24 4.15: "Day 4: 9PM - 10PM"
Written by Joel Surnow and Michaell Loceff
Directed by Bryan Spicer
In which Marwan uses Jack and Behrooz to distract CTU from information regarding his true target, while infighting between Chloe and Edgar inadvertently aids that effort…
Status Report
Ever since the resolution of the nuclear meltdown scenario, the writers have been casting about for a sense of direction. The result has been a series of uninspired transitional episodes and a loss of narrative momentum. Whereas events were unfolding at a blistering pace during the crisis itself, each hour barely moves the story forward lately. There are signs that this will change as the arc moves into the “resolution” phase, but so far, the “complication” phase has been disappointing.
The middle of the season is the most dangerous stretch for the writers of “24”. For the most part, this is a self-inflicted wound. The producers made the early decision, after the first 13 episodes of the first season, to leave the plot arc “open” so that changes forced by real world considerations or an unpopular topic could be “corrected” with relative ease. Pre-planning such things is nearly impossible; even when contingencies are in place, ala “Babylon 5”, timing can still throw everything out the window. So flexibility has its strong points.
Unfortunately, the downside is that the lack of a plot outline or strong sense of direction leaves the writers with a constant struggle to keep the narrative moving forward at a consistent level of quality. That requires lead time. And as mentioned several times this season, once the lead time for each episode disappears, the writers are working without a net. Since the middle of the season forces the writers to create a scenario where moving the pieces on the chessboard in preparation for the true gambit is interesting to watch, they typically fail in some respect.
This season, the writers have relied too much on contrived CTU drama to generate the appearance of forward progress. The fact is, they don’t want to trigger the big surprise until episode 16 (the end of the “complication” phase) and they didn’t know what to do with the terrorists once the meltdown was averted. So while they were marking time with the terrorists, they had to make up something to shove into the episodes.
This episode actually manages to address the strategy of the terrorists, which is a better move than pointless battles with mercenaries. The central issue (rescuing Jack by making a trade) is still ridiculous; however, that was the result of the previous episode. With the situation already in place, the writers have to deal with it, and they do a fairly good job making it interesting. Marwan leads CTU on a string, and while CTU seems to know it (at least somewhat), they also realize that there’s not much they can do about it.
The strength of the episode is undermined, however, by the glacial pacing and the inane antics between Edgar and Chloe. Add to that the seemingly endless interruptions by Audrey (who clearly is ready to kick Jack to the curb but can’t bring herself to admit it), and it’s obvious that the writers were stringing out the story so that the exchange would take place at the very end. With the same basic problems still haunting the entire production at this point, it really comes down to the fact that there are more enjoyable scenes in this episode than the past few installments. It’s a matter of subjectivity, granted, but some people actually come across as intelligent despite the contrived nature of the story.
For instance, to ensure that Marwan’s plot culminates in episode 16, where the next big revelation was already long expected, there’s a mechanical failure that delays Anderson’s flight. This sets up the whole thought process behind the episode: if CTU had their act together, then they might have been able to stop whatever’s coming. This much is true, but the damage at CTU had already been done long before this point in the story. Driscoll’s abysmal management style made it impossible for anyone to pick up the pieces, even without the writers introducing cattiness at the very worst moment.
There’s an early scene between Tony and Michelle that really could have used some polish. For one, Michelle comes across as completely unreasonable, when this is not really the case. Michelle has good reason not to want Audrey to interfere; Audrey is currently the DOD representative, as Chloe later mentions, and there are major jurisdictional issues still lingering from Heller’s decision to give Tony command of CTU. And technically, Audrey has no “need to know” on Jack’s status. It’s entirely personal, and while Tony owes Audrey and Jack some small measure of gratitude for their support, he loses perspective.
The subsequent scene between Jack and Marwan is much better, if only because it highlights one of the major themes of the series. “24” has always been a running commentary on patriotism, positive and negative. Jack’s patriotism and belief in “The American Way” presents an ironic dichotomy: in the name of preserving the principles of idealistic freedom, Jack and his allies repeatedly commit horrific acts. One would like to believe that the writers had this firmly in mind when they had Jack debate with Marwan about the American spirit. How many Americans would knowingly accept the actions taken on their behalf?
The shell game between Marwan and CTU begins when the family of the pilot killed in the previous episode is discovered by local police, and Marwan must find a way to divert the attentions of CTU while Anderson struggles to get in the air. While Marwan hasn’t been all that smart in the past, this is an episode that demonstrates his cunning. After all, this is the man that apparently masterminded a long-term plot over several years. He’s not an idiot.
Marwan is well aware of the fact that Behrooz is in CTU custody, and that it would be of value to use Behrooz as a distraction. So he calls CTU and suggests a trade. Ultimately, Behrooz is unlikely to provide Marwan with anything of real advantage, other than the fact that CTU seems to care about his welfare. By placing Behrooz in an apparent importance, Marwan forces CTU to either turn their attention to what Behrooz might gain them, thus exposing their true colors, or to wring their hands over the decision to stick to principle and sacrifice Jack. In either case, Marwan gets to keep CTU’s attention on him and not on the police reports that could give CTU a lead on Anderson’s operation.
What the writers miss, in their desire to fill the time, is the rather obvious fact that CTU should be more than distracted by the hunt for Marwan, eliminating the need for a ridiculous subplot involving Edgar and Chloe. Chloe has certain reasons for her sense of entitlement, and perhaps Edgar has reasons to resent Chloe’s reinstatement. Edgar’s behavior is the hardest to understand, because it’s an abrupt shift from earlier in the season. Whatever the case, they all spend so much time bickering and lingering over other personal issues that one can’t help but wonder why they say they don’t have time to do their jobs.
Between Tony and Michelle, who seem to be working rather well together under the circumstances, the decision is made to get Medieval on Behrooz. While CTU has always been a little free and loose with the torture, this season has brought its use to a new height. Taken in context with Jack’s comments to Marwan, this is philosophically and psychologically disturbing. But it adds a certain layer of moral ambiguity to the “good guys” again, which was an important element of the stronger episodes this season.
Much of the episode is spent covering how Marwan’s gambit unfolds within CTU. Distraction after distraction gets in the way of noticing a detail that may or may not connect to the big picture, especially since the focus has been lost since the meltdowns were averted. Along the way, Chloe even gets to spell out Audrey’s current dilemma to the audience, all the while citing her blunt and insensitive manner. Truth be told, Chloe is hardly as abrasive as she was in the third season, and that softer side has endeared her to many fans who initially hated her guts. The attempt to use her previous mannerisms for the sake of exposition is incredibly forced.
Once Bill Buchanan arrives, the CTU response begins to pick up a bit of steam and gravitas. As unfortunate as it is, the writers seem to have decided that Michelle is not as strong a leader as she should be. Why this is the case is beyond explanation, especially since she was promoted to Division. (Of course, previous leaders from Division have been far from perfect, so perhaps it’s something in the water over there.)
The meeting with Buchanan, however, gives the team a chance to work out a strategy and attempt some kind of response. This is significant because it’s very easy to believe that the CTU personnel actually know how to do their jobs as experts on counter-terrorism, at least after seeing them working together in common purpose. This is necessary to demonstrate how clever Marwan is, since the best response is still playing right into his hands.
Could CTU have done anything differently? Not really. Besides not giving Marwan her name (a very dumb move), Michelle is completely dependent on whatever opportunity Marwan presents at this point. CTU has no other lead, and their last (foolish) attempt failed miserably. Using Behrooz is really the only option left, as Buchanan’s questions eventually revealed. As stated earlier, CTU’s hands were tied by earlier decisions; they played this scenario the only way they could, and for that matter, with a dispassionate use/abuse of a civilian in the process.
The abuse of Behrooz could actually become a plot point, if the writers recognize the opportunity. Behrooz may not have known much about Marwan, but he now has some minor knowledge of CTU and their methods. Ironically, Behrooz had issues with the terrorism at the beginning, but now he has personal examples of how the US government has lied and cheated him. Marwan could use Behrooz as an example; for that matter, Behrooz could offer himself as a loyal soldier for Marwan in some act of vengeance against Curtis or Jack. In other words, Behrooz and his experience could become an interesting commentary on how the methods of the United States sometimes fuel the fires of its enemies.
The end of the episode unfolds in predictable fashion. Jack is rescued, and his short imprisonment in Marwan’s lair gave him the opportunity to lead CTU right to the terrorists’ doorstep. Anderson finally gets in the air, and of course, the assumption is that he is planning a suicide run on Air Force One using a stealth fighter. The only doubt is whether or not Marwan’s distractions will be successful.
It would certainly make things more interesting if they were. As noted in the review for the previous episode, one thing that makes this season so interesting is the success of the terrorists. Allowing the black hats a measure of victory late in the third season gave that arc a massive jolt of much-needed consequences. The fourth season has shown the terrorists operating with much more success, constantly using CTU and other agencies against themselves. It would only make sense for Marwan to continue with his success. This would thrust the series even further into Tom Clancy territory.
As interesting as the probable consequences might be in terms of Anderson’s operation and Behrooz’s loyalties, there’s not very much to the episode. Marwan is very clever, using a simple misdirection to throw CTU off its game, but too much time is spent rehashing details and bringing the audience up to speed for this to work on its own. As with many of the recent episodes, there’s the feeling that the writers are marking time until the events coming in the next episode. The result is another hour filled with transitional elements that don’t move fast enough to measure up to the strengths of the “meltdown” plot thread.
Final Analysis
Overall, this episode is another in a series of transitional episodes that seem to be marking time until the explosive events of episode 16. There are some interesting possibilities laced within this episode, especially concerning Marwan’s ultimate goal and the effect of this episode’s events on Behrooz, but the pacing is incredibly slow and there are many scenes that just fall flat. Things are looking up for the next episode, so hopefully this is the last of the mid-season slump.
Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 0/4
Final Rating: 5/10
Season Average (as of 4.15): 6.7
Directed by Bryan Spicer
In which Marwan uses Jack and Behrooz to distract CTU from information regarding his true target, while infighting between Chloe and Edgar inadvertently aids that effort…
Status Report
Ever since the resolution of the nuclear meltdown scenario, the writers have been casting about for a sense of direction. The result has been a series of uninspired transitional episodes and a loss of narrative momentum. Whereas events were unfolding at a blistering pace during the crisis itself, each hour barely moves the story forward lately. There are signs that this will change as the arc moves into the “resolution” phase, but so far, the “complication” phase has been disappointing.
The middle of the season is the most dangerous stretch for the writers of “24”. For the most part, this is a self-inflicted wound. The producers made the early decision, after the first 13 episodes of the first season, to leave the plot arc “open” so that changes forced by real world considerations or an unpopular topic could be “corrected” with relative ease. Pre-planning such things is nearly impossible; even when contingencies are in place, ala “Babylon 5”, timing can still throw everything out the window. So flexibility has its strong points.
Unfortunately, the downside is that the lack of a plot outline or strong sense of direction leaves the writers with a constant struggle to keep the narrative moving forward at a consistent level of quality. That requires lead time. And as mentioned several times this season, once the lead time for each episode disappears, the writers are working without a net. Since the middle of the season forces the writers to create a scenario where moving the pieces on the chessboard in preparation for the true gambit is interesting to watch, they typically fail in some respect.
This season, the writers have relied too much on contrived CTU drama to generate the appearance of forward progress. The fact is, they don’t want to trigger the big surprise until episode 16 (the end of the “complication” phase) and they didn’t know what to do with the terrorists once the meltdown was averted. So while they were marking time with the terrorists, they had to make up something to shove into the episodes.
This episode actually manages to address the strategy of the terrorists, which is a better move than pointless battles with mercenaries. The central issue (rescuing Jack by making a trade) is still ridiculous; however, that was the result of the previous episode. With the situation already in place, the writers have to deal with it, and they do a fairly good job making it interesting. Marwan leads CTU on a string, and while CTU seems to know it (at least somewhat), they also realize that there’s not much they can do about it.
The strength of the episode is undermined, however, by the glacial pacing and the inane antics between Edgar and Chloe. Add to that the seemingly endless interruptions by Audrey (who clearly is ready to kick Jack to the curb but can’t bring herself to admit it), and it’s obvious that the writers were stringing out the story so that the exchange would take place at the very end. With the same basic problems still haunting the entire production at this point, it really comes down to the fact that there are more enjoyable scenes in this episode than the past few installments. It’s a matter of subjectivity, granted, but some people actually come across as intelligent despite the contrived nature of the story.
For instance, to ensure that Marwan’s plot culminates in episode 16, where the next big revelation was already long expected, there’s a mechanical failure that delays Anderson’s flight. This sets up the whole thought process behind the episode: if CTU had their act together, then they might have been able to stop whatever’s coming. This much is true, but the damage at CTU had already been done long before this point in the story. Driscoll’s abysmal management style made it impossible for anyone to pick up the pieces, even without the writers introducing cattiness at the very worst moment.
There’s an early scene between Tony and Michelle that really could have used some polish. For one, Michelle comes across as completely unreasonable, when this is not really the case. Michelle has good reason not to want Audrey to interfere; Audrey is currently the DOD representative, as Chloe later mentions, and there are major jurisdictional issues still lingering from Heller’s decision to give Tony command of CTU. And technically, Audrey has no “need to know” on Jack’s status. It’s entirely personal, and while Tony owes Audrey and Jack some small measure of gratitude for their support, he loses perspective.
The subsequent scene between Jack and Marwan is much better, if only because it highlights one of the major themes of the series. “24” has always been a running commentary on patriotism, positive and negative. Jack’s patriotism and belief in “The American Way” presents an ironic dichotomy: in the name of preserving the principles of idealistic freedom, Jack and his allies repeatedly commit horrific acts. One would like to believe that the writers had this firmly in mind when they had Jack debate with Marwan about the American spirit. How many Americans would knowingly accept the actions taken on their behalf?
The shell game between Marwan and CTU begins when the family of the pilot killed in the previous episode is discovered by local police, and Marwan must find a way to divert the attentions of CTU while Anderson struggles to get in the air. While Marwan hasn’t been all that smart in the past, this is an episode that demonstrates his cunning. After all, this is the man that apparently masterminded a long-term plot over several years. He’s not an idiot.
Marwan is well aware of the fact that Behrooz is in CTU custody, and that it would be of value to use Behrooz as a distraction. So he calls CTU and suggests a trade. Ultimately, Behrooz is unlikely to provide Marwan with anything of real advantage, other than the fact that CTU seems to care about his welfare. By placing Behrooz in an apparent importance, Marwan forces CTU to either turn their attention to what Behrooz might gain them, thus exposing their true colors, or to wring their hands over the decision to stick to principle and sacrifice Jack. In either case, Marwan gets to keep CTU’s attention on him and not on the police reports that could give CTU a lead on Anderson’s operation.
What the writers miss, in their desire to fill the time, is the rather obvious fact that CTU should be more than distracted by the hunt for Marwan, eliminating the need for a ridiculous subplot involving Edgar and Chloe. Chloe has certain reasons for her sense of entitlement, and perhaps Edgar has reasons to resent Chloe’s reinstatement. Edgar’s behavior is the hardest to understand, because it’s an abrupt shift from earlier in the season. Whatever the case, they all spend so much time bickering and lingering over other personal issues that one can’t help but wonder why they say they don’t have time to do their jobs.
Between Tony and Michelle, who seem to be working rather well together under the circumstances, the decision is made to get Medieval on Behrooz. While CTU has always been a little free and loose with the torture, this season has brought its use to a new height. Taken in context with Jack’s comments to Marwan, this is philosophically and psychologically disturbing. But it adds a certain layer of moral ambiguity to the “good guys” again, which was an important element of the stronger episodes this season.
Much of the episode is spent covering how Marwan’s gambit unfolds within CTU. Distraction after distraction gets in the way of noticing a detail that may or may not connect to the big picture, especially since the focus has been lost since the meltdowns were averted. Along the way, Chloe even gets to spell out Audrey’s current dilemma to the audience, all the while citing her blunt and insensitive manner. Truth be told, Chloe is hardly as abrasive as she was in the third season, and that softer side has endeared her to many fans who initially hated her guts. The attempt to use her previous mannerisms for the sake of exposition is incredibly forced.
Once Bill Buchanan arrives, the CTU response begins to pick up a bit of steam and gravitas. As unfortunate as it is, the writers seem to have decided that Michelle is not as strong a leader as she should be. Why this is the case is beyond explanation, especially since she was promoted to Division. (Of course, previous leaders from Division have been far from perfect, so perhaps it’s something in the water over there.)
The meeting with Buchanan, however, gives the team a chance to work out a strategy and attempt some kind of response. This is significant because it’s very easy to believe that the CTU personnel actually know how to do their jobs as experts on counter-terrorism, at least after seeing them working together in common purpose. This is necessary to demonstrate how clever Marwan is, since the best response is still playing right into his hands.
Could CTU have done anything differently? Not really. Besides not giving Marwan her name (a very dumb move), Michelle is completely dependent on whatever opportunity Marwan presents at this point. CTU has no other lead, and their last (foolish) attempt failed miserably. Using Behrooz is really the only option left, as Buchanan’s questions eventually revealed. As stated earlier, CTU’s hands were tied by earlier decisions; they played this scenario the only way they could, and for that matter, with a dispassionate use/abuse of a civilian in the process.
The abuse of Behrooz could actually become a plot point, if the writers recognize the opportunity. Behrooz may not have known much about Marwan, but he now has some minor knowledge of CTU and their methods. Ironically, Behrooz had issues with the terrorism at the beginning, but now he has personal examples of how the US government has lied and cheated him. Marwan could use Behrooz as an example; for that matter, Behrooz could offer himself as a loyal soldier for Marwan in some act of vengeance against Curtis or Jack. In other words, Behrooz and his experience could become an interesting commentary on how the methods of the United States sometimes fuel the fires of its enemies.
The end of the episode unfolds in predictable fashion. Jack is rescued, and his short imprisonment in Marwan’s lair gave him the opportunity to lead CTU right to the terrorists’ doorstep. Anderson finally gets in the air, and of course, the assumption is that he is planning a suicide run on Air Force One using a stealth fighter. The only doubt is whether or not Marwan’s distractions will be successful.
It would certainly make things more interesting if they were. As noted in the review for the previous episode, one thing that makes this season so interesting is the success of the terrorists. Allowing the black hats a measure of victory late in the third season gave that arc a massive jolt of much-needed consequences. The fourth season has shown the terrorists operating with much more success, constantly using CTU and other agencies against themselves. It would only make sense for Marwan to continue with his success. This would thrust the series even further into Tom Clancy territory.
As interesting as the probable consequences might be in terms of Anderson’s operation and Behrooz’s loyalties, there’s not very much to the episode. Marwan is very clever, using a simple misdirection to throw CTU off its game, but too much time is spent rehashing details and bringing the audience up to speed for this to work on its own. As with many of the recent episodes, there’s the feeling that the writers are marking time until the events coming in the next episode. The result is another hour filled with transitional elements that don’t move fast enough to measure up to the strengths of the “meltdown” plot thread.
Final Analysis
Overall, this episode is another in a series of transitional episodes that seem to be marking time until the explosive events of episode 16. There are some interesting possibilities laced within this episode, especially concerning Marwan’s ultimate goal and the effect of this episode’s events on Behrooz, but the pacing is incredibly slow and there are many scenes that just fall flat. Things are looking up for the next episode, so hopefully this is the last of the mid-season slump.
Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 0/4
Final Rating: 5/10
Season Average (as of 4.15): 6.7
posted by John Keegan | 16:42
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