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What a disappointing end to the series.

I only started watching 24 this year and have finally caught up in time to experience a week of wait before the final, FINAL episode. Or so they claim. 8 seasons isn't too bad a number, I guess. What is a shame is just how sappy the ending was. You might just think that I was bitter because I lost the bet with my housemate about what happened at the end. But no. Jack Bauer is invincible. He's a God. He can't die! He's JACK BAUER! And yet he gets stabbed at the end of hour 22 (For those of you who don't know, there are 24 hours in a day. /end obvious remark). He's bleeding heavily. But no. He's Jack Bauer. He can't die! He's there, dripping blood through hour 23 as he holds people hostage, wincing in pain and gasping for breath. What's this? Is Jack Bauer weak? He starts failing at what he does. He spares people when they beg for mercy. The outcome of the assassination attempt was downright appaulling. Then the people he didn't kill off when he had the chance start plotting against him to bring him down. It felt like a clever attempt by the writers to justify killing people, much like they've justified torture throughout the series. Heck, during hours 21 and 22 of this season there were the most horrific torture scenes and the most extreme battles Jack Bauer had ever endured.

Not only did these two previous hours build up for the finale, but they also implied that Jack had no hope of surviving. The Americans, the Russians AND CTU were all working against him. If Jack can survive this, he can survive anything! He's JACK BAUER, for God's sake!

So here he is, in the final two hours, letting guilty people walk free and pussying out when it comes to assassination attempts. I believe that his kill count in the last two hours is 0. 0! Chloe almost got a better KD ratio! (If only she wasn't trying to kill the unkillable. He's JACK BAUER!). Come to think of it, even Jack tried to blow his own head off at one point and even he failed at doing that.

The stage is set. Chloe is in command of CTU, Cole is ready to jump into Bauer's shoes once he (finally) dies, and the truth about the conspiracy is about to become public knowledge. Jack has won. He's done what he set out to do. He even recorded a speech in case he died. But no, that can't possibly happen. He's JACK BAUER. Everything is solved, the truth gets out and yet Jack is snatched away by a group of people and is about to be executed. Surely he can't die? He's JACK BAUER! Chloe, back at CTU headquarters, loads up video footage from a drone, showing him in a courtyard, ready to be executed. She orders police to the area. Oh, they're not going to get there in time. Wait... they're not going to get there in time? GASP... no, they can't kill JACK BAUER... Surely? Jack is pushed to the ground, handcuffed, in the middle of an open area. He has one last feeble attempt at stopping them to show that he's still JACK BAUER... but he's stopped. And he's placed on the ground again. Gun pointed to his head, and- they get a phone call from the president and they let him go and he runs off, never to be seen again.

Really? Did this really happen? I guess you'll just have to watch it to find out!

Perhaps they're going to squeeze this cash cow for a little longer. Maybe they're going to make some spin-off movies. It's not exactly 24 when it's 2 hours long though, is it? They could have finished the franchise off brilliantly. 24 episodes is a long time to build up to a fantastic finale, why not finish with a bang (literally)? Jack bauer has been begging for death throughout the series. He's always wanted to die for something and I don't see a more fitting end than to do it when he's up against the rest of the world. The moment he gave Chloe the flash card, he had served his purpose. Being needlessly killed by strangers in a gritty courtyard while his friends helplessly watch from afar would have been a fitting conclusion and every bit as bitter as the ending of Romeo and Juliet. He didn't even know that his plan had succeeded, compounding the impact his death would make on audiences. In fact... I don't care any more. Why not just have a nuclear war between Russia and America, while Jack Bauer suddenly breaks down into tears and begs for mercy before being shot? Heck, why not have the executioner reveal himself as Tony? We could then throw in the twist that Kim's actually a secret agent and David palmer was the mastermind behind the entire conspiracy. With Edgar as his bitch.