24: Episode 6

Another Monday night has come and gone, and with it a new episode of 24. Sometimes these week long breaks between episodes can seem extremely long, so let’s jump right into it.

If you’ve been watching 24 for very long, you’ve probably noticed the cycles it goes through. One week is an action packed show, and the next is a story builder, something to move the plot forward. Of course this doesn’t happen all the time, but it’s fairly common to follow up a great episode with one that seems much more subdued. This was one of those weeks.

The FBI’s search for Jack, Tony, and now Renee, was just a quick side note at the top of the show. I think they are building up some nice characters in the FBI, so I hope they don’t continue making it a sub plot.

One thing I love about 24 is the moment I think I have everything figured out, they throw a curve ball and make me wonder what will happen next. On the other hand, one thing I’m not too fond of is when they build up a situation to be a major crisis, only to have it dealt with and over within minutes. When Jack and Tony had to “kill” Renee last week and bury her alive, I was left wondering how she was going to get out of it. Of course, how could I forget, Bill and Chloe would come riding in, find her immediately and revive her. How could I be so foolish? They really could have played that out a bit more.

On the way to an air hangar, Emerson starts to suspect something is up between Jack and Tony, so when they arrive he grabs Jack and threatens to kill him. Since we know Jack is invincible, there was really not a lot of tension there. However, it was interesting to see Tony struggle to choose between Jack and David. He ultimately chooses Jack and ends up killing David. Tony reminded me of himself back in season one, when we weren’t sure if he was good or bad. There is definitely a struggle going on inside Tony and it should be interesting to see how that all plays out over the course of the season.

Bill and Chloe finally catch up with Jack and are able to fit the Matobos with trackers for when they get handed over to Nichols and Dubaku. When Nichols shows up to trade the diamonds for the Matobos, Tony tells him that Jack and David are dead because he didn’t want to share his cut of the diamonds. One of Nichols men tries to shoot Tony, but thankfully Jack was waiting in hiding with probably the biggest sniper rifle I have ever seen. Nichols stands down and walks away with the Matobos.

Meanwhile back at the White House, President Taylor still struggles with whether or not to give in to Dubaku’s demands, which will result in the deaths of many Americans. I can appreciate the struggle with such an important decision, but I do hope that she is freed up to do something more than debate the same question every episode. I think she’ll have her hands full when she finds out where her husband has been for the last few hours. While trying to uncover the truth about their son, Henry Taylor was drugged and nearly murdered. While being framed for a murder/suicide, he musters up enough strength to throw Agent Gedge over the balcony of the apartment they are in. Henry goes over with him and ends up landing on top of him, and then strangling him to death. I was quite taken back by that. I thought after they fell to the ground Henry would be satisfied that Agent Gedge was dead. I’m curious what turns this plot line will take in the next few episodes.

The show ends with Dubaku targeting a chemical plant which could kill thousands if he causes a leak.

Quite a bit happened this week as you can see. But it all felt very slow. Not in a good way where you feel like the plot is slowly being unravelled, but more like they needed to kill an episode with only a half hour of content. I don’t feel like it’s any indication of where the season is headed. I’m confident that it’s going to be a good one, as long as the plot stays focused and doesn’t branch off into too many sub plots.

Now comes the week-long drought in the land of 24.

24: Episode 5

Coming into last nights episode of 24, I really felt that it had to be a strong one in order to keep the momentum of the season going. Last year’s premiere was fantastic, ending with the explosion of a nuke, but from then on it all went bad. So I was hoping the curse of episode 5 didn’t rear it’s ugly head this year.

Thankfully, the curse has been broken. Granted it was only a one season curse, but whatever. This episode was full of the tension and suspense that 24 is known for. It also brought some significant changes on the likability scale for a few characters.

We see Jack, while undercover with Tony, relying on his instincts again rather than on Chloe. He gains access to the ventilation system going into the safe room, where former Prime Minister Motobo is locked down, and gases them out using “household products”. I think Jack might be the long lost brother of MacGyver. While they are escaping, FBI agent Renee Walker gets tangled up in the whole ordeal. Of course she is convinced that Jack has turned bad and wastes no time telling what she thinks.

Meanwhile the First Gentleman has a lead on his son’s apparant murder. However it is quickly revealed that Agent Gedge has been involved all along and now plans to kill Mr. Taylor. This was one character that I have started to like a little more since the first episode and I feel a little sad to potentially see him go so soon. Plus, President Taylor is already dealing with the loss of her son, I’d hate to see her lose her husband as well. At first I thought his character was a little nutty, but now I feel bad for the guy and want to see him find justice for his son.

Back at the FBI, Larry Moss has kicked everything up a notch in order to track down agent Walker. He’s the second character that is starting to change for me. In the premiere he was nothing but an annoyance, but he is becoming a more real character. He clearly has feelings for Walker and I’m rooting for him to find her.  He also has the Attorney General breathing down his neck about Walker torturing Alan Tanner for information on Tony and Jack. He has a lot to deal with over the next few hours.

Finally we come to the end. What a great ending. Emerson orders Jack to kill Renee and dump her body in a ditch. Thankfully he has a plan. He shoots, but the bullet only grazes her neck, but she plays along and falls into the ditch. Just when we think Jack pulled it off, Emerson tells him and Tony to bury her. The last thing we see is a first person perspective (a rarity for 24) of being buried alive. One interesting note is we got a silent clock at the end. I’m wondering what the thinking was behind it. Is Renee dead? Is it simply to signify an important moment? I guess we’ll find out next week!

Jack is Back: Part 2

So last night was the second half of the two night 24 premiere and now comes the week long wait for another episode. We saw some pretty major changes in plot last night. The whole African plot, the “suicide” of the president’s son, and the appearance of Tony Almeida have all been linked together in quite the elaborate web of conspiracy and deceit.

We saw Agent Walker deal with some pretty big dilemmas in this episode. The question of how far to go to get valuable information out of someone while still remaining ethical is something we’ve seen Jack struggle with over the years so it’s interesting to see someone else in those shoes. Oh, and remember the annoying Larry Moss I mentioned yesterday? Yeah, he got a good swift punch in the face courtesy of Jack’s fist. Awesome.

I didn’t find these two episodes as good as the first two, both in action and in suspense. They weren’t bad, but they weren’t great. I think a big danger for 24 is to create a plot that gets too big and out of control. If they can keep it tight, keep it suspensful, all will be well. We don’t need to be on the brink of apocolypse for the show to be intense. Remember how great it was to watch Jack trying to track down his wife and daughter while protecting Palmer? The whole world wasn’t coming to an end, but Jack’s world sure was.

Jack is Back!

Last night was the first half of the two night 24 season 7 premiere. To say my friends and I were excited would be a huge understatement. So did it deliver?

The first two episodes were wonderful. They had everything I love about 24, but with the welcome changes of a new location (Washington, DC), a new government agency (FBI rather than CTU), and a bunch of new characters. I won’t get too deep into the overall plot since you probably watched it right along with me.

I loved that they didn’t come out with guns blazing right out of the gate. It was a slow burn over the course of two episodes with the tension gradually building until the big confrontation at the end of the second episode. Loved it. Of course, Jack jumps back in the saddle pretty quickly, and there were plenty of great moments early on, but they weren’t built on explosions. It was the pacing, the music, and the dialogue, punctuated with bursts of action that made it so wonderful. Jack’s speech to the Senate committee was fantastic. It proved once again that he can own a scene with or without a gun in hand.

Jack and his new partner, FBI agent Renee Walker, work great together. I am really enjoying the back and forth between them on who calls the shots. Im so glad that she is the kind of character that can take care of herself. She really is a partner for him, not an annoyance. Speaking of annoyances, enter Agent Larry Moss. He seems to always second guess the decisions of agent Walker, doesn’t like Jack, and makes a very random appearance at the end of the second episode. What was with that anyway? I think President Allison Taylor is easily the best since David Palmer. She eats Wayne Palmer’s lunch, which really wouldn’t take much. She is just as great as President Logan was bad. She shows strength and wisdom in dealing with what’s been thrown at her so far, which is exactly what I was hoping for in this season’s president.

The final showdown between Jack and Tony at the end of the second episode was fantastic. When Jack finally confronts Tony it really packs an emotional punch, especially if you’ve followed the show from the beginning. How could someone he knew so well take such a drastic turn in life? How could someone who spent years helping to protect his country, take action against it and risk the lives of innocent civilians? These are some of the questions Im so looking forward to seeing explored.

Hopefully this is all a good indication of where this season is headed. The story lines are wonderfully intertwined, the tension is there, and Im really loving it. As we all know, things can change a lot over the course of a season, so let’s hope for the best.