24: Season 5, Episode 3: Day 5: 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Review

Day 5: 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Original Airdate: January 16, 2006
Writers: Manny Coto
Director: Brad Turner

With the first two episodes setting up the crisis, this episode now sets things in motion. Although the bigger picture is still mysterious, this one episode is another entertaining installment. Manny Coto, in his writing debut for 24, proves to be a useful addition to the crew. His first assignment is an exercise in one of 24’s main themes: the clash between personal problems and national security crisis. Of course, we’ve seen Jack in these situations many times on the show, but this time it is a crash course for those involved in his new life. Unfortunately, the situation has Derek in grave danger while Diane can only sit and watch, hoping that Jack can save him.

The stakes are raised quickly, as the terrorists shoot the yuppie with the cell phone and the man with the wife without hesitation, dragging their bodies away and making Derek kneel in one of the victim’s blood. Derek survives such a quick demise via the “he’s not an extra” rule, but considering what they did to Michelle and Palmer, they don’t want us to forget that they are confident in killing off anyone. Nevertheless, why they didn’t just shoot Derek once that guy’s vest blew up? Later they justify it because he’ll make Jack cooperate, but that doesn’t explain the time in between the terrorist exploding and Walt telling the terrorists about Jack.

It’s forgivable since keeping Derek alive keeps Jack’s personal interest invested in the crisis. Although he probably would behave similarly if Derek was replaced with a random hostage, it makes it resonate deeper with the audience. Jack simply can’t go running in guns blazing, even though it would be fun for the viewer. Like real life hostage situations, he has to proceed with caution or else he’ll have sixty civilian casualties on his hands.

One thing about 24 that may set off nitpickers (aside from the liberties of the real time format) is that despite being away from the field for at least a year and a half, he shows few signs that he’s out of practice. While it doesn’t hurt perhaps if he was a bit rusty, it would make situations like the ones in this episode more intense because they have the added dilemma of whether Jack still knows how to get it done.

However, they decide to focus on having Jack and CTU work together. Because Jack isn’t CTU, he doesn’t have to obey their rules, and can pursue the hostage situation any way he wanted. Bill Buchanan seems to be one of the many CTU directors who doesn’t like the way Jack operates, but his character development has come along nicely since then.

There is a problem with how quickly Jack’s innocence is proved. Yes, CTU found the body where Chloe told them it would be and they do have her testimony (and eventually Derek’s), but that doesn’t prove that the dead guy was the gunman, maybe if they found the rifle with his prints on them. Maybe Chloe could’ve found that the video was forged. They could talk to the foreman at that construction site. Even though he knew Jack as “Frank”, he could place him there when Palmer was shot.

Since Chloe has been so loyal to Jack, it’s fitting that she borrowed a page from his book to get back on the floor. What could’ve been annoying is rather cool now. What type of punishment Chloe will receive will likely amount to a wrist slap or less, but she is a great example of how Jack has influenced CTU.

Considering he can’t get the media to stop broadcasting the Russian terrorists’ feed, a feat the media obliged his predecessor when Heller was kidnapped, Logan is a useless idiot. But what is really troubling is that he is more concerned that the hostage situation is ruining his photo op than saving those people. Not negotiating with terrorists is a good policy, but Logan needs to look at it realistically. There is a crisis going on and he needs to solve it. His dream of somehow solving it with little media fall out is harming that process.

This episode is largely devoted to the hostage crisis, but the other major storyline advancement is from Martha. It confirms that she there is more to her than anything we may have thought. Knowing that Palmer’s assassination and the hostage situation are linked, she is determined to get the proof she needed. Martha is in the position where she is desperate to be taken seriously. It was a bit shocking for her to barge in while the techie guy was peeing, but she kicked it up by threatening to scream rape if he didn’t give her what she needed. I think Jack would respect that.

Thanks to her cunning, she was able to get the transcript, of which we still don’t know the contents. Considering Walt is dirty, she would be wise to make copies of it or perhaps fax a copy somewhere safe. It’s risky to have the only piece of evidence validating your information in one place, especially when no one believes you.

There is something about these terrorists’ plans and motivations that do require some exploration. These guys are ready to kill themselves, as we saw that they aren’t bluffing when Jack blew up one of them. Beresch and his men must know that the best scenario they have is life imprisonment, so this is clearly one step (evident since we’re still early in the season). The signing of the treaty is a big point, but that is only a small portion of the day. It could be that this is merely a good time so that their attack’s profile will be lifted.

I’ll go into more detail about this in the next review, but from what we can guess from this episode is that the terrorists have been inspired partly from events going on in Chechnya. It’s probably best that they don’t mention this directly like they did in season two with the three countries, but thankfully the connection to Russia makes the deliberate vagueness less likely to annoy.

Although I was expecting more of a Die Hard story, they thankfully decided to avoid that and have the two sides (terrorists and CTU) operating independently. This episode is another example of what appears to be a great season so far. The emphasis on character development is definitely appreciated, as it is what reels us in. Though I wish there was more explanation about the terrorists’ motives, I know it will be explained later.

Score: 8/10