’24’ has given viewers plenty of great season finales in its time. Too bad Monday’s two-hour episode left viewers aching for more information when the screen went black and the numbers ticked away. Let’s face it, we were probably left in worst shape than Jack — and that’s saying something.

Synopsis:

(Just fair warning: spoilers below.)

The finale began with Jack overpowering the FBI agents and releasing Tony. As Tony lead Jack, Jack whispered instructions to Renee, telling her the bad guys will kill his daughter if he didn’t free Tony.

Tony and Chief Female Baddie brought Jack to a warehouse. Some creepy biologists sedated Jack and took a sample of his spinal fluid. Yick. They wanted to see if they can reconstitute the bio weapon from Jack’s fluid.

Female Chief Baddie arranged for Tony to meet her boss, Allan Wilson, to discuss Tony’s future role in the shadow organization and to pick up Jack. Not too surprisingly, Jack escaped from the biologists after slicing a few necks. Female Chief Baddie and Tony chased after him. Tony cornered and recaptured him after Jack almost blows them both sky high.

Meanwhile, Kim got a phone call from Renee, and her suspicions turned to the overly nice couple seated next to her in the airport. She realized they must be the operatives who will kill her if her father won’t cooperate! As Renee called airport security, the two realized the gig was up. The woman seized Kim, while the man opened fire in the airport. In a moment that would make her father proud, Kim pulled out a pen, stabbed the woman and escaped. She, with the (sort of) help of the police, pursued the man. He managed to crash his car and Kim wiggled into the smoldering wreckage to pull out his lap top — the key to helping find her father. The car burst into even bigger flames, the man got roasted, and the FBI raced to find Jack.

Back in the warehouse, Tony revealed his ultimate plot to Jack. It turned out everything had been a ruse. Tony had one purpose: to kill Alan Wilson, the man responsible for many ’24’ tragedies including the death of Tony’s wife. But Wilson won’t let Tony anywhere near him.

Any problems? No. Tony straps Jack with C4 explosive and plans to detonate the bomb when Jack’s with Wilson.

Wilson arrived with a entourage that amounted to a small army. Just as Jack is walking toward Wilson’s car, Renee and the FBI arrived. A spectacular firefight ensued, as the bad guys scattered. Wilson tries to get away with Chief Female Baddie, but Tony killed the Chief and then pointed the gun at Wilson. Just as he was having his emotional showdown with Wilson, Jack arrived, subdued Tony and the FBI took both Tony and Wilson into custody.

At the White House, Olivia got what she deserved. Ethan Canin, the former chief of staff, returned to help prove Olivia arranged Hodges’ murder. He retrieved the data card with the damning evidence, forcing Olivia to reveal to her mother what she did. In a sequence that pulled at the heartstrings, the president decided that Olivia must be prosecuted for Hodges’ death, even as her husband urged her to bury the evidence. Presidents and their families don’t tend to do very well on ’24.’

Renee shared a last conversation with Jack and then went to the interrogation room where Wilson was held. She looked through the glass at Wilson and decided enough was enough, apparently. She knocked out a camera, handcuffed a colleague, placed her badge on the table and entered the interrogation room as the screen cut to black.

In the hospital, Jack has finally succumbed fully to the bio weapon’s effects. The doctors placed him in a coma instead of letting him go through the painful last days. As the episode ticked down to the last few minutes, Kim arrived on the scene, demanding that they immediately begin the experimental stem-cell treatment that may save Jack but could also prove harmful to her. As Jack’s daughter, she’s the most suitable candidate for the treatment. The doctor agrees to start right away.

Criticism:

To pay ’24’ its due, the acting continues to be great. Kiefer Sutherland does another great job as the hard-core, ass-kicking, take-no-names Jack. He doesn’t even go over board on the whole ‘I’m dying of seizures, here’ thing. Props to Kiefer.

But the real stars of this season have been the mother-daughter White House team. Cherry Jones is fantastic. She be can tender, loving one minute, and dominating the next. And Sprague Graden is equally great. Her hardened expression softened in this episode as she told mom what she did. Don’t be surprised to see Graden start moving into bigger and larger roles in the future. Props to Cherry and Sprague.

But the writers really left far too much hanging for Season 8. OK, season finales shouldn’t wrap everything up but leaving three plots lines is a bit much. Too much actually. We don’t know what will happen with Jack. Although if he dies, Fox network executives have been exposed to the same thing Jack was.

It looks like Olivia will be marched off to the Big House but we’ve already seen her orchestrate a murder. Would escape be out of the question? And what about Renee and Wilson? Is she about to go Jack Bauer on him? Boos to the ’24’ writers.

Published on July 9, 2009 at 12:00 pm