24 Season 8 – 7:00-8:00am Dana’s ever increasing army of haters will, no doubt, have found the episode a particularly enjoyable romp, as she finally gets discovered, although not before letting CTU’s previously clumsy security prove they’re not all bad after all. Making the lame excuse of needing to get her migraine medication from her car in order to escape CTU, security wouldn’t let her leave, on Hasting’s orders, until she’s cleared, and just when the guard looked ready to relent and let her through, he instead offered to let one of his colleagues go out for her (although, why could the guard go without Hasting’s say so, and not Dana?). Although Dana isn’t exactly well-liked by the fans, this was a good opening, and Dana’s vilified presence in the show actually helped to enhance the tension. You didn’t just want CTU to stop her, you needed them to, so when Ortiz did the deed, it was a real relief. Good one, Freddy! While CTU was in a bit of a pickle, we also switched to President Taylor, who was expressing very real concerns that the peace process she’s been working so hard on is about to fail. Her worrying is interrupted, though, as she’s greeted by what has to be the most blatant Russian bad guy you’re ever likely to see. The Russian Foreign Minister, Mr Novakovich shows up, and is clearly a series bad guy in waiting, especially as his interests in Hassan’s demise are plainly evident. I’m betting we’ll see more of Mr Bond villain again very soon. With the threat in place, and Jack’s interrogation of Dana done, in what has to be the most over-the-top, sci-fi interrogation room/pod yet, the rest of the show didn’t pull any punches, and with a few small asides like Hastings grilling Cole about Dana’s past, and yet another fateful conflab between Jack and Renee, it was all about the skilful and silent rescue of Hassan. Jack and his team arrive at the location, and with some almost Holmesian-like deductive analysis of the sunlight on Hassan’s face in the Web feed, Chloe manages to work out almost exactly where in the building he’s being held. Is there nothing 24‘s ultra-geek can’t do? But alas, even with an impressive takedown of each and every single terrorist (even Samir), Jack was too late. The Web feed was a delayed video and Hassan was dead before the op even began. President Taylor witnesses the feed in all its gruesome glory and, quickly, the show comes to a close with a silent clock ticking to 8:00am. It was a really good way to end the show, and I applaud the move taken to kill off Hassan, one of the series’ best characters. And, while it was a bit obvious that Hassan was going to die somehow, especially as the infiltration went so well, it was nonetheless a good plot point, and a great way to end the episode. However, as good as the episode was, with a few tension-ridden moments, and even Dana working well as a half-decent villain, we’re left with one major, glaring problem – what now? Well, as I said earlier, it’s obvious that the Russians are going to pitch in, which may lead us full circle to the return of Bashaev, and there’s still the matter of Taylor’s peace treaty. Dana isn’t off the hook yet either, as her deal for immunity was on the condition that Hassan was found alive, and surely, Ortiz is going to want some of the action if she’s thrown to the lions. There’s also the matter of Jack’s overall story to tie up, but I can’t see that taking several episodes, especially given that a movie is surely on the way. Read our review of episode 15 here.
title: “24 Season 8 Episode 16 Review” ShowToc: true date: “2025-08-01” author: “Trent Dewitt”
24 Season 8 – 7:00-8:00am Dana’s ever increasing army of haters will, no doubt, have found the episode a particularly enjoyable romp, as she finally gets discovered, although not before letting CTU’s previously clumsy security prove they’re not all bad after all. Making the lame excuse of needing to get her migraine medication from her car in order to escape CTU, security wouldn’t let her leave, on Hasting’s orders, until she’s cleared, and just when the guard looked ready to relent and let her through, he instead offered to let one of his colleagues go out for her (although, why could the guard go without Hasting’s say so, and not Dana?). Although Dana isn’t exactly well-liked by the fans, this was a good opening, and Dana’s vilified presence in the show actually helped to enhance the tension. You didn’t just want CTU to stop her, you needed them to, so when Ortiz did the deed, it was a real relief. Good one, Freddy! While CTU was in a bit of a pickle, we also switched to President Taylor, who was expressing very real concerns that the peace process she’s been working so hard on is about to fail. Her worrying is interrupted, though, as she’s greeted by what has to be the most blatant Russian bad guy you’re ever likely to see. The Russian Foreign Minister, Mr Novakovich shows up, and is clearly a series bad guy in waiting, especially as his interests in Hassan’s demise are plainly evident. I’m betting we’ll see more of Mr Bond villain again very soon. With the threat in place, and Jack’s interrogation of Dana done, in what has to be the most over-the-top, sci-fi interrogation room/pod yet, the rest of the show didn’t pull any punches, and with a few small asides like Hastings grilling Cole about Dana’s past, and yet another fateful conflab between Jack and Renee, it was all about the skilful and silent rescue of Hassan. Jack and his team arrive at the location, and with some almost Holmesian-like deductive analysis of the sunlight on Hassan’s face in the Web feed, Chloe manages to work out almost exactly where in the building he’s being held. Is there nothing 24‘s ultra-geek can’t do? But alas, even with an impressive takedown of each and every single terrorist (even Samir), Jack was too late. The Web feed was a delayed video and Hassan was dead before the op even began. President Taylor witnesses the feed in all its gruesome glory and, quickly, the show comes to a close with a silent clock ticking to 8:00am. It was a really good way to end the show, and I applaud the move taken to kill off Hassan, one of the series’ best characters. And, while it was a bit obvious that Hassan was going to die somehow, especially as the infiltration went so well, it was nonetheless a good plot point, and a great way to end the episode. However, as good as the episode was, with a few tension-ridden moments, and even Dana working well as a half-decent villain, we’re left with one major, glaring problem – what now? Well, as I said earlier, it’s obvious that the Russians are going to pitch in, which may lead us full circle to the return of Bashaev, and there’s still the matter of Taylor’s peace treaty. Dana isn’t off the hook yet either, as her deal for immunity was on the condition that Hassan was found alive, and surely, Ortiz is going to want some of the action if she’s thrown to the lions. There’s also the matter of Jack’s overall story to tie up, but I can’t see that taking several episodes, especially given that a movie is surely on the way. Read our review of episode 15 here.
