Drama
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Based on novel by Jenny Han, this series follows the complex love life of Belly, a young girl caught between two boys who are childhood friends as she joins the world of debutantes.
It’s all there: the ticking clock, the oh-so-sleek CTU offices, the action, the moles, the threat that the whole show could jump the shark at any moment and still make its fans tune in next week.
Yep, 24 is back, and it has everything that made it one of television’s buzziest series.
Well, everything except Jack Bauer, of course. Perhaps he and Chloe are enjoying a platonic retirement together in Aruba.
The new hero of 24: Legacy isn’t Jack Bauer. In fact, he’s not even an employee of the United States’ Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU for short). Eric Carter’s an ex-Army Ranger who, some time ago, led a squadron of elite soldiers to take out a notorious terrorist. Yep, Eric would already be a hero … if the world knew who he was. His deeds of derring-do never became public; the identities of the entire squadron were kept top secret, known only by a few high-level bigwigs.
But man, terrorists always seem to have a few high-placed informants in government (at least if that government is part of a prime-time action show). And sure enough, it’s not 15 minutes into Eric’s longest day before his cover’s blown, his life’s in jeaporady and he’s on a frantic mission to save the world. Jack would be so proud.
Eric can’t trust any official power structure, of course—not when a part of that structure is apparently in cahoots with some no-good terrorists. But he’s not working wholly alone. Rebecca Ingram, who masterminded Eric’s old op but stepped away from CTU some time ago, is helping him the best she can (with the help of a few trusted confederates). Eric’s drug-dealing brother, Isaac, is keeping Eric’s wife, Nicole, safe from the terrorists … for now.
But hey, let’s not kid ourselves. The weight of the world is on this guy. He’ll be called on to dodge bullets, kill bad guys and somehow unspool the Byzantine plot that could well spell the end of the nation as we know it. Could this conspiracy run all the way to the White House? No telling, but we can guarantee one thing: The problems in getting wherever the show’s going will be huuuge.
Yes, I know many of you were die-hard 24 fans, and that’s fine. But let’s be honest: Whatever its merits, this franchise has never skimped on problematic content. Indeed, the original 24 was famed for its graphic depictions of torture—often acts perpetrated by its protagonist, Jack Bauer. Some have even credited and/or blamed the show for influencing public policy. The series (as a 24 fan and friend of mine once said) was always about one thing: just how far Jack would go to save the world.
24: Legacy seems, so far, to steer away from the original’s reliance on torture—at least when it comes to the good guys relying on it. Terrorists are the only folks thus far trying to bleed information (literally) from their captives.
But that doesn’t make 24: Legacy much easier to stomach. Blood still flows in abundance. Indeed, Eric kills five evildoers in the very first hour. According to the site birthmoviesdeath.com, it took Jack 12 episodes to polish off his fifth bad guy.
And if you think the show’s too preoccupied with saving people and killing others to dabble in sexual content, well, think again. Sexual relationships and illicit affairs are very much part of the complicated relational webbing here. And one of Eric’s main CTU allies, a Stanford-educated computer whiz, is gay.
All that said, 24: Legacy is, if nothing else, a known quantity. While the twists and turns might be different, the problematic content is much the same. And while many have found this show navigable, others may find that it makes for a very long day indeed.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
Eric and his wife, Nicole, are attacked by a bevy of terrorists searching for a strongbox, one they believe that Eric may have taken when he and his squadron killed the terrorists’ old boss. Eric doesn’t have it, but he quickly contacts Rebecca Ingram, who used to head CTU. Both believe that it’s a sign the country could be in danger.
Before visiting Eric, the terrorists torture and ultimately kill one of Eric’s old Army friends. We see the man tied to a chair, horrifically bloodied and nearly unconscious, before a terrorist pulls out a gun and shoots him in the forehead. (The shot itself is shown, but it’s relatively bloodless.) We learn that the terrorists also killed three other former Army rangers, along with their wives and children. The sister and mother of a sixth Ranger named Ben are also apparently killed: The mom screams in the background as a man pulls a gun on the sister and points it to her forehead. (The screen goes dark before viewers actually see that shot.) Eric also gets tied to a chair and hit in the face (blood trickles out of his mouth), and a terrorist is about to dump what looks to be bleach down Eric’s throat before he’s interrupted.
Eric and Nicole shoot and kill the three terrorists that have invaded their home, leaving the bloody bodies where they are as they flee. Eric takes on another trio of terrorists—shooting one, crushing another with a massive pipe and stabbing a third in the gut with some rebar. Rebecca pulls out an electrical shocking device and shocks an old friend into unconsciousness.
We see Nicole take a shower, her anatomy obscured by frosted glass. She later steps out in a towel. She and Eric kiss, as do other couples. A high school teacher passionately kisses a student in the school library, and we learn that the two may be hatching a terrorist plot of their own. Eric’s brother, Isaac, is apparently a drug dealer. Some of his lackeys count money, and we learn that Eric once worked for him. (We also learn that Nicole used to be Isaac’s girlfriend.) One of the Army vets talks about developing an intravenous drug habit after he came home. There’s a reference to Eric’s testicles. We see old footage of a nuclear bomb going off. Characters say “h—” twice and a few other profanities (“a–,” “b–ch,” “b–tard,” “d–n”) once. God’s name is also misused twice.
Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.
Based on novel by Jenny Han, this series follows the complex love life of Belly, a young girl caught between two boys who are childhood friends as she joins the world of debutantes.
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