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24
5:00 AM to 6:00 AM
Written by Howard Gordan
Directed by Bryan Spicer
Well, with this episode, 24 is a quarter of the way into its season, and I'm pleased to say that it has showed no signs of slipping so far. I've waxed enough hyperbole about the merits of this show, but again I'll say one thing -- if you're a fan of good television and you're not taking the time to watch this thing unfold, you're doing yourself a disservice. In a time when I've found myself let down by perennial favorites like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 24 has been a blessing of consistent quality programming. All right, enough gushing, on to the review.
We open up in the hospital with Janet, Kim Bauer's best friend in critical condition. Teri and Alan (Janet's father) look on in concern. I'd like to take this moment to salute Janet York. The poor girl has had a rough time of things. Since the show began, Janet has been roughed up, kidnapped, had her arm broken with a tire iron, force injected with heroin, kidnapped, hit by a car, operated on, and is currently suffering from a cardiac arrest. Buck up little trooper, things should get better. Anyways, Jack finally arrives at the hospital, and we have a reunion between Jack and Teri. Jack is understandably wound up about this whole thing, now knowing that his daughter's life is in jeopardy. He begins to vent some of his frustration on Alan. First off, Kiefer Sutherland is doing an amazing job with Jack Bauer. His emotion has been dead on for the character, and the barely suppressed rage is clearly evident without being heavy handed or hokey. Keep this up, and my mind might begin to banish my memories of bad 80's Keifer Sutherland movies (well, no that's not true). Teri jumps in to protect Alan, and Jack apologizes for being so gruff.
Meanwhile, back at the compound, Kim is still in deep trouble. Rick, the kidnapper with a heart of gold, is mourning the death of his friend Alex by Gaines. He's also in a serious case of denial, which Kim has to break him out of, since Rick is the only who shows any signs of being sympathetic to the girl. After a little bit of back story (Kim misses her mother, awwww. Rick had a bad childhood, double awwww) the two decide that they will work together, since Rick is aware that he'll probably be killed by Gaines when this is all over.
On to the Palmer abode. David Palmer's world is falling apart around him. He now knows that his son really did kill the man who raped his sister. That's a bitter pill for him to swallow, admitting that his son is a killer. He begins to vent his rage on Carl, Palmer's fixer. He demands to know why he was never told the truth, and even after finding out that it was possibly self-defense on Keith's part, still fires Carl. Before he leaves though, Carl gives Palmer one little tidbit. Palmer's wife Sheri has known the truth all along. This is another devastating blow to Palmer, as he begins to see that everyone around him has known the truth but him. And now that he knows, what does he do? Would he really send his son to a possible jail conviction? Will this ruin his presidential chances? After a powwow with his wife, Palmer has even more to deal with. Sheri threatens to leave him if he comes forward with the truth. Palmer just fixes her with an icy stare and leaves to consult with his chief of staff, Mike. Palmer's morality will not let him keep his sons actions a secret. It's a shame that fiction is the only place to find moral politicians anymore.
At the CTU, Nina pulls Jamie off the encryption breaking to help ID the John Doe that Jack found last episode. They agree to bring in a new character named Milo, who has more experience than in encryption breaking.
Back at the hospital, Jack finally tells Teri the truth of what's going on, and Janet recovers from her post surgical cardiac arrest. See, I told you things would get better for her. Jack promises to never leave Teri, and receives a phone call. It's Gaines. Finally our hero and villain have a conversation with each other. Gaines has apparently hacked into the hospital's security system and is watching Jack's every move. He makes Jack leave the hospital and put on a wire, all without telling Teri what's going on. After delivering the obligatory line in such a kidnapping case, If your harm (Insert Name Here), I'll kill you, Jack concedes to Gaines demands and heads back to the CTU which is what Gaines wants.
Alan goes to see his daughter alone, and her first words are "Who are you?" Don't worry, it's not a case of forced amnesia. Rather, it appears that Alan is not her father, and is in fact a member of the militia that's trying to assassinate Palmer. He then proceeds to kill Janet. Guess I was wrong about that whole things will get better thing. I always thought that people in the ICU had automatic alarms that went off when they were in the ICU, but maybe Gaines was able to circumvent that when he hacked into the security system. While Teri is freaking out looking for Jack, Alan returns and tells her that he's got an address that Janet gave him that might be where Kim is. After trying to call Jack a few more times (Gaines made him throw away his cell phone) Teri agrees to go with Alan and try to find her daughter herself.
Palmer consults with his Chief of Staff, who says that coming forward with the truth might not be the end of Palmer's political career. Why Palmer is worrying about the moral issues, Mike is worry about the practical political ones. Mike does warn Palmer that he must have the support of the rest of his family, which Sheri has already said she will not give. Oh yeah, and Gaines is still plotting his death.
At the CTU, Jamie successfully identifies the John Doe. Milo also makes an appearance, and my first reaction is "Hey! It's Jesse from Buffy!" Actually actor Eric Balfour has been in many shows, and is currently featured in HBO's Six Feet Under.
Nina calls Teri and tells her that she can't get a hold of Jack. Which is funny to Teri since she thought Jack was with Nina. Finally, Nina tells her to pass on the ID of the John Doe. Alan York. Cue dramatic music (well, not really). Teri glances over nervously at the man she's with, realizing that he's not one of the good guys anymore, and the show fades to black.
In the grand scheme of things this was building episode, as many revelations were made, and characters were put into place for the real fireworks to begin. All the plotlines are kicking in, and the acting is top notch. Watch the damn show already!
Episode Rating: 9 out of 10
-- tjarvis
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