24 – Day 8: 4:00am – 5:00am

My bad on the delay in getting up this week’s discussion of 24. First time on the internet in a few days. Sorry Philboy, I’ll now turn it over to you. – Kath

I tend to think that TV doesn’t hold many too many surprises anymore. Every week I talk about “24,” I review it with the implicit undertone that we’ve kind of been through this before. But, on a show that I love as much as “24,” that’s part of the charm. It’s variations on a theme. And, of course, a mole working inside CTU is standard. But, I really didn’t see Dana as the mole, even though I could earn a lot of credit online by saying otherwise. Let’s get started with the recap.

Debrief

• After power goes out at CTU, Jack calls the NSA and asks for backup. They track the terrorists to a dock where they are about to transfer the rods. After the approach, Jack realizes they are waltzing into a trap and tries to back up. He barricades them into a shooting match with snipers and gunmen while Tarin and Samir head across the river with the nuclear rods.

• The NSA sends engineers to get CTU back up-and-running. Chloe sees what they’re doing and believes she has a quicker way. No one listens to her. Therefore, she pulls a gun on the NSA guys and attempts to do it herself. She succeeds and Hastings is grateful.

• Dana tells Bob Purdy that the EMP erased everything that he was looking for, so he should leave. When she finds out that he wants to speak to Hastings, she kills him and hides him in the air vents. Then, she calls Samir, her boss, who tells her that everything is on schedule. AKA DANA IS A MOLE INSIDE CTU!

Agent Philboy’s Assessment

As I said before, I really didn’t see that coming. In this season, I’ve suspected Cole, Arlo, and even Hastings of being moles. I just assumed that Dana was too involved with her own crap to be working for the terrorists. But, it all adds up. The extreme devotion to the cover story, to shunning the past. The waiting a split second to call the bomb squad, giving the EMP enough time to go off. I can’t wait to hear her motivations, even though I’m sure it just all has to do with money and circumstance.

I fear, however, that the big plot twist of the evening will overshadow the star of tonight’s episode, Ms. Mary Lynn Rajskub, aka Chloe O’Brian. For nearly 10 years, and over the course of eight days, we’ve seen her pout, sulk, and go off on any number of supervisors and colleagues, all in the name of being right and knowing that Jack will lead CTU, and therefore the country, to safety. Chloe, along with Jack, has been the constant good on “24.” She’s never been a mole, she’s never been tempted to turn against her country. Tonight, her actions put her in the spotlight and reminded us of everything that we love about her as a character.

I can take that ever farther, actually. This episode, along with last week, has reminded me and a lot of people of what we love about “24.” It doesn’t have the intrigue of “Lost” or the comedy of “Chuck” or the intensity and immediacy that it once had. But, when it’s done correctly, it can be the most surprising, intense show around that doesn’t try to be something more than what it is: good, entertaining, action-packed television.

I guess that’s really what I learned this week. Other than “Guns solve problems.” I learned that this show, if it does end up continuing after this season, can still surprise, entertain, and give me a gut punch every once in a while. In other words, it can still do the stuff it did when I was a kid. And that is something you don’t see too often anymore.

Weekly Kill Count = 6 Total Kill Count = 35

Who saw that coming? Do you buy Dana as a terrorist? Plus, have you been inspired by the last couple episodes like I have?