24: Season 5, Episode 5: Day 5: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Review

Day 5: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Original Airdate: January 23, 2006
Writers: Michael Loceff and Joel Surnow
Director: Jon Cassar

The first four hours were designed to set up the season and put it in gear. It was apparent early that they wanted to reclaim their reputation of being a high stakes show where anyone could go at any time. Appropriately, this episode is transitional, allowing them to develop the next major threat while dealing with some of the fall out of the previous one. There isn’t anything too phenomenal (aside from the last five minutes), but there isn’t anything really bad either.

Having nerve gas near the hangar certainly helps explain why the hostage situation was a step bigger than assassinating Palmer. I wonder how Palmer came across the bombshell that they were planning to use nerve gas on the Russians. It’s interesting that despite what has happened so far, the current end game is an attack on another country. That certainly doesn’t mean that the US isn’t going to be attacked (this is hour five, we’re far from safe).

We have hints that there is a lot more to this, as the terrorists were able to find this (or hold it) at this terminal. Lynn, as the rare by the book CTU Officer who shows some competency, lets us know that this isn’t some government surplus, but some non government agent manufactured it. Who are they and how did the Russians find out? Or are they responsible?

One minor plot hole concerns those rats. If they were dead, then wouldn’t it be possible for Curtis and the squad (along with Yellow Tie and his team) to be infected with said toxin? Having the rats dead implies that the containers were leaking, yet there is no mention of quarantining them or having the forensics team wear protective outfits. I guess Curtis had to find out what they had somehow.

Logan is such a schmuck, which makes having a mole in his midst fitting. Walt is able to remain on his good side because he reaffirms Logan’s perspective that his wife is unstable (of course she is, she’d blow your plan if anyone cared to listen to her) and how important his “legacy” is without him coming off as a suck up, not that that nitwit Logan would notice.

It certainly isn’t helping Martha. Despite being attacked on what is supposed to be highly secure land, she can’t get anyone to believe her. Logan refuses to look at any evidence that doesn’t support the “she’s crazy” idea in his head, most notably the fact that none of the medication Martha is on could’ve caused her blackout. Isn’t there surveillance anywhere here? She needs someone to believe her and time is running out, no wonder she bailed.

This is the first time Jack has been involved in a love triangle since Nina and Teri back in the first season. There are some parallels between Diane and Audrey. Both women thought Jack was someone else, literally and figuratively respectively, until one of these fateful days entwined them in the crisis. What makes these women different is how they react to this other side. Because there is character, it saves these scenes from being cheesy melodrama.

Audrey certainly has a lot of baggage from her relationship with Jack. She experienced the good when Jack rescued her and Heller, but within hours he was torturing her ex-husband. Then Jack had to choose the witness’ life over Paul’s and that choice was felt through the rest of the season. Believing Jack was dead certainly intensified all those feelings, something she has been dealing with ever since Day 4 ended. Unlike Audrey, Diane saw the good side of Jack’s nature, with his heroism saving the terminal full of hostages including her son. Since this happened over a half hour earlier, her gratitude is still fresh.

The fact that Diane is able to forgive Jack for keeping this from her (even though she was able to benefit) is a major difference between them and it doesn’t sit well with Audrey. She still has feelings for Jack, and during her interrogation of Diane, she starts to feel that perhaps she isn’t the woman for Jack. Audrey initially appeared to be only a one off character, but this season is proving otherwise.

The other triangle is between Edgar, Spenser and Chloe. Chloe and Spenser were intimate, but fans of the Edgar/Chloe ship from last season are certainly relating to Edgar’s jealousy. Both characters are so socially awkward, Chloe defensive and Edgar sensitive, that they are a great match for each other. Out of the ashes of Tony and Michelle comes the new great 24 pair!

It was great to see some hand to hand combat on 24. Although I do love a great gunfight, fist fights allow a bit more suspense and action. Yeah, seeing the reflection is a bit cliché, but the fight was well choreographed. Plus we get a special kill for scissor neck. So what Jack has a broken rib, he’s had worse on this show.

Spenser’s story sounds true. If he was a hired man, it’s hard to believe that the people who killed Palmer and Michelle within fifteen minutes would hire someone who was as amateurish as Spenser was. Leaving the computer active was the mole equivalent to leaving porn in the VCR. When he was confronted with the dead assassin, he sang quicker than any previous mole. It certainly explains why Cummings would want to bring someone else in CTU to kill Jack instead of having Spenser do it.

This revelation is reminiscent of Alias, whose main character Sydney Bristow believed she was a part of a deep cover operative unit when she was really aiding a deadly enemy. It’ll be interesting to see how Spenser deals with this and how the fall out will affect his relationship with Chloe, who took another page from the Jack Bauer book during his interrogation.

Jack “I'm not CTU” Bauer heading to Logan’s compound is a bit absurd, but boy is it exciting! This is where the personal nature of the threat really benefits the show. Considering Jack is still a non-person, he doesn’t have to follow CTU’s rules. Besides, we really want Jack to get this guy. Plus there is that shot at the end it seems that Walt knows that Jack is out for vengeance.

It does bring to question about Jack suddenly being alive. Since Jack faked his death to avoid being killed by corrupt secret service, wouldn’t that reactivate the case he faced (of which he was guilty)? This could come in play later if someone at CTU has a grudge with the way Jack operates (which certainly is a staple of every season). The lack of coverage of that aspect is a bit lacking in the writing, which considering that it is done by the same guys who wrote the last episode, could be simply the result of them scrambling to write this script after the original writer bowed out (this is speculation, I don’t know).

Overall, this was one of those episodes that is made by its climax. We get some good character moments as the new threat starts. They clearly want to go quickly through this season, apparent as two moles are unveiled in one episode. Just as one crisis ends, we’re plunged into the next one, which is great for 24.

Score: 7/10