Here begin the final six hours, heavily revised from their first drafts—apparently the original plan for this episode was to have Jack learn of Tony's once-again-treacherous ways only ten minutes in. I hesitate to feel outright relief over that change, since I don't know what they had in mind for the remaining time. But damn me if the final draft doesn't put that time to good use!
Because FBI perimeters are worth a crap, Tony and Galvez spend the hour relying on strategy and deception rather than a magic disappearing act. Can you imagine a whole episode where Marwan actually puts effort into a getaway? Nah, who wants intrigue when we could just blow stuff up? Not to say that nothing blows up this hour; in fact, blowing stuff up is a major part of Tony's plan. But here it's played for suspense rather than the sake of Hollywood explodiness.
Character-wise…nothing special. Hodges' coconspirators show up and be all mysterious. And with Moss dead, Jack tries to comfort Renee and kinda makes with the awkward romantic motions (though he still comes off cooler than I ever did, and none of those girls were in mourning OR as pretty as Annie Wersching).
It seems that the strike let the writers remember that things don't necessarily have to progress rapidly to make for excitement. If only they always worked this way. And I'm sure I won't be taking those statements back anytime soon.
Hourly Highlight:
Tony the pickpocket, a.k.a. Jack the seizing weirdo.





