Idiot Boxers Review: 24, Series Finale
TV review by Merrill Barr, co-host of The Idiot Boxers
Show: 24
Airs: FOX, Mondays, 9pm (finale on Monday, 8pm)
Episodes: Series Finale
NOTE: This article contains spoilers after the second paragraph.
Through its years on the air waves, 24 has provided us with ultimate Shakespearian tragedy. Jack Bauer is, above all else, a tortured soul. Everything he loves, everything he cares for, everything he fights for, seems to come to a tragic end. The idea of patriotism is all he has, and all he will ever have. He can’t have love, so instead he takes solace in the knowledge that he will fight till the end, for us.
After nine years of presidential treason, nukes, poison gas, EMPs, and countless unnamed dead terrorists, it all came to an end with the final two hours of the ground breaking series, and boy, what a finale it was. First off, the finale takes a second to reminds us why the show is the revolutionary it is, because, for one last time, we hear Kiefer’s voice say “events occur in real time” right before we start on the epic finale.
We then join the gang where we left off. Jack is wounded, Taylor is about to sign the treaty, Chloe and Cole are trying to find Jack before Logan does, etc. In all honesty, the episode doesn’t really begin until we see that Jack has snuck up on Logan’s right hand man, and we get, probably Jack’s most dramatic entrance of the entire season.
After that, we see something that has been missing this season… Intensity in other major characters, specifically, Allison Taylor. In a scene where Dalia finds out the truth of the cover up, Taylor finally shows that she is more than a bumbling buffoon, she finally takes the last leap into Logan land, and it’s one heck of a transformation. Luckily, her heart is just pure enough to find her way out.
Through various events after that, we end up joining Jack in a custom built sniper perch. This is where things really begin to get interesting. One thing 24 has always done so well, is that it’s able to make the audience care about all of its characters. Main, supporting, random extras, they all matter on 24. So when Jack has Logan in his crosshairs there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Jack could pull the trigger at any moment, without any hesitation.
Yes, someone gets shot… Jack. In the start of the second half of the finale, Jack puts Chloe into an impossible position. He tells her the only way to get the evidence out that proves the cover up is for her to shoot him. This turns into one of the most emotional moments of the series. Jack’s constant screaming “pull the trigger!” to Chloe is beyond powerful. Finally Jack puts the gun to his own head, which forces Chloe to take a chance at barely missing Jack’s heart instead of him definitely blowing his brains out.
I want to say so much more about the finale, but I want you guys to experience it, so I will only sum up the last twenty minutes which, delivers on every level. There are two moments that end the series on the perfect note. The first is that Logan finally showed his ruthlessness. He kills, in cold blood, the only man that was willing to listening to him, this coming after the fact that Jack spared this man his life. Then Logan pulls a Shawshank and shoots himself, a self destructive move, a perfect ending to his own, destructive ways.
Then there are the final five minutes. Jack is on his knees, he is going to die, and everything we have experienced with him over the last nine years has led to this moment. At the very last possible second, he is set free from the one person that he tried to save. We then see Jack and Chloe speak to each other one last time, in the best way possible, through a phone and satellite connection. Jack can’t see Chloe’s face, but he doesn’t need to. Jack just needs to hear the voice that has protected him for so many years. Chloe finally gets to see Jack’s face while he is on the phone, and for one last time, she helps him escape danger. We then hear Chloe’s final words “shut it down” and Jack walks away as the screen digitizes into the famous ticking clock, except this time, it’s counting down. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1, then, it’s over.
24 ends at that moment, and in that moment, we the audience realize the journey for Jack and his friends are over. That is the true success of the finale, despite the fact that there is a movie coming out, the finale can hold its own, and manages to serve as a proper ending for anyone who will never see the upcoming film. Jack gets an ending to his story; it ends the way it began. With him as the tragic hero, who will always find his own way.
In 2001, America suffered one of the worst tragedies in it’s over 200 year history. After words, we were vulnerable, scared, and needed a new hero. That hero came in the form of an unapologetic, ruthless soldier that would fight for everything we stand for, no matter what the cost. That hero, was Jack Bauer. A real life Superman, he is everything we needed in our darkest hour. 24 not only revolutionized the look of TV, it changed the way we defined it, and the characters it creates… Forever.
Good bye 24. You will forever be the ultimate exploration of tragedy and redemption. May you live in peace, Jack. May you live in peace.
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Tags: 24, Jack Bauer, Kiefer Sutherland, Real-Time, Series Finale
Neil Miller is the Publisher and Executive Editor of 
Kevin Carr crawled from the primordial ooze in the 1970s. He grew up watching movies to the point of irritation for his friends. He was a font of useless movie knowledge until he decided to put that knowledge to good use. He is now a professional film critic read worldwide, much to the chagrin of Michael Bay.
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