You now have permission to pick your jaw up off the floor. We have official confirmation that Logan is indeed, an evil mastermind whose wishy-washy spinelessness has been an act that has fooled us for more than a year.
The subtlety of actor Gregory Itzin’s performance has been nothing short of brilliant. We have seen flashes of the “mastermind Logan” throughout the year. I have commented many times in the past that Logan only grows a pair when the crisis starts to affect him personally or politically. It is then that he digs in his heels and becomes decisive. Witness his insistence that the Summit with President Suburov go forward despite the terrorist threat. It seemed out of character at the time but, in light of Logan’s transformation, makes sense. The President kept the plan on track and in this, he was decisive – even going so far as to risk the life of his wife by not recalling the Suburov motorcade that he knew was going to be ambushed.
The question uppermost in everyone’s mind is why? Logan tells Henderson that the “plan” was to make America “safer and stronger” while protecting our interests. Sounds like a megalomaniac’s idea of an America under dictatorship. I hope everyone caught the fact that during his press statement, Logan did not rescind martial law despite the terrorist threat being now over. Does this presage one more attempt to frighten the American people into accepting his one man rule by initiating a terrorist attack? Or will the rest of the show become simply a political pot boiler as Jack races to take down the President? Somehow, I have faith that the writers won’t take the remaining 7 episodes to simply dethrone Logan and will have a couple of more satisfying twists that will keep us watching until the last minute of the last hour.
A word about Audrey. My Mole-O-Meter ticked considerably upward this week with regards to her association with the bad guys. At the very end of the episode, when Jack told her he had the tape, did you catch the faintest, the most fleeting sense of panic crossing her face when she asked Jack if he had listened to the tape? Was it my imagination? Or will Audrey break our hearts by revealing that she too, succumbed to the siren song of faux patriotism offered by either Henderson or Logan and will, at some point in the future, reveal a betrayal so shocking, that Jack will see no reason to go on living?
Probably not. At least that last part. Kieffer Sutherland has signed on to play Jack Bauer for three more years. Unless, of course, the announcement of Sutherland’s signing is itself a ploy and they have every intention of killing Jack off for real at the end of the show…
I really gotta get a grip here. This show does strange things to your mind.
SUMMARY
We discover that Evelyn, who was wounded at the shootout with Henderson’s boys at the plant, made a tape of Logan talking to Henderson about the Palmer assassination just that morning. What we do not discover is 1) Why Evelyn would tape the President in the first place, 2) How Evelyn could tape the phone call of a man whose communications are protected by a billion dollars worth of equipment and an army of technicians.
Maybe she listened in on a hall extension
(Note: Must be over 40 years old to get that joke).
After finding out that Evelyn took the precaution of placing the recording of the incriminating call in a safety deposit box at her friendly neighborhood bank, Jack and Wayne realize that they must get off the streets what with all the military patrols in the area. They pull into a motel so that they can treat the bleeding Evelyn who appears not to be hurt seriously. After getting a room, Wayne informs Jack that the bank’s night manager’s number was “listed” and that his house wasn’t far from the motel. (For the skeptical among you, I refer you to your local yellow pages where you can easily find your branch manager’s address and phone simply by looking under “Bank Robbers: Parts and Services”).
After leaving Evelyn to bleed in peace and quiet, Jack and Wayne head for the bank manager’s home.
At the ranch, Logan and Buckaroo Banzai have another heart to heart with Logan bemoaning the fact that everything “spiralled out of control once you (Banzai) decided to kill Palmer.” Buckaroo assures Logan that he has all the hospitals under surveillance and it would be only a matter of time before Evelyn showed up.
At CTU, Grandma Hayes (whose character is becoming more and more sympathetic as each week passes) and her oily assistant Miles receive word from the President himself that they must issue a warrant for Jack’s arrest. Logan tells Granny that “new evidence” has come to light proving that Jack was involved in Palmer’s assassination. Troubled but obedient, Granny issues the warrant just after Jack calls Audrey giving her the bad news about Logan and asks her to call her father so that the evidence of the President’s treason can be turned over to someone in the government.
Jack’s choice of Secretary Heller is a good one. Not only has Heller proved himself in combat (he offed two terrorists during his escape last year) but he also got off what has to be the best one line in the history of the show. Responding to his anti-military moonbat son who was spouting some leftist claptrap last year, Heller looked his kid right in the eye and said “Spare me the 6th grade Michael Moore logic…â€
Got that right, dog.
Audrey, being only half geek (on her mother’s side), realizes she needs the services of Chloe in order to help Jack so she brings her up to speed on the plot. Seeing the warrant out for Jack’s arrest, Audrey says “It’s started” as if the previous 18 hours were nothing more than a prelude, a walk in the summer sun. If so, storm clouds are starting to gather and it’s beginning to get very dark.
Slimeball Miles reasons correctly that if they want to capture Jack, best keep track of his girlfriend. He has DHS flunkies attach a tracking device to Audrey’s car so they can follow her, hoping she will lead them straight to Jack.
Calling her father who is airborne, Audrey asks the Secretary to stop off in Los Angeles. Heller, realizing something is up, agrees to divert the plane to Van Nuys where Audrey is now on her way for the rendezvous. Heller, played by veteran actor William Devane, is a stand-up guy, a real straight shooter and if he turns out to be involved in this plot, I will eat my Official Jack Bower Boxer Shorts.
Jack and Wayne break into the bank manager’s house with ease, raising legitimate questions about whether Jack is actually a cat burglar on the side. After threatening both Carl the manager and his wife (a move that elicits a raised eyebrow from Wayne who had never seen Jack in action before) the trio start for the bank to pick up Evelyn’s evidence.
Eight year old Amy has her mother’s blood all over her hands and the entire night has just become too much for the little one. As she breaks down and starts to cry, that strangest and most compelling instinct of human mothers – their ability to hear their child crying even when unconscious or asleep – kicks in and Evelyn rises unsteadily to her feet, trying to answer this powerful call of nature. Alas, blood loss and trauma have taken their toll and she collapses, hitting her head on a table which knocks her unconscious. Amy, not knowing any better, calls 911 and gives her name thus assuring Henderson will pay them a visit.
Logan and the Veep have an interesting conversation about the “executive warrant” (?) issued for Jack. It may be my imagination but did anyone else notice that the Vice President has suddenly become a much more sympathetic character? Perhaps it was the revelation that he is not involved in the plot which has colored our perception but it just seemed that he has lost whatever menace that he had prior to last week and now appears to be on the side of the angels.
Watching her husband giving his statement on TV about the end of the crisis, Martha thinks that she has been too hard on him and offers praise for the President’s handling of the multiple crisis to Aaron. Agent Pierce, realizing things are far from over, let’s on that he is “battle worn” – a perfect descriptive for how many of us feel at this point. Pierce then calls Jack to tell him that there’s an arrest warrant out for him, a development that Jack takes a helluva lot better than I would have if I were in his shoes. Pierce asks Jack if there’s anything he can do and our hero gives the agent advice that all of Jack friends should take to heart: “Keep your eyes open and watch your back.”
Avoiding military patrols by making their way to the bank on foot, the trio of Jack, Wayne, and Carl enter the building and, after giving Jack the codes for breaking into the vault, Carl recognizes Wayne who spills the beans about what they’re up to. Carl should have kept his mouth shut, not realizing perhaps that almost all innocent bystanders who offer to help Jack end up wishing they hadn’t.
Meanwhile, Audrey stops at a gas station and calls Chloe who instructs her in the finer points of how to use CTU’s Magic Walkie Talkie that allows you not only to communicate with anyone in the world at any time, anywhere, but can also sniff out electronic tracking devices that just happened to be attached to your car. Ditching the tracker by placing it on a truck, Audrey speeds off to Van Nuys.
At the bank, Jack retrieves the incriminating tape that proves Logan’s involvement in the plot. The hard part over, Jack makes ready to leave but…too late! Buckeroo’s thugs have the bank surrounded. That’s because Henderson, informed of little Amy’s 911 call, shows up at the motel, offs the two EMT’s treating Evelyn, and was able to get woman to give up where Jack was.
Although pretty horrible to contemplate, it’s hard to imagine Henderson leaving either Evelyn or 8 year old Amy alive to tell any tales.
Back at CTU, Miles has tasked a satellite to find Audrey, a feat of legerdemain easily accomplished, not easily explained. Discovering this thanks to Sweet Sherry’s heads-up, Chloe goes into the server room to corrupt the data and prevent the satellite from tracking Audrey’s car. As the signal fades to black, Miles knows it can only be Chloe and races to the server room. Not finding her there, he sees her coming out of the women’s bathroom and initiates this classic bit of Chloe:
MILES: What are you doing?
CHLOE: What?
MILES: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
CHLOE: Are you kidding? If you really want the details, I’ll write you a report.
One gets the feeling that she would, in fact, enjoy writing such a report. Miles, of course, is defeated again, becoming something of a running bureaucratic joke.
Back at the bank, realizing his options are extremely limited, Jack decides the only way out is to get some help. He has Carl trip the alarm deliberately which brings a couple of squads of LA’s finest roaring into the bank parking lot at which point Henderson orders his men to take out the cops lest they get their hands on that precious tape. This is exactly what Jack was counting on, hoping not only to get in a little target practice but also use the diversion of the cop/bad guy fire fight to make his escape.
A terrific gun fight erupts on the peaceful street with Jack being able to get two of Buckeroo’s henchmen while sidling away from the gun battle and toward a cop car whose occupants have met an unfortunate end. All seems to be going fairly well for Buckeroo’s boys – that is, until the army shows up. Several APC’s take up a blocking position and open fire with their 50 cals turning what was an even battle between the police and the thugs into a slaughter.
With bullets flying everywhere, poor Carl takes one for the team before being hurled into the police car and with Jack at the wheel, they speed away from the bloody scene. On the phone with Audrey, Jack finds out where to go and starts toward Van Nuys airport to meet Audrey, Secretary Heller, and the potential showdown with Logan.
BODY COUNT
Two EMT’s make their last call. Two cops go down in the line of duty. Five thugs go down with Jack accounting for two of them. Carl shoulda stayed in bed.
JACK: 26
SHOW: 174
SPECULATION
Are we headed for a civil war? As Secretary of Defense, Heller could be in a position to command some troops, especially if he is able to convince some of the Joint Chiefs to back him. Logan, as CIC, also could count on the loyalty of some troops.
What happens if Logan doesn’t want to leave? Farfetched of course. But it would certainly raise some interesting possibilities, wouldn’t it?
UPDATE
My friends at Blogs4Bauer as usual, have the best liveblogging, Tivo blogging, as well as the best speculation in the industry. Check out who they discovered to be “mole of the week.”
9:08 am
Will the writers dust off the 25th Amendment & use it as they once did with Pres. Palmer – presidential incapacity, that is. Or: Logan must be nuts to have hatched this plot. On the other hand, with clear evidence of his involvement, will Aaron just go ahead & arrest him? Seems to me that once apprised of the facts, Aaron will have allies in Mrs. Pres. & the Veep.
9:12 am
I think Evelyn and her daughter should be added to your body count although we were spared from seeing it. I can’t imagine Henderson leaving a loose end.
9:17 am
[...] As always, The Right Wing Nut House has a thorough summary with his own witty analysis. [...]
9:48 am
What about Wayne Palmer’s “demon eyes”? As Wayne and Jack were driving over to pick up the bank manager, Wayne flashed “demon eyes” straight out of Exorcist. NOTHING on “24” “just happens”.
When slimy Miles confronted Chloe leaving the restroom, I was hoping her answer was a simple “#2”. Or maybe “why, did you wanna watch?”
As bank manager showed his gritty man-on-the-street patriotism, my wife lamented “well, he’ll be dead within 5 minutes”. He was of course.
My biggest fear in this hour was the possibility that “Macho Man Logan” and Crazy Martha were gonna dance the horizontal mambo right there on his desk. I wanna t-shirt with “Magnificent … I like the sound of that” ... moves past “Ask not what your country, etc …” among great presidential one-liners.
Granny Hayes will end up on Jack’s side before its all over. “Sexual Harrassment Hottie” is certifiably weird.
Evelyn and daughter “sleep with the fishes” ... sigh, sob …
BLS
10:07 am
What will likely be as ‘interesting’ as any super-pretzel ‘24’ plot twist is the competing world view emanating from the the new CBS ‘24’ equivalent THE UNIT debuting tonight….odds are on some sort variant on a Wilsonian group of transnationalists assuring the survival of world sanity…..n’est-ce pas?
Personally I see a little light at the end of the propaganda tunnel. Just as ratings success have assured the survival of Fox news, I believe the continued dominance of ‘24’ over its enevitable wannabe competitors will, over time, pull all story lines away from a white flag, Saudi-sensitive, liberal world view.
Wouldn’t it be ultra-nice to see ‘24’ relocating its cojones and finishing off the season actually showing more Arab/Muslims as bad guys. The other networks are starting to do it…...
10:17 am
Chloe, I need you to find Audrey, and download the entire U.S. Reports series to my PDA, now! Protocols be damned!
What if Jack Bauer were Chief Justice during Marbury v. Madison? The following takes place between 18:02 and 18:03 JACK BAUER: Secretary Madison, millions of people are going to die unless you act. I cannot let you go through with…
10:20 am
Had Mr. Proby ever watched “The Unit?” It’s great television. Yes David Mamet is a producer, but so is Eric Haney a former Command Sergeant Major with Delta Force who was at Desert One, in Beruit, Central America, Grenada, etc. If you want to read an excellent book check out Haney’s “Inside Delta Force.”
I’ve been watching “The Unit” all season, and while I don’t like it’s solve everything in one episode, it is pretty entertaining and they (like CSI) carry some back-stories through-out.
Liberal world-view? I guess last week when the team assassinated a terrorist in Spain using a sniper or on the season opener took back over a plane full of middle eastern terrorists hearkens-back to the good old days of the Clinton administration (periods I guess I must’ve forgotten somewhere). Anyway, I know this is a 24 board, but liking 24 doesn’t mean you have to do “The Unit.”
11:06 am
Mr. Publius has the advantage of living in country whose commercial media, unlike that in Canada, is not entirely dominated by Lefty, girly-boy appeasers. Thanks to our CRTC (Fed Comm Authority) we have not yet seen the UNIT. Believing as I do that TV is both a conscious as well as unconscious propoganda tool, I was and still am looking forward to seeing the UNIT tonight (its Canadian debut)to see to what extent they cave, as did Fox with ‘24’ in front of CAIR/Saudi pressure to not push too hard with the undeniable depth of Islamic/terrorist complicity.
I will be mucho delighted to be proven wrong with my misgivings as Publius suggests I will be…..
11:24 am
did anyone else notice how ridiculous the music was in last night’s episode? it was like bad spy movie music.
11:40 am
Well just when everyone thought it couldn’t get any more exiting it did. On your comment vis-a-vis President Logan’s leers and sidelong glances revealing his character, the audience by this time should believe that no look by a character is accidental. Consider that if the director wanted a character to appear sinister, uncertain (as Ms. Hays) or troubled as Audrey has been at times, or slimy as Miles, there is a story board that the director is following and a look is worth a thousand words. ergo: There is a beginning a middle and an end to the saga, unlike as I mentioned before “X-files” which the writers made up as they went along. The surlyness of Miles, the brazeness of Chloe, the sinister looks of the Vice President are dramatic devices that are far from accidental and that being so, expose writing that is superlative. The fact that Chloe has magical computer skills or that CTU has equipment that surpasses anything the general public has are only minutae meant to highten the action and if needed to be explained would be painstaking to reveal, one must take those devices on faith, not unlike Buck Rogers Ray Gun or Captain Kirk’s transporter. Although I can visualize downloading satellite imaging to a PDA easier than a computer smashing my bodily atoms and molecules and beaming them up to a spaceship.
11:58 am
The pregnant use of close ups as in ‘pregnant silence’ in ‘24’, although not unique, seems to have been taken to an effective and exciting new extreme. While this can serve to energize otherwise superb writing, the use of the seemingly bottomless power of this dramatic device can be unnerving. I find it more than just scary seeing a POTUS ‘leer’ as Logan does so expertly. The viewer is subsequently forced to consider the possibility of our big bosses of all the bosses as being evil. For real ! Ouch.
12:42 pm
Thanks again for a great summary. My patter has become Watch. Read Rick. Watch again (doesn’t everyone record 24?).
Okay, I’m over 50 so maybe the memory is gone. Hall extension? I thought it was funny without knowing the joke…
Heller is indeed a stand-up guy. But how does he divert to Van Nuys AND keep it off the manifest in a post-9/11 world?
Has 24 ever killed a child (aside from the teen last year, I mean a little kid, and outside of general disasters)?
As to Jack’s calm acceptance of the news of an arrest warrant, how many has he had, or just CTU’s saying ‘bring him in’, in the past 4-1/2 seasons?
Audrey a mole?! I’ll eat my Chloe Raines Garter Belt (told you I was over 50)
jc
12:47 pm
Okay, like I don’t know Chloe’s last name is O’Brien.
1:00 pm
No. 7, Re “The Unit” – Eric Haney is a phony when he claims to be a founding member of Delta Force. One of the actual founding members, retired LTC “Bucky” Burruss, told me so. Also, Haney was never a Sgt. Maj. in Delta. Interestingly, David Palmer actor, Dennis Haysbert, now in command in “The Unit,” has stated several times recently that he believes the 24 writers made a big mistake killing off his character because he was a fully dimensional, strong black leader, etc. leader.
1:30 pm
I don’t think you will be disappointed with “The Unit”. I agree that the resolution at the end each week’s episode is a slight bother. I still think of Dennis Haysbert as Mr. President. I would have liked to have seen him continue on “24” but he is the driving force in “The Unit”.
When do the Chinese reemerge and is Logan connected to some kind of international conspiracy?
2:01 pm
i was so bummed when carl got taken out. i knew they were going to do it, but wish they hadn’t. i hope they bring back buchanan. martha and logan kissing gave me the creeps. there is not one thing romantic about the guy on or off stage. blech. man, is he gonna get it from martha when she finds out about his treasonous ways! and once again, in the shootout, jack showed us what a superb shot he is. i hate it when the characters just blast away and miss when they shouldn’t for all the rounds they spend. jack makes every one count.
i will be interested in the development of logan’s reasons for the plot. taking over the entire country isn’t plausible; sort of like pinky and the brain. calling for marshall law in one city isn’t enough to pull it off. he must have other reasons. i still want to know who the woman is bierko talked to on the phone. martha? audrey? henderson’s wife? hummmm…
how did the satellite know which car was audrey’s??? was her’s the only car on that road???? i didn’t get that.
great show last night!
2:10 pm
Bary – well I’m not going to debate Eric Haney’s bona fides, and really don’t know when he made Sergeant Major, but I find it interesting to note that Mark Bowden (writer of Blackhawk Down, and Killing Pablo) has a story in this month’s Atlantic Monthly about the Desert One fiasco, and he has a brief passage in it mentioning Haney being there – nearly identical to the description in Haney’s book (which at least puts him in Delta in 1980, and the authorization for Delta came in 1977).
Since Haney claims in his book that he was in something like the third class to go through selection for Delta, perhaps it’s a stretch to say he was a “founding member,” but as it was not officially stood-up until after he joined a Squadron, it might be reasonable to conclude that he’s not exaggerating.
2:51 pm
LTC Burruss told me that Haney joined 13 months after Delta was formed.
Back to 24: Maybe Henderson will experience a “conversion moment,” become completely disillusioned with Logan’s scheme, set up a meet with him, kill him, tape a confession, then kill himself. Then…
3:37 pm
brent j, my husband and I were laughing at that 60’s spy movie music, too. WHAT THE HELL was that?
5:17 pm
Yeah, what was with that 60s or 70s spy drama music? We supposed to read something into that? Like, don’t take this TOO seriously? The 24 producers having some fun?
8:52 pm
#18 – Barry – if he does, they’ll probably wait until the last episode…It would make for an interesting ending…
9:29 pm
Wednesday Specials
...
9:40 pm
I got the hall extension joke …
“The Unit” is a great show and started it’s season a few weeks ago … oh, and btw, not ALL Army wives act like Tiffy.
Anyway—the best line of the night was Chloe and Scumbag at the bathroom.
I’m still having a problem with Audrey being bad, even after having admitted sleeping with Walt .. but then we must remeber Nina had us fooled too.
Thanks Rick!
10:19 pm
I understand that some people have starting asking why I carry a purse or Man-Bag. It is a utility bag that is necessary and very useful in my line of work. Nuf said on that subject.
Audrey has me worried too. I didn’t think much about the question regarding my listening to the tape. Now that I have time to think, this will need my attention. I don’t know where it is going.
I am also troubled by Evelyn, how is it that she was able to tape the president. My guess is that she was given the tape and instructed to hand it over to me. What purpose, unknown at his time. Sounds like Logan on the tape, that part I believe, infact I believe the tape genuine but I don’t believe that Evelyn could of bugged the phone. She is doing the work of someone else.
I asked, seems like hours ago, but it was just less then a hour, does anyone know the whereabouts of Mike Novik?
10:30 pm
[...] As usual, Rick Moran has a great summary of last night’s episode. [...]
11:36 pm
It’s going to be a wild ride this season.
A couple of things I wonder about, Henderson knows Logan is involved. Bierko knows Henderson is involved. But does Bierko know Logan is in the plot? I suspect not and that Henderson is the buffer between Logan and everyone else. That makes Henderson the fall guy unless something happens to change the record that he was ever wanted for terrorism. I also realize that with Logan in the terror plot any info that CTU got from other agencies could be disinformation. A house of mirrors indeed.
10:53 pm
#16 – Sue
Since there is a total curfew in effect, there shouldn’t be any civilian traffic on the roads, and most official cars would travel in small convoys and sport some sort of flashing light, even if it was just a yellow warning light. In that case, an automated satellite search could be set up to locate any lone moving car not flashing some sort of visual signal.
But having said that, I’d be willing to bet that in a city the size of L.A. there would probably be at least 50,000 people drunk enough or on drugs late at night who wouldn’t give a rat’s ass about obeying a curfew if they even knew it was in effect. So your question about how they found Audrey’s car so fast still stands unanswered.
We’ll probably have to settle for the usual “geek magic”.
And I agree, it was a great show last night. This season is sizzling along very well.
6:35 am
I believe when the army arrived at the bank they were in HUMVEEs not APC. APCs in the army are tracked vehicles. The M113 and the Bradley.
6:38 am
Alan:
You are probably correct. We only saw them for the briefest moment and the sillouette appeared to me that they were Bradleys.
8:19 pm
Yea, I know I’m a little late in posting but just got the chance to watch the recording for this week’s 24.
Really enjoy this one, poor Martha is goin’ to have to kill that bastard of a president.
Music, I loved it. Mostly a re-mix of the Highlander, a big dash of Patton and Halloween. Later some James Bond and spaghetti western. But mostly enjoyed the essence of the Highlander woven throughout the hour.
Do you all find yourself out of breath watching 24?
11:44 am
Plus, I feel like he can trust Heller more than anyone else because:
a) He used to work with him
b) He’s Audrey’s father
c) He’s probably less likely than anyone else in the high up govt. positions to be involved because he’s experienced terrorism on such a personal level when he was kidnapped that he is probably less likely to think getting in bed with terrorists is a good idea.
Can’t wait for Monday…the promo where Audrey is held at gunpoint made me nervous…
2:22 pm
AgentRez: After reading your post, it got me thinking. You know all the twist and turns that they like to put us through, well the last person with crimal intent beside Jack would be Needlenose’s daddy. And yes he was put through hell so what better reason to pull this stunt to, as per “lilly-liver-logan, try to secure our country. Of course I believe some of the most scarest words uttered is;
“I’M FROM THE GOVERNMENT AND I’M HERE TO HELP”
Agent Jack Bauer asked twice if anyone knows the whereabouts of Mike Novik. I am beginning to have a bad feeling about that also.
9:09 am
[...] For another extremely tedious summary full of some very bad jokes, go here. [...]