Diminished expectations led to a feeling that 24 ended its eight-year run in decent enough fashion. The season was such a mess overall that by the time the finale kicked into gear in the last hour or so, it felt like the 24 of old: Jack’s nothing-to-lose attitude was in full force, President Logan’s duplicity was on display like never before (he literally had blood on his hands this time), Chloe’s loyalty to Jack had her wringing her hands again. The best scenes, though, involved Cherry Jones’s President Allison Taylor. Her despair and self-disgust as she came clean about her role in covering up the Russian president’s part in Omar Hassan’s assassination was devastating to watch, the honesty more gut-wrenching than any of the torture Jack doled out this year.
And what of our hero? There’s something superhuman (last week’s Iron Man-esque attack on Logan’s motorcade) and primal about him at the same time. (If this season had lasted any longer, we might have seen Jack start killing people just to watch them die.) He casually treads the line between being right and being crazy. Jack is often adamant that his actions are the result of not having anything left to lose. But I would beg to differ. He’s experienced love (granted, they were doomed affairs), and he’s got a daughter and granddaughter looking to forge a deeper bond with him. And yet these seem to fade in the background when he thinks his country needs him and only him. Even after eight seasons, I’m not sure if this is a character flaw or a flaw in the writing. One thing’s for sure, though: As the CTU drone loomed overhead at the end of the finale, beaming images back to those who helped him save the day, the look in Jack’s eyes made clear that, no matter how he tries to escape, his is a fight that will never be finished.
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