Open Thread: The End of An Era Part 2 -- Goodbye 24!

One show down, one to go. Before LOST, there was another save-the-world-type thriller and that was 24. Before Jack Shephard was a flawed male lead prone to heroic actions and sacrifice, there was Jack Bauer who was much less outwardly flawed. He was the ever-do-good hero. Then Season 8 came and Jack Bauer has been unleashed. It seems no one can stop him and that may include President Taylor and even Chloe O'Brien. So how do you end this show? How does this final episode lead into the movie they are planning to make? And is there any way that Jack Bauer dies tonight (I say no)?

While LOST was beginning during the Iraq War, 24 debut coincided with 9/11. 24 has been eerily close to prescient on certain world actions (go back and watch Season 2 and realize the whole season scarily mirrors the build-up to the war in Iraq) and, at times, has seemed more like a reality show than most reality shows. It's a show that's shocked us and surprised us at times, made us laugh at others, and made us cheer on occasion. It also has left us debating heavy topics like whether it is worth sacrificing one person to save a lot more, whether it's all right to commit a crime to save a loved one, or whether torture is okay in any form or in any situation. We also debated quite a bit which Seasons of 24 were the best (my favorite is Season 1 followed by probably either 3 or 5).

It's also made us change our view on television a bit. The style and the pace of the show, the cliff-hangers, and the action have all been somewhat revolutionary. FOX is known for taking on these types of shows in the past (The Simpsons, X-Files, and Married with Children to name a few) and this was certainly one of those times.

But for those of us who love 24, the past few years have been tough. The show had a great first five seasons and then lost it's luster through a writer's strike and two sub-par outings. The plotlines were either ridiculous or predictable (oh no, another mole!) and the characters that were brought in to replace the Sherry and David Palmers and the Nina Myers of the world weren't able to live up to the task. Season 8 has changed the game a bit and provided a season that while ranking behind the first five, I believe has been worthy of 24. Tonight is the final two episodes and I'm hoping that 24 ends on a good note. I don't expect it to be a happy-go-lucky ending, but I hope it ends well and closes out a great second-half of the season.

This is an open thread so the comments are now open until the show starts. Let us know your thoughts, ideas, feelings, and theories on what's going to happen tonight. Recap will be up tomorrow. Hope you all enjoy it!

Photo from FOX.com