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Sunday, November 1, 2009

The Other Side Of Jack Bauer (Part 2)





PART 2

Season 3:

Looking back on season 3, there weren't a lot of Jack's softer moments perhaps because day 3 was a pretty rough day for him.

Here are the ones from Season 3 that come to mind:

Kim Tells Jack About Her Relationship With Chase: This was an interesting scene because it was early on in the season and it showed that Kim and Jack had gotten closer in the 3 years since day 2 ended. Kim was now working for CTU and she was anxious to tell Jack of her relationship with his partner, Chase Edmunds.

You could tell Jack wasn't thrilled with her news, but Jack out of respect for her feelings, didn't let on. He sure let Chase know he wasn't happy about it later.

One other part of this scene I thought was intriguing was as Kim was leaving Jack's office, Jack looked as though he was going to stop her to tell her something ,but he stopped himself. I always suspected Jack wanted to tell her about his heroin problem but backed off at the last moment. I thought that was an interesting, subtle aspect of that scene.

Jack Asks Claudia For Help: Because Jack's transponder in his watch was damaged, he couldn't contact CTU. Jack had to take a risk and tell Claudia, Hector Salazar's girlfriend that he was still with CTU and that he needed her help to get a phone so he can contact CTU. Jack then promised her that if she helped Chase (who was being tortured at the time by Salazar's men), he would help her, her father and little brother escape from Hector.

In one sense, you could argue that Jack was using Claudia's past feelings for Jack because of the relationship they had when he was previously undercover with the Salazars to get Claudia to help him out of the predicament he was in. I do think Jack genuinely cared about Claudia as we saw by the kiss between the two of them. However, at the same time he needed her to help him, so I think he played on those feelings to some degree.

You also notice Jack's feelings regarding Claudia later when he learned of her death. He had a clear, visible reaction of sadness that didn't go unnoticed by Nina at the time if you look at the scene closely. I liked that they showed Nina noticing Jack's reaction to Claudia's death. Subtleties like that are one of the reasons I love '24'.

Kim Tells Jack She Knows About His Drug Problem: After returning from Mexico, Jack and Kim are reunited at CTU. Kim lets Jack know she knows about his heroin addiction. Clearly embarrassed, Jack and Kim hug and he explains he didn't tell her because he was embarrassed and that it was his problem, not hers. This was another good Jack/Kim bonding moment where you got to see Jack as a caring father who tries to comfort his daughter not only about learning about his drug problem, but moments before, Kim had to see Nina being brought into CTU, the woman who murdered her mother.

Jack Breaks Down: If there was ever a moment where we got to see Jack at his most human was at the end of the day 3. Jack gets a moment alone in his SUV and breaks down in tears. The stress and weight of everything Jack went through that day was just too much and he let it overwhelm him and released all of it.

What made this scene so powerful was of course Kiefer Sutherland's performance. They way he gradually let the stress of that day overwhelm the character and breakdown couldn't have been acted more perfectly.

Season 4:

Jack's In Love Again:
At the beginning of season 4, we find Jack Bauer in a very different place: happy. Not since the beginning of season 1 have we seen Jack so happy and content. The reason for Jack's happiness: Audrey Raines.

After being fired from CTU by the new Director, Erin Driscoll, Jack went to work in Washington D.C. working for the Secretary of Defense, James Heller. Also working for Heller is his daughter, Audrey Raines. We find out at the beginning of season 4 Jack and Audrey have become involved in a romantic relationship.

The first time we see Jack in season 4 he is in LA with Audrey where Jack is there to meet with CTU regarding defense & budget issues. Jack's opening scene with Audrey in their hotel room we see the romantic, tender side of Jack. I love the scenes between Jack and Audrey because it was a rare occasion to see Jack happy and really in love again.

Jack & Audrey Moments After Her Rescue: Some of the best moments that illustrate Jack's tender, sweet side are a couple of scenes after Jack rescues Audrey and her father, James Heller from the terrorists.

There is a moment right after the rescue Audrey walks by Jack and they stop for a moment to discretely hold hands since no one else knows about their relationship yet including her father. It was such a nice moment because though that simple gesture you could see how much they cared for each other and wanted to be close, but couldn't be completely open about it at that time.

Later, back at CTU, after Audrey was attended to in medical (yes, she survived going to CTU medical) lol, Jack came to see her and they shared a really nice moment where they kissed and were able to really connect with each other for the first time since Audrey went through the kidnapping ordeal. Just the way Jack looked at her in that scene (**melts**) really showed the viewer what a caring, loving person the character of Jack Bauer could be.

I realize the 24 fan based is somewhat divided on the Audrey Raines character, but I always loved her and Jack together and I thought Kim Raver's and Kiefer Sutherland's chemistry was amazing. I would love to see them back together again someday.

Jack's Thoughtfulness Toward Chloe: There is a brief moment after Chloe had become "Rambo Chloe" when she had to kill the hit man who came after her and an informant that stuck with me. Jack picked up the phone and asked Chloe how she was on a personal level since she had just had to kill a person for the first time in her life. I thought that was small, subtle way to show Jack's caring side that he took the time to ask Chloe how she was holding up after what she just had to do.

Jack's Plea To Audrey After Paul's Death: Jack and Audrey's relationship that looked so hopeful and promising at the beginning of day 4, changed in a dramatic way when Jack had to choose Lee's life (the informant who worked with Marwan) over Audrey's estranged husband Paul Raines when there was only one doctor available. Audrey of course was horrified at Jack's decision and it seemed at the time she would never forgive him.

When Jack tried to talk to Audrey right after Paul's death was heartbreaking because Jack was clearly devastated at the choice he felt he had to make and was tried to plead for her forgiveness. It was a wonderfully acted scene by both Kiefer and Kim and it showed how much the choices Jack makes sometimes hurts him and the people he cares about most.

Conclusion: Although the tough, action side of Jack Bauer is central to the character, equally essential in my opinion are Jack's emotional connections with people whether it's his daughter Kim or Audrey. It's in these emotional connections and the resulting tender Jack moments played out on-screen are what make the Jack Bauer character one of the most fully-developed, interesting characters ever created for television.

-By 24FanForever


COMING SOON: PART 3

(SEASONS 5 & 6)

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