Monday, May 21, 2007
"Get the kid Jack." 5am-6am
Here we are, the last hour in a very. long. day.
Josh arrives at the oil rig and his crazy grandfather is there to meet him. Josh is visibly shaken and unwilling to be the obedient grandson. He tells Phillip he doesn't want to go anywhere with him but Phillip isn't standing for any lip and tells him he will do as he's told whether he likes it or not (and get off his lawn while you're at it!)
Cheng is nearby and tells Phillip that the submarine is on schedule to rendez-vous with them in 30 minutes. When you think about it, it's actually been quite the exciting night for young Joshua. If he wasn't a pawn in his whacked out grandpappy's little power trip he might actually sort of enjoy riding in a submarine.
Back on the beach, Jack looks on as the trauma team evacuates Doyle. At CTU, a doc tells Morris that Chloe's vitals are strong and she's in no immediate danger. Morris asks why she fainted and the doctor tells him it's probably due to dehydration and exhaustion. But you know, I bet she's preggers. We'll see...
Chloe wakes up and tells Morris she's fine but he won't leave her side. She tells him that if he wants to help her feel better, he'll go help find Phillip Bauer. Reluctantly, he agrees and heads back to the floor. Nadia pinpoints a decommissioned rig and Morris runs a thermal scan on it and they discover it's the right rig. Nadia hurries off to inform the White House where everyone has gathered to discuss tactical options against the Russians.
Lennox tells the room CTU has located Phillip Bauer on the oil rig and one of Daniels' men (not sure if he's a cabinet member or what, all I know is he was the asshole prison warden in Shawshank Redemption) recommends sending in 2 F-18s to just obliterate the rig and everyone on it. Lennox is actually aghast at this plan and reminds Daniels that Josh is on the rig - a young boy. He pushes for the surgical strike by an assault team rather than obliteration by the F-18s (speaking of F-18s, we just had a couple of those suckers in my town here over the weekend. Those are some sweet rides. Loud though.) Predictably, Daniels orders the F-18s in immediately, stating the whole 'needs of the many' routine.
Back to the beach again, Doyle's being loaded into an emergency vehicle and Jack tells him he's gonna be all right.
"Jack I'm sorry." Doyle says.
"You were following your orders."
"Get the kid. Get the kid Jack."
"I will."
That was amazing.
Nadia calls Jack to tell him they found the rig and about F-18 strike happening in under 30 minutes. She orders both Jack and Bill back to CTU for a debrief. Jack doesn't answer her right away and then says, "Fine." But I highly doubt Jack's about to just give up on Josh and go be debriefed. Jack eyes a nearby chopper and Bill half-heartedly tries to talk him out of it after learning of the air strike. Jack tells him he's going to take it because Josh is not an 'acceptable loss.'
Bill tells him, "I'll fly." Right on! It is so awesome to see Bill in the field! I think Jack's proud and happy to go into this with Bill by his side. They walk over to the nearest SUV and begin loading up on weapons. They get in the chopper and quickly take it over. With Bill at the controls, they head for the oil rig.
In Washington, Daniels begins his dance with Suvarov to try and get him to hold off on his imminent attack by explaining the latest development. Suvarov, during the call, receives word that a transmission was intercepted from a Chinese submarine that confirms what Daniels is trying to tell him. Daniels offers a realtime uplink to the mission and Suvarov tells Daniels that nothing less than the complete destruction of the oil platform will suffice as proof the circuit board has been destroyed.
At CTU Jack and Bill put pressure on Nadia to grant them access to a satellite feed of the platform so they can go in knowing what they're up against. Nadia agrees to help them despite the inevitable repercussions.
As Jack and Bill race the F-18s to the rig they make their desperate plans to go in low and try to surprise them. Aboard the rig, Cheng's men spot the chopper moving in. Cheng tells Phillip they need to get into a boat and head west. The boat has a beacon transmitting to the sub. He hands the circuit board back over to Phillip and goes off to his men to take care of the chopper.
Jack and Bill rise up as they approach the rig and Jack takes out the few men guarding the landing pad. Bill lands the chopper and Jack's off, guns a-blazing. Bill's close behind. Jack's hitting a bunch of stuff that blows up and takes out more of Cheng's men until he finally comes upon Cheng himself who's taken a hit. Jack demands to know where Josh is but all Cheng will yell is "You're too late!"
Jack orders Bill to get Cheng to the chopper while he goes off to see for himself if Josh is still on the platform.
He is indeed still on the rig but he and Phillip are making their way to whatever boat Cheng sent them to. But Josh can't take anymore of this and he begins resisting Phillip. He pulls away each time Phillip takes his arm. He tries to clock Phillip but the old fox is too quick. In a stone cold voice he tells Josh that he needs to learn to control his emotions, that he must never allow his emotions to control him. Trying to keep from sobbing, Josh nods and lets Phillip pull him along.
Jack continues to make his way down the rig, taking out flunkies as he goes. But time is running out. The F-18s are four minutes out. Meanwhile Josh and Phillip arrive at the mini-dock. And then that brave boy clocks Phillip something fierce, grabs a gun and now he's got a bit of an upper hand. Phillip doesn't believe Josh will shoot him and in a tone reminiscent of sending a toddler to a time-out, he tells him to hand over the gun.
But Josh refuses, telling him that as long as he's alive, Josh and his mother will never be safe. Phillip tries his twisted reasoning on the boy again but it only enrages him further When Phillip gets too close Josh shoots him near his right shoulder, knocking him back and rendering him incapable of trying to force the gun away. As Josh moves in, full of anger, to shoot again Jack arrives and tells him to lower the gun. But Josh is having a hard time getting past the point of no return. He's so pissed.
Jack talks him down from it though, telling him he wont want to live with the pain of taking another human being's life. The news about the F-18 attack though is what seems to spur Josh's decision to lower his gun. Jack tells him to run up to the top of the platform and get in the waiting chopper. He says he'll be right behind him. Josh hurries up the stairs.
With an icy stare, Jack looks at Phillip. "Get up. Get up it's over!" he cries.
"Then finish it." his father replies.
With such a look of anguish and pain on his face, Jack says, his voice breaking, "No. You are gonna be held accountable for what you have done today."
"I don't think so. You don't have time to carry me. Not if what you said about the airstrike is true. And you don't want to die. Not here. Not with me."
Jack lowers his weapon. His brow furrowed, tears forming, "You're gonna get off easy."
With a last look at his father, Jack races up the stairs leaving Phillip on the dock.
Bill is updated and told the strike team is 90 seconds away. Josh comes running up and tells Bill that Jack is with his father. Bill tells him to get in the chopper. The F-18s are given the order to go ahead. Bill is forced to take off but he tells Jack to meet him on the south side, level three. The missiles are launched. Jack stands on a rail looking towards the chopper. He leaps for the rope ladder dangling from the chopper and hangs on tight. As Bill pulls away the platform is hit by the missiles and destroyed. Man that was a bit of a nail-biter.
The White House and Suvarov watch and confirm that the rig has been destroyed. Suvarov tells Daniels he is satisfied that the circuit board has been destroyed and he will order the withdrawal of all troops and stand down. The two leaders commiserate a little on the events of the day (with Suvarov extending his best wishes on the recovery of President Palmer. Hehehe.) and the crisis is averted.
We move back to the chopper and Jack, still hanging on to that rope ladder, poor guy. As they near the shore, Jack lets go and drops into the water. He makes his way to the beach, man-purse still in tact, (and sorry - mmmmm wet Jack) Jack waves Bill off. Understanding, Bill and Josh head back to CTU.
"We have to go back for him!" cries Josh.
"Jack's not ready to go back yet." he tells him.
Meanwhile, Daniels accepts congrats from folk as he and Lennox make their way to the Oval. Despite being told that all he wants to do is sleep, Lennox insists on getting Daniels to deal with Karen and Bill. He wants Daniels to let them retire with their reputations in tact so that some semblance of trust can be maintained with the American people. Probably because he's victorious, Daniels agrees. Grateful, Lennox leaves to attend to Karen and in a final gesture, he leaves behind the digi recording he had of Daniels agreeing to perjury.
At CTU, Morris checks in on Chloe. And, hehe I was right. She's pregnant. This was a lovely little moment. Even Chloe thought so. "You know," she interrupts as Morris is about to say something, "this is a nice moment. Let's not ruin it by saying something stupid." Hee!
In Washington, Lennox drops by Karen's cell to tell her the good news. She and Bill are pardoned and are free to live their lives without fear of prosecution. Smiling with relief, she tells Lennox she knows he had a hand in it and she offers her hand in gratitude. He shakes it and tells her he actually think he'll miss her. "Really?" she asks. "I can answer that better when you're gone." he replies, chuckling. She laughs in response and walks out a free woman.
Bill and Josh arrive at CTU. Josh runs off into the waiting arms of his mother and Cheng, broken and bleeding, is led off to be interrogated and hopefully tortured a little. Cheng's parting shot though is to tell Bill that his people will not abandon him like we abandoned Jack Bauer. "Get him out of here." Bill says.
Going over to Nadia, Bill tells her that she did good work today. Th compliment means a lot to her, coming from him. But then, puzzled, she looks around for Jack. But Bill tells her he fell off the ladder and made it to shore. He doesn't want to be found. He tells Nadia to let him go.
Leaving CTU, we find ourselves looking at Heller. He's talking to someone on the phone about Audrey. As he hangs up, he hears a noise. Slowly he reaches for the phone but then Jack steps into the room and tels him to put it down. He's still wet and glistening from the water. Heller asks if Jack is there to kill him.
"That depends. Where's Audrey?"
"I told you you're not getting anywhere near -"
"YOU DO NOT TELL ME WHAT TO DO ANYMORE!" Jack screams, raising his gun and pointing at Heller's head. He tells Heller that he just watched his father die and he felt nothing. He says his own father was dead to him years ago. But he looked up to Heller. Heller was the kind of man Jack wanted to be. But Heller took advantage of that.
Thus begins Jack extremely cathartic rant which I reproduce in full here because it's so fecking amazing:
"Earlier today you said that I was cursed. That anyone I touched ended up dead or ruined. How dare you. How... dare you. The only thing I did, the only thing I have EVER done is what you and people like you have asked of me. Why didn't you try to get me out of China?"
"I did try - "
"NOT HARD ENOUGH! You had the political power. Was the timing not right? Was it a little to complicated? Or was I just an acceptable loss?"
"Jack I understand you're angr-"
"SHUT UP!" Jack raises the gun to Heller's head again. "You don't understand a thing about me. But I know you. I know why you're angry at me. And it wasn't because Audrey went to China to save me. It was because when you told her NOT to, she did it anyway. You'll never understand that kind of commitment. That kind of loyalty."
"You're right Jack. It wasn't fair of me to put all this on you, to blame you for what happened to Audrey. I know the sacrifices you made. I know this country owes you more than it'll ever repay."
"I'm not interested in what you think this country owes me. I want my life back. And I want it now. Audrey's all I've got and you can't stop me. In case you've forgotten, I'm very good at disappearing. And if you try sending someone after us I'll kill 'em. Pretty good at that too."
"Simply getting your life back Jack isn't gonna change who you are. And you can't walk away from it. You know that. You've tried it. Sooner or later you're gonna get back in the game and my daughter's gonna pay the price - like your wife did."
"You son of a bitch." Jack starts backing away, disgust all over his face at those hurtful words.
"Jack I beg you to stop for a moment and THINK. Think Jack. You won't be able to take care of her the way you want to."
Shaking his head, exhaustion beginning to creep up on him, Jack asks, "Where is she? Take me to her now."
Heller leads Jack to Audrey's room where she's asleep. He takes her hand. "It's me... I'm here..." But she doesn't wake up. Sadness and resignation in his voice, he quietly tells her, "I know that I promised to take care of you and protect you. But I'm at a crossroads. Right now the best way.... the only way to do that is to let you go. I hope one day you can understand that. I hope one day you can forgive me. ..." Jack looks at her one more time... "I love you with all my heart." He leans forward and places a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I always will."
Mustering the very last reserves of his strength, Jack Bauer gets up and walks away from her. Letting her go.
He leaves Heller's home out the back way and walks to the edge of the property, his gun still in his hand. He stares out at the ocean, looks down the cliff where the waves break against the rock... A last look on Jack's face, and the scene fades away to the silent clock.
Guh! Just... guh! Hands up if you thought he was contemplating suicide. I know I did. Then again I know Kiefer Sutherland is signed on for two more years which takes a bit of the impact of that powerful scene off I guess but if you can let that fun factoid go, man what a super ending. I enjoyed the wrapping up of everything. They took their time with it and we got a lot of good closure tonight.
So that's it kids. No more recapping until next season. My fingers are doing a happy dance but I'll miss it for sure. Maybe I can find some other show to recap in the meantime. Who knows :) But I'll be writing up a sort of season overview/review sometime this week or weekend (depends I'm busy at the paper this week - I'm learning how to produce newscasts so wheee!) so please come back and check it out if your are so inclined. And I'll do what I can to keep the site interesting during the long wait for Season 7 :)
Goodnight guys, and thanks for watching the show with me! It's been a great ride.
Josh arrives at the oil rig and his crazy grandfather is there to meet him. Josh is visibly shaken and unwilling to be the obedient grandson. He tells Phillip he doesn't want to go anywhere with him but Phillip isn't standing for any lip and tells him he will do as he's told whether he likes it or not (and get off his lawn while you're at it!)
Cheng is nearby and tells Phillip that the submarine is on schedule to rendez-vous with them in 30 minutes. When you think about it, it's actually been quite the exciting night for young Joshua. If he wasn't a pawn in his whacked out grandpappy's little power trip he might actually sort of enjoy riding in a submarine.
Back on the beach, Jack looks on as the trauma team evacuates Doyle. At CTU, a doc tells Morris that Chloe's vitals are strong and she's in no immediate danger. Morris asks why she fainted and the doctor tells him it's probably due to dehydration and exhaustion. But you know, I bet she's preggers. We'll see...
Chloe wakes up and tells Morris she's fine but he won't leave her side. She tells him that if he wants to help her feel better, he'll go help find Phillip Bauer. Reluctantly, he agrees and heads back to the floor. Nadia pinpoints a decommissioned rig and Morris runs a thermal scan on it and they discover it's the right rig. Nadia hurries off to inform the White House where everyone has gathered to discuss tactical options against the Russians.
Lennox tells the room CTU has located Phillip Bauer on the oil rig and one of Daniels' men (not sure if he's a cabinet member or what, all I know is he was the asshole prison warden in Shawshank Redemption) recommends sending in 2 F-18s to just obliterate the rig and everyone on it. Lennox is actually aghast at this plan and reminds Daniels that Josh is on the rig - a young boy. He pushes for the surgical strike by an assault team rather than obliteration by the F-18s (speaking of F-18s, we just had a couple of those suckers in my town here over the weekend. Those are some sweet rides. Loud though.) Predictably, Daniels orders the F-18s in immediately, stating the whole 'needs of the many' routine.
Back to the beach again, Doyle's being loaded into an emergency vehicle and Jack tells him he's gonna be all right.
"Jack I'm sorry." Doyle says.
"You were following your orders."
"Get the kid. Get the kid Jack."
"I will."
That was amazing.
Nadia calls Jack to tell him they found the rig and about F-18 strike happening in under 30 minutes. She orders both Jack and Bill back to CTU for a debrief. Jack doesn't answer her right away and then says, "Fine." But I highly doubt Jack's about to just give up on Josh and go be debriefed. Jack eyes a nearby chopper and Bill half-heartedly tries to talk him out of it after learning of the air strike. Jack tells him he's going to take it because Josh is not an 'acceptable loss.'
Bill tells him, "I'll fly." Right on! It is so awesome to see Bill in the field! I think Jack's proud and happy to go into this with Bill by his side. They walk over to the nearest SUV and begin loading up on weapons. They get in the chopper and quickly take it over. With Bill at the controls, they head for the oil rig.
In Washington, Daniels begins his dance with Suvarov to try and get him to hold off on his imminent attack by explaining the latest development. Suvarov, during the call, receives word that a transmission was intercepted from a Chinese submarine that confirms what Daniels is trying to tell him. Daniels offers a realtime uplink to the mission and Suvarov tells Daniels that nothing less than the complete destruction of the oil platform will suffice as proof the circuit board has been destroyed.
At CTU Jack and Bill put pressure on Nadia to grant them access to a satellite feed of the platform so they can go in knowing what they're up against. Nadia agrees to help them despite the inevitable repercussions.
As Jack and Bill race the F-18s to the rig they make their desperate plans to go in low and try to surprise them. Aboard the rig, Cheng's men spot the chopper moving in. Cheng tells Phillip they need to get into a boat and head west. The boat has a beacon transmitting to the sub. He hands the circuit board back over to Phillip and goes off to his men to take care of the chopper.
Jack and Bill rise up as they approach the rig and Jack takes out the few men guarding the landing pad. Bill lands the chopper and Jack's off, guns a-blazing. Bill's close behind. Jack's hitting a bunch of stuff that blows up and takes out more of Cheng's men until he finally comes upon Cheng himself who's taken a hit. Jack demands to know where Josh is but all Cheng will yell is "You're too late!"
Jack orders Bill to get Cheng to the chopper while he goes off to see for himself if Josh is still on the platform.
He is indeed still on the rig but he and Phillip are making their way to whatever boat Cheng sent them to. But Josh can't take anymore of this and he begins resisting Phillip. He pulls away each time Phillip takes his arm. He tries to clock Phillip but the old fox is too quick. In a stone cold voice he tells Josh that he needs to learn to control his emotions, that he must never allow his emotions to control him. Trying to keep from sobbing, Josh nods and lets Phillip pull him along.
Jack continues to make his way down the rig, taking out flunkies as he goes. But time is running out. The F-18s are four minutes out. Meanwhile Josh and Phillip arrive at the mini-dock. And then that brave boy clocks Phillip something fierce, grabs a gun and now he's got a bit of an upper hand. Phillip doesn't believe Josh will shoot him and in a tone reminiscent of sending a toddler to a time-out, he tells him to hand over the gun.
But Josh refuses, telling him that as long as he's alive, Josh and his mother will never be safe. Phillip tries his twisted reasoning on the boy again but it only enrages him further When Phillip gets too close Josh shoots him near his right shoulder, knocking him back and rendering him incapable of trying to force the gun away. As Josh moves in, full of anger, to shoot again Jack arrives and tells him to lower the gun. But Josh is having a hard time getting past the point of no return. He's so pissed.
Jack talks him down from it though, telling him he wont want to live with the pain of taking another human being's life. The news about the F-18 attack though is what seems to spur Josh's decision to lower his gun. Jack tells him to run up to the top of the platform and get in the waiting chopper. He says he'll be right behind him. Josh hurries up the stairs.
With an icy stare, Jack looks at Phillip. "Get up. Get up it's over!" he cries.
"Then finish it." his father replies.
With such a look of anguish and pain on his face, Jack says, his voice breaking, "No. You are gonna be held accountable for what you have done today."
"I don't think so. You don't have time to carry me. Not if what you said about the airstrike is true. And you don't want to die. Not here. Not with me."
Jack lowers his weapon. His brow furrowed, tears forming, "You're gonna get off easy."
With a last look at his father, Jack races up the stairs leaving Phillip on the dock.
Bill is updated and told the strike team is 90 seconds away. Josh comes running up and tells Bill that Jack is with his father. Bill tells him to get in the chopper. The F-18s are given the order to go ahead. Bill is forced to take off but he tells Jack to meet him on the south side, level three. The missiles are launched. Jack stands on a rail looking towards the chopper. He leaps for the rope ladder dangling from the chopper and hangs on tight. As Bill pulls away the platform is hit by the missiles and destroyed. Man that was a bit of a nail-biter.
The White House and Suvarov watch and confirm that the rig has been destroyed. Suvarov tells Daniels he is satisfied that the circuit board has been destroyed and he will order the withdrawal of all troops and stand down. The two leaders commiserate a little on the events of the day (with Suvarov extending his best wishes on the recovery of President Palmer. Hehehe.) and the crisis is averted.
We move back to the chopper and Jack, still hanging on to that rope ladder, poor guy. As they near the shore, Jack lets go and drops into the water. He makes his way to the beach, man-purse still in tact, (and sorry - mmmmm wet Jack) Jack waves Bill off. Understanding, Bill and Josh head back to CTU.
"We have to go back for him!" cries Josh.
"Jack's not ready to go back yet." he tells him.
Meanwhile, Daniels accepts congrats from folk as he and Lennox make their way to the Oval. Despite being told that all he wants to do is sleep, Lennox insists on getting Daniels to deal with Karen and Bill. He wants Daniels to let them retire with their reputations in tact so that some semblance of trust can be maintained with the American people. Probably because he's victorious, Daniels agrees. Grateful, Lennox leaves to attend to Karen and in a final gesture, he leaves behind the digi recording he had of Daniels agreeing to perjury.
At CTU, Morris checks in on Chloe. And, hehe I was right. She's pregnant. This was a lovely little moment. Even Chloe thought so. "You know," she interrupts as Morris is about to say something, "this is a nice moment. Let's not ruin it by saying something stupid." Hee!
In Washington, Lennox drops by Karen's cell to tell her the good news. She and Bill are pardoned and are free to live their lives without fear of prosecution. Smiling with relief, she tells Lennox she knows he had a hand in it and she offers her hand in gratitude. He shakes it and tells her he actually think he'll miss her. "Really?" she asks. "I can answer that better when you're gone." he replies, chuckling. She laughs in response and walks out a free woman.
Bill and Josh arrive at CTU. Josh runs off into the waiting arms of his mother and Cheng, broken and bleeding, is led off to be interrogated and hopefully tortured a little. Cheng's parting shot though is to tell Bill that his people will not abandon him like we abandoned Jack Bauer. "Get him out of here." Bill says.
Going over to Nadia, Bill tells her that she did good work today. Th compliment means a lot to her, coming from him. But then, puzzled, she looks around for Jack. But Bill tells her he fell off the ladder and made it to shore. He doesn't want to be found. He tells Nadia to let him go.
Leaving CTU, we find ourselves looking at Heller. He's talking to someone on the phone about Audrey. As he hangs up, he hears a noise. Slowly he reaches for the phone but then Jack steps into the room and tels him to put it down. He's still wet and glistening from the water. Heller asks if Jack is there to kill him.
"That depends. Where's Audrey?"
"I told you you're not getting anywhere near -"
"YOU DO NOT TELL ME WHAT TO DO ANYMORE!" Jack screams, raising his gun and pointing at Heller's head. He tells Heller that he just watched his father die and he felt nothing. He says his own father was dead to him years ago. But he looked up to Heller. Heller was the kind of man Jack wanted to be. But Heller took advantage of that.
Thus begins Jack extremely cathartic rant which I reproduce in full here because it's so fecking amazing:
"Earlier today you said that I was cursed. That anyone I touched ended up dead or ruined. How dare you. How... dare you. The only thing I did, the only thing I have EVER done is what you and people like you have asked of me. Why didn't you try to get me out of China?"
"I did try - "
"NOT HARD ENOUGH! You had the political power. Was the timing not right? Was it a little to complicated? Or was I just an acceptable loss?"
"Jack I understand you're angr-"
"SHUT UP!" Jack raises the gun to Heller's head again. "You don't understand a thing about me. But I know you. I know why you're angry at me. And it wasn't because Audrey went to China to save me. It was because when you told her NOT to, she did it anyway. You'll never understand that kind of commitment. That kind of loyalty."
"You're right Jack. It wasn't fair of me to put all this on you, to blame you for what happened to Audrey. I know the sacrifices you made. I know this country owes you more than it'll ever repay."
"I'm not interested in what you think this country owes me. I want my life back. And I want it now. Audrey's all I've got and you can't stop me. In case you've forgotten, I'm very good at disappearing. And if you try sending someone after us I'll kill 'em. Pretty good at that too."
"Simply getting your life back Jack isn't gonna change who you are. And you can't walk away from it. You know that. You've tried it. Sooner or later you're gonna get back in the game and my daughter's gonna pay the price - like your wife did."
"You son of a bitch." Jack starts backing away, disgust all over his face at those hurtful words.
"Jack I beg you to stop for a moment and THINK. Think Jack. You won't be able to take care of her the way you want to."
Shaking his head, exhaustion beginning to creep up on him, Jack asks, "Where is she? Take me to her now."
Heller leads Jack to Audrey's room where she's asleep. He takes her hand. "It's me... I'm here..." But she doesn't wake up. Sadness and resignation in his voice, he quietly tells her, "I know that I promised to take care of you and protect you. But I'm at a crossroads. Right now the best way.... the only way to do that is to let you go. I hope one day you can understand that. I hope one day you can forgive me. ..." Jack looks at her one more time... "I love you with all my heart." He leans forward and places a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I always will."
Mustering the very last reserves of his strength, Jack Bauer gets up and walks away from her. Letting her go.
He leaves Heller's home out the back way and walks to the edge of the property, his gun still in his hand. He stares out at the ocean, looks down the cliff where the waves break against the rock... A last look on Jack's face, and the scene fades away to the silent clock.
Guh! Just... guh! Hands up if you thought he was contemplating suicide. I know I did. Then again I know Kiefer Sutherland is signed on for two more years which takes a bit of the impact of that powerful scene off I guess but if you can let that fun factoid go, man what a super ending. I enjoyed the wrapping up of everything. They took their time with it and we got a lot of good closure tonight.
So that's it kids. No more recapping until next season. My fingers are doing a happy dance but I'll miss it for sure. Maybe I can find some other show to recap in the meantime. Who knows :) But I'll be writing up a sort of season overview/review sometime this week or weekend (depends I'm busy at the paper this week - I'm learning how to produce newscasts so wheee!) so please come back and check it out if your are so inclined. And I'll do what I can to keep the site interesting during the long wait for Season 7 :)
Goodnight guys, and thanks for watching the show with me! It's been a great ride.
Digg this | 
de.licio.us 
Fark it
13 Comments:
Thanks for the recap, I missed the episode and found your site. I can't believe I forgot to set my DVR!
Loved your recap.
Thanks again.....
I forgot to set my DVR and was hopeing I could find a recap of tonights episode.
Great recap!!
Thanks!!
Thank you, Melia, for yet another great recap. You always hit a homerun. The dialogue in the final moments was incredibly intense, indeed. However, I didn't like the last scene that ended with silent clock with Jack apparently contemplating suicide. That was so depressing to me. Go Jack! Save another day for us! See ya next season!
Yeah I forgot to record an episode once but no worries you can go to AOL video website and download it for $1.99...it usually post each episode about 4 days after it airs.
This was such a disappointing season all around. This show was once the best thing on television. When I found myself more upset that Jericho got cancelled than excited for the 24 season finale, you know something's not right, guys. I just didn't care anymore this season. I think the main problem is that it was so expendable in the 24 mythology. I mean, seriously, what do you really need for next season to make sense without this season ever happening at all? Jack escaped China. He has a nephew. He's let Audrey go. Chloe's pregnant. The end. I am so disappointed I can't even begin to tell you guys. I have defended and defended and defended this series until I was blue in the face to detractors ever since season 3, and now I'm just at a loss. For the first time ever, I don't ever know if I'll be back next season. The only possible way I'd consider tuning in, in fact, is if the promos next time show us something completely and totally different than the 24 status quo revolving around CTU and the White House. For God's sake, there has to be something this show can do besides CTU and the White House and fighting amongst the staff. Is anyone else a little weary of that structure, longing for a Jack-centric season with an intimate story that's more personal again, like the first season? I certainly know I am. Season 1, though it dealt with terrorism, maintained a much higher standard of character progression and importance than later seasons ever achieved again. Probably because it was about a few people in danger at its core instead of nukes wiping out everything and shady organizations plotting world domination. I miss the effort the creators used to put into the show to make it remotely believeable. I miss the unpredictability. I mean, they put a tracker in Josh so they could keep an eye on him. A tracker, for God's sake. I was literally counting the seconds until they found the thing. Come on, 24...do something we don't see coming a mile away. And for the record, I thought this was the weakest, most disappointing finale of 24 ever. Nothing happened. He got the boy back and his father died, neither of which were EVER in doubt...and then he just decides to let Audrey go and stands there feeling terrible. Terrific ending, that will have them jumping up and down begging for more. Sheesh...
You can watch it here:
www.myspace.com/24
So who was the silent clock for?? Audrey? Don't get it ..
Ben
If this season was any indication, the silent clock was for the death of a once-incredible television program.
Thankyou for your excellent work on 24 recaps Melia, always a pleasure reading them. I agree with others that this season has been somewhat dissapointing, although has had some excellent moments. I have to admit that I found Karen Hayes to be a bit of a hottie this season, even though she is probably 10 years older than me!!
Im gutted that Doyle seems to have been phased out, for me there needed to be some continuation of his character, I hated him at first but got to like him towards the end. I hope he comes back and that the blindness is only temporary. I wasnt shocked at all when Chloe was pregnant, does this mean she wont be in next season... Lets face it guys+girls, any show that goes for 6 seasons could get stale but 24 is/was so unique that perhaps its strength is also its weakness I think they have done a superb job keeping it going for this long. Id rather have more 24 than no 24, and I think others will agree no matter what they think of this season compared to season 1 which I also think was the best. Lets face it, we arent ever going to see Jack on a sun lounger with a big mac and a beer are we...well, maybe the last season.., To me it looked as though he was definitely contemplating ending things but that wont happen surely as hes signed on for 2 more seasons... Maybe he will be revealed as Josh's father and be with Marilyn, god knows the man deserves some relationship stability.
I do think it will be hard for the last 2 seasons to live up to the amazing levels/suprises/shocks/twists of previous seasons, you can only do this stuff for so long.... some scripts will naturally be stronger than others. Jack has been through so much, the guy must be emotionally numb inside... it may only get harder to pull this sort of stuff off unless they make it totally different.....but then it wouldnt be 24!
Maybe they can leave it open ended for a few years, can you imagine the clamouring for 24 when it goes off air, if Jack is still alive? Cant imagine life without 24! I will always be a fan and is still the best show of all time. I'll be back for Your Recaps Melia x
Melia, again, thanks for your recap, always nice (you are a very good writer!). I was here yesterday but a little depressed, so don't let a comment, only now coming back to thank.
A comment, like I did at Fox forum: I'm a 24 fan and Kiefer Sutherland fan. Great (GREAT!!) actor giving "life" to a very interesting character - Jack Bauer.
It's the art's role: move our subjectivity, move our thinking to peoples' stories.
So, 24 is Jack Bauer's story - amazing. And as simple-minded [that forum thread subject!], I was expecting a happy end. Surely, I'm a healthy human being (and girl!!). I can't accept so suffering. It's the reason I don't know if I like S6...
We saw S1, S2, S3 - the character was constructed, lovable, complex, hero. Then we saw S4, S5, both with very sad finales. Jack Bauer trying to live, trying stay with a love - Audrey...
I was expecting - after China!! - a "stay together". YES! I would like to see that.
Despite this kind of healthy simple-minded thoughts, I enjoy some moments, rides, great Kiefer scenes, Doyle, Bill and:
(remember Jack, quote your recap) ...she did it anyway. You'll never understand that kind of commitment. That kind of loyalty. ...
I know that I promised to take care of you and protect you. But I'm at a crossroads. ...
It's to cry. So simple.
Melia, you did great!! Thanks!!
The last episode was so great! And thanks for transcripting the scene between Jack and Heller. That one was so amazing. I still feel like crying.
I have to say, I never thought he would maybe commit suicide. It's just not who he is. Don't forget the 'dying for something' speech to Bill in the beginning. I don't think he would ever stray from that. So maybe he thought about jumping for a second, but nothing else.
I loved the ending with Audrey. Leaves everything open. Now Kim can do Lipstick Jungle and can come back anyway, if that show fails. Because it's not just his decision to let her go. ;)
Well Ms Melia you’ve done it again – your devotion and skill at depicting a story never goes unnoticed ~ Thank YOU!
I guess I’m a little too simplistic in nature because despite lapses from a formula that works I am still entertained by 24, and no, I would not be entertained by watching corn grow either. Said it before, I’ll say it again, sometimes you have to overlook those things within 24 that totally debunk the show, otherwise you’ll never be entertained… Of course there were ‘gufahs’ and ‘yea right’ moments throughout the season, but they did entertain us… Shucks I absorb all of those questionable moments just so I can talk about it here or with co-workers the next day ~ it works! I guess I don’t give up on shows that easily, but next season, if they do rehash some theme from a prior season, that probably will be trying for most. Let’s hope they don’t do that.
There was something to that last scene at the rocks and Jack looking down, or the camera panning down. I don’t think they would have shown that unless the thought of something unspeakable passed through his mind. If it was just to be a solemn, contemplative moment, he would have just been looking out to sea. Can I get an amen?
Is it just me, or was anyone thinking Jack would ask for the circuit board to bring closure to that incident? I know I’m working my brain overtime, but because of where Phillip Bauer was shot, why was he laying on the ground like he was in his last breaths? Although we did not see the boat, Cheng clearly said there was something located where Phillip had gone with Josh… I see no reason why Phillip Bauer didn’t finish what he was doing after Jack took off up the stairs -- Phillip could have easily made his own little get away at the base of the oil rig ~ seems plausible to me… Wouldn’t that be something if next season started with Phillip Bauer trying to cash in on the circuit board in his possession with Jack and the cast of CTU chasing him all the way over to China to get it back? Something like that would definitely change the canvas around and mix things up a bit.
One story line I was extremely hopeful would occur was the revelation that Assad (DS9 Bashir) did not attempt to kill President Wayne Palmer. This stayed in my mind the entire season and although Assad, characterized as having been ruthless and ordering the bombing of thousands, would receive some vindication he came to the White House to actually do the right thing. It just didn’t settle well with me how it was left that Assad was an opportunist just looking for an opportunity to take out the President ~ that was so wrong. Considering any slack Arabic people in this country suffer today, I thought it would have been a nice gesture to clear Assad’s name… Yea, I know ~ it’s just a television show.
Soup
Thanx so much for the recaps! I no longer have sky TV and I've missed most of 24 you recaps have kept me up to date. S6 sounded fabulous! so come on SKY and Virgin stop punishing the viewers and BOTH companies start putting the customers first.
This season, though not as good as some of the others was still good. In this season's defense, it was planned to be a transition season, the writers knew that, and next season should show more of what we are used to, along with some new stuff. Jack has developed a lot this year, becoming more human. This final episode was great because it featured Jack totally broken, without any ties to anyone or anything, except possibly for Kim. The silent count i believe was out of respect of Bauer's emotion which ran pretty high, probably the highest since season three where that horrible crying scene occured. I liked this season though there are some points that i need clarification on, whatever happened to Logan, they kind of left us hanging, and they also left the opportunity open for an announcement that Josh is Jack's son, that would be an interesting scenario.
Post a Comment
<< Home