24 8.19: Jack vs. Chloe

Jack vs. Chloe - the very phrase is unbelievable to 24 fans - the two have been steadfast throughout the series, Chloe having Jack's back against all odds, willing to make any sacrifice to help him.  She thinks for herself.  But she has enormous respect for Jack's judgment.   The notion that she could work against him, let alone double cross him, even for what she perceives as his own good, is antithetical to our fundamental conceptions of 24.   But this is exactly what happens in Episode 8.19.

President Allison Taylor (we'll get to her in a moment) has ordered Chloe to take Jack into custody.   But Jack calls Chloe and pleads for her help in getting some time with Dana.   Chloe reluctantly agrees - at least, at first.   But she changes her mind, after assuring Jack, and puts together a plan to take Jack into custody after all.  Pretending to be the Chloe of old, she pretends to be sending Jack to where Dana is being held.   In reality, she's sending Jack to be apprehended by Cole and his team.

Chloe does this because she's been ordered to get Jack by the President, and because she thinks this is in Jack's best interest.  I still find it unacceptable.   Jack appears to walk right into the trap.  But he gets the drop on Cole.  Jack knew what was going on.  "I know Chloe," he explains to Cole, as he recruits him (good! - the two are a good team).   Jack apparently knows Chloe better than we know him - I was pretty sure Jack was walking into a trap.

But what did he know about Chloe?   Was it something in the tone of her voice?   Or did he know she would never disobey a President?   But wasn't Chloe around during the tenures of some bad Presidents - for example, Logan (24's Richard Nixon)?

Speaking of which, Logan has totally gotten to President Taylor - he's convinced her that no means is too much to achieve the end, the goal, of peace.   That includes even having a private team of killers torturing Dana to find out what she knows.  Ethan tries, in vain, to talk her out of this.  He correctly sees that Taylor wants the peace agreement not just as a step towards world peace, but to justify the Presidency that has taken her husband and her children from her in one way or another.

And the clock ticks down on the last episodes of 24, the television series, in a season which will rank as one of the very best in surprising, powerful twists.


7-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

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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