Despite being a couple of years late, I finally finished series 8 of 24 a couple of days ago.
I was a little put off by it when it first began because everything was so different. All the characters were mixed up and the story had changed so much. However as it went on I began to really, really, really enjoy it. Like, really enjoy it.
Series 7 sucked in my opinion. I mean it was slow, bland, dragged out, and it was as if the creators thought that simply putting the awesome twist that is Tony into the mix would be an instant win formular. But it really wasn't.
Series 8 was not slow or boring or even dragged out. In fact it was really well organised. The main threat of the nuclear rods was resolved earlier than I thought, which I liked. It wasn't over long and unrealistic. Then after that Jack, of course, goes awol.
The twists were also great. I did not see Dana being a mole coming at all. I thought she might have been dodgy when the series first started (you're always eyeing people up and trying to see who the next mole is going to be at the beginning, right?!) however after her issue with that Jason creep I thought that was her story done and dusted. Then she just turns round and kills that fucking annoying as hell parole officer and gives the terrorists a call. Nice.
Thing that made me laugh about the whole Dana mole thing is how much of a shit mole she was. I mean she spent half the series not even IN CTU.
24 has always done a great job of involving politics in a realistic way without making it too complicated or boring, and series 8 was no exception. Towards the end I just wanted President Taylor to die to be hoenst. She was useless and had totally lost her mind. I mean, you had your own daughter arrested but won't do the right thing when it comes to you and your country's issues?
When Charles Logan came into it I was so pleased. He is easily one of my favorite 24 characters ever, even if he is evil. He just appeared out the blue and began being a total badass and just blackmailing the Russians. That said, his intentions were not the, uh, best I guess. I mean hee almost had Jack killed and took over stupid Pres. Taylor's mind.
I really liked Pres. Hassan too. It's just as shame he got his head mangled.
One of the key things that made me love the series so much is the simple fact that it was so interesting and entertaining all the time. The side plots were good. The characters were awesome. The main plot was great. Everything was brilliantly paced too.
I didn't see half the twists coming either which was nice.
My 3 other favorite things about this series have to be these:
1: Freddie Prinz Jr.
2: The first proper torture scene for a while.
3: The final 3rd.
Freddie Prinz Jr. was just awesome. Played one of the best characters in the entire series and I'm glad he didn't die.
Then of course you have the torture scene. I was really disappointed that there was minimal torture in series 7, and admittedly there wasn't much in this season either, except this one part where Jack totally owns some Russian assassin prick (not saying Russians are pricks, just saying this guy was).
First he just rips his stomach area apart with pliers or whatever they were, then he blow torches him and beats him and totally messes him up. The guy didn't talk, though, so Jack had to literally rip his stomach out to retrieve the phone sim card the guy swallowed.
And then there is the overall final 3rd. Poor Jack just can't have anything, can he? His wife is murdered, then his daughter avoids him for years, then his next love interest is taken away from him and permanently brain damaged, then tons of his friends die, Tony turns out to be a traitor, then his next love interest is shot by a sniper and then he ends up having to abandon his granddaughter and daughter. No wonder he was hell bent on revenge.
So the final third is mostly him trying (and succeeding) to kill all those involved in killing Renee and reveal the conspiracy Pres. Taylor is hiding. It is so damn intense and Jack totally Liam Neeson's everyone's ass. The way he goes after Logan in that juggernaut outfit is just awesome.
To be honest the only thing I didn't like was that Jack survived. It seemed that he had reached the stage where dying was the only thing left for him to do and at the end I'm surprised he actually had the will and motivation to go on despite that fact that the rest of his days would be lived out with the constant threat of him and the rest of his family being murdered and/or tortured.
Overall I actually really enjoyed the series. It was a good finale. I'm surprised it got so many mediocre reviews but I guess when you compare it to the likes of series 3, 4 and 5 it seems pretty naf.
I kinda wish they'd do another season now, but this time kill Jack off. Poor guy's got practically nothing left to live for.
