WRITERS: Howard Gordon & Evan Katz DIRECTOR: Brad Turner
CAST: Kiefer Sutherland (Jack Bauer), Peter MacNicol (Lennox), Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe O'Brian), Marisol Nichols (Nadia Yassir), Jayne Atkinson (Karen Hayes), Eric Balfour (Milo Pressman), Carlo Rota (Morris O'Brian), Powers Boothe (Noah Daniels), Ricky Schroder (Mike Doyle), Kari Matchett (Lisa Miller), Tzi Ma (Cheng Zhi), Kim Raver (Audrey Raines), J.C MacKenzie (Dr Bradley), Michael Shanks (Mark Bishop), Nick Jameson (Yuri Suvarov), William Devane (James Heller), Ray Proscia (Nikolai), Jayson Victor (Dr Bradley's Assistant), Kenneth Choi (Cheng's Operative), John Brantley Cole, Jr (CTU Guard Robson) & Jolene Kim (Melinda)
Jack is arrested following the escape of Cheng, a catatonic Audrey's life is put at risk to extract vital information from her, the Russians learn of the situation and Lennox uncovers a White House leak...As we approach the end of season 6 I'm finding myself suddenly despondent with the recent Chinese spin. It was a calculated move to try and revitalize the flagging season, but it's also uninteresting now Audrey has been rescued. As the Chinese plot is a fresh element, its resolution won't give much sense of overall closure to the season -- certainly not in the same way President Logan's comeuppence did last year. I have my fingers crossed the writers will somehow splice Cheng's storyline with something from earlier in the season, like Philip Bauer...
Anyhow, for all its faults, Episode 20 is a nicely textured instalment with the emphasis on human dilemma. Lennox realizes a White House staffmember has been leaking information to the Russians, with the unwitting perpetrator someone close to Daniels. Elsewhere, CTU are so desperate to locate Cheng that Nadia takes drastic measures to force a catatonic Audrey to talk. Doyle, softerning by the second from the gruff jerk who first appeared in the series, isn't sold on Nadia's dangerous methods, so helps Jack escape from his cell to sort it out...
The Jack/Audrey relationship is the primary focus here, with Kiefer Sutherland always giving stronger performances whenever there's a personal aspect to his storylines. It's a shame Audrey, or another love interest, wasn't more integral to the season's plot. Where for art thou, Marilyn?
Kim Raver is great as Audrey, convincing as a victim of prolonged psychological torture. Her scenes with Sutherland are particularly tender and relatable. Marisol Nichols even gets a chance to shine as Nadia finally, but Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe), Carlo Rota (Morris) and Eric Balfour (Milo) continue to be wasted in the background.
It was also nice to see Michael Shanks, of Stargate SG1 fame, appear in the show as Mark Bishop (even if he does little beyond show his muscles) and a familiar face will certainly get fans grinning in the final moments...
So, not a bad episode, but nothing that indicates the season is heading for a memorable finale. There are only four episodes left, so I hope something special happens soon. But, more importantly, I just hope lessons will be learned and season 7 won't make the same mistakes.
