24 6.1: "Day 6: 6AM - 7AM"

Written by Howard Gordon
Directed by Jon Cassar

In which a bargain with the Chinese returns Jack Bauer to the United States, where he is asked to sacrifice himself to help bring a devastating series of terrorist attacks to an end…

Status Report

(Note: This review covers the first hour of the Sunday night premiere; a subsequent review will cover the second hour.)

And so another horrible day begins for Jack Bauer. All things considered, this story begins in a rather unconventional fashion. For one thing, it’s not about stopping a terrorist attack, which is the usual excuse for pulling Jack out of the arsenal. Instead, the country has been the victim of a string of small but psychologically devastating attacks, and CTU has run out of options. Sacrificing Jack for the chance to get the apparent ringleader of the terrorists is seen as a terrible but necessary tactic.

By approaching the season in this fashion, the writers introduce a few major themes of interest right from the beginning. First and foremost, Jack has been beaten down to the point where he’s staying alive so his death can have meaning. He’s looking for something worth dying for, and that’s never a good motivation. That said, it’s the most interesting starting point for Jack in quite a long time. He’s not starting as the reluctant hero; he’s starting as the willing sacrificial lamb.

That’s interesting in and of itself, but imagine where this will allow the writers to go, if they have the ability to make it work. By the end of this episode, Jack is taking the first step towards finding something worth living for, even if it’s just for a little while. He needs to find himself again, and if the writers can resist making that a quick process, it should be more than rewarding.

The writers also set the stage for a debate on the price of security, which is topical, to say the least. Neither side of the debate is portrayed as the “right” side. While there does seem to be a lot of objection from popular characters to the idea of sacrificing civil liberty for the sake of national security, the writers undermine the simple interpretation by having the most obvious victim of such a policy be, in fact, one of the terrorists. In other words, what if the unpopular and possibly immoral choice is also the most effective?

Karen Hayes and Thomas Lennox make good representatives for their sides of the debate, and by making Wayne Palmer a relatively new and besieged president, it’s easy to believe that he would have many advisors and that they would disagree. It should be interesting to discover more about Wayne and his rise to political power, considering what kind of trouble he’s had in the past. Given the timing of the first attacks, wouldn’t it be interesting if Wayne himself was the target of the attacks in such fashion?

As with most seasons of “24”, the best material is sometimes overshadowed by the silly relationship issues. (The other mistake, the inclusion of idiotic non-CTU characters, has thus far been avoided.) This season already has a slew of annoying interpersonal conflicts. Morris was a nuisance from the moment he appeared out of nowhere in the previous season, and there was little reason to bring Milo back in his current incarnation. Nadia seems to lack the gravitas of a Tony or Michelle, and even the possibility of a strong mature relationship between Karen and Bill doesn’t overcome the tedious nature of the subplot.

And while the revelation about Ahmed does give balance to the episode by proving the strengths and weaknesses of both sides of the civil liberty/national security argument, the story might have been more interesting if Ahmed had been completely innocent. Imagine a scenario where the most dangerous terrorist is the one who is driven into that fanaticism by the effects of an overly aggressive anti-terrorism policy. Considering how far they’ve strayed from the usual template with Jack this season, it wouldn’t have been that large a gamble.

Final Analysis

Overall, this episode was an unexpectedly unique start for the season. Breaking format somewhat, the writers gave themselves a lot more freedom to tell their story. While some of the perennial weaknesses remain, and some aspects of the core concept aren’t explored to their full potential, this is still one of the more inventive beginnings for a season of “24”.

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

Final Rating: 8/10