TNMC
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24
6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Written by Joel Surnow & Michael Loceff
Directed by Kenneth Baker
Well, this might have been the most Teri-centric episode of the season, and surprisingly I didn’t hate it. Might be because her life was in danger, which I enjoy seeing. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
This ep starts out with Jovan outside the Bauer house, eyeing Teri and Phil. He seems prepared to make his move, but Teri accidentally trips the security alarm. Having amnesia she can’t remember the code, and Jovan doesn’t want to strike when he knows security is on its way over. When security arrives they give Teri a hard time until they see the pictures of her with her family. They realize that she does indeed live there and disable the security system before leaving and conducting a final perimeter sweep.
Nina finds out information on the informant who was just killed while Jack chews Teddy out royally. They find out that he was supposed to shut down the power to a particular city grid, but just where they don’t know. Nina heads back to the CTU to conduct research when Jack gets a phone call from Palmer. His friends in the security department have gotten him the missing Drazen file, and in it is an address in a California city named Saugus. Since all his other leads are either dead or in critical condition, Jack decides to head out to investigate the address. Mason uncharacteristically agrees to go along for the ride. I still think he’s up to something. As they leave Jack receives a phone call from Tony, who reveals that the grid that was supposed to be blacked out, is in Saugus.
Rick and Kim are still in a world of trouble. Frank is pissed off that Dan isn’t back, and Kim tries to escape before being stopped by Melanie. Under pressure, and since she’s blonde, Kim does a stupid thing and blurts out that Danny isn’t coming back. There are a few tense moments where you wonder how psychotic Frank is going to get, but he’s actually focused more on the drug deal and the fact that they won’t have the money to pay for it. Truly a portrait of a loving family.
Things are even more dysfunctional at the Palmer household. They’re sitting down to dinner, but Sherry is still pissed off at what David is going to do and begins to vent on Keith. This, of course, leads to a big ruckus which only makes Sherry seem like an even greater bitch before Nicole hyperventilates ending the argument abruptly. She’s guilt ridden and believes that this is all her fault. And once again it’s to Dennis Haybert’s credit that he makes this scene seem tender and painful instead of trite and melodramatic.
Nina arrives in the CTU, and after doing some research finds out that the Saugus address is actually a wildlife preserve. Jack thanks her, and makes a comment about his family being safe which of course makes Mason uncomfortable.
Frank’s friends arrive with a duffel bag full of guns, and it become fairly obvious that they intend to rob the ecstasy dealers who are coming. Kim wants to make a run for it, but Rick wisely points out that running out on a bunch of morally deprived ghetto dwellers armed with guns might not be the wisest decision in the world. Then again, I suppose sitting on your ass isn’t the plan of the year either.
We get some more background on Teri and her dysfunctional relationship with Jack as Phil tries to lay the mack down. Although his seducing of Teri is just in poor taste. It’s like being proud of beating a Special Olympics runner in a race. Yeah you did it, but why? Anyways Teri is still struggling with her memories when the doorbell rings. It’s teased that this might be Jovan, but it’s merely a man named Chris. He’s some kind of security guard friend of Phil’s, but Teri freaks out when sees him with a gun, and demands that he leave the house. Chris grudgingly complies, and goes outside to meet what has to be his certain death.
Palmer holds his press conference then, and comes clean about Keith, which I have to commend the writers on. Any longer and this plot line would have grown ridiculous, cutting it off then is the right decision. Of course, this could hamstring his campaign, and we see Carl watching it on TV with two of the financiers by the name of Tuttle and Jorgensen. Carl promises to take care of this, but it cryptically told that it’s already too late. Palmer makes the foolish request of asking the press to leave his children alone, which is akin to asking a vampire to not drink your blood. It’s futile.
Nina is at the CTU and finds out what happened to the Bauers. She calls Mason to confront him on this, but he brushes her off. He then quickly borrows Jack’s phone and turns it off since he knows that it will be the next place she’ll call. Nina is pissed, and in an effort to alleviate her concern, Tony volunteers to go to the Bauer house.
Mason and Jack finally arrive at the wildlife refuge and begin to trek through the woods. We find out some more background on Victor Drazen. Apparently, he was the shadow for Milosevic, meaning that he authorized and planned all the ethnic cleansing campaigns in Bosnia. Jack’s team was assigned to get Victor Drazen and eliminate him. I actually like the twist of making Drazen linked with a real life figure, It gives the show an extra sense of plausible reality. The pair come across a brand new power transformer in the middle of the empty field with a brand new lock. Something doesn’t add up. And then Jack, being the master agent that he is, suddenly realizes that there’s no wild life in this wildlife preserve.
The ecstasy dealers arrive, a hippie looking guy and a hot blonde. He’s initially suspicious, but finally agrees to hand over the ex to the Frank and his cohorts. When the hippie guy asks for his money Frank gets derisive and the crew pull their guns on the hippie and the blonde who in turn pull their guns. After a tense stand off, the drug dealers lower their guns to the ground. Frank continues to get verbally and physically abusive, beating on both Rick and the hippie. The hippie then chuckles and informs Frank that he’s under arrest as the SWAT team bursts through the door and quickly disarms everyone. This was a neat twist that I did not see coming. Kim is taken into custody with everyone else, but I doubt she’ll be there long.
Back at the Bauer’s, Teri is staring at a box that Kim made for her, feeling the tugging of her memory when Jovan bursts through the door. He quickly kills Chris and Phil, and backs Teri into a corner, demanding to know where Kim is. Teri pleads that she doesn’t, but this trauma brings all her memories crashing down on her again. Jovan gets fed up and is prepared to shoot Teri when he gets shot himself from behind. Teri looks up to see Tony standing there, before she collapses into hysterics claiming that she remembers everything. So it’s the end of the amnesia arc. Hallelujah. Teri is of course devastated, but since Tony knows that Kim is alive I doubt that will last long.
Jack and Mason are still in the field when a helicopter flies overhead, and Jack realizes that they are not alone.
Well, next week is the big week, bringing in both Dennis Hopper and Lou Diamond Philips. With only five episodes left now, you just know that the shit is about to hit the fan.
Episode Rating: 8.5 out of 10
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