Day 1: 11:00pm-12:00am

David Palmer tells Sherry he wants a divorce. Conspiring with the Drazens, Nina tells Jack that Kim is dead. Jack kills Victor for revenge, and CTU helicopters chase down the remaining Drazens. After learning that Kim is alive, Jack warns Mason that Nina must be the mole. Nina is captured, but she has already killed Teri.

Previously on 24

 * Previously on 24

Episode guide

 * Right now, terrorists are plotting to assassinate a presidential candidate. My wife and daughter have been targeted, and people that I work with may be involved in both.  I’m federal agent Jack Bauer, and today is the longest day of my life.


 * The following takes place between 11:00pm and midnight on the day of the California Presidential Primary.

11:00:00
Jack Bauer arrives at the Port of Los Angeles in preparation to retrieve Kim and surrender to the Drazens. Andre Drazen, attempting to convince Jack that they still have her, insists that he come and retrieve her himself. Jack refuses to do so unless he can speak to Kim. Andre insists that Jack is not acting in good faith, and reveals that he knows Palmer is still alive.

Jack contacts Nina Myers to ask who knew that Palmer survived the attack, and Nina indicates that only she, George Mason, Tony Almeida and Ryan Chappelle knew. Jack tells Nina that one of those three must be the mole, believing that it was one of them that tipped off the Drazens.

Mike Novick and David sit in the hotel room, discussing the day's events, when Mike receives a call alerting him to a news broadcast revealing that David survived the attack. Palmer realizes that Sherry leaked that information to the press and confronts her, enraged. Mike insists that he calm down and speak to the press in order to regain control of the situation. David does so, but still furious with Sherry for defying him and risking Kim's life in the process.

Meanwhile, Kim manages to evade capture and escape the port, eventually flagging down a truck and getting in contact with the highway patrol. She is allowed to contact CTU and speak to Mason. Nina contacts the Drazens informing them that Kim is in police custody and on her way back to CTU and asks for instructions. Victor Drazen orders Nina to tell Jack that Kim drowned in the harbor and was recovered by the Coast Guard. Nina tells him that they will have to kill Jack, or her cover will be broken. Victor assures Nina that this is the intent of the deception.

Nina passes along Victor's lie to Jack, who collapses to the ground, crying. He then regains composure enough to collect his gun and pursue the Drazens. As Andre is taking Victor away to try to reach international waters, Jack drives a van through the entrance to the cargo hold where the Drazens have been hiding and begins his ambush. Jack succeeds in eliminating many of the Drazens' henchmen as Andre and Victor make their way to the dock where a speedboat approaches to pick them up.Jack shoots and kills Andre, but is wounded by one of Victor's rounds. Victor aims for the kill-shot, but in an ironic twist, he is out of ammunition. Victor realizes he is defeated and surrenders. In a blind rage, Bauer mercilessly guns Victor down, even firing on his corpse as it floats in the bay water with a total of exactly twelve shots, stopping only when out of ammo.

Upon being recovered by the Coast Guard, Jack requests to claim Kim's body. The Coast Guard officials inform Jack that no body was found, and this is the first that Jack suspects that it is Nina who has been the mole all along.

George informs Teri Bauer, Nina, and Tony that the Drazens have been killed, Jack is alive, and that Kim is on her way back to CTU. Nina becomes worried, because she knows she can no longer maintain her cover, and she will have to escape. She makes her way into the server room then contacts a German operative and they begin to make plans to extract Nina from the United States. A technician walks in on the conversation, and Nina pulls out a silenced pistol and shoots her in the chest.

Teri, on the other hand, is confused by the conflicting information she is receiving, and looks for Nina to ask what is going on. She finds Nina in the server room preparing her escape documents. Nina reassures her that everything is fine and that Teri can return to the conference room to await Jack and Kim. Teri then sees blood on the floor and realizes that everything is not fine, and attempts to discreetly leave the room. Nina, realizing that Teri now knows her secret, holds her at gunpoint and refuses to let her leave the room.

Sherry begins to discuss the next day's campaign strategy with Mike, including asserting that David is in no frame of mind to direct the campaign. Mike informs Sherry that David wishes to see her in the ballroom and advises her to take the initiative in patching things up with him.

As Jack begins to drive back to CTU, he calls Mason and asks if he has heard any word about Kim, and Mason informs him that Kim is safe and is on her way back to CTU. His suspicions confirmed, Jack informs Mason that Nina is the mole and promises to have concrete evidence shortly. He calls the archives and requests the videos of Jamey Farrell's suicide. The original copies have been erased, but Jack gives them his access code for the digital backups.

Sherry arrives at the ballroom expecting to do just what Mike advised her to do. However, David asserts that Sherry has forgotten important roles such as friend, parent, and wife, and says that he never wants to see her again after the night. Sherry protests, but David is unmoved.

The archives technician calls Jack back to communicate the results of his findings. Jack watches the video from his monitor in his vehicle to see Nina tazer Jamey. This is the evidence that Jack is looking for, which he orders sent to George Mason. Jack calls George to confirm that Nina is the mole and request she be detained.

Nina prepares to leave, being informed by her contact that she will have to spend several days in Germany instead of coming to her directly. Teri is now bound, duct taped to a chair, and Nina assures her that she would be found and everything would be fine. Nina leaves the room, shooting several guards in the process, and gets in a car and prepares to escape, but is stopped by Jack's SUV arriving and blocking her exit. Jack pulls Nina out of the car and is about to kill her, but Nina attempts to dissuade him, telling him that she did not actually work for Drazen, merely with them. Jack is still angry, but is dissuaded by Mason, who encourages him instead to let Nina be arrested while he reunites with his family.

Jack reunites with Kim, relieved that she is safe, but then realizes that Teri is curiously absent. As he goes to search for him, broadcast news reports cite him by name as the man who saved Palmer's life.

Jack searches frantically for Teri, finally finding her in the room where Nina left her, but discovers a terrifying complication-a gunshot wound to Teri's torso. Jack tries to rouse her, but then looks closer and comes to the tragic realization that Teri is dead.

Split Screen: Jack collapses against a wall, holding his wife's body. The previous night, Jack says goodnight to Kim after their chess game, and playfully banters with Teri.

Jack cradles Teri's lifeless body and sobs as the clock ticks to midnight.

(Silent clock) 11:59:57....11:59:58....11:59:59....12:00:00

Memorable quotes

 * George Mason: Jack, like usual, I don't know whether to congratulate you or demand your resignation.


 * George Mason: (referring to Kim) Yeah, Jack, she's here, and she's fine. You know, if you'd call once in a while, we might be able to tell you these things.


 * Sherry Palmer: Well, that's crazy! It's... Mike, tell him how crazy it is. He listens to you.
 * Mike Novick: Don't put me in the middle of it.
 * Sherry Palmer: Isn't that your job to be in the middle? For crying out loud, Mike!


 * David Palmer: You just couldn't wait to leak it to the press.
 * Sherry Palmer: David, I....
 * David Palmer: It was you. What were you thinking?
 * Sherry Palmer: They already knew.
 * David Palmer: Dammit, Sherry! The way you keep defying me!
 * Sherry Palmer: I'm not defying you, David! I am protecting you!
 * David Palmer: Protecting me from what?


 * David Palmer: DAMN you if that CHILD DIES!


 * Victor Drazen: You tell him that his daughter is dead. Her body was found floating in the harbor.
 * Nina Myers: You're going to have to kill him. No mistakes.  If he finds out I've lied to him, my cover will be blown.
 * Victor Drazen: Of course we will kill him! That is the point!


 * David Palmer: After tonight I don't wanna see you again. I've heard it all before. And I don't care what this may do to my candidacy. And it's not because I don't wanna be president. I do. I just don't think you're fit to be the First Lady.


 * Sherry Palmer: David. David, you just don't walk away from me! David, you can't do this without me!


 * Newscaster: People close to the CIA say that Jack Bauer of the Los Angeles Counter Terrorrist Unit is the man responsible for saving Palmer.


 * Nina Myers: Jack, if you kill me, you won't know who I work for. You think I work for Drazen, but I don't.
 * Jack Bauer: I trusted you, Nina.
 * Nina Myers: I was just doing my job.
 * Jack Bauer: Your job? My wife and daughter almost died today. How many people that trusted you lost their life today because you were doing your job? Walsh, or Jamey, Ellis? How many others?
 * Nina Myers: How many died because of you, Jack?


 * George Mason: Come on, Jack. Come be with your family.


 * Jack Bauer: (to his wife, who's been fatally wounded) I'm so sorry.

Starring

 * Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer
 * Leslie Hope as Teri Bauer
 * Sarah Clarke as Nina Myers
 * Elisha Cuthbert as Kim Bauer
 * and Dennis Haysbert as David Palmer

Guest starring

 * Zeljko Ivanek as Andre Drazen
 * Xander Berkeley as George Mason
 * Jude Ciccolella as Mike Novick
 * Karina Arroyave as Jamey Farrell
 * Kevin Chapman as Coast Guard Officer
 * Terrell Tilford as Paul Wilson

Special guest stars

 * Penny Johnson Jerald as Sherry Palmer
 * Carlos Bernard as Tony Almeida
 * and Dennis Hopper as Victor Drazen

Co-starring

 * Rey Gallegos as Sergeant Devlin
 * Tico Wells as Karris
 * Endre Hules as Serge
 * Jane Yamamoto as Field Reporter

Background information and notes

 * This episode is the season finale of Season 1 of "24"
 * This and "Day 1 12:00am-1:00am" are the only two episodes of the series to substitute the word "midnight" for "12:00 A.M." during the opening "The following takes place..." narration.
 * This is the first episode to feature the silent clock, and the episode which sets the precedent of its use following a protagonist character's tragic death.
 * Three different endings were shot, in order to prevent leaks and in case the producers had a change of heart. In the other two versions Teri survives.
 * Kevin Chapman, who appeared as a Coast Guard officer (who tells Jack Kim's alive), would appear again in Season 3 as a prison warden.
 * This is Sarah Clarke's and Leslie Hope's last episode as series regulars.