24: Season 1, Episode 7: 6:00 AM - 7:00 AM Review
6:00 AM - 7:00 AM
Original Airdate: January 8, 2002
Writer: Andrea Newman
Director: Bryan Spicer
The second part of this "trilogy" adds on to the complications brought up from the last episode. Jack's compromised position threatens one of CTU's own. We finally discover who has been compromising CTU regarding this investigation. While the ending may be considered a cop out, the show as a whole is better for it.
As the sun rises, the shot segues to Jonathan, the gunman who will in a few hours attempt to kill Palmer. There is a great visual flair in this episode. The transition to the gunman is cool and the use of split screens creates an impressive effect. With Belkin's picture in the mirror, he carefully makes sure he has every detail down to the green contacts. It's creepy, and a good way to remind us that the threat on Palmer is very real and close to coming into fruition.
Jonathan tells Gaines that he's leaving while Gaines still watches Jack. Gaines has left a keycard in the car for Jack to use when he gets back to work. This card is identical to the one that Milo is currently decrypting. Although Jack isn't told yet, he must know that Gaines plans to swap them. His mole in the agency has let him know that they've found this piece of valuable information. They are too close, but Gaines won't tell him that. He has enough power that he doesn't have to say why.
Following his meeting with Novick, Palmer rushes out to convince his family to stand by him as he comes forward with the story. The first person this request concerns the most is Keith. Palmer disregards Pierce's request to stay in his limo and runs towards his jogging son. His appeal is turned down because Keith only sees this move as political; something he believes his father has always made his top priority. Palmer is a paradox. While he is a man of integrity, his career has made it difficult to remain strong with his family and now he's frantically trying to make up for lost time.
On the compound, Rick cleans off after burying Dan. One could nit-pick about how it only took him five minutes to move all that dirt, but would we really want to see another hour of burial? Kim's in the midst of Stockholm Syndrome, although Rick is the least evil of the people at this compound. Despite Gaines' dismissive and condescending attitude, Rick still thinks that he'll honor his promise to let Rick go. Rick still lives afraid to assert himself. Kim, about as close to an impartial observer, knows that Gaines won't allow him to leave.
Jack arrives at CTU, where he awkwardly dismisses Kim's situation to Nina. She then informs him that the body in the trunk was Alan York's. He quickly returns to his office to curse Gaines out. However, a simple gunshot quickly reminds Jack of the power Gaines has over him if he doesn't obey his orders. Gaines tells him to replace the keycard they're analyzing with the one in the car.
Gaines takes a moment to inform Kevin, the man impersonating Alan York, that Teri knows he's fake. Kevin doesn't know it because his phone has poor signal. While driving with Kevin, Teri demands that they pull over because she feels whoozy. Although it had only been a few minutes, the fact that she was with this man obviously put her in a state of shock. However, like her husband, she must've been crafting some plan to deal with this development. Of course it isn't as sophisticated as anything Jack can do, but it works for the character. Alone in the car, he finds the message and can gather enough to know what's going on. He investigates and Teri hits him with a rock. Before Teri knocks him out, Kevin throws the keys into a bush far away. With Kevin knocked out and secured to a tree, Teri tries to call Jack, but is unable to get a signal.
Kim proves herself right when Gaines denies Rick's request to be paid and leave. Gaines manipulates Rick by turning around Rick's feelings of being "in the way". He claims to have some other jobs for him to do before he can go, but it's a bogus story. The only way he'll leave is like Dan. Rick doesn't resist, though, but this provokes him to take Kim's advice since Gaines won't.
As Nina comes up to inform Jack of Milo's progress on the card, Jack tries to tip her to Gaines' control. To his horror, Jack discovers that Gaines is watching him at CTU as well. Obviously the work of the mole, who we later learn is Jamey, but more on that later. Jack disposes of the evidence just before Nina enters. Milo is about to find out who the shooter is. However, Jack orders that they stop the decrypting until he gets down there.
Meanwhile, David consults Nicole about Keith. Unfortunately, she thought this ordeal was over years ago. To relive that again may be too much for her to deal with. However, Palmer proves to be a strong supportive father by advising her not to answer any questions she doesn't feel comfortable with or diverting those asking to him for an answer. Unlike her brother, she trusts her father's support. Since the scandal revolves around Keith, they don't need the additional conflict between her and her father.
An obviously frustrated Milo complains to Jack about having to stop decrypting the card. Jack dismisses it as a communication failure, which only makes Milo madder. Then he spills Milo's cup of crackers, using the diversion to switch the keycards. Milo doesn't even know it until a few minutes later, when the machine reads the card quicker than it should have and refuses to comply to the orders he gave the first card.
Kevin has woken up and warns Teri that if she isn't taken to Gaines' compound, then Kimberly will die. Like many people caught in this situation, Teri doesn't know how to proceed. She seriously doubts that she will be unharmed, but to have her daughter in danger too adds a lot to the equation. She still tries to call Jack, despite Kevin advising that it won't do much good.
Rick finally agrees to work with Kim on an escape plan. Before Rick can go into detail, another thug named Eli barges in. Kim quickly makes it look like Rick is raping her and Eli gives him a few minutes to finish. Obviously this is a bad sign of Eli's character, but it allows Rick and Kim a few minutes to devise their plan. When Rick leaves, Eli commends Rick for his brazen effort that could've gotten him killed, then goes to rape her himself. However, Rick finally shows some spine and gets Eli away so Kim can escape. On their way to load some trucks, Rick pretends he lost his keys and rushes back to Kim.
Gaines forces Jack to get clearance into the breakfast only a half-hour before it happens. Nina comes in and confronts Jack about the keycard that they know is a fake. Jack admits to switching them out, but lies about why. When Nina threatens to call division, Jack pulls a gun on her, something that throws Gaines off guard. He quickly escorts her out of the building, explaining to Tony that they're heading to a division meeting.
As soon as Teri gets service, she tries Jack's phone again, but is scared to hear someone from the hospital pick up. Frantically, she dials CTU, where Jamey picks up. Teri details her ordeal, and Jamey offers to send some agents to get her. Unfortunately for her, these people are Gaines' men, who get Kevin lose and take her back into their custody. Meanwhile, Jamey crosses out and disposes of the note she took during the phone call.
I like how they underplayed this moment. We finally learn who the mole is and instead of a dramatic reveal like her suddenly killing someone, she's just quickly threw away some information. It made sense for her to be the dirty agent. While there was a lot of suspicion drawn upon Tony, it was far more because he disagreed with Jack. Jamey was the least suspicious, plus her changing hairstyles, initially a nit-pick for fans, can be explained away as her alibi for when she contacted Gaines and his men.
Palmer has one person left to persuade, and that's Sherry. She's not budging. Rather, she offers an alternative: blackmail Kingsley into keeping the story quiet. She wants her son to avoid jail and her husband to be president, but knowing that he added to the cover up is too much for Palmer's conscience. Palmer wants this to be revealed since it will be eventually and a clean conscience means a lot to him.
Jack and Nina continue driving. An upset Nina questions whether anything Jack has said to her since midnight has been true. She must be going crazy thinking about what is really going on. Her emotions almost get them killed when she fails to notice the car in front of her has stopped at a red light. They proceed to a deserted industrial area, where Gaines then instructs Jack to shoot Nina. She can't believe what is happening, and demands that Jack shoot her to her face, which he does. They confirm what they believe is a dead body and move on.
Although this twist is negated in a few minutes, it is still a major development. Jack shot his strongest ally in a mock execution. She lived, but part of him looked like he wasn't sure it worked or at least the impact of shooting her took a lot out of him. However, he needed to project this image. He tricked the man who has the lives of his family in his hands.
Kim and Rick manage to dig a whole under an area of fence. When Kim squeezes under, she hears her mom scream. She can't leave her there, and Rick stays too, having missed the window to escape. Though some may criticize this decision, I can see how it works. She doesn't want to leave her mother alone there. Rick however, needed to step up and go. He's still a coward.
Tony asks Jamey about the meeting Jack and Nina told him about, but Jamey says that she hasn't heard of any meeting. Nina hasn't called either, which adds to Tony's anxiety. He investigates himself by getting the surveillance footage. There he sees Jack accost Nina, but is baffled as to why he gave her a flack jacket. We see that Nina, while groggy, is still alive. The jacket stopped the bullets. Now she is alone in the middle of nowhere, confused as to what is happening.
It is a second part, but by the end you know something is big is coming. We already saw some big things. Jamey's mole reveal is interestingly low key, but its implications are huge. While some parts may have been less than stellar, it makes up for it with Jack's story.
The second part of this "trilogy" adds on to the complications brought up from the last episode. Jack's compromised position threatens one of CTU's own. We finally discover who has been compromising CTU regarding this investigation. While the ending may be considered a cop out, the show as a whole is better for it.
As the sun rises, the shot segues to Jonathan, the gunman who will in a few hours attempt to kill Palmer. There is a great visual flair in this episode. The transition to the gunman is cool and the use of split screens creates an impressive effect. With Belkin's picture in the mirror, he carefully makes sure he has every detail down to the green contacts. It's creepy, and a good way to remind us that the threat on Palmer is very real and close to coming into fruition.
Jonathan tells Gaines that he's leaving while Gaines still watches Jack. Gaines has left a keycard in the car for Jack to use when he gets back to work. This card is identical to the one that Milo is currently decrypting. Although Jack isn't told yet, he must know that Gaines plans to swap them. His mole in the agency has let him know that they've found this piece of valuable information. They are too close, but Gaines won't tell him that. He has enough power that he doesn't have to say why.
Following his meeting with Novick, Palmer rushes out to convince his family to stand by him as he comes forward with the story. The first person this request concerns the most is Keith. Palmer disregards Pierce's request to stay in his limo and runs towards his jogging son. His appeal is turned down because Keith only sees this move as political; something he believes his father has always made his top priority. Palmer is a paradox. While he is a man of integrity, his career has made it difficult to remain strong with his family and now he's frantically trying to make up for lost time.
On the compound, Rick cleans off after burying Dan. One could nit-pick about how it only took him five minutes to move all that dirt, but would we really want to see another hour of burial? Kim's in the midst of Stockholm Syndrome, although Rick is the least evil of the people at this compound. Despite Gaines' dismissive and condescending attitude, Rick still thinks that he'll honor his promise to let Rick go. Rick still lives afraid to assert himself. Kim, about as close to an impartial observer, knows that Gaines won't allow him to leave.
Jack arrives at CTU, where he awkwardly dismisses Kim's situation to Nina. She then informs him that the body in the trunk was Alan York's. He quickly returns to his office to curse Gaines out. However, a simple gunshot quickly reminds Jack of the power Gaines has over him if he doesn't obey his orders. Gaines tells him to replace the keycard they're analyzing with the one in the car.
Gaines takes a moment to inform Kevin, the man impersonating Alan York, that Teri knows he's fake. Kevin doesn't know it because his phone has poor signal. While driving with Kevin, Teri demands that they pull over because she feels whoozy. Although it had only been a few minutes, the fact that she was with this man obviously put her in a state of shock. However, like her husband, she must've been crafting some plan to deal with this development. Of course it isn't as sophisticated as anything Jack can do, but it works for the character. Alone in the car, he finds the message and can gather enough to know what's going on. He investigates and Teri hits him with a rock. Before Teri knocks him out, Kevin throws the keys into a bush far away. With Kevin knocked out and secured to a tree, Teri tries to call Jack, but is unable to get a signal.
Kim proves herself right when Gaines denies Rick's request to be paid and leave. Gaines manipulates Rick by turning around Rick's feelings of being "in the way". He claims to have some other jobs for him to do before he can go, but it's a bogus story. The only way he'll leave is like Dan. Rick doesn't resist, though, but this provokes him to take Kim's advice since Gaines won't.
As Nina comes up to inform Jack of Milo's progress on the card, Jack tries to tip her to Gaines' control. To his horror, Jack discovers that Gaines is watching him at CTU as well. Obviously the work of the mole, who we later learn is Jamey, but more on that later. Jack disposes of the evidence just before Nina enters. Milo is about to find out who the shooter is. However, Jack orders that they stop the decrypting until he gets down there.
Meanwhile, David consults Nicole about Keith. Unfortunately, she thought this ordeal was over years ago. To relive that again may be too much for her to deal with. However, Palmer proves to be a strong supportive father by advising her not to answer any questions she doesn't feel comfortable with or diverting those asking to him for an answer. Unlike her brother, she trusts her father's support. Since the scandal revolves around Keith, they don't need the additional conflict between her and her father.
An obviously frustrated Milo complains to Jack about having to stop decrypting the card. Jack dismisses it as a communication failure, which only makes Milo madder. Then he spills Milo's cup of crackers, using the diversion to switch the keycards. Milo doesn't even know it until a few minutes later, when the machine reads the card quicker than it should have and refuses to comply to the orders he gave the first card.
Kevin has woken up and warns Teri that if she isn't taken to Gaines' compound, then Kimberly will die. Like many people caught in this situation, Teri doesn't know how to proceed. She seriously doubts that she will be unharmed, but to have her daughter in danger too adds a lot to the equation. She still tries to call Jack, despite Kevin advising that it won't do much good.
Rick finally agrees to work with Kim on an escape plan. Before Rick can go into detail, another thug named Eli barges in. Kim quickly makes it look like Rick is raping her and Eli gives him a few minutes to finish. Obviously this is a bad sign of Eli's character, but it allows Rick and Kim a few minutes to devise their plan. When Rick leaves, Eli commends Rick for his brazen effort that could've gotten him killed, then goes to rape her himself. However, Rick finally shows some spine and gets Eli away so Kim can escape. On their way to load some trucks, Rick pretends he lost his keys and rushes back to Kim.
Gaines forces Jack to get clearance into the breakfast only a half-hour before it happens. Nina comes in and confronts Jack about the keycard that they know is a fake. Jack admits to switching them out, but lies about why. When Nina threatens to call division, Jack pulls a gun on her, something that throws Gaines off guard. He quickly escorts her out of the building, explaining to Tony that they're heading to a division meeting.
As soon as Teri gets service, she tries Jack's phone again, but is scared to hear someone from the hospital pick up. Frantically, she dials CTU, where Jamey picks up. Teri details her ordeal, and Jamey offers to send some agents to get her. Unfortunately for her, these people are Gaines' men, who get Kevin lose and take her back into their custody. Meanwhile, Jamey crosses out and disposes of the note she took during the phone call.
I like how they underplayed this moment. We finally learn who the mole is and instead of a dramatic reveal like her suddenly killing someone, she's just quickly threw away some information. It made sense for her to be the dirty agent. While there was a lot of suspicion drawn upon Tony, it was far more because he disagreed with Jack. Jamey was the least suspicious, plus her changing hairstyles, initially a nit-pick for fans, can be explained away as her alibi for when she contacted Gaines and his men.
Palmer has one person left to persuade, and that's Sherry. She's not budging. Rather, she offers an alternative: blackmail Kingsley into keeping the story quiet. She wants her son to avoid jail and her husband to be president, but knowing that he added to the cover up is too much for Palmer's conscience. Palmer wants this to be revealed since it will be eventually and a clean conscience means a lot to him.
Jack and Nina continue driving. An upset Nina questions whether anything Jack has said to her since midnight has been true. She must be going crazy thinking about what is really going on. Her emotions almost get them killed when she fails to notice the car in front of her has stopped at a red light. They proceed to a deserted industrial area, where Gaines then instructs Jack to shoot Nina. She can't believe what is happening, and demands that Jack shoot her to her face, which he does. They confirm what they believe is a dead body and move on.
Although this twist is negated in a few minutes, it is still a major development. Jack shot his strongest ally in a mock execution. She lived, but part of him looked like he wasn't sure it worked or at least the impact of shooting her took a lot out of him. However, he needed to project this image. He tricked the man who has the lives of his family in his hands.
Kim and Rick manage to dig a whole under an area of fence. When Kim squeezes under, she hears her mom scream. She can't leave her there, and Rick stays too, having missed the window to escape. Though some may criticize this decision, I can see how it works. She doesn't want to leave her mother alone there. Rick however, needed to step up and go. He's still a coward.
Tony asks Jamey about the meeting Jack and Nina told him about, but Jamey says that she hasn't heard of any meeting. Nina hasn't called either, which adds to Tony's anxiety. He investigates himself by getting the surveillance footage. There he sees Jack accost Nina, but is baffled as to why he gave her a flack jacket. We see that Nina, while groggy, is still alive. The jacket stopped the bullets. Now she is alone in the middle of nowhere, confused as to what is happening.
It is a second part, but by the end you know something is big is coming. We already saw some big things. Jamey's mole reveal is interestingly low key, but its implications are huge. While some parts may have been less than stellar, it makes up for it with Jack's story.
Score: 9/10
posted by Matt @ 2:28 AM
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