Clocks are at :29 to :28. Ah, it was inevitable we would slide out of phase.
And, typical of 24, we're only 10 minutes after sunrise and it's broad daylight.
We're at the airport now. Mike tells Martha Jack is in custody. Some First Kissy and Photos for the press.
Palmer's casket is put on a bier. (Please, no jokes at a time like this about needing a beer.)
And then, Martha has another "episode." She freaks, yelling and screaming "You're a murderer! Don't you touch me! It's a sacrilege." etc... Martha is hustled away into a hangar. Logan will go see if she's "all right."
And oh dear! Logan just hauls off and slaps Martha! That is harsh. Then, he paws at her, wanting another go around. I mean, he checks her for listening devices. Logan realizes it was Martha's job to "delay" him. (Didn't delay him very long, did it. You'd think she'd know that about her husband.)
Martha is really having a conniption now. She shrieks "You're insane." Again Logan with the "good of the country" bit. Logan then threatens her with drugs and "Vermont" for the rest of her life.
Logan asks "Are we clear?" Ok, all together now. Crystal.
Clocks are at :39 to :38.
Martha is struggling to keep her stuff together. Logan salutes the casket and begins to speak. He says "This has been a terrible day." Ok, Itzen, you stop talking to the writers, too. Actually, wasn't yesterday the "terrible day"?
Now, we cut to CTU. The Attorney General is on the phone. Chloe arranged it without permission from Karen. Chloe is going to play a recording. What recording? We're as surprised as Karen.
Oh, I see. Apparently Jack planted a listening device on Logan. Clever boy. Rooney could learn a lot from his old man.
It's a recording of Logan and Martha in the hangar. Logan admits to everything.
So, the AG makes a call to US Marshall Holtzman on the tarmac. He'll do what the AG says. The agents go on stage. Which makes Logan nervous.
Holtzman quietly tells Logan he is under arrest. Martha is standing there with one of the all time great smirks. Enjoy your triumph, Martha. You earned it.
Mike tries to smirk as well, but mostly ends up looking like the Wise Old Man of the Mountain with a bit of gas.
In a strange parallel, Palmer's casket is loaded onto the plane, and Logan is put into a vehicle. Two presidents making their farewell.
Article comments
1 - Victor Lana
Nice job, JEff. I was very disappointed in the last 15 minutes. It seemed the writers were trying to go out with a Big Bang. It seemed forced and contrived. Jack(the real Jack) would never have gone in to answer that phone. It just was a poor ending in my opinion.
2 - Mary K. Williams
Please let us devote no more thought as to what Martha must have done
Jack promised Martha that she wouldn't have to swallow. Brave girl, that Martha.
3 - Mary K. Williams
This was wonderful Jeff - you outdid yourself!
Bravo Mr. Kouba!
4 - Jeff
Thanks, Mary! It's been a fun ride.
5 - Paul
False alarm. I went into that warehouse and got jumped by a squad of angry viewers. I told them I had nothing to do with the show, that the writers were in the next warehouse over.
I managed to catch the last hour from my hotel room in Marina Del Rey, which apparently was far enough from the carnage that I missed most of it--except for a bloodied tee shirt from the Bonzai Institute that washed up on the beach the next day.
I'm glad the writers didn't forget about the Chinese. They have long memories. It certainly sets up an interesting possibility for next season: namely, that Jack won't experience Day Six in Los Angeles. Then again, a la Mandy's handshaking assassination attempt on David Palmer, he may start the day simply showing up for work at CTU and no mention at all will be made of his jacknapping until a passing reference in about hour eight.
As with the end of last season, I'm really questioning whether I'll bother with next season. Maybe I'll just read Jeff's rants and comment on them instead.
So, there just one thing left to say, I guess:
Where's Wayne?