Live Another Day

Ethics in Live Another Day

As a final assessment of the ninth season of 24, I wrote a guest blog for Blackwell’s Philosophy and Pop Culture series, which highlights the moral reasoning of Jack Bauer and Margot Al-Harazi, evaluating what truly separates them, despite the fact they both declare they are doing “what must be done.” Along the way, I …

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It’s a Personal Decision: Hour 8 (200th Episode) of 24: Live Another Day

Near the start of the episode, President Heller and Jack Bauer have a heated discussion about Heller’s plan to hand himself over to Margot Al-Harazi. Heller argues that his choice to sacrifice himself is a personal, not a state, decision. This scene is the heart of the episode, and the rest is the execution. Heller …

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Please Don’t Leave Me Here: Hour 7 of Live Another Day

Though this episode is largely an extended cat-and-mouse game between Team Al-Harazi and Team Bauer, there are a few crucial moral moments. In one particular scene, Jack is hurriedly escorting a wounded Simone out of the hospital, reporting that Simone’s mother is sending a drone to destroy the hospital to eliminate her. When Simone expresses …

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Mistakes & Apologies : Hour 5 of 24 : Live Another Day

Since the two-hour premiere (and earlier for those who heard in advance which characters were returning for this season), we’ve been waiting for the drama this episode delivers. Jack finally reunites with both Audrey and her dad, President Heller. Unfolding in the midst of the storm surrounding the Al-Harazi’s hijacking of six drones, these powerful …

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“I Believe You!” : The Politics of Trust in Hour 4 of 24: Live Another Day

Early in this episode, Jack Bauer seeks the help of Chris Tanner in locating the flight key from the drone which the terrorists hacked. Because no one else has believed him, Chris naturally wonders whether he can believe Jack’s intel about a terrorist attack. Jack responds, “Son, the point is, I believe you,” and then …

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“What Must Be Done” : Ethical Reflection in Hour 3 of 24: Live Another Day

Although I favored titling this meditation, “It’s the Only Way Forward,” after Jack’s poignant comment to Chloe, I decided upon further reflection this episode seemed more a portrait of the twisted reasoning of this season’s terrorists, the Al-Harazis. Despite important scenes with Jack, Chloe, Audrey, Mark, and President Heller, what felt most important were Margot’s …

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“I Don’t Have Any Friends” : A Review of the Premiere of 24: Live Another Day

“I don’t have any friends,” or so says Jack Bauer to his Serbian associate Belcheck, just after breaking Chloe out of a CIA black site, near the end of the first hour of 24‘s new season (which breaks with the past and only shows 12 hours out of the pivotal day). Chloe later upbraids Jack, …

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