I haven’t post a review in a fare while, sorry about that, easter has knocked by schedules out. This is meant to be a review of the last four episodes, but really i’ll be focusing on the last two.
Many reviewers have been wondering the usual things when the show has an off week recently, is the show past it’s best, is a worrying trend emerging or is it just usual fluctuations? Every week I seemed to have a different answer in my head to these questions. After episode 14, I thought that the series has a whole was moving in the right direction, that they were past the bump and it would be all good from here on out. Then I saw episode 15, which was mostly filler, although in the end it did manage to move the plot forward, it did so in quite a pedestrian way.
16 and 17 have allayed my fears, actually I’m wondering why I ever doubted.
16 was a very odd episode, because it’s a rare thing to go into an episode with the situation being the same as a second series episode. VP making a grab for power, use of military in dispute, in reaction to use of nuclear weapon and on the brink of war.
And yet the writers didn’t seem that worried, so either they have shorter memories as we do, or they have something up there sleeves to make this different. They did.
Infact they got through the 25th hearings quickly, perhaps knowing that the long dramatic arguments from four years ago could not be topped and instead the decision hinged on a technicality and while that was being worked out they focused on what the proceedings meant to those involved, how they saw the situations and what was at stake, and how much the rules could be bent for the “greater good”.
Wayne wins through and launches the attack anyway. Skip through to the next episode and it’s all a bluff to gain info from Fayed’s country. It’s odd how the audiences view of Wayne can turn on the spot, but it really doesn’t feel forced and with these two episodes i really believe Wayne has finally come into his own, he’ll always be in David’s shadow, but he’s dealt with it.
Onto the other main plot. 16 sees another sting, but as it’s not played in the usual way they get away with it. Gredenko’s death in this episode felt a little “shrug” when it happened, which was quite disappointing for many reasons, but having seen 17 you can see why it was necessary.
It’s an odd conceit that 17 starts with Fayed in the same situation which Gredenko was at the start of 16. But it’s a testament to the writers ability to spin out new scenarios very quickly that it doesn’t get boring. They got themselves out of a plot hole by pulling off a trick which other shows just couldn’t do and not make ridiculous. Of course viewers know that Doyle and Jack go down far to easy in the gunfight, but the audacity of the idea marks that complaint null and void.
Skip ahead a few minutes and Jack is in full action hero mode hanging onto the bottom of a rubbish truck, once at there location Jack dispatches numerous henchman before the bullets run out and Jack and Fayed go at it hand to hand in fight which could be from a die hard or bourne film. Jack even delivers one of John McClane’s great lines “say hello to your brother”.
The tunnelled vision killing sequence is one which is necessary for an all american hero to pull off and Jack’s had many down the years, the most memorable has to be slaughtering of the drazens and there henchman in the finale of series one, but this was up there and will provide much favourable evidence in the Jack Bauer v James Bond/John McClane/Jason Bourne arguments.
Ofcourse there are still 7 episodes left and so they have to throw us a curve ball in the last few moments. Audrey was it. Be honest, we knew she was still alive, but the prospect of Jack being put into another “save the one he loves” scenario is a mouth-watering one. And with Doyle’s continued character build up (dunno about you, but I quite like him now) and Wayne suddenly not seeming like a wimp these are 7 episodes which I honestly can’t wait-(would sell a limb to see all right now)-to see.