24 Live Another Day: Ep 11. – 9 pm to 10 pm

From Russia with Love

“It’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.”

You know that saying? I wonder what Jack Bauer thinks of it. After all, he loses just about everything he loves. So I wonder, does he sometimes wish he had never loved and spared himself the pain? Or at the least, does he regret coming out of hiding this morning?

This week’s episode of 24 certainly does not paint an optimistic picture for Jack’s future happiness. Audrey, the woman he loves, is married to another man; the man who betrayed him to the Russians. Also, Cheng, the man who tortured both he and Audrey, and was long thought dead, is back and is about to start World War Three. But first, he may just kill Audrey.

This week started off with the Chinese carrier in flames, while Sexy Agent Morgan and Jack continue to shoot it out with the Russians. Heller ends up Skyping with the Chinese President, trying to explain that the attack on the ship was due to an attack by a dead man with a magical device that can penetrate any defense system. The Chinese President isn’t buying it. That seems absurd. I guess he’s never watched 24 before, because this kind of stuff happens all the time. Remember the year that Edgar died? (God rest his soul. Let’s drink a social for Edgar.) That year there was a device that could control every nuclear reactor. (Pronounced New-Clee-Yur if you work for the US military on this show.)

So the Heller has to provide proof of Cheng’s existence in order to prevent the Chinese from striking the US base in Okinawa. But he’d better hurry. The Chinese jets are in the air and get closer and closer with every commercial break.

What's hotter? Flaming propane tanks or me?

Back at the shootout, Sexy Agent Morgan and Jack are running low on ammo, but luckily the Russians take a position near a bunch of propane tanks. Sexy Agent Morgan shows that she’s not just a pretty face when she instructs Jack to shoot the tanks. BOOM! The tanks blow up, the Russians are on fire and CIA back-up units show up to subdue the rest of the bad guys. They reload and follow Jack’s tracker to the location where the magic override device, and Chloe, should be.

But Cheng leaves the scene with Chloe and the device in tow. Chloe tries to pull a fast one and sneak a cell phone into her goth glove, but Cheng always seems to know her moves. But in the truck, on their way to the docks, Chloe pulls a move that Cheng does not see coming. She grabs a pipe and goes medieval on Cheng’s ass… along with his goons. Then she leaps out of the speeding truck and tumbles through the woods like Wesley and Buttercup in Princess Bride. Even though it does not seem to be a slope.

Roll with it, baby.

Cheng’s men search for her, but they take-off after a brush with a British military patrol. Chloe lies unconscious in the woods. At this point I am hoping she is rescued by a group of seven dwarves.

We also learn that Cheng is in cahoots with Stolnavich, the sinister Russian that Mark Boudreau has been dealing with. But thanks to Ritter and the CIA computer nerd, Jack also figures out that Boudreau was the one that lead the Russians to him. Jack gets back to the residence and pulls a gun on Boudreau, while he explains to Heller what happened. Boudreau confesses and says he did it for Heller and the good of the United States. Heller’s not buying it and wants him arrested for treason, but Jack has a better idea. They can use him to track down Stolnavich and hopefully that leads them to Cheng. You see, Boudreau knows where the Russian lives.

So they outfit Boudreau with an ear piece and a webcam lapel pin and send him to the front gate to attempt to gain entry and to give the CIA hacker a look at the security system. I guess they never saw Zero Dark Thirty, because I think they could have just as easily sent a Seal team in there… but where’s the fun in that? Besides, Jack Bauer is a human Seal team.

Boudreau offers to sell secrets to the Russians if they give him asylum, so Stolnavich lets him in. This also enables the CIA to hack the security system and they can scope out the guard situation. Then Jack and Sexy Agent Morgan storm the residence while Boudreau and Stolnavich wrestle through some glass doors. Naturally, the Russian gets a shard of glass in his neck and dies without disclosing the whereabouts of Cheng.  DAMMIT!

Meanwhile, Audrey meets up with an old friend from the Chinese embassy and asks her to get some evidence of Cheng and the device to the Chinese President before the missiles start to fly. Her friend agrees, but of course, they decided to meet outside instead of in a Starbucks or a pub… so a sniper picks off the Chinese woman. Then all of Audrey’s secret service detail are taken out. It’s Cheng… who else? Now he’s got Audrey in his sites.

- Will Wesley, I mean Jack, come for his true love?
- Is Chloe "All Dead" or “Mostly dead"? And is she far from Miracle Max’s house?
- Will Heller make it through his last day in office?
- Will Indigo Montoya find the six-fingered man?
- Will Jack find Cheng?

Tune in next week. It’s the season finale!

Let’s close with another round of FIND GOTH CHLOE. You know how it works. See if you can find our favorite goth hacker among these other photos. Good luck. 

Can you find Goth Chloe?

As usual, your feedback and comments are welcome. And you can find me on Twitter at @BackinJack.