24

I didn't want to think it was possible, not this late in the season and not with that year off the writers got, but S7 has brought us a kinda mediocre episode. The interesting bits: Hodges gives the FBI information in return for witness protection, and Tony decides to release the prion within the next few hours (which was already a given).
Olivia is pissed about Hodges avoiding prison, 'cuz of her brother's death and all. First, directly blaming Hodges for that seems like a stretch. Second, even though it's her brother we're talking about, this new side to Olivia's character feels sudden and unearned, mainly because she's barely addressed Roger until now, if at all. They should've removed that reporter sex crap and instead given Olivia some emotional investment in Hodges/Starkwood's takedown. Without at least that, her behavior, while understandable, comes off unnatural. Kinda like Marwan's cost-effective yet cartoonishly phony greenscreen tumble. No, I'm never letting that royal screwup of a season go!
Also, this episode has its nose buried seriously deep in CTU's ass. Chloe's return and the CTU server reactivation are clearly designed to moisten our panties, and I'm not falling for such blatant glorification.
This is supposed to be an improvement over whatever the writers initially brainstormed? I guess I can only hope.

Hourly Highlight:
Jack confronting Hodges. Though it's not quite how I pictured it, especially with one of them lying in bed.

Jack Manages to Bring CTU back from the Dead.......lol it was funny when he had a break down in front of Janice. He said David Palmer. Twice lol. and CTU screens pop up all on the FBI's Desktops that was sick. When I saw that Happen I was like. Damn CTU is back with only 4 episodes Left. I wonder what CTU-lite as Janice calls it. I wonder wat CTU-lite is gonna do...and as for tony I can't believe his Bull crap. He picks the arab and holds him at gun point at the end of the episode. When I saw that. I was like F'K Tony Almedia.

Jack calls Chloe to come back to the FBI to reprogram CTU on to the FBI database.



7/10- drama filled episode, but good to get Chloe back and CTU back. Janis is so annoying !!!



Tony gains the pathogen into his control and decides to blame an innocent muslim man for the actions that happened today.



8/10- cool story,all cards are on deck to decide what to do with the cannister.But slow.



Jonas Hodges life hangs in the balance.



7/10- Jonas hodges is interrogated by Jack toughly,he is in a hospitable bed, he has to change his name, His bosses ultimatum is still onto him. this is not hodges day !!

With so few episodes to end this season, now was time to slow down and shows us more details and setups for the big event, which is still a little unpredictable.



Tony scenes in the beginning was excellent, that guy tried to take advantage of Tony, which is a dangerous thing to do and his dead proved it. Than Tony and this woman (which is his partner and they are hooking up), Tony have his own plan for the last canister. The conspiracy is larger than I expected, we have a group and somehow they have to be caught, how is a mystery for now. Then we saw Jibraan and his brother and Tony already entered in their house, couldn´t care for them in those scenes.



Jack scenes were interesting as usual. After he tells Renee about Tony, he has to tell President Taylor the same and after that, he has a interesting interaction with Hodges and Chloe is back because Jack asked her to help him, Chloe scenes was touching, nice drama. Then we have more details about the operation to find Tony or the person that they will use to make another attack.



The white House scenes was a little interesting, with President Taylor has a difficult choice to make, like David Palmer, President Taylor are gaining points with the audience little by little. Olivia seems more like Sherry and instead of supporting her mother, she decided to make another plan to take down Hodges.



Presentation Phase - » (8/10). Nice beginning, this episode centered in more setups.



Complication Phase - » (8/10)*2. Finding Tony or discover where the next attack will happen, doesn´t seems impossible with CTU servers in Chloe hands.



Ending - » (7/10). Nothing special, just setups.



Time and Scene Management - » (9/10). Seems that the majority of the scenes were necessary.



Plot Details/Holes- » (10/10)*2. I didn´t notice any flaws.



Drama - » (8/10)*3. The white house scenes centered in Drama. Chloe scenes too.



This episode focused more in Drama and setups for the next events.

The hour starts off with Jack telling Renee that Tony was in on the whole killing Larry thing and getting the deadly bio-weapon out of the perimeter. They tell the president whose not pleased but knowing Jack he comes up with a plan, Jack knows exactly what it will take to get Jonas to talk: proof of death. Tony meets up with Galvez in his motel, Tony wires the money into his account for the canister but Galvez plays hard to get with him ending up dead. Cara comes and Tony tells her of his new plan, instead of waiting 6 months for the next attack why not do it now? The plan gets the green light looks like they launch it during the morning rush hour. Olivia doesn't like the fact that mummy dearest is gonna give Jonas Hodges a get out of jail free card, Olivia gets in contact with a pal of hers probably to discuss in killing Mr. Hodges. Jack goes one on one with Jonas, Jack wants answers Jonas tells him what he knows. The plan was to launch simultaneous attacks in the next year, then outsource the blame to a random terrorist, who has a grudge with the government. When Renee confirms he's telling the truth, Jack recommends the President haul the old CTU servers out of storage and re-activate them immediately. Jack gets Chloe back into game; Janis doesn't like the Idea of re-vamping CTU servers that's when Jack gives her a piece of his mind.



Tony and his gang is outside their targeted terrorist is place, this is the guy they wanna use in their plan. They move in cutting power to the apartment before busting in.

In eager anticipation from last week's betrayal, I awaited the Jack and Tony cliffhanger; how was Tony going to 'handle' Jack now that Jack knew of his deception?

It was either Jack's life would be in danger (however short), or Tony would have to head for high ground, because his cover was blown and it wouldn't be too long till Jack revealed Tony's treachery.



I found it amusing; watching Jack struggle to get the words out:

"T-Tony's T-Turned"...



It reflected his disbelief towards his old friend actually turning. Tony was actually going to pull that trigger, he was really going to kill Jack! Kind of hard to absorb in all at once.



When Jack broke the news to Chloe, she bore a sense of denial. I don't blame her, how do explain the undercover gig he did with Bill, the friendships he took years to build, just *poof* gone!

...but Jack was convincing enough right?

"He tried to kill me Chloe, he's Bad!" That meant 'don't argue with me I know what I am talking about!'

I have to agree with Chloe on this one, I know he tried to kill Jack, but Jack isn't dead and he hasn't really done anything ruthless (for us to see anyway). You must admit, Tony hasn't really proven he wasn't ever good at all or that he is one hundred percent bad!

Think back to when everyone believed Tony was a ruthless savage, when he was working for Colonel Iké Dubaku. He showed relief towards the people in the planes when he gave the order to "pull up". Maybe that was a front for Bill and Chloe and I am still absorbing these changes in events.



So Tony may have been working with Hodges, Tony was the 'other people' President Allison Taylor should pay heed to.

Hodges tried to do all the wrong things for the right reasons, in his own twisted perspective. He believed that he was actually doing something good, so do these new group of people, including Tony's new girlfriend, represent Hodges' interest in a less perverse way. (I suspected it, but it was still out of sort to see Tony kiss her)

Hodges made it through the another hour after the prescription pill of induced death didn't work. As he continued his rantings I found myself wondering 'why didn't that pill work!', while he continued to rant about them.



Hodges "You don't know what you've done, now they are going to kill them!



Hodges' family obviously meant something to him, enough to take his own life to protect them. It was still sloppy of him saying what he said 'now they are going to kill them';

Hodges you just admitted that there were people powerful enough to warranty your fate and that power was using your family to ensure your mouth was permanently shut!



I imagined Jack would have used his family to get Hodges to talk.

'You wouldn't have to worry about them taking your family's life, but about what we'll do to them if you don't talk!'

...but they played a different card, instead guarantying that his death was successful, less messy I guess!

It even gave Olivia motive to warranty Hodges' death herself. It seems as though everyone wants Hodges dead, definitely not good being in his shoes. As for Olivia, no one messes with her family and gets a condo in California! At least that what was I thought she mentioned (correct me if I'm wrong).

That moment between President Allison Taylor and Olivia was heart felt, but I really couldn't grieve with them. We hardly got to know Roger Taylor played by Eric Lively in 24: Redemption. He was marked as killed before we even got a chance to know him really so sadly I couldn't appreciate Olivia's vendetta towards Hodges.



Funny to mention, I disliked Olivia much more when she was at war with Ethan Kanin.



This wasn't one of Hodges' best performances either. Maybe after his true vendetta was revealed there wasn't any need to make his character more appealing and show a bit more difficulty in revealing 'the group' involved out of mistrust from the government.



Couldn't Renee interrogate Hodges instead, was Jack really the best candidate in his state. Although on the other hand, Renee did mention to Janis that Jack's job was what kept him going, so in a way Renee was giving Jack his medicine of adrenaline.



Extra Treats



**Did Olivia order a hit for Hodges? That's what I got out of the 'code' language on the phone.



**So Tony killed Larry. Would Renee be seeking blood, she did feel a bit of hate towards him as she figured that Tony was the one she should gear her anger at.



**Janis Gold is one character which has been underused much in the last few hours, I really enjoy her contributions.



**I felt sorry for Janis when Jack began yelling at her. Jack control yourself, she isn't the enemy! You really want to take out that rage on Tony.



**I enjoyed that brief scene between Chloe and her child, Prescott O'Brian, hugging her son like she somehow wasn't going to see him again. Chloe has a lot to lose now.



**The FBI would've seen what it was like to work like CTU operatives, it was just a matter of time!



**What does Tony, his new girlfriend and the group want with that bio-weapon, should we be worried!



**I did mention Tony's girlfriend, seems like her natural color isn't blonde after all.



Finally, 24 seems to be taking us around a few circles and I am getting a bit dizzy picking up the pieces of the puzzles they lay down.

Still not one of my favorite hours to count through.



Lexa



For More Reviews See Below:



http://lexabuti.blogspot.com/



____________________________________



Three and a Half out of Five Stars



Grade C-

____________________________________

Interestingly, while this is something of a transitional episode, beginning the process of setting things in motion for the events that will unfold in and around the - undoubtedly explosive - finale, it is also thoroughly engaging, which is something of a rarity among 24 episodes of its ilk. Usually, these hours contain a considerable amount of padding, trundling along at a fairly mediocre pace, and tend to be average at best. However, '3am - 4am' circumnavigates this problem through the implementation of a number of sophisticated techniques. First, there is its continuation of the narrative saturation that began last week, as minor clues as to the nature of the mysterious group that is pulling all the strings behind the scenes are peppered throughout the hour. We don't get wholly conclusive answers but certain elements are uncovered and we begin to understand Tony and the LAWYER FROM HELL's mutual motivations. I think, at this point, we have to give up on the notion that Almeida's betrayal will ever be anything other than a shocking plot twist, with the most surface-level of attempted explanations (the government failed him after Michelle's death and he wants revenge), but frankly, I'm okay with that. This is the Tony I wanted to see from the moment they introduced him as the potential bad guy in the first episode, even if the logistics of his apparent assistance of the FBI and Jack seem a little baffling and hell, at least they haven't made it 'all about the money', since HE is the one suggesting that they commit another atrocity within the next few hours. The strategy that is subsequently implemented is highly interesting and it's good to actually see it being orchestrated from the villain's perspective, rather than simply having the good guys react to intel or a series of events. It lends a certain eeriness to the proceedings, selling the threat to a greater extent. And how good is the scene in which EVIL LAWYER discusses the plan with the shady group members? Joseph Hodges deserves major credit for the considered use of technology in constructing dramatic ambiguity: the disguised conference call is thoroughly logical and brilliantly covert. Add to that Michael Klick's superb direction, using minimal lighting and filming from behind objects to make the group members barely visible, and you have a scene that forces the viewer to be active in their response, squinting to catch a glimpse of the individuals or trying to peer around the objects in a manipulation of visual dimensions. '3am - 4am' is also marked by several other excellent sets of scenes, not the least of which is Jack's confrontation with Hodges, in which Sutherland and Voight are absolutely pitch perfect in their delivery. It's also wonderfully shot, all grainy camcorder angles on Jonas and shadowy lighting on Bauer. Then there's President Taylor's dressing down of her daughter, which is a delight to see, Jack's excellent, excellent shouting down of the terminally irritating Janis (a nation high fives itself!) which is even supplemented with a harrowing descent into the effects of the virus, and Chloe's reaction to both Bill's death and Tony's turn, in which Rajskub is surprisingly and pleasingly subtle. The only mildly objectionable element to speak of is Olivia's determination to kill Hodges but even this is passable due to its believability, and I'm only really ranting because I loathe her character. Actually, within this, there's even something to praise: the man that Olivia contacts to recruit for the job is briefly seen in bed with another man. It's very much a 'blink and you'll miss it' moment, and it isn't referenced or acknowledged in the dialogue at all, which, frankly, is a huge step in the right direction in terms of televisual representation of non-hetero sexualities. It's a throwaway feature, entirely inconsequential... exactly as these things are in reality. 24, you just about made my day with that most minuscule of details. Now, if you can just remove the references to the FBI being 'CTU lite' (which we all already know), that'll be grand, thanks. Pretty excellent stuff.

This episode can be described as the calm before the storm. This is clearly intended to set the stage for the season finale, and I would like to say it has done so and very well. Jon Voight has been a welcome addition to "24" this season. Though his part in this episode is a small one, he carries his scenes very well. The scenes of President Taylor and her daughter debating over Hodges' fate are another thing that makes this episode work so well. The viewer can really feel their emotions as they struggle to deal with the crisis.

Who is this guy playing Tony and what happened to the one we knew back from Seasons past? Tony has become a completely different character, focused only one thing: sending America into chaos. I'm still positive that he has an ultimate endgame that is different than Starkwood's and the other people's that are responsible for these attacks. I've heard different rumors, but nothing 100%. I'm intrigued and find myself actually invested in the plot, unlike last season, where I stopped caring after Fayed was killed.



Jack's illness from the canister makes for some good storylines too. It's always cool when Jack beats up and kills some bad guys, but it's also nice to see some genuine emotion from him, and there's been plenty of that this season.



It was also nice to see Chloe back! It annoys me sometimes that they bring characters back, make them disappear for seven or eight episodes at a time, and then bring them back. It happened with Tony earlier, and they did it with Chloe afterwards. Now that everybody's back in the game, the final four episodes should be excellent. Also.. seeing Jack explode on Janice and name-drop David Palmer twice was cool, even if it was sad to see Jack descending even further in the sickness.



While there wasn't necessarily as much all out action as last week, there was still enough tension to make up for it. This season has been great at keeping everything interesting on a consistant basis. Right now, it's right up there with Season 2 and Season 5 for me (and those are my two favorites).

I am still trying to wrap my mind around Tony being the bad guy. I can believe it, because of what he went through in losing Michelle...have to admit that I did see this coming a few episodes back when he told Jack that there was another threat looming. In this episode we are introduced to a group of bad guys apparently worse than Jonas Hodges. They did not seem very threatening to me, and I'm sure there is more background to come. The episode was decent build-up to whatever horror this group is going to enact on the show so I'm looking forward to next week's and see what cliffhanger is going to happen next!

There was not a lot of action in this episode and the plot didn't advance very far but a lot happened. We learn that Jonas Hodges did not succeed in killing himself and is in a hospital room at the FBI. This will unfold shortly.



Tony meets up Galvez to get the canister of bio-agent. Tony gives him the money, but Galvez has hidden the canister. Galvez has gun on Tony when he turns around, but Tony get the upper hand in the situation. Tony kills Galvez in the process of finding out where the canister is. Meanwhile the lady who have Jonas Hodges the capsule to kill himself comes into the room where Tony is. Tony suggests they use the canister and strike today. She says she will have to bring it up to the rest of the group.



The is a meeting of the group of homegrown terrorists and they all agree to detonate the canister that day. They will setup a Muslim making it look like he carried out the terrorist attack.



Back to Jonas Hodges; he is interrogated by Jack Bauer for information on the larger group who were responsible for the days events and who will detonate the canister that Tony was able to get away with. He does not know the names of any of them because all of their meeting were do anonymously. It is unknown weather he will get his deal of a death certificate allowing his family to live.



By order of the President the old CTU servers are to be brought back on line to track down the group that is responsible for the threat. Jack calls Chloe to get the computers operational.



Aaron Pierce approaches Olivia Taylor for some paperwork that is needed for the Attorney General. It is the witness protection documents for Jonas Hodges. She tells the whole story to Aaron Pierce and he is very sympathetic towards her. After Aaron leaves she calls someone to help her with the problm (more to be revealed) Jack is loosing it. He screams at Janice (best part of the episode) but says President Palmer instead of President Taylor.

It's been clear since the beginning of the season that the plot arc was all about the restoration of Jack Bauer and, by extension, CTU. And sure enough, that aspect of the story takes a big step in the right direction in this episode. It may be framed as a temporary situation for now, but President Taylor has all but noted to everyone that matters that CTU clearly has its place.



It was a little surprising to learn that Jonas Hodges survived, since his death seemed to be a done deal. Initially, it seems a bit far-fetched, but it turned out to be a smart move. Not only did this allow the writers to continue the overall philosophical torture and patriotism debate, complete with a showdown between Jack and Jonas, but it's going to lead to escalating tension between President Taylor and her daughter.



Frankly, it never made sense for Olivia to be made acting Chief of Staff, and it's ludicrous to think that no one in the rest of the Taylor administration would have objected by now. Olivia's inability to see how her mother's stance is a necessary tactic speaks to her inexperience. She's not suitable for the role she is playing. As seen a thousand times over in the real world (and as established several times on "24"), sometimes it is necessary to lose a battle to win a war.



Setting aside the fact that the scene was structured as a glorified product placement, the conference between Tony's hot terrorist friend and the rest of the private-sector domestic terrorists was quite interesting. Not only does it place this particular season in context, but it also could set the stage for next season as well.



It also ties back into the notion that the decommissioning of CTU and the disuse of agents like Jack Bauer, essentially the moth-balling of black-ops within the intelligence community, can lead to the emergence of threats that would otherwise be recognized much earlier in the game. This is strongly suggested by the need to bring in the CTU servers, CTU protocols, and Chloe. (And how great was Jack's smackdown on Janice, for so many reasons?)



With only four episodes left, this may have felt a little too slow and methodical for some, but considering that the writers retooled the final six episodes to strengthen the impact of the finale (and likely, set the stage for Day 8), patience is likely to be rewarded. After all, this has been the most consistent season of the series in a very long time.

I am finally convinced about Tony being a bad guy. Really wasn't hsppy about it at first, but the explanation was good enough for me. I couldn't really fault this episode, and considering there was quite literally no action until the last minute they did a great job here, keeping me interested with dialogue as opposed to explosions. It was more logical developments in the Tony plot this episode as a opposed to on the spot decisions, and I thought the motives were sound, and properly explained, which they have skimmed over in the past. Tony's wife died due to incappable government, therefore wants to show America government is incappable, therefore ring in better equiped private armies. Fair Enough. Not saying I agree for a second though!

Day 7 has been pretty good and with the finale approaching, I`m wondering if they will be able to top the white house attacks this season. I don`t think so but there`s is definitely room for some great stuff.

Anyway,there`s another attack coming. Not very surprising and again far fetched but still acceptable. Tony is definitely more involved now compared to earlier this season. However he is quite a confusing character. Of course, now he is an established villain and all but it definitely feels over the top and bring some questions that will probably remain unanswered.

Other than that, the Jack dying arc is very interesting... specially because it is a new twist, not a recycled one and is working well. His altercation with Janice in the end was great...specially the president palmer part.

The highlight of the episode was Jack interrogating Hodges. It was superb and well acted. Interesting to see they are similar in certain ways.

White house drama was pretty uninteresting...Olivia`s concerns doesn`t really catch my attention.

So new attack on the way and probably an ultimate showdown between Jack and Tony. Can`t wait!

Now...I'm convinced that Tony is still GOOD. He is doing what is necessary to get inside the network, and he is the ONLY one who can do it. He has to sacrifice innocents to save the nation and he has to look completely committed to the cause. Mark my words....Tony will come through for Jack before this is over. Jack is looking sicker and sicker. That's unnerving to us "Jack fans"...but Keifers acting is superb. With CTU back up and Cloe back on board the last 4 episodes should be classics. The preview to the next episode was very vague. They obviously do not want to give anything away. So I expect next weeks episode to reveal a lot, and maybe surprise. Man this is gettin' good!

It wasn't bad - no way.. It was great story, great char moments and some developments but in some way it was a pause after the last storm and probably before the final story coming.



One thing I liked was that Chloe was brought back in - and that they "reopened" CTU. I have missed that place and the way they dealt with it, it was great. I liked the way with Chloe it was like step back as she did not even know sure about Bill and nothing about Tony.



And I am happy that the finally made a endgame for Olivia too. She has been around and having to seem her own agenda but then her storylines just fades - it looks like now she has something of her own and it might be great one.



The whole thing with Tony.. I do not know. I cannot say I like it and probably would be too harsh to say I don't like it.. I liked Tony char but what they have turned him now.. it is weird, put of what you expect and.. Last week I was excited about that turn but not anymore.. It looks weird, unexplained.. maybe there will be answers but..



As I said before - mostly episode to set the stage for things to come. Sadly, I expected more.

I wouldn't call this one of the best episodes of this season. It wasn't really that thrilling. The scene between Jonas and Jack was really good. I didn't expect the final showdown between the two actors to be in a hospital though. I guess this makes Tony the big bad guy which is still a bit odd for me to get to grips with. There isn't any hope of him being good though.



I'm glad Chloe's back. I've been waiting forever. The David Palmer reference was really good. CTU's back and running... finally which sets us up for season 8 nicely. To go back to Tony, I think he might be in season 8. It's going to have to be Jack ultimately that kills him and seeing that he's ill at the moment, I don't think it's going to happen any time soon. 3 weeks to go and it's all over.