Ranking The 20 Best Characters on “24”

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Every now and again, you get that itch. That little nostalgia for show or movie that you used to love, but haven’t watched in a long time. Last week, I got that itch for a rewatch 24, a vastly underrated gem, especially now in the era of acclaimed dramas like Mad Men or Game of Thrones. For my money, 24 equaled or surpassed just about every revered drama in terms of its character development, acting, and writing. The reason it’s not mentioned in the same breath as shows like The Wire or The Sopranos is, in my opinion, that it was doomed to exist in a realm of political controversy.

24 premiered on November 6, 2001, less than two months after the 9/11 attacks. The show dealt with controversial issues such as glorifying torture or Islamophobia. While there are valid criticisms of the show, on rewatch I realized that for a show airing in the early 2000s and immediate post-9/11 era, this show was actually pretty damn woke. This show gave us a black President (hell, we actually had two) and first female President before those were even a possibility in reality. It was never shy about inherent bias and racism causing issues and conflict, discussing the morality “harm the many to save the few,” the culpability of politicians for the human lives they risk, the cost/benefit of sacrificing rights of American citizens for the sake of national security, or the back-door influence of big business. It’s amazing (and kind of sad) that in today’s world, 24 is still as relevant as it ever was 16 years ago. So if you want to do a rewatch like me, here’s a primer with the 20 best characters on the show.

1. Jack Bauer

You knew this, I knew this, everyone in the world knew this. Jack is the G.O.A.T., and easily one of the top 5 television characters of this century. Beyond the fact that he is just generally a badass, Jack is a man of unwavering morality and patriotism, but with a ruthless pragmatism. On the character alignment chart, he’s easily lawful neutral; he believes in protecting his country and it’s people by any means. He is willing to sacrifice himself and just about every shred of his humanity if he believes it will save innocent lives. Where other CTU agents play by the book, Jack Bauer will scowl and “say dammit we don’t have time” before busting into an interrogation room to torture an uncooperative witness.

One of the most underlooked factors of Jack, though, is how flawed and fractured a man he is. Throughout the show, he loses his wife, his relationship with his daughter, and several important friends and love interests. It’s clear in many early seasons that these losses have taken a massive toll on his psyche. But he’s the man for the job, and so he is desperately dragged back into this world by his own sense of responsibility, duty, and loyalty.

2. David Palmer

The best President this country never had. David Palmer was a great character because he dealt with serious issues the way we all hope and imagine great Presidents would: with pragmatism and a high level of morality. Palmer didn’t always agree with or support Jack, but the two had a wonderful friendship and mutual respect because each recognized that they were aligned towards the same goal. Palmer dealt with multiple assassination attempts, attempts of an internal coup, and betrayal by his close friends and wife. Through it all, Palmer never bent or broke in his resolve. If Jack is Batman, the vigilante outside the law, Palmer was Commissioner Gordon, the epitome of law and order.

3. Tony Almeida

Tony alternated between foil, friend, and antithesis to Jack. Like Jack, Tony lost a wife and family to the job, driving him to become like Jack in his willingness to defy orders and go rogue if necessary. But Tony is so interesting because he starts at a place of pure-lawfulness, wanting to go by the book and not trusting Jack’s methods, to almost a shade beyond Jack to pure vigilantism and revenge. Tony is our law enforcement at it’s best when he’s helping to clear rubble and save lives after a bombing, and it’s worst when he’s performing torture as a mercenary for hire.

4. Chloe O’Brien

Of all characters on the show, Chloe is second only to Jack in episode appearances. By all accounts, she’s the second lead to Jack, despite the fact that the two never had a relationship beyond platonic friends. At times she resented him for forcing her to perform unauthorized and illegal work for him, but ultimately Jack considers her his best friend and now I have all the feels. And I’ll also mention how bad-ass it was to have the most technologically-savvy character of this show be a woman #woke #femalesinSTEM.

5. Bill Buchanan

Buchanan is the old reliable. He enters the fray as the temporary CTU leader before eventually becoming the director. Like all authority figures, he has a complex relationship with Jack. What makes him a standout, however, is that he also has an unyielding dedication to service and always shows compassion for Jack’s position. He also gets points for his eventual, sacrificial demise.

6. Michelle Almeida (nee Dressler)

Michelle and Tony were basically Jim and Pam of the show, but Michelle was great in her own right. She was a fearless field agent, who single-handedly dealt with the outbreak of the Cordilla virus at a hotel. Eventually, she rose up the chain to become temporary Director of CTU. She’s a pure utility player in terms of knowledge-base, drive, and maybe the best in her ability to tow law while acting to protect the country.

7. Nina Meyers

The best villain of the show, Nina was the original mole/twist reveal. She showed a great adeptness at her willingness to use and manipulate people, including Jack Bauer. Once her true colors came out, Nina changed from supportive CTU staffer to a pure sociopath and merc for hire. Easily Jack greatest foe, for no other reason than she managed to get the drop on him numerous times despite him knowing how dangerous she was.

8. Charles Logan

He gets edged out by Nina for coming in later, but Logan comes in second from his heel turn from weak and naive VP thrust into the Presidency, to orchestrator behind a massive conspiracy and terror threat. Was Logan good at being a double agent or President? Not at all. But you were never sure if he was a genius mastermind, or unhinged, bumbling idiot, and that’s what made him so entertaining.

9. Aaron Pierce

The Murtaugh of the show, Aaron has seen some shit. He’s been a Secret Service operative guarding Presidents through nuclear bomb threats to assassination attempts on the First Lady. Aaron may not have had a ton of range, but he was loyal and dependable. Anybody from whom David Palmer is regularly asking for counsel gets my stamp of approval.

10. Sherry Palmer

The OG, performing backdoor deals and engaging in conspiracies behind the President’s back before Claire Underwood made it cool. Sherry might be an even more compelling character because she was so uneven at her manipulations, eventually leading President Palmer to divorce her. She continued to pop up afterward, trying to gain Palmer’s trust and weasel her way back into his administration. Nakedly cunning and power hungry, what really separated her was her proclivity for being a wild card, causing the President to (rightly) distrust her.

11. Renee Walker

The later seasons of 24 aren’t as compelling to many fans of the show, but Renee was a bright spot of season 7 (and she was…there in season 8). Initially, Renee is a by-the-book member of the re-vamped CTU. She believes Jack is a torturing thug but comes around when she sees that he only acts in order to save lives. Eventually, like Tony, she becomes convinced that Jack is doing what needs to be done, leading to her leaving CTU. Also an underrated Jack fling, I wouldn’t have been mad if those two ended up together.

12. James Heller

The one-time Secretary of State and Jack’s boss during his stint as a bodyguard. Heller is a man of pragmatism and dignity, which is why Jack respects him so. Unfortunately, he devolves into just another politician in the later seasons, willing to sell out Jack to the Chinese. He has his moments of strength, but for the most part, Heller is pretty vanilla.

13. Audrey Raines

Heller’s daughter, she had some moments in the spotlight during her on-off tenure on the show. The girl that we all expected Jack Bauer to eventually end up with, Audrey suffered an assassination attempt and then torture from the Chinese government when trying to rescue Jack. Yes, she was a bit of a wet blanket, but she loved Jack and lost a lot trying to be with him. Not gonna lie, I was sad when the two didn’t get the happy ending they deserved.

13. George Mason

If you’re asking “who” don’t worry, I almost forgot about this guy too. George was the original “play the game by the book” obstructionist boss Jack Bauer. He stands out mainly because of his demise; sacrificing himself by driving a plane carrying a nuclear bomb into the Mojave desert. He got a hero’s death, gave a great last pep-talk to Jack, and a nice moment of reconciliation with his son, so he gets the mention over leaders like Walsh or Driscoll.

14. Chase Edmunds

Jack’s partner and protege in season 3, Chase was great for both supporting Jack as well as his willingness to rub against Jack when he pushed the boundaries too far. He gets on the list, but he’s pretty low because of his short tenure and his poor decision to date and then dump Jack’s daughter. Just be grateful Jack didn’t rip your fingernails out, one-by-one dude.

15. Curtis Manning

Curtis, one of the toughest deaths in the history of the show and Jack’s toughest “ends justify the means” acts. Curtis was the TAC team commander to lead all, which usually meant busting into an empty warehouse because CTU’s intel was bad. Not a ton of personality to Curtis, but dammit he got the job done and Jack respected him.

16. Mike Novick

Like Aaron, Mike’s been through a lot of shit. But whereas Aaron is loyal and reliable, Mike has the audacity to go against President Palmer when the cabinet attempts to invoke the 25th Amendment. Sure he eventually helps take down Logan for his conspiracy and saves Jack from the Chinese, but the damage was already done.

17. Kim Bauer

Ughh, this one. Look Kim had a lot of potential. She was the rebellious teenager, turned ungrateful daughter, turned CTU agent, turned estranged daughter, turned loving mom. The problem with Kim is that the daughter of Jack Bauer should not be kidnapped as easily and frequently as she was. Any time you see those blonde locks on screen, you know some unnecessary complication is coming.

18. Wayne Palmer

David Palmer’s brother and advisor who was later elected President for…reasons. Wayne had the decency to respect Jack due to his relationship with David, but that doesn’t change the fact that Wayne was a fairly meh President in probably the weakest season of the series.

19. Allison Taylor

The first female President in 24, Taylor initially doesn’t trust Jack or his methods and at times actively tries to stop him in his quest. She eventually comes to accept and respect Jack, but she also becomes implicated in a conspiracy in the murder of IRpoor man’st Omar Hassan. Like the poor-man’s Palmer, not bad but not bringing a ton to the table.

20. Teri Bauer

Take the ugh I let out for Kim and quadruple it. Teri was basically good for only three things, being married to Jack, getting herself kidnapped, and dragging down the first season with her amnesia subplot. Thank God Nina killed her in the finale. .

Images via Youtube

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Josh T.

Don't call me a liar, but you don't have to call me a truther.

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