PART ONE:
When people think about the Jack Bauer character on '24', the first things that come to mind are he's a tough counter-terrorist agent, a maverick that goes off protocol, a man who can be very brutal when going after the bad guys and will do whatever it takes to get the job done.
Those are all primary aspects of the character, but there's another side to the Jack Bauer character that I've not seen discussed a great deal...the caring, sometimes very sweet and tender man that we have seen glimpses of throughout the first seven seasons of '24'.
I think this side of the Jack Bauer character is what makes him one of the most well-rounded, compelling characters ever in the history of television.
The primary reason this character is so good and so multi-dimensional, is because of the talents of Kiefer Sutherland. Kiefer has done a phenomenal job of playing both sides of this character in an equally compelling manner. He can play the tough, counter-terrorist agent side of Jack Bauer just as well as the caring side of Jack.
Below are some of the moments that I believe best show this side of Jack Bauer from seasons 1 & 2 of '24':
Season 1:
Jack The Family Man: Our first introduction to Jack Bauer is Jack the family man. Playing chess with his daughter Kim, playfully flirting with his wife Teri who he's trying to reconcile with after being separated. This is the Jack Bauer we first see who is happy and seemingly content before his series of bad days began.
Jack & Teri At The Hospital: After being separated for several hours after Kim sneaks out from the house & is ultimately kidnapped, Jack and Teri finally meet up at the hospital where Kim's friend Janet was taken. We see several moments of Jack's caring and loving side with his wife Teri.
The scene where Jack has to tell Teri that he thinks Kim's disappearance could be related to him being assigned to protect David Palmer is one of the best illustrations of Jack's caring and love for Teri in the whole series. You can also see how much it tears Jack apart that his wife is going through such pain because of his job.
There was another nicer moment where Jack and Teri talk about after everything is over, possibly taking a family trip to Canada (liked the Canada reference because the actors playing the Bauer family are all Canadians!). Jack the family man again, hoping just to take a simple trip with his family. So sad that never happened. :(
Jack Rescues His Family: What a wonderful, touching moment when Jack finally finds his family being held by Gaines is reunited with them. I loved how when Kim says they should get out of there, Jack wanted to wait a few moments longer just to savor having his family back in is arms again. Another nice Jack moment.
Teri Tells Jack She's Pregnant: In hour 23 of day 1, Jack realizes in order to save his daughter he is going to have to turn himself over to the Drazen's which means they will kill him. As bad as that was, Jack then has what turns out to be his final conversation with Teri and she tells him she's pregnant. Jack just loses it; knowing he is probably going to his death, his wife tells him he's going to be a father again. It doesn't get more heartbreaking than that.
As tough as Jack is, this news just crushes him because he believes he will never see the child Teri just told him she was going to have. This sadly turns out to be true, but it's because Teri ends up dying instead of Jack.
A beautifully acted scene by both actors, but Kiefer Sutherland's performance perfectly shows the mixture of emotions the character was feeling at that moment so poignantly that your heart breaks along with Jack's.
Season 2:
Jack Tries To Reconnect With Kim: At the beginning of Season 2, we see Jack at his lowest. His wife was murdered by someone he trusted at CTU, he's no longer working for CTU and is estranged from his daughter Kim. Jack goes to visit Kim and asks that they just spend some time together , but she rejects him. Jack was at such a low point and he was so sweet in his plea to Kim when he talked about how much he missed her, it was another touching, yet heartbreaking side of Jack Bauer that is not shown very often. It's not often you see Jack that vulnerable.
Jack's Goodbye To Kim: One of my all time-favorite scenes in 24: Jack has a tearful and moving conversation with Kim that he believes will be their last when he has to tell her he is the one who is going to fly the nuclear bomb out of city and detonate it in the desert. This was such a wonderfully written and acted scene. What made it so good was it's realism. Kim realizing she is going to lose her dad tells him how sorry she is for the way she's treated him and Jack letting his daughter know that she didn't need to be sorry for anything and he tells her how much he loves her and how proud he is of her.
No other scene in 24 other than Jack and Kim's reunion in S7 more vividly shows the loving, caring side of Jack and how much he loves his daughter.
Jack Comforts Kate: After Jack saves Kate at her home and retrieves the chip from the guys who stole it, Kate was upset thinking everything that happened that day was her fault. She believed she should have seen her sister was in trouble and was a terrorist, but Jack talked to her and told her it wasn't her fault and that there are things in this world that are out of her control. They shared a hug and it looked for a moment as if they would kiss, but Jack was interrupted by a CTU phone call.
I thought this was another good illustration of the sensitive, caring Jack. I think the scene also showed that Jack was beginning to reach the point where he was going to finally forgive himself for what happened to Teri and try to move on with his life. The scene was also a good way to wrap up that part of the story arc before Jack was off to find the creator of the Cypress recording, Alex Hewitt.
Jack Is Reunited With Kim: When Jack's bad day is finally over, Jack and Kim are finally reunited when she goes to see him as the ambulance is about to take him away after his heart attack. It was a nice scene where Kim promises her Dad that she will take care of him and we finally see Jack smile with relief that he and his daughter would be close once again.
-By 24FanForever
Those are all primary aspects of the character, but there's another side to the Jack Bauer character that I've not seen discussed a great deal...the caring, sometimes very sweet and tender man that we have seen glimpses of throughout the first seven seasons of '24'.
I think this side of the Jack Bauer character is what makes him one of the most well-rounded, compelling characters ever in the history of television.
The primary reason this character is so good and so multi-dimensional, is because of the talents of Kiefer Sutherland. Kiefer has done a phenomenal job of playing both sides of this character in an equally compelling manner. He can play the tough, counter-terrorist agent side of Jack Bauer just as well as the caring side of Jack.
Below are some of the moments that I believe best show this side of Jack Bauer from seasons 1 & 2 of '24':
Season 1:
Jack The Family Man: Our first introduction to Jack Bauer is Jack the family man. Playing chess with his daughter Kim, playfully flirting with his wife Teri who he's trying to reconcile with after being separated. This is the Jack Bauer we first see who is happy and seemingly content before his series of bad days began.
Jack & Teri At The Hospital: After being separated for several hours after Kim sneaks out from the house & is ultimately kidnapped, Jack and Teri finally meet up at the hospital where Kim's friend Janet was taken. We see several moments of Jack's caring and loving side with his wife Teri.
The scene where Jack has to tell Teri that he thinks Kim's disappearance could be related to him being assigned to protect David Palmer is one of the best illustrations of Jack's caring and love for Teri in the whole series. You can also see how much it tears Jack apart that his wife is going through such pain because of his job.
There was another nicer moment where Jack and Teri talk about after everything is over, possibly taking a family trip to Canada (liked the Canada reference because the actors playing the Bauer family are all Canadians!). Jack the family man again, hoping just to take a simple trip with his family. So sad that never happened. :(
Jack Rescues His Family: What a wonderful, touching moment when Jack finally finds his family being held by Gaines is reunited with them. I loved how when Kim says they should get out of there, Jack wanted to wait a few moments longer just to savor having his family back in is arms again. Another nice Jack moment.
Teri Tells Jack She's Pregnant: In hour 23 of day 1, Jack realizes in order to save his daughter he is going to have to turn himself over to the Drazen's which means they will kill him. As bad as that was, Jack then has what turns out to be his final conversation with Teri and she tells him she's pregnant. Jack just loses it; knowing he is probably going to his death, his wife tells him he's going to be a father again. It doesn't get more heartbreaking than that.
As tough as Jack is, this news just crushes him because he believes he will never see the child Teri just told him she was going to have. This sadly turns out to be true, but it's because Teri ends up dying instead of Jack.
A beautifully acted scene by both actors, but Kiefer Sutherland's performance perfectly shows the mixture of emotions the character was feeling at that moment so poignantly that your heart breaks along with Jack's.
Season 2:
Jack Tries To Reconnect With Kim: At the beginning of Season 2, we see Jack at his lowest. His wife was murdered by someone he trusted at CTU, he's no longer working for CTU and is estranged from his daughter Kim. Jack goes to visit Kim and asks that they just spend some time together , but she rejects him. Jack was at such a low point and he was so sweet in his plea to Kim when he talked about how much he missed her, it was another touching, yet heartbreaking side of Jack Bauer that is not shown very often. It's not often you see Jack that vulnerable.
Jack's Goodbye To Kim: One of my all time-favorite scenes in 24: Jack has a tearful and moving conversation with Kim that he believes will be their last when he has to tell her he is the one who is going to fly the nuclear bomb out of city and detonate it in the desert. This was such a wonderfully written and acted scene. What made it so good was it's realism. Kim realizing she is going to lose her dad tells him how sorry she is for the way she's treated him and Jack letting his daughter know that she didn't need to be sorry for anything and he tells her how much he loves her and how proud he is of her.
No other scene in 24 other than Jack and Kim's reunion in S7 more vividly shows the loving, caring side of Jack and how much he loves his daughter.
Jack Comforts Kate: After Jack saves Kate at her home and retrieves the chip from the guys who stole it, Kate was upset thinking everything that happened that day was her fault. She believed she should have seen her sister was in trouble and was a terrorist, but Jack talked to her and told her it wasn't her fault and that there are things in this world that are out of her control. They shared a hug and it looked for a moment as if they would kiss, but Jack was interrupted by a CTU phone call.
I thought this was another good illustration of the sensitive, caring Jack. I think the scene also showed that Jack was beginning to reach the point where he was going to finally forgive himself for what happened to Teri and try to move on with his life. The scene was also a good way to wrap up that part of the story arc before Jack was off to find the creator of the Cypress recording, Alex Hewitt.
Jack Is Reunited With Kim: When Jack's bad day is finally over, Jack and Kim are finally reunited when she goes to see him as the ambulance is about to take him away after his heart attack. It was a nice scene where Kim promises her Dad that she will take care of him and we finally see Jack smile with relief that he and his daughter would be close once again.
-By 24FanForever
COMING SOON: PART 2
(Seasons 3 & 4)
(Seasons 3 & 4)
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