Tonight’s episode of 24 was the last regular episode of the series. With next week’s two-hour series finale on the way, tonight delivered an intense amount of build-up as Jack prepares his end game, leaving a fresh trail of bodies in his wake.
Has Jack Bauer ever killed anyone with a fireplace poker? I thought it was a sword that was sticking out of Mikhail’s stomach but on further review, it definitely appears to be a fireplace poker. Either way, gross. (Awesome.) We’re getting ahead of ourselves though.
First, let’s get the Chloe stuff out of the way as her portion of the episode was relatively minimal and seemed to only serve as a set-up for what’s to come next week. She’s still trying to wield what little power she has left in an effort to find Jack and save him from meeting his demise either by the Russians, President Taylor, Logan and/or the CTU people. It’s possible all of these people (or their hired guns as I can’t picture Taylor pointing a gun at anyone… yet, anyway) will join forces and corner Jack Bauer in an alley somewhere and each take a turn shooting him. I’m holding out hope that our vengeful hero will make it through this series alive though. The worst-case scenario is that Chloe herself will be the one to pull the trigger. It could be heading in that direction as she seems to believe Jack’s on the right track but doesn’t like seeing him leaving a bloody trail of revenge all over the city. Chloe’s role in tonight’s episode was to spring Cole and get him to find Jim, Jack’s temporary Chloe who’s been helping him get around the city undetected.
As for what Jack’s been up to, he had a checklist of things to do tonight, all of which he succeeded in performing:
-Put Meredith Reed’s life in danger by giving her the evidence of the cover-up and asking her to break the story – CHECK
-Track down Logan, make him pee his pants in fear (seriously, that guy can quiver and whine like nobody’s business.) – CHECK
-Find out who’s behind everything – CHECK
-Kill them – CHECK
-Find out who’s really behind everything- CHECK
Jack gave Meredith the data card he took from that guy’s stomach after he gutted him and sent her off to make sure the truth is told. The problem was, Logan managed to convince Taylor to continue weaving the tangled web of lies by hushing the press. Hey, you’re already deceiving people into a peace agreement and aiding in a cover-up, why not add peeing on the constitution to the list of mistakes you’re making, Taylor! Seriously, where’s Ethan. Someone needs to scream “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” to this woman. I keep waiting for her to come to her senses but she only seems to be making things worse. I want to believe there’s some shred of good sense in her and she’ll do what’s right in the end but I’m starting to think that the most we might see of her is an admittance of guilt after the truth comes out thanks to Jack’s efforts.
Meredith told her boss about the story and while he’s determined to make sure it breaks, it’ll be a miracle if he can manage it. Meanwhile, Reed was arrested by the FBI and they supposedly have the data card. I’m not 100% convinced that what they have is the actual card. I want to believe that Meredith stashed it somewhere, gave it to her boss or that Jack didn’t give her the real card. Wishful thinking?
Back to Jack. After talking to Meredith, Jack severed his ties with Jim, who should be in the White House now instead of whatever bunker he’s in. I think Taylor could use some cowboy-like words of wisdom. “This path you’re on… there ain’t no comin’ back from it…”
Jack tracked down Logan, who was in the back of an armored car chatting it up with Mikhail (more like desperately attempting to keep his cool and let on like the situation was totally in control when it was anything but). Bauer, dressed in black and wearing a black creepy-mask, got Logan’s car trapped in the tunnel and then proceeded to shoot his way to the car, killing or wounding at least one secret service agent before shooting and then kicking a hole into the windshield of the car and stuffing a gas-bomb in it. Logan, who was freaking out, got out of the car and that’s when Jack took him some place more private and made him tell him everything he knew.
Did anyone think Logan would really do that? The guy might be a big baby but he’s still a sneaky bastard. While he gave up Mikhail’s name, which resulted in Jack setting off to stab the Russian with a fireplace tool, he left out one minor detail. We’ll get to that in a second. First, I want to say I’m secretly a little sad not to see the build-up that led to Mikhail Novakovich getting the poker stuffed securely into his stomach. What kind of fight took place that led to that? Or was there no fight at all? Did Jack run out of bullets? Given the numerous ways we’ve seen him take out a bad-guy, it seems both creative and resourceful of him that he should give the Russian a stomach full of brass. I’m guessing there was some torture involved in the scene. Maybe they didn’t show it because it was too violent, or perhaps it was cut out because there wasn’t enough time. (“We’re running out of time!”)
Logan, who was in bad shape thanks to the beating Jack gave him, tried to get Pillar to get word to Mikhail about Jack but he was too late. After finding out that Mikhail was dead and might have talked before he was fatally stabbed, Logan promptly called the other guy he was working for/with. Yes, it seems Mikhail wasn’t as high up as this mess went. Yuri Suvarov, the Russian president is also in on it! This information was not only revealed to us but also to Jack as he was last seen listening in to the transmission of the conversation between Logan and the Russian president, while clutching the wound in his abdomen. Gotta love Jack. Logan may be sneaky but Jack’s sneakier and now he knows this mess goes all the way to the top!
The only person who doesn’t seem to know the truth about what’s going on is Dalia Hassan. Her daughter, who answered the phone on her mother’s behalf got the abridged version of the situation from Meredith. Talk about an awkward conversation. “Hi, you know me as the woman who was sleeping with your father. Don’t hang up! I swear, this is important. BTW sorry about your Dad. I’m totally sad about it too. Anyway… about this peace agreement…”
Questions to be answered during next week’s two-hour finale:
Will Kayla get the information Meredith gave her to her mother? Normally you would think it wouldn’t be that hard as Dalia’s probably going to come out of that inconveniently timed meeting soon, but Taylor said she didn’t want Dalia talking to anyone but her. I’m guessing that’ll includes Kayla.
Will Chloe and Cole get to Jack before CTU, the Russians, the FBI or anyone else does?
If they do, will they be able to help them or will they be forced to shoot Jack?
Will Logan get what’s coming to him? He did on a smaller scale tonight. Seeing him wriggle like a worm on a hook (as opposed to just slither like the snake that he is) was entertaining but I think he deserves worse for his involvement in all of this.
Will President Taylor finally realize that listening to Logan was the Worst. Decision. Ever., and try to fix the situation or at the very least, save the country from a complete mess, should the information come out?
Will the whole truth come out or is some of this going to remain a secret, while each of the involved parties gets their comeuppance in some more private manner?
Will Jack Bauer survive this last day? Is there any chance for an even remotely happy ending for him at this point?
