While I love watching Jack make observations that the typical agent misses, I can’t help but wonder how absolutely inept everybody else in the FBI is. I mean, noticing that Tony and Larry were shot with two different guns seems pretty basic. And the same can be said about checking the location of the agent who claims to be tracking the terrorist. I know we’re privy to knowledge that the characters are not – and thus it’s say to say “why aren’t you doing this?” – but these two examples definitely fall into the realm of basic protocol. I mean, that bullet thing was pretty inexcusable.
That criticism aside, this was a really fun episode, due in large part to the facial expressions of Tony Almeida. I absolutely loved the way his face fell when he saw Jack get out of the helicopter. You could almost hear him thinking, “Oh crap, there goes my plan.” And as the episode progressed, Tony sank further and further. With each twist and turn, Jack could tell that something just wasn’t right. And while his initial intuition was off, the audience – and Tony – knew that it was only a matter of time before Jack put the pieces together.
And as we inched closer and closer to the moment of realization, you could also tell that Tony was staging his contingency. You could sense that Mr. Shifty Eyes was saying, “Okay, if Jack figures this out, what can I do to ensure that my plan works out?” It was a really enjoyable game of cat and mouse, really, for the viewer to watch. And they threw some teasers out there as well, like when Jack hung up the telephone before the person on the other line could release crucial information that would surely tip him off about Tony.
The one thing I openly hated, though, was the revelation that Tony actually works for the same people he spent the entire day trying to stop. Even if the plan was to turn on the FBI from the beginning, why go through all of the trouble of forming an alliance with Chloe and Buchanan, turning on his terrorist cell, pretending to assist the FBI and in the process eliminating and preventing numerous threats, and blowing up practically all of Starkwood? I mean, if that one bio weapon canister is so incredibly valuable, what sense does it make to destroy an entire supply of them? I can’t help but feel like it would have been much easier to just continue being a terrorist, because it seems to me like his alliance with the reformed CTU created more obstacles than it could have possibly prevented.
And by the way, anybody who wondered if Tony might possibly be a super duper secret quadruple agent (meaning he actually IS working for the good guys): Sorry, but the fact that he was perfectly willing to kill a building full of FBI agents seems to confirm that his goatee is indeed an evil one. Plus his treatment of seizure-ridden Jack was pretty brutal.
So what’s everybody’s prediction on the relationship between Larry and Renee? It’s been pretty obvious all season that Larry has had a thing for her, while Renee’s feelings have been a bit more ambiguous. Now, with his character being written off, we’ve learned some new information. He’s divorced, and it’s implied that this may have something to do with Renee (based on her insistence that she not be the one to call his ex-wife to tell her about his death). Thoughts?
Not much to say about Kim’s brief appearance, other than the fact that it’s always lovely seeing Elisha Cuthbert on the small screen, but I will say that I found it genuinely touching that she named her daughter after her deceased mother. What a quick, sweet moment.
Matt Basilo has been writing for Inside Pulse since April 2005, providing his insight into popular television shows such as Lost, Heroes, Prison Break, and Smallville. You can visit his blog at A Case of the Blog.
