24 4.21: "Day 4: 3AM - 4AM"

Written by Joel Surnow and Michael Loceff
Directed by Kevin Hooks

In which the hunt for Marwan comes to a close just Palmer and CTU must deal with the consequences of the raid on the Chinese consulate and the one who led it…


Status Report

If the previous episode was all about making the hard choices, then this episode is the inevitable fallout. A number of characters are forced to make quick decisions based on the unintentional consequences of their choices, and in some cases, characters are presented with the chance for an unexpected redemption. Like the previous episode, this is an example of what “24” can accomplish when the writers have time to layer their improbabilities with intriguing character work.

The most immediate consequence, of course, is the rather apparent disintegration of Jack and Audrey’s relationship. Jack wants so very badly for things to go back to the relatively simple status quo from the previous morning; it’s equally obvious that Jack doesn’t have a chance of getting through to Audrey any time soon. That doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t try, of course, but perhaps he could have waited a little longer; it was painful to watch him struggle with the knowledge that he had run into a problem that sheer willpower simply can’t fix.

It doesn’t really help that everyone else on the planet is telling him that he made the right choice. One of the themes of the episode is “when does the price become too high?”; for Jack, he’s now staring at the initial cost estimate, and he hasn’t even gotten to the part that’s really going to throw his life into turmoil. For that matter, neither has anyone else. Jack’s emotional state is only one casualty in a very long list.

It’s not long before Jack begins to see the scope of the damage. Mike Novick informs him of the Chinese consul’s death, and the possibility of a major international incident. Suddenly everyone on the team needs to have a solid alibi for their whereabouts during the raid. It’s one thing to commit a covert abduction against a foreign power. That’s something that CTU as an organization can cover up, leaving the agents to operate without personal penalty. But as mentioned in the review for the previous episode, only Jack was given the chance to assume personal responsibility; the other agents discover the depth of their culpability after the fact, when it’s too late.

Palmer is left holding the mess with the Chinese together, which becomes a race against several equal threats. On the one hand is the need to blame the raid on some anti-Chinese terrorist group, despite the fact that the White House was calling for Lee Jong moments before he was abducted. It’s obviously a hard sell; thankfully, the writers don’t dance around that fact. But the other problem is President Logan, who is now going to be responsible for allowing a civilian to start a war in his name.

For a moment, it looks like the first problem might be solved. And then the real problem arises: the head of security for the Chinese consulate (Cheng) discovers a video capture with the face of a CTU agent plainly visible. It’s just a matter of time before the thought of “plausible deniability” becomes a moot point, and the countdown begins for someone to take the fall. With less than four hours until the end of the season, it’s clear that a small mistake is all that it might take.

Meanwhile, as usual, Marwan manages to pull in his timetable to account for possible discovery. At this point, he’s not even aware of how other distractions are getting in the way of his capture, so he has no reason to delay. And since he has possession of a missile, his choice of targets is suddenly much larger than previously thought. It’s one thing when CTU figures they have to search in one relatively small region for a nuclear device; it’s quite another for them to stop a missile from striking a city when they don’t even know where it’s launching from!

In a moment that is sure to spark a ton of Jack/Chloe fanfic, Chloe offers (in her usual blunt manner) to help Jack deal with his personal problems by lending a friendly ear. The expression on Jack’s face is priceless. One can only imagine what was running through his head at that moment, but the mixture of incredulous confusion and worry just about covered all the possibilities.

On the other hand, Chloe is only reacting to what is plainly written all over Jack’s face every time he looks in Audrey’s direction. Just dealing with her on a professional basis is like twisting a knife in his own gut. To her credit, Audrey is trying to see things from an objective point of view. Considering how easy it would have been for her to run to Daddy, her restraint is remarkable. (Of course, there’s a lot coming that still suggests such a scenario.) But this is only one distraction among many, and once Agent Bern is identified by the Chinese, it looks to get even harder to stay on task.

It would have been easy for Michelle to say something incriminating while on the phone with Cheng, but she keeps her cool under pressure. That said, her denials and stonewalling, despite being her only real options, just fan the flames with Cheng and prompt him to call on someone much higher up the chain of command. And that means that Logan finds out about the situation and its severity at the absolute worst time.

As stated earlier in the season, it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission, but to do that, one must have a solution to the problem one has created. Palmer and Mike haven’t even determined the scope of the fallout before Logan comes storming in, demanding answers. Since Palmer doesn’t have those answers, he must use an “end justifies the means” rationale to appease Logan. This is deeply ironic, considering the fact that Palmer is essentially using the same logic that he used to find so revolting in Sherry.

The writers, by this point, have begun making a case for a scapegoat: someone needs to take the blame for the operation against the Chinese consulate, and all the evidence points to someone at CTU. They have very little time and energy to construct a convincing house of cards to fool Cheng, and everyone knows it. Tony seems to be filled with regrets about his past choices, especially what it did to his relationship with Michelle. His expression when looking at Cheng, however, is more disturbing, given the context of the next scene.

Cheng recognizes Jack (which is a nice touch, since he should be more recognized now), and he also recognizes that Jack is exactly the kind of operative that could and would lead a raid on a foreign consulate. Just like that, CTU is forced into a defensive posture, because despite all the other reasons for Jack to be present, it does look all too convenient. It looks even worse when Jack needs to leave the room, all in the name of quickly getting Bern out of the office. Instead of devoting resources to Marwan, CTU is dealing with a hastily and poorly constructed cover-up.

As if to make matters even more complicated, Lee Jong wakes up and provides CTU with Marwan’s probable location. Jack assembles a team, including many of those involved in the raid on the Chinese consulate. While there’s little choice in the matter, it must only confirm the likelihood of Jack’s involvement in the abduction from Cheng’s point of view. Creating fake hourly reports on Jack’s activity, and implicating Audrey, just increases the chance that it will all fall apart.

The writers drive the concept home during the confrontation between Jack and Audrey. She wants to know, and deservedly so, whether or not it’s been worth all the broken rules and protocols. From her point of view, the cost of stopping Marwan is getting rather steep. But Jack and the others in CTU must, by their position, operate within that “end justifies the means” mentality. They have to believe that it’s the right thing to do, because otherwise, they can’t do the job. While this is at least partially true, the fact remains that the lies and deceptions are little more than calculated risk; sooner or later, the odds stack against them and their methods fail.

Of course, Cheng knows enough to poke some rather obvious holes in Audrey’s story, which makes it that much more difficult for her to lie. It’s already bad enough that she’s being forced into the position of essentially defending Jack’s choices by covering for them; she doesn’t need Cheng to question her devotion to Paul. It’s likely her conflicted emotions that prevent her from showing the vehemence necessary to sell the idea that her work with Jack was vital. The cracks are showing in CTU’s cover story, and Cheng knows it.

When Palmer discovers that Cheng is getting too close to the truth, he asks Mike to elicit Logan’s help in removing Cheng from the CTU office. Logan is understandably angry about the entire situation, but he has no one to blame but himself. He signed off on the idea of Palmer running the show, intentionally keeping himself out of the loop. Accusing Mike and Palmer of a semi-coup displays a paranoia and lack of self-awareness; if he had been an effective leader, he wouldn’t have handed power over to a consultant in the first place. And for all his bluster, when faced with the concept of kicking Palmer to the curb and taking back his authority, Logan caves.

While Jack and Curtis are leading the raid on Marwan, apparently gaining an advantage for the first time all day, Cheng provides an unexpected reversal. After all, the goal was to place enough doubt on Cheng’s evidence to allow a convenient cover story to take root. A couple days is more than long enough to manufacture a stronger cover-up. But ultimately, Edgar manages to give Cheng exactly the opening he needs. Cheng is certain, by the end of the episode, that Jack led the raid on the Chinese consulate.

After the previous episode, it seemed as though Buchanan was going to make things difficult for Tony. While Buchanan isn’t making another move in this episode, Tony’s expression in several scenes is suggestive, to say the least. Tony seems to be aware, throughout the episode, of the potential for Jack to be named as the one responsible for the death of the Chinese consul. If the Chinese don’t back down, someone is going to have to take the fall, and that someone will likely be at CTU. It almost seems as if the writers are dropping hints that Tony will take the blame to protect Jack.

It would have been easy for the writers to have CTU disarm the missile and prevent the terrorist attack at the end of the hour; after all, three episodes would still be a tight schedule for resolving all the other lingering plot threads. But now there’s the small matter of a missile aimed at an unknown target armed with a nuclear warhead. It’s going to take quite an effort for CTU (or for that matter, anyone else) to prevent a massive catastrophe. If the writers are really thinking outside the box, CTU will fail, but that’s not likely to happen.

Whatever the case, with Marwan now in custody, there’s little question that the major plot threads are quickly being resolved, and as a result, consequences are being meted out on decisions made throughout the day. It’s hard not to get the feeling that Tony is being set up for tragedy; indeed, it would be all to easy for him to sacrifice himself (metaphorically or literally) to save Jack in the end. It’s also hard to imagine that both Palmer and Logan would survive intact; one of them will be blamed for the decision made in Keeler’s absence. This episode brought the focus back on the characters, and as such, it made it that much easier to care about their fate.


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode continued the in-depth consideration of the consequences of actions taken in the previous installment. Several characters are forced to defend their choices, and in an interesting move, the drama is generated by the failure to construct a powerful enough set of lies. By focusing more on the characters and their regrets and doubts, the writers give meaning to a story that was lacking it for far too long.

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

Final Rating: 8/10

Season Average (as of 4.21): 6.9