Originally the final season of 24, Season 8 had a bit of a rough start coming after the highs of Season 7. However, halfway through, the quality spiked up dramatically resulting in one of the show's finest stretches of episodes.
Similarly to Season 7, Season 8 had a drastic change in location by bringing the series to New York City. However, I fear they didn't do much with the new location, as I found myself constantly forgetting that the show even moved. The start of the season was pretty bad overall, as the plot progression slowed to a crawl and the new cast in CTU was really awful. I liked Cole a lot, but Arlo was unfunny and kind of creepy at times, Brian Hastings's conflicting motives made him nearly insufferable, and Dana's storyline about her ex-boyfriend was too soap-opera for me to enjoy. What was worse is just how much this aforementioned Dana subplot took up the screentime. Renee Walker and Allison Taylor returned, but I only enjoyed seeing the former. Dark and cynical Renee Walker was awesome, she was the highlight of the first half of the season and stole the spotlight constantly. Allison Taylor, however, didn't fare as well, since it seems she lost the selflessness that made her character so compelling last season. Add in a fairly unoriginal plot about an attempted assassination, and you get a first half that was just really bad and dull at times.
However, suddenly at episode 13, the season took a drastic spike in quality, as nearly every facet of the season became more compelling. Dana's subplot ended quickly as it was revealed she was a mole, which made her character way more likable. Chloe became the head of CTU, not only removing Hastings from the scene, but giving her an interesting character arc about learning how justified the decisions other CTU directors have made are. Logan returns to give the season a more entertaining and well-defined villain, and the season's plot shifts pretty much entirely to Jack Bauer going on a revenge spree to avenge Renee Walker's death. This is an amazing storyline that shows Jack at his most brutal and explores what would happen if a man this dangerous finally snapped. I also liked how his relationship with Chloe was fully explored. It's genuinely surprising just how amazing this second half of the season was compared to the first, it's like they were two completely different seasons.
As expected, while the season's first half didn't have any standout episodes, the second half was full of them:
4am-5am: This was an excellently tense episode that puts Jack and Cole in an episode-long firefight to secure the nuclear rods, as Chloe is at her absolute best here butting heads with the NSA and ultimately saving CTU from an EMP. We also learn that Dana Walsh is a mole, a move that single-handedly saved her character.
7am-8am: I love how cruel this episode was. The reveal that Hassan had been dead long before Jack got to him was crushing yet incredibly executed. However, there was some satisfaction in seeing Dana Walsh be outed as the mole and ultimately captured.
8am-9am: This episode is pretty well-known for Renee's heartbreaking death scene that kickstarted the final third of the season. However, it also has Logan's first appearance of the season and Chloe becoming the head of CTU.
1pm-2pm: This entire episode is worth it for the terrifyingly awesome sequence of Jack systematically assaulting Logan's motorcade. Logan's sheer terror throughout the sequence is so much fun to watch.
3pm-4pm: The original series finale for 24 was a satisfying end, with Jack deciding not to cross the line and go on the run instead, Logan being captured again, and Allison Taylor leaving the presidency. Jack's goodbye to Chloe was great, even if the lack of action was definitely noticeable.
Overall, Season 8 was a very mixed bag. The first half suffered from a dull story, bad characters, and a poor usage of the New York location. However, the moment the CTU blackout happened, the quality spiked incredibly quickly, ending the series with one of 24's best story arcs of them all.
2/5 for the first half
5/5 for the second half
3.5/5 Stars
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