Mark Hunter and Tim Furious exchange emails after Episode 18 of "24". Needless to say, the ending left both of their rumor mills spinning!

Mark Hunter Begins:

Wow. I really didn't think this season could get that much better. But 20 seconds into this episode, and you can already tell Bauer's going to go in-freakin-sane.

His desire for revenge after losing Renee Walker wasn't enough though. Because that would be just too easy. If Jack could just hunt down and kill off the terrorists' Russian allies, that would be simple good vs evil. But in the land of 24, shades of gray always trump black and white.

So the return of disgraced President Logan was eerily prescient last episode. We all knew he'd be morally compromised (again), but I didn't foresee he's compromise President Taylor this quickly. And now Bauer sees she's as poisoned as he is. And anyone is now fair game as he seeks justice.

Oh. YES.

And how sweet was it to see Dana Walsh start to get her just desserts? As an aside, do you recall if Bauer's ever beaten a woman before? (Other than the traitor who killed his wife in season 1.) Mixed feelings there; I was secretly hoping Chloe would put the screws to Walsh!

Your take Furious?

The Furious Reply:

I was just marveling at how this last pair of episodes has redeemed a season that has taken a long time to mature to its true calling. Our premonitions that the final hours of "24" would be a murderous berserker frenzy on Jack's part. Looks like we're getting our wish.

Needless to say, I very much stand by the re-insertion of President Logan in to the equation. The whole scene where he talks President Taylor in to locking Jack away, it became obvious that something else is afoot in Manhattan. The Russians either had a trap set for Jack at the air force base, or they just need him out of the way. To me, Logan is simply the hands-down best villain in the "24" canon for a lot of reasons - but largely because he's American. It's a great underscore to this season - America's biggest enemies are always within.

Two things I love about Jack going AWOL at the end of the episode:

1) No strings attached. Jack without any restraints is when he's at his best, and now that he's being hunted by CTU, the air force, Chloe, the Russians...and maybe even Cole is titillating stuff.

2) Jack still doesn't know that President Logan is involved. The person who's going to tell him? There are a bunch of ideas swirling my noggin' (Chloe figuring it out hacker styles, Logan getting sighted somewhere around the U.N. from Jack perched on a rooftop), but the best way to go is to have Dana Walsh divulge his involvement. How Jack gets back to Dana? Who cares...I just want her to slap her around again! She's looks like her face can take a serious beating.

Also, loved the exchange between Taylor and Jack where she says he wants revenge, he replies he wants justice and she trumps him saying she wants peace. How can you possibly top that? "President Taylor...I want curly fries!"

Seriously, if we think Jack stealing a helicopter and defying his President's orders are bold moves...just wait until he finds out Taylor is getting her queues from President Logan!

Hunter Replies:

I hadn't even turned my mind to the fact that Jack isn't aware President Logan is involved yet. You are completely right - if he hasn't totally lost his mind already, he will when he finds out about that. President Logan's fate was always one of the most aggravating unresolved threads in 24. How could someone who committed such atrocities simply be given a joke of a sentence and be allowed some measure of dignity?

Oh, I'm sure Jack will take care of that now!

President Taylor's inevitable fall from grace reminds me of President Palmer's in season 3. We were lead to believe he was morally pure and then by the end of that season he had to realize how far he'd slipped and removed himself from reelection. When the truth behind the Russian's involvement comes out this season, and Taylor's complicity in covering it up, she will also be viewed as irredeemable.

I foresee a major standoff coming between Jack's moral absolutism and the Logan/Taylor realpolitik. Logan is expendable given what a weasel he is; Taylor is harder to assess.

I loved the scene when Taylor entered CTU and gave her speech, and Jack was literally looking down on her from above, judging her and preparing to unleash his moral thunderbolts upon her. Oh, I cannot wait to see the end result of his desire for "justice."

I also know something huge is coming with respect to Dana Walsh and Cole. That's also just far too unresolved at this point.

Actually, the more I think about this, is ANYONE coming out of this episode morally untainted? Will berserker Jack just mow down the entire government? The possibilities are endless!

The Furious Take:

I love the premise of what you're saying. I guess after saving the world and U-S-of-f'n-A more than a handful of times, I suppose you're entitled to become a full fledged judge, jury and executioner at your own discretion.

Do you really think that President Taylor will descend past the point of no return once she hears that Jack has disappeared off the grid? I can't even imagine them stripping the Presidency of its respect for a fourth straight time. Two Palmers, one Logan and a Taylor all becoming bad apples? How are we supposed to keep faith in the system? It's like the old saying, "Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice...well...you're never gonna fool me again."

Either way, unleashing Jack on the entire "24" universe for the final six hours is possibly the most fan-friendly way to end it.

The most un-fan-friendly way to end it? A possible spin-off series with your friend and mine, Cole Ortiz (Freddie). I just don't see how he fits in to the story all that much.

Speaking of which, is it me or are there just too many new characters in what's supposed to be the "last season"? Part of the reason that I hated the Dana Walsh side-plot so much is because I didn't know enough about her to care about the fact that she was being screwed around by her ex-boyfriend. Same with Hastings bossing Jack Bauer around...it just didn't make any sense to have this new guy with so much power over our beloved hero.

That being said, I don't know what else could evoke me to really care emotionally about the final hours of "24" unless President Logan was around. What do you think? Do you feel like this is the right cast of characters to end such a great run?

Hunter's Reply On New Characters:

I have no doubt that one of the final pivotal moments of this series will be Jack Bauer confronting President Taylor about her moral failings. It's just inevitable.that Jack will find the audio file Dana referred to in her interrogation and with it "proof" of the conspiracy by the Russian government to derail the peace process. At that point Jack will be faced with the penultimate decision of his life. Does he:

1. Expose the truth and ruin not only the peace process, but possibly the legitimacy of the Presidency even more than Logan did (as you suggest), or

2. Cover it up and swallow his righteousness?

I think we obviously know the answer to that rhetorical question. Unless something changes, his path is clear: total and merciless punishment of the wicked.

But that begs the question: what could change that would cause Bauer to reconsider his options?

I've been wondering since the first episode of this season is Kim Bauer would return in any significant way. She was last seen on a flight to L.A. What if someone captures her and her child (Jack's grandchild) and holds them hostage for Bauer's silence? He's on the other side of the country so he can't help them.

Or could it be something even more screwed up?

You asked a great question about this cast of characters being the right or wrong one to end the series with. No one really cares about the new characters. So my response is simple: no, they're wrong... UNLESS they somehow tie into the established characters we DO care about in some way.

Is there some hidden connection we just haven't figured out yet?

Could Logan be redeemable? Could Cole be something other than totally useless and expendable?

Could Dana Walsh be something other than hideously annoying?

Ok, now I'm just being ridiculous... or am I????

The Furious Take:

The only thing you are is ridiculous....ridiculously awesome!

Man, can you imagine if the writers of this show had planned the decision to come down to Jack being given the life changing decision you outlined and all they did was fade to black with a close-up of his tormented face? That would take the Saprano's ending and hoof it in the nuts. Granted, this is network television so I don't know if FOX or Sutherland is that prepared to toy with an audience that is eight seasons in.

All the questions you asked have weight, and sadly we have to wait to see which direction they go in. What I am most excited about is that "24" has finally gone in a direction that forces us to guess to the direction of the show. For a series that became painfully obvious in its latter renditions, this is a fitting end.

Six hours and counting, folks. Buckle up!