24: Live Another Day

The ninth season of 24, also known as Live Another Day, came almost five years after the original series ended. Thankfully, it feels like not a day has passed, with the shortened length of the season allowing for the best-paced season of the whole series.

Live Another Day is only 12 episodes long, so the plot is far more simple than past seasons. The main villain is a terrorist named Margot Al-Harazi who tries to attack London with drones, while Cheng Zhi makes one last big return around the final fourth of the season. Margot is a great villain, both charismatic and thoroughly hateable in the way she abuses her family members. Meanwhile, Jack joins the CIA in London, which is utilized far better than New York was back in Season 8. The Hellers are back as well, with James Heller serving as a solid president of the US, and Chloe is here as well, with an entirely new (and kind of odd) getup having just joined a hacker group. The whole storyline is very well-paced due to the shortened length of the season, with hardly any padding, fluff, or extraneous plot threads.

Along with its incredibly solid story, Live Another Day does a great job of slowly ramping up the stakes and the pace, with the first few episodes focused on establishing all of the characters, and the second half of the show stuffed with plot twists, crazy set pieces, and emotional moments that utilize every character to their absolute fullest. Speaking of which, this season has some of the best action in the whole series, from the insane drone chase, to one of Jack's most brutal slaughters in the final episode. I wouldn't say this season is anything groundbreaking compared to the earlier 24 seasons, but it feels like Live Another Day is 24 at its most refined. It takes everything that you love from the series, the action, the characters, the plot twists, and polishes it to near perfection. As a result, it's probably the strongest season of the whole show (though Season 3 is probably still my personal favorite).

Most of the season is worth noting given just how much happens in every episode, but here are the most notable episodes:

5pm-6pm: While a fairly average episode on its own, the third act contains this insane drone chase that might be the finest action setpiece in the series. It's fast-paced, bombastic, and has surprisingly high production values for a TV show car chase.

6pm-7pm: This whole episode was fairly subdued and emotional as James Heller prepares to sacrifice and surrender himself to Margot. It's an impactful and sweet tribute to the character, and slowly builds in tension until that final scene in the stadium.

7pm-8pm: This fast-paced and action-packed episode is probably my favorite hour of the whole show, packed in everything you'd want from the series. The action is top-notch and seems to be inspired by Die Hard at times, Margot gets a satisfying and brutal defeat, the twist about Heller being alive was awesome, and the mole of the season is finally revealed ending the episode on an exciting cliffhanger.

10pm-11am: While Season 8's finale probably works better as a series finale, this final hour(s) is definitely the better episode. Everyone gets a chance to shine here, with Audrey's death being one of the most heartbreaking of the show. Jack slaughtering Cheng Zhi's minions is brutal yet satisfying, and the downer ending is emotional, even if it feels more like a cliffhanger.

Overall, I adored Live Another Day. The shortened length allowed for a brilliantly paced season that feels like it has everything that makes 24 great. The action, twists, and emotional impact is all there in spades, resulting in one of the show's greatest seasons.

5/5 Stars

My ranking of 24's nine days would be:

6 < 4 < 1 < 8 < 2 < 7 < 5 < 9 < 3

My ranking of 24's season finales (aka 24th hours) are:

4 < 6 < 8 < 2 < 3 < 5 < 7 < 9 < 1

And my favorite episode is Day 9: 7pm-8pm.