In preparation of the return of 24 in 24: Live Another Day on May 5th, I am running a series of roundtables to look back at previous seasons of the show. Here is our discussion for season three, involving myself, Sean M and George N.
Season 1 Roundtable | Season 2 Roundtable
Overall thoughts on the season?
Bradley: The first half of the season dragged a little. It really brought down the season, which is disappointing because the second half was fantastic. The constant switch-up of ‘who has the virus?’ got boring - especially since Jack knew full well that Singer never had it. The addition of Stephen Saunders and the actual use of the virus really sped up the plot.
Sean: I wasn’t a big fan of the early episodes, especially after the “sting operation” reveal. But the second half was on fire and my favorite stretch of episodes.
The hotel arc was excellent, Saunders was a great villain, Michelle Dessler got to kick butt in the field, Gael’s sacrifice, Nina and Sherry were finally killed off, Ryan Chappelle’s execution, Jack chopping off Chase’s arm with the fire axe, the epic scene with the fighter jets when Saunders was captured, and a whole lot more. I feel that season 3 is often underappreciated by a lot of fans.
George: I thought this season was better than the previous two mostly because the biological warfare plot was interesting to me. Plus, this season had some great character developments and death scenes.
There was no real cliffhanger at the end of the season. Do you feel this worked?
Bradley: I think it did. The feel of the show changed completely in season 4, and had they left any loose ends or a massive cliffhanger (like in season 2), they wouldn’t have had as much freedom to change things around in the next season.
Sean: I liked the ending with Jack breaking down and crying in his car. It was simple but effective - a cliffhanger wasn’t needed.George: I am in the group of TV show fans that actually loves cliffhangers. It gives the audience something to hold on and look forward to. The first two seasons had great cliffhangers, but this season was still good without one. There was still much information to pour over and research to get your “24” fill which is all any fan would want. I think it worked without a major cliffhanger and wouldn’t change a thing.
Favourite episode of the season? Why?
Bradley: Episode 18 was my favourite. I was sure that Chase was going to find Saunders and stop Chappelle’s sacrifice. As soon as the room was empty, you could feel the shock that Jack was actually going to have to kill him. It was a fantastic episode.
Sean: Episode 18 where Jack was forced to execute Ryan Chappelle in the abandoned train yard. Throughout the episode the viewer is thinking that Chase’s strike team would capture Saunders or that there’d be some kind of last second phone call that would spare Ryan. But they actually go through with it. It was shocking, sad, one of the most powerful moments in the series.
George: Episode 14 is my favorite just because of the poetic way that Nina was killed by Jack (poetically...in the same room Nina killed Teri)
Thoughts on the villains?Bradley: I wasn’t such a fan of Ramon. His motive was ‘kill everybody, trust no one’ - as proven when he killed his own brother. He lacked any finesse and wasn’t too bright. Hector was methodical but fell victim to his brother’s greed. Saunders carefully planned out everything. Paul Blackthorne played the role superbly.
Sean: My favorite villain of the season was Stephen Saunders. Right away he meant business - infecting the hotel, capturing Michelle, giving demands to the President, forcing Ryan Chappelle’s death. One of the smartest and deadliest villains on the show.
George: I really liked the villains this season and they were much better portrayed than last season. I thought Ramon Salazar was excellent and one of the best villains.
Did Nina’s death satisfy you?
Bradley: Yes. Jack’s refusal to believe Nina’s claim that she had more info made it even better. She had it coming since the season one finale, and Jack certainly made it memorable.Sean: Absolutely! After three seasons of build-up, Jack finally killing Nina was the most satisfying scene on the show.
George: Yes! Like I said earlier, it was my favorite episode of the season and I like when shows make deaths mean something and don’t just take characters out just because. Her death was satisfying as well as poetic. The buildup was long, but looking back I believe it to be well implemented.
Thanks to all for participating, and thanks to you for reading. We'll be back in a couple of days with season four's roundtable, but for now please leave a comment with your thoughts, and follow us on Twitter at the handles below.
@Bradley_STV | @geonak19 | @24spoilers
