Every Season Of 24 - Ranked From Worst To Best
4. Season 7
Plot: Jack Bauer has returned from exile to answer questions about his past actions, which a Senator (Kurtwood Smith) has called into question. But Sangala's problems come stateside when General Juma launches a series of attacks aided by Jon Voight's private security firm.
This season was bound to happen. At this point, Abu Ghraib had happened, and "enhanced interrogation" was scandalous. Sutherland had said he was bored with it. Jack Bauer had to be held accountable - the solider, not the administration. And throw some shade at security firms like Blackwater, too. And it may not be handled with any depth or subtlety, but this is 24. A show that could only exist in Toby Keith's America was bound to be hamfisted. The action is amped up, and the new D.C. location is a welcome change.
Fortunately, torture debate makes for some of the best dramatic writing the show ever produced, and Sutherland is at his strongest when conflicted. The season finale's final scenes, in which an FBI agent takes on Bauer's methods, are meant to enforce this, but they can also be viewed as a kind of infection that made its way into an actual organization rather than a fictional one.
After three seasons of revolving door presidents, it's also nice to have the show commit to one - it's just a shame she's a weak one.