Review - 24 Season 8 Episode 23 / 24 Day 8: 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Series Finale)

As expected there wasn't anything unexpected in the final two episodes of the series other than Chloe shooting Jack. Sadly the writers didn't have much left for the entire season, and I was never under any illusions that the ending of the season would have spectacular twists and turns in what would be a return to 24's classic form.

We got, instead, an entertaining, sometimes emotional, mostly predictable, two hours of television, a series finale that will, without a doubt, be forgotten by history, but provide a nice bookend to a revolutionary television series.

Jack fighting the man kind of runs its banal course into the ground and we see Jack's last ditch attempt to kill Subarov fails and Chloe is caught before the contents of the memory can be decimated. Obviously the information wouldn't get out there with almost an entire hour left. While the main plot dragged on, I loved the return of Jackula and it might have made the episode for me.

President Taylor has to be the dumbest 24 character since Kim circa S1/2. After a bit of inquiry from Dahlia about Meredith Reed. Taylor admits everything--the plot, the coverup. Now why would she do that? She backs up her statement with threat of attack if Dahlia tells anyone? If Taylor is content with lying and deceiving, how about continuing to lie so there's no chance Dahlia would tell anyone?

And in the end, Taylor comes to her senses after hearing a great speech for Jack about a lasting peace built upon trust and turns herself in. There's a big bloodbath in the end, Logan shooting Piller and himself. Taylor gets hold of the mercenaries before they can kill Jack and after a final conversation between Jack and Chloe over the phone--extremely fitting and moving--Jack, still injured, walks off into the great unknown.

Thankfully, the legacy of the show will not be determined by Season 8 or by the later seasons. Regardless of how the last few seasons turned out, and I enjoyed Season 7, 24 will largely be remember for the early seasons, when the stakes were large and the possibilities endless. Jack Bauer has been a cultural phenomenon grown out of badassery (that's a word!) and the writers' willingness to stretch what is acceptable on television with a blend of creative and political flourish. For all the wonderful memories

There is a movie on its way, so who knows, I could be writing about 24 again something soon.

Score: 9.0/10