TV Verdict

As one plot-line comes to an end, so another one begins. We’re not even into the halfway point of the season and Jack has been making some impressive progress on capturing Dubaku, killing bad guys, converting Agent Walker into a Bauer Diva and unraveling the government conspiracy. Can he land the deal?

Spoilers below.

We enter our hour with Jack and Renee trying to make up time in their pursuit for Dubaku, having sent the evil colonel’s girlfriend in as bait, which is really tearing at Renee. One thing leads to another and Jack drives incredibly fast down some barren D.C. rush hour streets and there’s a crash. Dubaku is injured and in custody, but his girlfriend succumbs to her injuries. Before he’s hauled off to ICU, Dubaku tells Jack that he has a list of names of people involved in the conspiracy (after a bodacious threat by Jack where he promises to hunt down Dubaku’s son and make him suffer). Turns out the list is on a magic memory card that deletes itself after one use (must be a Sony) and Dubaku’s hidden it in his abdomen. Well, that’s just some minimally invasive surgery! So Jack’s got his info and sends it to the FBI…

…where Traitor with the Nice Hair and his Traitor Girlfriend race to crash the mainframe or something so no one sees their names on Dubaku’s list. I think that’s their plan. I’m not sure, all of their dialogue was stultifying, littered with words like “parameters” and “protocols” and “motherboards.” They would have succeeded too, if Chloe wasn’t smarter than them. After a faked suicide, Nice Hair Traitor is caught and dumped in the brig.

At the hospital President Taylor frets about her husband, then tries to have a heart-to-heart with her estranged daughter. Bill Buchanan appeals to her sympathy to buy some good will for Jack, who resumes his hearing tomorrow. Taylor says she’ll “think about it,” which is super-lame. After everything Jack did, she should order a hit on the senator herself.

You know who’s really having a hard time with all of this though? Agent Walker, who can’t grasp Jack Bauer’s sheer awesomeness and when she tries to reveal the real Jack, she nearly goes crazy. Silly lady, Jack Bauer’s emotions are like the Ark of the Covenant; reveal them and risk getting your face melted the @#$% off.

Good episode, setting the table for the next wave of terror, kicked off in a weirdly cool exchange between Tony and Jack at the Washington Monument. Next week’s double-header looks like it will be a full loaf of gunfire and fun, especially with the return of Tony Todd.

Memorable Bauer Maneuver
Loved how Renee broke down in Jack’s arms all teaarful and vulnerable and looking for even a small amount of kind, human contact and Jack almost immediately followed up with “Next time you point a gun at me, you better be prepared to use it.”

Character Who Needs to Seriously Re-evaluate Her Line of Work
Sorry Renee, but maybe national security isn’t right for you. Perhaps the day care facility in FBI headquarters is looking for a lead teacher in the toddler room?

Tony Grimace of the Week
“It wasn’t easy getting the information out of him, Jack.”