Warning: This article contains spoilers for the season 1 finale of 24: Legacy which aired in the US last night.
24: Legacy star Corey Hawkins had promised a big finale twist and the show certainly delivered.
The first season came to a shocking conclusion last night (April 17) in the US and brought back a classic 24 tradition: the silent clock. (We're still not over Edgar.)
But if you don't want to be spoiled as to who the clock was honouring, don't read on past the picture.
The finale saw former CTU director Rebecca Ingram (Miranda Otto) throw herself in front of a bullet meant for Eric Carter (Corey Hawkins) and later dying from the injuries sustained.
Talking to EW, executive producers Manny Coto and Evan Katz have explained why Rebecca had to die, even though it wasn't originally planned.
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"It became a possibility once we realised she had done these things in her past. It does seem sort of like the character needed to pay," noted Katz. "It became clear it was the right thing to do not only for her character but for what her death does to Carter and Donovan."
Coto added: "Her arc in the season becomes kind of a cautionary tale. It's Carter learning what [the job] entails, what kind of rabbit hole you can fall into in CTU – that it's easy to turn to the dark side – and what can ultimately happen."
Following her death, her husband John Donovan (Jimmy Smits) decided to stay in the race to become President, while Eric reconciled with his wife who supported his decision to become a CTU agent.
And while the show has yet to be renewed for season two, these choices have set up what could happen in the next season.
"It's impossible to do a season 1 without throwing out ideas for season 2 in the room. There's definitely some cool ideas for season 2 on the table and where we'd like to go – a completely different direction from season 1," teased Coto.
"Finding Eric in a different place and definitely with a role for Tony Almeida, possibly even playing the same role for Eric that he played for Rebecca or even on Donovan. We definitely want to see Tony back. I, personally, would love to see Chloe."
Chloe back at CTU? Here's hoping Fox renews the spin-off as we miss her greatly.
24: Legacy airs on FOX in the UK.
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
