The Penultimate: Part 1

We have a tale of two stories today. Both stories are on the verge of completion. There is one more episode left for both. One final outing to wrap up their stories, to craft their endings that will hopefully be gratifying to all the characters involved as well as us the viewers. I am speaking today about the impending finales of Lost and 24. But it's not the finales that I'm speaking about, rather I'm speaking about their penultimate episodes. The second to last episodes that serve as the build-up to their last hurrah. Both shows aired their penultimate episodes earlier this week, and as I contemplate the ending of my two favourite shows, I look back now on their penultimate episodes to see where the show started and and where it will end. Today's post will discuss 24 primarily, while the second part of this topic that'll be put up later in the week will be about Lost.

Lost and 24 are two fundamentally different shows. 24 encapsulates it's season as stand-alones for the most part. 24 lives in the perpetual now and the show takes very few opportunities to look back at past seasons. Consider the death of Bill Buchannan last season. At no point did Jack or Chloe make any references to informing his wife Karen Hayes of her husband's death. Not only did we see the start of their relationship in season 5, but we also had the good fortune to learn of their marriage and watch that dynamic during season 6. By season 7 this was completely ignored. Lost on the other hand is obsessed with the past. The show has spent 6 years building mysteries and expects us as the viewers to have been watching along so that any references to the past can be readily added to the overarching mythos of the show. Comparing their penultimate episodes therefore is really an exercise in comparing a season of 24 against the entire series of Lost.

 I'll start with the penultimate episode of 24 since it will be easier to look back on. 24 started this season preparing against the assassination of President Omar Hassan. It's intriguing to realize that they both succeeded and failed. They succeeded in stopping the initial threat on his life, but failed to stop the secondary threat later in the season. So as we ramp up to the finale, what is happening in the 24 universe? Jack is on the warpath, still killing anyone involved in the death of Renee while at the same time, exposing how far up the chain the Russian cover-up goes. Jack seeking vengeance for Renee's death has been a great storyline, and quite convenient in also exposing the Russian's involvement in the death of President Hassan. Looking at this episode I am reminded of how shortsighted 24 can feel at times. I am reasonably confident that you could have started this season from the episode where Hassan dies. The whole arcs involving the initial assassination attempt, and the nuclear rods storyline could be completely ignored and we would still be at this point in the narrative.

I also can't say I appreciate where the show is heading with the finale. If Renee's death goes all the way up the chain to the Russian president I feel it becomes too much of a suspension of disbelief to kill him. Jack can kill the middle management as much as he wants, because for us as the viewers we see them as middle management, ultimately replaceable and unimportant. Dealing with heads of state becomes too real for us and it starts to cross-over into the political territory of the show. Jack came close to killing President Logan at the end of season 5 you may remember, but he didn't, because the writers and the viewers know that there's a line that gets crossed if you do. It's the same reason why the death of President Palmer at the start of the season was so monumental beyond the role he's had in the show. I find it intriguing that in the same stroke, Jack didn't kill ex-president Logan in the penultimate episode of season 8 though he had the chance. Though it will be the Russian president I still don't know if Jack could or should do it. However, we shouldn't forget that this will be the series finale. The great thing about the finale is that afterwards there will be no in-world consequences, it frees the writers up a little bit, however that noose is tightened again considering the continuation into a 24 film franchise.

What's most important to me however is the question of what ending Jack Bauer will get. At the start of this season we were promised a happy ending for Jack. He would move back to LA, get to be with his daughter and granddaughter and live happily ever after. His motives changed when Renee came back into his life. Now he no longer wanted to go to LA alone, he wanted to do it with this woman, and bring her back from the brink as he once was. The creator Joel Surnow has commented that Renee was the one love interest of Jack who truly understood his life. Reading the books and listening to the backstory on season 1 showed that Teri was always behind this wall in Jack's life, never fully understanding what his job entailed, and their marriage suffered for it. When she was finally able to see her husband and what he had to do for his job, before she could accept him, she was killed. As important as it was seeing Kate Warner bring Jack back from the beyond in season 2, she understood less of him than Teri did. Jack's fling with Claudia in season 3 was simply that, a fling. It only happened because he was undercover, in the real world they would never be capable of staying together. Audrey Raines was the best chance Jack had of finding love again. However Audrey's interest always felt like what she saw in Jack was a younger version of her father. I always felt that Audrey would push Jack to become a man different than who he was. She loved him but expected him to change. Her exit from the show was heart-wrenching though. And it always makes me feel guilty to see Jack with Renee after leaving Audrey, his influence indirectly causing her to become so psychologically damaged. Diane Huxley was a nice reminder of what Jack lost in season 1, but her and the absolute mess that was Marilyn Bauer were ultimately forgettable. Renee always felt like a female version of Jack, and maybe that's why we always liked them together. With her death, the question is what ending will Jack get? For many years now I've felt that he should die. It's the only way to put this show to any justice. For all Jack's done for the series, he should die as a patriot. Given the move to make a 24 feature film however that seems unlikely. For the most part 24 finales are usually bittersweet, emphasis on the bitter. Teri dying, President Palmer's attempted assassination, Jack faking his death, being sent to China and going into a coma don't always have the happy endings we want. Given that there will be a movie after this, I think this ending may be more bitter than we would like.

How well has the penultimate episode set us up for the finale? Well we know Jack's motivation, to presumably kill or at least take down President Suvarov and possibly President Logan while he's at it. The political storyline is a little hazy for me however. President Taylor is trying to get this peace agreement signed, but if Jack succeeds in his mission, there is no way Dalia Hassan and the IRK will stay at the table. The two goals are fundamentally at odds, and it's been an undercurrent so far regarding the government trying to stop Jack to keep this peace process alive, but it's my hope that for the finale, we'll see the government pull out all the stops to stop Jack. There's just 2 hours left for Jack Bauer and now I think it's time for each side to put their cards on the table and let the chips fall where they may.

Keep an eye out for my next post that will be up before the end of the week regarding the penultimate episode of Lost.