This episode continued the trend of putting two characters at odds with each other, without presenting one character as “right” and the other as “wrong.” This occurred, primarily, with President Taylor and Jack. Sure, we’re all expected to support Jack, but I think the President hit the nail right on the head when she said he was looking for revenge. Yeah, justice is icing on the cake for Jack, but let’s be perfectly clear about one thing: Jack is completely willing to make difficult decisions, which includes helping or negotiating with terrorists, when he sees fit. How often does he help a terrorist escape when his family is in danger? How about the fact that he murdered Ryan Chappelle – an innocent man in every sense of the word – under the order of a terrorist? Sure, things always seem to work out for Jack in the end, but that’s really only because the writers decided that that’s how they want to conclude things. It doesn’t take away from the fact that he potentially compromised a whole lot of people for essentially selfish reasons.
So while I didn’t necessarily agree with President Taylor, I understood her point of view. She was forced to make a critical 11th hour decision, and she ultimately decided that making a significant step towards the peace process outweighed making the appropriate people pay for the carnage that had occurred earlier that day. Was it the right decision? That’s tough to say. But it certainly wasn’t an irrational one. She firmly and pretty eloquently (all things considered) laid out the reasoning behind her judgment. And unlike Logan, who you could sense was more concerned with his legacy, Taylor legitimately did seem primarily concerned about the greater good. I’m glad they didn’t just turn her into a suddenly villainous character.
Not to mention that Jack looks like a massive hypocrite. When he came face to face with the soldiers who believed they were doing the greater good by turning Hassan over to the terrorists, Jack chastised their leader by saying he only takes orders from one person, the President of the United States. Except, I suppose, when he doesn’t agree with the orders.
I can’t decide if I’m disappointed or not with the fact that Chloe turned into every other person on the show who was thrust into an authoritative position. She goes from fully supporting Jack – even assisting him against orders – to towing the proverbial company line in order to maintain her new position. I understand the logic and motivation, but it just doesn’t ring true to her character. Chloe has NEVER been driven by power. In a world in which everybody seemingly has the president on their speed dial, Chloe has never even met the Commander in Chief. And like she said, she’s surprised anybody in the Cabinet even knows who she is. Along with that, she’s worked with Jack nearly her entire professional life. She even created an underground CTU. This is not a woman who, within an hour of attaining power, completely alters her perspective.
Having said that, I was a little turned off by the fact that everybody within CTU seemed confused and appalled by the President’s decision to sit on this lead (you mean they’re not going to pardon the murderous psychopath??!?!?!?!) in order to follow through with the peace agreement. These people are aware that they are dealing with politicians, right? And, again, it’s not as if this is a particularly insidious decree.
And then there’s President Logan. I think they’ve handled his return well. Thus far, they’re thankfully avoided having him go over-the-top with his deviousness – in fact, they’ve done a nice job of legitimately making you wonder what his motivations are. Clearly, he’s concerned about clearing his image (hence why he insists on going through with this plan and his continued references to getting credit for his efforts when all is said and done), but you really can’t be certain that his intentions are completely selfish. And a good deed is a good deed. Even if it benefits him in the end, didn’t he help arrange a very significant and important peace agreement? I mean, I’m sure there are easier ways to clean up your image.
Matt Basilo has been writing for Inside Pulse since April 2005, providing his insight into popular television shows such as Lost, 24, Heroes, and Smallville. Be sure to visit his blog at [a case of the blog] and follow him on Twitter.
