Aw, dang, the graphic violence warning won the NCAA tourney. I had Language and Suggestive Dialogue in the office pool.
The recaps show us Bierko trying to deal with customer service in the gas plant. We see Jack terrorizing Audrey. And lots of booms and fireworks as the Death Star explodes.
As we pop open a can of fresh, vacuum-packed episode this week, Bill is staring at Google Earth.
Audrey has forgotten all about that whole torture thing and is the voice of authority as she asks Curtis about Jack. Her hair and makeup are also remarkably composed considering she looked like Carrie at the prom just a short time ago.
The fire and rescue team is already at the gas plant. Sigh. It's been no more than four minutes since the fireworks. I stopped being surprised by these things years ago.
Jack and Curtis rejoice that the gas was incinerated in the blast. Which makes me wonder, was this the smartest plan for the terrorists? I mean, if the gas was going into homes, wouldn't it get burned up in the water heater, the stove, the fireplace, whatever? Well, it was a back-up plan after all. Perhaps Sgt. Bierko overlooked this in his haste.
What's this? Who could it be striding out of the mist like a legend? Why, it's Jack! And he's got a sack of Bierko slung over his shoulder.
Audrey drops her head when she hears Jack is alive. Considering the way he just roughed her up, it's not clear if she's relieved or ticked off to hear that Jack survived.
Jack tells Curtis to get Bierko to CTU Medical. Well, Bierko's a dead man. The only question is how. Perhaps Old Doc Besson will accidentally knock a toaster into Bierko's bath.
Jack calls in. He says Henderson could not have planned all this. Henderson must be protecting someone important. Jack says, "I'm scared."
We then cut to BOB. I suppose the juxtaposition is on purpose, to make us think BOB is the one Henderson is protecting.
Back at CTU, or should we start calling it HS, Karen is almost salivating at the prospect of taking over CTU. Why is she in such a hurry?
Miles, as unctuous as they come, suggests they smear Bill in an attempt to hurry things along.
Cut to who knows where. Henderson is there, talking to one of the bad guys. Bad Guy admits to letting Palmer escape. Buckaroo says they're going to a fall back position. Considering how elaborate the current back-up plan is, this means they'll activate the agents put in place in government positions years ago. These agents, raised in the mountains of Idaho and hypnotically trained to bark like seals when a secret code word is uttered, will gather outside the White House and then be activated. As crowds gather to watch the strange sight, an agent will slip into the White House unseen and steal the nuclear launch codes. Henderson will launch a missile, but will detonate it at its highest point, thereby destroying a Russian TV satellite. The Russian people, unable to watch reruns of Seinfeld, will riot and topple their government.
Article comments
1 - Victor Lana
Jeff, love these creative recaps. There is no question that Ray Wise has that strange look about him, almost weird even when he's trying to be nice (about Palmer). That was "wise" casting to throw us all off on Logan.
There are many things that don't add up, but that's the world of 24.
****Spoiler Alert:
If my friend is right (says he has inside stuff), Tony will be on hand to get Jack out of trouble next week.
Klaatu Barada Nikto!
2 - Jeff
Now that you mention Wise and Palmer, I'm kicking myself for missing it. BOB, confronting a Palmer!
I admit, I was suckered into thinking the Veep was a bad guy. However, in last night's episode, when they cut to the Veep right after Jack's speech about Henderson protecting someone and he was scared, I got a little suspicious, thinking maybe that was a Clue Too Far. They seemed to be trying too hard to push that possibility.
Hmm, about Tony, he's gotta be dead. They couldn't pull a cheap stunt like that and hope to get away with it, could they?
3 - Aaman
Enjoyable rundown - one must indeed rethink the masterful strokes of that child-molestor Logan.
4 - Joanie
congrats! This article was chosen for Advance.net
5 - Paul
Not only is BOB confronting a Palmer, BOB IS a Palmer. On another series, of course, but still.
I can't picture Tony still being alive either. He'd been living on borrowed time since he got shot in the neck back in season whatever-it-was. Nobody goes into CTU Medical with so much as a hangnail and lives, much less a bullet in the neck.
So how many of you out there think that the writers knew Logan was Evil Incarnate from the beginning of the season, and how many think they dreamed it up after half the season had already been shot? I'm firmly in the latter camp.
6 - Jeff
Thanks, Joanie.
And Paul, now I'm kicking myself for forgetting that BOB is a Palmer, too. I'm getting rusty in my old age.
7 - Paul
Speaking of the blurred line between 24 and Twin Peaks, we haven't seen Mike for a few hours now, have we? Did the VP tear his arm off? Is he having an episode in a padded room because he's running low on haloperidol?
We should probably thrash ourselves with nettles for comparing 24 and Peaks. Then again, 24 now has two Peaks alums, Ray Wise and Kiefer. Hmmm, are the denizens of that sleepy logging town in Washington migrating south? Is it only a matter of time before Nadine Hurley shows up as Chloe's mom and Dale Cooper takes over CTU to show them how it's really done?
8 - Jeff
Good point. Perhaps Mike is out in a cabin, er, barn, in the woods, longing to see the magician.
Ha, Nadine would be *perfect* as Chloe's mom. I'd love to see those conversations around the dinner table.
9 - Mary K. Williams
Great fun Jeff.
I'm not sure what to think about Logan. I'd say it was another red herring, like the Audrey thing of last week, but we did see Logan on the phone with Henderson, no?
Eight more hours left to go!
10 - Victor Lana
I love Ray Wise being on this show, giving it just a little more over the edge feeling.
As Paul noted, the earlier Logan is nothing like this Logan. Kiefer readily admits in interviews that the writers "make this stuff up as they go along." That explains a lot, actually, but it also keeps us guessing.
Another possibility: there are TWO Logans and the real one was switched for the fake. ANything can happen in the world of Bauer Power.
*****SPOILER ALERT******
Not only does my friend say that Tony will come to Jack's rescue in Episode 17 (Monday night) but that good old President Keeler is coming back somehow and someway (to stop Logan?). I don't know where he gets his spoiler stuff, but he says he has a "source" of some kind.
We shall see.
11 - Paul
You're right, Victor, it does keep us guessing, but as I said in one of my season four rants, there's a big difference between the characters (and audience) not knowing what's going to happen next, and the WRITERS not knowing what's going to happen next. By pulling plot twists out of their, um, hats, they kneecap their ability to provide a real sense of cohesiveness over the twenty-four-hour span of a season, which to my mind means they're pretty much ignoring what was supposed to make the show unique.