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Review/Commentary
Season Finale
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Reviewer: J
Well, we’ve reached the end of yet another season. Amazingly, we’ve now been through 72 hours of Jack Bauer’s life. As well as David Palmer’s life. And Tony’s life. And nearly that many of Kim’s life. And about 24 hours of Chase’s life… roughly 48 hours of Michelle’s life… and 15 minutes of Gael’s wife’s life.
Seriously, what the hell was that? Mrs. Ortega (I couldn’t help but think of the Ortega tacos commercials) comes to CTU to pick up Gael’s belongings. Um, okay. But it’s a little after noon – where’s she been all morning? Yoga? Sleeping in like Hammond? Didn’t Gael bite it around like 4 or 5 AM? Regardless, I’m not sure it’s the best day to have visitors at CTU – you know, CTU, the place where people die in much greater numbers than you would ever expect in a government building. Anyway, so one of Chloe’s few lines in the episode is to pissily pull Kim off of her assigned duty of “watching Gael’s wife pick up his things.” Yes, that’s exactly what Kim said when she asked an agent – not another flunkie like herself – to take over her job. Do you think Kim knows the difference between when she’s given real jobs and when she’s given tasks to keep her busy and out of everyone’s hair? Neither do I.
So in the confusion as Kim and random-agent-who-gets-one-scene-the-whole-season switch places and taker their eyes off the crafty Mrs. Gael, she carefully makes sure she not only gets a gun, but has it loaded, too. More good work at CTU – allowing civilians to obtain loaded weapons. I guess we should be happy no more uniformed security guards got killed this episode. Anyway, just as Saunders is about to ID this Rabens guy, the Ortega Taco Lady whips out the gun – because, you know, they let her walk within 6 feet of him – and blasts Saunders with remarkable accuracy. I’ve fired a few guns and I was no where near that accurate. So I guess it appears that Mrs. O went to the shooting range with Gael from time to time. What I really didn’t like about this scene was that it’s lazy script-writing. It’s hackneyed and I don’t appreciate it from writer that usually produce good work. I think this is an example of the writers of 24 get so hung up on 24 being known as a show that is unpredictable and has all sorts of roller coaster twists and turns that they just begin writing things that are drastic, but perhaps not all that original or clever. I mean, after all that, Saunders is felled by Gael’s wife? Really? I mean, really?? It just felt cheap, like it was being shoehorned into a season finale. Which it was, I suppose. My point is that this is a soap opera twist, not a drama twist.
Speaking of crappy twists, fortunately we don’t have to deal too much with the Palmer/Sherry/Julia mess. We have the obligatory scene where Wayne tells his brother what happened. What’s more interesting here is that it’s been only 15 minutes and yet Wayne is back at division already. Did he just give the police a call on his way back to tell them that there was a bit of a mess to clean up at 2123 Sandy Dune Lane and that they better bring the scotch guard? I mean, that’s awfully fast. Somehow, I don’t even think the police would be there within 15 minutes in Los Angeles. But you know what? Who cares? It’s a crappy storyline and Dennis Haysbert is above it. So’s DB Woodside, for that matter.
So did anyone else know that something awful was going to happen to Chase as soon as he had that little heart-to-heart with Jack at the subway station (yes, the L.A. subway station – don’t laugh too hard)? I mean, isn’t that a certainty? One character decides that he’s “leaving the force,” or “getting a transfer” and it’s always “right after we’re done with this job,” or in the case of 24, “after today.” Just a little too predictable, again. And yes, I’m griping a bit, but I did enjoy the episode.
Once Rabens escaped the “net” that CTU and the ever-effective LAPD put down, it was off to the races for a little chase through the uncrowded midday streets of Los Angeles. Did you notice that Jack and Chase were pursuing in another Ford while Rabens was escaping in a Chevy? Because Ford pays for 24 and Chevy doesn’t. But I have to say, if I were hijacking a car in L.A., I think I could find a better ride than a piece of shit Malibu. But that’s neither here nor there.
More lazy writing alert! I think it went something like this:
“Well, we’ve got Tony in a holding room – should we leave him there all hour or actually use him?”
“Geez, I hadn’t thought about that. How can we use him?”
“I’ve got it!! We’ll create a situation that only Tony can help with!”
“Brilliant!”
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