24: Season 4, Episode 18: Day 4: 12:00 AM - 1:00 AM Review

Day 4: 12:00 AM – 1:00 AM

Original Airdate: April 18, 2005

Writers: Joel Surnow and Michael Loceff

Director: Jon Cassar

After the last few episodes, it looked as if 24 recovered for the final arc of the season. Unfortunately, they needed another episode to waste before that. This episode is padded with a lot of filler material. Even worse is that this was extremely preachy and seems to be another in a continuing trend of over the top right wing messages this season, almost as if they’re compensating for the left wing messages from the second season.

They have done a better job of characterizing Logan in these few episodes than Keeler in his entire run, even though Logan’s been portrayed as a total wuss. To be fair, he was called upon following an assassination attempt on his predecessor on the worst day in American history. He does have a fair case to go to the bunker. Even though they attacked Keeler, Logan is still a viable target. Taking out two presidents in succession is a horrifying premise that could be one of their operations to destroy the morale of America and create mass panic. However, he needs to remain composed. He can take a few moments, but it needs to be displaced until the job is done, like what Jack does.

Yosik’s stupidity comes off as very contrived. Why isn’t he using cash to pay for his gas? Why didn’t he ditch the car and car jack someone else? What assurance does he have that Marwan won’t blow his head off for committing such a stupid error? This dim-witted incident, which should’ve been scrapped or retooled, serves to propel the episode’s regrettable storyline.

Could Paul just remain stable for a little bit? Please? This is another problem 24 has with its real time format, where a storyline is resolved, or close to it, with hours to spare, and 24’s producers and writers scramble to concoct another storyline to take up the rest of the season. It’s inevitable that Audrey (who seems to be at a loss for something to do since the early afternoon) will leave Jack, but we have to wait until the end of the season for that to happen.

I'm still grateful that the emotional drama at CTU was limited to that brief scene and those between Tony and Michelle, although this one is stalling before their inevitable reconciliation. I hope that Tony will stick to his promise and keep their personal drama to himself until this situation is over. Personal problems at CTU have allowed Marwan’s success. Then again, Marwan would simply kill anyone who gave him attitude.

Following Yosik’s blunder, Marwan sends Joe Prado to help him out of the country. Yosik is rightfully paranoid, even without knowing that tactical teams are only a hundred feet away. This is when it starts to get murky. As the team surrounds the boat, Yosik is told by Marwan to kill Prado then himself, but Prado kills him first. CTU takes Prado into custody.

Desperate to keep CTU from interrogating Prado, Marwan calls an associate to report the incident to Amnesty Global, a thinly veiled reference to Amnesty International. The first problem with this scenario is that why he would hire more Americans than necessary. He needed Anderson to steal the F-117 and his appearance wouldn’t go noticed. Whenever they’ve been caught this season, the terrorists have killed themselves before being captured. Perhaps Prado was useful in providing passports and aiding in the terrorists travel routes, but wouldn’t there have been a safer choice for them? Second, why couldn’t Marwan send one of his cells to suicide bomb CTU or sabotage it otherwise? A bombing would’ve been tough to do without mimicking “Day 2: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM”, but it could’ve provided a distraction to allow Prado’s escape.

Marwan sending a lawyer via a human’s rights group was insulting and preachy. To be fair, I don’t like when a show discusses one side of an argument aggressively, be it right (24), left (Six Feet Under) or other. Through this season, they’ve portrayed several people with liberal perspectives as blithering idiots (Richard Heller), people in the pockets of terrorists (Amnesty Global) or both. Although, they have had their share of left wing subtexts, like season two’s evil oil men and season three’s euthanasia in the hotel of doom. Perhaps they’ll lose regardless of however they try to tackle a controversial topic like this one, but maybe they should explore this issue more regarding the innocents that have been torture. The show could improve if they didn’t give CTU all of the benefit of the doubt. CTU’s portrayal isn’t as flattering either, but their incompetence is frustrating to watch too.

Edgar is justified in being upset, but why is he wasting his energy getting mad at a flunky like Prado? His delivery was unconvincing. If Marwan was captured, it would make more sense, but this felt forced. Early in the season I had liked Edgar a lot, but in the last few hours he has grated on me. Whether he agrees with it or not, he shouldn’t let his feelings for revenge interfere with their investigation. Buchanan was right to turn down firmly Edgar’s outbursts as unprofessional (if only he had recommended this earlier). I'm hoping that this is only the result of the episode’s shoddy writing.

The Prado filler plot diminishes the impact of what should’ve been the center of focus this week; the interception of a nuclear warhead. Having it occur in Iowa (Iowa?) also makes it feel more detached, but they may need a few hours for the warhead to travel so that it’ll be close to its target (likely LA) when the season ends. They have said there is no way to stop these warheads when they begin their mission, so whatever option Jack and CTU have when it’s launched is unknown.

Jack’s solution is probably the only way they could’ve gotten the information from Prado. But why didn’t Jack consider how suspicious it would be that his resignation and Prado’s assault occurred within 10 minutes of each other? Although CTU didn’t permit or know in advance what Jack did, Buchanan did know that Jack was resigning to do it. Jack may have been better off going AWOL or being unclear of his reasons for resignation and left Buchanan a note or something.

Now Jack is rogue once again. While snapping Prado’s thumb was tough, he can still return to CTU by season’s end. Considering some of the prior things he’s done rogue, this isn’t the worst. However, Jack alone is usually a lot of fun to watch.

The episode suffers from the need to draw things out so Marwan and his team can prepare for the last phase (or the penultimate phase) of their operation. Surnow and Loceff fail to refresh the interrogation storyline because it feels manipulative in favor of torture. Constitutional rights are important, but they’ve been brushed aside easily. Granted, most of the suspects have been guilty, but even those who were innocent didn’t get much in the area of an apology for what they endured. Yes torture helps amplify the stakes involved, but I couldn’t be enthused by the stolen warhead below the preaching. I'm still hopeful that we’ll see the other side. Perhaps Jack will wind up on the other end of the torture machine like in season two. While I was quick to say that 24 regained its momentum in the last few weeks, this week was discouraging. However, this could be just one bump before a stellar finish.

Score: 4/10