Day One, A Federal agent is torn between his duty to protect a Senator, and his duty to protect his family. That’s all Day One was. Try as you might you won’t be able to come up with a similar one sentence description for Day Eight. Certainly there are parts which have been just a simple, the most simple an idea was Jack’s fight for justice during the last 7 hours. Which is why these last 7 hours where the best of these last 24. Why certain parts of these last two where so touching, emotional and even moving, whilst others where simply plot.

Everything involving Jack and Chloe was terrific. Logan was mostly the usual delight to watch. The action, as so often in these final episodes was tense and dramatic. Unfortunately however a number of other moments either fell flat or where horribly guilty of missed opportunities.

The show almost tortured those final moments at the UN podium until Taylor pulled out. How much better, more dramatic and hopeful would it have been if Taylor, looking resolved, steely, but oddly calm walked up to the podium after the others had signed and made a speech mirroring her Inauguration speech seen in Redemption, declaring her values of openness, peace and understanding – those which had lead her to seek high office, and whilst the initial work done in forging this peace her guiding principles meant she would unfortunately not be able to sign the treaty.

However in the places that mattered there was very little too complain about. These two hours wrapped up the Day 8 story nicely and neatly. But why then do I still feel a little reserved in my judgement?. Perhaps this is why…

The end of 24 needs to deal with what happens to those who go down that road. Can they turn back? Can there be a happy ending? Or is there simply a dead end?

I wrote that 6 months ago when looking back on 7×24 and looking forward to Series 8. Previously i’d written how 7×24 should be the last we saw of Jack Bauer, (and possibly 24) as it was the most perfect closure and judgement Jack was ever going to receive. The viewer could decide whether Jack died quietly and peacefully with Kim by his side or if simply the Jack Bauer we knew died on that hospital bed and a different man woke. Nothing in the past 24 episodes has fundamentally changed that opinion, most especially because we are no nearer an answer to the key question I pose above.

Perhaps it is an unanswerable question, perhaps that is precisely the point.

Overall a very fine end to the day, if only a satisfactory end to the show as a whole.

Best then perhaps that 8×24 is not “goodbye”, but merely “fair well, for now”.

In the meantime, back to the boxsets it is, and I would like to salute everyone who has contributed to the show these last 9 years.

Thank you very much for so much fine entertainment.

The article linked to above now cites Howard Gordon stating that Jack might become a regular visitor to the big screen:

“Our idea is to make Jack Bauer someone we can revisit on a regular basis.”

I’ll leave you to judge for yourself whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I’m approaching it with mixed feelings. While I will probably miss the show on TV, I’m not sure how a show that fundamentally depended on real-time and a 24-hour time span can even successfully transition into 2 hours of screen time. Sure, we had “Redemption”, but I’m not a big fan of it, either. Redemption worked as a sort of a prequel to the following season, but a movie would be a stand-alone story and a whole different ball game.

The other reservation I have is about trying to raise Bauer to an indestructible status of James Bond, and that’s essentially what would happen if he became a serial movie killer. Is this really necessary? Won’t Jack become just another action  hero? Won’t the essence of “24″ get lost in the process? Knowing that Jack will come back for another movie would make any real tension impossible because you’d know he can’t die (once I stopped believing they’d ever kill Jack on screen, that seriously dampened my “thrill” watching the seasons). Kiefer Sutherland has been saying for quite some time that he believed that Jack could go on as a character even if someone else played him. I suppose this might be the beginning idea of that transition. Just like Bond.

Nothing is etched in stone yet, of course, as a “revisit” will likely depend on how well the first movie does. So we’ll see.

In the meantime, let’s try to look forward to the movie and the return of

“…some familiar faces”

in the (first) movie, notably Chloe O’Brian. I’m still hoping for Tony, too.

More details on the film include “cold war themes”, and Jack’s remaining status of a “fugitive from everyone”, at least at the start of the movie. So it’s probably safe to say that Jack still has it in for the Russians. Suwarow is still alive, after all.

Stuff happened, y’know? Chloe  saved CTU, Renee saved Jack and heck, Jack got yet another chance at a Suicide Mission and then managed to cheat death by the skin of the teeth (or by the Bullet of Renee). Though I doubt that anyone watching truly believed that Jack would be offed by terrorists, I suppose it was nice to be reminded again of Jack’s willingness to Die For Something. Some might call it The Death Wish: one of Bauer’s character traits that have been following him since Day Two.

Ironically, it was in Day Two (episode 15, wasn’t it?), when George Mason took over the Cessna and Jack parachuted out of the Death Plane, that some of us stopped believing that Jack would ever die on screen, except, maybe, possibly when the clock tick-tocked for the very last time. And that, despite Kiefer Sutherland’s constant statements about how no one was safe on 24, that even Jack could die. But seriously: the moment the writers made Jack such a central figure that 24 couldn’t go on without him was the moment they decided they could never really kill him. And the fact that Bauer couldn’t die was part of the reason that tension and suspense have declined for me over the years. It’s not because I’m a blood-thirsty Bauer-hater or something equally annoying. No, it’s because the show’s suspense hinges on keeping you guessing, on putting people in peril and getting them out – or not. And the suspense lies in you actually believing that they might not get out.

With Bauer, it’s become increasingly clear that he’ll live to see the end of the show with all limbs and organs intact and his heart beating. So, at least for me, it’s come to the point where a Jack In Danger storyline just couldn’t get me to the edge of my seat anymore. What’s the point? I know that Jack will live. It’s everyone else around him that dies.

And so, as Jack offered Cole to draw fire so that Cole could get a chance to make his way to the landline and call CTU, I appreciated the gesture, but wasn’t really worried. Cole, on the other hand, might have bitten the bullet. Because, remember, this was episode 13 after all. The episode number that has cost us Tony Almeida (season 5), Bill Buchanan (season 7) and rung in Paul Raines’ death (Season 4) on the good guys’ side, and killed one of the show’s best villains, Ira Gaines (Season 1), got rid of  that annoying chap, Alan Milliken (season 3) and at least for now, done away with Charles Logan (Season 6). I’m saying “at least for now” because we have not really seen Logan die, the last I remember is him being rushed off to an ER, and so, technically, he could still be alive (not that I wouldn’t love to see him rot in hell!) Yeah, one could assume that he’s dead, but hey, stranger things have happened. For example, Christopher Henderson purposely missing Tony Almeida’s artery in the heat of the struggle . And if 24 has taught us anything, it’s not to assume anything. Right?

Anyhow, back to the ep. In many ways, it was a classic 24 episode.

We remember: In the 12th hour, the terrorists took out CTU with an ingenious, non-lethal, all-electronic-equipment-frying electromagnetic device called the EMP. (Allow me to mention that we saw the first use of the ElectroMagnetic Pulse Bomb in the 12th episode of Season 4. Coincidence?) Jack, having been-there-done-that, instantly understands what’s going on, and evokes a classic 24 element: the takeover of CTU by another agency. Since poor Ryan Chappelle is dead (and that bahstid Brad Hammond probably still in L.A.), CTU New York is subjected to a hostile takeover by the NSA.

As usual, the Other Agency boys come in with the often-seen attitude of “We’re here to clean up your mess, so get out of the way, shut up and let us work.” Are we to be surprised that everyone’s favorite techie, Chloe O’Brien, has a quicker way of restoring CTU? In ten minutes? Of course not. But the NSA won’t listen. Why would they? They don’t have agents in the field and the nuclear rods on their way into Downtown New York really aren’t all that pressing a matter.

However, Renee, on her way to find and save Jack from the real hostiles, disagrees. “Do what you have to do,” she tells Chloe and boom: Chloe’s got a gun! Although she “doesn’t even like guns”, she ushers the NSA dudes out at gunpoint, and starts to work her magic in the server room. More classic 24 follows as the CTU director finally puts his trust in the Magic Techie and Chloe restores CTU all by herself.

Another gal has got a gun, too: Renee. And lucky for Jack that she does. Cause if it hadn’t been for her, that evil sniper dude would have put a slug right into the defenceless Jack’s forehead. Saved by the gun. Thanks, Renee. Aww, that romance that’s building up between those two! The fear as she runs to Jack’s body on the ground, the relief as wakes up, as she sees that the armored vest had held, the gentle image of her cradling him while he struggles to breathe… (*sighs as memories return from ep 5×13… Tony… Jack… Brothers*). And let’s not forget that Jack had promised to be there for Renee “when this is all over.” That’s love, people! Jack has found a soul mate. We’ve known that since Season 7, haven’t we?

But how long will it last? Relationships with Bauer tend to be deadly to those who dare enter. “Everything you touch, one way or another, ends up dead.” Has Jack forgot James Heller’s words? Watch your back, Renee.

Finally, another classic 24 element: WE HAVE A MOLE! I don’t think I want to count how many there have been over the years, but Jennie a.k.a. Dana being in bed with the terrorists is one of the least surprising twists. The writers have basically done the same thing with her as with Sean Hillinger last year. From the start, Sean and Dana both had something to hide, and tried to make us believe it was just something personal, when in fact they were The Inside (Wo)Man, working with the bad guys. But at least now her story can finally become interesting. We’ll see!

In fact, the season just might get better as a whole from now on. It took forever to get to a place where I actually wanted to watch the episode again right after first seeing it – this 13th episode was the first that had that effect. But from interviews I’ve read in the past 48 hours, since the announcement of 24’s cancellation, it seems like Kiefer and Howard Gordon are actually proud of the second half of the season. One of them actually said that the remaining eps are up there with the best the show has ever done.

So we’ll see. At least now I’m interested again.

If HoGo proves right, and if, once those final seconds tick away, I do end up on the edge of my seat, wanting more, it will be what I’ve always wanted for the show. To go out with a bang.

Many of you in the comments are very disappointed, while others are obviously sad that the show is coming to an end (atleast on TV)…

“I am mourning 24 in real time.” – Damon Lindelof (Co-creator of Lost)

Others are slightly more philosophical about the cancellation…

“I think it’s time myself. I have loved this show for years but even I can tell its time has come.” – Melia (24addict.com)

And I would have to agree that it’s time. Ofcourse i’d thought that during seasons 4 & 6, and in reality i’d thought after the excellent first season that a second was unlikely. The format was completely geared to being “unique” and different, and that a second season obviously won’t be, and there would be no way for them to replicate what made the first season so gripping. In many ways they have never been able to get back to the highs of the first season, although they got very close with Day Five.

With every season there has been a feeling that the clock truly was ticking on the format, that it was getting harder and harder to come up with the original ideas to drive the show forward.

The Eighth season has had it’s critics, me and J_A have been two of them. And so I think it’s time had come, they’ve taken this decision at the right time and we can have some solace in it appearing to be a creative decision by Kiefer and the other Executive Producers and not a decision taken by Fox, which hopefully means the second half of Season Eight should build towards a fitting climax which can serve a series finale whilst laying some foundations for future movie adventures.

Personally i’m very excited at the possibility of a 24:Movie, because i’ve held the opinion from very early on in Season Eight that strip away some of the annoying sub-plots and rearrange a few things and the core story of Day Eight could have been a kick-ass storyline for the Movie.

As an addicted, wouldn’t shut-up about fan of the show since Day One, Hour One, Minute One (The show had me hooked inside 30 seconds) I’m sad to see the clock stop ticking on TV, but the future is still bright with a Movie now more likely than ever before, and you can rest assured the site will continue to be here as a source of news and views for the foreseeable future.

Not long after Jon Cassar, Rodney Charters and Mary-Lynn Rajskub broke the news about 24’s run ending after 8 seasons (see the article below), news about the movie have been twittered.

The news come from an interview with one of the showrunners, Howard Gordon. The article states that the movie is still essentially a go (although it gives no time frame on that), and discusses the possible fate of Jack Bauer. Also, it explains that ultimately the decision to cancel “24″ was made because:

“…from our point of view, the story was done.”

Now, that may be true, since the writers have been approaching the finale with the thought in mind that it will possibly be the series-ender, not just a season-ender.

But it also may roughly translate as: “We’ve had so much trouble coming up with ideas for THIS season, we can’t possibly imagine doing one more year of this, without it being another carbon copy of earlier seasons.”

You can find the full article here. It may contain mild spoilers, depending on your definition of the word.

Another article was just posted (yes, again, twitter), on L.A. Times online. Aside from giving a more comprehensive take on the show’s past, present and future, the article cites Kiefer Sutherland’s reflection of the series run:

“We’ve done eight years we’re very proud of, and we’re very excited about going into the film world with this” …. “It’s very sad, the only thing tempering this from being all-out heartbreak is the fact that we have this sense of accomplishment. That’s the only thing holding people up. Because, for me, and all these people who’ve been with us since the beginning, it’s a very special thing and it’s very sad to see it end.”

And it offers a light at the end of the tunnel considering the show’s development in the second half of the season. At least there’s a promise of improvement. Howard Gordon promises that:

“We’re taking some risks and it’s going to a place that I gotta say is pretty challenging. My feeling is that when the seconds tick down, I hope people are sitting forward saying they want more. How it ends is far grayer and more complex and more ‘24′ like than anything else.”

And Sutherland adds:

“What I do like about the ending and what I can say about it is that it’s very definitive about where Jack is going to end up.” …. “It can be perceived as a cliffhanger on some level, but there’s no questioning his options. That’s something we’ve never been able to do in the context of this series.”

20th Century Fox TV and Fox appear ready to end the long-running hit after this season, the show’s eighth.

Studio and network execs declined comment — but it’s believed that the final decision will be made in the next day or two. Move is not a huge surprise, but still reps the end of an era for Fox.

According to Variety, 24’s end has recently come a step closer, a ninth season is looking increasingly unlikely, but a Movie is still defintely a possibility.

——

So the two-night four-hour premiere has come and gone for the edge-of-you-seat, nail biting, adrenaline fuelled thrill ride of 24’s Eighth Season, leaving in its wake a body count, some new characters, some not so new plot concepts and what will undoubtedly be another very bad day for Jack Bauer.

Hailed as potentially being the last season of 24, Day Eight doesn’t begin with a bang. It does, however, get back down to the basics (aside from the super sleek looking CTU). The first two hours have been a nice and slow, character driven start. It may not have the break neck pace that some of the earlier seasons started with, but it works well as a piece of extremely cohesive and well done writing.

Part one of the premiere, 4:00PM – 6:00PM, kicks off with us meeting some new faces and having our screens graced with some old familiars. So I might do a little character exposé on some of the main players and leave plot details for another time.

As far as fresh faces go we have Cole Ortiz, the new Head of Field ops. Being dubbed as mini Jack, Cole doesn’t have an extremely Bauerish feel to him as of yet. He reminds me of an aspiring student who looks up to their teacher, only their teacher is a terrorist killing machine. He’s young but that’s not to say he’s inexperienced. He proves his expertise at field ops early on. Cole seems to see the world as very black and white, like the early Jack, except that foundation is rocked relatively early on. He meets his hero, who, refuses to help. And then an hour later sees said hero going head to head with the new CTU director. It’s at this point you can see the cog’s in his head grinding along and beginning to understand that maybe things aren’t so clear cut. It’ll be interesting to see what side his allegiances fall to throughout the day, but my money’s on Jack.

Dana Walsh, played by the exceptionally talent Katee Sackhoff, comes off as, in the first two hours, easily rattled and carrying some pretty heavy and potentially damaging (who am I kidding? this is 24! Of course it’s potentially damaging!) baggage. The role definitely shows that the Battlestar Galactica Alumni has got more talent then just the action stuff. She showcases a vast multitude of emotions from weak and vulnerable, to compassionate, to reserved. She hasn’t got a massive amount of depth at this point, but Dana is being positioned in a way such that she could emerge as a truly great character.

Brian Hastings the new CTU Director sounds a little bit like he’s trying to exist in an Aaron Sorkin script. He comes into the scene bristling with prettily dressed up insults that he uses to hastily dress down much loved characters. He’s not quirky or witty as a Sorkin character, but he’s definitely got parts of the vocabulary down. Hastings comes off as a real asshole in the first two hours, trampling on our much loved old characters, and shouting down some of the newer ones. Plain and simple, he’s a Bureaucrat and is established as being quick to cover up his own mistakes with a little coercion here and there. He’s reminiscent of Brad Hammond, at least to me, and I can see him hanging some of his people out to dry as the day progresses. Though unlike Brad, the character has made a good impact on me. I have him picked as the character you’re going to love to hate for the season, or for however long his run lasts anyway.

Islamic Republic President Omar Hassan is excellent. He’s portrayed with conviction which has been a casting problem at times with some of the leads (Marwan in season 4 being the best example). He comes off as being a very strong leader, a reformist and someone who seems like he genuinely wants to bring peace and stability to a war torn region. As the first two episodes progress we also get to see him as flawed, imperfect and weak, a trait that brings his character a lot of humanity and makes him all the more three dimensional. We see snippets of his family life, and it’s clearly illustrated that all is not well on the home front. His wife is resentful of him and is displeased with his presences at certain times. He goes to touch her at one point and she gives him one of those harshly worded one liners that scorned politicians wives so often do. His daughter on the other hand has a softer, kinder feel to her. It could be 24 subterfuge though to have us think that the mother is bad and the daughter is good, when really it’s the other way around. All in all, Hassan is a well rounded addition to the show, and the casting apartment couldn’t have done better then Anil Kapoor.

As for the returning old characters we’ve got Jack of course.

This Jack is very different. He’s someone who’s at peace with everything he’s done in his life, someone who has put his life back together and is starting a fresh and rebuilding with his family. He is extremely reluctant to dive back into his old terrorist threat defusing ways, and I’m glad it wasn’t handled with Jack just going “Okay I’m back in!” straight away this season. It was well done and served to establish his character as s much changed man, actually trying to distance himself from everything as opposed to him being out for a maximum of five minutes in earlier seasons. Point blank asked by CTU he refuses, he compromises, he does whatever he can to stay out. New and old faces are shocked by his words, leading to some amazingly emotional and well written scenes, especially with Chloe.

The main highlight from the first two hours definitely drew itself from that conversation, the lines “I can’t, not me, not this time.” Echoing how changed he was as opposed to seeming hollow and meaningless. I was believing the emotions behind the words this time and actually see him as a man who wanted out.

On a side note, we get to see an awesome kill by Jack in the first episode, as we all know the man can’t go for more then an hour without killing someone!

We’ve got Chloe, and boy has she been shaken up. Her character’s matured a bit, and she’s been downgraded this season. Nobody has confidence in her at the work place and you can see that’s hit her to the core. Chloe’s afraid for her job, she lacks the belief in her abilities that she once had, and she hasn’t got anyone at CTU that she can turn to. It’s a nice dynamic to see her character in a new position such as this. Chloe’s really been taken out of her comfort zone and thus far it’s worked a treat.

President Taylor’s back. We get a few little details dropped about what ended up happening with her daughter and husband, which was nice. She’s still a woman of integrity and strength, and actor Cherry Jones still plays her like a charm. Early on she’s put in a predicament and compromises the integirty that she has otherwise shown until now. If this gets built upon both as a character point and a plot point it could pan out to be incredibly interesting. Nothing like a flawed commander and chief paving the way throughout the season.

Kim’s back, much the same as she was in Season 7. Mature and not incredibly annoying as per usual. Along side her is her husband, who by doing simple memory mathematics from my head, gets about four minutes of screen time in two hours. There’s really not much more to say, other then she shares a very heartfelt conversation with Jack and it leads to one of those precious 24 character moments that we all know and love.

This is in no way covers all the new and old characters, having been excluded are Rob Weiss, Taylor’s new Chief of Staff, and old Chief of Staff Ethan Kanin, hopefully I’ll have a chance to go over them later. As for the moment I’ll leave it there.

All in all the first two hours were well done. They weren’t the best two hours of 24 ever, nor were they the best two hours of a premiere, but they were definitely up there. Things are being taken nice and slow, and the plot and motivations are coming into focus bit by bit, as opposed to being rushed into head long and plot being burnt through like no one’s business. Here’s hoping mistakes from earlier seasons aren’t repeated and we don’t end up with a good start and a bad middle. I’m confident however that this won’t happen since the writers are taking there time with things and focusing on characters.

So what are my predications so far for the new season?

If it’s the last season, Jack is going to give his final curtain call on this day. I see some serious elusions to this. His dialogue to Chloe in hour two when he refuses to come back in, the conversation with Kim that follows. Never before have we seen Jack so adamantly refuse to help. It’s like he knows that if he takes one last dive into the world of counter terrorism, that this forray will be his last. Also the scene on the rooftop in the first episode between him and Cole, when Jack looks at him and the helicopter, it’s like he knows that he’s not getting out. That he’s stuck.

I feel like we might also be seeing the last of Chloe. Jack’s attitude towards her seems as if he’s taken her for granted, which I think will be a nice time to off her and really show a very vulnerable angle of Jack. Though this may also not be the case, I’ve got a feeling that she’ll go, and that the prior mentioned conversation between her and Jack in hour two was foreshadowing this in some way. That being said I’m not calling for her death, I like Chloe, she’s my tech girl.

The female news anchor from the start of hour one when Jack is watching T.V with Teri coming to play some prominent or important role. I picked up on this vibe because Jack perked up at her name and did his little frown thing that is key for “all is not well in the world”. Though he could have just been interested in the news segment more so then the reporter, I think it could be an interesting angle to work if done right later on down the track.

Cole taking the Jack Bauer route, pretty much a given.

Renee coming back kicking lots and lots of ass. I am totally psyched for Renee’s return. She has quickly become my favourite character and was fleshed out exceptionally well for season 7. She had an extremely diverse and well plotted character arc last season, and I’m hoping they’ll give her another one this time round. (If she can beat nailing a terrorist in the face with a shovel in season 7 I will be immensely happy.)

What do I want most from this season of 24?

Closure.

The only reason I can see for doing another season is to give some closure, as, from a story telling perspective, season 7 was the perfect place to end it. Jack had been redeemed, Renee was left hanging in the balance of moral ambiguity (not so much hanging in the balance as jumping off a cliff), the conspiracy plot from way back in season 5 had been brought to some semblance of a close, and Tony Almeida had (at least in my eyes) been given some valid reasoning for his actions throughout the course of the day. Jack’s fate was also left up in the air.

A nice ending point.

There were enough answered and unanswered questions for the season seven finale to also serve as the series finale.

So the only reason for an additional season is to tie up some loose threads, what happened with Renee and Alan Wilson? Even though that was very explicitly implied it’d be nice to get an idea of what the repercussions were and what information he gave up about the group. Where Tony is at, if Jack has seen him? Those sorts of things would be the kind of questions you’d want to answer in an additional season.

And if it is the last, we gotta have some Tony, especially at the end of the day. One last Jack and Tony scene, something honest, heartfelt, and truly emotional. I’m not going to denounce the show for not bringing him back this season, though I am going to say that I think it’s a mistake, as a dynamic that has always work well for the show is Tony and Jack playing off one another, especially evident in seasons 3 and 7.

And if it were me, I’d spend it focusing on the group, who have now been around since season 5 to form the mother of all conspiracies. It’d be nice to explore them, their motives, who they all are, and just how deeply they’ve imbedded themselves into American society and politics.

That would be something interesting to explore, especially as it’s become a pinnacle of intrigue in the 24 world.

But we are yet to see if it will be explored in the new season, only the next 18 hours of Jack Bauer’s, potentially last, very bad day will tell.

Unfortunately both myself and J_A reside outside of America, meaning we can’t post along with the U.S. schedule. Myself I will be posting my thoughts on the new episodes as they air in the U.K. roughly a week after the U.S., and if you wish hard enough I’m sure J_A will share her thoughts on a Tony-less Eighth Day.

We’re also always on the look out for new contributors, so if you fancy posting your thoughts on the latest episodes where a lot of fellow fans can read and disagree with you, get in contact with me at webmaster@24fans.com with a little bit about your self, along with a sample piece about the new season of atleast 200 words.

If we think back to Redemption, we remember – Jack had spent one or two years travelling around the world, trying to stay one step ahead of the people who wanted to subpoena him back to the US, but that wasn’t the only reason. He was looking for something, and as he so nicely stated when asked by David Emerson (R.I.P. David, I wish we could have seen more of you) what it was that he was looking for, “It doesn’t really matter. Whatever it was, I didn’t find it.”

I think that in the moment quoted by Dan, where Jack tells Renée about the 15 people on the bus, Jack did find it: the understanding of why he’s done the things he’s done the way that he did: his heart. And there you have it: Bauer isn’t above the law, he’s just between laws, the laws of the country and his mind, and those of his heart. In that moment, like Dan said, Jack made sense.

But as for peace, is it absolutely necessary for Jack to be at peace? Isn’t Jack the tragic hero who never quite gets there? I frankly don’t believe that it is possible for Jack to leave his demons behind and finally live a happily-ever-after life; it is not possible for Jack to live in peace, not until one of two things is erased from this Earth: evil or Jack himself.

There were times when Jack seemed at peace. And those were the moments when he’d made his peace with the thought of dying. When he felt that he had the choice, a chance to choose whether he lived or died, a chance to die in his own way.

We saw him go quietly and peacefully into his planned death in season 6, as he’d been taken home from China and asked to lay down his life for the Greater Good. He agreed without a second thought, without hesitation, and explained to us that…

“The only reason I fought so hard to stay alive in China was because I didn’t want to die for nothing. … Today I can die for something. My ­rules, my way.”

And we’ve seen him lie on his deathbed peacefully in Season 7, having made peace with the thought of dying once more, knowing that in his last 24 hours on Earth he’d helped avoid yet another big terrorist attack, after knowing that he’s done one final big deed, and taken down yet another terrorist, that his daughter was doing well, and wasn’t going to watch him die, that he had a choice to end things and finally escape his demons for good… That’s when Jack decided that he could leave this world. And finally, rest in peace.

To me, this could have been the perfect ending for a tragic hero like Jack. Completely anti-climatic of course, since, hey, wouldn’t we all rather have him run into that huge, bomb-rigged, burning building, rescue 100 hostages and then get back inside to hunt down that one last bad guy, run out of bullets during that final shootout, but instead of letting the guy escape, Jack cuffs himself to the terrorist and a pole in the middle of the room and they both get blown into pieces…? To go out with a bang, that’s the other possibility, and seeing as Jack’s survived Season 7, it just might be what the writers are ultimately aiming for, whenever his countdown ends. Otherwise, they would have made the bold call and let him draw his last breath in Season 7.

However, Kim wasn’t ready to let go and so, Jack lives to see another day. I can’t imagine the anger and disappointment in his mind when he woke up one day and realized that Kim had overruled him. And what would have been his feelings when, the day after the stem cell treatment had been completed and pronounced successful, the doctors told him that he would survive?

“You’re cursed, Jack. Everything you touch, one way or another, winds up dead.”

Has Jack ever forgotten Heller’s words? How long did it take him to dare get close to Kim’s new family? How long until he stopped looking over his shoulder, wondering when the other shoe would drop? Has he ever?

My guess is that by Season 8, Jack’s seemingly at peace with life in general. He’s a granpa, he’s reunited with the only family he has left, he’s probably retired and trying to stay one step ahead of his past every day, trying to make the peace last, trying to keep the world he’s left behind as far away from the family as possible. But I don’t think that he’s completely detached from his demons, from nightmares. He just might wake up every day wondering if today would be the day that his new-found idyll gets crudely smashed and put into jeopardy.

Over the years, Jack had come to an understanding that,…

“You cannot have a normal life and do this job at the same time.”

…And then he’s seen that even choosing the normal life over the job does not offer any guarantees (a.k.a. Michelle’s death and Tony’s downfall). He himself had tried it more than once, getting out of counter-terrorist work and being pulled back in. The difference: it had been more by necessity than by choice back then – this time it’s personal, and it’s his choice. He dares live with a family again, he dares make real emotional connections, and that means that if things go wrong again, someone will miss him. There are people he cares about again, family he’ll do anything to protect. When shit hits the fan, Jack will be vulnerable. Actually, that’s a good starting point.

The burning question is: Will he be any different when it does happen? Will we get yet another instance of the uncompromising, hard, no-nonsense Jack? Or will it be a vulnerable kind of Jack, the season 1- kind?

I know that it isn’t possible for Jack to emotionally or in any way return to the way things were back all those years ago, not with everything that he’s been through. But people who’ve survived a potentially fatal illness and literally come back from the dead (no pun intended), tend to have a different view of the world, a different view on life.

And it might be interesting to explore this kind of thing with someone whom we’ve come to know as someone who…

“will let you bleed to death on this landing”

…if you don’t start talking, but also as someone who….

“will do whatever it takes to save [the 15 people on the bus], and I mean whatever it takes, because maybe I thought if I could save them, I could save myself.”

I wish he could. I hope he can. Someday. In life or death.

J_A broke a little while ago the news that according to tweets by Rodney Charter’s every indication is that Season 8 will be the last. Obviously this doesn’t rule out another season somewhere down the road, the show returning to television in another form or the much talked about film, but certainly Season 9 in January 2011 at this point seems unlikely.

Previously on this site you may also have read my article detailing my reasoning why Season 7 should have been the last we saw of Jack. From comments on that post I seem to be in a minority of 1. Although news that S8 may be the last suggests maybe that was the plan, until the producers found out that S8 would be the last. Logically it doesn’t make sense to go into what you know is the final season having just killed the lead, but previously they may have hoped to use S8 as the relaunch of the show with a new lead character (Renee for example).

With the whole show drawing to an end they can give Jack a final 24 hours which builds on Season 7’s final moments, instead of undoing them. Of course Jack isn’t the only character who needs closure on ‘24′. Tony deserves closure as well, and although at the moment it doesn’t look as if he’s going to get it at the moment, I still hold out hope that either his denials of involvement are either a red herring, or that his involvement will be in the final hours or minutes.

I think perhaps it would be more useful to state what I hope the show achieves between now and the end of the show, whether that be episode 24 of season 8, or beyond, instead of making predictions.

As previously stated they need to build upon Jack’s moment of piece from Season 7, his coming terms with his actions in the past 7 days, and for him to come to some lasting peace, to have built a life which is not only a temporary resting place. To me it’s long looked like he could only achieve that in death, or if the situations that keep bringing him out of retirement to stop. It really could take World Peace for Jack Bauer to be at peace. What a plot twist that would be.

I’ve often thought of Jack not as the lead of the show, but simply the centre. His relationships with those around him are what’s drive the show during it’s best moments. With Chloe, With Palmer, With Kim, With Teri and those who followed her. With Tony.

The Tragedy of Jack Bauer is he does what he does, so that other don’t have too. That has long been his rationale, motivation and justification, ever season Day Two. But in reality the more Jack Bauer does what he does, the more he becomes the rule, and not the exception. Season 7 saw Renee start down the path and saw Tony at what may be the end of one of the forks in the road.

The End of 24 needs to deal with what happens to those who go down that road. Can they turn back? Can there be a happy ending? Or is there simply a dead end?

These are questions which need answering if Jack Bauer is to be at peace and if the show is going to end in peace. And perhaps I was wrong, perhaps there can be no 24 without Jack, perhaps Jack is 24, but if that’s true, then Tony is 24 and so is Renee, as well as anyone else who has walked the same line.

We’ll have these questions answered, but only when they stop the clock.