“Diane, listen to me. I promise you on my life that I will get Derek back to you.”
Jack Bauer to Diane Huxley after telling her that her son Derek is a hostage.
One of the basic elements of tragedy is that the protagonist has a flaw in their character that leads to disaster. This “tragic flaw” in classical literature is usually related to one of the Seven Deadly Sins; pride, greed, envy, anger, lust, gluttony, and sloth. However, it is also considered to be a character flaw to have an excessive amount of virtue. The logic is inescapable. If one has an excess of piety for instance, this could easily lead to the cardinal sin of pride.
Jack Bauer is a man of extremes. In that sense he is a one dimensional character, hardly a surprise given that we only know him by observing him on the absolute worst days of his life. But if Jack has one flaw in his character that has time and again led him into horrible situations it is that he has an excessive sense of honor. When Bauer gives his word you know he will move heaven and earth not to break it.
Last night’s episode illustrates that there are times when Jack would be better off not allowing his sense of honor to get in the way of his duty. When talking to Diane from his perch above the terminal and finding out that Derek is a hostage, Jack swears under his breath. He feels the weight of responsibility for seeing that Derek comes out of the hostage situation in one piece because he got the kid involved in the first place. And he knows that once made, his promise to Diane to get Derek out alive is going to complicate his duty to CTU and the rest of the hostages.
For many of us, giving a promise like that to a woman in Diane’s position would be simply a matter of reassuring a frantic mother. But for Jack, it is a blood oath that he has no thought of breaking. You know when he says it that he means exactly what he says. And like Jack, we know that it will get in the way of his responsibilities to CTU in helping them with the rescue assault.
The fact that in the end, Jack managed to be true to both his duty and his word came about thanks to some good luck and clever improvisation. But you have to wonder if in quieter times, Jack doesn’t reflect on incidents like this and curse himself for his excessive virtue.
SUMMARY
After taking control of the airport terminal, we learn that the terrorists are demanding that the anti-terrorism treaty that is about to be signed between the Russian and US Presidents be repudiated, something President Jellyfish is unwilling to do. His reasons are typically selfish; his place in history would be diminished. How this guy ever got elected dogcatcher much less Vice President (for those unaware, he took over the Presidency last year when Air Force I crashed killing the President) is a mystery.
I’m sure many of you have noticed also that we don’t know exactly who these terrorists represent. Are they Chechens? Given that this is the major secessionist movement in the Russian Federation one would have to believe this to be the case. So why not say so? Guess what religion most Chechens belong to and then remember last year’s protest by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) that Muslims were being depicted in a negative light and you have your answer.
After executing a hostage to prove they are serious, terrorist leader Anton singles out poor Derek and informs CTU that unless the treaty is repudiated in 15 minutes, young Derek will die. This galvanizes Jellyfish who demands that CTU mount an assault on the terrorists before the treaty is signed. Jack calls Bill and after brushing off Bill’s attempt to get him to surrender, he informs the CTU chief that he will remain at the airport and help coordinate the assault.
Meantime, Chloe returns to CTU headquarters while Fat Geek Edgar is trying to identify Anton thanks to some pictures that Jack took with his magic cellphone – you know, the one that never needs charging and never drops out. She is confronted by Bill:
BILL: Chloe, you managed to rack up 4 protocol violations.
CHLOE: Well, it’s a lot worse than that. If you count agency DOC codes it’s more like 26 violations. Now, do you want me to figure out whose face that is or I can go wait in the holding room?
What with Chloe’s new look hair and trimmed down bod, I think I’m in love.
While this little by play is going on at CTU, nutzo First Lady Martha is obsessing over her conversation with Palmer the night before he was killed. She slips away and, after threatening a White House employee in the bathroom, she gets a keycard to the archive room where she finds a hard copy of the conversation she had with Palmer, proving that the tape was altered. By who, she doesn’t know which is a break for Cummings who is starting to sweat bullets over Nutzo’s quest to prove she isn’t…well, nuts.
Back at the airport, poor Derek has minutes to live. Realizing that CTU Tactical will not be ready in time to save him, Jack hits upon a brilliant idea – a diversion. He downloads a picture of one of the terrorist’s vest detonators. Although “off protocol,” Chloe agrees to help Jack try to set the vest off once she sees its Derek under the gun. With some geek magic, she and Spencer are able to get the code with which Jack can detonate the vest remotely using his cell phone. Sure enough, just before Anton can pull the trigger, Jack is able to blow up a terrorist’s vest and in the resulting confusion, Derek is given a temporary reprieve.
CTU Tactical is just about ready to begin the rescue operation when they lose contact with Jack. It seems that Cummings called the Mystery Man and told him all about Jack and the assistance he was giving CTU with the planned assault. MM then calls Anton who turns on a device that blocks Jack’s cell phone signal. Bill reluctantly aborts the mission while Curtis comes up with a new plan. And if that wasn’t bad enough Anton also got word about Jack’s special relationship with Derek and calls for Jack to surrender or the poor kid is toast. Given his promise to Diane to make sure that Derek gets out alive, Jack has no choice and gives up, placing the hostages, CTU tactical, and the entire United States government in danger.
When he finds out that the US government is going ahead with the treaty signing, Anton offs another hostage. I don’t know about anyone else but when the terrorist killed those two hostages, I felt mighty uncomfortable to think that I could be in a situation like that someday. Um..I think that was the point, yes?
At the treaty signing ceremony, while awaiting word on the rescue Jellyfish hears for the first time who CTU’s “inside man” is at the airport. Once again, Jellyfish goes ballistic and demands Bill tell him why someone who is a suspect in the assassination of former President Palmer is helping CTU. When Bill says that the story will take too much time, Jellyfish snaps “Talk faster.” What. A. Tool.
And following the second hostage execution, Jellyfish begins to revert to form and starts to quiver like a schoolgirl, whining about his legacy and questioning whether or not it was worth it. It was up to Mike Novik to put a little steel in the President’s spine by reminding him of his responsibility. I fully expect Mike to quit in disgust at some point during the day. He no longer tries to hide the look of scorn on his face when dealing with Logan.
Using Derek as a club, Anton forces Jack to tell him the plans for the assault and then has him call CTU giving an alternate scenario courtesy of Anton. CTU Tactical is walking into a trap and Jack tries to warn them by using a “duress code” which in this case were the words “flank 2 position.” No one at CTU picks up on it however because Jack has been gone 18 months and the agency has changed protocols.
It is at this point that we meet Samwise – er, Lin McGill played by veteran Hobbit Sean Astin. McGill is a bureaucratic pustule, a pimple of a man whose excessive regard for form over function threatens to get everyone killed. And Bill, who is something of a bureaucrat himself, swallows hard, toadies up and grovels before the interloper from Division.
The only redeeming feature found in Mr. McGill so far is a fanatical desire to review everything – the attack plan, protocols, and yes – even conversations between CTU and Jack.
The treaty signing begins with Jellyfish wringing his hands about the hostages in private but talking tough in public. The Russian President informs him that if the hostages are killed, the treaty will be a mockery as will he and Jellyfish. Don’t know about the Putinesque Russian but Jellyfish doesn’t need any help looking like an idiot.
At the airport, Anton is told about Chevensky’s suicide and asks for “the keycard.” He passes the card to a hostage “sleeper” and Jack, who never seems to miss a trick, makes a note of the exchange.
Curtis has reconfigured the assault plan that if carried through would lead to catastrophe. Anton forces Jack to give the go ahead and the countdown begins. Then just before the assault gets underway, McGill bursts into the situation room with the information about Jack using the lapsed duress code. Just in time, Bill aborts the mission. Instead, Curtis calls for a return to the original plan.
As 13 terrorists wait for CTU tactical to burst through one wall, they instead are shocked when the assault occurs damn near behind them. In perfect flanking position, the TAC team makes short work of the terrorists with help from Jack who pulls a Houdini and gets out of his cuffs and offs two of the thugs. Seeing Anton about ready to kill himself, Jack pulls a Roy Rogers and shoots the piece out of his hand. This doesn’t deter Anton who crawls to the body of a dead terrorist wearing a suicide vest and blows himself up.
In the confusion, the sleeper has escaped despite Jack searching for him. And before young Derek leaves the terminal, he and Jack exchange a full body hug, which means that before these 24 hours are over, Jack will probably be called on once again to save the kid’s butt.
Meanwhile, the sleeper has made it to another part of the airport where a group of terrorists have unearthed some kind of container. The keycard opens it and what we see isn’t good; about a dozen cannisters containing something that the men needed gas masks in order to check out. The sleeper informs the Mystery Man that the cargo is safe and they are loading it for transport.
And Martha? She has the hard copy of her conversation with Palmer but won’t tell anyone about it except the President. While waiting for Jellyfish to indulge what he thinks are her fantasies, Cummings attacks the First Lady of the United States, chloroforms her, and steals the document containing her conversation with Palmer. Let’s hope she made a copy.
BODY COUNT
A ghoulish night for the grim reaper. The terrorists execute three hostages. Thirteen terrorists bite the dust with Jack accounting for three souls faithfully departed.
JACK: 6
SHOW: 25
SPECULATION
Spencer redeemed himself slightly by helping out Chloe with the vest detonation project. But he only did it because Chloe gave him that “Come Hither” geek look. He still could be the mole.
NOTE: Long time readers will note that I have changed the photo of Jack Bauer at the top of this post. This is due to the incessant whining of Bombtruck at Anklebiting Pundits who says the old picture made Jack look like a wuss. I happen to think it made Jack look like a handsome wuss but I am giving into Bombtruck because he is frequent commenter in the 24 forum at ABP. Besides, it’s never a good idea to get someone named “Bombtruck” mad at you.
10:14 am
Jack with a gun is better than Jack with a bad haircut.
That’s not whining….that’s good advice.
10:14 am
Fat geet Edgar reminds me of “Benny” on LA Law. “Benny” went on to star in “Dr. Giggles” and was “normal,” except for being an insane murderer.
I don’t think fat geek Edgar is as benign as he’s been portrayed so far.
10:14 am
i’m rather proud of myself because i’ve been proven true on 2 things: palmer would die and walt is a dirty rotten scoundrel. the issue of jack’s soul mate is yet to be resolved because audrey is still very much connected to jack and they haven’t really shown him to be deeply and romantically involved with huxley. i suspect they will toy with us throughout. bringing kim back into the picture—yuck. can’t stand her as played by that actress. and as usual, GO CHLOE
(and thanks rick for blogging this. i know others are, but i always check out your commentary first.)
10:41 am
Great weekend news roundup.
Holy-wood whacked the terrorists in a made for TV “show”. They support the terrorists in real life. Go figure
Hellary comes out as a Racist.
The mayor of N.O. comes out as a nut that talks to Jesus.
Algore comes out as the foaming at the mouth idiot he has always been. Not news.
The NYT post a picture of a Pakistani Man holding an artilley shell on their web site and identifed it as a hellfire missile. Not news and not a surprise.
Holy-wood has again made the Jewish people the bad guys of the world. Hey, the Jewish are supposed to be the super rich (according to the Islamic idiots and the left wing dim-wits they stole the riches of the world). Time for the Jewish to withdraw all financial support from Holy-wood.
Al $harpton. Well, just typical idiotic racist Al over the weekend. Not news.
The majority of the dim-wits. Still anti-american and assisting the terrorists. They have painted themselves into a corner with acid. Any terrorist attack of the future is now in their pocket.
The NYT. More NSA, we think this is what happened. When is we think news? They know they have several reporters (sic) going to prison as traitors and are now trying for a coverup tactic made famous by the dim-wits, Blame it on someone else, your mother, father, neighbor, but never yourself.
11:27 am
I agree with your comments about President Jellyfish. Should make one think about the political party’s TWO names on the ticket and not just the presidential nominee. I starting to think the reason the First Lady (who I think is hot)is nuts is because she is realizing what a no-chin, spineless weasel she married and the thought of her spending the rest of her life with him must be driving her insane. Have to give her kudos for the way she got the access card to the archives room.
I predict the Chinese will find out that Jack is still alive and then President Jellyfish will cave in to them and demand that Jack gets turned over or they will send out an assasination team to create further complication in Jack’s life.
11:27 am
Who would be worst?
President Logan
President Algore
President SwiftBoat
I still say Dixie Carter and Delta Burke will rescue “Crazy Martha”. With Mesach “Anthony” Taylor driving the van.
Sparks will fly when blue-collar Diane and silverspoon Audrey finally meet. Are we ABSOLUTELY SURE that Nina is dead?
BLS
12:08 pm
TERRORISTS SHOOT CIVILIANS, DON’T THEY?
Life Lessons from Jack Bauer and 24 Kudos to the producers, writers and director of last night’s two hour installment of 24 for providing the most powerful and realistic portrayal of the horror of terrorism that I have yet seen…
12:50 pm
This is my favorite show ever, but I wish they would portray Republicans better. They are all either unethical (Keilor blackmailing Palmer for the presidency), nuts (Martha Logan), jellyfish (Pres. Logan), or evil (Walt Cummings). But I guess that’s to be expected.
1:08 pm
... easy on the 24 guys. They are solid right-wingers. Joel and Rush are REALLY good buddies.
Dennis Hastbert (State Farm pitchman and ever-virtuous Pres Palmer)did say in an interview that he used IPOTUS WJC as his “role model” in crafting Palmer (YIKES!); but otherwise the 24 guys are solid Conservs.
Even Keifer isn’t from the same planet as his goofy dad.
4:29 pm
Hey, great blog! Just 2 points to add:
1. President Keeler is NOT DEAD … or at least, we don’t know he’s dead. Last we heard, he was in critical condition. I’m hoping he’ll snap out of his coma or whatever and start slapping jellyfish around.
2. Does anybody else think derek and his mom just got kidnapped? Think about it … Jack hands them over to some guy who LOOKS like CTU, but we don’t know him, and don’t see any ID. Jack instructs him to take them out to the van, but then the guy tells them he’s taking them to CTU HQ. Just a dialog error, or is he really taking them away to use as hostages? How do we know the guy is really CTU? He could be an infiltrator….
4:56 pm
I’m blogging this too, and as thrilled as I am with the dombshell start of Season 5, I’m a little fed up with the females on this show. Now that Michelle is dead…and with the addition of a two new weepy females – one with humungous hair, and the other one loony but with a bosom that the weasly President totally doesn’t deserve…and the impending doom of Kim’s inevitably whiny appearance (undoubtedly bitching about how she thought her dad was dead for 18 months)...Chloe is gonna have to hold it up for all tough chicks everywhere. She’s already got a partial body count – yay Chloe!
And I concur, Jack with a gun is better than a skinny Jack making like Zoolander.
4:56 pm
*bombshell
PIMF
5:34 pm
Part of the fun of watching 24, at least for me, is watching for the plot holes and outright mistakes – like watching Jack send pictures from his Sprint Treo 650 phone while he was talking… something I sure can’t do with my phone.
I’m running a list of 24 holes for anybody interested… additions are welcome.
7:28 pm
Pillow Talk
Today’s dose of NIF - News, Interesting & Funny … It’s Kerry-180 Tuesday (+ Open Trackbacks)
8:08 pm
I can only hope whining Kim is slapped to her senses by Chloe or immediately grabbed by a new set of the ever reliable kidnappers.
8:11 pm
Has anyone noticed how fidgety Pres. Jellyfish is? I think his body has some kind of ADD problem where his mind is fine (debatable) but his body is causing all of the fuss. And how he points when he talks. Rude and nutty at the same time.
I’m on board with Spencer as a potential mole, and absolutely as a problem.
I realize that he played a hobbit, but I never truly realized that Sean Astin was that short!
8:32 pm
Redheaded Infidel said:
“with a bosom that the weasly President totally doesn’t deserve…”
So are you saying, redheaded infidel, that good men deserve women with nice racks?
I’m a good man.
8:34 pm
“I’m in flank 2 position.” I’ve loved this program for five years, and I’ve put up with a lot. I’ve willlingly suspended the logic centers of my brain to promote enjoyment. But this
The man says the same phrase THREE times and not a single person from CTU is the least bit curious about it? It takes a (hobbit) villager from outside to catch on to what Jack’s doing? YEARRGH (to quote Howard Dean)
I understand continuity gaps. I understand magic technology that allows color-coded dots on a screen to tell us who the player are. I understand that the terrorists always have three more backup plans in place. I even understand the blankety-blank cougar. (Well mostly.) But this I do not understand.
9:33 pm
17- Watchman
They explained the Flank-2 situation beautifully. The computer didn’t pick up the duress code because it was a protocol from the last time Jack was working at CTU. They probably change it often. And though I knew it was some signal, it added to the suspense that it took that long for someone to pick it up. But my only 2 complaints about the new season is….SEAN ASTIN? Mr. Baby face? No way. And secondly, WHY did they kill off Michele? I liked Michele. Couldn’t they have killed off the fat guy with the lisp..whatshisname? He’s annoying.
10:21 pm
PLOTS WITHIN PLOTS.
Rick at Right Wing Nut House resumes his spring service of “24” plot summaries.
10:46 pm
17 – I too am a good man.
19 – His name is Edgar. And I agree, Michele (or Michelle?) should have lived.
And, naturally, Palmer had to die to focus on his insurance commercials
/TJ
10:53 pm
Previews show Diane at CTU next week, so Diane and Derek are being kidnapped. They also show the Diane meeting Audrey.
As for the “Flank 2” bit, of course it was obvious to us, the viewer, as we know the show is fiction and that Jack Bauer will prevail and foil the terrorists’ plot by somehow letting CTU know he is captured. The question is do you expect CTU agents to figure it out if they don’t know he is captured like we do and if he is using an old code. Of course the entire plotline was developed to make Samwise a hero of sorts, but still.
11:09 pm
Joyce, I’m not buying their attempted explaination. Jack was talking to Curtis, Bill and Audrey, not to the computer. All three of them hear him say and then repeat a phrase that has no meaning to them, but don’t question it—even when he says it a third time later? Even by CTU’s lousy operational standards, that’s a stretch.
7:28 am
Picnic 01-18-2006
Items I found while perusing my blogroll.
11:15 am
MARTHA LOGAN FOR PRESIDENT with or without the pills. She is scary good.
Rick, love your description of the Hobbit, I’m still laughing. I was prepared to suspect and/or hate the twerp until he came to the rescue regarding the “duress code” Still will keep an eye on him because he could of done the code thing to “make his bones” at CTU. Jack wouldn’t trust him so I won’t either. But could this Hobbit’s inability to go with gut feelings get lots of people killed? Reduces the chance of Jack being the one to rack up a stellar number of kills. But I know better, my money is on Jack.
Jack shoots to disarm, who’d thunk it. Is he mellowing with age, sure hope not. Don’t give me that he wanted more info from him, he certainly didn’t wait around for more info from shooter.
Your truism, “We only know him by observing him on the absolute worst days of his life” Jack doesn’t know that we are watching – ha-ha – so can we assume that Jack acts with honor when no one is watching? Yep, he is just an honorable man with a mission, that’s why he’s dangerous. I think he also knows that if you don’t save the one you won’t stand a chance to save the many. It’s a universe thingie. I feel this character has a good sense of right and wrong, he’s right, end of story?
One of my most hated expressions, “you go girl” well I think I need to use it here, Chloe was great. Like Jack, Chloe cuts to the chase, no nonsense kind of gal! Can’t watch Jack with Audrey, Audrey would be the kind of wife that Jack would be constantly apolizing to. I liked her indigant question to Jack when her hubby was SHOT IN A SHOOT OUT WITH BAD GUYS and she yells at Jack how could he let that happen.
Now as for Logan being a republican. Palmer was a democrat, in first hour of first 24 Jack said that if Palmer gets elected he’ll gut this place. This place was CTU. Doesn’t sound like a republican. Mike Novik worked for him. Season four and five Mike Novik works for Logan. Close advisors usually don’t party hop. Cummings, what evidence he’s republican? Now Martha said that Logan and Palmer had different politics, i.e. liberal, moderate, conservative. I don’t take that as being of different parties. See first season, see the campaign promises made, the “what can I do for you that they are not doing now” They are all democrats, some with different stripes, well not since Palmer was plugged.
This season is going great and we are getting too much in the weeds, let’s just sit back and enjoy, oh put on your seat belts.-
5:19 pm
On “Flank 2” there are two absurdities, only one of which has been mentioned. Yes, it is bizarre that CTU agents hear Jack say “Flank 2” multiple times, without (a) noticing that it doesn’t mean anything in normal parlance – i.e. what the hell is he talking about?; or (b) having it ring a bell “hey – didn’t that used to be a distress code?”
But equally absurd to me is having the terrorist listen to Jack say “Flank 2” several times without it clicking that it could be some kind of a secret signal. Are these guys supposed to be that stupid? This Flank 2 gambit would never have gotten by Marwan last year.
For these reasons, I assume that in real counter-terrorism life, distress codes are normal meaningful phrases that could be put into a conversation without arousing too much suspicion (something like “move all your men to the south entrance now – I CAN’T EMPHASIZE THIS ENOUGH - move them to the south entrance), not phrases with no meaning.
5:30 pm
Don’t you just love the humor of these folks, they named Derek Derek, son of mother who rents to Jack who works on oil platforms.
10:19 pm
“Flank 2” wasn’t meaningless to CTU. Bill Buchanan points out to Samwise that “Flank 2” is a term referring to a position. He was saying (they thought)hey, I’m gonna be here so don’t shoot me when you come it!
And about Jack’s honor, the fact that Derek was there at all was what made Jack need to save him, not the promise to Diane. Jack may curse circumstances, but he’d never curse his sense of what’s right – if you get an innocent kid into a messy situation, you’ve got an obligation to get him out of it if you can. If he lost his sense of honoring what’s right, he’d become a monster.
10:28 pm
Good point, Penelope, especially the second one. In fact, it could be argued (on the other hand) that Jack certainly can give his word and then break it – as he did with the gunman in the refinery, saying he’d get him to medical care if he talked.
If that was one of the coldest killings Jack had done in the history of 24, it surely was prudent. Yet, he did give that crook his word. Which means, his word is only as good as the person to whom he profers it—in keeping with the Jack Moral Compass.
3:04 pm
Maryhunter: I thought Jack’s plugging Nina as she was down was pretty cold also. But what the hell, those two were just a piece of human debree (sp?)
5:09 am
Regarding the body count for Jack:
He triggered the diversion/explosion of the first vest with his cellphone, agreed?
Therefore he killed two baddies with a gun, and one with his cellphone. That makes three for the Monday episode(s), and six for the season.
5:51 pm
Now That’s a Bummer
And how many of you were screaming at the TV “Flank 2, you morons! Flank-effin’-2
” It’s A Code
” I though Curtis would be the one to catch it, but, duhh, no – it had to be the Hobbit??
...
1:16 am
This Season On 24
Am I alone in thinking that the current season of Fox’s 24 is the best yet ?
I have to believe that I’m not. I mean, look at what we’ve got so far. Jack Bauer back from the dead. A terrorist threat that seems to be knowingly playing on the weakn ….
3:40 pm
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