24 6.15: "Day 6: 8PM - 9PM"

Written by Howard Gordon and Manny Coto
Directed by Brad Turner

In which tensions rise when Daniels sets a short timetable for a nuclear strike in the Middle East, pushing Jack to find Gredenko before the deadline is reached…

Status Report

As the episode begins, Vice President Daniels is ready to start World War III in response to the less-than-impressive drone incident in the previous installment. The only means of stopping the escalation of hostilities is locating Fayed or Grenenko, two men who have little love for each other. Jack’s hands are, as usual, quite full.

Mike Doyle turns out to be a lot like Jack, which as noted before, gives an interesting perspective on the process Jack is going through. Jack would never allow someone to suffer for his mistakes, if it was within his power to make things right. Once again, given Jack’s current lack of confidence, this is a straightforward mechanism for pushing Jack into doing more and more of the right thing rather than the expedient thing, especially if Doyle ever steps over the line.

Jack ends up with one of Gredenko’s associates, whose brother happens to be autistic. It’s odd to see Jack use such a soft and pleasant manner with a suspect, but it’s a nice touch. The autism angle was an unnecessary element of sentimentality, used to make things more complicated. The actor who played Brady didn’t quite sell the character, which made it a bit more difficult for the scenes to work, but it showed that Jack was more than a one trick pony with the torturing. It still came across as a Very Special Episode of “24”, but it could have been a hell of a lot worse.

Back at the presidential bunker, Sandra Palmer miraculously reappears after disappearing for several episodes. She was hardly missed, and this time around, her part in the plot has nothing to do with her previous political stance. She’s just there to facilitate Karen’s plan to counter Daniels’ attack by putting Wayne Palmer back in a conscious state. That doesn’t quite make sense from a political perspective, but it does give Daniels a chance to toss out more bluster.

Just when the drama at CTU seems to be more professional than personal, Milo’s feelings for Nadia become an open topic of conversation. Frankly, neither character is interesting enough to make this worth the time. And why Chloe would be the one to bring this up with Milo is hard to reconcile, since she’s usually a bit more on task and annoyed with interpersonal complications. Then again, without a strong foil at CTU, Chloe has been all over the map in terms of characterization this season.

By the end of the episode, Jack has Gredenko in hand and ready for a bit of tough questioning. Unfortunately, as with so many situations on “24”, Jack is forced into considering a deal with Gredenko to get Fayed and the nuclear warheads. Daniels, itching for some mutually assured destruction, is less than pleased when Wayne calls off his strike on the Middle East. This leads into what should be an interesting (if familiar) power play for control of the government.

The pacing of the episode made it feel more like a transitional episode than anything else, and as that, it struggled. One is reminded of the transitional episode in the fourth season where Jack was aided by two Arab-Americans, a transparent attempt to liven up a mediocre installment with something distracting. While this actually ends with Grendenko in custody, the season is rapidly approaching the point where the next major twist takes place, so it could be a temporary victory.

Final Analysis

Overall, this episode was another mediocre installment, focusing on transitional elements while churning along familiar plot threads. The writers flirt with Jack’s more human side, which is a nice touch, but it’s not enough to overcome the momentum of apathy surrounding the season arc.

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

Final Rating: 7/10

(Season Average: 7.0)