PART II CONTINUES BELOW

My very first summary this year was entitled “This Time, It’s Personal.” And indeed, it was.

Once again proving that the creative and production teams are among the most innovative and provocative in television history, the first 22 minutes of last night’s superb season finale were shown without commercial interruption. Given the circumstances – a real time assault on the Russian sub being held by Bierko and the terrorists – it made for some scrumptious television drama.

In a purely technical sense, the sequence of events leading to the successful takeover of the sub and disarming of the missiles was brilliantly done. The music, the claustrophobia of the sub, the taut, spare dialogue, the sharp editing as we cut from scene to scene, back and forth between CTU and the sub, and then the final confrontation between Jack and Henderson all combined for what must be considered some of the best moments in the history of the show.

Television, a medium much maligned and rightly so for its appeal to the lowest common denominator among us, showed that in the right creative hands, it has the ability to move us and entertain us beyond mere titillation and voyeuristic thrills. This ain’t your daddy’s sitcom nor was it your run-of-the-mill courtroom or hospital drama where the good guys usually win or the doctors discover what strange disease is afflicting the patient. This was raw. It was edgy. It was shocking. And in the end, where triumph mixed with anticipation for what will happen next season, we were left gasping for breath and on our feet applauding.

I’ve divided my summary into two parts for easier editing and polishing. Part II will be posted around 10:30 AM Central time. I will also have some final thoughts as well as a speculative preview for season six.

SUMMARY

As Beirko and his men set the stage for their missile attack (“The Americans will pay for their alliance with Moscow”), Audrey gets on the horn to Admiral Kirkland and asks him to scramble some fighters to sink the sub before the missiles can be launched. Alas, it will take the jets 22-25 minutes to reach the target – too late to stop Bierko’s mad plan to kill tens of thousands of Americans and cripple the economy.

It is at this point that the clock within the clock starts ticking down as Jack, Henderson, and Agent McCullough race to stop the attack before Bierko can launch.

T-MINUS 20 MINUTES

Hiding near the sub, Jack sees a communication buoy pop to the surface. Someone on that sub survived the nerve gas attack and is calling for help. Asking Chloe to scan the emergency frequencies, we discover that the lone survivor is Petty Officer Rooney, a fresh faced kid with a New York accent, a little scared and confused as well as overwhelmed by the situation. When informed that in order to open the hatch, he is going to have to kill a terrorist, Rooney balks. He’s only an engineer he says. Jack, slipping back into his personae of Delta Force Commando, starts to address Rooney like he’s the kid’s commanding officer. This seems to settle young Rooney down and he makes for the hatch.

The crisis on the sub has tied up Mike Novik with Logan, preventing Martha from bringing him into the counter-conspiracy with Aaron. All they can do is wait while Aaron remains pretty exposed at the Secret Service building.

Before the assault begins, Henderson asks for a gun. Jack reluctantly gives him one at which point we are absolutely sure there will be a final confrontation between the two. For both of them, it’s no longer about “the Plan” or “the Country” – it really is personal. Each has been the cause of terrible personal pain in the other’s life. And it can end only one way.

But that’s in the future. Right now, Jack must get on that sub. And the clock is ticking.

T-MINUS 9 MINUTES

The kid Rooney has made his way to the forward hatch. We wonder whether or not he’ll be able to carry out his assignment. Jack, as if teaching a raw recruit, instructs Rooney in the art of the silent kill. Again, Rooney wavers – until he glances down the hallway to the hatch and sees one of his shipmates lying dead in a doorway. That cuts it. Rooney gets a killer glint in his eye and makes his move. A short, violent struggle and it’s over. Rooney opens the hatch.

Having easily dispatched the topside terrorist, Jack, Henderson, and McCullough slip into the boat and start for the control room. Jack then has Rooney make his way to the other side of the con and create a diversion so that the room will empty of hostiles. The kid, a real unsung hero, knocks over a tray outside of the control room which gets Bierko and two other terrorists to leave and investigate.

T-MINUS 3 MINUTES

With only the missile programmer left, Jack slinks toward the geek terrorist’s console and with perfect timing, rises from the floor and stabs him in the throat. Henderson sits down and informs Jack that the missiles will have to be disarmed one by one, manually. Jack and McCullough hurry off to confront Bierko.

The feeling of being closed in is palpable as the narrow corridors and hatchways offer perfect cover. We just don’t know what’s around that next corner. Finally, hearing a noise ahead, Jack and McCullough creep up on Bierko and his men.

But McCullough isn’t careful enough. Coming around a corner, a terrorist hears him and turns to fire. A short burst from an AK-47 sends McCullough to the same place all other CTU agents who aren’t series regulars and who work with Jack Bauer go.

T-MINUS 1 MINUTE

Jack fires back killing one terrorist and wounding Bierko. He jumps a third man and in the ensuing struggle, forces his opponents face into a spray of live steam that was opened by a stray bullet. Bierko, grabbing a wrench, attacks viciously. But in the best tradition of the WWE, Jack gets Public Enemy #1 in a choke hold with his thighs. Unlike the WWE, however, Jack gives his legs a twist and the sickening but satisfying snap of Bierko’s neck is heard.

Chloe is urging Henderson on but it’s slow going. The clock is ticking relentlessly. When Chloe calls out “10 seconds” Henderson is just finishing up disarming the missiles. The panel goes black with less than 5 seconds to spare.

Jack makes his way back to the con only to find that Henderson has taken the opportunity to split. Informing Bill that there’s a lot of interference with his com, Jack turns off his mic and plunges after Henderson, hell bent on exacting his revenge.

Making his way topside, his nemesis is nowhere to be seen. And then he hears the noise behind him and his heart must have sunk to his toes; Henderson has the drop on him and there is nothing he can do.

There is a look of immense satisfaction and triumph on Henderson’s face as Jack turns around for his execution – which makes his look of utter befuddlement when the gun fails to fire all the more satisfying for us. Jack has him. He’s cornered and there’s no escape, nothing to bargain with, nothing to do but listen.

And Jack, now a self-appointed avenging angel, moves slowly and deliberately toward his foe, reading the charges and pronouncing him guilty:

JACK: You are responsible for the death of David Palmer, Tony Almeida, and Michelle Dessler. They were friends of mine.

HENDERSON: That’s the way it works.

No, my former friend, it’s not.

Petty Officer Rooney has witnessed the entire thing. He looks at Jack exactly the way we would if we were in his place. What Jack has done is so far beyond what goes on in our safe little corner of the planet that we are shocked, horrified, and yet unable to tear our eyes away from the sight. The Angel of Death has descended to earth and we are both terrified and awestruck.

The looks exchanged between Bill, Karen, Chloe, and Audrey at CTU when Jack informs them that he shot Henderson in self defense are also quite telling. None of them wish to contemplate what they know in their hearts really happened to Henderson. They accept it because they must. But even his friends take a step away from him emotionally as a result of what they are convinced was nothing less than a cold blooded execution.

But the Avenger isn’t done yet. On a pretext, he gets Chloe alone on the line and asks for her help. Excessive loyalty being one of her many faults, Chloe agrees and begins work on a project that involves some complex communications equipment.

Back at the ranch, Logan tells Mr. Big that not only is the terrorist attack averted but that Henderson is dead. When informed that there was still Jack Bauer to deal with, Logan informs us that he has already made plans to “take care of Mr. Bauer.” We don’t know what that means until the very end of the show.

Martha is finally able to waylay Mike in the hallway. Pleading with him to follow her, they make their way to where Aaron has been hiding. Listening to the conspiracy charges against Logan, Mike immediately makes the right choice and joins the counter plot to bring down the President of the United States. Before taking Aaron off the grounds to safety, Martha and her Secret Service agent have a nice, last moment together. All the speculation about the two being lovers was apparently incorrect. They are, in the end, just good friends who like and respect each other.

Away from the ranch, Jack calls Mike looking for Aaron. And together, the three of them come up with a bold plan; substitute the co-pilot on the Navy helicopter with Jack. What does he plan to do, Mike asks? Get a confession, Jack answers. “How far are you willing to go?” asks Mike. “As far as I have to,” replies Jack.

But the conspirators have a huge problem. Jack is still 20 minutes out from the ranch. But Logan is ready to go to the airport for a ceremony involving his predecessor’s dead body – a death that he was responsible for. Somehow, the President must be delayed. Mike says he’ll ask Martha to help.

At CTU, Chloe needs help configuring the communications equipment that Jack will be using. She asks Bill to authorize a workstation for a guy named Morris. We are surprised to find out that Morris’ last name is O’Brien, the same as Chloe. And that’s because Morris is Chloe’s ex husband.

All we need to know about Morris is that his current job was selling shoes in Beverely Hills. He is the perfect match for Chloe – as charming and easy going as she is uptight and anal. Plus, he is evidently even more of a super geek than Chloe, something we find hard to believe but is borne out later.

As Morris helps Chloe, Martha is getting desperate to keep her faithless husband from taking off for the airport. As a last resort she uses the oldest trick in the book and something that every male in the history of the human race has fallen for at one time or another – the lure of the female body. I guess even President’s succumb because Logan falls for it hook, line, and sinker.

Meanwhile, Jack gets the proper documentation from Chloe. They lure the real co-pilot to the Secret Service outbuilding where Jack dispatches him with a sleeper hold. Their deception running smoothly, Jack boards the helicopter, ready to do whatever it takes to bring Logan to justice. Just what that means in this case, we are unsure. But it is at this point, we begin to fear for Jack’s immortal soul. Will he betray everything he has fought for and worked for by assassinating the constitutionally elected leader of the United States?

The fact that we’re not sure says a lot about how very personal this has all become for Jack. There are a lot of dead bodies Logan must answer for and Jack is determined to see that he does.

PART TWO CONTINUES BELOW