24 Debrief: Day 7 | 10:00 pm-11:00 pm

I come back from Portland with a throat infection, an upcoming trip with the Boilermakers to Glendale, Arizona and another good, if not action-packed episode of “24”.

Also, before I get started, I wanted to give kudos to those who left comments last week. Not only was the encouragement of Purdue greatly appreciated, but I read them when I got back and they made me howl. I had forgotten about Jack’s murse (man purse) last season. It was like Captain Kanagroo’s pockets: it was bottomless and he had everything he needed in there.

Debrief

• HEY, the First Gentleman is alive! Also, Ethan feels he must resign in the wake of the appearance of Jack killing Mayer. He will turn in his resignation by the morning (the end of the season).

• Jack and Tony go to the Port of Alexandria to intercept the shipping crate with the bioweapon. There they meet Officer Carl, an expecting father to twins who has taken money from Starkwood to help them get the crate out of the yard. After getting the crate, the Starkwood men are going to kill Carl. Jack kills them first, setting off a giant firefight that ends to Jack hijacking the semi with the bioweapon.

• It turns out that Olivia did in fact leak all of the Bauer/Burnett information and has leaked the Mayer killing to the same reporter, under the condition that Ethan take the fall.

• Starkwood has been subpoenaed as part of the subcommittee hearings that were being led by Mayer. Jonas tells Starkwood’s board that, given what has happened in the US today, Starkwood should not cooperate with the subcommittee. One of the board’s members, Doug, disagrees. Once Jonas tells him that Mayer is dead, he instantly suspects Jonas’ involvement.

• On his way out of the port to meet Larry and some people from the CDC who could handle the bioweapon, Jack notices a leak in one of the canisters. He was exposed to whatever the heck it is that’s in there.

Agent Philboy’s Assessment

The best part of this episode was actually the last scene. Jack, exposed to a mystery toxin, helpless and scared on the side of the road. Reminded me of the final scene from last scene, but without all of the confusion. It occurred to me that maybe part of the reason that this season has been so good is that they’ve (perhaps) found a good balance between superhero Jack and realistic Jack. At times, it has felt like Jack could do and get away with anything because…well…he was Jack. That really did work for a while too, like a matinee serial hero or James Bond-type character. But, I think that since times are changing, people are wanting a more vulnerable hero, or at least a more realistic one. This seasons is doing a good job at that and I hope that it keeps going. There are a lot of directions Jack’s exposure to the bioweapon could take the show, one of which is a conduit for the return of Kim.

I feel like there was a scene deleted from somewhere that had Ethan telling the President that her husband was okay. It happens sometimes with “24” and then we see on the DVD later that there were these little minor connectors of events that had to be written and filmed but, in the long run, gave way to action and bigger plotlines. I guess I don’t necessarily blame them, if this was the case, but it was kind of jarring to see him after such a long time not hearing a word.

I hope we see more of the Starkwood board as well as Doug, played by Chris Mulkey who I’ve really liked in both “Saving Grace” and “Friday Night Lights”. It was an interesting dynamic to see some sort of legality and formality in an organization that, until now, we’ve just seen as this sort of demonic underground defense contractor out for blood and money.

Honestly, I didn’t really learn anything from anyone this week. Maybe it’s the sickness, but the only thing that truly sunk in was the classic lesson of “If it’s blinking and/or beeping, don’t go see what it’s is.”

Weekly Kill Count = 3 Total Kill Count = 347+

Were there any lessons I missed this week? Plus, where will Jack’s bio-exposure take us? Your thoughts on last night’s episode?

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, “How have I never watched ‘The Guild’ until now?” and “BOILER UP!”