Question: I have been as big ...
Question: I have been as big a fan as any of
24 this season, and the show has delivered all season long so far, but having just finished watching the April 18 episode, I have to say that I think I might finally be let down by the show. There's always been a line between strong and meaningful plot twists and excessively unnecessary plot twists. I'm still in shock at the execution of Ryan Chappelle on
24 this past episode, and what's more, I'm still not sure how exactly I feel about it. Was it going too far? Was it more for shock value than a necessary plot event? Part of me wants to rank it with the helicopter blade severing a certain doctor's arm on
ER earlier this season. You take a character like Chappelle, who is pretty much an insensitive jerk throughout the entire season, and suddenly put him in a position where the audience has no choice but to develop a sympathetic connection to him. He admits he has no family to speak of and no real friends, and the entire scene just pulls on every heartstring in the audience. The best part is, right up to his death, you don't even know if they're going to go through with it or not. But then they do, and just like that, it's over. But was it necessary to the story? Or was it done for the shock value that this show doesn't even need? Matt, do you think that
24 is starting to cross the line, stepping into gratuitous shock-value territory? — Jeremy
Matt:
I know what you're getting at, but I can't agree. From the start, 24 has established a merciless reputation as a show willing to sacrifice characters, major and minor, reminding us just how deadly the stakes are in these games of international intrigue and terror. The entire episode building up to Chappelle's execution was, to me, an audacious exercise in suspense. As I watched, I kept thinking: "How in the world do they get out of this?" I hadn't considered the answer: They don't. And they shouldn't always. I don't think this was gratuitous at all. It was a reality check for a show that kind of needed one.
