There was a lot about this episode of 24 that reminded me of the series’ first season. First we had Jack kidnapping his female cohort and pretending to execute her in order to achieve a “greater good,” as determined by the very people that Jack is attempting to stop. The pacing of the season is also a lot steadier. Season six was lauded for starting off with a bang. When the story began, we were already in the midst of a series of terrorist attacks. Within a few episodes, a nuclear bomb went off. While this seemed like a pleasant change of pace at first, it quickly became obvious that they had screwed the proverbial pooch. This season is reminiscent of the show’s glory years, where CTU didn’t have magic abilities where they could instantaneously pull up any information at the click of a mouse. So far, bravo!
Since I already brought it up, I suppose I should bring up the interesting exchanges between Jack, Tony, and Walker. Really fantastic stuff, all around. I loved the various nonverbal communications from Tony and Jack as Walker judged Jack for what she perceived he is doing. While Jack was more or less stoic, Tony showed a lot more (subtle) emotion. So many of the scenes involving Jack and Tony have been speechless, and it’s been phenomenally fun reading into their body language and facial expressions. There is just so much history between them that they really don’t need to speak in order communication, despite this unique situation they find themselves in.
Oh, and speaking of Jack and Tony, these guys really talk openly about their covert undercover mission, don’t they? They talked about in the basement. Then in the hallway. Then the kitchen.
By the way, while I totally expected Jack to fake the execution, I was pretty surprised he actually shot her (or came close enough so that the bullet would pierce her skin). I also loved how quickly Jack’s expression changed when Emerson told him to bury her.
And what was the deal with the not-so-discrete bright yellow van? Is this an example of hiding in plain sight?
I’m sure there are some people out there who would criticize the Prime Minister’s wife for opening the door, but honestly it was a bit refreshing seeing a “good guy” on television that isn’t completely altruistic and noble.
I know that we were supposed to be suspicious of the Secret Service agent from the beginning, but the President’s husband walking into the apartment building with a coffee cup in his hand was a giant red flag. Am I to believe that he just found out that his son’s suicide wasn’t actually a suicide, but decided to make a quick stop at Starbucks for a cup of Joe before validating that? It really stuck out like a sore thumb. I almost wish that they just had the agent sneak up from behind and inject Taylor with the serum. Sure, it may seem cliche, but it would have made a whole lot of more sense.
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.
