24 – Day 8: 6:00-8:00pm
January 20, 2010 by Kath Skerry
Two episodes in and I’m already questions my feelings for the season. I go from being completely frustrated with the show to having moments where I’m reminded why I love it in the first place. Right now I’m just trying to keep up with what seems like a scattered first four hours. Let’s get started with the recap, since a lot went down this week.
Debrief
- Jack gets to the cop’s house to see that the cop and his wife are dead. While in the house, two other cops show up and assume that Jack is the killer. They take him hostage and beat him until he proves that he is who he says he is and leaves.
- Kevin Wade, Dana Walsh’s former beau, shows up at CTU. She lets her into her apartment to get him out of there. He gets angry later when she can’t return home when he asked her to.
- Files are found on Meredith Reed’s computer that add to the suspicion surrounding her, all while Chloe thinks she’s been framed. After finding the plans, the UN is evacuated.
- Jack figures out that the Russian assassin is working as a policeman and tells Cole that Hassan’s car is going to be targeted along the route. Cole intercepts everyone and lets the bomb blow him up instead, foiling the assassination attempt. Cole tracks down the assassin and Jack kills him. The man had tattoos that indicate he is a member of a Russian crime syndicate. CTU calls Renee in to brief them, since she spent years undercover with them.
- Farad calls a man who tells him that the deal is still on. It turns out that Farad is attempting to buy Uranium-235, enriched, from the Russians to continue the nuclear proliferation program, the one thing that Hassan is trying to end.
- Hastings wants Renee to go back undercover and stop the deal. Jack doesn’t think she’s ready to go back in, so he volunteers to go with her. Renee tracks down one of her old contacts and cuts his hand off.
Agent Philboy’s Assessment
Wow. A lot happened tonight. These two episodes definitely did a lot to remedy the ill will I was feeling last night, but I still have a couple of major concerns. First of all, Hastings has to either trust Jack…and Renee…and Chole…and Cole, or get out of the way, because his obstinance is just annoying at this point. In all of the urgency, for Hastings to continue to stick to his guns and assume he’s right and everyone else is wrong is just a waste of time. I hope that the glimmers of hope that we saw tonight continue.
Speaking of wastes of time, can anyone tell me the point of the Dana Walsh storyline? Seriously, I’ll give someone a big gold star and a shout out in my next blog post if they can give me a valid, plausible conclusion to this storyline that would justify all of the time they’ve already wasted on it.
That being said, I was really happy with most of what happened tonight. Primarily, they didn’t drag the assassination out too long. Part of what makes “24” still one of the most intriguing shows on TV is that as soon as one storyline is over, Jack learns something new and we’re off on another adventure. Keeping the story moving is sometimes the biggest problem with “24,” so I hope that they can keep up the brisk pace this season.
I’m happy Renee is back and am sold on her new, unchained persona. If you think about it, in the course of a day last season, she went from Hastings-like to Jack-like. I hope that she can keep it somewhat balanced this season so she doesn’t become a caricature.
What I Learned This Week
- There’s more than one way to get a tracking bracelet off…some are just bloodier than others.
- The only way to get Chloe to smile is to admit you were wrong and she was right. It’s OK, though. You probably were and she probably was.
- Don’t keep in contact with your ex. Never.
- All the technology in the world can’t beat $100 and some legwork.
Thoughts so far? Are you a fan of the new CTU? Plus, what’s the point of the Dana Walsh storyline? I want your rationalizations!
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During the scenes where the cops were beating up Jack, I said to the TV: “Wow, this is a bad plotline.” And the Kevin Wade stuff is ridiculously unenjoyable.
… but then Jack and Cole participate in wonderful 24 badass-ness to save the president (I love that Cole was NOT willing to help the badguy escape, even though he knew he would die because of it). And Renae is back and is crazy. So I feel the good outweighed the bad. But I hope the Kevin Wade stuff ends quickly: Starbuck deserves better.
I think the Dana Walsh thing is going to be somehow connected to the overall plot. I think the other tech (who didn’t let the drone notice anyone shooting at the helicopter) knows of Dana’s past and is involved in the plot. He told her ex where she was as a way to get her out of there so he could do something to the computers which is just typical 24 mole in the building plot lines. At least the ex isn’t a cougar.
I think the Dana Walsh storyline is incredibly lame. it’s based on a premise that makes no sense. Anyone at Dana’s level would have been subject to rigorous background checks — the kind where they go back and talk to your neighbors and investigate your relatives. It’s one thing if she’s in the witness protection program and her cover has been blown, but they aren’t playing it that way, since she talks to her sister and hasn’t contacted anyone official about it. Obviously the showrunner didn’t give a damn about developing a credible backstory and just said, “Okay, we need to create some conflict for her. Let’s do this.” It’s a shame too, because it wouldn’t have taken much effort to get some actual guidance from real sources to create something interesting that held together. It would have been way more interesting if she learned that a bad guy she had testified against was back on the street and menacing the family she had lost touch with and she needed to keep them safe without blowing her new identity. Oh well. The current storyline makes me sad every time it comes on.