24: Live Another Day came to its conclusion tonight and it broke our hearts in the process.
If you haven’t seen the 24: Live Another Day season finale then we suggest you stop reading now to avoid any spoilers. If you have seen it and want to relive the action then keep reading.
Tonight’s season finale brought a whole lot of emotion and we’re not ashamed to admit we cried, a lot! The episode picked up with Audrey (Kim Raver) in peril as one of Cheng’s (Tzi Ma) snipers had his crosshairs on her. Testing their patience she tried to come to the aide of her friend from the Chinese Embassy but all her good intentions did was pump another bullet into the poor woman’s body ensuring she was truly dead. It was at this point Audrey realised that Cheng wasn’t kidding when he said he would kill her if she moved or tried to run.
Whilst Audrey sat sweating on a bench, Jack (Kiefer Sutherland), Kate (Yvonne Strahovski) and Mark (Tate Donovan) frantically searched Stolnavich’s (Stanley Townsend) base to find information on Cheng’s location. Jack found a phone hidden in a drawer and discovered Cheng has been using a fake name in order to communicate with the Russians. He also quickly learned that Audrey was in danger and warned by Cheng that if he tried to save her or go after him, his sniper would take her out.
Thinking on his feet Jack sent Kate to rescue Audrey whilst he went after Cheng. Could he take out the bad guy and save the love of his life?
President Heller (William Devane) arrived at the CIA to talk about the best course of action with the Chinese President who had breached the US boundaries ready to retaliate after Cheng attacked the Chinese aircraft carrier. He told the Chinese President that he would fight back if he didn’t back off.
Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub) stumbled around the road near where she escaped from Cheng and was helped by a couple that stopped to see if she was ok. After asking to use their phone she called Jack and asked him to pick her up so she could help him get Cheng. When Jack arrived, Chloe explained that she was trying to get the over-ride device from Adrian (Michael Wincott) and assured him she had no idea what her recently deceased boyfriend had been up to.
Back to Audrey. Kate arrived in the park and called Audrey who managed answer her phone without the sniper noticing. Kate told her not to react as she revealed her plan to try and take out the sniper and save her. This involved Audrey making a sudden move to make the sniper fire so she could figure out where he was. A nervous Audrey did as instructed which helped Kate achieve her objective.
Jack and Chloe arrived at a freighter docked at a harbour (the location they discovered from Stolnavich’s phone) where they were met by Belcheck (Branko Tomovic). Chloe found shelter and hacked into a satellite so she could aid Jack and Belcheck and guide them to Cheng. Everything started well but Cheng’s men discovered that someone had hacked into the satellite. Upon closer inspection Cheng realised Jack had found him and gave the order to kill Audrey. Luckily Chloe got a message to Kate who took out the sniper and got Audrey to safety. Unfortunately the good news didn’t last long as a second sniper came out of nowhere and shot Audrey killing her.
The news of Audrey’s death was shared with the CIA and with Jack. Jack, after looking like he might shot himself in the head, saw red and took out all of Cheng’s men before getting into a fist-fight with the man himself. He managed to over-power him and contacted the CIA who verified that it was Cheng. President Heller then stopped his orders to fight back against the Chinese. Jack then chopped off Cheng’s head.
Then the most emotional moment of the episode arrived when President Heller was told of his daughter’s death. Falling to the floor in shock, he was surrounded by people just as Mark was brought in to the CIA and realised his wife had died.
Thinking that things were over he then went to find Chloe only to discover blood where she had been and an empty room. He then received a phone call with the caller setting up a meeting for a later time.
And then came that time jump as the action moved forward 12 hours. At the CIA Kate handed in her gun and badge seemingly quitting her job whilst the President oversaw Audrey’s coffin being carried onto a plane. Mark was told he was going to prison and was held at the CIA.
What about Jack? Well it turned out that the Russians had kidnapped Chloe and offered to hand her over unharmed if he surrendered to them. As Chloe walked past Jack he told her she was his best (and only?) friend then Jack boarded a helicopter with the Russians and the show came to a close.
Will Jack be back next year? There’s no official word yet but if that isn’t a setup for another season then we don’t know what is!
