24 Live Another Day Series Blog: 14.00-15:00

Last episode’s closing scene saw Jack inciting a riot in order to get into the U.S. embassy so that he could find drone pilot Lt. Tanner and retrieve the drone flight data. This week’s installment had Jack recover said data , and following the slower pace of last week, ‘2.00pm-3.00pm’ returned with 24’s trademark tension with a race against time.

Such tension and suspense manifested itself when, ten minutes in, Bauer seemingly faced certain capture as he was being relentlessly hunted by the Marines in a building with very limited escape routes. Chloe, however, appeared to be on top form this week as she guided Jack through the building. The  Jack and Chloe team seems to be back on track. After interrogating Lt. Tanner, Jack, due to lack of an exit, decided to upload the incriminating data himself, forcing him to the comms room. The Marines, alas, were not far behind and, following the discovery of the data being encrypted, Jack created a hostage situation in order to buy himself more time. Despite the situation seeming to lack the show’s conventional high levels of drama as Jack is essentially sat in front of a computer screen for half an episode, the information that he was waiting could proves that President’s life is in danger and is thus a pivotal narrative device. Moreover, the magic of 24 is that even the ordinarily mundane can seem exciting.

This situation also saw Adrian, Chloe’s friend and Jack’s apparent rival, as a source of assistance. Despite the character’s previous attempts to have Bauer arrested, Adrian is seemingly coming round to Bauer’s way of thinking. Agent Morgan also came to Jack’s rescue as she prevented his capture by the Marines by taking him into the custody of the CIA at the last minute after climbing down through the ceiling. After finding out that Jack was in London, President Heller and Audrey, also argued for Jack’s case against Mark Bordereau claiming that they knew the real Jack. Four episodes in, more characters are coming to believe in our hero with speeches and actions proving that, despite being wanted by numerous institutions, people are still willing to fight for Jack Bauer and his cause.

‘2.00pm-3.00pm’ saw further development in the show’s villains. Mark Boudreau was proved to be increasingly manipulative with his persuasion of President Heller to take a more aggressive stance with Jack Bauer. This portrayal was also amplified by the sinister sounding non-diegetic music, conventionally employed for obvious villains, being used as the tensions between Mark, and his wife and the President increased. It will be interesting to see if he comes round to Bauer or slips more into villain territory.

With Jack and Audrey’s reunion getting closer, the latter appears more likely. The episode also saw Margot Al-Harazi’s status as 24: Live Another Day’s super baddy was further consolidated. A far cry from Game of Thrones’ Catelyn Stark, Michelle Fairley’s depiction of the manipulative mother is fantastically wicked. To punish Naveed, Simone’s husband, for plotting to escape instead of piloting the drones, she cuts off her own daughter’s finger. Proving that she will mutilate her own daughter in order to further her own agenda, the ruthless character demonstrates that everyone is expendable to her and everything is secondary to her revenge.

24: Live Another Day, only four episodes in, is proving impressive in that it has managed to merge numerous story lines and establish new characters that are able to stand up against the distinguished main protagonist, Jack Bauer. Despite ‘2.00pm-3.00pm’ slightly lacking in energy and explosions, major groundwork continued to be laid. With Jack and Agent Morgan finally teaming up, Jack and Audrey sure to be meeting again in the next few episodes and Margot’s son declaring that the drone system will be live in “less than an hour” early on in episode 4, next week’s installment is sure to be dramatic.