Well, even in the best of seasons or the not-so-great of '24,' there's always one or two episodes where Jack Bauer seems to take a backseat to the main action of the hour, and tonight's installment, taking place between 4 and 5 P.M., was the first of this season's episodes to give Jack a bit of a break. Still, though, it ended with a big bang. Read on...
Jack spent the majority of the episode visiting that weaselly ex-President Charles Logan at his retreat, where we saw a lot of action in the last few episodes of last season, as well. The reason why Jack's dad gave his son Logan's number is because Logan has a possible connection to the man behind the bombings, the Russian radical Gradenko: the Russian consulate. To get Logan to come talk to the consulate, Jack gets a very reluctant furlough order from President Palmer, who's not at all pleased about giving the man who was behind his brother's assassination any type of freedom. It's obvious that Logan's up to something, but right now, who knows what it could be?
Meanwhile, back at CTU Los Angeles, the trials and tribulations of Morris and getting on and off the wagon continue. He believes that he can continue working, even if there's some evidence to the contrary. Despite Nadia's objections, Bill Buchanan, thanks to some major sticking-up from Chloe, allows Morris to have full clearance. However, things get fishy when Chloe does some digging and finds out that Morris didn't talk to his old sponsor (played by none other than the voice of Bart Simpson!) after the torture. He says he has a new sponsor, but that whiskey in his pocket (which, yes, he dumped out) may tell a different story. Hopefully, though, we can move on with this storyline, since Morris looks ready to be sober again. Please?
But the main action of this episode takes place in the bunker where President Palmer's preparing for his speech with reformed terrorist Assad, and where Reed Pollock is planning to detonate a bomb during the speech rehearsal, to eliminate the President. It's here that Reed starts to have second thoughts, and it looks like there may be some hope on that end, and with Tom trying to distract his captors by fiddling with the boilers. However, at the very end, Reed sets the bomb up and even though Assad notices that there's a bomb on the podium, it may be too late. Will President Palmer live? It certainly looks like Assad was killed in the explosion, but the President may still be alive.
Aside from a quick scene at the beginning between Fayed and Gradenko, that was the main action of the episode. Next week, hopefully, will bring us some more classic Jack Bauer butt-kicking, but we'll have to wait another week. Check back next Monday for another recap of '24.'
