24 4.10: "Day 4: 4PM - 5PM"

Written by Stephen Kronish and Peter Lenkov
Directed by Brad Turner

In which Jack’s resolution to Behrooz’s captivity leads him to the terrorists’ control center, while CTU discovers a connection between the property and someone in Audrey’s life…


Status Report

With this episode, the season arc jumps into the “complication” phase with both feet. In less than an hour, most of the possible leads are taken out of play and everything comes back to one or two sources of information. Meanwhile, the override device still hasn’t been located, and it’s becoming rather clear that the story is going to remain focused on the nuclear meltdown scenario and its aftermath. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially when the story is as dense as the current episodes would imply.

The first few minutes are spent in exposition mode, with the various characters all summing up the current situation and what everyone’s doing about it. This includes Navi, who dutifully explains things to Marwan from the terrorist point of view. Marwan helpfully mentions that the meltdowns are delayed by an hour or so by the fact that CTU has interfered, forcing each reactor to be handled individually. This places a very short window on the resolution of the override matter: by the end of the next episode, Marwan ought to be ready to finish the operation. At the same time, Edgar (still grieving from the previous episode’s drama) promises to try slowing things down even further. (This is typically what is known as “hedging one’s bets”, since the writers aren’t sure how they’re going to plot out future episodes.)

Curtis finally gets to interrogate Marianne, and it’s rather clear that he would love to use a few of the torture techniques that were used on Sarah. For some reason, that doesn’t happen, though some psychological torture is used instead. While Marianne doesn’t have much information herself, being only a pawn in the game, she does know where Powell kept his contact list. The fact that it needs her thumbprint for access seems odd, but she could have had full access to Powell’s plan, without really keeping the details in mind.

Far more quickly than one would expect from Navi’s plan, Jack repels down into the hospital laundry area and a brutal fight ensues. Jack quickly gets the drop on Navi, but then the inevitable happens: Behrooz picks up his father’s gun and drills the bastard through the back. Behrooz certainly had every reason in the world to do it, but from Jack’s perspective it couldn’t have been worse. Granted, Navi may not have been willing to talk, but it was still another possible source of information.

For those still waiting for something horrible to happen to Tony, this is a tense moment. Behrooz looks ready to go out in a blaze of glory, and it’s only the fact that the writers understand that the audience has something invested in him that has kept the plot thread viable. The writers nicely take the audience to the point where they are happy that a young terrorist shot his own father in the back out of revenge. As predicted, some reviewers finally figured that out, and noted how clever it was. Indeed, there are layers to the writing this season that have been overlooked by a lot of the audience!

To make matters worse, Dina promptly holds up her end of the bargain by revealing that she never really had the location of the override. On the face of it, this seems like a bit of a dodge, some excuse to keep up the tension. But Dina then explains that she can give the location where Navi handed the override over to those currently running the show (Marwan). Technically, she (and the writers) were being honest.

Somewhat less honest is the contrived reason for sending Curtis with Marianne to inspect Powell’s computer for the contact list. Driscoll should have been well aware of the fact that sending Curtis was the wrong idea, and considering her previous comments about remaining in command of her own organization, she lets Heller and Audrey run rings around her and make the call. Perhaps to remind herself that she can occasionally make decisive (if entirely wrong) calls, she gives Sarah a few excuses for the torture and lets the young woman go back to work.

Much of the season’s plot culminates, if only for a few minutes, in a single room’s worth of information. The terrorist hideout is an impressive piece of work, if only because it actually looks like a place where people would be able to plan things out in a logical manner. Usually, when such rooms are revealed, articles and photos are tacked up at random, as if a busy and cluttered workspace translates into intent. Far more disturbing is the methodical and progressive display of information for each phase of the operation. As the season marches on, it’s almost certain that the location will become a regular source of new leads for the investigation.

Very quickly, however, the plot turns in a direction that the writers carefully placed within view, but wisely left in the background: Paul Raines. Paul’s involvement makes logical sense. The terrorists used Heller’s son Richard, even without his knowledge, so it logically follows that they would be willing to use another disaffected family member to the cause. Also, every single character introduced thus far has been, in some sense, connected to the overall story. It was only a question of how Paul would end up having an effect; in this case, it could be highly significant to the relationship between Jack and Audrey.

Once again, Tony has the chance to get out of the situation cleanly, and Jack convinces him to make the more difficult choice and return to CTU with Dina and Behrooz. In all fairness, Tony has every right to wonder if getting back involved with CTU is the right move. Certainly Jack is being honest with him, but there’s no chance in hell that Driscoll is honestly open to the thought. She’s only going along with it because Heller would overrule her if Jack pressed on the matter, and she’s more than happy to let Tony hang himself again, even if only by appearances.

As it is, Heller is ready to rip her head off when he discovers that Audrey elected to distract Paul while Jack and the CTU teams are en route. Driscoll tries to tell Heller that Jack tried to stop her, as if Jack’s actions would reflect well on her, but Heller’s not stupid. It’s clear that Heller has come to the valid conclusion that Driscoll has little or no control over the situation, and that the real decisions are in Jack’s hands. And since Jack technically works for Heller, well, Driscoll is stuck following Jack’s lead.

Driscoll lets Tony handle the interrogation, going along with what Jack and Heller would prefer, but she also decides to use Sarah as her personal slave. Driscoll is looking for any excuse to claim that Jack and/or Tony are acting outside of protocol, so she can get back some measure of control (even though she clearly doesn’t deserve it). Sarah sees right through it, and uses Driscoll’s desperation to get her record repaired and a promotion on top of it. Driscoll, an idiot to the end, agrees. Apparently she’s not thinking about what happens if she doesn’t end up on top, and Sarah finds it more expedient to turn on her and report the underhanded office politics to Division.

As one would expect, at Powell’s office, Marianne claims not to know anything about Paul’s connection to the terrorist’s base of operations. In fact, Marianne claims not to know anything of any value. While this is in keeping with her character, it does begin to feel like a writing convenience, especially when the same people who killed Powell walk in, ventilate Marianne and the rest of the agents, and take Curtis into custody. Like previous seasons, the story is turning away from international terrorists towards something far more domestic. As predictable as this is, it does play to the paranoia surrounding mega-corporations and the secret agenda of those backing a more vague definition of the War on Terror.

This is mixed well with the tension of Audrey’s meeting with Paul, which quickly descends into something very disturbing. It’s clear that Audrey has no real intention of ever giving Paul a second chance, now that his possible connection to terrorism is becoming more and more probable, but it’s not at all good for her to see Jack confront Paul with violence. Despite the fact that Audrey understands the position that Jack is in, it’s going to be impossible for her to ignore the personal implications of the confrontation.

The general direction of Driscoll’s machinations and Jack’s confrontation with Paul suggests a dirty political scenario. Jack, in the time he has left, might have to take desperate action against Paul to get the necessary intelligence. Audrey is right there to see it and question Jack’s motivations. All it would take is one small misstep for Driscoll to claim that Jack stepped over the line, outside protocol, for her to get the upper hand. After all, if Audrey questions Jack’s motives, would Heller be so quick to defend him? Probably not, and if Tony happens to slip as well, Jack could find himself without allies in short order.

This is where the limited time frame comes into play. Marwan ought to be ready to trigger the other reactors within the next episode. That leaves more than half the season left, and the “complication” phase of the season arc typically extends until around episode 16. At the current pace, the fallout of the reactor meltdown crisis and the subsequent scramble to find the real culprits could easily coincide with politicized backstabbing at CTU. (This would also be the perfect time for Michelle to arrive on the scene; imagine her having to take sides between Driscoll and Jack/Tony…plenty of opportunity for tense drama!)

As often mentioned, all of these potential plot threads, even if they proceed exactly as predicted, are far more exciting and fascinating than the material at this point in the third season. The extra time may not have given the writers a chance to get ahead of the production schedule, but it did give them the kind of mental reboot necessary to think more capably on the fly. Even this episode, with more plot conveniences than many of the episodes that came before it, hangs together very well and delivers on its own promises. (If only FOX would stop pretending that every episode pushes the violence boundary!)

In the end, however, the writers have those plot conveniences to look back on and consider while pressing forward at breakneck speed. It’s not uncommon, when under a tight deadline, to get the “big moments” and essentials in all the right places, especially when there’s some experience to draw upon. The problem is that little errors creep in, here and there, and over time, it gets harder and harder to avoid the shortcuts that lead to stupid mistakes. The conveniences were easy enough to explain away this time; hopefully, the writers don’t let it get any worse than that in the future.


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode introduced even more complications into the story arc, even as the investigation seems to be gaining momentum with every minute that ticks by. The CTU intrigue was somewhat more grounded in this episode, promising future strife for Jack, but the writers avoided any unnecessarily overwrought subplots. There were some plot contrivances, but they were well within the context of the episode and easily dismissed. The writers should take care, however, to keep such shortcuts to a minimum.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10

Season Average (as of 4.10): 7.7