TNMC
This site’s design is only visible in a graphical browser that supports web standards, but its content is accessible to any browser or Internet device.
24
11 PM to 12 PM
Written by Robert Cochran, Howard Gordan, Joel Surnow, & Michael Loceff
Directed by Stephen Hopkins
Well this was it, the final hour/episode of the season, and why the rest of the season has been pure gold, the nature of this episodic show demanded that 24 go out on a high note. That's a daunting task for any writer, so the question has to be asked, did they succeed? The answer is a resounding yes. This episode was practically flawless in its execution, and sets up the next season effortlessly while still providing honest closure of this season.
We begin with Jack speeding towards the port where he believes that the Drazens are holding his daughter hostage. Unbeknownst to him though, Kimberly has actually escaped the Drazens on her own, and Andre has his men frantically searching for her. She manages to outmaneuver them and gets to the nearby highway, flagging down a passing trucker. At the hotel Sherry is still viciously going after David, believing that he's making a horrible mistake in deceiving the press. By deliberately lying she thinks he'll destroy his image as an honest and upright man. Palmer counters simply that he will not let Kim die just to advance his own political campaign, and on this issue he will brook no debate. To Palmer it's quite simple, there is a human life at stake and everything must be done to preserve it. At the CTU, Mason receives a phone call from the highway patrol letting them know that they've picked up a girl claiming to be the daughter of Jack Bauer. Mason gets on the phone with Kim, and after confirming that it's her he orders a tactical team to the warehouse sight to back up Jack and has the police bring Kim to the CTU. Nina listens in on all these events. You know it's kind of scary once you find out that Nina is the mole just how much information she's been privy to during this whole affair. Jack is lurking about the warehouse docks when his cell phone rings. Andre calls and tells him to come out in the open and they'll exchange for Kimberly. Jack refuses, demanding to see Kim first. Andre balks at this, and states the he knows Palmer is still alive and threatens to kill Kim right now if Jack doesn't show himself. Not born yesterday, Jack just hangs up on Andre. He then calls Nina at the CTU, letting her know that there is a second mole. She says that the only people who knew about Palmer were herself, Tony, Mason, and Chapelle. Jack charges her with finding which one of them is the mole. And you know, with all this talk of the mole, it's kind of amazing that ABC never advertised the game show during this program. Oh well, we still have Victor Drazen in Gap wear, since we all want to dress like sociopathic murderers on a sunny day. Speaking of Victor, Andre tells his father about the latest developments with Jack. Victor takes it in stride, and has Andre call Nina to tell her to call Jack and tell him that his daughter is dead. Victor reasons that Jack will come at him relentlessly then, since Victor knows the rage a parent feels at the death of their child. Nina is unsure of this, because if Jack survives her cover is shot to hell. Victor calmly assures her that Jack will die. Palmer is at the hotel with Mike Novick when a reporter on the television claims that a source within the Palmer camp has leaked out the information that Palmer is alive. David immediately knows who the leak was, and storms off to confront Sherry. If Palmer has ever been a figure to repress rage in the past, the dam breaks open this time and he is completely livid. He is horrified at Sherry's actions, and the way she would callously throw aside a human life to advance a political campaign. All the betrayal and hurt that Palmer has been subjected to surfaces, and dances across his face in a wonderful bit of acting by Dennis Haybert. This is the side of Palmer we haven't seen, the side that would order an espionage team to go in and kill a man. He keeps moving closer to Sherry in a threatening manner, and one gets the impression that he might actually beat on her if Mike doesn't move in the way of the two, cooling Palmer off. He shatters a vase with a backhand and storms from the room, while Sherry is in shock at the wrath her husband has just shown. Wrath is a common emotion in this episode, and as Nina calls Jack to tell him that Kim's body has been found in the harbor he breaks down in tears. Sadness is quickly replaced by rage though, and Jack throws a fresh clip in his gun and then breaks into a nearby van. In the warehouse Andre tells his father that he thinks they should leave now since a CTU team is en route, but Victor will not leave while Jack is still alive. Their little conference is broken up as the van comes crashing through warehouse door throwing everything into chaos. Jack leaps out of the van, and like a man possessed starts picking off all the guards in the warehouse. Andre and Victor go running while Jack systematically eliminates everyone in one of the neatest action sequences I've ever seen played out on television. Finally Jack goes racing after the Drazens, and kills Andre in a gunfight as well. Victor fires off a shot then, and catches Jack right in the side. This stuns Jack and Andre stalks up to him and pulls the trigger again. However the law of heroism applies here, and Victor's gun is now empty of bullets, leaving him with no course but raise his hands in surrender. Jack pauses for a moment and then shoots Victor anyways. And keeps on shooting Victor over and over again as Victor's body is propelled into the water. Jack drops to his knees as the CTU helicopters close in the distance. Palmer holds a brief press conference, letting the public know that he is still alive and well, and this was only for security reasons. while this is going on, Mike meets with Sherry and lets her know that Palmer wants to see her alone later. She immediately goes on the defensive, claiming that all her actions were for the good of the campaign. Mike doesn't disagree with her, but says that she take this time to try and patch things up with David, while there's still time. Mason has just found out what has happened at the warehouse and is whooping it up that Jack has single-handedly wiped out the Drazens. He doesn't know that Jack thinks his daughter is dead, but as he passes Teri he informs her of the good news but leaves before he can give her any real details. Nina has overheard all of this and rushes from the room, knowing that it's only a matter of time before Jack learns the truth about everything. She flees into a transformer room, shooting a janitor who's in there. She then opens a secret compartment in the wall, removing a laptop and some confidential disks. She makes a phone call and starts speaking in German to a mysterious female voice, letting her know that she has been compromised and needs evac. The voice tells Nina that it will be waiting at the usual spot, and then Teri walks in looking for Nina. She was hoping to get some more details on what has happened with Jack and Kim. She's a bit suspicious at hearing Nina speak German, but is quickly assured that Nina just spent some time in the Munich office. Nina's cell phone rings again, and the voice lets her know that the evac has been set up, but all ties connecting them must be severed. while Nina is talking on the phone Teri notices a pool of blood from the dead janitor, and lamely tries to leave. Nina understands what has just happened and stops Teri at gunpoint. Back at the warehouse Jack goes up to a coast guard officer and asks if he can see the body of the girl he found, since it's his daughter. The coast guard doesn't understand what he's saying, since to his knowledge no body has been found in the harbor that night. Jack has him double-check at HQ, and is once again told that no body has been found. Jack runs to his SUV and starts speeding away, calling Mason on the cell and letting him know that Nina is the mole. Mason accepts this right away, which makes sense in light of his suspicion about Nina throughout the whole series. He claims he needs proof first though, and Jack vows to get him some. He then calls a CTU analyst, who was probably meant to be Milo before Eric Balfour left to do Six Feet Under, car commercials, and some lame Mummy-like pilot, and wants him to check the tapes on Jamie's suicide. The analyst claims that the video footage was destroyed, and Jack claims that there is digital backup of the room. Here's the one glaring flaw in the whole episode. Earlier in the season it was claimed that the room that Jamie was kept in had no cameras, because that's why they kept her there so Gaines couldn't see her. So the fact that there are cameras there now is just a whopping oversight. Regardless, Jack gives the analyst the password to access the digital footage. Sherry goes to meet Palmer in the dining room, and pretends to be sweet and tender again. Palmer smiles, and the rage that he displayed earlier has dissipated, replaced by a sense of calm resignation. It's with this in his heart that he tells Sherry he never wants to see her again. Her face here is priceless as Palmer continues on, saying that he doesn't care what happens to his campaign, as long as Sherry never becomes the First Lady. He then leaves the room, and Sherry screams after him. Palmer pauses for a moment as Sherry pleads one last time that he needs her. Squaring his shoulders Palmer continues to walk away. The analyst uploads the video footage to Jack's car, and we see Nina enter the room with Jamie, knocking her out and then calmly slit her wrist to make it look like suicide. Jack has the analyst send the information to Mason as he speeds towards the CTU. The alarm goes off in the CTU, and Nina knows what she has to do. She leaves the transformer room and then goes on a massive killing spree as she escapes the building. Nina is one bad bitch as she casually kills off person after person that it's in the way of her escape. She gets to the garage and boosts a car, but as she's driving out Jack's SUV drives in. The two quickly engage in a game of chicken, firing their guns through their windshields in order to get at the other. At the last second Nina swerves, since her car is no match for an SUV in a head on collision. She slams into a parked car and Jack quickly pulls her out, putting a gun to her head. Considering what Jack has done to Victor earlier, one doesn't exactly like Nina's chance of survival here. Nina tells Jack that if he kill her he'll never learn the truth. Nina never worked for the Drazen's, she worked for someone else. Killing her means never learning who. And instantly we have the premise for season two set up in a simple and effective manner. Jack is still seething when Mason, Tony, and other CTU personel rush in. Mason talks Jack down, telling him that it's over and that he should go be with his family now. Jack finally relents and walks away as Mason takes Nina into custody. As Jack leaves, Tony's face is a mask of confusion as he watches Nina led away in handcuffs. Jack reunites with Kim, and as they hug and laugh Kim asks where Teri is. Jack is surprised that she's not already with Kim, and as he searches the compound he comes upon the corridor where Nina made her bloody escape. Fear quickly takes a hold of him, and he rushes into the transformer room where Nina tied Teri up. Jack rushes over to her, and to his horror sees two shots in her stomach. Teri is already dead. Jack breaks down in tears then, clutching Teri's body as he sobs. We're left with a haunting image of the first episode, as Jack and Teri reunite. And then it becomes clear, Jack wonders if Teri would still be alive if he would have stayed away. The final second ticks away. First of all, kudos to the writers for having the courage to go ahead and kill Teri, since it would have made no sense for Nina to have left her alive. To go ahead and kill the pregnant woman, well that's breaking a taboo that should rightfully be broken. In this hard a world, it seems that nobody is truly safe. And though they undoubtedly shot a happier ending that they probably would have used if FOX had not renewed 24, it would have been nowhere as powerful. So there's my second kudos to FOX. Though the station has often been guilty of canceling some fabulous programs before their prime in the past, they've made up for it with 24. They not only stuck with the show despite mediocre ratings at best, they actually renewed it for a second season. I'll have a season wrap-up article up shortly, but for now just bask in what has to be one of the top five season finales ever.Episode Rating: 10+ out of 10
What do you think? Talk about it on the Forums
