24 News and Notes / 5am - 7am (Season Finale)

Here it is – the long awaited (I hope) recap of the last 2 hours of the season. I apologize for it taking me this long to get it done. Lots of bad reasons why but the bottom line is that it is finally done and ready for all of your curious eyes…the season finale was satisfying but nothing about it truly blew me away…interesting that they ended it with a traditional cliffhanger - that isn’t typical 24-fare.

What do you say we get started eh?....

5:00 A.M.
Bierko’s men flush out the Sentox gas aboard the sub Natalia. Bierko instructs them to begin the launch countdown. They are targeting high population areas to punish the Americans for allying with Moscow.

Comments: Wow that was a pretty quick flush eh? That’s what you get for squeezing the takeover and gassing of a nuclear sub into less than 2 hours…. *sigh*

5:01 A.M.
Audrey contacts Admiral Kirkland at the Point Mugu Command Center to alert him that terrorists have seized control of the Natalia submarine. All of the Navy crew onboard dead. She asks him to sink the Natalia with his F-18 fighter planes. Yet they won’t be there in time before the missiles launch.

Comment: They don’t have anything closer to LA?? Vandenberg AFB maybe?? How else would Jack have to save the day??

5:02 A.M.
Jack, Henderson and the TAC team are at the dock of the Natalia. Since backup won’t get there in time, Jack will have to stop Bierko himself. Henderson notices a signal tube launching off the side, which indicates someone on board is trying to send a distress signal.

Comment: Hmmm – nice catch Henderson…too bad you will most likely be dead by sunrise….magic 8-ball says: VERY LIKELY.

5:03 A.M.
Henderson tells Jack that he won’t go on the sub unless he gets his own gun for protection. Distrusting Henderson, Jack is hesitant to give him a weapon.

Comment: Come on Jack – cut the man some slack….of course you can always pull the “give him an unloaded gun” or “give him a gun with blanks” move….Face it – Jack needs all the help he can get.

5:06 A.M.
Chloe scans the area around the sub for emergency frequencies and finds one coming from a survivor. She patches Jack to Rooney, a petty officer engineer aboard the sub. Rooney gives his location, and Jack has him go to an entry point where they can board. Rooney will have to kill the terrorist at that post to go unseen.

Comment: Oooh boy this should be fun….always love the kill someone with your bare hands plotlines….

5:08 A.M.
Henderson demands a gun, and Jack gives it to him. They head towards the sub.

5:09 A.M.
Novick briefs Logan about Bierko raiding the submarine and taking over its missiles.

From outside the conference room, Martha watches Logan in the midst of the crisis. She calls Pierce and warns him not to remove the body from the retreat until she talks to Novick.

Comments: Nice to see Marty and Aaron working together….it’s just so cute.

5:10 A.M.
With less than ten minutes to missile launch, Jack asks Henderson how long it will take him to shut the system down.

5:11 A.M.
Jack instructs Rooney on how to slit the throat of the terrorist guarding the door. Rooney clumsily attacks the man and kills him. He radios Jack that their entry is clear. Jack shoots the guard on the deck, and the TAC team runs to the top of the sub.

Comment: I guess if you ever need to learn how to slit a throat Jack’s the one you want the lesson from.

5:12 A.M.
The missile doors open up on the top of the sub in preparation to launch.

5:13 A.M.
Jack and Henderson board the sub and meet Rooney. He shows them where the control room is, and Jack has him access it from the other side to create a distraction.

5:14 A.M.
Rooney knocks over a tool cart, causing a loud noise. Bierko leaves the control room to investigate. Jack and his team go in the control room and see one man left to arm the missiles. Jack stabs him in the throat.

Comment: Slit his throat…stab him in the throat…same difference. Either way the end result is a dead terrorist…and that’s how we like ‘em!

5:17 A.M.
Henderson gets to work on the controls, manually reversing the launch codes. Jack goes after Bierko.

Comments: Did we ever find how why Henderson is so handy when it comes to the launch codes on a nuclear sub?? Just curious…

5:18 A.M.
Jack fires at one of Bierko’s men. Chloe warns him that they have sixty seconds until launch. Henderson works as fast as he can.

5:19 A.M.
The other terrorist knocks Jack’s gun down. Jack grabs him and uses the man’s arm to fire at Bierko. Jack shoots at a pipe that releases steam, and he presses the man’s face to the burning pipe. Jack is set free from his grip. Bierko smacks Jack in the forehead with a metal tool. Jack leaps to a pipe above and uses his legs to snap Bierko’s neck. Henderson is able to dismantle the missiles. Everyone at CTU sighs in relief, and Karen has Chloe call off the F-18 planes.

Comments: I’m sorry but if you hit me in the forehead with a metal tool I’m going down and I won’t be back up for a while…but then that (plus a list of things to long for this post) is the difference between us mere mortals and JACK BAUER!

5:20 A.M.
Jack returns to the control room, but Henderson is gone. He tells CTU to take him off of radio and he runs outside on the deck to look for Henderson. Henderson comes up behind Jack and makes him drop his weapon. “You weren’t ever really gonna let me go, were you?” Henderson asks. He pulls the trigger and the gun clicks. Henderson realizes he’s been had, and he removes the empty clip from his gun. Jack accuses him of killing his friends Palmer, Tony and Michelle. Then he shoots Henderson dead. Rooney comes out and is frightened when he sees what Jack has done.

Comments: So Jack DID pull the old empty gun trick! Spectacular! To top things off he gets to kill Henderson…I was a bit disappointed in the method of killing – shooting him lacked the proper UMPH that a good throat slitting or possibly a broken neck would have had…after being cheated when Marwan fell off the parking garage last year I thought the writers had something more in mind for Henderson…oh well.

5:27 A.M.
Military transport vehicles arrive at the dock of the Natalia. Jack identifies himself and asks for a vehicle. He calls CTU, claiming to have killed Henderson in self-defense. Jack tells them he is coming back to CTU and asks Chloe to pick up.

Comments: Just like he killed Nina Meyers in “self defense” (wink wink)…yeah Jack we got you….

5:29 A.M.
Jack explains to Chloe that he is going after Logan himself and needs her help. Chloe agrees. Jack gets into the government car provided to him and drives off.

Comments: Time to go and pay a little visit to the House of Chuck…now the real fun begins.

5:30 A.M.
Logan is pleased when he finds out that Bierko and the missiles are no longer a threat. He wants to publicly address the crisis resolution before escorting Palmer’s casket to Washington. Novick goes to prepare the statement.

Comments: Yes – he quickly needs to put himself in position to take as much credit as possible for averting the missile launch disaster.

5:31 A.M.
Martha approaches Novick as he leaves the President’s office. She asks whether he has been suspicious about Logan’s actions. Martha begs him to come with her.

Logan is happy to report to Graham that Henderson was killed aboard the sub. “Mr. Bauer will be taken care of,” Logan guarantees.

Comments: More of Chuck reporting into the Bluetooth Group…what a smug little bastard….just think he came this close to killing himself and now look at him (damn you Miles)….

5:32 A.M.
Martha brings Novick to the stables to see Pierce, whom Logan had ordered to be killed. Martha explains that Logan was involved with everything that has happened -- from Palmer’s murder to supplying the terrorists with nerve gas to Cummings’ fake suicide. Pierce says that Jack had a recording to implicate the President, which is why Logan wanted Jack dead. Novick begins to realize that all of this is true, and he wants to drive Pierce off the retreat. Pierce tells Martha that he cannot contact her to ensure both their safeties. They say goodbye, fondly.

Comments: Jeeez Mike – what the heck else do you need to realize that Chuck is up to no good….there have been several times this season when I was sure Mike had woken up and joined up with the good guys yet it still seems like he is walking around with his head in the sand…..i think they finally have him convinced – but knowing Mike that could change at a moments notice.

5:41 A.M.
As they carry the dead body into the woods, Novick and Pierce get a call from Jack. He intends to get Logan to confess what he has done. Jack will need twenty minutes to get to the retreat, and he asks Novick to find a way to stall Logan from leaving for Washington.

Comments: Stall Logan eh?? How about just getting him in a big bear hug and wrestling him to the ground….that wouldn’t work you say?? Probably not but it would be hell-o-fun to watch.

5:43 A.M.
Karen lets Buchanan know that she’s been summoned to Washington by the White House. Chloe asks for high clearance for a new employee with tech specialties -- her ex-husband, Morris.

Comments: Chloe married?? (America responds) Let the high comedy begin!

5:45 A.M.
Chloe interrupts Morris flirting with a female CTU staffer. She needs him to do a digital audio transfer.

Comments: *giggle*

5:46 A.M.
Novick comes to the First Lady’s room and tells her that Pierce is safe and that Jack wants to get Logan to confess. Novick asks Martha to detain Logan from leaving the retreat.

Comments: Delay Logan (wink wink)…if ya know what I mean…

5:53 A.M.
Jack pulls up to the field where Pierce is hiding. Pierce informs him that the President is not riding on Marine One to the airport, but is using a Navy helicopter instead. Jack asks Pierce to help get him on that chopper.

Comments: With Jack and Aaron on the scene is there any doubt that Jack will end up on that chopper…Hell no!

5:54 A.M.
Logan is surprised when Martha comes to see him. She apologizes for the way she has acted and asks him to forgive her for the hurtful things she said. Martha tells him she still loves him. She asks him to stay at the retreat a little while longer so that they can have time alone. Logan is at first resistant, but Martha kisses him and seduces him to wait.

Comments: EEEEeeeeeeeew! Did we really need to see “the seduction”? Hell no!


5:58 A.M.
Jack and Pierce sneak inside the Secret Service outbuilding on the retreat grounds. The agent on guard is checking the helicopter because the Presidential departure is being delayed. Pierce asks how far Jack is willing to go to get Logan to confess. “As far as I have to,” Jack says.

Comments: Yes it seemed a tad too easy for them to switch pilots on a Presidential chopper but what the heck – we’ve let you slide for 23 hours…what’s one more between friends.


6:00 A.M.
Logan and Martha put their clothes back on after having sex.

Comments: Quick time check….5:54am Martha kisses Chuck and seduces him to wait…6 MINUTES LATER – Logan and Martha put their clothes back on after having sex…Chuck – you’re the President of the United States….you’ve GOT to do a little bit better than that…

6:01 A.M.
Jack takes a chopper pilot uniform from a locker in the outbuilding. Chloe lets Jack know that she and Novick found a way to pull the co-pilot from the flight.

6:02 A.M.
A Secret Service agent removes the real co-pilot from the helicopter because there is something wrong with his paperwork.

6:03 A.M.
Novick prepares Jack’s Marine One identification papers. Martha lets him know that she has stalled Logan as much as possible. Novick calls Pierce and warns him that the reassignment documentation is being faxed to the outbuilding.

6:04 A.M.
The co-pilot enters the building to find out about his paperwork. Jack knocks him out.

6:05 A.M.
Wearing the uniform and the pilot helmet, Jack walks out and shows his paperwork to the agent on duty. He boards the chopper.

Comments: Success! Never a doubt….

6:06 A.M.
The Presidential limo pulls up to the outbuilding. Novick has Martha find an excuse not to be on board. She tells her husband that she thinks he should step out of the helicopter alone because it will make for a better press image. Logan agrees, and gets on the chopper. It takes off.

Comments: When all else fails feed the ego….well done Marty.

6:07 A.M.
Once the helicopter is in the air, Jack warns the pilot that he will kill him if he doesn’t keep flying. Jack orders him to dismantle the flight communication on his helmet.

6:08 A.M.
Jack goes to the back of the chopper and stun guns the two Secret Service agents to make them pass out. He handcuffs Logan, who is shocked to see Jack.

Comments: One of those priceless moments of the season….I’m pretty sure Chuck wet himself…

6:09 A.M.
Chloe radios to Jack a coordinate to land the helicopter at an empty warehouse. Logan asks Jack what he wants, but Jack remains silent. Logan goes on to try to explain his actions.

Comments: Logan babbling…yet another cog in the 24 wheel…*giggle giggle*

6:10 A.M.
Chloe calls Morris, who is heading towards where the chopper will land. She instructs him to handoff something when he arrives.

The pilot lands next to a warehouse and shuts down the chopper. Jack stun guns the pilot, who passes out.

6:11 A.M.
Jack forces Logan into the empty warehouse. Logan tries to bribe him. Jack removes all the objects from Logan’s pockets and cuffs him to a pole.

Comments: Wait just a minute – I think I saw something like this in Pulp Fiction…I shudder at the thought of what might now occur…

6:12 A.M.
The confused Morris pulls up to the chopper and goes inside the building. He carries a briefcase.

6:13 A.M.
Jack finds Morris and takes the briefcase and a piece of equipment from him. Morris sees President Logan and is stunned. Jack orders him to leave.

6:14 A.M.
Jack calls Chloe and she tells him that he has less than ten minutes until the response team comes after the President.

Comments: I’m thinking it should have been more like 3 minutes….I can only hope the Bush’s response team is equally inept.

6:18 A.M.
Jack sets up a camera on top of the briefcase and tells Logan that he wants a confession. Logan insists that he will not do so. Chloe watches this over the video feed.

Comments: Come on Jack – you really think Chuck is going to just roll over and spill his guts…Me neither.

6:19 A.M.
Jack starts to ask Logan questions about the Sentox gas being given to the Russian separatists. He wants to know the truth about the deaths of Palmer and others. Logan insists that everything he is saying is a lie. Jack lets him know that Cummings, Henderson and Nathanson all confirmed they were involved in a conspiracy before they were killed. Logan refuses to say anything, and accuses Jack of attempting to torture him. Jack tells him that he won’t torture him but will kill him unless he confesses.

Comments: Nice little recap for anyone who might have missed the first 23 hrs and just stumbled onto things here….I like the kill angle…brutal but original.

6:21 A.M.
Jack recalls how, a year and a half ago, he was told his life was in danger and faked his own death to protect himself. Now he is sure that Logan was the source of this danger to his life. Palmer and the others who tried to help Jack are now dead. “I have absolutely nothing to lose,” Jack says, assuring Logan that he has no problem shooting him. Jack is confident that Logan will face justice.

6:22 A.M.
Jack raises his gun and starts to count to three. Logan is afraid, pleading that his death will only make him appear to be a martyr. Shaking, Jack gets to three but doesn’t pull the trigger. Logan is relieved that Jack could not kill him.

Comments: Interesting comment by Logan – he be a martyr and Jack would just be another madman – Oswald, Booth….nice trump card I must admit.

6:23 A.M.
Suddenly, a TAC team swarms the warehouse. Jack hears them and lowers his gun. He gets on the floor and puts his hands behind his head.

At CTU, Chloe types something and quickly shuts down her laptop.

Comments: Morning guys – nice to see you could make it….

6:24 A.M.
The Secret Service captures Jack. Logan grabs all of the things removed from his pocket. He tells the agents that Jack is delusional and needs to be put in solitary confinement.

Comments: One of those moments you want to just slap Logan soundly across the face…

6:29 A.M.
The naval chopper lands at the airfield where Novick and Martha are waiting. Novick tells her that Jack wasn’t able to get the confession and is now in custody. Martha panics.

Comments: She realizes that she just might have to put up with another 6 minutes of “magic” sometime very soon…*shudder*

6:30 A.M.
Palmer’s casket is removed from a hearse with full pomp and circumstance. It is placed near a podium. Martha breaks down, accusing Logan of being a murderer. Logan has the Secret Service agents take her away into a hangar. “He’s not fit to be President!” Martha cries out.

Comments: Uh oh – time to bust out the meds again…*sigh*

6:32 A.M.
Logan goes to the hangar. He smacks Martha and checks to see if she’s wearing a wire. Logan accuses Martha of delaying him with sex in order to get Jack on the chopper. He asks her why she did it. Martha explains that he had Palmer and others killed to hide his conspiracy. “I did it for the good of the country,” Logan says repeatedly.

Comments: So he smacked her eh….whoa. Nice to see what a real scum Chuck truly is…This scene was the first of two this hour I pegged on the nose…once they started talking about what happened and Palmer being killed it hit me (and I promptly told Lisa) – Jack snuck something onto Logan….when he took out all of the stuff from his jacket…it’s just gotta be…

6:35 A.M.
Logan threatens to fill Martha with drugs and send her off to an asylum if she tells anyone what she knows.

Comments: Just brutal…

6:39 A.M.
Logan and Martha emerge from the hangar and walk to the podium. He addresses the gathered military and press, boasting of his victories against the terrorists.

6:40 A.M.
Buchanan and Karen are shocked when Chloe sets up a conference call with the Attorney General. She explains that Jack placed a listening device on the President. Chloe plays back the recording of Martha and Logan talking in the hangar. The President admits responsibility for the terrorist plot and for killing Palmer.

Comments: Bill and Karen need to wake up and stop flirting with each other…..Listening device on the President – BINGO – the 24geek has got it….and they’ve got Chuck!! This is going to be fun…..

6:42 A.M.
Logan eulogizes Palmer, calling him a “wonderful friend.” A federal marshal guarding the ceremony gets a call from the Attorney General. The Marshal is confused by what is being said to him, but he agrees to obey the order.

6:43 A.M.
As he speaks, Logan notices rumblings among the agents surrounding the gathering. The Marshal and the Secret Service descend upon the podium as Logan ends his speech. The Marshal whispers something in the President’s ear and Logan’s face goes white. The Marshal pulls out the fountain pen from Logan’s pocket and shows him the microchip transmitter planted inside of it.

Comments: …..and DOWN GOES LOGAN!!! Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy…two words…BUH BYE!

6:46 A.M.
Logan turns to Martha and Novick, speechless. He is escorted from the podium amid the twenty-one gun salute to Palmer and is placed in a limo for arrest. The casket is loaded upon the plane.

Comments: Classic look from Marty…the perfect combination of anger and satisfaction…honestly I was hoping for a little buh-bye wave from Marty as they took him away….oh well – the look will have to do.

6:47 A.M.
At the warehouse, Jack sees Audrey emerge from a car. He rushes to her and kisses her. An agent interrupts Jack with a call from Kim. Audrey says she will wait for him outside.

Comments: AWWWWWW……Jack and Audrey….and now for the second thing I pegged…the agent says there is a call for him “behind that door”….I immediately think NO – don’t go anywhere behind anything – it’s a trap – the Chinese still want you….no sooner have the words left my mouth – Jack is being taken down and kidnapped by the Chinese!!! I would like to brag that I am just too good – but this is pretty obvious stuff here….so there will be no further back patting for the 24geek.

6:48 A.M.
Jack goes in the building and picks up the phone. There is no one there. Suddenly, a masked man comes up from behind and gags Jack’s mouth. Jack tries to fight off the other masked men, but the chloroform in the gag makes him pass out. The men whisk him into a room and shut the door.

Comments: See what I mean…

6:53 A.M.
Karen tells Buchanan that she thinks Logan will resign and try to cut a deal for clemency. Since the Vice President will soon be sworn in as President, Buchanan thinks he will be fired. Karen says she will make sure that Buchanan is still running CTU. She apologizes for her behavior towards him earlier in the day. Buchanan invites her out for breakfast but Karen needs to go to Division for debriefing. She asks for a rain check.

Comments: Go Bill!! Work it!

6:55 A.M.
Buchanan commends Chloe for her work and hands her something found in Edgar’s possessions. It is a photo of her and Edgar. Chloe tears up. Morris comes up and kindly asks her if she wants to talk about it.

Comments: Just when we might have forgotten about good old Edgar they just suck us back in….damn – it really is too bad he had to die….

6:56 A.M.
Audrey goes into the warehouse looking for Jack. She sees the phone off the hook and becomes worried. Audrey runs out and alerts the agents that Jack is missing.

Comments: Oh dear – that’s what you get Audrey for saying it’s over….and everyone will be alright….it’s the kiss of death.

6:57 A.M.
A beaten and bloody Jack is dragged into a dark room. The men remove their masks and reveal that they are Chinese. Their leader is Cheng, the head of security from the Chinese Consulate who threatened the American government to turn over Jack for his raid on the consulate building eighteen months ago. “China has a long memory,” Cheng says. “Did you really think that we would forget?” Jack can barely speak, but begs to make one phone call. Jack wants them to kill him, but Cheng says he is too valuable to kill.

Comments: CHENG!!! (try and imagine a cry like Kirk yelling KAHN! in the second Star Trek movie…that’s about how it came out of my mouth)…heehee

6:59 A.M.
Cheng has Jack kidnapped aboard a Chinese shipping boat. It is already sailing the ocean.

So another day has come to an end….we would all have to agree that Jack’s in a little bit more trouble than he was at the end of last season. This season has certainly been exciting at times, slow as well but most importantly there were surprises (the death of so many of our favorite characters – Tony we will miss you..) that kept us all on our toes. Who knows how they will manage to get Jack back safe and sound so he can fight the good fight for another action packed day but we just know they will.

We are already well into the summer hiatus for the show – it won’t be back until January 2007 – but if you are missing your 24 fix FOX is showing a couple of hours of the past season on Friday nights. Might be fun no?

It has been a pleasure navigating our way through this season. It is my goal over the summer to continue to add new 24 info as I hear or read about it as well as a bunch of other randomness the is 24geek.

Chat soon!