24 5.16: "Day 5: 10PM - 11PM"

Written by Manny Coto and Sean Montgomery
Directed by Jon Cassar

In which Jack discovers that the terrorist plot originates somewhere at the top of the administration, while Audrey must make a terrible decision when CTU is absorbed by DHS…


Status Report

Instead of going through the episode blow-by-blow, since the FOX site once again dropped the ball on their rundown for the latest installment, this review will focus primarily on the stunning revelation in the final minutes. The question to be answered is this: does it make sense, based on the episodes to date, for President Logan to be the mastermind behind the terrorist plot?

A few other items first. It’s great to see Agent Pierce and Wayne Palmer take a more prominent role, especially given that there’s every chance that they could be fodder for the body count already mounting this season. This is one consequence of David Palmer’s death that works beautifully; both men have a vested interest in honoring David’s memory and giving his death meaning. That makes them natural allies for Jack, and especially in Wayne Palmer’s case, it lends a strong heroic layer to the characters.

Audrey’s decision to screw over Bill to ensure Chloe’s assignment to her work was a bit contrived. Considering the fact that Karen had just tortured her despite evidence of her innocence, she could have threatened to get her father involved to get her way. For that matter, she could have used her own clear desire to get CTU back online as another reason to call Daddy. One hopes she contacted Bill during a quiet moment to let him know what went down, but since the entire issue will likely be wrapped up in the fallout of the main terrorism plot (assuming Logan’s allies are exposed and prosecuted), it’s not a necessary measure at this stage of the game.

Turning back to the matter at hand: is Logan’s complicity with Henderson a logical progression of the plot thus far? In other words, are the writers playing fair with the audience by maintaining consistency over the course of the season? There’s always a certain extent to which the brain must be turned off when watching “24”, given the contrivances required by the format and the pacing, but there are also limits that need to be kept in mind.

This turn of events, if accurate as portrayed, requires a new look at Logan. Instead of the weak and even incompetent character that dominated the first half of the season (and much of the final stretch of the fourth season), one must look at Logan as “master manipulator”. In essence, he has been manipulating people into making decisions for him, all the while making certain that those decisions align with his true agenda. It’s the ultimate exercise in plausible deniability.

So he conspires to have terrorists strike on the day of his presidency-making accord with the Russians and allows everyone else to stumble around, playing the fool while others make the choices “for him”. This would go back to eliminating Palmer and blaming Jack, with the assumption that he knew about Jack’s survival and purposefully used that to his advantage. (Which, in turn, brings up a serious plot problem, that will be addressed shortly.)

What exactly was the plot? The problem is that some of the activities have been terrorist-related, and others have been designed to protect this “black project”. Walt’s plot was directly related to the terrorism, and it makes sense (based on Logan’s reactions at the time) that Logan was letting Walt run the show to shift the responsibility. And that leads to serious plot question: why would Logan task Jack to the investigation and resolution of the nerve gas threat, if he wanted the terrorists to get away and the conspiracy to remain intact?

That simply doesn’t make any sense. Logan could have easily tossed Jack into a cell, or worse, given him over to the Chinese to be done with it. Instead, he puts someone with no great love for his administration on his own trail. It only makes sense if Logan was expecting Jack to get nowhere or get killed in the process. The fact that Logan gave Jack autonomy (never really used, oddly enough) strongly suggests that Logan’s complicity was not on the table when that episode was written.

Logan’s particular plan is still not clear (if it indeed his plan), but one could argue that the attack on the shopping mall was not part of it. That was outside of Bierko’s plan as well, so it’s quite possible that he was thrown off his game, and defaulted to allowing Novick to make the call so his ability to divert blame would remain intact. Once Bierko took control of the nerve gas again, it becomes more likely that Logan’s plan was back on track.

Logan must have chosen Hal Gardner as VP because he knew that the man would take an extreme approach, thus providing him with what he wanted without direct responsibility. This is strongly suggested in the treatment of CTU. Karen and Miles may not be in on the conspiracy, but they would have been selected because they would execute their orders. Logan seems to have been prepared for CTU being wiped out. Perhaps Logan was expecting Jack to be a victim of that attack.

If Bierko’s targets were chosen based on an overall plan that Logan initiated, then another question is brought to the table: why would Logan want so many Americans dead? Was he planning to use the terrorist attack as a pretext for some wider agenda? Perhaps he was hoping to implicate as many political enemies as possible in the conspiracy, using them as scapegoats or victims, so he could implement his political agenda with less resistance and seem more powerful and effective in the process.

It would be easy enough to assume that Henderson was working directly for Logan, and everything else was “sub-contracted” out from there. One big question is whether or not Logan was using anyone else to implement his plans. Since much of the manipulation seemed to be indirect for the purposes of deniability, the key would still be Henderson. Any other questions would require more explanation for Logan’s motivations, which obviously aren’t yet available.

So Logan, at a minimum, used Henderson to coordinate the turnover of hidden nerve gas to Russian terrorists. Henderson then set up a second layer to the operation, involving Walt Cummings, to use the terrorists against themselves. In the event that the plot was uncovered by CTU, arrangements were made to eliminate the investigation and ensure a solid cover-up. It seems to hang together, except for the fact that hundreds of thousands of people would have died and the reasons are still very unclear.

It still doesn’t necessarily add up. There’s the entire situation with the Suvarovs, after all. One could argue that Logan wasn’t dealing directly with Bierko, and so the terrorist had no idea that he was talking to the person who facilitated his terrorist ways. But given how easily Logan gave up the Suvarovs, it’s quite possible that it was part of the plan, and his reaction to Martha’s endangerment would therefore be genuine.

That is the other aspect that doesn’t quite track. Two people get in the way of the plot in a major way: Jack and Martha. Logan had two clear opportunities to remove the two of them from the situation, and in both cases, it would have been completely understood and accepted. Jack could have been imprisoned or taken into custody (and he was even prepared for it), and Martha could have been sent back to the institution. Logan specifically chose to keep them in the game, and as a result, the conspiracy has continued to unravel.

On the other hand, even if this plot twist doesn’t quite make sense, it does achieve something that hasn’t been seen in a while. Jack suddenly has very few resources, and he doesn’t have anyone in the administration able to help. He’s got Audrey and Chloe, who still need to work in secret, and beyond that, Wayne Palmer and Agent Pierce. One might count Martha, but she doesn’t really have control over anything.

Considering how much the producers have been tossing out the idea of “24” without Jack, and what would be done if Jack were to be killed, there’s easy possibility that this is the mechanism by which it happens. All of Jack’s allies could be systematically eliminated, leaving Jack to expose the conspiracy on his own in a final act of heroism. Granted, it’s very unlikely (especially if the network has anything to say about it), but considering what the writers have already pulled off this season, it wouldn’t be impossible.


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode achieves exactly what one would have expected, given the timing, and it actually forced the audience to reconsider a number of assumptions. Granted, there’s a feeling that some twists are forced and weren’t considered in advance, but it does send the rest of the season in a very strong direction. Now it’s just a question of whether or not the writers can use this to close out the story well. In this case, it’s time for benefit of the doubt.

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

Final Rating: 8/10

Season Average (as of 5.16): 6.9