Day Five: 5 - 7 a.m.The thing with
24 airing two episodes back to back is that it's easy to forget the twists and turns of the first hour becuase you can get so caught up in the twists and turns of the second hour.
So, let me just say this--the first 20 or so minutes of the first hour were some of most intense the show has seen this season, which is saying a whole lot since there have been some pretty overall intense moments. One thing I love is how CTU can patch into any communications system so Jack can talk to someone on the inside. I swear, if a time portal opened up and Jack went back in time to the old west, Chloe could use telegraph wires to patch Jack in to talk the calvary. Jack talks the only survivor on the sub through taking out a terrorist with a Swiss Army knife and opening a hatch so Jack can get in. Was it just me or when Jack told the kid to lead the way, did you sort of expect the kid to die at that point? Note to all extras on this show: never have Jack Bauer follow you...not good for the life expectancy. But somehow the kid did survive, so he could witness Jack taking out Henderson.
I had to wonder at that point if this was the big twist we wouldn't see coming that FOX advertised all week (I watched
The Simpsons Sunday night and the commercial sprang up despite my attempts to avoid it). I figured the kids would tell the police--yeah, he saved the sub but he gunned down that other guy in cold blood. Maybe the kid saw the super-intense Jack Bauer look and realized he shouldn't rat out the guy who just told him how to kill a man with a pocket knife.
Good call, kid.
And then, the final hour where it seemed as it Logan were going to get away with it all.
Here's the interesting thing. For a show that is as action driven as it is, the final hour unfolded with a lot of character confrontation. There were few guns and a lot less running around, but I'd argue the final hour was one of the most rivetting, on the edge of your seat hours the show has seen all year. Deep down, I knew that someone Jack would trick Logan into a false sense of security with the first attempt at a confession. It was a bit obvious in how Jack's taking Logan's personal items and then Logan taking them back was played out on screen. You just knew Jack was up to something more than the obvious. I mean, surely he must have known he'd have all of eight minutes or less to get a confession out of Logan. And Jack Bauer is good, but he's not that good.
So, to see Martha come through and get the confession out of Logan was nicely done. Of course, it was probably to make up for the fact that Charles is apparently not a generous man in bed since if you sit back and analyze how long her distraction took, it was all of two minutes. Oh Charles, you're the most powerful man in the world...is that overcompensating for some deficiancies elsewhere?
I have to admit I was worried when Logan got up to give his speech over Palmer that Chloe was going to cut in with the audio feed of his confession. It seemed a bit too melodramatic for this show and I like how it was handled. The slow look of recognition on Logan's face as the nooose tightened and he couldn't get away this time was stunningly well done. I know those guys on Lost are good and those Sopranoes guys will get a ton of supporting actor Emmy nods, but let me just say Gregory Itzin is right up there and while he won't get a nod, he deserves one. Oh and the look of sweet revenge and--ha, ha! got you! on Martha's face, priceless.
Of course, we are left wondering just what happened to Dr Romano and compnay. Who are they and what was the agenda? I guess we'll have to pick up that in January when the show returns.
Also, it seems as if CTU is tied into the same water supply as the basement of the FBI since it seems crushes are coming out left and right. Man, there's a lot of attempted work place romances blooming over there. On some level, I can see that. After the events of the day, you'd want someone to decompress with and say--can you believe that we just saved the world again?!?. With security, you couldn't go out and chat with someone casually about it so you'd need a work colleague to sit down and blow off steam with. And I've got to say to Karen--you've been working 12 hours without a break, so I think division could cut you some slack and let you have an hour off for breakfast with Buchanan.
Did I forget anything?
Oh yeah, one small thing. Holy cow, those last five minutes. For a minute, I thought
24 had played us. I really thought for a moment that the talk of Keifer getting a contract extension for another three seasons was all a ploy and they were really, really gonna kill of Jack Bauer. I also figured these were henchmen for Dr Romano come to take care of Jack once and for all.
But no....
Instead, it was better.
After a season of wondering--what about the Chinese, it finally comes out in full force. In the end, we get the impression that Logan gave up Jack to the Chinese as his final revenge on Bauer. The final few minutes where we see Jack beaten to a pulp and prisoner on a freighter heading to China were enough to make sure I will be there to see how day six opens. How soon after day five will it open up? Will the story start with some kind of prisoner exchange for Jack? Or does anyone in our government know where he is? Will Logan use that as some bargaining chip to lower his sentence? (Somehow I think Dr Romano will find a way to take out Logan in prison).
Oh and sure I could point out that Jack gets kidnapped, beat up and taken out a few miles to sea in the span of four minutes and that the final hours of the day ticking off the clock and then having the cliffhanger might have been more realistic from the attempted real-time format of the show. But I won't do that.
Instead, I'll end with--great end to a great day. A satisfying wrap-up to a great season. I'm not sure if I'm ready to declare it the best day of
24 yet, but it's right up there among the best.
posted by Michael Hickerson at 5/23/2006 07:34:00 AM |
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