24

So Hodges blackmails Taylor into bringing Starkwood into the government, having no idea that Tony's doing his own thing to destroy the missiles and the prion, in a sequence reminiscent of Jack's antics against the Sentox canisters. And it works, bringing the Starkwood arc to a tense and satisfyingly explosive finish at the halfway mark. Then, in another parallel to S5, Kim Bauer returns, only she's no longer angry at Jack, and the reunion is all very sad and tearful, boo-hoo, okay what next? Yet another parallel, intentional or not, comes when a Starkwood mercenary escapes with (ta-da!) the last prion canister. Moss and Tony go after him in a chase leading to the end of the episode. Hey, that makes for a pretty damn good second half too.
Anyway, Tony turns back into a villain and kills Moss. Yeah, that happens. Kinda puts a stopper on the Jack/Renee/Moss love triangle that's been building up until now, doesn't it? But that's not the point; what matters is that the episode's final scene is pulled off marvelously, presenting the payoff I was hoping for all season. If the writers had to resurrect Tony, then as far as I'm concerned, this is about the best way they could have gone with that. Because I honestly got tired of Tony around S4, and I was perfectly happy with his and Michelle's deaths in S5, and I really didn't want him being brought back just to satisfy his raving acolytes. Every time I think of this episode, I think of the Tony nuts who now feel betrayed and wish he'd stayed dead—those smug fanboys who temporarily got what they wanted only to have their worlds shattered—and it makes me even happier than the thought of Avatards taking razor blades and
[ERROR]

This is the reason why even being an action tv show, Kiefer gets Emmy nominations as Best Actor.Luckly we know there's going to be an 8th season, so we know he is not going to die, because otherwise and based on his acting, i would really believe he was going to. Incredible episode,one of those that makes you doubt which 24 season is the best one,this one or any of the past 6. Elisha is back, something that men around the world will always thank. And Tony?What is it with him?Definitely,his biggest enemy is himself. Jon Voight has been in my opinion one of the best villains of the show so far.Amazing episode, amazing season, amazing show.Seven seasons and still alive!

This episode is totally excellent itself.

It delivers in every level!.



While Jonas Hodges is in The White House forcing The President Taylor to admit his conditions, Jack and Renne are helping Tony in a secret operation to destroy Jonas´ plans and end with the threat of the day.

Also Jack finally meets with his daughter Kim in a very emotional meeting.

But, a surprising twist opens what looks like the ultimate plot of the shocking seventh day.



Every twist in 24 is so well done and always unexpected to the viewers(and i´m including).

But only a few twists makes the audience(and i´m including)to scream, to put in the edge of your seat, to not to believe it or even to get angry.

Only a few surprises are shocking enough to make history in the series.

And this one is one of that little lot.

It is the Best Twist in this present season!

And also one of the most shocking surprises in all the whole show!.



Another masterpiece!.

Wow, so much to talk about and so little time. Let's begin at the end, just to be contrary, with THAT plot twist. Well, while virtually every functioning brain cell that I have tells me to absolutely loathe Tony's 'turn', I'm going to reserve judgement until the forthcoming episodes have given us more of an idea as to what in the holy Hell is going on. To be perfectly honest, I bemoaned the revelation that Almeida was actually a good guy earlier in the season as I think, since the writers had the balls to turn him into an embittered, establishment-loathing baddie with a completely logical set of reasons for it, they should also have had the balls to follow through and give us THIS Tony for the duration. Still, I warmed to his old, Bauer-helping self, as was inevitable given Bernard's considerable acting talents, and now I'm unsure as to whether I really WANT to see the Almeida that I longed for after the first couple of hours. The problem now, of course, is going to be reconciling his helpful antics with the FBI with his treacherous murder of Larry Moss which, let's face it, was freaking awesome. Just when you think 24 is settling into a familiar pattern, getting fairly safe with its plot decisions, along comes a development that sucker punches you in the gut and reminds you that the writing staff aren't afraid to take the road less travelled every so often. Anyway, here's hoping Tony's 'turn' is suitably explained and that we can all buy into it, rather than it coming across as a desperate attempt by an idea-deprived writing staff to keep things engaging. In a way, I am rather concerned that this will turn out to be the case, especially when you consider that this season seems to chop and change as it sees fit: we've had the Dubaku plot, the Juma plot, the Starkwood plot and now, it appears, the 'this is bigger than you can imagine President Taylor, mwahahahahahaha' plot, all in the space of eighteen episodes, which doesn't exactly indicate a confidence in narrative structure. This is mere conjecture for now though, so we'll leave it to one side and celebrate the culmination of the Starkwood extravaganza which looks and feels spectacular: some serious dough has spent on those sets, believe you me. The adrenalin rush of the race to destroy the missiles in the first twenty minutes is thoroughly addictive, and counterpointed nicely with a stellar set of scenes between President Taylor and Jonas Hodges, in which the battle of wits feels as epic as the physical battle going on down the road. This then gives way to a more reflective second half as Tony seems destined to get a pardon and Jack has a wonderful scene with Kim, in which Sutherland manages to disguise Cuthbert's poor acting skills, and then, of course, we have 'the big one'. This all makes for a highly engaging hour of television, shocking, surprising and entertaining virtually every step of the way. Let's cross our fingers and toes that Tony's turn doesn't transpire to be an ill-thought out damp squib.

Presentation Phase - » (9/10). The beginning was great, the conversation that Jack had with President Taylor was great.



Complication Phase - » (9/10). Again Tony has to be the hero, but then in the middle of the episode another complication happens and a real villain is revealed by the end of this episode.



Climax Phase - » (9/10). Exactly what you can expect filled with Tension and complication.



Ending - » (10/10). The type of ending that only two seasons was capable of creating.



Time and Scene Management - » (10/10). It is almost impossible to notice filler because it seems that all the scenes played was necessary.



Plot Details/Holes- » (10/10). Nothing that I can point. Tony attitude can be explained more later.



Surprises/Shocks/Twists - » (10/10). This type of twist, only season 1 episode 23 and season 5 episode 16 could do that, this type of plot twist is very shocking, when you things that someone of the main cast play for the good ones, the character actions shows the contrary.



Suspense/Tension - » (9/10). Some tony scenes provided great tension, the ending when appears that he will be killed provided excellent tension.



Drama - » (10/10). Jack illness had another pay off when Kim appeared to talk to her father, very emotional scenes, simply excellent. Also, another character is dead.



Action - » (8/10). Some shoots, good killings.



What I liked -» The ending, Larry dead, Hodges in Jail, Jack and his daughter scenes.



What I Didn´t Liked -» I think that at least the writers had to provide a logical explanation for what happened in the ending.



This episode will be remembered because it delivered an ending that only one episode in season 1 and season 5 could deliver, very rare.

Tony uses his skills to plant C4 on tanks filled with rocket fuel that will blast off the rockets filled with the pathogen.



9/10- awesome action, awesome execution. Tony finishes his solo performance of the day.



Jack meets Kim for the first time in a lot of years.



9/10- Amazing. the words said out of jacks mouth was amazing and very depressing. it shows the end conversation between kim and jack, and for that 5 minutes... it did not felt liked it wasted time.



One of the cannisters are stolen and Larry goes solo to catch him.



9.5/10- what can i say. this story only went for 7 minutes and it was the most shocking one. Larry lands the helicopter and jumps out while Tony stays back inside the helicopter. the man shoots at larry and likewise. The man gets a shotgun and shoots larry and he is also shot in the shoulder. Larry gasps for breath and tony comes saying larry to breathe slowly. The man lurks in again with the shotgun and larry tries to say " Tony, Tony, look back'. But instead, tony tells the man to freeze,says sorry to larry and suffocates him to death.

OK. Suffice to say spoilers will follow.



Day 7? Is this actually the case.....?

We are now on Day 7.3. The writers do not have the skills to stretch out a storyline to a Day's length. So what we have now is the 3 section. It was bad enough when Tony came up to Jack earlier in the season and whispered there were more terrorist threats brewing. But now with Jonas Hodges' Starkwood destruction I was just waiting for "I'm a small cog in a big machine" speech. And sure enough, there it is.



So what do struggling wirters do then? Make a perfectly good character bad. Poor Tony. What a rubbish reveal. There is no plausible way he would ever have his own agenda! no freaking plausible way....this stupid reviewer doesn't let me type in upper case. or else i would. no flippin' way! After working with Chloe and Bill undercover all this time? After doing everything he has........it just doesn't make sense.



And Jack? It'll be bloomin' awful if they just leave him dying in an office for the next lot of episodes.....



Poor showing. I am so disappointed with the "stop-start" momentum of this season.

Tense episode with plot twists and development. President Taylor has called off the air strike against the Starkwood compound because of the missiles armed with the bio-agent that they targeting American cities. Tony is still at the Starkwood compound in hiding and devises a plan to blow up the missiles using explosives he has and the rocket fuel they are loading the missiles with. Tony captures the men pumping the rocket fuel and successfully plants the explosives in the underground area next to the missiles where the fuel is stored. One of the Starkwood flunkies gets the edge on Tony and sounds the alarm. The Sharkwood men start to launch the missile. Unfortunately for Tony the detonator for the charges falls into a large cement crack and he is having trouble getting it out. Just in the nick of time tony gets the detonator and blows up the missiles.



During all of this unaware of Tonys' operations, Jonas Hodges is at the White House in the Oval Office with President Taylor making his demands, which include a seat at all foreign and domestic military planning and access to the information at the highest security level. President Taylor is called out of the Oval Office and made aware of the destruction of the missiles and bio-agent. Jonas and his sidekick are placed immediately under arrest.



Jack is getting sicker from the bio-agent exposure and the only thing that can save him is stem cell material from his daughter Kim. Well Kim had been trying to get in touch with him all day long and was even at the Senate hearings. Renee tells Jack that she is here to seem and he blows a piston telling Renee that she had no right interfering in his life. Renee informs Jack that Kim had been trying to get in touch with him all day. Jack still refuses the treatment because it could put his daughter at risk. They talk for a few minutes and seem to reconcile. Kim leaves Jack crying. I think she will provide what is needed to save Jack.



After the compound is blown up, Larry moves in to secure things. Another agent is shot and killed by a fleeing man who has a canister of the bio-agent in a bag. Larry and Tony come up on the situation and the man shoots Larry in the chest but he has a vest on. The man goes to shoot Tony, but he waves him off. Larry asks him what he is doing and Tony suffocates Larry. Tony and the other man leave with the canister of the bio-agent



A very tense episode with one question. Why Tony Why?

Tearjerker... not something I can say about a lot of 24 episodes. Where can I start? Let's start with the obvious. TONY! I don't understand what's going on at all. I knew between episode 10 - 14 of this season that something was going on but to actually be proven right is shocking. I don't understand. I've just re-watched the first 4 episodes of the season and I think that again he's undercover. Otherwise nothing makes sense. He got rid of the missiles. Either he is good or the writers have a lot of explaining in the next 6 episodes. The Jack and Kim scene was well done. It has been a while since we heard Jack say sweetheart or it's going to be ok. It was well done. We all know that Jack is going to get the treatment. What I don't get is even if he does, can he actually get well enough to kick Tony's A**. Or is this going to go on to the eighth season. Surely a recovery takes more than 6 hours. But Jack Bauer can make onion's cry. He can do anything.

The president has called off the whole air strike, a little puzzling unless your Jack Bauer. Jack steps up to the plate, suggesting to Tony that he litter the missile bunker with the remaining C-4. They take enough time to get the President's approval for the mission, which Tony carries out with relative ease. Yes, Tony single-handily took down two Starkwood operatives, planted the C-4, fought off their later attacks and managed to blow the rockets up even after dropping the detonator into a drain. Jonas arrives at the White House with Greg for a meeting with the president, he demands that Starkwood become the next major branch of the U.S Armed Forces, as soon as the presidents get word on the bio weapons been blown up, she get him arrested. Renee tells Jack that Kim is in the house waiting to see him, Kim is willing to help but Jack wants none of it and they say their good byes. The FBI are doing a clean sweep of the Starkwood compound until a random operative takes out two FBI agents, before getting shot one of the agents alerts Moss to the goings-on. He and Renee coordinate all available agents to converge on the quickly escaping operative, who is in possession of a mini-weapon. They quickly close in on the fugitive, the helicopter lands and Moss engages in gun-fire. Moss gets distracted for long enough to get hit, Moss warns Tony that he's next on the hit list, except Tony has the operative stand down! Tony then does the unthinkable and suffocates Moss on the spot. What the f***?

I am one of the few fans of "24" who does not have a hatred of Kim Bauer. Her character was not the strongest on the show, but she wasn't that bad. This time however, I can say she did not need to return. Kim's scenes with Jack look like they were taken out of an episode of "As the World Turns." They were too contrived and even a bit silly. The main story of this episode help save it from that mistake. Another fantastic performance by Cherry Jones. I like how the writers keep us guessing about Tony. Compelling.

Hi all,

I just have one word for this great season... amazing!!! This is truely this best series on tv.

About this episode... I was jumping on my chair hopping for Tony to blow up the missiles. Too bad Larry is gone, but I don't think Tony is the bad guy. We saw in all seasons of 24 that Jack can kill the "good guys" if that is important for the mission. IMHO I do think Tony found out something (and we know that Hodges said "this is not over yet") and he had to do something about it. If it was Jack, we wouldn't said he turned bad, we just would said, "it is his job." We still have 6 hours to go but I do hope that Tony proves to be one of the good guys.

What I love about this season? well before we had 2 or 3 major stories but we had to wait a couple of hours to see the problem solved... This season, on every 2 hours we see a new problem... great writing, great actors, excelent serie!!!!

whooooooo! That's how am going to begin this review and that's a combination of relief, anxiety, anguish, doubt, shock and satisfaction. Truth be said people, not many tv programs get to evoke and combine such feelings in a person but 24,..... damn it, it did arouse all those feelings in me via this particular episode. From Hodges putting the white house and the president in an awkward position to Almeida getting rid of Larry Moss and through ll this let us not forget that Bauer is dying. To cap on to this, they then bring Kim in for one of my most moving occassions on 24. This is precisely why 24 is and seemingly will be a show in it's own class

24 reminds me of a roller coaster ride; there are your your ups and downs, twists and turns and just when you think the ride is over it just takes you for another spin.



I know I stretched this one a bit, but you know what I mean.



We all know 24; there are 24 hours, which means 24 episodes and so far we've reached the 18 hour with 6 more hours hanging in the balance.



It all sounds a bit calculated but that is just how it feels.



I knew when Hodges easily met his defeat so early in the chapter, there had to be another twist.



Imagine Hodges boldly confronting the President, bragging on about protecting the same country he threatened to destroy...



He was actually amusing in the white house, imagining his upper hand, shoving missiles and a deadly virus up the Presidents sleeve. Still, after all he went through just to get the President to agree on his terms, giving him second chair to the President. I felt his capture was ... just to easy. I laughed at his rantings, trying to justify the prosecution of people; kill one to save thousands. In other words kill thousands just so that he could have a conversation at the white house, probably get the President to agree to his terms and maybe he might become President one day... really? Very doubtful his reign was ever going to last.



The President officially owed Jack a big one and seeing as she can't really give him the cure, I guess asking someone to give her updates on Jack's health would do... could she really help Jack?



She may owe Tony a big one as well after all he did risk his life to save his country... or did he?



I found it strange when one of the guards began acting suspiciously, making second rounds? Did you smell a rat there, because coincidentally Tony was able to apprehend him just at the same time he 'went out for rounds' walking him out with a gun to his head ordering the other guard to surrender his weapon.



In fact there were many things done just to easily:



--Tony throwing the bomb and blowing up the missiles--



--The FBI rushing in to save the day--



--Hodges being apprehended after all his work--



--Larry agreeing with Renee--



--The army men not putting up a struggle--



--Kim's surprise visit to save her father--



(Although the bit where she was trying to see him all day was believable)



...and finally



--Hodges giving the typical 24 cliche liner "You think this ends with me?"--



(Of course it doesn't) :)



When Larry raided in on Hodges parade and began praising Tony for his patriotism and giving what seemed like a pat on the back by taking his handcuffs off... for some strange reason I wondered about Tony. Hodges was in custody and the coast was clear, everything was back to normal, I somehow wondered how cool it would be for Tony to go bad right there, as soon as Larry took off those cuffs. Interestingly enough I imagined Tony overthrowing the guards after Larry gave him the 'you now have to face your crimes' speech and Tony just blatantly nodded in agreement.



It was still a surprising turn of events in the end (no pun intended), when Tony really was the 'bad guy'.



It was sad to see Larry go, an essential main character, to watch Tony stifle him to death (there is no coming back from that I guess), when ironically before he was trying to save him, applying pressure to the bullet wound.



That guy waited too long to pull that gun on Tony, then I knew Tony was bad for sure.



Do we need a moment to mourn Larry's death? .... .... .... ....



Okay, We must commend Kiefer Sutherland for his portrayal of Jack Bauer here and Eliza Cuthbert for her guest star appearance.



Jack's condition was depreciating as he lashed out at Renee for going behind his back and realizing that Kim wanted to see him all along. Trying to hide his sickness from his daughter by saying he was okay.. that was an understatement. At one point I thought he was choking Kim when he was hugging her... also the way he told Kim to leave.



Extra Treats



**Jack is usually the center point in each season, this time he has to stick it out because of his condition. Before I'm sure you thought nothing could keep Jack from doing what he did best (catching the bad guys-going off book). Maybe he's met his match.



**Tony still asked if Jack had a small chance of living because of Kim. Does that mean that Tony has a soft spot for Jack and there friendship actually meant something to him?



**What would Jack have done if he was on that plane with Tony? Would Tony have easily killed Jack? Maybe it was easier Jack was out of the way... seemed convenient.



**It looked like Renee and Larry finally saw eye-to-eye. They finally admitted their history to viewers and succumbed to the hectic day had since they've known each other. I thought that things we're surfacing too good between them as Renee wished Larry good luck. We haven't really heard that before from her. It just felt as though the writers were trying to give them closure... with good means too.



**How would the writers explain Tony's covert operation with Bill and Chloe, was that a sham too? Was Tony bad all along (all in due time I guess).



**Was Tony sharing sympathy with Larry while he was suffocating. It took Larry a long time to go out, maybe he has a very strong will to live, or was just to overwhelmed by Tony's treachery.



**At first when the showed the back of Kim's head, I wondered whether it was Eliza Cuthbert, but I knew she was guest starring before hand so it had to be her. She looked older, like daddy's little girl all grown.



**There was a lot of emotion between Jack and his daughter, made Jack seem more human. That reminded me of the first time watching Jack cry. Jack has lost everything in his life, including himself.



**The same guard Tony knocked out, was the same guy he teamed up with in the end. My suspicions were right after all there was something fishy there. Now what are they going to do with that missile?



**Did that worker ordered to fire the missile suddenly develop a conscience.



"Let's confirm it, maybe it was a false alarm"- a little to late buddy!



**Why didn't that officer cuff the guy who killed his colleague instead of pointing the gun at him? It takes up less energy and the element of surprise out of the picture... no cuffs maybe? Then it was very foolish of him to take his eyes off of him, ended up with a bullet in the back.



**Olivia was absent in this hour, still I really didn't miss her.



Interesting turn in events, but 24 seems to be getting a bit predictable. Love watching the action, but would love a bit more suspense as well.



Lexa



________________________



Three and a Half Stars



Grade C+ ________________________



Visit my blog for more reviews...



http://lexabuti.blogspot.com/

Jack proves (yet again) that he does not need to be involved in the hot handed action to impress us. His confrontation with Kim will manifest mixed feelings between 24 viewers, but in my opinion, every time Jack communicates with Kim on a personal level, Jack delivers 110% and brings me to an emotional state as well. But what was better this time was that Kim had me as well. They both did their jobs well and Kim added to the emotion a lot. It was a very realistic and dramatic scene and I felt it from the moment Jack walked into the room!







Tony infiltrating and blowing up the bioweapon was a phenomenal scene for Tony and I am glad he is the centre of attention now. Hodges meeting with president. Well, I have already stated this many times before, but Voight brings a whole new level of 24: from being the best show right now to staying the best show for the rest of eternity! Voight is amazing and was a fantastic choice. Kudos!







Together, Tony's infiltration scenes, Hodges' meeting with the president and Jack meeting Kim served as an excellent way to fill the episode prior to the huge, climatic twist at the end.









Tony is back to being unpredictable. We don not precisely what he is up to, but him placing his hand over Larry's mouth was a shock for everybody I assume, whether they liked it or not! 24 still manages to surprise viewers and the way its turning out, day 7 might crawl up to be my fav 24 season!

This was an incredible hour; so much happened. Picking up with Jack, he continues to deal with his illness and begins getting noticeably worse. He continues to refuse to contact his daughter and ask for her help with an experimental stem cell treatment that may save his life. Meanwhile Tony hasn't given up on bringing down Starkwood and attempts to destroy the pathogen that has now been loaded onto several surface to surface missiles targeted at various U.S. cities.



Under threat of a biological attack on U.S. cities by Starkwood the President meets with Hodges to hear a list of demands and to get a feel for his end game. This gives Tony the time he needs to destroy the missiles and the pathogen.



While the Larry and the FBI clear the Starkwood compound someone escapes with a canister of the toxin. Larry and Tony pursue the suspect by air finally catching up with him. A shoot out ensues where Larry is shot but alive. In probably the biggest twist of the season we find out that Tony is working with the suspect that stole the canister. He kills Larry and leaves us all what happens next.

As we reach the final few hours of the day things are heating up. The show continues to go along at a break neck pace but there still seems to be things that keep Jack and the team running around.



This week Tony tries to get out of the compound when he sees a fuel tanker loading up on rocket fuel. He tells Jack that he can blow up the compound and the missiles with the pathogen in them. The president approves of the act without giving the all clear and Tony executes on it. Meanwhile, the President meets with Hodges so as to stall time for Tony and find out what Hodges wants. Hodges tells her he essentially wants to be the fifth arm of the military and be privy to clasified information. The President refuses once the compound is destroyed and arrests Hodges.



Jack is getting worse at the FBI when he is told by Renee that Kim is there and that she has been trying to see him all day. Jack tells her that he is dying but refuses her help and says that he is dying and that she has to leave. This is touching storyline but since we all know that season 8 has been given the green light we know that Jack is going to make it.



There is a big twist at the end of the ep that makes sure that there is more to come. (SPOILER!) Tony and Larry persue a man from Starkwood who has a cannister that has the pathogen in it. Upon locating him they come under fire and Larry is shot by a shotgun. It becomes clear to Larry that Tony and the suspect are working together and is subsequently killed by Tony to cover his tracks. Tony tells his friend to hide out and wait for his call while he sticks with the FBI to avoid anyone finding out about him.



All this builds to a great finl few hours that will hopefully see Jack come out of the office and ba on the field.

Well I didn’t see that one coming. It turns out Tony Almeida is a bad guy after all, an honest and frankly not so pleasant surprise to me. And it’s a shame about Larry, too, I liked him a lot.

But still I take my hat off to the producers for taking this direction, I suspect it’s quite an unpopular move. I haven’t seen any other reviews or ratings of this episode yet, but I doubt it will be favored by many.

Hodges’ actions still seemed quite exaggerated considering his demands, simple lobbying and bribing could have got him just as far. Oh well, the guy’s a nutjob, and he makes a wonderful villain.

And we saw the return of Kim, under a lot of make-up. I know many fans have no love for her, to say it mildly. I never felt that strongly opposed to her, especially now she’s practically the only link between Jack and his old self. Tearful as the reunion might have been, it was all right to me. Now here’s to hoping she won’t screw up. And why is she at risk if they go through with the treatment?

A shocking twist at the end, but still leaves options open for the immortal Jack and Tony show, be it they’re going to be adversaries from now on.

This episode is essentially broken into three movements: the end of the Starkwood showdown, Jack's reunion with Kim, and the emergence of the next crisis. Two of those movements are easy to reconcile with the overall arc of the season and the continuity of the series. The third? Only time will tell, but it may be a hard sell.



Tony's demolition job at the Starkwood facility was well-done, and in a way, set the stage for his subsequent betrayal. His interaction with the Starkwood employees didn't feel quite right from the beginning, almost as if they weren't sure what he was doing. That could be 20/20 hindsight, but the scene didn't quite ring true at the time.



Jonas was definitely off the deep end, essentially blackmailing the President into handing military authority to a defense contractor. It certainly doesn't sound very good when Jonas has bioweapons pointed at civilian targets, but it's not hard to understand why Jonas would eventually come to the conclusion that Starkwood should have that seat at the table. After all, it's just one step beyond Starkwood's current position with the government. If anything, it highlights the potential problem with handing so much power over to a mercenary enterprise.



Of course, Jonas would argue that this is just a means of restoring the power of the people over their own defense, rather than keeping that power in the hands of the federal government. But in reality, Starkwood's operatives are loyal to the organization, not the American people, or they wouldn't have been ready to kill thousands to gain more political power. That detail makes the difference: Jonas was effectively trying to stage a mini-coup.



With that all said and done, attention turns to Jack, who is fading fast. Kudos to Kiefer Sutherland, who pulled off quite the performance, selling Jack's confusion and pain realistically without going over the top. The subsequent confrontation with Agent Walker, and then his heartfelt reconciliation with Kim, were nuanced enough for his personal career highlight reel. (Despite it all, isn't it likely that Kim will defy her father and undergo the procedure? Jack has to survive somehow, after all!)



It figures that Agent Moss would die mere moments after recognizing that his attitude regarding Jack Bauer was short-sighted. That it was Tony who killed him was a bit more shocking. If this is Tony's true allegiance finally coming to light, and he was playing Jack ever since the conclusion of the General Juma threat, then the writers have a bit of explaining to do. Even with all the questions surrounding Tony's recent activities, this seems a bit out of left field.



Even so, it could be designed to bring the philosophical underpinnings of the season full circle. At this point, it's clear why the government needs someone like Jack Bauer on their side, and what can happen when someone like Jack decides that he should attend to their own interests. Now it's time to explore, through Tony, why someone like Jack would choose to retain his loyalty. With six episodes left to the season, there's plenty of time to make sense of it all.

As much as I hated Larry in the beginning of the season, he actually got to be one of my favorite characters this season. Tony flips at the end of this episode, joining forces with the black guy. I'm not exactly sure how this happened to be honest with you. I think the twist itself was good, but it certainly needs to be built on. Kim comes to see Jack, which was one of my favorite scenes of the episode. I think I actually enjoyed the Renee and Jack scene a few minutes before that - just because the both of them had valid points. Jack knows that bringing his daughter in is going to make things harder for him, but Renee tells Jack that Kim was actually trying to get in contact with him since the beginning of the season. Tony is the new bad guy, as Jonas Hodges also leaves the show in this epsiode. He makes reference to this whole thing being bigger then anyone thinks it is, which could be expanded on with Tony in some of the episodes to come. Overall, loved the episode and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.

So Jack and the FBI manage to trick Starkwood, get Jonas Hodges arrested and the weapons destroyed. Case closed, no? No. It wouldn't be 24 without a fantastic series of plot twists and turns, and the shock came no more than from the fact Tony is indeed a traitor. Why, we ask, does a former CTU agent turn against his country? The death of Michelle? The corrupt government ruining his live? Why? I'm sure well find out in the coming hours, but this episode was what 24 is all about. Simply sublime episode. Definatley worthy of a ten out of ten rating.

I have no words - it was filled with major events from the start and the ending, the twist - it was shocking. I would not see that coming.



The pearl of this episode was non-stop action. There was no moment where they had lowered their tempo. They had emotions, thrilling excitement and very nervous moment. But what it is all about? We are still not sure. Most of the bioweapon destroyed and Tony on lose.. When I realized in the end what is going on.. it was.. I have no words.. But it was good before.. president "giving" the order.. Tony taking working it out, those dangerous minutes, or more like seconds, seeing what happened. Kim back for brief moment.. Jack dieing.. it was just episode what had it all..

This season of 24 certainly has been adventurous if nothing else. Ordinarly there are plenty of twists in the day but this season so far has had more turns then ever, and this hour has change the day once more.



It didn't take very long for Jack to figure out why the president called off the attack on Starkwood and Tony then is deployed undercover to take out the rockets containing the virus. At the same time Hodges goes off to meet at the White House with President Taylor. Voight shines once again in this episode as he confronts Taylor and lays out his demands, which would give him more power then the vice president. Tony was able to sneak into the compound once more by knocking out one guy and forcing another guy to get back in. Usually in action movies or tv shows the guy who is knocked out is meaningless, but it leaves the question how long does a guy who is knocked unconsious stays unconsious? Not longer then ten minutes apperantly and it almost ruins everything. Based on the previews from the last episode I thought that one of the rockets might actually have launched, but it was a trick for once. The missles and the virus were blown up. Hodges was arrested and the crisis once again seemed averted. Back at the FBI, Jack is still sidelined, his symptoms getting worse. That and he has to see his daughter, which he described as making his situation unbearable. I can't say I'm a big fan of the character but the meeting worked effectively enough Jack did send Kim away because the procedure might kill her, (Can't say that I know of how that would work, but I don't know enough about stem cell research). Either way, you know eventually she will do it anyway for Jack regardless of whether he wats her to.



Things are not over yet, and it turns out that a guy from Starkwood has gotten his hands on a container of the virus. Larry and Tony persue in a helicopter, but soon find themselves pinned down. It didn't seem like any path would be left out for them, well, at least one of them. Larry ended up getting shot and Tony, well, let Larry choke to death on his own blood. As great as it has been to see Tony working with Jack this season, the fact that Tony is once again on the wrong side is even better. He didn't seem fully good again and it's nice to see that it wasn't abandoned, though it does raise some questions. For starters, if Tony is truely on the opposite side, why did he tell Jack about a possible attack on the White House. And for that matter, why did he help Jack take down Starkwood? If he had left things well enough alone the president might have died in the White House and Hodges could have caused a lot of damage with the canisters. Not to mention, that nifty little device that he had at the beginning of the season seemed far more dangerous than a little canister. For that matter, what is Tony planning to do with one canister?



All those questions aside it was a very good episode of 24 and it was still a great twist. Based on the next episode preview Hodges still has a few more tricks up his sleeves. Will there be two villians working seperatly? After all, Hodges had Tony held hostage and beat him. More importantly, with Moss taken out of the game when will Jack get into it and for that matter, will he be up for it?

Over the last few years, people have given 24 a lot of backlash for replacing its suspense with ridiculous plotlines that drag on for too many episodes, characters that brought nothing to the table and just overall bad storytelling. Season 7, which I had low expectations for, continues to raise the bar and shock me in ways that I haven't been shocked since Seasons 1 and 2.



I'd like to say right now that Kiefer Sutherland deserves another nomination. The entire first half of the season was Jack Bauer being Jack Bauer; a killing robot that only cared about the goal and not about how he achieved it. However, the emotion portrayed by his character now that he's been exposed to the bio-agent is incredible. And the meeting between him and Kim was great. I'm glad to see they didn't make the FBI taken over by terrorists or something and put Kim in danger again. This ought to put all the "cougar" maniacs to rest, because she added a level of emotion to the episode that made it that much better. I do wish she would've stuck around in a way that wouldn't put her in danger, if only for one more episode. The cameo was short, and it left me wanting a little more.



And what can be said about the ending? It came as a complete shock to me; sort of like when I found out Nina was a traitor way back in Season 1. The look on Tony's face and especially Larry's face during the final scene was haunting and I got chills. I feel like now, the writers have a tough job ahead of them: explaining Tony's sudden turn without it coming across as contrived. It's easy for them to make Tony suddenly go from bad to good and back to bad again, but there needs to be a good explanation. I have faith though. This season has been good enough to shut up all of the people who have been complaining that 24 has lost its touch.



The show is certainly not back to the quality it was in the first couple seasons, but it's definitely right up there with the best. I don't think 24 could return to the greatness that once surrounded it, but it still doesn't fail to impress. Bravo, writers, and bravo, Kiefer Sutherland, for giving one great performance