TV Review: 24 8.05 – “8:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.”
Episode: 24 8.05 – “8:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.”
Original Air Date: January 25, 2010
We’re in “The Islamic Republic of Kamistan,” where we see General Wasid, the insurgency leader, talking on the phone with Farhad (President Hassan’s brother), who tells him that the assassination attempt failed. Wasid tells Farhad that insurgents are being arrested by the President’s security forces, and that the scheme is off. Farhad tells him it’s OK because he’ll get his hands on the uranium soon, provided Wasad still transfers the money to the Russians.
Bazhaev reluctantly allows his eldest son to seek help for his youngest son, who’s dying of radiation poisoning from the rods. Farhad tells Bazhaev payment will be coming to the bank soon and asks when he can take possession of the rods. Bazhaev says they can have them as soon as the money is transferred.
In the last ep, 8.04, Renee cut off Ziya’s thumb with a chainsaw, and now Jack and Renee are cauterizing the hole where his thumb used to be. A nearly hysterical Ziya screams “You cut off thumb!!” and Renee replies, “You can stay here and whine about it like a baby or come with me…” She reminds him he’ll benefit to the tune of 2 or 3 million dollars by helping her get to Vladimir. A worried Jack, concerned that Renee is going off her rocker, threatens to call Hastings and abort the mission. Renee convinces him not to make that call because she’s the only one who has a shot at finding the rods. Jack relents and follows Ziya and Renee, getting from Chloe his cover profile, the one he’ll use when he meets Vladimir.
Back at CTU, Dana gets a call from the loser ex-boyfriend, Kevin, from her mysterious past. She has allowed him to stay at her apartment. During the call, her secret is revealed to us when Kevin threatens to tell CTU that she’s an ex-con, accessory to murder. She asks CTU’s Arlo to cover for her and goes home. When she arrives, Kevin has another guy staying there but we don’t yet know who he is or why he’s there. She offers Kevin money to go away and Kevin slams her into the wall. He wants CTU intel from her that will give him access to bank accounts and the stock exchange.
At the UN, Weiss tells President Allison Taylor and Kanin that Farhad is trying to locate weapons-grade-235 uranium and that it’s somewhere on American soil. Kanin realizes this is why Hassan is having arrests and executions of insurgents back in Kamistan. Taylor and Hassan have disagreements because he is reneging on human rights agreements, and the peace accord depends on unity between the two countries. Hassan’s wife leaves him, presumably returning to Kamistan. Their daughter remains.
Renee makes it to Vladimir, who doesn’t trust her and asks her many questions, all of which she answers correctly due to a comm in her ear with Jack feeding the answers (from Chloe). Time to suspend disbelief that all the pat downs and feeling ups given Renee by Vlad’s guards do not reveal the comm. Jack’s outside in his car. Vlad still doesn’t believe Renee and has his men shove her and Ziya in the trunk of a black car. Jack follows, but it turns out, we learn thanks to Chloe, that he’s following a decoy car. Chloe finds that another car left five minutes after the decoy. It will take 10 minutes for CTU backup to reach where Vlad’s car is, the one that actually has Renee and Ziya.
Jack, not yet at the correct site, listens, horrified at the sound of two shots. Little does he know that those shots went right into poor one-thumb Ziya. Renee stays cool while on her knees awaiting probable execution by Vlad. But Renee, a very dark Renee, taunts him to pull the trigger. With dead-looking eyes, she says she has nowhere to go, no one to go to, and nothing in her life except this deal. If Vlad doesn’t want it, he should shoot. Vlad is finally persuaded by this and now believes she’s really with the Russians. Her cover is complete. Jack is relieved, listening to all this, and tells CTU to call off back-up because Renee is in.
I’d rather see more of the old Jack Bauer. No good drinking games yet this season, since Jack only said one “DAMMIT!” and that didn’t happen for 48 minutes into this episode. I’d also like much less Dana. She’s so easy for Kevin to manipulate that I wonder how she got a job at CTU. So far, the only cast members I care about are Jack Bauer, Chloe, Cole Ortiz, and Vlad’s red-headed, sharp-featured Russian bodyguard, played by Tony Curran, who I’m guessing will have a lot more nasty in the future. I can’t tell you why, but this guy looks satanic and like could give Jack some trouble later on.
Rating: 3.5 / 5 Stars
