24 Live Another Day Series Blog: 15.00-16.00

As 24: Live Another Day approaches the midpoint, we reach the stage where many shows would falter 24  battles on, proving it’s worth with continuous conflict and thriving plot twists. Free from the constraints of establishing the new characters, settings and backstories, the show bumps it up a notch.

‘3.00pm-4.00pm’ saw Jack give Agent Morgan the flight key so that the decryption programme could finish, proving the attack from Margot Al-Harazi was legitimate. Steve Navarro then told the President, who ordered that the drones be grounded as a precautionary measure. However, six drones did not respond due to being under the control of Harazi and could not be tracked. Heller then responded with “So what you’re telling me is that we created an aircraft that can’t be detected, even by us?” It’s ironic lines such as these that cement 24 in popular culture due to the parallels of current issues.

Al-Harazi subsequently released a video calling for the President to surrender himself or she would use the drones to attack London, killing thousands of innocent citizens. Naveed, Simone’s husband, again tried to double-cross Margot by making the IP address traceable to their location. Alas, this did not go unnoticed by Ian (Liam Garrigan), Margot’s son, who altered the location, sending Navarro and his agents elsewhere. Naveed’s betrayal proved to be the final straw as now her son was able to pilot the drones, Naveed was now no longer needed. With Simone silently looking on, sealing her husband’s fate, Margot shot her son-in-law in the episode’s closing moments, leaving no-one to get in her way.

With Bauer in custody, it was Agent Morgan’s turn to step up to the plate. Episode 5 subsequently proved 24: Live Another Day’s best new addition to be Kate Morgan as the writers are shaping her to be a heroine striving to prove herself whilst battling similar problems that Jack faced in earlier seasons. Despite being taken off the case by Division, Lady Bauer kept in touch with Chloe, ultimately discovering that Navarro and his team were being sent into a trap. By this point, however, it was too late, with the drones having already been deployed to their location, leaving Navarro and Erik’s (Gbenga Akinnagbe) fate unknown. 24’s ensemble cast really shone in this episode proving that, although Bauer is the backbone of the show, it’s other characters are equally important in the success of the show. Characters that previously seemed perfunctory – such as Navarro – seemingly proved their worth.

Despite the writers keeping Jack’s screen time minimal in this episode, tension is clearly building for when he returns. His few scenes reverberated with suspense and emotion. In his conversation with Heller, there was a mixture of loyalty and hostility which is understandable considering the crimes that Jack has committed in previous seasons. Jack told Heller of an underground arms dealer who may have contact with Margot, but, with the threat of the Russians still viable, Heller could not accept Jack wanting to do things his way and go after him himself by going back into the field.

Then came Jack’s long awaited reunion with Audrey. The tension in the sense was palpable. The last time the pair saw each other was back in season six when Audrey was in a near-comatose state after being tortured by the Chinese but the couple’s feelings soon emerged. Full of apologies and acknowledgements of past actions, Jack and Audrey struggle with repressing their emotions, painfully close to an embrace before Jack tells her to leave.

With it still to be seen how 24 fares with the time jumps, the show’s success as a 12 episode ‘event series’ cannot be fully judged, but if it continues as it has begun, Live Another Day could prove to live up some of the best seasons of the original run. The action is explosive, the storylines stronger and the acting exceptional with twists as contemporary as ever. Our protagonists Jack and Agent Morgan still, however, have many obstacles to overcome and with some characters being not all they seem, 24: Live Another Day will, no doubt, see many more twists and turns before the season goes into the home stretch.