"Paul Levinson's It's Real Life is a page-turning exploration into that multiverse known as rock and roll. But it is much more than a marvelous adventure narrated by a master storyteller...it is also an exquisite meditation on the very nature of alternate history." -- Jack Dann, The Fiction Writer's Guide to Alternate History

Monday, May 3, 2010

24 8.20: Jack vs. Dana

You know what I really like about Jack Bauer?

He comes upon the guy holding a gun to Dana's head.  He needs her alive, so he can get the evidence she says she has about the people behind Renee's murder and the almost-dirty bombing of Manhattan.  The guy with the guns tells Jack he won't dare shoot, and risk killing Dana (because the guy could get off a shot an instant before Jack's bullet got him).  How many times have you seen that before?   On how many shows?   But not here, not now.  Jack shoots him dead, before the words are out of his mouth.  That's what I like about Jack.

So he springs Dana, and she leads Jack and Cole to the evidence, only to get the jump on Cole, kill a few more people, and nearly escape from Jack.   And he finds her, he gets the evidence she is carrying- and kills her.  Saved and killed by the same hero.   That's power of 24.

But with Dana's death, we'll now never know if Jack was telling Cole and Dana the truth when he said he wasn't interested in killing Dana, just finding out who was behind Renee's death and the dirty bomb so he could being them to justice.    Was he telling the truth?   I'm really not sure.   And that's part of appeal of 24 - razor-sharp plots that could turn either way.   And sometimes you can't be sure what happened even after you've just seen it.

Maybe the most likely explanation is that Jack would have let Dana go, but decided he'd better not, after he'd seen the new damage she'd done, after she'd almost gotten away.   Maybe he didn't believe her when she assured him she hadn't killed Cole.   I probably wouldn't have, unless I'd seen it with my own eyes.

So Dana's now history.   She started out a little slowly, but in her own way wound up one of the superior villains on 24, in one of the best seasons of the series.

And Jack's still got Logan and his aide and the Russians to contend with....

Note added 4 May 2010:  At the press conference held earlier today about the capturing of one of the suspects in car bomb that almost went off in New York's Time Square this weekend, NY Police Commissioner Ray Kelly - one of the best commissioners in NYC history - quipped that they nabbed the suspect in 56 hours, not quite as good as "Jack Bauer" and his 24 hours.  Shows how relevant 24 still is to the dangerous world in which we live, especially if, like my family and me, you live in or near New York City.


5-min podcast review of 24


 
See also Season 8 reviews: Hours 1 and 2 ... Hours 3 and 4 ... Hour 5 ... Hour 6 ... Hour 7 ... Hour 8 ... Hour 9 ... Hour 10 ... Hour 11 ... Hour 12 ... Hour 13 ... Hour 14 ... Hours 15-16 ... Hour 17 ... Hour 18 ... Hour 19

And see also Season 7 reviews: Hours 1 and 2 ... Hours 3 and 4 ... Hour 5 ... Hour 6 ... Hour 7 ... Hour 8 ... Hour 9 ... Hour 10 ... Hours 11-12 ... Hour 13 ... Hour 14 ... Hour 15 ... Hour 16 ... Hour 17 ... Hour 18 ... Hour 19 ... Hour 20 ... Hour 21 ... Hour 22  ... Hours 23-24 







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4 comments:

karen said...

But how is he ever going to avoid jail?? unless of course that's how it will end. and the movie will pick up after he's released . . . lol.

Anonymous said...

I think Jack will die. I remember the producer saying Jack has too much blood on his hands to live.

snape said...

I totally agree with everything you've written...
this episode was absolutely perfect and it reminded me why I love this show so much...and Kiefer has done a fantastic job in portraying Jack's rage.
I'm also happy that Dana is finally dead and I think that Logan is an idiot if he thinks that he can stop Jack...we all know that when Jack wants revenge there's no one who can stop him!!

M.P. Andonee said...

I am reminded of "Shark jumping"... (what does this phrase even mean?).

Yet, "24" would not even be what it is, without the plot twists we saw happening in this episode.

I ask: Jack did not go over board like this when his wife was killed, but he could have, and he would have done the same for his daughter.

But they took his Renee, and that was too much. They went too far. How far does Jack go this time? I think he brings the whole house of cards down with him, BUT he will need help. He will need the assistance of Chloe for sure, because people are after him now too. Logan is going down (again), the Russians will be exposed, and the administration will fall (the president will be impeached) -- because she deserves to. If she doesn't, if the show comes to the edge, but does not come through with this and execute, even if it means the death of Jack or his incarceration because of his methods, then I would be very disappointed in the show. I know there are no moral absolutes in life, but at least give Jack THAT win, why don't you?

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