24: Season 4, Episode 20: Day 4: 2:00 AM - 3:00 AM Review

Day 4: 2:00 AM – 3:00 AM

Original Airdate: May 2, 2005

Writers: Peter M. Lenkov

Director: Bryan Spicer

As the season wraps up, the producers can finally use the ideas they were plotting while the post-override episodes were made. As the transition went on, many became impatient with the slow pace, but didn’t give up on the show. It seems like the last few weeks are our reward. The show has taken some high stakes risks and the end looks promising.

I think this episode was made better by simply including Palmer in it. He has always had a great presence on the show, even when his storyline was less than stellar, as it was last season. Of course, hard core fans got a kick seeing Agent Pierce (the 4^th member of the “All 4 seasons Club”) reappear, even if it was a cameo. It helped continuity to include the bit about Pierce’s son signing on for more military service. 24 is one TV’s most scrutinized shows, so references to little things the fans remember is a nice touch.

Now some critics may question 24’s choice to write Palmer back into the show. If this season was to introduce a new world of characters, putting Palmer back in the role of the president is back pedaling. However, he works so well with the other characters, especially Jack. In addition, Keeler wasn’t much of a character and Logan wasn’t more than a launching pad for Palmer’s comeback. Regardless, his return is easier to accept than some of last season’s ham handed returns.

Palmer could’ve been petty with his relationship with Novick. Considering their history, he has reason to be. However, they’re in a crisis and Mike’s an asset. Mike betrayed Palmer because he thought Palmer wasn’t acting in the country’s best interest as opposed to supporting the terrorists. I wish more of these characters could put aside their problems like this. Palmer, we’ve missed you!

Back to the Suburban House of DOOM, Chloe is working on Nabilla’s hard drive while CTU workers are making sure she’s OK. During this, Jack asks to see how she’s coping after having killed someone. Jack has gotten used to killing people for the purpose of his job. If anyone could help a socially awkward person like Chloe cope with her actions, it would be him.

On the drive, she finds e-mails Sabir received that were sent from someone within the United States. In record time Edgar finds that it belongs to a man fired from China’s nuclear weapons program, Lee Jong. I wish they did more with Nabilla’s storyline, but usually sources like this only yield one lead. If there was one fault, it was that Marwan and the terrorists with the warhead had little coverage this week. The story abruptly shifted to China, which made the narration a little clunky. This is a minor complaint as Marwan’s absence could be justified when he reemerges.

Most people have instinctively known that Audrey is going to leave Jack by the end of the season. It has to wait until then. Audrey wants to go with Paul to a special hospital. This tender moment is interrupted by Jack’s awkward arrival. She hasn’t informed him of this decision yet. Through his medicated daze, Paul is still modest about the sacrifice that saved Jack’s life. Pushing Jack out of the way turned to be instinctual, which adds to the effect of his actions.

Why wasn’t Paul moved to a real hospital? CTU is in the middle of LA. Paul seems to be doped up enough not to notice or mind a car ride. Paul has had trouble maintaining stability and CTU’s medical staff isn’t equipped for much as we saw. In some ways, they seem to have wanted the end of this episode to happen. They’re in the middle of a crisis and few people are working in the infirmary. As we saw at the end, if they had another patient rushed in, one would die.

Marwan’s speech is far more chilling when the final cut is shown for Edgar, Buchanan and Michelle. It’s damaged, so the image appears raw and distorted at times. The audio’s echoes provide a haunting effect. As I correctly predicted, the video provided a clue of Marwan’s plans. They deduct that the warhead will be deployed before dawn. The sun will rise on the east coast in two hours. This could be ironic as they used time zones in the beginning of the season to determine that the terrorists would attack within that first hour. While they have reason to worry about the East coast, it may prove to have similar results.

This week’s 24 introduced an interesting dynamic to the typical seizure of a terrorist suspect. Knowing that CTU is onto his trail, Lee found sanctuary at the Chinese Consulate, which is considered Chinese territory and not subject to US jurisdiction. Palmer still tries to appeal to Chinese Consul directly, but his hands are tied and will have to go through red tape to release Lee into US custody. Even when Palmer negotiates benefits for China, it doesn’t move thing along quicker. Desperate, he phones Jack, implying that he needs to do what needs to be done to prevent this warhead’s deployment.

During work, Michelle gets a call from Jen, Tony’s girlfriend. Why wouldn’t she have called CTU earlier? The last time she saw Tony, he left with Jack. Maybe she isn’t that bright. Tony apologizes for not informing Michelle about Jen. Michelle says it isn’t her business, which mirrors her comments when Tony inquired about her love life. Considering the rest of this episode, this segment doesn’t quite fit, but serves the overall story between Tony and Michelle.

Chloe returns to work, and Edgar asks how she is. It doesn’t seem like we’ll see much bickering between them now. She’s worried that she doesn’t feel anything after killing a man, regardless of the circumstances. Knowing her, it isn’t unusual she’d shut down emotionally in such stress. This could hint at where her story could go for the rest of the season.

Jack prepares to go in the Consulate alone. If he’s caught, he can claim that he wasn’t working as a part of the government. However, he stands to face the Chinese judicial system if he’s caught. With Tony’s help, the mission goes unimpeded, but once the other guards catch on, Jack’s again in a place where he can’t return. Carrying Lee on his shoulders, the guards fire at them. Why did the guards start shooting at someone they were protecting? Maybe they were shooting to wound, but like many guards shooting at the hero of a piece, they can’t hit anything, but when Koo steps in to see what’s going on, he is caught in friendly fire.

What really screws them is the Chinese guard unmasking Bern, the third man with Jack and Curtis. While Su Ming, the Deputy Consul, has hunches regarding US involvement in this siege, he doesn’t have proof yet. The guard is an eyewitness and can identify one of the men involved, a US government agent. Extracting Lee could be seen as an act of war, with consequences that would rival those Marwan has planned.

Lee is shot during the extraction. He’s bleeding internally. Simultaneously, Paul has another relapse as fluid fills the sack around his lungs. This coincidence does feel contrived, but it serves an exploration on how unforgiving the fight against terror can be. Jack forced the infirmary surgeon to stop operating on Paul so they could work on the Lee. Audrey is shocked and appalled at first, which gives way to hysteria when Paul dies, despite Jack’s attempt to revive him. Looking at Jack and Audrey’s arc, it feels unnecessary, but its brutality is a part of the show’s gritty style.

Audrey should not be anywhere near Paul during surgery. She isn’t capable of deciding to take the surgeons off Paul so they can save the man with vital information. Jack hates this decision, but unfortunately, they had no choice. Lee is the only link they have to Marwan. As we know well, capturing Marwan is the only chance they have at preventing this nuclear warhead from being used.

Although the narrative jump from Marwan to Lee was garbled, they rebounded and saved the episode. Some of the twists, while over the top like sacrificing Paul, are good simply for their potential. Now Palmer has to face an international crisis that may escalate to war on top of finding Marwan. This episode helped show what is at stake and escalated it to the point where no one involved will come out unscathed.

Score: 8/10