06.30 | Episode eighteen, 1AM - 2AM
Well, it looked for a moment like Jack Bauer had his own Scooby gang. Yusef Auda, the brave outsider, Johnathan Wallace, the ballsy tough guy, and Kate Warner, the ditzy girlie. Jack brought them all together and they fought the baddies and won out, against all odds. Chances are that Bauer would have gone on for the next few hours gathering together all of Los Angeles' freaks and weirdos until he had enough manpower to take on Vice President Prescott's evil cabal.
And then they had to go and ruin it by killing off Wallace. It was so obvious that the chip would be inside him. I've seen this done in a hundred movies before. It's almost as if the writers are relying on your ignorance of the old classics to make you think that '24' is the most original story ever written. Sort of like plagiarism, or Gareth Gates' cover versions, or something.
I was most amazed by Michelle Dessler carrying her phone into the 'restroom' to sneakily phone Jack from a cubicle. It was like a re-run of the bit in the first season where Jamie contacts Drazen. And, yet again, Tony was there when the call finished to catch her out. He really should stop hanging around the ladies' toilets.
Anyway, for a change, nobody had a good hour - except Kim, who managed to find out that her Dad isn't dead. Miguel even managed to keep his bad news - that he's lost a leg - from her.
I don't know about you, but considering that Kim's storyline is all wrapped up now, is this the last we'll see of her? Much like how Nina Myers and Sheri Palmer both disappeared mid-series and are both looking increasingly unlikely to turn up again? And whatever happened to Kate's dad, Bob Warner? And Marie Warner? And, my personal favourite, Gary Matheson? Eh? Someone's got some explaining to do.
And speaking of Gary Matheson, the sheriff who Kim speaks to at the police department tells her that he was seen killing his wife, and that they have a witness. I mean, huh? Who on earth kills their wife in front of someone else? That's the one part of this episode that I understand the least. I just don't get it. Is Gary Matheson - gnk - failable? Just a mere mortal? Someone who might be so dim that he'd get caught committing murder and thus might not be criminal mastermind behind the whole plot that I had him down for?
Gosh. Looks like I've got some re-evaluating to do.
The character who comes off worst from this episode has to be President Palmer. It's almost like he's cracking up under the strain. The part near the end of the show where he focused purely on the small middle-eastern boy killed by the National Guard troops showed astounding lack of concentration. No real life President could surely give so little attention to what his close staff were telling him. Mike Novick and Lynne Kresge are trying to restore order in a nation of 250 million, and Palmer's upset because some kid died and no-one bothered to find out his name. Talk about focusing just on the macro - he needs to expand his horizons, somewhat. My advice? Get back on Air Force One and take a holiday, Mr President.
I guessed that the chip would be in Wallace's stomach as soon as he said 'inside... urrrgh', and died. I was shouting 'Look up at the wall, Jack, you dumb fuck!' at the TV when Bauer put his head in his hands right in front of the x-rays. Sometimes, I'm just too clever for words.
