24 6.5: "Day 6: 10AM - 11AM"

Written by Joel Surnow and Michael Loceff
Directed by Milan Cheylov

In which President Palmer and CTU deal with the immediate ramifications of the terrorist’s nuclear attack, while Jack pursues intel from Assad that leads him to his own family…

Status Report

At the end of the season premiere, the writers changed the landscape of the “24” universe by setting off a nuclear bomb just miles away from Los Angeles. By allowing the terrorists to succeed on such a level, the writers gave themselves quite a job. Not only did they have to pick up the pieces of Jack Bauer’s psyche, but they had to give every single character a distinct but logical reaction to that event. More than that, the plot had to keep moving forward.

In the initial moments, Wayne Palmer presents the characteristics of a strong if shocked leader, recognizing the needs of the country as well as the needs of the government. Considering that this would be the fourth use of a nuclear weapon in history (the two in WW2 and the bomb detonated in the second season), it shouldn’t be hard to recognize that Wayne is keeping things together rather well. His brother would no doubt be proud.

As one would expect, the immediate suggestion is a show of force to likely Middle Eastern states supporting Fayid. Wayne keeps the response rational and measured. Most surprising is Tom’s open support of the president, despite his own feelings on the matter. Granted, his actions are designed to gain support for his hard-line security agenda. Wayne thankfully keeps a strong and steady course, despite his apparent inability to deliver a speech with conviction.

Fayid’s plans are held up by a relatively logical plot issue: the man meant to reprogram his bombs died in the nuclear blast. This takes the writers off the hook in terms of moving that plot thread forward too quickly. They get the chance to concentrate on the introduction of co-conspirators and the inevitable fallout (no pun intended). McCarthy and his annoying partner represent the worst elements of American society: the ones who would happily watch fellow Americans die for a little cash.

Jack is shocked back into action by the most noble of causes: the preservation of a single life. Considering the chaos all around him, it would have been easy to turn away and wallow in his self-pity a bit longer. Staring up at that expanding mushroom cloud (nicely kept within realistic proportions over the timeframe of the episode) would have been a simple enough excuse. But Jack fell back on instinct. It might have been a little too easy for him to get back in the game so quickly, but it’s reasonable to think that seeing the impact first-hand made him realize how much worse it could have been and might still be. One only hopes that his lack of confidence remains intact, so that the character can be meaningfully explored.

The tension between CTU and Assad is well played. After all, the agents at CTU had been tasked with Assad’s capture for weeks before the beginning of the season. Assad clearly has his own agenda in mind, and it’s quite possible that he will be revealed as a villain. But for now, his earnest complexity is one of the highlights of the season. It would have been a lot more fun to see him work with Jack, however, considering their chemistry.

Assad’s intel puts Jack on an unlikely collision course with his own family, which was an unexpected but welcome touch. We’ve had a very limited exposure to Jack’s personal world, and considering his recent history, this is a shocking development. Equally shocking is the off-hand revelation that Jack’s brother is one of the men responsible for sending him to ChinaLogan into everything that took place in the fifth season. and, more importantly, manipulating This is a major plot revelation, and it was neatly underplayed by the writers.

For all that, the writers fumbled some of the introductions for the Bauer family. Graham is a lot less imposing outside of his fifth season enclave, and the dialogue with his wife is about as painful as it gets. And it’s ridiculous for Graham to have married a woman that was, of course, in love with Jack years earlier. Considering how guilty Graham acts throughout the episode, it’s no surprise that Jack immediately suspects him of holding back information.

Similarly, Sandra Palmer continues to be a liability to her cause. As the FBI agent said quite plainly, she’s more than happy to abuse her relationship with the president while crying about the liberties taken by others. For all the rough treatment of Walid, he does the right thing by acting as a mole for the authorities. It should be interesting to see if Walid starts to disagree with Sandra and her theatrics.

Final Analysis

Overall, this episode was surprisingly strong, considering the tall order of following up on one of the most memorable events in the series’ history. This episode manages to drop a few bombs as well, even if the execution of an intriguing idea is not quite what one would have hoped. Still, some characters demonstrate unexpected strength, which is a welcome turn of events.

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

Final Rating: 8/10

(Season Average: 7.8)