24 - Day 8: 12:00 AM - 1:00 AM Review

- FOX

And there goes another one.

Short-lived performances are no stranger to a show such as 24, somewhat adding to its well-known value of unpredictability. Often, a character is only given but a few episodes to establish himself before he is pinned down. Josef Bazhaev was obviously next on the list.

We left him last episode as he was on his way to deliver the rods to Farhad, attempting to seek some degree of redemption against his father for the murder Oleg. It was obvious from the start that Josef was apprehensive about things, unsure if his actions would truly set things right, and second thoughts were even further conveyed in his conversation with Jack and Sergei. The fleeting eye movements and nervous expressions were totally believable, and much credit should go to David Anders for his brief yet wholly enjoyable role. In an effort to strike a deal with the Josef, they offer him as well full immunity; a chance to undo his poorly considered work. And, just as he agrees to the offer, he is shot from across the street by Farhad and another man named Samir. Naturally, Chloe had been tapping the line the whole time in an effort to track the location of the rods. No dice, as it is hastily ground into the asphalt by Samir.

Now, I think it’s time to take a brief intermission in the review before we get into the rest of the episode, because I have something important to comment on. No, I’m not the first to notice the idiosyncrasy but I’m seven reviews in and I haven’t commented on this annoyance once. Brian Hastings… your posture is awful! How are you supposed to support anyone at CTU when you can't even support yourself? Ah, that’s right; you’re unable to do neither! Yes, Brian’s lack of loyalty is explored even further in hour nine. Rob Weiss at the White House gives Hastings a call, and, in a surprisingly intimidating tone, manipulates Hastings into permitting a female interrogator from the Department of Justice to drill Renee, hopefully finding a way to make her take full responsibility of the death of Vladimir. Apparently he was the White House’s only lead. In reality, if the interrogation is successful, Renee would be taking the blame for CTU’s failed mission. And Hastings agrees to let it happen.

Five minutes later (At 20 past midnight! They couldn’t have sent her in the morning!?! And, in addition, the crisis is still ongoing! Wouldn’t it have made more sense to see if things can wrap up cleanly by the end of the day, denying the need for ANY process? Such logic boggles the mind), she shows up, makes her way to medical and begins the attack. She’s been prepped, and she’s determined to get the job done. Surprisingly, this scene was one of my favorites of the entire episode. The questions, while basic, were delivered well and gave things a sinister undertone. As time pressed on, I felt the tension between the two rise, and, as the look on Renee’s face changed as Kristin kept talking, I too stared on, truly engaged. At one point, I even considered the possibility of Renee killing or injuring the woman who sat across the table from her. It may have very well been an interesting turn of events. But, the scene still concluded in a satisfying way, with Jack bursting through the door, throwing the interrogator against the wall and placing her into a chokehold. And it was at this point where Jack’s true feelings for Renee began to show.

Later on in the episode, the point is brought up once more as Jack, turned away from CTU by Hastings because of his behavior, is given the opportunity to return. But he does so under only one condition: that Renee is freed from any further prosecution. Hastings submits to the deal, though only after Jack promises to remain at CTU for the duration of the day’s events, demonstrating Hasting's competence for once. Perhaps Brian character will earn some greater backbone in future episodes? Maybe that stoop has a deeper meaning? But that’s not what is significant here. No, it’s Jack’s consistent emphasis on Renee. In essence, much of hour nine served to further show a developing connection between the two, and create something of an inner-conflict for Jack and the audience. Is Jack struggling for his country, or instead Renee? Where, truly, is his heart in all of this? Only time will tell.

I’ve been looking forward to this paragraph all-season, and it is with great pleasure that I write it. Dana’s side-story looks to be coming to an end. Yes, my friends, Dumb and Dumber are dead, and really, no one is upset at that. Dana, finally showing some degree of resourcefulness, tracks the two down, silenced pistol in hand. She walks closer and closer to the van where her ex and his friend are inside, certainly enjoying themselves with the two women they picked up at a grimy strip-club last episode. And what do you know? Cole shows up in the nick of time, ‘following up on a lead’ (completely leaving the rest of his team when his country is in danger) and gives his fiancée a talkin’-to. It is within a conveniently-placed commercial break where Dana, at last, reveals who true identity. So, after hearing her story, what does Cole do? He makes his way for the van himself, tells the two to leave the state with the $120,000 and never return. If they do, he will kill them both. The group reluctantly agrees, and, as far as Cole and Dana are concerned, the problem is solved. Not so. The slower of two stabs Kevin, grabs a revolver from the trunk and makes a move on Cole, who, after being alerted by the injured Kevin, spins around and takes a shot at the oncoming assailant, killing him instantly. Dana rushes over to Kevin, almost helpless as he slowly dies. The scene, while predictably bland, wrapped up a hugely disappointing side-plot, and, save for a little clean-up scene next episode, I’m hoping that we can quickly forget this atrocious misstep in the season.

And that’s that. A pretty fulfilling episode, all things considered, that opens things up quite nicely for a cleaner continuation. Admittedly, the season found itself faltering quite frequently in the past few episodes, but, as this entry proved, a little more character development was all that was necessary. So, now that things are almost into play, maybe we can finally get things really into motion next time.   

Fingers crossed.

RATING FOR 24 -DAY 8: 12:00 am - 1:00 am (OUT OF 10)

24 - Day 8: 11:00 PM - 12:00 AM Review (plus, recaps and mini-reviews from hours before)

- FOX

Yes, yes, I know, I know... I missed two hours. I get it. Anyway, to mildly compensate for my "slacking off" (if that's what you want to call it), before the actual review of hour eight I have two mini-reviews of the hours preceding it. Aren't I nice?

RECAP & REVIEW: 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Dana Walsh: Dana the dipstick keeps making stupid decisions, burying herself into even deeper trouble on her own part. Seriously, the side story, already heavy on the cheese and unbelievability, did not get any better. Thankfully, however, we didn't see much of a it. A few short scenes were all that were necessary to only slightly push this terrible plot forward. At the beginning of the hour, Dana, rather than thinking even somewhat rationally, gives her redneck 'friends' a call, informing them of a location where they can cop an evidence container worth over $100,000. The two, obviously, are happy with her findings, and give each other an honorary high five (if that's what it was...). And... that's pretty much it. Nothing else about this story is worth mentioning. Not impressed. Moving on.

President Hassan: Not too much went on at the United Nations this episode... save for Mr. Hassan getting more paranoid of the people around him by the second, ordering arrests for almost everyone he knows or suspects has dealings with the people wishing to impeach him. The ones who once trusted them, obviously, are bewildered by his actions and demand him to calm down and revise his ways. Hassan is adamant that his cause will not be obstructed, and proceeds with his antagonistic manner, demanding that a man from within his own party is arrested and questioned at length. While the plotline isn't necessarily badly written or illogical, it's not particularly compelling. Something major needs to happen down the line for the pace of this these slow moments to quicken, because, right now, it's just wasting time.

David Anders and Company: In the episode before, Sergei's son, Josef, arrived at doctor's office requesting, no, demanding that his suffering brother be treated for radiation poisoning. In time, daddy calls, wondering why they have not yet reached the cottage, where they were supposed to be. OF course, Sergei becomes suspicious of the two and sends several of his men to investigate, following Josef and his brother's trail. Later in the episode they show up, killing everyone in the office and exfiltrating the two. Upon their return to their father's restaurant, they find an unhappy Sergei, furious that his son had defied him. Maddened and aware that Oleg, his sick son would not survive, he shoots the boy with Josef looking on in fear. Apparently, Sergei is a man who will do anything to meet his goals, even if that means murdering his son to ensure a smooth operation.

Jack, Renee and the Russians: Ah... finally, the main storyline; the most compelling one of all. Jack, apparently, is fluent in German, and, as part of the undercover coup must pose as a German wishing to deal in nuclear arms. The scene where Jack meets with a member from Vladimir's group is wonderfully scripted, with the Lugo chatting in German to test Jack's proficiency. The tasteful piece concludes with Lugo pulling a gun out on Jack and Cole swiftly taking down three of the four Russians with a sniper rifle, sparing Lugo. Jack, thankfully, is still good at what he does. On the Renee side of things, little occurs plotwise, yet her character development continues to be strong. All of Wersching's scenes in the episode are with Vladimir, a suave yet compulsive and demeaning Russian mob leader played by Battlestar's Callum Kieth Rennie. The chemistry between the two on-screen is phenomenal; the range of emotions palpable and each and every moment is a joy to watch.

SCORE: 7.4

RECAP & REVIEW: 10:00 PM - 11:00 PM

Dana Walsh: Well, Dana’s new roommates sure didn’t waste too much time getting to the evidence lockup and, just five minutes into hour seven, they arrive in their van and get to searching the building. Initially, it’s a number game, with Dana on the phone giving the two security codes for each obstruction they run into. It gets old and repetitive fast, and, as Kevin and his friend sure aren’t the sharpest ones, they screw up more than a few times in finding their prize. But, lo and behold… here it is, the shocker of the episode; no wait, the season: the police show up as soon as they are about to leave. Instead of finding a way to smartly maneuver around the cop, the clumsy couple delivers a serious beat down to the officer and then flee the scene. Things just keep getting worse for Dana and, as Arlo and Chloe continue to become more suspicious about her activities outside of work, it seems as if she’ll have a hell of a lot of explaining to do when (not if) she’s caught.

President Hassan: And he keeps getting crazier. As the day progresses into the later hours, Hassan begins to make his own transition. He’s legitimately paranoid, and no one can go against him. Last week he had ordered for a man with him at the UN to be interrogated, yet apparently he knew nothing; he had no connection to the political outrage back in Kamistan. But Hassan can never be wrong. He needs answers, and he knows that someone is holding information from him. He pushes on, calling for the family of his confined party member to be held captive and even tortured. He is a determined man, and, though this side plot isn’t as absorbing as it could be, it’s always interesting to see someone spiral further into insanity.

David Anders and Company: Segei Bazhaev had quite some trouble with his sons last hour, ending with him killing the radiation-poisoned Oleg, and, for part of hour 7, he has to tie up those loose ends. A prayer service is called before Oleg is buried and Bazhaev has a heartfelt discussion with Josef, explaining that that every act he had committed in the last hour had been for his family. Admittedly, such a talk would have been more timely perhaps before he had shot his other son. But, finally, after much exposition, the two mob stories meet, with Vladimir giving Sergei a call. Unsurprisingly, it’s about the nuclear materials, and Renee is closely by Vlad’s side for the conversation, hopeful that things will play out accordingly. In a slight twist, things don’t, with Sergei declining (and lying) to possession of any nuclear materials. Apparently, as he says, “No one deals in [that].” As the call ends, however, Sergei gets worried, making a call to a truck travelling through New York with the uranium rods and ordering him to pull over and stop. In short, Sergei isn’t naïve, and he’s not going to confirm criminal dealings such as these over the phone.

Jack and Renee: Yet again, the main plot continues to shine, with Vladimir’s life brought to a satisfying conclusion. More on that later. At the beginning of the episode, Jack arrives at the Russian hideout and, from there, character interactions begin to get really interesting, save for the little talk Bauer has with Renee early on. Not even worth mentioning. Anyway, as Renee and Vlad attempt to find a seller of nuclear materials, things get more and more uncomfortable for the two, and their dark past becomes more and more evident as the hour progresses. When Vlad can’t find anyone, she begins to plead for him to call everyone he knows again, determined to be successful and demonstrate that she can handle herself in the field. Vlad erupts, hitting her hard across the face and knocking her on the ground. Renee snaps, grabbing a knife and stabbing him repeatedly in the eye. It was a shocking moment that only got better, with Jack running into the room after hearing trouble and approaching Renee. Instinctively expecting someone else, she turns around and stabs Jack clean in the stomach, who, after a quick recovery pulls out the knife and throws it sharply at Lugo in the neck. And for the icing on the cake, he then proceeds to gun down the last of Vlad’s crew. The highlight of the night for sure, such a moment more than made up for some disappointing moments early on, ending things on a memorable note.

SCORE: 7.6

REVIEW: 11:00 PM - 12:00 AM

Pacing. Honestly, how important is it that a television show (or, for that matter, any form of entertainment or performance) be well-paced? The answer: more important than you’d think. You can’t barrage a viewer with non-stop action with little to no substance making up the story. That just doesn’t make compelling TV. And, in addition, the audience would soon suffer from something known as ‘combat fatigue’. They need something other than just over the top battles and fighting. Therefore, you gotta mix things up. Throw in some character development every now and again, a funny scene here, a suspenseful one there. The only goal, really, is to create something that feels balanced, equal, and, most importantly, complete. However, such a formula will only work if every element is of top quality; each aspect has to be interesting to watch or the other parts will ultimately fall apart as well. I’ll give 24 credit for almost always nailing its pace. Even with episodes that contain a lot of action, the writers still allot time to other scenes that aren’t as combat-oriented. And, for the most part they work well. Not as much with this episode, unfortunately.

Here’s why. Remember last episode, where Jack handed himself over to the Sergei’s mob of Russians solely for the cause of his mission? Well, they’re convinced he’s a cop, and, unless he talks and tells them who’s his superior, one of Bazhaev’s men is gonna put the hurt on in the form of electrocution. And, as Jack’s all so used to it, he doesn’t even bat an eyelid (well, for the most part at least). Jack’s warden is obviously oblivious to that: “Everybody has limit, don’t worry.” For heaven’s sake, he spent years held in captivity by the Chinese and never talked once, so, honestly, does anyone expect him to even wince at the torture of one lone henchman? Anyway, it doesn’t take long for Jack to initiate bad-ass mode and knock the guy the out with his own torture devices. And then, with Jack struggling to find a way out of his shackles, we’re sent to commercial break. Cool… I though, we can create some suspense of the commercial break and reconnect with Jack after a few short minutes. Oh, was I wrong. Instead, we’re given a rather dry scene of Hassan and his daughter arguing. Boo. What this did, rather than increasing tension, was dampen the episode’s tempo. It was progressing along nicely, and, rather than letting the set-piece take its course, it was broken up a little too often. With moments like these, I could understand why 24 works better on DVD without commercials (thankfully, I’m watching the episodes on iTunes).

But the writers made that feeling all the much better when they finally reconvened with Jack. I’ll get to the that later, though. We’ve gotta touch on Dana’s story for a bit, the one where predictability and stupidity reigns supreme. Okay, Dana. Let me ask you something. Did you honestly expect these goons to give up now? They’ve already shown that they can manipulate and get the better of you; what’s to make them think that they can’t do the same thing once again? Stupid, stupid, stupid, Dana. She’s useless at CTU and apparently useless at having any sort of foresight. But she proceeds on, making one bad decision after the other and very rarely will she get back to her damn job, shut the hell up and do something worthwhile!

But, believe it or not, there’s a shimmer of hope in this awful side plot: its days are numbered. Dana is looking finally to take matters into her own hands, and, if next week’s episode is any indication, she’ll end her past for herself by taking out some rednecks. After that, Dana, will you please get back to work?

And then there’s Jack. Once he finally releases himself from his cuffs, it’s evident that he has a plan in mind. And boy, he doesn’t waste one bit of time after that, taking out every one of Sergei’s men through an assortment of creative ways and then securing a shotgun-wielding Bazhaev by throwing a dinner table on him. Quite a spectacular action sequence that, for me, tops last week’s.

When CTU arrives at Sergei’s restaurant to clean things up, Sergei and Jack have a little talk, and, in exchange for full immunity for both his son and he (24 fans should be used to this situation by now), attempts to hand the uranium rods over. Josef, on the other hand, complicates matters, stealing the materials for himself by raiding the vans before Cole and his team can get to them. Apparently, Josef didn’t take his father murdering Oleg lightly, and, through aligning with Farhad, wants to make his father pay.

It was a long time coming, but at last we received an episode that was almost entirely about Jack. After Renee in the spotlight for a few weeks, Mr. Bauer was more than overdo for his own share of the action, and, almost solely because of the main plot, hour eight was solid. Although the episode’s conclusion was a slight letdown, it moved quite a few elements into play, neatly concluding one segment while at the same time providing much-needed exposition for future developments. Let’s hope that includes Dana getting back to work.

RATING FOR 24 -DAY 8: 11:00 pm - 12:00 am (OUT OF 10)