Yes! Only a few episodes in and we get a reasonable explanation for how (and why) Tony’s death was faked. Turns out Robocop was the inside man all along (how he foresaw getting captured by CTU and held captive in the same room as a recovering Tony with a high dose of hyoscine-pentothal readily available remains unclear, however).
I enjoyed the understated scene in which Tony was forced to kill one “brother” in order to save another. This episode actually illustrated a unique character trait. As we’ve learned throughout the past seven seasons, Jack Bauer puts his country before anything else, the only possible exception being his family (and even then, it’s a pretty close race). Tony, on the other hand, seems supremely loyal to the people he cares for. That’s not to say he doesn’t have a moral compass – he clearly does – but he’s not some blind patriot who is willing to sacrifice the lives of those he loves for the sake of his country. He was willing to commit treason in order to save Michelle, the woman he loves. Likewise, I think a strong argument could be made that he wouldn’t have killed Jack in order to prove his loyalty to the terrorist group. And even when he realized he was on the wrong team, he still felt a strong sense of allegiance to Emerson. Tony’s loyal to a fault.
I do have to wonder, though, how Tony must feel about the fact that he’s been running this operation for years, and Jack just swoops in and takes complete control.
I also couldn’t help but laugh at Tony’s “Okay then…..let’s put that behind us” after his cohort attempted to kill him. And is it me, or are diamonds, like, a really weird pay to pay off somebody? It seems so….cartoon villainy. I do have to wonder, though, will Jack and co. be trailing the bad guys in the bright yellow van, or the bright blue van?
I loved the awkward encounter with Jack and Walker. The look on his face when she walked out of the van was priceless.
I have to admit, I’m a bit surprised that they actually killed of Samantha. I know she’s not in the least a major character, but I thought she’d find a way out of the situation. I must say, though, that all of this reminds me of that dreadful season three story arc with Wayne Palmer’s former lover’s current paralyzed old man lover who had financed David Palmer’s campaign and was ultimately killed by Sherry.
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.
