24 Live Another Day: Ep 12. – 10 pm to 11 am

Samurai Jack

Let's call it a day.

Tonight may have been the last episode of the season for 24, but it was also a first for the show. For the first time ever, there was a time jump, skipping from 10:46 at night to 10:50 in the morning. I gotta be honest with you, I think the 12 episode format worked pretty well. Having fewer episodes meant there was much less filler and a much tighter storyline than the last couple of seasons. Let’s get to it.

Tonight we pick up right where we left off, with Audrey on the park bench, in the sights of Cheng’s sniper. Everyone else is dead, except her Chinese friend Cheryl, who is hurt badly. But when Audrey goes to help her, Cheryl gets the “double tap” from the sniper to be sure she’s dead. Obviously the shooter has seen Zombieland. (See below.)

Jack finds a hidden cell phone at the residence of the dead Russian and uses his fingerprint to unlock the phone. This tells him two things; where Chang is going and also that Audrey is in trouble. (Jack should have taken this opportunity to post some humorous things on the Russian’s Facebook page while he was logged in under his profile, like “I’m a big poopie-head and Jack Bauer is the coolest.”)

Jack decides it’s best if he goes after Cheng and Sexy Agent Morgan go save Audrey. At one point Mark Boudreau chastises Jack for not going after Audrey himself, especially since it’s obvious he loves her. To this Jack simply says “Shut up.” If this show was on HBO, I think there would have been an F Bomb dropped right there.

So Sexy Agent Morgan heads for Audrey, while Jack heads for Cheng at the docks and the Chinese warships head for the US bases in Japan. President Heller warns the Chinese President that if his ships cross the 12-mile line, he’ll be forced to fight. The Chinese Prez does not care. Unless Heller can produce proof of Cheng’s existence, along with the device, the Chinese will retaliate for their sunken carrier. This goes on for the rest of the episode.

On his way to the docks, Jack gets a call from Chloe, who has emerged from the woods and is picked up by a nice couple passing by. Jack does not trust Chloe since she was working with Cross, but Chloe assures him that Cross had deceived her and that she did everything she could to get the device from Cross. She also points out that she’s just about Jack’s only friend. That’s good enough for Jack and he picks her up. (Jack thinks Chloe looks pretty banged up, but he’s not sure if she has a black eye or if that’s just part of her whole goth thing.)

We add Belcheck to the team and we’ve got the whole band back together and they are ready to rock Cheng’s world. 

Meanwhile, Sexy Agent Morgan and her team sneak up to Audrey’s location and establish communication with her. They ask her to make a sudden move, betting that the sniper really doesn’t want to kill her. This seems like an enormous risk, and one that could have been avoided with the simple use of night vision scopes. But it works. The sniper makes a warning shot and gives away his position. Now the team just has to get him before he spots them.

Back at the docks, Chloe sees a DirecTV dish and with it is able to hack into everything in the area. She helps Jack and Belcheck navigate onto Cheng’s boat and tells them where to go and where to shoot. It’s like she’s playing the 24 video game on Nintendo. And with her help, Jack and Belcheck take out a ton of bad guys. But just when Chloe thinks she may get high score on the 24 game, Cheng’s men detect her hack. They are on to them! Chloe calls Sexy Agent Morgan and tells her to get Audrey out now, before Cheng can call the sniper and give the kill order.

The Fates of the Spinal Tap Drummers

Agent Morgan instructs Audrey to get the hell out of the way and they take out the sniper just as he’s about the take the shot. Then Kate lets Jack know they are all clear to move on Cheng. But shortly after that, more of Cheng’s men pull up and open fire on them. Sexy Agent Morgan returns fire and scares them off, but Audrey has been hit. She goes down and Sexy Agent Morgan tries to stabilize her, but it's no use. Another woman that Jack Bauer loves is gone. Being Jack Bauer’s love interest is the only job more deadly than being a drummer for Spinal Tap.

Farewell, Pretty Lady.

So we get one of the key ingredients for a 24 finale; the death of a major character. We go to commercial with the silent clock, as is the 24 tradition when there is a major death on the show. But when we come back, and Jack gets the news from Sexy Agent Morgan, we get something else that we love in a 24 finale- Angry Jack Bauer… and OH MAN, is he pissed. After almost breaking down into tears, Jack sucks in his anger and hate and goes berserk. It’s awesome. He screams, he shoots, he throws knives and he kicks everyone’s ass between him and Cheng.

Nice moves, Bauer.

Then he and Cheng battle it out and Cheng almost extinguishes Jack’s rage with a fire extinguisher, but not quite. After a short fight, Jack beats Cheng into submission and then Skypes the President so they can confirm Cheng’s identity with facial and vocal recognition software. Once that’s done, Jack chops off Cheng’s head with a freaking Samurai sword. Somewhere, Michonne from The Walking Dead is smiling.

So the crisis is averted, but Heller is so upset when he learns of Audrey’s fate that he collapses. Meanwhile, Jack goes to find Chloe, but she is not at her post. All he finds is some blood. Then he gets a mysterious call and agrees to a meeting. (Looks like Jack has to play "Find Goth Chloe" for real!)

That’s when the time jump happens.

Hey Cheng!

The next morning, Sexy Agent Morgan hands in her final report to Ritter and leaves her gun and badge on the table as she leaves the CIA. Probably for a modeling career that will pay her a ton more money and is a hell of a lot less dangerous.

Heller escorts Audrey’s casket onto Air Force One and tells the Prime Minister a story about how he is starting to lose his mind and soon enough he won’t even remember this pain or that he even had a daughter. It’s just about the most depressing thing I’ve ever heard.

Mark Boudreau is on his way back to the USA as well, but in handcuffs. Not a great day for this guy, huh?

Finally, we see Jack pull up to a remote location outside of London, where a helicopter has just landed. Snipers cover his every move. It’s the Russians. They’ve got Chloe and Jack is going to trade his freedom for hers. As they pass each other, Jack thanks her and confirms that she is in fact, his best friend. He boards the chopper, heading for certain torture and doom, but he’s smiling, because Chloe is safe.

Besides, what’s a little imprisonment and torture to Jack Bauer? 
It’s just another day.

Let’s close with a final round of FIND GOTH CHLOE. You know how it works. See if you can find our favorite black-eyed goth gal among these other photos. Good luck. 

Can you find Goth Chloe?

So that's it. Thanks for joining me each week. I hope you got a kick out of these recaps. Let me know your thoughts and feedback below and watch this blog for other stuff I write and do, like my Monster Men video podcast. And you can follow me on Twitter at @BackinJack.

And I’ll see you for the next season of 24… if there is one. 

The Double Tap