Episode 14 Overview & Comments

9:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Episode Quote:

"Trust is not my greatest asset." - Jack Bauer

Jack steals a car from the hospital parking garage to make his escape. Meanwhile, Morris O'Brian has arrived at the FBI demanding to know where his wife is and he finds that Chloe has been arrested. Larry calls Janis to inform her Ryan Burnett is dead and Jack is the suspect. He has her put out an APB. Renee, in the process of filling out her suspension paperwork, overhears this and asks Janis what's going on. All Janis knows is that Burnett is dead and Jack has gone missing.

Renee goes to her office -- and Jack calls, declaring his innocence. He took a surveillance DVD from the hospital and is viewing it on a laptop in the car. He emails her a frame-grab of Quinn and says that this is who killed Burnett. He is the only connection they've got to whoever else is still involved.

Comment: Jack multi-tasking again. I love how he can drive a car and work a computer.

Quinn calls Hodges and tells him that Jack got away. Hodges isn't concerned; his shipment from Juma will arrive within the hour. Once they deploy the weapons, it won't matter what Jack finds out. Hodges' number two, Greg Seaton, looks discomfited. Hodges insists that he gets no pleasure out of killing people. Even one death is tragic -- but they are fighting a war, and what they're doing is absolutely, fundamentally necessary. He tells Seaton to wake up their colleagues and tell them to assemble in one hour.

Comment: I’m loving this Hodges character more and more. You can tell he’s pretty “out there” but cold and calculating at the same time. Loved the “pajamas and toothbrushes” comment.

Renee calls Jack back. She has identified Quinn as a former Black Ops combat vet who now works for Starkwood, which turns out to be a private paramilitary organization. Senator Mayer may know more because he had been investigating Starkwood. Jack will need to talk to him. As Renee looks up Mayer's current location, Larry enters. The conversation they have about Jack convinces Larry that she's been talking to him. He secretly has Janis access Renee's phone log and workstation. Renee is their best chance of catching Jack.

President Taylor prepares to make a statement. Olivia advises her mother to not just reassure the nation, but to also claim victory and reaffirm that standing up to terrorism works. The President agrees. Ethan arrives and briefs them on what happened with Jack and Ryan Burnett. He also confesses his culpability in sanctioning Jack's plan.

As Renee attempts to leave the FBI, she is stopped by Larry and a security team. He demands to know where Jack is. She refuses to talk, and insists that as soon as Jack has the evidence he needs, he will call. Larry has her arrested.
Jack confronts Senator Mayer in his own home, holding him hostage. Mayer doesn't recognize Quinn. When he hears Jack's story, Mayer says that if Starkwood was connected to Juma or Sangala, he'd have known about it because he investigated Starkwood for six months. Jack insists on seeing his case files. Mayer asks whether Jack will turn himself in if the evidence isn't there. Jack just demands he open the files.

Comment: I love when the Senator enters the room in his home the first thing he notices is a printer printing out something and then Jack appears from behind. The Senator initially thinks Jack is there to kill him but he will soon realize he’s there for other reasons.

As the President makes her statement on television, a news reporter asks Ethan for a statement about Jack Bauer being a suspect in the murder of Ryan Burnett. The reporter also wants to know about Ethan's involvement. Ethan won't comment. He realizes that Olivia leaked this to the press, and he confronts her about trying to hurt him while inflicting political damage on her mother. The President is on record as condemning torture as unacceptable under any circumstances. It will now look as if she's condoned exactly that.

Comment: Olivia seems like another Sherry Palmer to me. Her character is getting more interesting.

Janis has trouble decoding the information on Renee's computer and asks Morris for help. He does so, under the condition that Chloe gets full immunity with all charges expunged from her record. Larry agrees, with Janis as witness. In mere moments, Morris decrypts the files and finds that Jack's probable location is the home of Senator Mayer. Larry musters the SWAT teams to move in on Jack. Morris is reunited with Chloe -- who is upset that he helped the FBI catch Jack. Morris apologies, explaining that his child and marriage come first, but she's already done enough for Jack. He can prove he's telling the truth when he's taken into custody. Chloe, though, isn't sure the FBI will give Jack the chance.

Comment: I’m sure a lot of people were upset that Morris gave in and helped Larry locate Jack. I wished he hadn’t helped as well, but I can understand Morris’ position especially since he and Chloe have a young son. I really can’t fault him for looking out for his family first.

As Jack goes through Mayer's files, he talks with the Senator about regret and sacrifice. Jack finds a photo of Quinn at the scene of a car accident that killed a source inside Starkwood. The victim had been making wild, seemingly unsubstantiated accusations about Starkwood -- they blackmailed Pentagon officials, were involved in assassination plots and were seeking to acquire W.M.D.s, including a bioweapon. Jack says that is the connection: Juma tested a bioweapon on his own people. It was not pursued because Juma destroyed the evidence by firebombing his village before the U.N. team could get there. Starkwood may have wanted bioweapons to fight back against Mayer's attempts to shut them down, and Juma provided them with a safe haven to test those weapons. Suddenly, there's a voice claiming to be the police at Mayer's door. Jack is about to run, but Mayer convinces him that he can protect him and convince the FBI to listen. Mayer answers the door -- but it's not the FBI. It's Quinn, who shoots Mayer dead. Quinn attacks Jack, who is forced to flee. Quinn goes after him as the police begin to arrive. He leaps through a French window and lacerates his arm.

Comment: The scene where Jack and Senator Meyer have this conversation about regret and sacrifice is one of the best written scenes ever in ‘24’. The Senator went from thinking Jack was there to kill him to getting a better understanding of Jack’s motivations for the things he has done and better understanding of what Jack has lost in serving his country. At the same time, Jack seemed to better understand the Senator’s views and in turn began to trust him a little more by agreeing to let the Senator help Jack in his investigation of Starkwood.

I should have seen the murder of the Senator coming because as soon as an unlikable character on ‘24’ starts to become likeable, that usually means they are toast. That is what happened here. Even though I should have seen it coming, I was shocked when Mayer opened that door and Quinn was there and shot him. Great, great scene from beginning to end.

Olivia meets with the President and Ethan in the Oval Office. She professes her innocence and insists she can verify that she's not the leak. The source at CNB news will guarantee that the leak didn't come from the White House. Olivia offered him exclusive time with the President in exchange for his killing the story. The President is impressed with her daughter's acumen. Ethan is chagrined, and apologies to Olivia.

Comment: I’m not so sure I believe Olivia here. She seems to be a sneaky one.

Quinn pursues Jack onto a construction site and enters a trailer. Suddenly, the trailer tips over. Jack has pushed it with a bulldozer. Quinn manages to escape the trailer, and he and Jack fight. Jack manages to get a hold of a screwdriver and impales Quinn, demanding to know when the weapons will arrive. With his dying breath, Quinn says that they're already here. Jack finds a text message on Quinn's cell phone that reads, "Port of Alexandria. Yard C. 2230."

Comment: Another great action/fight scene. Loved Jack using the bulldozer and the hand-to-hand fighting with Quinn. I don’t think you can throw a screwdriver with enough force to go through a Kevlar vest, but it was great anyway. Jack can always improvise when he doesn’t have a weapon. And of course, Jack using the screwdriver he killed Quinn with to start the truck – classic Jack Bauer!

Larry and the Metro PD enter Mayer's house. Larry calls Janis and tells her that Jack has murdered the Senator. Orders are to now shoot Jack on sight. Meanwhile, Jack uses Quinn's phone to call Tony Almeida for help. Jack asks him to bring weapons and a surveillance package to the Port of Alexandria. He will explain when Tony arrives.

Clock ticks to…10:00 pm

Comment: Poor Jack, now they think he killed the Senator as well. “Shoot on sight” - Jack’s in real trouble now! We finally see Tony again, having coffee or something at an outdoor café. Huh? That was a little strange. I wonder what he was trying to tell Jack before he hung up?

I keep saying this every week, but another great episode. It had just the right amount of drama and action. I think the writing in this particular episode really stood out. Plus there was a classic ‘24’ surprise twist with Quinn killing the Senator.

Is it Monday yet?

Episode Overview From FOX.com/24. Comments are mine.