It’s good to know that there are still folks out there stretching their minds and doing hardcore critical analysis on 24. I came across this piece:
24: The Longest Dead Series Discussion of Our Lives – Season Seven
It has lots of great analysis, and a good section on Tony. Here’s the highlights:
After heroically saving the day by blowing up Starkwood’s missiles, Tony very un-heroically suffocates Larry Moss and teams up with the bad guys to launch an attack on the DC metro. We’ve never seen Tony go to these depths before and it’s disheartening.
The writers again twist Tony by making his evil actions all about getting revenge on Alan Wilson for the death of Michelle. These motivations are somewhat consistent with his character—manipulated along by the emotionally convenient reveal that Michelle was pregnant—but they come at the expense of another large retcon which, in one line, declares Wilson “the man behind Charles Logan,” giving unearned credit to a dull, unfamiliar bad guy and calling the past two seasons into question.
Retcon aside, these fourth-quarter twists allow us some great moments between Jack and Tony. These men are brothers who have faced similar hardships and just happened to fall on opposite sides of the razor’s edge. It’s devastating.
If I’m being honest, I think the problem lies mostly with me. Despite narrative continuity issues, there’s nothing “wrong” with the writers making Tony a vengeful “bad” guy. I just like the character so much that it’s hard for me to see him resurrected so successfully only for his story to end without redemption or remorse.