Season 8, 1pm-2pm: Creeps

A bit busy this week, so my apologies upfront if this post doesn't do justice, er I mean vengeance, to the penultimate 24 episode.  But I want to get something out before the series finale.  Hmmm, it seems with all the hype this show generates for itself (e.g., the 2 night, 4 hour season premier), it could have hyped the series conclusion better.  Should I be happy for small blessings?

 

Lots of creeps in this series, but finally I got the creeps this week.  I kinda wanted to take a shower after one scene this week.  Jack ambushing Logan's motorcade.  To do it, Jack used a bunch of stuff he got from Sidewinder including an ersatz Darth Vader mask.  Now for me, Vader never seemed such a scary villain.  Yeah, he has the telekinetic strangle-hold going for him, and he doesn't deal with slip ups graciously, but somehow he didn't scare me all that much.  He didn't ooze maleficence.  Jason wears a mask, and he's scary.  And there's Hannibal, too.  Roll all those 3 together, and that's what I felt about Jack as he dons his personal protective gear, shoots out taxicabs in front of Logan's car in the tunnel, and starts picking off secret service agents on his way to Logan.  He was like a tank, unstoppable.  But with Sidewinder's warning that Jack's about to cross a line he can't turn back from, I saw this scene and stopped enjoying this show.  Jack felt like pure self-righteous vengeance, in human behind his gear.  He ceased having any semblance of heroic stature for me during that scene.

 

Jack continues and surprisingly gets Logan, Logan is the whimpering, whining sap we know and hate when Jack threatens to kill him, eventually giving up the Russian behind the assassinations (ah, but Logan doesn't give up the top dog, still the crafty one [ah, but Jack figured he wouldn't so he leaves Logan alive, plants a bug on him, and Logan dutifully calls the top dog to give an update]).  Jack heads off to knock off the next dog on his list, and he blows away almost all the Russian's security on the way to skewering the Russian (thankfully, we don't see much of this).  

 

Along the way we learn that Jack's not all bad.  Chloe finds out he's shot only to wound, not kill, the Secret Service guarding Logan.  Not such a bad guy after all, even though he gave some savage kicks to the heads of downed agents, and he flat out did kill the Russian security.  Did those guys know the risk when they took the job? Probably, but I still gotta feel they got the raw end of the bargain thanks to Jack.

 

And that's bothered me on and off this season.  All that Jack's doing in the name of saving the peace deal, and now uncovering the truth.  Seasons of yore I was troubled, but not this much, about Jack's end justifying his means.  Then it was a pretty clear calculus of immanent death to many or Jack's killing, maiming, stealing from, trampling the rights of a few folks.  Not quite Star Trek utilitarianism, but a somewhat colorable argument.  

 

But this year it's still just this nebulous peace deal.  Sorry, I harped on it a bunch a while ago, and now what Taylor will throw away for the deal, what Jack will do to get the truth out that will kill the deal (if you believe what everybody's saying) is just too much for me.

 

As for Taylor following the advice of Logan.  Remember back in the first hour or so when I mentioned the trick the writers use of having a character comment about a plot event that just can't be believed as a means to make it believable?  They do it again here when Logan tells Taylor she's the president who preferred justice over saving her daughter.  This same Taylor who now is covering up the Russian involvement in the assassinations.  And Logan uses that to convince her that she has to keep covering up.

 

Where does that leave me?  Finally figuring the only way I come out of this season not needing a shower is if Jack and Taylor are in cahoots setting up an elaborate sting.  Could that be the final twist we won't believe?

 

At least when Jack stole the SUV someone was unloading cases of bananas from, the owner didn't come running out yelling for him to stop.  24 still has a way with eschewing cliches!  

 

Oh, and sorry to say, but that one more agent Chloe went to find wasn't Tony.  It was Freddy in the holding cell.  I guess I can't wait to see what happens when he meets up with Sidewinder.  I have the impression Freddy will be out of his depth, even though he's been talked up as the most competent CTU field op. 

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