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Friday, April 10, 2009

Episode 17 Recap & Comments (12 am - 1 am)




12:00 am - 1:00 am

Episode Quote:

President Taylor: "I've been told you've been exposed to the pathogen. How are you doing?"

Jack Bauer: "Right now I'm fine Madam President. Thank you for asking."

President Taylor: "Thank you for your service...I'm not giving up on you."

As Tony and Larry realize that this was a trap, Hodges confronts the FBI team and orders them off his property. There are no weapons of mass destruction here. He gives them five minutes to leave and demands Seaton's release.

Comment: Another good scene from Jon Voight. He's one of the best baddies '24' has ever had.

Back at the FBI, Renee and Jack confer. Jack finds another contact inside Starkwood named Douglas Knowles who was cooperating with Senator Mayer's investigation. Jack calls Knowles, who is relieved to hear from the FBI. He thinks that he knows where the canisters are. Jack calls Tony and Larry, urging them to have the FBI withdraw and find a way to leave Tony behind to meet up with Knowles.

Comment: I'm glad they found a guy in Starkwood who is really willing to help. This probably means the guy won't be around much longer.

Larry creates a diversion by insisting on arresting Seaton and then getting into a fistfight with him. Tony slips away during the scuffle. A Starkwood commando puts a gun to Larry's head, and Larry backs off. He and the rest of the SWAT team leave. Tony finds Knowles, who says that the weapons are likely in a secure area. He has no idea how they'll get there without being caught.

Tony calls Jack for support, but Jack's starting to tremble and shake. The bioweapon is starting to affect him. Janis takes over, providing satellite support, and gives them the go-ahead to proceed. Jack's trying to hide his symptoms, but Renee has noticed and is worried. They call the President, who is appalled that Starkwood was prepared to fire on federal agents. She is willing to order a surgical air strike on Starkwood but only when she has visual confirmation of exactly where the canisters are. Since Jack is the only one who has seen them, the confirmation has to come from him.

Comment: I like Tony's little snarky comment to Janis while he's working on getting past the electronic security to the building. Poor Jack, he's starting to show symptoms... he always says he's fine even when he's not. Sad I'm glad the President acknowledged to Jack that she knew he was exposed and expressed her sympathy. That was nice.

Olivia gets a call from TV reporter Ken Dellao, who has heard rumors that the Joint Chiefs of Staff were called in. He has a source from Port Authority telling him something about weapons of mass destruction. Dellao demands to know what's going on and threatens to make Olivia's unseating of Ethan Kanin his top story the next morning if she doesn't talk. They arrange to meet in a room at the Roosevelt Continental Hotel.

Comment: Olivia is a sleaze, but this reporter is an even bigger sleaze!

Knowles leads Tony to the general area where security has been beefed up. Of all the buildings in the area, there's one that Jack sees no infrared signature from. That building must have blackout shielding, and is therefore where the canisters are probably located. Knowles distracts the guard by demanding to be let in as Chairman of the Board, claiming he's just out for a walk. As Tony slips inside, Knowles is detained by the guard, who is under order from Hodges to clear away all "non-essential" personnel. Tony moves deeper into the building. Jack suddenly starts to tremble and shake violently, and then collapses to the floor, unable to speak.

Comment: Oh My! How real did that seem when Jack had a seizure! Once again, Kiefer does a stellar job of portraying the symptoms of being infected. It is so hard to watch Jack go through this. Crying Into Tissue

When Hodges learns about Knowles, he orders him taken back to his office and kept comfortable until he arrives. Hodges also tells him to double down security with a half-hour until the weapon is ready.

Comment: Uh oh, Knowles is in deep doo-doo now!

Olivia meets with Ken, and has a reluctant Aaron Pierce wait in the hallway. She then tells Ken what's going on and asks that he kill the story so as not to cause a panic. He agrees, on the condition that she sleep with him. She insists that their relationship is over, but he won't relent. Olivia reluctantly lets him begin to kiss her.

Comment: Well I guess we could see this coming. Blackmail in order to get a little "roll in the hay" with Olivia.

At the FBI, Jack is given an injection to temporarily control his symptoms. He needs to take another shot at least once every two hours because the bioweapon is more virulent than they thought. However, there have been recent medical experiments that suggest a possible treatment. There's a slight chance of a cure if they can use stem cells from a genetically compatible donor. The only candidate is Jack's daughter, Kim. To Renee's bewilderment, Jack refuses to contact Kim.

Comment: I guess we know now how Kim will be brought back. Maybe she'll be the one to save Jack's life. I hope so. It's about time Kim did something for her Dad since he's saved her life and so many others lives. She also needs to make up for the way abysmal way she treated Jack in Season 5. Of course, Jack is stubborn and doesn't want Kim to even know he's sick. How much do you what to bet Renee calls Kim herself? The discussion Jack and Renee have about contacting Kim was another very well-acted moment between Kiefer and Annie.

Jack returns to his post at Janis's terminal and warns Tony of a security detail heading towards him. Tony makes short work of the commandos, and switches clothing with one of them. He rides an elevator downwards with lead scientist Dr. Chapman, and his disguise works. Tony reports back that he is four stories down. Janis says they have no information on subterranean floors for that building. Staying out of sight, he manages to get a video feed to them and Jack IDs the canisters. They will alert the White House. Since the place will be dust in ten minutes, it's time for Tony to get out of there.

Comment: I missed it the first time because it went by so fast, but I liked when Jack comes back after getting the shot and Janice says to Jack: "You look better." and Jack looks at her funny and says, "thanks." That was such a Chloe type comment from Janice.

Hodges meets with Knowles, who demands to know what's going on. Hodges admits everything. He's angry that the country he was asked to defend, who never cared how he got things done, is suddenly asking questions and holding him accountable for his methods. Knowles warns him that he can't take on the federal government. Hodges sadly reflects that, for twenty years, he's treated Knowles like a son. He expected and deserved a little loyalty. Hodges then bludgeons Knowles with a decanter and throws him off the balcony, killing him. As Hodges attempts to wipe the bloodstains from his shirt, Seaton calls. Radar shows a squadron of F-18s are heading their way and will arrive in ten minutes. They have three canisters loaded and ready. Hodges says to put in a call to the President. He'll be there momentarily.

Comment: Whoa - that Hodges is one evil dude! I thought he may kill Knowles but the sudden violent outburst was a bit surprising. Another excellently acted scene by Jon Voight. He may be going for the Emmy nomination in this episode.

At the hotel, Olivia is getting dressed. All she cares about is that Ken not write the story, but he says he's going to anyway. The story will make his career. However, Olivia reveals that she's filmed their lovemaking with her cell phone. If he runs the story, or ever tries to blackmail her again, she'll let the world -- and his wife -- know just how he gets his leads. Olivia suggests he find a new beat because she doesn't ever want to see him around the White House again. As she leaves, the President calls to order her back immediately.

Comment: Well, Ken being the pig that he is, is still going to run the story despite getting what he wanted from Olivia. Smart move by Olivia to have recorded it and turn the tables on him. I don't really like Olivia, but she sure knows how to 'play the game' in D.C.

In the Situation Room, Admiral Smith tells President Taylor that Starkwood has a phased array radar system and knows that they are coming. Yet they seem to have no anti-aircraft capability. Just then, Tim Woods tells the President that Jonas Hodges is calling and wants a private conversation on a proprietary line he's established. The President takes the call, alone, in the Operations Room. Hodges says he has three missiles ready to launch at cities on the eastern seaboard, and proves it by showing her the missiles. He demands that she turn the planes around. He also wants a private conversation at the White House within the hour. Until then, it's to both their advantages that the American people not know the exact nature of their standoff. He gives her thirty seconds to comply.

Comment: Hodges is not only evil, but he's a very smart villain. Hodges must have another mole inside the White House in order to get a proprietary line and some of the other things he's managed to get. It wouldn't surprise me if Olivia turns out to be working with him. I don't know anything, it's just pure speculation on my part.

Aghast, President Taylor races back to the Situation Room and orders the air strike aborted, which Admiral Smith does reluctantly. All eyes are on the President, uncomprehending, but she cannot risk explaining herself to them. She meets their eyes, and then leaves the room.

Comment: I love this scene and how everyone just looks at her in disbelief and she leaves the room without saying a word. Well done.

Clock ticks to... 1:00 am

Final Comments: Another excellent episode. I would have liked to see Jack a little more, but it was good to see him at least work some at the FBI even if he was starting to show symptoms of the bioweapon. We got to see Tony quite a bit in the field which was good although I would have liked to have seen Jack out there with him.

I am looking forward to seeing Kim come back and hopefully help Jack and reconcile with him. Should be some excellent character-driven drama coming up. Can't wait!

Episode recap is from: fox.com/24
Comments are mine: 24FanForever

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