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24
9:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Written By: Larry Hertzhog
Directed By: Davis Gaggenheim
Well after the exciting episode provided last week, it's time for 24 to take it down a level and start building again. And this episode certainly doesn't disappoint in this one. There are ton of hints dropped towards the future, most especially the revealing of a master villain beyond Gaines.
To begin with though, we still have Jamie bleeding to death from slit wrists. The paramedics are working feverishly on her, and quickly cart her off towards the hospital. Now that everyone in the CTU knows she's in trouble though, they better hope that Gaines didn't place a backup spy amidst them. However Nina doesn't have time to dwell on this as Jack calls her and needs her to direct him through the traffic stops the police have set up to capture him. Of course that's not enough, so Teri finally manages to call them back on the cell phone. Nina uses this opportunity to place a trace on the call, while Jack is able to have a heart to heart with his wife and daughter. Granted this is intercut with scenes of him hiding from police under a car in a parking lot, but it's still oddly touching.
The trace takes a while though, as the cell phone is blocked so they have to lock onto the digital stream. However the family reunion is cut short as the hillbilly looking militia man (which I suppose is the majority of them) comes storming in on Teri and Kim, convinced that Teri stole it when he was raping her. The nerve of these people I tell you. However the duo have managed to hide the phone up on the rafter with the line open so that the trace can continue. Keifer does a nice job here as he listens to his family being ruffed and him unable to do anything about it. You can just see the quiet rage playing across his face. Rick does manage to see the cell phone, however, since he's a kidnapper with a heart of gold he decides to play dumb.
Senator Palmer meanwhile, is continuing his election campaign despite the assassination attempt and the fact that he found out his son killed somebody. He's still adamant about revealing this to the press, despite the fact that his wife is opposed to it. However his wife has help, and it's revealed that psychiatrist that holds this information might be in serious trouble. Again you can see the shock on David Palmer's face. Why Palmer has almost certainly seen the game of politics played before this, it's got to be shocking to see how far his wife is willing to go to save her son; perhaps far enough to order an act of murder.
Then there's Gaines. The former mastermind of this villainous plan finally receives a call from his superiors. Apparently his superiors are two brothers of a very wealthy and powerful family. We only get to meet one brother briefly, and he threatens Gaines that if he doesn't get the job done, a job will be done on Gaines. The viewer also learns that the family has a grudge against someone. It's implied that it's Palmer, but it could just as easily be Bauer. If it is Palmer though, it's undoubtedly the family of the man whom Palmer's son Keith killed after he raped Keith's sister. If it's Bauer, it could be someone he crossed in a previous mission.
Back at the CTU they receive word that Jamie is dead. This sort of struck me as odd. Why would they kill Jamie off screen? I'm reminded of the old horror movie cliché that if you don't see the body, they really didn't die. So let's just say that I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see Jamie somehow pop up in the future. The trace isn't complete, but they are zoning in closer on the area.
The hillbilly returns however, absolutely positive that he must have left his cell phone with the girls. He still doesn't see it, but as he's about to leave it's start beeping from a low battery. Having an IQ just slightly over 10 he manages to find the cell phone and after being threatened by Jack, threatens to go off and tell Gaines what happened. Rick tries to stop him before he can ruff up the girls though, and reminds him that he'll be in deep crap from Gaines for losing his cell phone. The two storm out of the room.
The CTU didn't manage to finish the trace, but they did pull off a name from an encrypted e-mail of Jamie's. They name they get belongs to a financier, and Jack desperate to find what happened to his daughter races off to confront him.
Nina has to hide this all though, because a new division leader has been brought in to replace Jack. And this new division leader used to work under Nina, so now that the roles are reversed you can clearly see the tension between the two. She doesn't exactly start off making brownie points either, as she acts like an uber bitch to the rest of the CTU. Now she wants them to try and track down Jack since they believe he might be a threat to Palmer.
Jack manages to reach the office of the financier, and knocks out the limo driver and takes his place. The episode ends with Jack driving off with this man now locked in the back.
As was stated before, this was a building episode. After the action packed last episode, this one slowed things down enough to build more bridges towards the future. And like some grand puzzle you can slowly see the pieces starting to fit together. For what it was, it was a great episode. And why the escape from the cops seemed sort of lame, the plot has continued to build nicely. I know that serial television isn't for everyone, but for those who have the patience to sit through it, this is one enthralling plot.
Episode Rating: 8.5 out of 10
-- TJarvis
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