I was short on time last week, and hence didn’t get around to writing the review for episode 10 (at least in time to make it worth posting before episode 11). Fortunately, I had a lot of thoughts on the episode and so you get a two-in-one review of episodes 10 and 11!
A whole host of things happened last week. It reminded me of the good old days of when one needed a moment to catch a breath at the end of an episode. Obviously, the main talking point of the episode was the return of our favourite Chinese villain (though is there any other?), Cheng Zhi. Last time we saw him, he had a badly burned face and was arrested for pretty much every crime you can think of. "My people will not abandon me, like you abandoned Jack Bauer.", he told us.
Clearly, that worked out well for him, as he decided to blow up a Chinese aircraft carrier. While bringing back an endless line of characters could be potentially harmful (the pre-LAD statement that new viewers could just tune in seems to be fading at an alarming rate), bringing back Cheng is a great move. His ruthlessness makes him a good follow-up to Margot, and his connection with Jack and Audrey makes it viable to bring him back, though (writing this before episode 11) I’m pretty sure I know where all of this will head: Cheng threatening/kidnapping Audrey to get at Jack.
Killing Adrian Cross was, again, the right move. With the introduction of Cheng, coupled with Chloe’s attempt to escape him (ignoring her pleas for Cheng not to kill Adrian), Cross outlived his usefulness. To keep him alive would have been pointless, both for Cheng and for the rest of the story. For someone who was proposed as a major character, Adrian was wildly underused. I for one am not sad to see him go.
Steve Navarro’s story also appears to have run its course, though it was a fantastic way for him to go out. Seeing Jack do what he does best was fantastic, and “Immunity’s not on the table. But your hand is” will probably end up being the quote of the season, but the real brilliance was from Kate. Her long building anger was finally taken out on Navarro. Threats that were clearly genuine proved Jack’s theory (about Steve viewing CIA agents as subordinates) wrong, and forced Navarro to give up the information.
This season has been more about Kate’s evolution from a CIA agent into the next Jack Bauer, than it has anything else. Though this isn’t a bad thing, it seems to me that the show is lining her up to replace Jack altogether. That is the wrong move entirely. While Yvonne Strahovski is a solid actress, and I enjoy Kate’s character, there is no way that she would be able to take over from the man who makes the show what it is. Jack Bauer is 24, and to take him away would be to take away the essence of the show.Decrypting the CTU files:
- Adrian using a line not too dissimilar to one of Jack’s as his last line? Not cool, show.
- Chloe seemed to get over Adrian’s death pretty quickly.
- More tension between Audrey and Mark. I’m pretty sure that she only married him because he had taken care of her for a long time without her consenting and it would have just been rude to push him away.
- I love how people on social media were shocked about Cheng’s return when Tzi Ma’s name was in the opening credits. Come on 24, surely you’re better at hiding appearances than that.
- I haven’t forgotten about the Russian storyline. Keep on reading.
Episode 11
Once again, so much happened in episode 11. 24 is at its best when delivering lightning-paced, high-quality episodes. The show finds a way to include, in one episode, what many shows would struggle to include in three. Things progress so quickly, and while this could work against the show when done incorrectly, everything included worked well.The one exception to this is, perhaps, the combination of the Russian and the Chinese storyline, which has suffered slightly from the reduced episode count. The revelation about Cheng and Anatol’s partnership wouldn’t have occurred thirty minutes after the re-introduction of Cheng in a 24 episode season. It would have been a slower burn. Regardless, the revelation was still an interesting one.
Jack and Heller finally learning of Mark’s betrayal is only a good thing. This opens up the path for Jack and Audrey to get back together (assuming both survive, of course), while it’s an interesting situation for Heller. Learning that a man he trusted had betrayed him, especially considering his poor health, is bound to hurt him.Speaking of Heller’s poor health, the military guys saw him drop those pills. Oops. I wonder if they’ll be questioning any of his decisions in the finale.
Jack and Audrey’s phone conversation was fantastic. I really enjoyed hearing Audrey tell Jack to kill Cheng. After what he inflicted on both of them, he does deserve it, and it was great to hear Audrey say it. It was also fantastic to hear her admit that she could never hate Jack. I was sceptical on this at first, but even after he was responsible for Paul’s death, she did say that she didn’t hate him for it. Seeing Jack, Kate and Mark in action at Anatol’s house was brilliant. 24 does stunt/action scenes so well, and this was a prime example.
The cliff-hanger ending really got me hyped up for next week. Audrey has just had her worst fear realised. Kim Raver’s acting was slightly uneven at the end, but it failed to detract from the scene. I cannot wait for next week, but at the same time, I’m sad to see next week come (that is unless we get news about a renewal).
Decrypting the CTU files:
- That may have been the steepest hill ever for Chloe to fall that far.
- Very little opportunity for Kate to do anything in this episode, but that’s okay.
- Jack putting a gun to Mark’s head was brilliant.
What did you think of episodes 10 and 11? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
While episode 9 was one of the best in 24 history and episode 10 was a very good follow up, I found this week's episode to be a bit of a misstep. With the short episode count, everything is feeling rushed and while it works well with the Chinese planning attacks on the US base, it fails to let personal storylines develop. Most importantly, the Mark betrayal fell short, Audrey freaking out about Cheng was kinda boring, (as you said) the Russians' involvement was very quickly taken for granted by everyone, and very little happened towards stopping the crisis (the Russian guy's subplot didn't lead anywhere and Mark survived it to my surprise-- no silent clock yet this season?). For a penultimate episode, too many things were left to solve and I felt like this episode is the beginning of a uphill battle towards finishing the season in only two episodes. Curious to see how next week will handle the time jump.
ReplyDeleteI think the limited series format hit 24 hard in that sense. If you look at all other penultimate episodes, most of the storylines are closed, or near being closed. Having only 12 episodes restricts the show's ability to do that. I do think everything will be wrapped up next week, though it'll probably be somewhat hurriedly.
ReplyDeleteI think there is really only two storyline that need to be resolve Cheng starting WW3 and Audrey capture and rescue.........perhaps a bit more on MArk treason charges....they already wrapped up the Kate morgan husband/steve storyline and adrian cross open cell all dead
ReplyDeleteI ( long time 24 fan) actually like the shortened number of episodes as I think it heightens the urgency ( not something 24 has ever needed, mind you), goes a long way towards keeping attention spans totally engaged, and means my nerves only have to be frayed for half the time. Contracting the weeks has made me gobble up each episode and pray it gets renewed for next year.
ReplyDeleteIt's only the second time, after episode 9's review. I'm on a roll!
ReplyDeleteHey thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed these eps particularly 9. I agree with almost everything you say however I have a different thought/opinion on Kate's character.
I love the actress and I love the character and I hope she takes over 24, she has the presence to do so in my eyes. Or at least give her a shorten season of 24 by herself just to test the waters because I want to see more of the character.
This season has been great and I can't wait to see how it wraps up.
I agree plus I've always liked shortened seasons for every show I watch. It's just a personal thing but I like it for shows that have overarching plots.
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