It’s been a while, but my watch of 24 continues. And since I have future knowledge (as I am writing this review, I have already seen seasons five and six), I can safely say that this season was the last great one. It seems that from season five, this series relies a bit too much on… actually, let’s not focus on that, shall we? This review is about season four, so let’s delve into that.
This season starts with a bang… well, technically, a crash. A train crash. And it’s all action from several episodes onwards, but of course, that’s not the main plotline of this season. The actual threat for this season starts when Arnold Vosloo (known by most fans from The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001)) shows up. His Habib Marwan made for an excellent opponent who was always a few steps ahead of everyone, Jack Bauer included. Also, his name is said about 20 times per episode, so it’s easy to remember. And I was secretly hoping the showrunners would let him survive to make him into a bigger, multi-season villain. So, a spoiler alert (but not really), he doesn’t survive. He puts up a fight, and his CGI death was funny; it was a shame we couldn’t have more of him as, to me, he was the most worthy opponent Jack has had, maybe ever.
This season was also great for our returning characters, from Michelle and Tony having their “will they won’t they” dynamic that never got boring or annoying. Mary Lynn Rajskub has also returned as Chloe, and it’s hard not to like her socially awkward dork who knows her stuff and will give it to you straight, sometimes without any prompts whatsoever. I also like the dynamic between Audrey (Kim Raver) and Jack; I thought it never went overboard, and they seemed like an actual couple.
I can’t help but feel (and this was before I had my future knowledge of the upcoming two seasons) that this could have been an epic end to this series. I won’t spoil how this season ends, but it felt like it was written as a potential ending to the entire series, and honestly… if it were the end, 24 would have the legacy as one of the best action TV shows ever that also managed to end on a high note. Pretty much all stories have naturally finished, there was no cliffhanger for the next season, and the end of season four seemed like the story of Jack Bauer reached its logical conclusion. But since that is not how TV works (or at least worked on a major TV network), we had to keep it going.
And I can actually use my future knowledge to confirm this would have been more impactful had it ended here. Most of our favourites are still alive, we haven’t brought back anybody from the grave, and no unexpected family members have appeared… what’s that I am naming? Just those annoying TV cliches you tend to recognise when you have watched one too many TV shows from the 90s/2000s, and when these cliches start to happen, you know the showrunners have run out of ideas, steam or creativity. Am I saying 24 will commit all of these sins? Well, you will just have to read my next review. 😉
Overall, the fourth season of 24 was, in my eyes, the pinnacle of 24, alongside the third season (my review here). Everything is bigger and better than the previous season, the main villain included, and when it finally concludes after 24 episodes, you wonder how and where this show will take it now. With my future knowledge, I can safely say choices have been made. Choices; I am afraid that will annoy some people (and probably many fans at the time) and make the fans slowly get off this show and not celebrate it as loudly as other shows of this era. I genuinely believe if the show stopped here, it would have been regarded as one of the best action shows of all time.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Until next time,
Luke
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