24: Live Another Day 9.09: Day 9: 7PM - 8PM
Tony Basgallop, Sang Kyu Kim, Evan Katz, and Manny Coto
Milan Cheylov
There seems little doubt that the season has
launched into the resolution phase of the story, as major plot elements are
brought to an end and the final conflicts are further prepared. I’m not sure why this required the efforts of
four members of the writing staff, between the story and the screenplay, but it
might explain why a certain ruse didn’t quite add up, and why Jack’s
characterization takes a drastic relapse into the worst possible territory.
The season, up to this point, appeared to be
making the case that Jack was choosing to limit his actions for the purpose of
atoning for his murderous rampage at the end of the eighth season. In other words, he understood that he had
crossed the line, that he might never be able to atone for it, and yet he was
making an effort. He even had a pardon
from Heller in his pocket. So what
possible reason would he have, at this point, to kill Margot in cold blood?
Tossing Ian out of the window was problematic
enough, but at least in that case, it was in the middle of the operation to
stop the terrorist attack that would kill hundreds, if not thousands, at the
transit hub. The objective hadn’t been
accomplished, and Jack was forced to eliminate Margot’s henchmen in the process. All well and good. And I’ll even grant that Margot wasn’t the
result of pre-meditated murder, like Jack’s victims at the end of the eighth
season. Yet, it’s still questionable,
and the complete lack of follow-up in the episode suggests it was justified and
even to be celebrated.
It’s hardly the only sin of the episode. Heller’s survival is a bit of a cheat, to say
the least, even if it serves the purpose of driving both the elimination of
most of the drones off the game board and the final gambit with the transit
hub. Was there really time for Chloe to
pull off the miracle play? I’m not so
sure, but I’ll give the writers credit for running through the hand-waving
quickly enough to make the matter a moot point.
Besides, Chloe’s relationship with Adrian Cross is still the bigger
head-scratcher, since it continues to make no sense at all.
Not surprisingly, there is a bigger conspiracy
behind it all. Margot’s plot involved a
device that allowed her to hack into heavily sensitive defense systems, and now
it is revealed that the whole mess with Kate’s husband, Navarro, Cross, and
this mysterious person behind Cross is connected as well. It’s nice to see things coming together, but
it does seem a little convenient. That
said, it underscores the immorality of Cross and those backing his Open Cell
movement, and the all-too realistic notion that sincere revolutionaries are
typically being manipulated by those with more sinister aims.
- The season is coming full circle
- The tighter pacing of the shorter season
- Jack’s moral compass is seriously damaged
- Heller’s survival is a bit convenient in execution
- Chloe’s motives need better explanation
Flaco_Jones
CONCURRING OPINION