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In a desperate attempt to feed my "24" obession, I have recapped the first episode. If you want to know what happened, but missed the show -- here you go. There's personal comment dropped in here and there.
We'll see if I keep this up.
07.00
For those of us who have watched the past seasons, we know that Jack Bauer, greatest of all the Counter Terrorist Unit agents, is on the lam from everyone, most especially his own government. In the last season, Jack was in charge of a quasi-illegal raid on the Chinese consulate in order to retrieve a Chinese ex-patriot who had the key to stopping a nuclear attack on the US. Unfortunately, the Chinese Ambassador was killed by friendly fire during the raid and once the Chinese found out that Jack had led the raid, they demanded that he be turned over to them. It was agreed and Jack was willing to go, but then one of the President’s men, Walt Cummings, arraigned to have Jack killed instead. The reasoning was that the Chinese would torture Jack into giving up all the valuable secrets that he knew. Jack wasn’t too keen on this new plan, so with the help of four people (ex-President Palmer, Chloe O’Brien, Tony Almeida, and Michelle Dessler) he faked his death and walked off into the sunrise.
So now, Jack starts the day waiting for a job at the oil fields. He doesn’t get one, and he has the greatest little smile that basically says that life sucks, but he’s used to it. The foreman, Ned, calls him Frank (which is nice for the viewers who didn’t know that Jack’s new name is Frank Flynn) and apologies for not having the work that he’d promised to have. "Frank" smiles and tells him not to worry that he’ll check back tomorrow and Ned goes "Yeah, things will be much better tomorrow". Heh. As he walks away, you get the feeling that Jack truly understands how much things can change in 24 hours.
From Jack, we go the ex-President Palmer and his bother, Wayne. They are supposed to be working on Palmer’s memoirs, but Palmer’s distracted by the news (reporting on a summit between US Pres. Logan and Russian Pres. Suvarov) and by something that he won’t even tell Wayne about. There is a nice touching scene between Palmer and Wayne. I like Wayne a great deal more this time around than when he appeared in Season 3 and the little exchange they have here quickly establishes the solid relationship that these two characters have. That’s something that this show does very well – and it’s a tribute to both the writers and actors – it establishes relationships in few words and fewer seconds.
As Wayne gets back to work and Palmer stares out the window, a bullet pushes through the glass and hits Palmer right in the neck. We see the shooter pull away and Wayne calling for help. It’s obvious that Palmer isn’t going to make it. I have to admit that I knew Palmer was going to die, but this still shocked me. Very nicely done.
From the death of one of the greatest television presidents, we go to the retreat of one of the lamest. If you haven’t yet met President Logan, it’s really hard describe him – the descriptions you end up with usually say more about the describer’s political leanings and age then they do about Logan himself. "President Weenie" is the politest of the not-so-affectionate names given to him in many fan circles. He’s a man who doesn’t work well in high-stress situations, especially when he’s not in control. Despite his "weenie-ness", he could be a good president – as long as nothing drastic or disastrous happens while he was president. Which, is an impossibility in the 24 ‘verse. After all, he became President when Air Force One was shot down in a grand terrorist scheme (last season on 24).
At the President’s retreat, where there will be a very public signing of an anti-terrorist accord between the US and Russia, Logan is putting the finishing touches on the event. He is most concerned with having his chair raised enough so that Russian President Suvarov, who is considerably taller than Logan, will not appear to be taller. While most of his staff is happy to accommodate this desire, Mike Novick (who was Palmer’s Chief of Staff until he tired to have Palmer removed from office but who did warn Palmer about the conspiracy to kill Jack) protests that the press will have a field day with that if they find out. Logan assures him that they won’t and states "Don’t underestimate the power of the image." This is the central issue to Logan: his image and his legacy. He even compares himself to Roosevelt at Yalta and he wants to make sure the press handles it the right way. The accord is to be his legacy.
During this conversation, Mike gets a phone call and Logan has a quick discussion with Walt Cummings, his chief-of-staff, about Logan’s wife, Martha. He’s doesn’t want Martha to have "one of her meltdowns" today and Cummings is "the only one she’ll listen to". The phone call Mike picked up was the news that Palmer had been assassinated. Logan is upset and I will give him credit for not saying that he’s upset because Palmer’s death will upstage the signing of the treaty, though it’s why I think he’s upset. There is a nice little touch where Logan walks by Mike (who is very upset) and makes to put his hand on his shoulder, then pauses, thinks better of it and walks away. Heh. I didn’t think that Logan was that with it. Little things like that make the show.
At the Counter Terrorism Unit., Bill Buchanan, the man in charge, is organizing the security and spearheading their own (and seemingly most authorized) investigation into Palmer’s death. He gets a call from Logan who says "Not to diminish the loss that we’re all feeling right now.." See, that I didn’t find believable at all. Especially when it is followed by the order "Whoever did this, I want them dead or in custody before the Russians get here." He’s a weasel. I do like how he gives orders like "Make this perfect" with the complete belief that it will have to be possible simply because he says it should be.
From Logan’s arrogance, we go to Chloe – who I almost didn’t recognize. She’s gotten involved with a guy who works for her. Chloe is wonderfully clue-less in the whole relationship department. The guy, Spencer, is a little smarmy for me, but he gets a smile out of Chloe and that’s all good in my department. Their morning is broken up when Chloe gets the information that Palmer has been killed.
Back at Jack’s (or Frank’s, as the case may be), he’s watching the news about Palmer’s death, obviously distraught. He even sniffles. However, when there is a knock at the door, he pulls a pistol from under the sofa cushion next to him and demands to know who it is before he answers the door. Even after they answer, he still keeps the pistol behind his back. That reaction alone proves that he will never be able to leave his old life behind him. I also must point out that I find Jack Bauer with a gun to be very easy on the eyes. Something about how he handles the gun, the complete competence and inherent dangerousness that he exudes is intoxicating.
The person at the door turns out to be Diane, the gal who rents him the room. She invites him to breakfast and commiserates with him over the terrible tragedy of Palmer’s death. From the way she talks and, more importantly, touches his face, you get the feeling that may be more than just a business relationship going on between them.
Jack shows up for breakfast and we meet Diane’s teenage son, Derek. Jack obviously left his gun in the room because when Derek starts giving him a hard time, Jack doesn’t shoot him. The kid grills him about which oil rig Jack worked on last year, but when Jack pushes back, Derek drops the subject and leaves without eating. The kid is kinda thin, I wonder if Jack’s been showing up at the other meals, too?
After Derek leaves, Jack tries to apologizing for being so elusive about his past, but Diane shrugs it off, saying if Jack wanted to tell her about his past, he would have. She’s perfectly happy not knowing if he doesn’t want to tell because her instincts tell her that she can trust Jack. You know, I get the feeling if she had any clue about who and what Jack was, she may be a bit more interested. I mean, we are a sum of our past after all, good or bad as that past may be. In the end, Jack may be wonderfully trustworthy, but bad luck and bad days surround that boy like sharks surround chum and innocent bystanders tend to get chewed up.
Next we pop into the kitchen of Tony Almeida and Michelle Dessler who are back together again and far away from CTU. These two have a past that stretches back three seasons and involves several near death experiences, marriage, kidnappings, treason, divorce, and reconciliation. It seems that the two agents have remarried and left CTU to start their own business. As they watch the news about Palmer’s death, Michelle wants to go to CTU and offer their help because they helped with the past assassination attempts on Palmer’s life. Tony doesn’t want to do this, but Michelle heads out the door without him. As Tony is calling the person they were suppose to meet for a meeting to tell him that Michelle isn’t going to be there, he suddenly changes his mind and says "On second thought, I’m goin’ with her." An explosion blows out the windows in the house knocking Tony to the floor. He gets up and runs outside to see her car engulfed in flames and Michelle pinned under a charred car door. He pulls the door off and cradles her body just as the car explodes again and the two of them are swallowed by flames. Yeah, he may be going with her, after all.
07.15
I need to admit it’s good to have a break here. I need to remember to breathe.
07.21
News of the car bombing has reached CTU and they are looking for a connection between the two agents and Palmer. Edgar Stiles, CTU’s stereotypical heavyweight computer guru, calls Chloe who is leaving her apartment. He asks if she’s coming in and she snarks back that "I just got paged on a level five protocol, of course I’m coming in." Used to Chloe, Edgar ignores her and says he wanted to give her a head’s up because "It’s bad." To which she gets to snark again: "President Palmer was gunned down, I’d say that’s pretty bad". I must say I love Chloe, lack of tact notwithstanding, she at least gets to say what we all are thinking.
At this point I must also say how much I love the split screen. It allows a scene to be told in two or more point of views at the same time. Something that is almost impossible to do in prose, at least impossible to do well.
We get to see Edgar talking to Chloe as she is walking to her car. She reaches the car and is about to put the key in the door when Edgar finally gets around to telling her that someone put a bomb in Michelle’s car. Chloe freezes as Edgar goes on to say that Michelle is dead and Tony is in bad shape. Edgar continues explaining that they are trying to find a connection between Palmer and Michelle and Tony. Chloe looks around and sees two men in a white van watching her – one of which we know, because we saw him kill Palmer. She runs, hanging up on Edgar, and one of the men from the van follows her. She ditches the guy in a very smooth move and he is left looking around while she runs off.
Back at Jack and Diane’s breakfast table they are engaging in small talk about mending fences and being appreciated. As intimate as their little conversation (and her touch on his face) had been earlier, this is all very formal and distant. I don’t pick up anything more than very tentative steps toward a relationship here. "24" is good at dropping mixed signals, though, and before the scene can develop into something that will give us a better understanding of the relationship, Jack’s cell phone rings.
It’s Chloe begging Jack for help. Jack feigns reception trouble and heads outside. Chloe gives the quick rundown: of the four people that knew Jack was alive, Chloe is the only one still standing and she has people after her. As she covers the highlights, Jack realizes that she’s right: someone is after the people who know Jack is alive. As he tells her to go dark and not even contact CTU, he is heading to his room and unscrewing the cover to the very large vent half-hidden behind a dresser. He tells Chloe that he will meet her at an abandoned oil factory north of LA and then hangs up.
As the "Jack’s back" music rises in the background, he pulls out the bag he left CTU with last season, straps on his watch and slips on his sunglasses. This show rocks when no one is talking.
Back at the CTU, they say that Tony is being brought to the CTU infirmary so they can better protect him. A slight note of protest here: More people have died in that infirmary than have lived. I fear for Tony. They also say that the DOD liaison has arrived. Who should that be, but Audrey Raines.
Background: Last season while Jack was working for the Secretary of Defense, he was involved with Audrey who was separated from her husband Paul. During the day, Paul was implicated in the terrorist attack, was "interrogated" by Jack, beaten up by the bad guys, took a bullet that was meant for Jack, and then died when Jack ordered the doctor to (at gunpoint) instead save the only person that could stop the terrorist attack. Audrey didn’t handle any of it well and the last thing she said to Jack before he died, was that she never wanted to see him again.
Currently, Audrey is at the CTU to make sure that everyone is still on task and focusing on the meeting with the Russian. She agrees with Buchanan that Logan is being stupid but he’s the President, so they have to do what he wants.
Meanwhile, as Logan is making a speech about Palmer’s death and how he and Martha share in the country’s loss, we meet Mrs. Logan who is having her hair done in preparation for the treaty signing. Her assistant puts on the finishing touches then says, "You look beautiful, Mrs. Logan." Martha goes "I look like a wedding cake" and proceeds to plunge her face into the full basin of water. She stands up and calmly says "Let’s start over". It is a supreme moment of stark insanity that cements Mrs. Logan’s personality in seconds.
Cummings chooses this moment to interrupt. He sends Evelyn, the assistant, out because he wants to talk to Martha alone, that "she’s going to take it hard when she finds out" about David Palmer because "they’ve been friends for a long time". Martha comes out of the bathroom and apologizes for being late, saying that she’s having a "bad hair day" but Walt brushes her apology aside, and tells her about Palmer. I must take a moment to mention how nice it is to hear Palmer’s music (or at least a bar or two of it) playing in the background. Martha is very upset for a minute, and then says that she has to talk to Charles – right away. When she was told he’s in the middle of a press conference, she runs out, obviously intending to interrupt. It takes the Secret Service, Mick Novick and, finally, Cummings to stop her. She won’t tell them what is so important, but she does head back inside. She does have a couple of terrific lines here. She tells the first Secret Service agent who stops her that "I will have your family eating dog food out of a can" and when Novick tries to calm her down she yells, "Tell your storm trooper to stay away from me!"
07.31
07.37
Jack drives up to some buildings with an oil rig, walks up to a guy standing next to a helicopter, casually punches him in the face, and drags the unconscious body out of sight. Ok – again, I so didn’t expect that. You would have thought he would’ve tried talking to the poor sot first, but no. Bam, and he’s out for the duration. A small sound alerts Jack to someone hiding behind some boxes. Who should it be, but Derek. As Jack pulls him out from his hiding spot at gun point, Derek tries to convince him that he was just worried about his mom and that Jack can just let him go, that he won’t tell anyone. Jack isn’t buying it, so he orders the very scared kid to get in the helicopter. Jack is extremely menacing in the scene. I certainly would get in the chopper with him.
Tony is being brought into the CTU, but he’s to injured to explain why the found records that he was talking to President Palmer on the day that Jack died. Oddly enough, the transcripts of the call have been mysteriously corrupted.
Back in the helicopter, Derek is asking if he’s being kidnapped. Jack, despite flying the poor kid off to God-knows-where at gunpoint, says "No." Heh. Jack has a strange definition of kidnapping. When Derek, quite naturally, is confused, Jack explains that he will let Derek go once they reach LA. He then calls Diane and asks her to pick up Derek in LA. Diane freaks, but does what Jack asks because Jack asks her to "Trust him". That works with just about everybody. Jack unhelpfully – and menacingly – tells Derek that once he does what he has to do in LA, it won’t matter what Derek does. The poor kid is thinking he was so right not to have trusted this guy.
Back at the (President’s) ranch, Martha finally gets to talk to Logan. She says that Palmer wanted to talk to her and that it was about a "matter of national security" and that it concerned Logan. Logan tries to logic her out of it, but she gets upset and insists that she’s not crazy and not making it up. Logan says he’ll have Cummings look into and asks her to get ready for the Russians. She is all reassured and says she will. When Logan walks out, he tells Walt what she said and that "she’s imagining she’s in one of her own conspiracy theories. He tells Walt to do nothing.
07.44
07.50
At CTU, Edgar is questioning Spencer about where Chloe could be, since she should have been there already. Spencer, after trying to brush Edgar off by saying that "Chloe always sounds strange", admits he saw Chloe and that’s she fine. Once Edgar figures out how Spencer could have seen Chloe, he doesn’t take the news well.
Chloe has just pulled up to the meeting area in a cab that she sends away. Jack is approaching in the chopper and Derek finally gets Jack to explain that a friend is in trouble and this was the fastest way to get to her.
Chloe climbs through a fence and runs to meet Jack, who landed. Chloe runs up and gives him a huge hug (lucky girl) and asks what’s happening. Jack says they’ll get to the bottom of it, that he needs her to hack into CTU archives, and she says they can get into that from Cal Tech. Derek, meanwhile, climbs out of the chopper just as Jack finds out that Chloe doesn’t have a car. Jack may be unhappy about having to continue to use a stolen chopper as their only transportation, but he orders Derek and Chloe into it anyhow.
As they are preparing to take off, the men following Chloe show up at the gates. Unable to get into the air fast enough, they climb out and Jack lobs three smoke canisters out in front of them. It’s a good thing Jack steals such well-equipped helicopters. He gives Chloe a gun and tells her to take Derek inside and hide. They do that. Jack pulls another gun and walks into the smoke. Three guys get out of the cars chasing them, and they spread out to get Jack.
As we follow one of them into the smoke, Jack suddenly appears behind him. He’s switched to a knife and the guy is dead before he really knows Jack is there. Okay… I’ll admit it: I love Jack when he gets up close and personal. The long hand-to-hand fight at the end of season two is one of my all time favorite "24" moments. In less than 10 seconds the bad guy is dead and Jack has pulled the gun again.
Chloe and Derek hide, with Palmer’s assassin close on their tail. Jack, meanwhile, ambushes the one bad guy who got back into a car. Jack empties his clip into the windshield as the guy bears down on him. There’s a nice touch here, with Jack shooting until the clip in the gun is empty, then quickly reloading. I don’t know that much about guns, but I like it when they do that. Besides, Jack snapping that new clip into the gun and cocking it? Sexy. Jack makes sure the guy is dead and then heads off to see about Chloe and Derek.
Just as Palmer’s killer is about to shoot Chloe and Derek, Jack shoots him in the leg. Chloe turns and puts three shots into the killer’s midsection before Jack can tell her to stand down. Over Chloe’s protests, he orders them to walk away and he stays to question the injured man. Chloe doesn’t walk nearly far enough away, but Jack doesn’t notice. He tells the guy that he will die without medical assistance and that, if he tells Jack what he wants to know, Jack will get him to a hospital.
The guy says that Palmer was the only real target, that the rest were just a diversion to frame Jack. When Jack pushes him for reasons why, the guy says that he wasn’t told why they wanted Palmer silenced, that he was just hired to kill him. Jack pauses, and then asks, "You’re the one that killed Palmer?" I know the guy has at least three bullets in him, but I still think he would have had enough sense not to answer that question honestly, but this guy says "Yeah."
We split screen all over the place: Jack stares angrily at Palmer's assassin, Derek watching it all nervously, Tony in surgery, Martha getting her hair fixed again and Logan sits at his desk. Then we are back with Jack who wants to know who’s behind it. The wounded man is out of answers, however, and, I fear, out of luck. He says "Take me to a hospital." Jack goes, "Yeah", stands up, walks two steps away, turns and shoots him. I so saw that coming. However, from the looks on Chloe and Derek’s faces, they didn’t. They both must have missed the first four seasons.
08.00
We'll see if I keep this up.
07.00
For those of us who have watched the past seasons, we know that Jack Bauer, greatest of all the Counter Terrorist Unit agents, is on the lam from everyone, most especially his own government. In the last season, Jack was in charge of a quasi-illegal raid on the Chinese consulate in order to retrieve a Chinese ex-patriot who had the key to stopping a nuclear attack on the US. Unfortunately, the Chinese Ambassador was killed by friendly fire during the raid and once the Chinese found out that Jack had led the raid, they demanded that he be turned over to them. It was agreed and Jack was willing to go, but then one of the President’s men, Walt Cummings, arraigned to have Jack killed instead. The reasoning was that the Chinese would torture Jack into giving up all the valuable secrets that he knew. Jack wasn’t too keen on this new plan, so with the help of four people (ex-President Palmer, Chloe O’Brien, Tony Almeida, and Michelle Dessler) he faked his death and walked off into the sunrise.
So now, Jack starts the day waiting for a job at the oil fields. He doesn’t get one, and he has the greatest little smile that basically says that life sucks, but he’s used to it. The foreman, Ned, calls him Frank (which is nice for the viewers who didn’t know that Jack’s new name is Frank Flynn) and apologies for not having the work that he’d promised to have. "Frank" smiles and tells him not to worry that he’ll check back tomorrow and Ned goes "Yeah, things will be much better tomorrow". Heh. As he walks away, you get the feeling that Jack truly understands how much things can change in 24 hours.
From Jack, we go the ex-President Palmer and his bother, Wayne. They are supposed to be working on Palmer’s memoirs, but Palmer’s distracted by the news (reporting on a summit between US Pres. Logan and Russian Pres. Suvarov) and by something that he won’t even tell Wayne about. There is a nice touching scene between Palmer and Wayne. I like Wayne a great deal more this time around than when he appeared in Season 3 and the little exchange they have here quickly establishes the solid relationship that these two characters have. That’s something that this show does very well – and it’s a tribute to both the writers and actors – it establishes relationships in few words and fewer seconds.
As Wayne gets back to work and Palmer stares out the window, a bullet pushes through the glass and hits Palmer right in the neck. We see the shooter pull away and Wayne calling for help. It’s obvious that Palmer isn’t going to make it. I have to admit that I knew Palmer was going to die, but this still shocked me. Very nicely done.
From the death of one of the greatest television presidents, we go to the retreat of one of the lamest. If you haven’t yet met President Logan, it’s really hard describe him – the descriptions you end up with usually say more about the describer’s political leanings and age then they do about Logan himself. "President Weenie" is the politest of the not-so-affectionate names given to him in many fan circles. He’s a man who doesn’t work well in high-stress situations, especially when he’s not in control. Despite his "weenie-ness", he could be a good president – as long as nothing drastic or disastrous happens while he was president. Which, is an impossibility in the 24 ‘verse. After all, he became President when Air Force One was shot down in a grand terrorist scheme (last season on 24).
At the President’s retreat, where there will be a very public signing of an anti-terrorist accord between the US and Russia, Logan is putting the finishing touches on the event. He is most concerned with having his chair raised enough so that Russian President Suvarov, who is considerably taller than Logan, will not appear to be taller. While most of his staff is happy to accommodate this desire, Mike Novick (who was Palmer’s Chief of Staff until he tired to have Palmer removed from office but who did warn Palmer about the conspiracy to kill Jack) protests that the press will have a field day with that if they find out. Logan assures him that they won’t and states "Don’t underestimate the power of the image." This is the central issue to Logan: his image and his legacy. He even compares himself to Roosevelt at Yalta and he wants to make sure the press handles it the right way. The accord is to be his legacy.
During this conversation, Mike gets a phone call and Logan has a quick discussion with Walt Cummings, his chief-of-staff, about Logan’s wife, Martha. He’s doesn’t want Martha to have "one of her meltdowns" today and Cummings is "the only one she’ll listen to". The phone call Mike picked up was the news that Palmer had been assassinated. Logan is upset and I will give him credit for not saying that he’s upset because Palmer’s death will upstage the signing of the treaty, though it’s why I think he’s upset. There is a nice little touch where Logan walks by Mike (who is very upset) and makes to put his hand on his shoulder, then pauses, thinks better of it and walks away. Heh. I didn’t think that Logan was that with it. Little things like that make the show.
At the Counter Terrorism Unit., Bill Buchanan, the man in charge, is organizing the security and spearheading their own (and seemingly most authorized) investigation into Palmer’s death. He gets a call from Logan who says "Not to diminish the loss that we’re all feeling right now.." See, that I didn’t find believable at all. Especially when it is followed by the order "Whoever did this, I want them dead or in custody before the Russians get here." He’s a weasel. I do like how he gives orders like "Make this perfect" with the complete belief that it will have to be possible simply because he says it should be.
From Logan’s arrogance, we go to Chloe – who I almost didn’t recognize. She’s gotten involved with a guy who works for her. Chloe is wonderfully clue-less in the whole relationship department. The guy, Spencer, is a little smarmy for me, but he gets a smile out of Chloe and that’s all good in my department. Their morning is broken up when Chloe gets the information that Palmer has been killed.
Back at Jack’s (or Frank’s, as the case may be), he’s watching the news about Palmer’s death, obviously distraught. He even sniffles. However, when there is a knock at the door, he pulls a pistol from under the sofa cushion next to him and demands to know who it is before he answers the door. Even after they answer, he still keeps the pistol behind his back. That reaction alone proves that he will never be able to leave his old life behind him. I also must point out that I find Jack Bauer with a gun to be very easy on the eyes. Something about how he handles the gun, the complete competence and inherent dangerousness that he exudes is intoxicating.
The person at the door turns out to be Diane, the gal who rents him the room. She invites him to breakfast and commiserates with him over the terrible tragedy of Palmer’s death. From the way she talks and, more importantly, touches his face, you get the feeling that may be more than just a business relationship going on between them.
Jack shows up for breakfast and we meet Diane’s teenage son, Derek. Jack obviously left his gun in the room because when Derek starts giving him a hard time, Jack doesn’t shoot him. The kid grills him about which oil rig Jack worked on last year, but when Jack pushes back, Derek drops the subject and leaves without eating. The kid is kinda thin, I wonder if Jack’s been showing up at the other meals, too?
After Derek leaves, Jack tries to apologizing for being so elusive about his past, but Diane shrugs it off, saying if Jack wanted to tell her about his past, he would have. She’s perfectly happy not knowing if he doesn’t want to tell because her instincts tell her that she can trust Jack. You know, I get the feeling if she had any clue about who and what Jack was, she may be a bit more interested. I mean, we are a sum of our past after all, good or bad as that past may be. In the end, Jack may be wonderfully trustworthy, but bad luck and bad days surround that boy like sharks surround chum and innocent bystanders tend to get chewed up.
Next we pop into the kitchen of Tony Almeida and Michelle Dessler who are back together again and far away from CTU. These two have a past that stretches back three seasons and involves several near death experiences, marriage, kidnappings, treason, divorce, and reconciliation. It seems that the two agents have remarried and left CTU to start their own business. As they watch the news about Palmer’s death, Michelle wants to go to CTU and offer their help because they helped with the past assassination attempts on Palmer’s life. Tony doesn’t want to do this, but Michelle heads out the door without him. As Tony is calling the person they were suppose to meet for a meeting to tell him that Michelle isn’t going to be there, he suddenly changes his mind and says "On second thought, I’m goin’ with her." An explosion blows out the windows in the house knocking Tony to the floor. He gets up and runs outside to see her car engulfed in flames and Michelle pinned under a charred car door. He pulls the door off and cradles her body just as the car explodes again and the two of them are swallowed by flames. Yeah, he may be going with her, after all.
07.15
I need to admit it’s good to have a break here. I need to remember to breathe.
07.21
News of the car bombing has reached CTU and they are looking for a connection between the two agents and Palmer. Edgar Stiles, CTU’s stereotypical heavyweight computer guru, calls Chloe who is leaving her apartment. He asks if she’s coming in and she snarks back that "I just got paged on a level five protocol, of course I’m coming in." Used to Chloe, Edgar ignores her and says he wanted to give her a head’s up because "It’s bad." To which she gets to snark again: "President Palmer was gunned down, I’d say that’s pretty bad". I must say I love Chloe, lack of tact notwithstanding, she at least gets to say what we all are thinking.
At this point I must also say how much I love the split screen. It allows a scene to be told in two or more point of views at the same time. Something that is almost impossible to do in prose, at least impossible to do well.
We get to see Edgar talking to Chloe as she is walking to her car. She reaches the car and is about to put the key in the door when Edgar finally gets around to telling her that someone put a bomb in Michelle’s car. Chloe freezes as Edgar goes on to say that Michelle is dead and Tony is in bad shape. Edgar continues explaining that they are trying to find a connection between Palmer and Michelle and Tony. Chloe looks around and sees two men in a white van watching her – one of which we know, because we saw him kill Palmer. She runs, hanging up on Edgar, and one of the men from the van follows her. She ditches the guy in a very smooth move and he is left looking around while she runs off.
Back at Jack and Diane’s breakfast table they are engaging in small talk about mending fences and being appreciated. As intimate as their little conversation (and her touch on his face) had been earlier, this is all very formal and distant. I don’t pick up anything more than very tentative steps toward a relationship here. "24" is good at dropping mixed signals, though, and before the scene can develop into something that will give us a better understanding of the relationship, Jack’s cell phone rings.
It’s Chloe begging Jack for help. Jack feigns reception trouble and heads outside. Chloe gives the quick rundown: of the four people that knew Jack was alive, Chloe is the only one still standing and she has people after her. As she covers the highlights, Jack realizes that she’s right: someone is after the people who know Jack is alive. As he tells her to go dark and not even contact CTU, he is heading to his room and unscrewing the cover to the very large vent half-hidden behind a dresser. He tells Chloe that he will meet her at an abandoned oil factory north of LA and then hangs up.
As the "Jack’s back" music rises in the background, he pulls out the bag he left CTU with last season, straps on his watch and slips on his sunglasses. This show rocks when no one is talking.
Back at the CTU, they say that Tony is being brought to the CTU infirmary so they can better protect him. A slight note of protest here: More people have died in that infirmary than have lived. I fear for Tony. They also say that the DOD liaison has arrived. Who should that be, but Audrey Raines.
Background: Last season while Jack was working for the Secretary of Defense, he was involved with Audrey who was separated from her husband Paul. During the day, Paul was implicated in the terrorist attack, was "interrogated" by Jack, beaten up by the bad guys, took a bullet that was meant for Jack, and then died when Jack ordered the doctor to (at gunpoint) instead save the only person that could stop the terrorist attack. Audrey didn’t handle any of it well and the last thing she said to Jack before he died, was that she never wanted to see him again.
Currently, Audrey is at the CTU to make sure that everyone is still on task and focusing on the meeting with the Russian. She agrees with Buchanan that Logan is being stupid but he’s the President, so they have to do what he wants.
Meanwhile, as Logan is making a speech about Palmer’s death and how he and Martha share in the country’s loss, we meet Mrs. Logan who is having her hair done in preparation for the treaty signing. Her assistant puts on the finishing touches then says, "You look beautiful, Mrs. Logan." Martha goes "I look like a wedding cake" and proceeds to plunge her face into the full basin of water. She stands up and calmly says "Let’s start over". It is a supreme moment of stark insanity that cements Mrs. Logan’s personality in seconds.
Cummings chooses this moment to interrupt. He sends Evelyn, the assistant, out because he wants to talk to Martha alone, that "she’s going to take it hard when she finds out" about David Palmer because "they’ve been friends for a long time". Martha comes out of the bathroom and apologizes for being late, saying that she’s having a "bad hair day" but Walt brushes her apology aside, and tells her about Palmer. I must take a moment to mention how nice it is to hear Palmer’s music (or at least a bar or two of it) playing in the background. Martha is very upset for a minute, and then says that she has to talk to Charles – right away. When she was told he’s in the middle of a press conference, she runs out, obviously intending to interrupt. It takes the Secret Service, Mick Novick and, finally, Cummings to stop her. She won’t tell them what is so important, but she does head back inside. She does have a couple of terrific lines here. She tells the first Secret Service agent who stops her that "I will have your family eating dog food out of a can" and when Novick tries to calm her down she yells, "Tell your storm trooper to stay away from me!"
07.31
07.37
Jack drives up to some buildings with an oil rig, walks up to a guy standing next to a helicopter, casually punches him in the face, and drags the unconscious body out of sight. Ok – again, I so didn’t expect that. You would have thought he would’ve tried talking to the poor sot first, but no. Bam, and he’s out for the duration. A small sound alerts Jack to someone hiding behind some boxes. Who should it be, but Derek. As Jack pulls him out from his hiding spot at gun point, Derek tries to convince him that he was just worried about his mom and that Jack can just let him go, that he won’t tell anyone. Jack isn’t buying it, so he orders the very scared kid to get in the helicopter. Jack is extremely menacing in the scene. I certainly would get in the chopper with him.
Tony is being brought into the CTU, but he’s to injured to explain why the found records that he was talking to President Palmer on the day that Jack died. Oddly enough, the transcripts of the call have been mysteriously corrupted.
Back in the helicopter, Derek is asking if he’s being kidnapped. Jack, despite flying the poor kid off to God-knows-where at gunpoint, says "No." Heh. Jack has a strange definition of kidnapping. When Derek, quite naturally, is confused, Jack explains that he will let Derek go once they reach LA. He then calls Diane and asks her to pick up Derek in LA. Diane freaks, but does what Jack asks because Jack asks her to "Trust him". That works with just about everybody. Jack unhelpfully – and menacingly – tells Derek that once he does what he has to do in LA, it won’t matter what Derek does. The poor kid is thinking he was so right not to have trusted this guy.
Back at the (President’s) ranch, Martha finally gets to talk to Logan. She says that Palmer wanted to talk to her and that it was about a "matter of national security" and that it concerned Logan. Logan tries to logic her out of it, but she gets upset and insists that she’s not crazy and not making it up. Logan says he’ll have Cummings look into and asks her to get ready for the Russians. She is all reassured and says she will. When Logan walks out, he tells Walt what she said and that "she’s imagining she’s in one of her own conspiracy theories. He tells Walt to do nothing.
07.44
07.50
At CTU, Edgar is questioning Spencer about where Chloe could be, since she should have been there already. Spencer, after trying to brush Edgar off by saying that "Chloe always sounds strange", admits he saw Chloe and that’s she fine. Once Edgar figures out how Spencer could have seen Chloe, he doesn’t take the news well.
Chloe has just pulled up to the meeting area in a cab that she sends away. Jack is approaching in the chopper and Derek finally gets Jack to explain that a friend is in trouble and this was the fastest way to get to her.
Chloe climbs through a fence and runs to meet Jack, who landed. Chloe runs up and gives him a huge hug (lucky girl) and asks what’s happening. Jack says they’ll get to the bottom of it, that he needs her to hack into CTU archives, and she says they can get into that from Cal Tech. Derek, meanwhile, climbs out of the chopper just as Jack finds out that Chloe doesn’t have a car. Jack may be unhappy about having to continue to use a stolen chopper as their only transportation, but he orders Derek and Chloe into it anyhow.
As they are preparing to take off, the men following Chloe show up at the gates. Unable to get into the air fast enough, they climb out and Jack lobs three smoke canisters out in front of them. It’s a good thing Jack steals such well-equipped helicopters. He gives Chloe a gun and tells her to take Derek inside and hide. They do that. Jack pulls another gun and walks into the smoke. Three guys get out of the cars chasing them, and they spread out to get Jack.
As we follow one of them into the smoke, Jack suddenly appears behind him. He’s switched to a knife and the guy is dead before he really knows Jack is there. Okay… I’ll admit it: I love Jack when he gets up close and personal. The long hand-to-hand fight at the end of season two is one of my all time favorite "24" moments. In less than 10 seconds the bad guy is dead and Jack has pulled the gun again.
Chloe and Derek hide, with Palmer’s assassin close on their tail. Jack, meanwhile, ambushes the one bad guy who got back into a car. Jack empties his clip into the windshield as the guy bears down on him. There’s a nice touch here, with Jack shooting until the clip in the gun is empty, then quickly reloading. I don’t know that much about guns, but I like it when they do that. Besides, Jack snapping that new clip into the gun and cocking it? Sexy. Jack makes sure the guy is dead and then heads off to see about Chloe and Derek.
Just as Palmer’s killer is about to shoot Chloe and Derek, Jack shoots him in the leg. Chloe turns and puts three shots into the killer’s midsection before Jack can tell her to stand down. Over Chloe’s protests, he orders them to walk away and he stays to question the injured man. Chloe doesn’t walk nearly far enough away, but Jack doesn’t notice. He tells the guy that he will die without medical assistance and that, if he tells Jack what he wants to know, Jack will get him to a hospital.
The guy says that Palmer was the only real target, that the rest were just a diversion to frame Jack. When Jack pushes him for reasons why, the guy says that he wasn’t told why they wanted Palmer silenced, that he was just hired to kill him. Jack pauses, and then asks, "You’re the one that killed Palmer?" I know the guy has at least three bullets in him, but I still think he would have had enough sense not to answer that question honestly, but this guy says "Yeah."
We split screen all over the place: Jack stares angrily at Palmer's assassin, Derek watching it all nervously, Tony in surgery, Martha getting her hair fixed again and Logan sits at his desk. Then we are back with Jack who wants to know who’s behind it. The wounded man is out of answers, however, and, I fear, out of luck. He says "Take me to a hospital." Jack goes, "Yeah", stands up, walks two steps away, turns and shoots him. I so saw that coming. However, from the looks on Chloe and Derek’s faces, they didn’t. They both must have missed the first four seasons.
08.00
