24 5.22: "Day 5: 4AM - 5AM"

Written by David Fury and Sam Montgomery
Directed by Brad Turner


In which the destruction of a critical recording tosses the investigation into Logan’s complicity into turmoil, just as Bierko’s escape introduces an unexpected new threat…

Status Report

The episode begins with the unbelievable plot point dropped in the audience’s lap in the previous installment. It’s still impossible to believe that Chloe and Jack managed not to copy the recording. It doesn’t take long for them to finger Miles, but without the evidence, there’s nothing to be done, even if Jack does get a short moment of satisfaction. And it was fun watching Karen get her shot in, too!

In another odd and hard-to-swallow turn of events, Jack is suddenly no longer under suspicion, which reveals that the entire subplot was essentially an attempt to throw a roadblock in front of his efforts to uncover Logan’s complicity. Jack’s interpretation of Logan’s latest switch makes little sense, because now Jack’s allies are free to help him and organize. Sure, Logan can keep an eye on things, having gotten the upper hand, but why let Jack off the hook now? Especially when it would be easy to make a call to the Chinese and make him disappear?

And suddenly a gas canister and Bierko are back in play. Just like that, in the space of a few minutes, the rest of the season goes from an excellent chess game between Logan and Jack to a retread of the plot elements from earlier in the season, trotted back out in what feels like a complete lack of originality.

In another odd move, Agent Pierce is revealed to be alive. Perhaps this is all supposed to demonstrate how Logan has mismanaged this little conspiracy, but if so, it doesn’t quite hold water. On the other hand, it gives Agent Pierce one hell of a great scene! Logan does appear to have everything in hand, to the favor of his masters, but the Bierko situation once again threatens to undermine it all.

Jack is forced by the sudden re-emergence of Bierko to work with Henderson to stop one final terrorist attack from taking place. In a nice nod to continuity, Henderson acknowledges that immunity is meaningless without the recording. So what is his suggestion for cooperation? The kind of anonymous new life that Jack had enjoyed before getting pulled back into the game. If they could get that part right, how come so much of the plot didn’t make sense in comparison?

Another interesting nod to continuity is Martha’s involvement in Agent Pierce’s survival. They have been circling each other for some time now, so it only makes sense that it would end up this way. However, it also feels a bit manufactured, since Pierce’s survival up to this point doesn’t really make any sense. Pierce would and should have been killed long before this point, if the writers were attempting to make sense of it all. And Pierce’s survival also becomes the excuse for getting Novick to open his eyes, which has apparently been dragged out to ensure that Logan’s comeuppance takes place in the finale.

Because this episode is jumping all over the place to accelerate the plot so the season can end with some semblance of resolution, Henderson’s ploy to get Malina to reveal what he sold to Bierko for the next terrorist attack is complicated by the fact that it sounds just like Henderson trying to foil the counter-terrorism efforts. Otherwise, how could they drag the suspense out more than they have?

Assuming for just a moment that the provisions of the anti-terrorism accord would actually involve the sharing of technology and would actually be implemented less than 24 hours after the signing of said accord, Bierko’s tactics are actually fairly logical. It would probably take a bit longer for the gas to disperse, even with the air recirculation in a submarine, but it was a way to get their hands on a viable weapons system in a matter of minutes.

There are a number of issues with this episode, not the least of which is the decision to toss out the recording as a viable means of pinning the murder of David Palmer and the recent terrorism on Logan and switch to this last minute gambit with Bierko. Once the decision was made to move forward with Bierko and Henderson in custody, they should have stuck with the chess game between Logan and Jack.

Because they abandoned the very thing that made the final third of the season better, they fell into plot conveniences. Pierce is not only alive, but he’s in the position to inform Novick of the truth and set into motion what will likely be the end of the Logan administration. Jack is allowed to live and run free, even though Logan could have easily placed Karen, Bill, Chloe, and Jack under arrest and never looked back. Instead, the writers expect the audience to buy the idea that Jack’s demise was arranged for later.

It’s just a bit too much to accept. The series has always asked much of the audience, but it seems like this is needless repetition, and the circumstances don’t quite add up in the end. Bierko’s ability to get free and stage a terrorist attack within a hour or so is just plain ludicrous. Jack’s relative freedom makes even less sense the second time around. And the fact that the damn plot with the Chinese has never reared its head since Jack’s return is impossible to reconcile.

It’s quite possible that the writers will deliver a strong finale, despite the plot conveniences and acrobatics of this particular episode, but this episode doesn’t give much in the way of confidence. But that’s been one of the problems all season long: in the name of twists and turns, the characters do stupid things and logic is tossed out the window. Why can’t the writers put together a season that doesn’t rely on the audience looking the other way?


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode is something of a mess, with every indication that the writers felt the need to shoe-horn in some final twist to keep the tension going. Abandoning the intricate and deadly chess game that marked the creative resurgence of the past several episodes, this episode relies on plot retreads and more faulty character logic.

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

Final Rating: 6/10

Season Average (as of 5.22): 7.0