24 - The End of Jack Bauer
This is going to be boring if you don't watch the television series 24 starring Kiefer Sutherland, and I seriously don't want to go into a long explanation of the series since if you don't watch it then you're not going to care or understand my analysis of what might happen in the series finale.
But if you do watch 24 and have been watching the last few episodes then I am sure you are going to agree with me on one thing, there is no way the character still be alive at the end of the series.
At one time Jack Bauer was going to be the new James Bond, but as his moral compass lost its magnetism it became apparent to me that whenever the producers of 24 decided to end the series, Jack Bauer as a character would not survive the end of it. Part Batman, part Captain America, part human weapon, Jack Bauer is like a shark. A perfect killing machine in a target rich environment where everyone seems to be a bad guy.
So, what's the best way to kill off a character who has been asked to do, and has done, some pretty hideous things for his country. Loyal to a fault, the one good apple in a barrel of bad ones (including his own family, I mean his father killed his own son to keep him quiet about his shady dealings) he lost his wife, his family and any shot of happiness he may have had because of his loyalties to his country and associates. Jack Bauer spent almost two years in a Chinese prison where he was tortured on a near daily basis yet he gave up nothing in the way of secrets. How did the government whose secrets he was keeping him thank him? They negotiated his release back to this country so he could be offered up as a human sacrifice to some terrorist with a grudge.
First thought was a hale of gunfire, but that seemed to lack dignity the character deserves. A sniper from a mile or so away would make the most sense, Bauer would know it was coming and there would be nothing he could do about it, but that feels like an anti-climax and again, the character deserves better.
I think that the way they get rid of Jack, even if they don't kill him off (and seriously, I don't see how they could not) is that he has to be taken down by someone who he respects and who the audience can be satisfied with as they guy who killed Jack Bauer. Someone like Aaron Pierce.
A Secret Service agent played by Glen Morshower, Aaron Pierce is perhaps the most patriotic and principled character to appear in the series. His sense of duty is as strong as Jack's as his feeling that his primary duty and responsibility is to his country and to the American people. There are a lot of other parallels between Pierce and Bauer, they have both given a lot for their country and they have both sacrificed and have been unwavering in the executions of their duties. The character of Aaron Pierce has also been, until this season, the only character other than Jack Bauer to appear in every season of 24.
So who better to kill or bring in Jack Bauer? Pierce is probably the only person who Bauer would surrender to, and if it came to a who's going to blink situation between the two of them, Bauer would probably not pull the trigger on Pierce. Jack seems resigned to not surviving his current ordeal, he's no longer serving his country, he is using the notion of serving his country to pursue a personal vendetta against people who have robbed him of his best chance of having a normal life. Jack Bauer's fate would seem to be sealed.
So, bring in the last morally stable character to help bring in, or if they choose to go that route, kill Jack Bauer. I don't think there is any other way to do it and still leave the audience feeling okay.
What I hope they DON'T do is have Jack turn a gun on himself. 24 is a series which is built on surprises and shock, having the lead character swallow a bullet might be in keeping with that thinking, but if the producers and writers did that they would be crapping on a character who, as I mentioned above, has been through a lot and deserves a noble ending.
But if you do watch 24 and have been watching the last few episodes then I am sure you are going to agree with me on one thing, there is no way the character still be alive at the end of the series.
At one time Jack Bauer was going to be the new James Bond, but as his moral compass lost its magnetism it became apparent to me that whenever the producers of 24 decided to end the series, Jack Bauer as a character would not survive the end of it. Part Batman, part Captain America, part human weapon, Jack Bauer is like a shark. A perfect killing machine in a target rich environment where everyone seems to be a bad guy.
So, what's the best way to kill off a character who has been asked to do, and has done, some pretty hideous things for his country. Loyal to a fault, the one good apple in a barrel of bad ones (including his own family, I mean his father killed his own son to keep him quiet about his shady dealings) he lost his wife, his family and any shot of happiness he may have had because of his loyalties to his country and associates. Jack Bauer spent almost two years in a Chinese prison where he was tortured on a near daily basis yet he gave up nothing in the way of secrets. How did the government whose secrets he was keeping him thank him? They negotiated his release back to this country so he could be offered up as a human sacrifice to some terrorist with a grudge.
First thought was a hale of gunfire, but that seemed to lack dignity the character deserves. A sniper from a mile or so away would make the most sense, Bauer would know it was coming and there would be nothing he could do about it, but that feels like an anti-climax and again, the character deserves better.
I think that the way they get rid of Jack, even if they don't kill him off (and seriously, I don't see how they could not) is that he has to be taken down by someone who he respects and who the audience can be satisfied with as they guy who killed Jack Bauer. Someone like Aaron Pierce.
So who better to kill or bring in Jack Bauer? Pierce is probably the only person who Bauer would surrender to, and if it came to a who's going to blink situation between the two of them, Bauer would probably not pull the trigger on Pierce. Jack seems resigned to not surviving his current ordeal, he's no longer serving his country, he is using the notion of serving his country to pursue a personal vendetta against people who have robbed him of his best chance of having a normal life. Jack Bauer's fate would seem to be sealed.
So, bring in the last morally stable character to help bring in, or if they choose to go that route, kill Jack Bauer. I don't think there is any other way to do it and still leave the audience feeling okay.
What I hope they DON'T do is have Jack turn a gun on himself. 24 is a series which is built on surprises and shock, having the lead character swallow a bullet might be in keeping with that thinking, but if the producers and writers did that they would be crapping on a character who, as I mentioned above, has been through a lot and deserves a noble ending.
Comments
I'm gonna miss this show!
Cheers from Louisiana!
First off, I have never seen a single episode of 24. Your one paragraph did a perfect job bringing me up to speed. As a editor of fiction it was all I needed really. That said, you know Jack well, and know the production company. From what I got from you I came up with a acceptable ending in the suicide line. The key factors being that Jack by killing himself ends his life smiling at the one who had destroyed his. And by whatever mechanism the other mans life becomes forfit upon jacks death.
Within this model the tortured man finds justice, revenge and release from a life he does not want anymore. Yet maintains control of his fate and dignity.
What ya think of that eh?
I only check my blog for comments when I go to start writing a new post, so I only see these once in a while. I did comment on one of your postings, thanking you for your comments and support some time back.
As for Jack Bauer, well, turns out I was wrong about his being killed off or facing some other final end as the producers seemed more concerned about the possible spin-off into a movie franchise. That notion makes the touching goodbye with Chloe O'Brien in the series finale seem a little hollow.
DV
very well may be for the best. After firefly,s one season and the joy of watching serenity I found myself wishing more series followed that accidental model. I don't assume your a fan but as a comics and sci fi editor/publisher I couldn't really imagine you not to be. So your predictions may very well turn out true yet.