Because 2400 Is Too Many
written by Jon, B, Kyle, Justin and Bill - January 16, 2026
JACK SHOOTS HENDERSON'S WIFE IN THE LEG
SEASON 5
More than anyone else on 24, Jack believes he understands Christopher Henderson. While Jack almost always knows what to do to make someone talk, with Henderson, he clearly assumes he knows exactly how Henderson thinks. Jack’s shock when he shoots Henderson’s wife and Henderson still doesn’t give up any information comes as a result of the sudden realization that Henderson is not exactly the man Jack thought he was. “You don’t care about anybody,” Jack says, and immediately it becomes clear that Henderson has no Teri, no Kim in his life to keep a hold on his humanity. And it is just this loss of humanity that would allow a self-described patriot like Henderson to act against his own country in such a cold, utilitarian way as to endanger its citizens in the interest of shady lobby groups led by the bald dude who used to be on Fame. Jack may have shot Henderson’s wife, but it’s Henderson who comes out of the situation with blood on his hands.
- Kyle
AUDREY TELLS JACK SHE HATES HIM
SEASON 4
After Teri’s death, Jack lost his capacity to live a normal life separate from his CTU identity. His only relationships other than that with Audrey have either failed (Kate Warner) or have been predicated on a false identity (fish-face Claudia, the mom from Friday Night Lights); his relationship with Audrey works because they’re in the same field, so Jack can base his interactions with her on his CTU identity and leave the book closed on the perfect domestic life he can never get back. Teri was the perfect woman for the Jack Bauer we never knew; Audrey is the perfect woman for what Jack Bauer has become.
Rejection from Audrey, then, is confirmation to Jack that he is alone in this world. By season four, we don’t know a thing about Jack’s standing with Kim, but Audrey seems to be his sanctuary. When he takes action in the line of duty that leads to her estranged husband’s death, Jack effectively ends what they had. The realization that his attempt to finally get a relationship right by combining work and personal life registers along with a million other emotions on Kiefer Sutherland’s face, and for the first time since Teri’s death, his heart has broken.
- Kyle
CHASE TAKES ONE FOR THE TEAM
SEASON 3
A brief scene.
INT. Emily's house. EMILY and B are watching the season 3 finale of 24.
B
This is pretty exciting, I wonder how they're gonna end it?
EMILY
I'm not sure. Chase has the virus strapped to his arm and they can't get it off.
B
I guess they're doomed.
EMILY
OH GOD JACK HAS AN AXE
B
OH SHIT
EMILY
DUDE, NO WAY, HE'S GOING TO HACK HIS ARM OFF
B
OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT
EMILY
OH SHIT OH SHIT
B
OH, OH GOD, OH
B & EMILY
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTT
(laughter for minutes)
B
Wait, Jack just saved the world with a dorm fridge?
In retrospect they could've just tied a baggie really tightly around Chase's arm to prevent the virus from infecting everybody, but they were working on a day without sleep and were in the middle of a pretty stressful situation. If I were in that position I wouldn't have gotten past Kim sneaking out of the house in hour one of season one without bursting into tears and giving up.
- B
THE SHOOTOUT
SEASON 5
In season five, it becomes clear that Christopher Henderson was Jack Bauer before Jack Bauer was Jack Bauer, but has as of late been using his Bauer powers (ability to withstand torture, adaptability in the extreme, general toughness, etc.) for evil. So when they finally face off on seemingly even ground, it’s a classic Old West showdown; Jack even marks off ten paces before taking his shot. That he finally uses this moment to pay back Henderson’s earlier outsmarting ends the Bauer-Henderson saga with the symmetry demanded of a face-off between these two men who are so similar but for one crucial way.
Meanwhile, Petty Officer Tim Rooney looks on in that classic Petty Officer Tim Rooney way.
- Kyle
TONY GOES OUT LIKE A BITCH
SEASON 5
:(
It shouldn't have been this way. They killed Palmer, for Chrissake, and then they took away Michelle's tits Michelle, but through it all, one small consolation was "at least we still have Tony." Sure, half his face was burnt up (though his hair coped with being covered in flame surprisingly well), but this is a man who walked off getting shot in the neck. He'd be back on his feet soon enough. Well, indeed he was, only to be immediately cut down again for no real reason. It was an ignoble death, but more importantly it was a fairly pointless one. Admittedly, if I had my choice I would choose to be killed by Robocop, but whatever value that adds is taken away when it happens while wearing one of those assless hospital gowns.
Tony's death was probably the biggest one for me in terms of my involvement with the character. Palmer was close, but we knew that he was pretty much sidelined anyway once his presidency was over. Tony, on the other hand, had many more years of buddy cop adventures with Jack ahead of him. Personally, I think Tony's death was one step too far in kill-happy season five. (As I understand it, they were also planning to kill Pierce, which would be two steps too far.) I know the writers want to keep us guessing, and that every established character they keep around is one less person they can cut to and play ominous music when information is being leaked, but you also need to have some people left in the show we actually know and care about. I'm starting to distance myself from Chloe in my mind because I know it's a matter of time before she bites it for the crime of living more than two seasons without being Jack. Although come to think of it, even Jack can't seem to go more than a couple seasons without dying. He just happens to have one of those bionic SuperHearts made by the Japanese to bring him back each time.
And no silent clock for Tony I mean what the shit
- Bill
POP QUIZ, HOTSHOT.
SEASON 1
Did Jack have to shoot Victor Drazen? No. The man was unarmed and had his hands up.
Did Jack have to shoot Drazen like four-hundred thousand times after he was dead, pointing the gun down into the water where Drazen fell to continue shooting until his gun ran out of ammo? No. Was it freaking hilarious and awesome? Yes. The moment would transform Jack into "normal man driven to darkness by extraordinary circumstance" to "violent nut who will kill you so hard."
Dennis Hopper closing his eyes when he realizes Jack is going to kill him anyway really makes the moment, and is the best acting from an otherwise Lou Diamond-heavy second half of the season.
- B
NOVICK'S SHIT-EATING GRIN
SEASON 5
If it were done for a comedy, this scene would not have been filmed any differently. It's perfect. Logan looks over to his wife, and the shot cuts to Martha glaring at him, and then back to Logan again who realizes what has happened. It's a big dramatic moment between two important characters who have gone through a lot. But then it cuts back again, to the exact same shot except Mike Novick has squeezed his way in and is grinning as if to say "aw yeah, I was totally in on that shit." It's like Mike is that creepy guy who pokes his head up behind people when they're taking group photos.
- Bill
DYIN' CHAPPELLE
SEASON 3
Until this episode, even though we'd seen plenty of Ryan Chappelle throughout the past three seasons, he wasn't really a human being so much as a caricature of a soulless bureaucrat. Enjoyable to watch, but without any real emotional attachment.
This clip is great for the obvious reason of showing a broken-down Chappelle at his core, and more importantly an almost voyeuristic experience of watching the last few minutes of a man's life before he's going to die. That, and the revelation that the people he values most are his co-workers, most of whom hate him, gives the viewer some guilt for simply staring in fascination. But in kind of a sad way, even a moment that was supposed to aim the focus at Chappelle is significant primarily because of the way Jack responded to it.
Jack isn't a terribly open guy in most circumstances, but you'd initially think that he would have at least given him some encouragement or kind words. He says "I'm sorry" a couple of times, but that's really all. He doesn't say something like "you're a good man", because he wouldn't mean it. He knows Chappelle was a shitbag, and to have him believe otherwise in his final moments would be to dishonor him. He deserved to go out soberly and with the knowledge that though Jack was going to hate himself for killing him, he wasn't much of a good man at all.
In a deleted scene, Jack climbs back into the helicopter and sobs his eyes out.
Another thing I noticed was how crooked his nose was. You could hang crooked pictures with that thing!
- Jon
JACK WALKS INTO SUNRISE
SEASON 4
Doing in five minutes what anyone else on earth couldn’t do in a lifetime of planning, Jack fakes his death. The moment of revival is silly, overly expository (Chloe: “I hope it’s not too late! He really looks dead!”), capping off a season a little too filled with narrow Habib Marwan escapes and breached perimeters, but as soon as Jack is “alive” and out of CTU, the gravity of the moment returns. Jack slips on his sunglasses and walks into the rising sun, ending season four with the most iconic image of Jack Bauer to date.
- Kyle
DEADGAR STILES
SEASON 5
Edgar didn't get a fair shake, really. While every other character was off dressing sexily and having sexy gun battles against sexy terrorists, he'd just sit around CTU being fat, bald and talking with a stupid lisp. The height of his dramatic tension came when he'd been called upon to thwart a series of consecutive nuclear meltdowns and he achieved these ends by making the red dots turn into green dots, while hammering on a keyboard and sweating profusely. He was also kind of a pussy, too. Chloe was his idea of the perfect woman, and she was always treating him like shit. Even when he'd try and be nice to her, she'd come back with a smarmy reply and and a dismissive gesture before Driscoll would come over and drill him about the whereabouts of the hourlies.
That being said, he was also the show's most endearing character. We all know Jack Bauer is a tragic hero, worthy of our sympathy, but he's too far removed from a normal human psyche for us to actually empathize with. Most of the other main characters had their glaring personality flaws, too. Edgar's only flaw was taking blow after blow like a sponge, and still kicking around to absorb more. His death isn't anything more than an extention of this. Except for this time everyone takes notice and starts to care. The usually dour-faced Chloe shows emotional range beyond dismissively annoyed for the first time in series history, amd even Jack himself makes a note of the situational impact.
Edgar's last word says everything we'd need to know about him as a character, and Chloe's expression tells us everything her character isn't able to say. Godspeed you inglorious bastard.
- Justin
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