It’s been four long years, but Jack Bauer is finally back. As it’s been incredibly publicized, this incarnation of 24, subtitled Live Another Day, is being told in 12 episodes as opposed to the usual 24. So far, after viewing the first two hours, here’s to hoping they keep this pace up for the duration of the remaining ten episodes. Despite being away from the 24 universe for so long, each of the returning characters feels very familiar, from Jack to Chloe to the Heller family. A host of new characters were introduced in the first two episodes as well, and most seem to fit very well into the world of Jack Bauer.
Apart from the TV movie, 24: Redemption, this is the first season of 24 to take place entirely outside the United States. The season opens up with a team of CIA agents closing in on a warehouse in London looking for a terror suspect. As it turns out, said suspect is Jack Bauer. As we all know Jack, he doesn’t go down easy, but he does eventually get caught.
While being interrogated by station head Navarro (Benjamin Bratt, Law & Order, Private Practice), Jack’s plan to get caught on purpose is figured out by CIA agent Kate Morgan (Yvonne Strahovski, Chuck, Dexter), but there’s nothing she can do about it once Jack is transferred to the torture department in the building’s basement. While Jack is being escorted by agent Erik Ritter (Gbenga Akinnagbe, The Wire), he manages to get loose, then makes his way to the torture chamber where Chloe O’Brien is being kept. Jack revives Chloe and they make their escape from the CIA facility the only way they know how: shooting their way out and blowing things up.
From a nearby U.S. army base outside of London, an drone pilot, Lt. Tanner (John Boyega, Attack the Block, upcoming Star Wars Episode VII) is framed for the deaths of four soldiers, including two British soldiers. His drone was accessed remotely and fired on the convoy it was supposed to be protecting.
President James Heller (William Devane, 24 Days 4-6) receives news from his Chief of Staff, Mark Boudreau (Tate Donovan, Argo, Damages), about the drone strike, but before Heller can tell the British Prime Minister (Stephen Fry, V for Vendetta, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug), some MPs drop the news and President Heller goes into crisis mode.
Jack and Chloe get some help from Chloe’s new running mates in tracking Yates, the man Jack believes in going to be a part of an attack on Heller’s life. The ringleader of these hackers, Adrian Cross (Michael Wincott, The Crow) wants nothing to do with Jack, but helps him along just to get him away from his business dealings. Cue our first Jack/Chloe mission!
Jack and Chloe head to the projects where Yates is hiding out, with a bunch of armed drug dealers, no less. This is what we’ve been waiting four years for. Jack dispatches goon after goon, just doing what he does best. He gets into the apartment where Yates is hiding, but while he deals with the drug dealers, Yates sneaks out of the window. Jack chases Yates out of the building, but the CIA is out front waiting for him. Kate and Erik get Jack to lay down his gun, but just as he does, he gets shot by Basher, the head drug dealer that Jack had just stabbed in the neck. What’s an episode of 24 without Jack getting shot? Not a great episode, that’s what.
While the CIA are dealing with Basher, Jack ducks into the underground garage. In a little game of cat and mouse, Jack gets the drop on Kate. He knows she’s the one that figured him out, and he tells her that he was about to get to the bottom of the attempt on Heller had the CIA not stopped him. She doesn’t seem to want to cooperate, so Jack knocks her out and escapes with Chole in a stolen car.
Yates is at a pub with his girlfriend. He thinks Jack was sent by Margot (Michelle Fairley, Game of Thrones) to kill him as opposed to paying for his Doomsday device. Yates goes into the restroom and is followed by his girlfriend, Simone. He thinks she’s trying to get busy, but instead she stabs Yates through the ear, killing him. Simone takes the briefcase with the device in it and calls Margot. 24’s got its first female villains in a while, and I’m not upset that one of them is Catelyn Stark.