After last week’s shocking finale, Scott Davis rejoins the action in London with Jack Bauer and co…
After the shocking final moments of hour eight, word is out that President Heller is officially dead. Stunned congressman, members of Parliament, the CIA and Prime Minister Davies (Stephen Fry) are left shaken by the news, and left wondering if his sacrifice has brought to an end the terror attacks.
But if anyone thinks that’s the end of it, you haven’t been watching 24 for long. Hint: no silent clock. Just as the news of his death is breaking, Jack vacates Wembley Stadium. But he is not alone. Can we guess who is with him? Of course you can. Safe and “going dark”, Heller is alive and well, hurried away with Jack’s contact Belcheck (Branko Tomovic) back to his London base.
On the other side of London, Margot (Michelle Fairley) has finally got her wish. Though still surprised at Heller’s selflessness and what consequences there may be from it, she keeps her word, and four out of the five remaining drones are destroyed. Seemingly at the end of her mission, Margot and her son Ian (Liam Garrigan) are about to disappear for good. But the Al-Harazi’s are smarter than Jack would like. But soon enough the truth is presented to them, and Margot isn’t a happy bunny. And targets Waterloo Station as punishment in order to cause maximum casualties, despite knowing that the CIA, and Bauer, will be on them in minutes. Undeterred, she fires.
Within minutes, Jack is on the scene in a helicopter, fuelled with hate and anger for Al-Harazi. Flanked by Kate Morgan (Yvonne Strahovski) on the ground, they descend upon the block of flats were they have moved their operation. Jack in typical ruthless fashion takes out those who stand in front of him, but is faced with severe firepower, so he returns to the roof, and in a Batman-style move, abseils down the building, though not before throwing Ian out of the window to his death.
Faced with Margot for the first time, she tries to antagonise him about his contribution to the deaths in London. Bad choice. Unfazed, and at the end of his tether, Jack duly throws her out of the same window, plummeting to her death. Jack 2, Al-Harazi 0.
Yet, the death of Margot feels like a small victory, and with three hours of the show left, it all feels a little anticlimactic. It seems Al-Harazi wasn’t the “big bad” that everyone had thought, and that while she was the central villain of the piece, she strangely won’t be finishing the show. And as the hour comes to a close, that mantle seems to be have been taken by Michael Wincott’s Adrian Cross.
Having had whose dodgy dealings thus far with CIA Head Steve Navarro, Cross has been lurking with intent for the past few hours. And with news filtering through that Jordan Reed has been murdered, both men are getting a little fidgety. Their play? Still the drone device and make away scott-free. Jack, however, sees a different outcome.
We have been huge fans of the new series here at Flickering Myth Towers, and its new format, breathing new life into the show. But for the first time since its debut, we approach the next episode with certain trepidation. That’s not to say the show has been a disappointment by any means, but after all the good work the producers and show makers have put in previously, they have perhaps run out of ideas at the worst time.
It remains to be seen how the final few moments will play out with Cross and Navarro, and what their real intentions are, but with Jack on the chase, we are at least in for an exciting finale.
Scott Davis
