24 5.15: "Day 5: 9PM - 10PM"

Written by David Ehrman
Directed by Jon Cassar

In which Jack struggles with his own response when Audrey needs to be interrogated, while Chloe tries to deal with the takeover by DHS and Agent Pierce searches for Wayne Palmer…


Status Report

Illness and the lack of an official summary on the FOX site (thanks, slackers!) prevents a long analysis of this particular episode. Then again, given the fact that this continues to cover the transitional period required to trigger the next big plot twist (coming, as usual, within the next couple episodes), there’s not a lot to talk about. Most of the plots proceed as one would expect, with the only surprise being the confrontation at the natural gas facility, which took place a bit earlier than one might have predicted.

The big moment in this episode is the interrogation of Audrey by Jack, which was staged in a way that suggested something massive and meaningful. The interrogation itself had its intense moments, especially when the line between objectivity and subjectivity became a lot less defined, but too much emphasis was placed on Jack’s apparent reaction to Audrey’s fling with Walt Cummings.

It was also a bit too obvious that Audrey was being framed. To the writers’ credit, they ensured that Jack and Bill both found the notion absurd, given her activities to preserve the investigation throughout the day, but it was also used as a justification for Karen’s pre-emption of Bill’s authority. Karen definitely dislikes Jack and his approach to things, which only adds to the tension.

That said, Karen and Miles both bring up some interesting points about Jack’s past and the fact that his judgment is clouded when personal emotions get in the way. Karen could have given Jack a much longer laundry list of reasons why his involvement in the interrogation was a bad idea. Of course, that doesn’t automatically mean that Karen’s decision to torture Audrey was particularly justified, since as Jack pointed out, being wrong could have some harsh consequences.

It might be possible that Karen’s decision to torture Audrey could lead to leverage for CTU’s return of operational control. Assuming that Secretary of Defense Heller is not implicated in the conspiracy (and that’s still an open question), Jack and Bill could easily present a case based on their success and Karen’s unwarranted heavy-handed approach. The writers will obviously place Jack in a position to go “rogue” for a few hours until something happens to put CTU back in the saddle, but there’s no reason to think that it would be permanently under DHS control.

This being a transitional episode for the most part, there are the usual annoying subplots. Agent Pierce deserves more face time, and Wayne Palmer could use a plot thread to redeem his character in the eyes of many, but why cut corners and make things look ridiculous in the process? It doesn’t make sense for Wayne to arm himself by presumably taking out one of the assassins on his tail, and no one believes that he was hurt so badly that he won’t achieve something of value in the next episode.

Henderson’s involvement in the hit on Wayne is interesting, especially in conjunction with the fact that Vice President Hal was alerted to Wayne’s presence at the checkpoint in the previous episode. The writers either think they are being clever and subtle with the connections here, or things are not as clear-cut as they appear. Still, it seems a bit odd that Henderson would have such authority and ability to act without someone very high in the chain of command.

Far more annoying, however, was the subplot involving the tech with severe psychological issues. (Frankly, her name didn’t stick, but it really isn’t necessary!) As clever as it might be to build on the audience’s hatred of Miles by painting him as a sexual harasser, only to turn it around by making Little Miss Psycho the one with the problem, it’s about as annoying and needless a subplot as the plot thread with Chloe and Chase’s baby in the third season. (Though, it must be said, Chloe’s dressing-down of Miles was the highlight of the episode!)

The final act was a nice action set piece, designed to eliminate the nerve gas threat just in time for the “complication” phase of the season to end in the next episode. There’s little doubt that Jack will survive, but there’s every reason to believe that Bierko will as well. After all, he and Henderson need to point Jack and his allies in the right direction towards the real threat within the government. Henderson could do that alone, but Julian Sands is just too much fun to lose at this point.


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode was another transitional piece, though it ends with a nice chunk of plot progression. Getting to that point, however, gives the writers a bit too much room for subplots that could and should have been avoided. The producers promised a deeper look into Jack’s emotional scars this season, and they continue to deliver on that promise, but they should focus on a more substantial impact going into the final stretch.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 6/10

Season Average (as of 5.15): 6.8