'24: Live Another Day' delivered with epic season

Rating: 10/10.

I’m speechless.

I can start this review one of two ways; tell you about my man crush for Jack Bauer, or tell you about my Man Crush for Jack Bauer. Let’s go with the first one. I will do my best to not give away spoilers.

Four years.

Four years is the time when 24:LAD is placed after Jack Bauer slaughtered half of the Russian Consulate in season 8. On the run, pissed off and running with the wrong crowd, Bauer was set up at the beginning of the season as a war criminal, wanted for his misgivings.

1442 days.

There was 1442 days between the end of Season 8 and the start of 24:LAD .

There was 1442 days since 24 went off the air due to middling ratings (in the US, however in other countries it was still stellar) and ‘mediocre’ plot-lines.

And after 1442 days, 24 came back with a fierce and unforgiving punch. Kiefer Sutherland, shredded and primed, dusted off the trademarked yells for some slick smirks to kick off the season in the most badass of ways.

And this season, in my opinion, is the best season of 24 to date.

Oh, some reviewers may say that 24 suffered artistically (they didn’t, please tell me how after 8 seasons, they could do anything more with a limited budget and timeframe). Some will say that the plots were linear (they weren’t, as each episode was drastically different than the last, providing different perspectives without pausing for too long to seem boring). Some will say that it doesn’t have the fanbase (please check the Day-30 ratings and the social media presence). Other critics will lambast the series as meaningless, effortless (no). They are all, so, so, so wrong. But truly addressing those ignorant concerns is not the goal here.

On May 5th, 2014, Jack Bauer came roaring back onto our tv screens with the fierceness and the badassery we have all come to love.

On May 5th, 2014 Jack Bauer rampaged through the streets of a fictional London, stopping terrorist attacks and suffering brutal emotional letdowns along the way.

The show twisted, turned, and exited this season in such a graceful and smooth way that honestly, I’m still pretty sure there is going to be an episode next week.

The ninth season of 24, 24:Live Another Day, will live in fame as one of the greatest comebacks TV has ever known.

And possibly what was most telling about this season was its ability to tell a good story, while being honest to the fast-paced sequences that its fans so desperately crave. It charged through the action while unwilling to stop for sentimental episode fillers, to the joy of the viewers.

What made 24 so enjoyable in its heyday was its ability to tow the fine line between all-out action and plot-lines. Now, in this most recent season, 24 was able to up both games. With huge and incredible performances from William Devane, Tate Donovan and the always lovable Stephen Fry, 24:LAD improved its formula so much that it surpassed all possible expectations. This season transformed 24 from being a guilty-pleasure tv melodrama to an artistic masterpiece, worthy to be admired and criticized in proper form.

And yes, there were some slow parts to the season, yes there were even some predictable parts to the season, but goddamn if it wasn’t tied together so brutally perfectly in the final minutes.

I wish I could write ten pages for a review of this last season 24 it deserves as much.

But the last episode! I mean, wow!

There were just so many plot-lines leading up to the final episode that there was a fair bit of justified certainty going into it. Is it going to be a contrived ending? Is it going to be silly? Is it just going to be Jack assaulting everyone?

But the final episode delivered on so many accounts, it tied up everything so well while allowing for continuity if 24 chooses to continue. This is the hallmark of a veteran tv show, its ability to close.

The last episode jolted the emotional and physical strings of its audience; managing to boast the best action on tv along with some of the finest acting the small screen has known.

And while it’s hard to decipher the season in this little blurb, it’s controversy, it’s top-of-the-line action sequences, it’s even harder to write about the one thing, more than ever, that keeps 24 together so damn well.

Kiefer Sutherland.

After nine seasons and a tv movie, Kiefer Sutherland has been Jack Bauer. Through the good and the bad and through the pure shit; Sutherland has managed to use his out-of-this-world talent to excel in possibly one of the hardest roles on tv for a middle-aged man.

Through it all, Sutherland has been nothing but excellent, legendary, perhaps.

And in 24:LAD, Sutherland brings himself, and television as a whole, to a new level of performance art.

Hang with me for a second: There will always be the HBO-aholic critics who will adore “Matthew Mcoucnaghey” for his role in True Detective and there will be the Breaking Bad critics(fans) who will always go for Bryan Cranston. There will be the hipsters who hate all acting except for web-based tv shows, and there will be the non-action affiliated fans who die for Louis C.K. But if they just gave Sutherland a chance, the chance he so deserves, he would be the hands down pick for greatest television actor alive.
He doesn’t boast brooding existential angst like McCougnhey or the wily-dervish of Cryanston; he only has what makes him so special; and that’s his ability to transcend a scene with his astounding presence.

So anyway, back to his performance.

WOW.

In what many will say (hopefully) as one of the best performances in network television, Sutherland lets it all out for this season finale, showing everything from tears to anger; and some pissed off yelling as well.

Sutherland is so good that for a few moments during an especially crucial part of the episode, you feel him there, with you, sharing his emotions next to you. You feel his angst, his failure, his inability to ever make it out of a situation without causing tragedy. You feel his livelihood, his existential depression, his unforgiving stare. It is at this point where 24 manages to do something that is has never been able to do, connect with the viewer.

But I cannot praise 24 anymore, as I will never do it justice, only itself can.

For me, as the last seconds ticked off from this season, I did the only thing my subconscious wanted and threw my fists in the air, yelling, “Jack Bauer For Life!”