Mark is going to do something very stupid in order to try and get rid of Jack, and Audrey will find out about it and try to fix it. I’m just very curious as to whether Cheng will be involved…

I actually disagree about Mark doing something stupid to try to save his marriage. I think Mark’s already done something stupid with the rendition order and now he’s looking around wondering why he did. He loves Audrey but Audrey doesn’t love him and Jack showing up just sort of underlined that, more than anything else.

It’s also worth noting, I think, that even if Mark had not forged the rendition order, the question of what to do with Jack now that he’s resurfaced would still be in play at this point. Heller’s given him a pardon but that also comes with a lot of political backlash and it wasn’t like the Russians weren’t ever going to find out that Heller was willing to just let Jack go home and pretend Day 8 never happened. I’m not even so sure that *Audrey* would be cool with that. She’s happy Jack saved her dad and saved the day but he admitted to her that he killed the diplomats, that what people said he did was actually what he did. Audrey doesn’t know yet know her dad pardoned Jack. Is she okay with being with a man who never has to assume any responsibility for having gone on a killing spree? Even without Mark putting the rendition order into the middle of this plot, Jack dealing with what happened on Day 8 with the Russians would still be something that would have to be addressed since he’s resurfaced.

Maybe Mark is starting to get fed up with Audrey and that, in combination with the fact that he’s actually been impressed with Jack so far today, leads him to just going to Jack with the problem and helping him solve it. If Audrey can’t make up her mind and Jack has too much honor to go sleeping around with a married woman, before long you’re going to have Mark and Jack in the same boat, which is kind of what this day keeps doing. They’re both traitors now wanted by the Russians with a woman in the middle and a father-son relationship with Heller. And if Jack has another agenda here (which is still pretty possible), then now *both* of them are a little duplicitous to boot. They quickly become the only ones who can help each other out of this situation. I think that’s actually more likely than Evil!Mark squirreling his way out of this.

Also, while Mark is not Tony (let’s emphasize that– NOT TONY ;), not even close) this whole scenario reminds me of Jack-Tony-Nina from Day 1. Only Tony spent the entire day pretty sure Nina didn’t give an (unladylike word) about him and beginning to trust her less and less as it became more and more apparent that she was screwing around with him and Jack emotionally. Tony missed that she was a spy, thinking she was just kind of a viper preying on the two of them. Both Jack and Tony fail to see who Nina really was because she knew their most insecure, weak spots and used those to manipulate them both individually and against one another.

And what happened when the guys began to catch on? Nina became increasingly more side-lined, eventually exposed, and then the shared history that reunited Jack and Tony’s friendship and made it stronger. It could be that while we’ve spent all this time looking at whether or not Jack and Audrey are going to get back together, we might have missed the start of a Jack and Mark friendship as the real focus of this plot.

This might be reason enough for Audrey to not be a mole but it also could be something in support of it, I guess. Kind of depends on how it would fit in with everything else in the story.

Poor Mark…

I kind of feel bad for him too, although he is not doing himself any favors the way he is pushing her. I’ve been in Audrey’s shoes (minus the kidnapping, torture, catatonic state, and what not), having an ex show up and tug at my heartstrings just when I am beginning to find happiness with someone new. I ended up staying in the new relationship (not that I think Audrey should, lol), but if my boyfriend had been badgering me about “where do we stand” and giving me a dirty look every time I spoke to my ex or expressed concern about him, I might not have made that choice.

Kiki Vanderway
June 25, 2014 at 3:05 pm
Mark can’t help himself. Seriously how many times have any of us opened mouths that should have remained firmly shut?

Yeah, the wife shows her desire for her ex quite openly from forehead locks to phone calls with romantic uındertones, yet the husband is just supposed to stay idle. Audrey pretty much means “I don’t stay with you because I love you, I am staying with you because of my marriage commitment” in that scene. No man with any honour would get himself toyed like that.

The point is, he shouldn’t have been interrogating her about her feelings for Jack in the first place. She’s had only a few hours to process seeing Jack again, not to mention the emotional turmoil she went through with thinking her father was dead. If she is still acting distant in a week, then sure, he should ask her about it. But pressing her right now, less than an hour after Jack saved her father when he was prepared to let him die, is just plain stupid.

I have, many times. I hate feeling like things are unsettled and I have made the mistake many times of pressing to resolve something before the other person is ready and ended up making it worse. I can’t really blame Mark for being anxious about the state of his relationship with Audrey, but if he knows her as well from however many years they’ve been together as we do from the three days of her life we’ve seen, he should know that how she feels about something while going through a lot of emotional turmoil is not always the same as how she feels once she’s had time to take it in and reflect. Like, she was furious with Jack when he forced the doctor to stop treating Paul in season 4, but by season 5, once she’d had time to process, she realized that he did what he had to do. Mark should recognize that of course Audrey is feeling conflicted – who in her situation wouldn’t? For starters, she never had any closure with Jack and probably doesn’t even know why he left. Second, Jack just saved her father’s life while Mark helped him attempt to sacrifice himself. I am not saying Mark did anything wrong by helping Heller – you could make the case that he was respecting his wishes and did the right thing. But come on, man – asking Audrey where her heart lies so soon after she found out Jack kept her father alive is just plain stupid.

Kiki Vanderway
June 25, 2014 at 7:32 pm
Clearly they are already on the outs and Mark probably sees himself as noble and long suffering. To quote Princess Dianna “there were three people in this marriage.” For Mark, Jack has always been a threat to his marriage. His worst fears are manifested in Jack and Jack pushes all his insecurity buttons and by aggressively responding to the threat the second it materializes both by setting up the Russian ploy and pushing Audrey he will inadvertently bring about the result he has feared and dreaded happening.

AgentRez, I don’t think it’s a guarantee that anyone in Audrey’s situation would feel conflicted over an ex popping back up in their lives. You can move on from something in your life without getting closure from it (trust me, I know) and Audrey is not without responsibility for her decision to marry Mark. She should not have married Mark if she was not over Jack, plain and simple. Mark is jealous and he has right to be and he probably shouldn’t have married Audrey if he didn’t think she was over Jack or if he was going to let Jack be a ghost voice in their marriage but Audrey should not have married Mark if she didn’t love him. Plain and simple, IMO. This marriage failing is a two-way street.

I don’t think Mark is badgering. Jack’s been around for hours and this is really the first time Mark has openly brought it up. He’s been silent all day until this point. It’s reasonable for a husband to want to know if his wife doesn’t love him anymore. He’s right that they’ve been dancing around it. The fact that they even have to talk about it in the first place shows that Mark is already right about Audrey not loving him. She probably never really did but Mark clearly loves her. I think he’s within his rights to be upset (especially since he’s probably going to prison for the rest of his life if he gets out of this alive.)

I try to give Audrey a fair shake and she’s been through a lot but the way she treats Mark here is just plain awful. Yeah, Jack showing up is confusing, but she’s not being honest about the fact that it is confusing for her. She’s acting like it’s all *Mark’s* fault that she’s still in love with Jack. If Audrey’s confused, she should at least respect the man she married enough to admit it and not toy around with him. The way she spins it all into Mark’s problem solely and like she’s the sole victim of all of this is emotionally manipulative.

New West Virginian
June 25, 2014 at 2:59 am
After seeing this clip I’m still very concerned about Jack. I get the feeling that Mark is still up to no good and may still try to destroy Jack out of spite if not just to save his marriage, even if his marriage can’t be saved.

I’m afraid even with Heller’s pardon, Mark is still going to get Jack sent to Russia, especially since the guy from the Russian embassy is also breathing down his neck over the forged order.

Jack tossing two people out of a 5th floor window was the best thing thats happened to me all week.
Damn it!

I’m sorry your week was the worst week ever.

the latinamerican promo for the next episode is full of spoilers, not that big like the heller one, but….

*****
We see Jack captures Navarro
Mark Boudreau tells the russian how to get Jack
And Kate Will torture Navarro
PD: Chloe confirms that is Cross who wants the attacks happen


***

New West Virginian
June 25, 2014 at 3:02 am
Please post this trailer from Latin America, it sounds better than the US trailer this time. I didn’t know 24 was also popular south of the border. But I knew it!!!!! Mark has always seemed suspicious even in this episode when it was obvious Audrey still had feelings for Jack.

And now since Heller had already pardoned Jack it could easily be said that he “rescinded” the order, so what Mark’s doing now is simply out of spite for Jack.

Mark might not be acting just out of spite for Jack. He is also trying to cover his own ass. As the Russian guy said when they met, if Heller and Audrey find out that he forged the president’s signature it would most likely be the end of his career and his marriage (and he could theoretically go to jail).

For all we know, Mark and Jack come up with a plan that requires Mark to draw out Russian Foreign Minister Walrus Mustache Guy.

what you describe sound exciting…….we all knew Mark cannot be trusted

Wow, interesting. Can you post the Latin American promo if possible? Thanks.

I’m not sure why people think Heller not dying all the sudden makes episode 8 pointless. Had Heller died, it would’ve been another reason why Jack ruins Audrey’s life and we already saw that in Season 4. Heller dying also would’ve been predictable 24 where as setting up that he’s going to die only for them to have a backup plan and have him survive, was a refreshing twist. I also didn’t feel cheated as it was forshadowed in the episode by Ian constantly questioning whether they could trust the americans and the fact that there was no silent clock for Heller, who is in his 4th season of the show. It was a perfect false climax to the story.

In my opinion – I would describe the twist as ‘typical 24′, however not in its usual sense. There was simply far too much build up & such an amazing piece by Sean Callery for it all to be for nothing. It was definitely one of the best episodes in the history of ’24’ but it definitely didn’t do favours for my review on the entire storyline.

I don’t think Heller dying would have been predictable.

To ’24 Spoilers’: when the season is over, can you set up an area on the website for people to rank their favorite ’24’ seasons and provide comments as to their reasoning. As it stands right now, I put season 9 in the middle of the pack behind seasons 1,2,4,and 5 but ahead of seasons 3,6,7, and 8.

Good idea and that is definitely planned. There will probably be two posts, one for the finale specifically and one for overall thoughts on the season (where you can also rank each season).

The overall season one might go up a few days later so that people have time to think about stuff or rewatch episodes. Unless everyone prefers it goes up alongside the finale.

Waiting a few days sounds like the best course of action. Thanks for all your work on this site!

Is this confirmed to be the last season?

Not exactly. It seems likely that they will make more but this seems to be the closeout of Jack’s story, at least with him as a main character. Possibly. Sorta. Maybe. They haven’t said anything firm one way or another and it seems to change by the day.

Best seasons in order for me

5 3 7 4 1 8 2 6 . So far season 9 is between 4 and 7

Kiki Vanderway
June 25, 2014 at 3:08 pm
What’s funny is how that changes for me usually though it’s 5,7,2,4,1.3.6.8 I can’t digest 9 yet I’m not sure my gut says ill rant it in top 5…

1, 5, 3, LAD, 8, 2, 4, 7, 6

For now at least.

I’m pleasantly surprised 8 is so far up your list, XAM. Yours is actually very similar to mine.

1, 5, 3 and 8 all have something in common which I truly admire in a season of 24.

The plot at the start of those days carries through to the end.

Day 1: Jack trying to save Palmer and his family
Day 3: The virus (even though it changes into completely different hands)
Day 5: Palmer’s assassination and the nerve gas
Day 8: The peace agreement

2, 4, 6 and 7 all started with very weak plots, nothing more compelling than “attacks are happening/about to happen” which is just nowhere near strong enough to carry a whole day, and because of that they fall into the trap of upgrading to bigger and bigger threats and going through WAY too many groups of baddies to be believable in a 24 hour day. Day 7 sadly had great potential to be much more than a dreary “multiple attacks day” if they had established from the get-go that Tony was back to get revenge for Michelle and his son from hour 1, the whole day wouldn’t have been a complete meandering shambling mess.

LAD could be seen as one of those days where the plots at the beginning matter at the end, but I’m seeing a few danger signs in the ep 10 promo.

Really depends how this Adrian Cross/submarine thing plays out. But for now LAD is placed highly because these last 4 episodes have been some of the very best they’ve ever done.

XAM, I think LAD is going to be one of those days where the beginning ties into the end, maybe even the strongest example of that. Already, they’ve just taken us back to the override device, which was the focus of the premiere, and we still have the rendition plot and the Russians, which started early. Even mentions of the Chinese began in the premiere. Looking like it’s going to be one of those seasons where the finish can be found in what was happening at the start. I also like those ones, too :)

4, 3, 5, 2, 8, 7, 9, Redemption, 6, 1 for me….

I really hated all of the overbearing side stories in S1 that just diluted the real good stuff with Jack and S6 was the equivalent of a 50% great, 50% awful season.

New West Virginian
June 26, 2014 at 11:18 am
Both Seasons 1 and 3 had a lot of unrelated sideplots like Keith Palmer and Alan Miliken and Julia that didn’t really contribute to the plot. I like how in LAD the stuff with Navarro and Adrian ties into the main plot.

Why miss out 2? Season 2 had THE most annoying, utterly pointless subplot to end them all.

My current rankings would probably be 1, 5, 3, LAD, 7, 2, 4, 8, 6.

Season 2 is an interesting one for me, I think it’s perhaps the best written season of them all and it also has my favorite individual episode (George Mason’s farewell). But all of the Kim sideplot stuff was a real pain to suffer through and the Marie Warner wedding stuff isn’t that compelling on rewatch.

My rankings are:

5, 1, 7, 2, 3, 4, 8, 6

Don’t know where I’d place LAD yet…hard to tell when we don’t know what the writers have in store for us with the last few episodes.

But I do think LAD has been very strong, probably in the season 2 or 3 range of quality, in my opinion.

S1 – 6/10
S2 – 8/10
S3 – 7/10
S4 – 7/10
S5 – 9/10
S6 – 3/10
S7 – 8/10
S8 – 4/10

So 5 > 2 = 7 > 3 >= 4 > 1 >>> 8 > 6

Kiki Vanderway
June 26, 2014 at 2:21 pm
I like all the George Mason stuff in S2 particularly good was the scene with his son and Xander Berkley delivers lines in such a dead pan manner very fun to watch

My favorite seasons: 3, 5, LAD, 1, 8, 4, 2, 7, 6

Terrific episode this one! Like many others, I thought the throwing out the window stuff was brilliant.

I also share concerns about Chloe. Please don’t let her be killed off, that just wouldn’t be fair, after so many of Jack’s friends have met their end. Besides, next to Jack, she’s always been the best character in the show.

The promo for the next episode is intriguing, as to what role Chloe will be playing. I wish she could get away from this Cross. I can’t help but feel Morris and Prescott are not really dead, and that there is going to be some emotional reunion before the end – wishful thinking maybe.

But as ever, this episode shows Jack always a step ahead of everyone. Is he going to make the connection of Navarro to Cross and warn Chloe?

The build up to the final episodes is really terrific. I think though what’s lacking compared to all the previous seasons is too much crammed into too short a time. That to me was half the fun of earlier seasons, the way the suspense took longer to build.

Can’t wait to see the next one!

Kiki Vanderway
June 25, 2014 at 7:36 pm
But if Morris is alive then she is having an affair with — to quote Mary “a creeptastic traitor” Ewwww. Why? and actually I.think Chloe wouldn’t go that far to save her country or for a cause she believes in.Jack went there with Nina S3 but I can totly see Chloe giving her Chloe face and putting her foot down and not doing it no way no.how

It’s possible that Morris is alive and Chloe doesn’t know he is. If Prescott was really dead and Morris survived. I mean, Carlo Rota is equally good at darker roles than he is as Chloe’s sarcasmic soulmate and to just kill off Morris off-screen and call it a day seems like a total waste. I feel like the ridiculously suspicious-sounding story surrounding Morris’ death leaves plenty of wiggle room for a return appearance but it would seem like something they could hold off for a future day. Chloe and Morris are like extreme versions of Jack and Tony, so a plot involving Morris losing his marbles over Prescott’s death would kind of fit in at some point. I also think if they had just said Prescott had died, we wouldn’t question it as much because killing a child off-screen doesn’t seem as big of a deal as killing off a former major character off-screen.

It seems like Carlo Rota was in London while they were filming the finale but he is British, so who knows if it wasn’t just coincidental. I just really don’t want something like Morris and Prescott have been in hiding under assumed names after their deaths were faked because the Russians were after them and Chloe dies and then Morris shows up in the finale to collect her body or something because omg *sniffles* *grasps the tissue box*…

Stop crying or you’ll have me welling up too (just like when Chloe tears up, can’t help myself!)…

Come here and let Uncle Gerry give you a big… uh, hug ;-)…

Followed quickly by a slap and a restraining order from yourself no doubt, and rightly so!

I’d sic Mandy on you but you’d like it too much.

OK, I’ll play. 4,2,5,7,1,3,6,8. LAD will probably be somewhere between 5 and 7. Not sure. Would love to list the reasons why. Another day.

Quick thought. Audrey choosing Jack = Easier decision for Mark B. to turn Jack over. He’s gonna go bonkers. No more Mr Nice Guy lol.

Kiki Vanderway
June 25, 2014 at 10:59 pm
There are a lot of way to play this game. Instead of rank in order best to worst you can ask

if you were Ina deserted island and could only bring one season of 24 which one would you bring?

For me it would be Season 4 because while it is not the best season it is the most

Kiki Vanderway
June 25, 2014 at 11:09 pm
Oops got away from me….
It’s the most watchable — has everything from romance to great action. It’s also the one with the most humor Carlos Bernard is so awesome and the writers really had a great time writing Tony in this season.
Also has arguably a couple of the most quintessentially 24 hours of the series the one where Jack rescues Heller and Audrey and the one where Chloe is in the field…

I love how Season 4 has one moment that changes the landscape of the series forever. You wouldn’t have Seasons 5-9 if Marwan had not successfully shot down Air Force One.

Season 4 is the only one I can rewatch without feeling like I’m just begging for anti-depressants. Somehow, despite its ending actually being kind of bleak underneath the relatively happy (by 24 standards) ending, I just love it. Like you say, kiki, it’s also the funniest season.

Kiki Vanderway
June 26, 2014 at 5:44 pm
But I guess the vast majority of 24 fans would rather 24 be dark and more frenetic based action oriented because S4 is consistently ranked at the low end of the series and I’m not sure why.

I can tell you why I placed three days ahead of it in my ranking though. 5 and 7 were stand out years where the overall production values were consistently high with plots that mostly made sense and Sean Callery’s work was so so good esp S5 . Season 2 I place above 4 because despite the hot mess of everything Kim related everything else clicked and the cast just brought in every episode….

I like dark. Looooove it. 5, 7, and the IMO super-underrated Day 3 are probably 24’s best seasons, IMO, with Day 1 right in the mix there, as it’s the one that started it all off and is just all-around genius. I find it hard to rank seasons, to be honest, because I like different things in pretty much every season. Day 8 is the season I like the least, despite it being something I’ve wanted for awhile in Jack going a little loopy. It had some things in it that I adored (absolutely everything in the political plotline and even bits of the Dana story, which I found completely hilarious in a meta-happy sort of way) but it didn’t really do it for me overall. Day 6 was either terribly brilliant or a dog chasing its tail for hours on end. Day 2 isn’t given enough credit for how smart it was. Cougar moment aside, the Kim Bauer storyline on Day 2 is almost entirely about the themes of the day more than tied directly into the main plot. It worked better to use Kim in that way when they went back to tying her to rest of the story by putting her at CTU on Day 3 and then only using her when needed afterwards but I don’t think the writers get enough credit for what they were reaching for with Kim on Day 2. It didn’t always work but it when it did, it added meaning to the overall story, if not the immediate plot.

Nobody… and I mean literally nobody ranks day 4 low because it’s not “dark enough”.

Let me give you a clue

Terrorists plan to execute Heller… terrorists plan to melt down nuclear reactors… corporate conspirators use an emp… terrorists plan to shoot down Air Force One… terrorists plan to steal a football… terrorists plan to launch a missile. All in 24 hours? Give me a break! The far superior day 5 had just two plots running through it from beginning to end.

I remember Arnold Vosloo saying he took inspiration from the mugshot of the lead “9/11 hijacker” Mohammad Atta because he conveyed a look that showed “dedication to his cause”. Explains why he turned in such a shit performance because you don’t need to be a tinfoil hat nutjob to realise Atta never did it.

While overall it’s a trainwreck, day 4 has some brilliant character moments and killer lines, and I would agree day 4 has some great humour in it, particularly from Tony. And it easily had the best finale out of them all… unless of course LAD changes that.

XAM dude, when you go off on one, you certainly don’t do it in half measures!

Season 4 remains my favorite season to date (although Season 5 is undoubtedly the best season overall), it may be utterly insane, but it’s insanely good and showstoppingly compelling from beginning to end… but that’s just my opinion.

I think you ARE a “tinfoil hat nutjob” if you don’t believe Atta didn’t do what everyone rightly knows he and eighteen others did, so-called 9/11 Truthers should be taken out back and beaten with a rubber hose, such is the vileness of their beliefs and the pain they cause the families of those killed on that awful day.

I’ll give you a chance (should you want it) to clarify your rather thoughtless and tactless remark, XAM, over to you…

Hmm, think I should have wrote “if you don’t believe Atta DID do it” not didn’t as I mistakenly wrote, just in case of any doubt as to my beliefs and the truth of that subject. He did do it. They all did it. it wasn’t the Federal Government or the CIA the Illuminati or some other crank theory, it was a terrorist atttack and an act of war commited by crazed jihadists… nothing less.

Nah, I’ll just stick to talking about 24 if you don’t mind.

Day 4’s plot is completely bananapants crazy, totally, but that’s part of its fun. It’s really the first season where the plot seems to have grown out of the characters instead of the characters evolving because of the plot and, for that, I love it. It’s satisfying in that so many seasons are about breaking apart characters and relationships but Day 4 is about giving the audience everything they want in returning characters and those characters’ relationships and histories giving the story meaning.

Dearest, sweetest Mary and Kiki, great minds evidently do think alike, glad to know I’m not the only paid member of the Season 4 Appreciation Society…

Oh, and another reason Season 4 rules them all? Yup, you guessed it… MANDY!!!

Kiki Vanderway
June 26, 2014 at 9:44 pm
Oh Gerry I so hope your Mandy dreams are fulfilled somehow! It is interesting that they didn’t plug her in in a later season but they also never elevated her high enough to matter that much…I. wonder if she is in league with Alan Wilson somewhere out there?

Yes it is true that Marwan really had planned an event filled day and maybe XAM has a valid point in noting it tested the limits of what the fan base was willing to accept but I am totally with Mary in that it is part of why the season is so fun.

Mandy is the best. The absolute best. :) I want some twist where Jack is using Mandy as part of a bigger plan, a la Tony & Cara Bowden. Though Tony would probably not be too happy if he found out and then they might have to postpone their honeymoon again and that just would not be a good ending to 24. :)

Perfect Solution: A Mandy/Tony spin-off sitcom!

Imagine the premise; she’s a former hired assassin who just wants a normal life, he’s a former government counter-terrorust agent turned murderer released from the clink, they marry and move into surburbia. Craziness ensues as they try to stop their former colleagues dropping by just as Mandy and Tony have guests round for dinner. And I haven’t even begun with the baby episode (“that’s not talcum powder, it’s weaponized bio-toxin, do you not know the difference Tony?”)

It almost writes itself…

It would be very entertaining though I was suggesting it was Jack that Tony was going to whisk away to some place with beaches and umbrella drinks after Day 9 ;)

Poor Tony is like christ, even in this sitcom joke, some woman is calling me an idiot. *drinks*

:-D

SPOILER ALERT

IMDB list Tzi Ma on the cast list for episodes 10 and 11


Ugh. Not happy about this.

I guess we know now why Audrey will play a big role in the last few episodes…

IMDB is not reliable………I wait for it officially

New West Virginian
June 27, 2014 at 12:46 am
Ah yes BOTH Audrey and Jack will have a lot of personal stuff against Cheng. If Jack can throw Margot out of the window imagine what he will do to Cheng. I’m surprised Jack didn’t kill Cheng at the end of Season 6 after Cheng not only tortured him for 18 months but even took over CTU and killed many agents including Milo. Though I guess Cheng just wanted revenge against Jack because of the consul’s death, the way the Russian embassy guy wants revenge on Jack for Mikhail Novakovich’s death.

An interesting comparison will be Cheng vs Anatol (the name of the Russian embassy dude according to 24 wikia)

IMDB can be updated by anyone. Who’s to say it’s accurate?

Same like Wikipedia…

do you peaple still think we are going to see Tony this season?

*raises hand* I do. :)

Did you notice how in episode 9 Jack referred to Belcheck as ONE of his men?

I did not notice this. Intriguing. Though if Tony returns this way, what’s he been doing all day while Belcheck’s been doing all the work? Getting boozy to MacGyver reruns again? Sneering at Belcheck like he’s Lee Castle 2.0 and trying to move in on the romance? :)

Go Belcheck Go !!!! Love this character !!! best episode so far (and I was not very happy with the 6 and 7 ones)

New West Virginian
June 26, 2014 at 11:15 am
They should have done more with Belchek. We don’t know anything about him or his past with Jack!

He should have his own spin-off!! Belcheck. One word. Like Madonna.

I do that all the time, Kiki V. If I could only watch one for the rest of my life, it would be 4 for me as well. 2 lists pretty high with me, Kim’s ridiculous side quests notwithstanding.

If
Tzi Ma
returns, that’ll suck. Seen enough of him. He is an interesting character, and a good actor….but enough’s enough. Although, I have whined before about not enough old characters returning. It might work. Might change my screen name to wishy-washy. Or not.

Sorry, forgot to block out Tzi Ma’s name. At least it’s not confirmed.

New West Virginian
June 26, 2014 at 11:16 am
I don’t think Jack can have a very physical mano a mano showdown with Cheng if there is one it will probably be like the ones with Margot or Drazen. Maybe Jack will have a big fight with Adrian. Hopefully that happens. The Jack-Fayed showdown was the best.

I love Dark!Jack as much as the next person but I’m getting a little over the Fayed moments. We just had a similar one with Margot. Bring on a character who can really help him get back to himself a little bit. Tony and Kim, please. :)

Again, Adrian strikes me as more of a cerebral villain than one capable of battering the fuck out of Jack.

Adrian’s accomplice Steve Navarro on the other hand potentially could

or his other government hating accomplice…

Tony Al
fucking
meida
.

Who by the way is still sporting the
classic Tony/evil Tony
look.

https://twitter.com/meagantandy/status/482254664562274304/photo/1

Yeah, Tony hated the government so much that he outed hundreds of government moles and tipped off the FBI to what turned out to be the White House attack so they could save the President. Tony presented as anti-government when someone was watching (FBI interrogation room & with Cara Bowden) and he for sure wasn’t too happy that he spent his life working for a government that had fucked him over but he wasn’t actually anti-government. He believed in the system of government enough to try to fix it and his main goal was really the Alan Wilsons behind all the corruption within it.

It’s a different belief system than Open Cell. It’s arguable that Chloe doesn’t really buy into Open Cell’s philosophy in the first place but what she’s done since being a part of them (releasing tens of thousands of classified government files) is a totally different kind of angry at the government than you’ve seen Tony (or even Jack, to a point) exhibit so far. Jack and Tony are more politically in line with one another, in that they both fundamentally believe in the U.S. government and just try to rid it of its corruption. Adrian Cross and Open Cell are anti-government. It’s a different animal. It’s actively working against any kind of government entity, which I don’t think Chloe fundamentally believes is right. It seems more like she’s just looking for a way to express her pain over what’s happened to her as a result of working for the government than anything else.

Kiki Vanderway
June 26, 2014 at 9:50 pm
Or another game I play (I am such a geek) is if I could only have 24 episodes from anywhere what would they be?

oooh what would yours be? :)

Kiki Vanderway
June 28, 2014 at 9:17 am
Having to pick only 24 hours out of 8 (now 9) seasons is very difficult.

I can get it down to 40 and then I am forced to make some very hard choices and jettison the fun of choosing anchor and exit episodes around a particularly good arc for the sake of a stand alone one that is stronger. I will say this though, if forced to cull down to only 24, no episode from Season 1 or 8 makes my list.

You try tell me what happens.

1x07
1x08
1x10
1x24
2x15
3x18
3x22
4x06
4x24
5x01
5x09
5x10
5x12
5x13
5x16
5x18
5x24
6x17
7x14
7x18
8x22
9x07
9x08
9x09

Like I said before, those last 3 eps of LAD are without doubt some of the best they’ve ever done.

Not that I have anything against 1x10, but I really meant to put 1x11 – the episode in the Limo.

Great list, Xam. Very close to what I’d choose, I think. I was glad to see 6x17 in that list. David Fury wrote that one, and it was probably the best in all of Season 6.

Kiki Vanderway
June 28, 2014 at 12:20 pm
2-5
2-6
2-15
2-22
3-13
4-6
4-8
4-19
4-22
4-23
4-24
5-1
5-2
5-3
5-4
5-15
5-24
6-1
6-2
7-1
7-6
7-17
7-18
7-19

Kiki sweetie, no episodes from Seasons 1 or 8? How about the Ted Coffel interrogation episode in S1 and the episode in S8 where Jack takes down Logan’s motorcade single-handedly… those two episodes woild be among the first on the list for me!

I don’t rate individual episodes of ’24’ because they’re not isolated stories, I rate each season in totality, as a singular whole, and I don’t play the which-season-is-best game either, it’s about whether each respective season works in and of itself, and with the lamentable exception of Season 6 (which had 11 genuinely great episodes in all, but the rest were decidedly *meh*), all the ’24’ seasons worked darn well on their own terms… as has ‘Live Another day’ thus far thankfully!

Which 11 are you referring to, Gerry? I’m genuinely curious. :)

Ohhh, it’s been a while, let me recollect…

The first eight episodes, ending with Jack’s rescue of Morris and defusing the suitcase nuke left by Fayed to cover his getaway.

The Charles Logan/Martha Logan/Russian consulate episodes, IIRC it was episodes 10, 11, and 12 but don’t quote me on that.

Episode 17 where Jack ultimately trails Fayed back to his layer and does what Jack does best (“damn, Jack”).

And the final episode; a fantastic oil rig sequence, a brilliantly haunting score from Sean Callery, and the single best ending and scene (both the exact same scene) of any ’24’ to date.

So what’s that, thirteen episodes in all? Okay, more than I thought or remembered…

Kiki Vanderway
June 29, 2014 at 9:31 am
Gerry it’s an Eric Clapton morning in my house so I’ll say “Before You Accuse Me Take A Look AtYourself”

I know I omitted all S1 and S8 but You try it see what happens–

you have to make choices and until you force yourself to do it you can’t judge someone else’s list

it’s interesting whether you will keep a group in a row or selectively pick individual ones that stand out..

I could never separate S5 1-4 because its great all together same with the last three of S4 but I didn’t have enough picks left to allow S6 1-4 so I had to just pick the first two –I just couldn’t leave out “drop the coffee”

Dearest Kiki, forgive me if I sounded like I was judging your choices, I was not and did not intend my post to give that impression, sincerest and humblest apologies…

… and I’m more Fleetwood Mac than Eric Clapton, but that might have something to do with my minor Stevie Nicks obsession, haha!

The music’s pretty great too…

Kiki Vanderway
June 29, 2014 at 10:27 pm
In that case:

Finally the truth has been told, now you tell me I’m crazy, its nothing I didn’t know….

(or if I can change the lyrics “now you tell me I’m defensive…..”)

Go your own way, Kiki sweetie, go your own way…

I am beginning to wonder about the override device. I think Adrian knew about it from the beginning. I reckon he was involved in some way with Margot. After all it was his man Yates who developed the override. Is it also possible that Yates double crossed Adrian as margot offered more money or that cross was the one planning to sell it to her. Like Yates worked for opencell. Also Adrian knew a lot more about the tech than he should suggesting the info that was sold and Kate’s husband was dreamed for was information regarding this tech and the infrastructure of the defence systems as it was said they all share a common thread

Agreed that Adrian knew about it from the beginning.

Now THAT’S interesting!!!

Remember Yates talking about Heller being killed by a drone during his “whole world going to hell” speech?

Now how on earth would he know this would happen as someone simply selling the device? It’s not like Margot would openly tell Yates of her plan to kill Heller. It would be like buying a gun or a hammer and telling the person selling it to you that you plan to kill the mother in law.

It’s like a mirror image of Nina’s employers wanting Palmer dead, but letting the Drazens do all the work. Margot wanted Heller dead, but so does Cross and the people he works for… not Open Cell,
but the people who want to start a war with China.
Yeah, it all makes sense now! IF Margot had succeeded in killing Heller, no doubt Cross would have released information
framing the Chinese for the assassination.


With all this in mind, I think Heller is STILL not safe.

Good GOD I hope Max/Trepkos or Wilson is behind all this.

I’m getting nearly as good as Mary at this crazy theory thing.

You’re totally right that what Yates knew is important, IMO.

Thumbs up, man. Crazy Theory Stamp of Approval. :)

What’s also interesting and what I think is being overlooked is how Chloe got Adrian to help them by saying “I think I have a way to find the device”

This implies she at least has some part in Adrian’s plans.

I’m not saying I like this direction at all, but its food for thought

A Navarro Theory for anyone who might care. :)

So, the writers were saying that they’re doing something different with Steve Navarro, a bad guy we haven’t really seen before, and either they’re just trying to make it sound interesting or we don’t know the full story yet. Right now, Navarro seems like a cut and dry kind of mole. He sells secrets to the Chinese for money. That’s it. Except that kind of can’t be it because not only is it kind of boring, it doesn’t really seem to fit into anything. Navarro isn’t in the middle of the override storyline, despite being the one to have it. He didn’t want it, the Chinese never told him to get it, and Navarro’s story is really the Adam Morgan story. Whatever is going on with Navarro has to be the big backstory piece that they’re going to give Kate Morgan, the potential new protagonist of the show. Her husband dying so Navarro could line his pockets is… not terribly exciting. It almost seems inevitable that Kate Morgan’s backstory has to cross into Jack’s story and maybe it looks something like this…

Steve Navarro is a spy for the Chinese… on behalf of the Russian Federation. The Chinese think he’s a dirty American agent and pay him for intelligence he passes on through Cross, unaware that the intelligence is filtered by the Russians, who have Navarro send stuff to the Chinese that is in the best interest of the Russians. So, Navarro’s in the middle of a kind of misinformation campaign between China and the Russian Federation. He appears to be a spy for the Chinese but he’s really a Russian spy and Cross may or may not know the full story. But the interesting point would be *why* Navarro is doing this.

Navarro’s reaction to seeing Jack on the drone camera in the premiere was “ugh, it’s him, oh god FML” instead of “oh awesome, we’re going to get this guy and I’ll get a huge promotion!” He decides to disobey orders from the White House to first try to figure out why Jack was in London and freaks out when Kate comes into the room and suggests that Jack wanted to get caught because he was coming for someone in the building. Navarro absolutely loses it with Kate at that moment because he thought Jack was coming *for him*. He didn’t know Chloe was in Special Activities, he thought Jack wanted to get caught because he found out whatever it is that Navarro was doing and was coming after him. *Why?* These guys apparently never met until the premiere, as Steve introduces himself when he comes into the room. Why would Navarro get extremely nervous at the sight of Jack and the idea that Jack might be coming after him?

What about the other clue in the premiere– the Kim comment? We see Jack’s personnel file several times on camera during the premiere and nowhere in there does it mention that Kim had another baby. Better yet, this then doesn’t add up with what Chloe tells Jack an hour later about her husband and son being murdered as a result of what she knew. Why are Morris and Prescott dead but Kim is alive? How does Navarro know personal details about Jack’s family?

How about on a day when we have a recurring theme of in-laws already, we get one more: Steve Navarro is Kim’s father-in-law. His son is Kim’s husband. He knows about Little Teri’s new little brother because Jack’s grandkids are his grandkids, too. Following Day 8, he struck a deal with the Russians to do whatever the hell they asked of him in order to keep his family safe. And he’s done terrible, terrible things to keep them safe, including framing and killing Adam Morgan. This would also explain how Navarro’s less an evil mastermind and more just a really terrible mole. He doesn’t seem completely heartless. He teared up when he thought Heller was dead, he hesitated about Jordan because he was just a kid, and he seems more guilty over Kate than lacking in remorse. He’s still, uh, a pretty awful human being but he doesn’t come off as a calculating sociopath so much as someone kind of flying by the seat of his pants in a situation in which he’s been over his head from the start. It would also mean then that Kate Morgan’s husband died, ultimately, for Jack’s family, which connects their stories together in kind of an interesting way.

Kiki Vanderway
June 26, 2014 at 11:24 pm
Whew! Come up for air Mary!– I was with until Morris/Kim thing and the Navarro is Kim’s father in law part. I can buy the double redouble cross of China and the Russians.

I never took Chloe’s story at face value I– like Jack –am not sure they were killed in a conspiracy theory slaying because it doesn’t make sense but bear in mind Chloe thinks they were gunning for her and Morris was in the wrong place at the wrong time so no one was ever after him or the kid and no one is after Kim on that basis either. Personnel files are routinely updated as are profiles of the most wanted I think it’s plausible they would update for new kids and grandkids.

*surfaces and breathes* :) I’m not sure about Chloe’s story being something we should take at face value, either, but if you do, then it raises questions about why her family targeted and not Jack’s family. Could be something, could be nothing.

I would think it plausible that they’d update the files except that they didn’t on the show. We saw the file a couple of times on-screen and it wasn’t updated. Kim’s husband is also named Steve (Stephen/Steve, he’s been called both) and doesn’t yet have a last name, so it’s kind of possible that he might be his kid. Or at least the guy who raised him. It’s out there, yeah, but it does tie some stuff together, and if this is the end of Jack’s story, I think it might come down to his family as a focus. Even if it’s not, family has been a focus of all the other plots so far today, so maybe it’s plausible. *shrug*

Mary, that is brilliant. Crazy, but brilliant. I’ll be legitimately disappointed if none of this come to fruition. It’s hard more to comprehend how all of this will be wrapped in a mere three episodes.

I am a little suspicious of Chloe’s story too. At least, there were questions that I was surprised Jack didn’t ask her, like how she knew that that was the reason she was targeted, and was she ever targeted again? Who does she think targeted her? And wasn’t she supposed to expose that information right away? How is it that it was kept secret when she and President Taylor promised to expose it?

I don’t think the fact that Kim wasn’t targeted means much, since Kim didn’t know what Chloe knew.

I think open cell is funded by China……..no way the hacker could afford the equipment and resources on their own………I bet the member beside Cross do not know the true extent of Open cell as a way to go after US secrets for Chinese government and make them look bad. I think Open Cell will shutdown at the end when the other hackers find out their goals is something worse than exposing secrets and work with the CIA to stop the threat in exchange for immunity from prosecution

It wouldn’t surprise me if there are Chinese funds in Open Cell. Wouldn’t surprise me if there are funds from other governments/individuals funding it too. Adrian could be facilitating the sale of information all over the place and taking a cut of the payment as his middleman fee. Maybe the Russians wanted to do business with him but the information they want, Chloe knows, so that’s why Cross sunk his claws into her.

As to your other point of the Open Cellers switching to help the CIA in exchange for immunity, I’d quite like that. A gang of superhackers rising up to take down their evil former leader, him causing havoc on one end and them on the other trying to block his every move until the device can be destroyed. I’d rather Cross end up dead, but if he just gets arrested, Open Cellers could also be offered immunity if they surrender all their information and agree to testify against him. Not that I have any particular care for the majority of Open Cellers, but some sort of group immunity deal would include Chloe, and I need for her to not end up in jail (or dead), plz and thank you.

That was the
second time the writers faked Hellers death


I don’t think you need to use spoiler tags here if the episode already aired in the US. Am I right?

For people who are currently watching that season on netflix and the main reason was I wanted to try out the spoiler box

Not to sound racist, but it was obvious when half of the stunt guys in Jon Cassars finale snaps were Chinese.

Some awesome news on the ratings front: the 30 day “multi platform” ratings for episode 3 was 15.6 million across all platforms. That’s an 87% increase over live viewers. People are watching 24, just not in the traditional way anymore. I wonder if this increases the chances of 24 coming back again next year or in the future.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/06/27/family-guy-finale-24-live-another-day-top-foxs-thirty-day-multi-platform-ratings/277617/

That’s quite the significant increase! Even though networks measure those “+” ratings now days, it’s still the live numbers that carry the most weight because those are the only ones advertisers care about and the networks need advertiser dollars. Those +30 numbers suggest that there’s a decent market for the dvd though, so I’d guess Fox would take that into consideration when deciding if it’s financially viable to commit to more seasons in the future.

I Love this show! I don’t have any speculations about what is going to happen, I just love the element of surprise! They must bring this show back next year! I work 2nd shift and I can’t wait to get home to watch it on my DVDR. I love Chloe and Jack! I have all of the previous 8 seasons of 24 which I have watched several times (I had abdominal surgery last year and was out of work for 3 months). Thanks for such an entertaining, nail biting, sitting on the edge of your seat, while yelling at the tv..love love love it.

Does anyone know yet if the finale is a 2 hour show

JackBauerFan1977
June 30, 2014 at 4:00 am
If the finale was a two hour episode, I truly believe that several weeks ago, every fan of 24 would had already been alerted about it being a two hour episode. So, I think that the finale will run for just an hour.

With no time jump having happened and only three episode remaining (with the next episode obviously taking place immediately after last week’s), is anyone beginning to get the suspicion that maybe this is going to be a full 24-episode season after all? I don’t know why I think that…but I have for a while. And I think it would be awesome. String everyone along with this whole 12-episode premise and build the anticipation for the entire first half of the season for this big ending…and then reveal at the last minute that there are still 12 episodes to go. They could be keeping the second half of the season completely under wraps – and just snapped a few “end of shoot” pics as window dressing.

I really hope that Audrey can stay with jack at the end of this day…

And finally for the first time (ever) we can have a “good” ending for both….

Me too! But I am trying very hard not to get my hopes up.

So according to the episode 10 behind the scenes it looks like
Navarro survives and gets back to CIA but wounded


I think we will have a silent clock in next episode for Chloe

I always love ranking the seasons!

5 >>>>> 2 > 3 = 1 > 7 >> 4 >>>> 8 > 6

So far, I’d put LAD in the 3-1-7 range. The past three episodes have been awesome.