kirinke said:
Huh. You gotta remember what Jack's been through. So far, he's been tortured by the chinese for 2 years, came back only to be sold to Fay'd with the knowledge that he'd likely be tortured to death anyway.
He is in fact beaten and tortured by Fay'd, has found out that his brother and father are both traitors and mass murderers, recieved the info that his former girlfriend was killed in China looking for him, found out she was alive but for the last three months held captive by the same psycho that was torturing him.
He also found out that Cheng drove her catatonic. He was also forced to kill one of his best friends. Any one of these things would drive a normal person around the bend twice. So yeah, him being shaky and jittery in light of those things.... Perfectly reasonable. Everyone has a breaking point you know.
I think that's a very fair assessment of the character, given all the situations he's been through.
But 24, which I lovingly refer to as the "Jack Bauer Power Hour," has not been very take-charge this season. Basically, the Jack Bauer Power Hour has been lacking in power. And Jack Bauer.
I started watching this show because Jack was such a strong character. Deep convictions, frightening skill, and constantly torn by his work/personal life dichotomy. It's not terribly original but very compelling, and the package was put together well. I always think of the 2nd season when Nina kills that terror suspect and their plane crashes. Without missing a beat, Jack immediately:
- secures Nina
- checks passengers and pilot for life signs
- moves to a secure, hidden position
- realizes the peeps searching the wreckage are mercs
- kills a man with a flare gun
That's exciting stuff. This show's all about Jack and what he can do. Not seeing him do it has definitely hurt the show. Nobody cares about Ricky Schroeder the way we care about Jack. There have been some strong episodes in this season, but almost all of them involved Jack doing what he does best.