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24
Episode 2.17, "12 AM to 1 AM"
Written by: Evan Katz and Gil Grant
Directed by: Jon Cassar
Hmmm, it's difficult to compare 24 directly against anything else, as the very nature of the show makes it quite unlike anything else currently on television. The closest point of reference would be the last season of 24 aired, and there are some similarities that I'm noticing. For example, it was about this time last year that 24 entered a small slump, and now this season seems to be following suit as well. The beginning of the second arc always seems to plod at first, and even come across as bit scattered. The good news of course being that if this season is directly comparable to the first one, then we are in store for some incredible goodness during the second half of the second arc.
We'll start off with Kim this time, almost always the low point of the show. I received quite a bit of reader response due to my last outburst on the subject of Kim and how the show has continually mishandled her character. One reader pointed out that Kim wasn't so much a victim in the store hold up scenario, as she was our eyewitness and point of reference to what the common man is feeling in the midst of this international crisis. I only wish this were true. That would be an interesting road to look at and completely validate the presence of Kim on the show as a touchstone.
Instead we're handed the wandering adventures of Kim Bauer, victim extraordinaire. Oh sure, she escapes her captors time and time again, but only to end up in some new crisis which she will idiotically involve herself with. I understand that the natural inclination of the show is continually put our leads in danger, and thus to raise the levels of tension, but I wonder if that is really necessary with Kim. Palmer himself is rarely put in physical danger, but remains a fascinating character. The same could be attempted with Kim, by simply having her be the chronicler of these events on a human level. Palmer offers the political intrigue, Jack offers the actions and tension, and Kim offers the grounding point of view. It would seem like it should be an effective triumvirate.
But enough ranting, let's get on with the story. The panic driven husband, whose name is Garcia by the way, is still holding Kim hostage in the convenience store. Now the problem with Garcia is that he might be the second most annoying guest star to ever be featured in a 24 episode . . . we'll cover the first one later on. His whiny screeching was just grating on my nerves, and his near hysterics made me want to beat the shit out of him. Maybe not the best way to craft what I assume was supposed to be a sympathetic character. Granted that fault lies fully in the hands of the actor, not the writers.
Thankfully, this dog of a subplot is quickly put to rest when Kim slips out of the convenience store when Garcia is talking to the police. They then barge in and have a gun fight, but since I could care less for Garcia's well being, the scene just falls flat. What we now have though, is Kim in the hands of the very same police she's been running from for the past couple episodes. Which of course had to happen at some point.
Kim is still wanted for murder, and at some point the characters of Psycho Dad and Pink Annoying Blob Spawned from the Darkest Abominations in the Deepest Pits of Hell (whom the writers have dubbed Megan) still need to be addressed. Oh, and in case you didn't pick it up, Megan was the aforementioned most annoying guest start featured in a 24 episode. So we have the crappiest actors in the show's crappiest story line. Not really a good combination. When you pile crap on top of crap, all you get is a lot of crap.
Something worthwhile could come of the Kim story line at this point, maybe Tony or Mike could use Kim in a power play to get to Jack and Kate. That could be an interesting step to take with the character. All I know is that I'm praying for the Kim plot line for the next season to be thought out little better and connected to the larger goings on. They can keep the skimpy outfits and the running parts of the story though.
Speaking of Mike by the way, I'm almost beginning to doubt my suspicions of him due to the fact that it seems too obvious at this point. His facial reactions and the camera shots, which are constantly putting Mike in contrast against David Palmer, scream out mastermind. And that might be the master plan. If a character seems too guilty, chances are that they aren't on this show. It's the same way that Mason was presented last year, or Bob Warner was shown this year. The obvious is never the path they follow down. Unless of course the writers understand that this is the mentality of their viewers, and thus believe that the obvious choice is most unobvious way to go in the viewers minds. And if you can comprehend what I just said there without going cross eyed, give yourself a big pat on the back.
Still, I think Mike has to be classified as lead suspect number one for the time being. His constant urging of Palmer to war and his growing dislike of Jack Bauer definitely have overt villainous tendencies. I do love the fact that Palmer does put so much stock in Jack Bauer though. The scene where Lynne and Mike urge not to take one mans word too strongly and Palmer brushes them off with a simple "noted" made me smile. After all, Jack is the man who single handedly tracked down and stopped an international war criminal from killing Palmer, as well as the man who found and prevented the nuclear bomb from exploding in the middle of Los Angeles. I think that should earn him some level of trust and reliance.
Palmer himself didn't seem to have much to do, other then set himself up at the CTU division office. Which is something I've always wondered about to be honest. Why the heck does CTU have a regional branch and a divisional headquarters both operating in Los Angeles? It just seems like the LA branch of CTU would naturally operate from division since its located in LA as well. Oh well, nobody ever said the government had to make sense.
The politics of the CTU itself are also on display, specifically the triangle that is being built around Michelle, Tony, and Carrie. As previously shown, Tony and Michelle having feelings for each other, while Michelle and Carrie have a completely different set of feelings for each other. This episode does provide a good indication on what's caused all the anonymity between the two women. I think that Michelle used to be married, and Carrie had an affair with her now ex-husband. Obviously that might drive a small wedge between the two women. Michelle better watch her back though, last time a situation like this occurred on 24, the adulteress killed her rival. Granted at the time the adulteress was Nina who could break these two women without working up a sweat, but the principle remains the same in any case.
Carrie firmly believes that Michelle was plotting with Jack to spring Kate Warner, and on that mark she's right on the bullseye. And as much as Tony doesn't want to believe it, previous experiences with Nina prove that he can no longer blindly trust anyone he cares for.
I also appreciate the fact that Tony does show a remarkable amount of maturity about the Jack situation. He's not bitter and consumed by petty emotions; he simply believes that Jack is following a bad lead and kidnapped a prime material witness for what's going on. That is a level of maturity that I appreciate in the character.
Speaking of Jack and Kate, they are currently on the run. He bluffs his way out of CTU, explaining to Kate the dangers that they might have to face. Jack doesn't know why the person who might have proof wants Kate, or even if the situation is on the level, but he has to find out the truth. Kate, showing a deep level of courage herself, agrees to do what she must in order to discover the truth as well.
Jack then notices that they're being followed, and after laying a trap comes face to face with Yusuf, the foreign agent whose country is in imminent danger of being attacked by America. He pleads with Jack to let him help, since the stakes for Yusuf are even higher. He knows his country would be wiped off the map in a war against America.
Jack relents, and continues to the rendezvous warehouse in Studio City. There he comes face to face with Jonathan Wallace, the seventh member of the elite military team whose task it was to prevent the bomb from ever going off. The man who betrayed and murdered his fellow soldiers so that the bomb would go off and spark this international incident. The same man who planted the false recordings in Ali's house and then killed Syad Ali.
According to Wallace the same men who hired him to commit all these actions, now want him dead to prevent any loose ends. High powered businessmen with the ability to manipulate and influence people in the highest levels of government. These are men who could make a fortune off of a war in the Middle East due to oil interests. In other words, the mastermind behind the whole 24 subplot this year is Dick Cheney.
Because the deal has gone bad, Wallace needs Kate to help him leave the country. Since Warner Industries holds a Department of Defense variance, Kate as a board member could smuggle Wallace out of the country unnoticed. However, to assure his own anonymity, Kate will have to die when he reaches his destination.
But if Jack consents to help him out with this, Wallace will give up the source recordings, which will be able to prevent a war. It's a damn hard question that Jack now faces. Is he willing to sacrifice an innocent in order to stop a war? To trade in one life which trusts him implicitly and has done no wrong, against the tens of thousands that could be saved. Or not. It's entirely feasible that Jack is being lied to and that he'll sacrifice Kate for no good reason, that Jack is being played.
Of course, Jack doesn't shy away from the hard decisions and agrees to Wallace's demands. He has Yusuf, who has just saved Kate from an ambush, bring her to the building. Before that happens though, Yusuf plants a tracker on Kate. The question remains whether or not Kate realizes that Yusuf has done this.
This seems to be in doubt, because her indignation, and justifiably so, at Jack having sold her out is sharp and intense. She's been betrayed by a man whom she believed and trusted, and put into a situation where she's become a prisoner. I imagine that kind of crushes whatever warm fuzzies were growing between the two.
Of course Jack is not planning on truly betraying her, just exploiting her for his own ends. The fact remains that it seems entirely possible that he would have truly given her up if given no other options in stopping this war. It's this dark ambiguity that makes Jack such a fascinating character to watch on screen.
As Wallace and Kate prepare to drive off though, a sudden burst of gunfire indicates that they aren't as alone as they thought.
As I said, this episode kind of slumped for me. This is not to call it a poor episode, since a slumped episode of 24 is still better then the majority of anything else on your television set. It just means that 24 has consistently demonstrated a level of excellence, and thus anything less is weaker by comparison.
Next week looks to provide a nice shot of adrenaline into the arm of 24 though, promising some high-octane action for Jack and great character moments for Palmer and Kate. As far as Kim goes . . . well we can always hold out hope right?
Episode Rating: 7 out of 10
-- Tim Ritenour
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