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52 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Less kinetic than Season One, but still highly gripping., September 21, 2003
Season Two is the true test of this show's mettle. Can 24 sustain itself now that the novelty of its groundbreaking real-time conceit has worn off?The answer is yes. 24's writers and producers are smart enough to know that it wasn't so much the real-time aspect which connected with people, but the array of insurmountable obstacles and impossible odds with which Jack Bauer is faced episode after episode, as befits a good suspense thriller. Season Two's nuclear-bomb plot is much more ambitious than Season One. And yes, there comes a point in the middle where the action lapses quite badly, when the threat of detonation diminishes. And the show underutilizes Jack's character for a good four, five episodes -- a mistake. It's Kiefer Sutherland's edgy, aggressive portrayal of this dogged, often morally questionable character that anchors the tone of the show, and the first quarter of the show has far too much Kate Warner (Sarah Wynter) and not enough jack Bauer. The Kate Warner subplot, while a good one in conception, goes awry in execution for a good 50 per cent of the show. Sarah Wynter does an adequate job, but every single character in this subplot remains paper-thin up until the midpoint of the season. It's like the gooey family love-in in Season One without the physical danger. Since the characters have no weight (Laura Harris as Marie Warner is especially irritating), their fussy interactions also ring hollow, especially ranked alongside Jack's apocalyptic nuclear threat and even the Kim Bauer kidnapping subplot. Once Kate and Jack meet and she is incorporated into the conspiracy through-line, she becomes a much better character and Wynter's appeal comes through. Sutherland remains the center of everything, befittingly. The loss of Sarah Clarke in the main cast does hurt; Reiko Aylesworth does a fine job as replacement Michelle Dessler, but she just doesn't have Clarke's arresting presence. Fans of Season One looking for closure in the Nina Myers subplot can stop looking -- Season Two gives Clarke a wonderful opportunity to chew scenery and play an insidious villainess and Clarke is terrific in this role, but don't expect any attempt to explain just how Nina Myers went from saintly sidekick to vicious double agent. Elisha Cuthbert continues to impress with acting nuances uncommon among actresses her age; she's a pro at making interesting choices at emotional moments. Dennis Haysbert is stately and subtly powerful as President Palmer, and happily, Penny Johnson Jerald as Sherry Palmer is given a more human dimension in the scripts, rather than the blindly destructive saboteur of Season One, and Jerald rises to the occasion. The best performance of the season, however, belongs to Xander Berkeley. Finally this fine actor is given a character arc worthy of his abilities, and Berkeley's portrayal of George Mason's metamorphosis is emotionally devastating, while retaining the character's defining irreverence and scuzziness. I wonder why he was locked out of the Emmys? Suffice to say that I stayed up for another 20 hours straight watching this thing. This show has a hypnotic quality not found in any other, and you can bet I'll be first in line for Season Three -- especially since Season Two ends on the mother of all cliffhangers. I just hope the writers can keep this up.
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