As for where 24 went downhill, I think it’s the show’s inability to surprise its viewers while maintaining a sense of realism. The first season, the plot was very realistic, the real-time aspect was a novelty, and the rate things went downhill was surprising to an audience used to seeing stories wrap up in an hour. The second season, the ability for Islamic terrorists to build a nuclear bomb was the shocker, without being too outrageous.

Now, terrorists can assassinate world leaders, shoot down planes over US soil, and buy nuclear weaponry as easily as we can buy peanut butter. They also have access to state-of-the-art technology, and the expertise to hack into and skirt our country’s most secure communications systems. The writers had to raise the bar to surprise the viewers, but in doing so turned realistic terrorist scenarios into cartoonish supervillain plots. In the meantime, they recycle certain plot twists to the point they almost get annoying. There’s a mole in CTU. There’s a power struggle in Washington. There’s a power struggle in CTU. Jack has gone rogue because he disagrees with his orders. Kenny Anderson is now the president (well, that was just this season, but you get the drift).

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still one of the more entertaining shows on TV, but the loss of its impact is more due to the age of the show than specific problems with this season’s plot.

On the Chinese thing, I had a feeling they would get back into it, but the Audrey thing was a storyline that did not need to be finished. Personally, I am curious as to how Cheng is still in the US after dropping Jack off that morning. I do want to see Jack exact revenge on the Chinese.