24: Day 7 | 12:00 p.m.- 1:00 p.m.

This was, mostly, what I call a bridge episode. There wasn’t a lot of action, but all of the plotlines got moved along to their new springboards for the next phase of the series. Let’s get started with a little clarification of the rules on “24.” Be warned there is a huge spoiler in the next paragraph, so if you haven’t seen last night’s episode stop reading now!.

According to Wiki 24 (24.wikia.com), the silent clock is used to, “punctuate highly emotional scenes, surrounding the death of a significant character.” It does NOT automatically mean that someone has died. Previous instances of the silent clock, aside from Teri, Chapelle and Edgar dying, include the attempted suicide of President Palmer by Mandy, and the final moments of both Season 6 and “Redemption.” So, I am going on record that I don’t think Renee is dead. I think that the silent clock is being used against us.

Alright…now that that’s settled…

Debrief

• Renee is under investigation by the Attorney General for the torture of Tanner at the hospital. Renee went rogue, trying to fix the mess she perceives she made, letting Jack and Tony escape. She was found at Matobo’s compound and was taken captive. When it was confirmed that she didn’t know enough to be a liability, Jack had to “shoot” her. Then, Tony and Jack had to “bury” the “corpse” (Read below for more information on the excessive quotation.)

• Henry was lured to Samantha’s apartment by his Secret Service detail, Brian. He was poisoned by Brian, who killed his son Roger and is planning both Henry and Samantha’s deaths.

• President Taylor was ready to authorize the invasion of Sangala until she found out about the capture of Matobo and his wife.

• Sean used Moss’ clearance to get his wife’s plane grounded. Also, he and Erica hooked up last night (meaning, before the season started.)

Agent Philboy’s Assessment

Like I said at the beginning of the review, this episode had a lot of plot and not a lot of action. But, these episodes are necessary to move us to the next point in the story.

The tensions are building all around. President Taylor wants to invade Sangala, but can’t rationalize the negative consequences to anyone else, including her self, I think. Like I said last week, I love the fact that she struggles with this decision and she isn’t just a complete caricature of a politician.

Janis is going to come under the gun shortly for helping Renee torture Tanner. Moss has done a pretty good job at stalling the Attorney General’s office, which has garnered a lot of respect from me. But, eventually, she’ll have to talk to them, and I have a feeling she doesn’t have the best Poker face.

The big moments of tension were coming from Renee and Jack. First of all, Renee has apparently never had to heckle a referee at a sporting event, because she just kind of kept coming back with the same insults over and over. Jack really wanted to tell her the truth, partially to get her to shut up and partially because I think he really does like her and didn’t want her to be mad at him. It seems simple, I know, but I think it’s the truth.

The Henry Taylor storyline is being folded into everything else. Now, it seems to me the dangling, random fragment of a plotline is anything having to do with Sean. I’ll be very interested in how, and if, his affair or his use of Moss’ clearance will matter…at all.

Everything I Need to Know in Life I Learned from Jack Bauer…
Each week we learn valuable lessons from Jack Bauer. I will share with all of you what the great man taught me this week.

• When people aren’t doing what you want, smoke ‘em out with household cleaners.

• If I tell you I am going to shoot you, but not kill you, trust me.

• Just because I make you bleed a lot, doesn’t me I screwed up.

• It’s OK if I bury you alive, but only if I look sad about it.

The Weekly Kill Count = 0; The Total Kill Count = 9

I am going to work under the assumption that Renee isn’t dead and that the Kill Count is a big ‘ol zero.

Is Renee dead? Plus, who are your early predictions for the moles within the FBI and White House?

–posted by Philboy

Philboy is GMMR’s resident Dexter and 24 analyst. He spends his days studying Communications at Purdue University and his nights failing at keeping up with all of the TV shows he loves. His can’t miss shows are “24”, “Chuck”, and “Life on Mars”. The thoughts running through his head for this week are, “Tomorrow (Tuesday) is a brand new day in America.” and “How in the heck did Damages pull me back in?”