WRITERS: Evan Katz & Alex Gansa (story by Alex Gansa)[SPOILERS] There's only four hours left of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) on television, and this episode was another very entertaining piece of sprightly action and enjoyable drama. The signs are good that 24 will manage to end its near-decade run on a relative high, which is all I'm concerned about at this late stage.
DIRECTOR: Michael Klick
GUEST CAST: Gregory Itzin, D.B Sweeney, Nazneen Contractor, Reed Diamond, Frank John Hughes, Graham McTavish, Joel Bissonnette, Navid Negahban, Ryan Alosio, James Hiroyuki Liao, Julie Claire & Sarah Hollis
To recap briefly: Jack and Cole (Freddie Prinze Jr) arrived at the safehouse to rescue Dana (Katee Sackhoff) from her interrogators, following which she revealed that evidence of the Russian involvement in the day's events is kept in a safe-deposit box at a downtown bank; Logan (Gregory Itzin) heard about Dana's rescue and suggested Novakovich's (Graham McTavish) operatives kill Jack, using intelligence provided by his aide Jason Pillar (Reed Diamond), who was sent to CTU to coordinate the manhunt for Jack; and after Cole opened Dana's safe-deposit box he was incapacitated with a flash-bang trap, allowing Dana to escape from the bank with Jack in hot pursuit...
The focus on Dana's rescue and escape carried this episode, helped by the fact the situation felt quite fresh by 24 standards, and Sackhoff's definitely at her best in sneering villain mode. It's also been good to see Jack handle the fact he's a wanted man and evade capture by the authorities (using minimal force, like gunshots to feet), while trying to keep Cole on his side. It's also interesting that there's a feeling that Logan's "greater good" perspective is valid in some respects; meaning you're inclined to side with Jack's quest to expose the truth and avenge Renee's death, but can also totally understand President Taylor's (Cherry Jones) perspective and the steps she's taken to ensure her peace treaty is signed. Will Jack end up getting brief satisfaction for exposing the Russians, then have to live with the fact he's ended all hope for peace in a troubled region overseas?Overall, a rollicking and entertaining episode with some standout moments (an unsettling waterboarding scene, Jack opting to kill Cole's fiancé after getting what he wants), but more importantly it actually feels like 24's got enough impetus and story left to tell in its dying days. I hope the approaching finale gives us a worthwhile send-off.
Asides
- Mary Lyn Rajskub can't act. You may as well just put a first-year drama student on set and get her to suck a lemon before a take. The result would be the same.
- D.B Sweeney. That must rank as one of the briefest and comically abrupt guest-star performances in 24 history, right? I wonder if he was just a fan of 24 and called in a favour to get some screentime on the show.
- The scene with Taylor rudely hanging up on Logan, forcing him to save face in front of Jason by continuing a fake phone conversation for a few seconds was a joy. That totally summed up Logan's character as a man who values being taken seriously and valued by people with power.
