24: Live Another Day: Day 9: 10:00 p.m. – 11:00 a.m.

July 16, 2014 7:53 AM - Season 1, Episode 12

As the world teeters on a terror plot of mass proportions, Jack and the team reunite one last time to avert an imminent international crisis. With little time left and the fate of the free world on the line, Jack is faced with an unthinkable and grave decision. Lives will be lost and the American administration will grapple with the day’s most devastating news as the clock stops.
posted by shivohum (10 comments total)

Pretty decent episode. I had a sense Audrey had to die. I'm disappointed Jack got taken AGAIN by someone. A little exhausting and played out. The President's conversation with Alistair about his memory, and about the mercy of being able to forget was chilling.
posted by shivohum at 9:03 AM on July 16, 2014 [2 favorites]

I was disappointed overall with this season. I thought, with the break, they had some novel reason for coming back. Something new to say, something relevant. But it just wasn't there. It was just another day.
posted by GhostintheMachine at 10:59 AM on July 16, 2014

The President's conversation with Alistair about his memory, and about the mercy of being able to forget was chilling.

Yeah, I was both highly entertained by this shortened season yet in agreement with most every complaint I've read here and elsewhere about it but that moment reminded me that, though it's never been subtle, when 24 is good, it is occasionally very good.

I also liked that Chloe's way of arguing her way back into Jack's good graces was her saying "At this point, I think I'm the only friend you have left, whether you want to admit it or not." and that this was actually a touching character moment." and then likewise later when Jack told Chloe she needed to let go of her guilt was also something I fell for hook, line, and sinker.

Of course, I was dumb enough to believe that this was the set-up for Chloe getting killed, which made me very tense, and though I'm glad she didn't die, her disappearance at the end, for whatever reason on this show that asks me to suspend SO MUCH disbelief, was a bridge too far.

But Jack's sacrifice for Chloe was a nice end for his arc (such as it was) this season, which seemed to be "Jack is even more broken than he was before (punctuated by dropping Margot Al-Harazi out the window and decapitating Cheng Zhi) but he is still the guy who sacrifices himself for those he cares about." When he changed Chloe's line earlier from "only friend" to "best friend", it landed for me despite my incredulity at the whole direction the Russian subplot had taken. (Kate seeming to quit the CIA after this day provided a nice parallel to that in a "hopefully she's getting out why she still can" way.)

I felt like a lot of the action in this episode reminded me why I liked that part of the show in the past, which was not true a lot of the time this season.

As a whole, I think everything about the episode I listed above showed me all the pieces were there for a great season but instead we got an okay one that only seemed better to me as it went along because there was only 12 hours of it.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:50 PM on July 16, 2014 [1 favorite]

I really enjoyed this episode and the season. 24 is what it is and works best when you don't take it too seriously. When it's on form, as it was for large chunks of this season, it's enjoyable action escapism that lands an occasional emotional punch. The shorter format worked really well and kept things (mostly) interesting and punchy throughout and I hope any future seasons retain that format.

It was probably the strongest casting and acting the show has ever had. Yvonne Strahovski as Kate is a welcome addition to the 24 fold and was a great foil for Jack. Chole, Heller and Audrey were perfectly pitched as always. Belcheck was a nicely understated sidekick blazing up with firearms as needed and keeping out of the way otherwise. I'm always happy to see Squarejaw from Strikeback pop up and who could say a bad word about Stephen Fry as PM?

In terms of this season I would have found it more narratively satisfying if Bauer had died but on the other hand Keifer Sutherland really outJacked himself this time around (particularly in this episode) and I'm happy that Jack will be back again. I agree the whole whisked off by a foreign power again bit at the end was disappointing.

The action sequence on the boat was great. Audrey's death was devastating, as was Heller's speech when her coffin was being loaded on to Air Force One. Chloe and Jack's long friendship was played to tearjerkingly good effect, as it was in the finale of the previous season.
posted by roolya_boolya at 3:22 PM on July 16, 2014 [2 favorites]

Did Bauer really cut that guys head off with a sword? It looked very bloodless.

I thought the assault on the ship was well directed and shot, but at the same time rather corny because even with an eye in the sky, you couldn't silently murder that many alert men armed with machine guns.

I agree that the president's 'forgetting' speech was chilling.

Overall the best thing I can say about this season of 24 is that I'm glad Stephen Fry got paid.
posted by Catblack at 4:27 PM on July 16, 2014

I was dumb enough to believe that this was the set-up for Chloe getting killed

Oh, me too. With Chloe's "this is all my fault" and "I need to make this right" I was afraid she was being set up for a Redemption Equals Death [warning: TVTropes]. Relieved to see I was wrong, not least because I don't think Chloe had done anything needing redemption.

And yes, Heller's speech about not being able to remember that he had lost a daughter was heartbreaking.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 7:23 PM on July 16, 2014

The fact that they endangered and killed Audrey was so aggravating. The way they did it was even worse. After they played the "situation resolved, moving on!" kind of music, signaling the situation was going to change. One of the things I like 24 for is when they move from one situation to the next, the task switching and trying to adjust and hit the new situation running. To set that up then yank it away with a suicide second gunman was like sabotaging one of their strengths. They might as well have made the plot point resolve around Bauer screwing up at his job.

Overall, though, I thought this season was all right. Some of the magic was there, but things never really got quite as chaotic as they should. Things in the last episode fizzled out rather quickly and the ending was not very satisfying to me.. I wish they'd done more with Kate.
posted by fleacircus at 9:01 PM on July 16, 2014

Jesus Christ I said situation like twenty times.
posted by fleacircus at 9:02 PM on July 16, 2014 [2 favorites]

I thought this episode was terrible. Tie up all the loose ends in the most obvious way possible. 50% of the action taking place in some random container ship on a back lot in LA somewhere. FPS shooter fantasies of silently murdering guards at night. Just silly. And the second Chinese shooter and the capturing of 𝕮h̛l̨oe̵ was deus-ex-machina of the worst sort.

The scene of Heller talking about how he'd forget the whole horrible day was excellent, though, truly touching. (And great acting.) I assume one of the show writers was mining personal experience there.

I'm so glad this show is over. Now I can concentrate on Under the Dome for TV so bad I'm shouting at the morons on the screen.
posted by Nelson at 10:10 AM on July 17, 2014

Nthing everything Nelson said. I am definitely done with 24 after this season. I loved Heller's speech too but he, too, is a talented actor we won't be seeing again given he is essentially losing his mind in this story arc.
posted by bearwife at 10:56 AM on July 31, 2014