Episode 19 Recap & Comments (2:00 am - 3:00 am)

2:00am - 3:00am

Episode Quotes:

“I told you earlier today, if you were lying to me I’d kill you myself”

-Jack Bauer (to Tony Almedia)

“Is this what you are looking for?.... I never wanted to hurt you Jack. I told you to stay out of it… but you wouldn’t listen, would you?"

– Tony Almeida

Jonas Hodges' favorite attorney, Patricia Eames, gets a phone call at her home. Hodges wants her to represent him. As she opens her front door to leave, she's ambushed by a man hidden behind a mask who gasses her and then gives her a lethal injection. Just before she dies, she sees a woman who seems to be her exact double. The double, Cara Bowden, steals Patricia's glasses. The man uses a device to scan Patricia's thumbprint and transplant it to Cara's hand in the form of a thin plastic coating.

Comment: Didn't see that coming. Someone doubling for Hodges attorney. The recap says she was given a lethal injection. I was wondering if they killed her or just knocked her out.

At the FBI, Galvez is ID'd from a Starkwood security camera. A four-block area is locked down. Within that perimeter, Tony shoots himself in the side and then tells Galvez via phone to stay put because the canister Galvez stole is worth a lot of money to the people Tony's working for. The FBI arrives to find Tony shot and Larry Moss dead. He claims they were ambushed.

Comment: I can't believe Tony's just doing this for the money. There's got to be something bigger Tony's after. I still wish Larry hadn't have been killed off. He was one of the best characters 24 has ever created.

Later, Tony calls Galvez to warn him about the FBI's movements. Tony advises him to find a large store or warehouse in the area that he can lure the FBI into and then blow it up. Back at the FBI, Kim Bauer says goodbye to Renee. Her father won't agree to the treatment, and she knows there's no point in trying to change his mind. Kim is just happy they got to say some of the things they have always wanted to express. Just then, Renee gets the call informing her that Larry Moss is dead. She is now the ranking agent in charge. Renee is stunned, but pulls herself together and begins issuing orders. She shows no trace of emotion, and cuts Janis off when she tries to offer condolences.

Comment: So Kim's leaving. Somehow I think she'll be back. Great acting by Annie Wershing when she's told Larry had been killed. Her facial expressions said it all.

Jack is having trouble with his debriefing because his memory is starting to fade due to the bioweapon's effects. He is distracted by the sight of Renee addressing a SWAT team, and he goes to investigate. When Jack learns that the bioweapon is still out there and that Larry is dead, he insists on going along with Renee. Jack promises that he will stand down if his condition compromises the operation in any way. She continues to protest, but he cuts her off. He is going, and that's final.

Comment: The bioweapon is starting to effect Jack even more. Now he's starting to repeat himself. So sad. :( It seems Renee is now reacting to Larry's death as Jack has in the past; compartmentalize and keep moving forward with the mission. Put emotions on hold.

At the White House, President Taylor worries about Hodges' claim to be a small cog in a much larger machine. She wants him interrogated by the FBI. Olivia knows he will want some kind of deal in exchange for information. The President promises not to make any deals with the monster who is responsible for her son Roger's death.

Cara, disguised as Patricia, arrives at the White House brig to see Hodges. He knows exactly who she is. She tells him that his actions have put everybody in a very difficult position. He shouldn't have worried about Senator Mayer's subpoenas because he and Starkwood would have been taken care of. The bioweapon wasn't for his own personal use. The consensus is that Hodges has had a psychotic break. He has exposed himself, and there is concern that he will expose the others. Hodges says he doesn't even know who the others are. Cara surmises that he knows enough to be dangerous. She threatens his family, but promises their safety if he does "the right thing." She slips him a capsule that will induce cardiac arrest without leaving a trace. It will look like a natural death. Without Hodges to prosecute, the case against him and Starkwood will be difficult, if not impossible. Starkwood's legacy can be preserved.

Comment: Interesting scene. So Hodges is just a smaller fish in this pond. I love the music in these scene. Very creepy. Sean Callery is doing an outstanding job this season as usual.

Olivia arrives in the brig and Cara's time alone with her client is over. He is being moved. Cara calls Alan Wilson and tells him she hopes his impending interrogation will pressure him to "resolve" the situation. He asks if she's heard from Tony. She assures him that Tony will have the canister secured soon. Wilson notes that Tony is her guy and he'd better not screw up. Cara has faith that Tony will come through.

Comment: So Tony is working for he group the fake attorney is working for. The plot thickens!

Tony finds a secluded area and speak to Galvez, who has found a building for the FBI set up. He has less than twenty minutes to rig it with C-4. Meanwhile, Jack and Renee head to the scene in a chopper. Jack tries to advise her on how to cope with the pain of losing a partner, but she doesn't want to hear it. They arrive at Tony's location. Jack realizes that Tony's story about the ambush doesn't quite check out. Most of the bullet holes are from a .45 caliber gun, but Tony was shot with a 9mm. Yet Jack assumes that Galvez must have had someone else helping him.

Comment: It is interesting to see Jack and Renee in a role reversal here. In past seasons, Jack would be the one hearing what he said to Renee about losing a partner and how to deal with it. Now Jack's giving the advice. Notice the look on Tony's face when he sees Jack get off the helicopter? He looked like "Oh %^$*&$#@ Jack's here, I'm screwed!" Even as sick as Jack is, he's already on top of things.

From a taxi, Kim calls her husband, Stephen, to let him know she's coming home. He asks if she at least told Jack about his granddaughter, 14-month-old Teri. Kim didn't tell him because it would have made things harder for her father. She explains that she will be on the 7:10am flight and be home by nine.

Comment: Awww...Jack's a grandpa! That's very nice that the granddaughter is named Teri. Nice touch. Such a cute little girl. She even looks a bit like Jack. I'm wondering if it is little Teri who will end up saving Jack...Hmmm.

Renee is concerned that the sweep isn't happening fast enough. The FBI are being slowed by civilians who are protesting that their homes are searched without a warrant. Renee orders any civilians who interfere to be arrested. Jack's body begins to shake, and he retreats to an area to administer himself anti-seizure medication. Tony tries to persuade him to go back to the FBI, but Jack says he is here to support Renee.

A static-filled transmission comes in. It's Galvez, pretending to be Agent Stoller, whom he has really just killed. Galvez claims to have a confirmed visual on the suspect and the canister entering an abandoned apartment building. Jack asks if there was anyone with Galvez. The reply is no, which troubles Jack. As Renee and the FBI team prepare to move out, Jack stays behind to monitor operations. Galvez, as Stoller, lures the FBI up to the second floor of the building. Jack gets a call from Agent Mizelli, who was conducting his debriefing earlier, to try to clear up a discrepancy. Is Jack sure that Tony's source on the White House attack was named Vincent Cardiff? Jack is sure, even with his condition. Something catches Jack's attention and he hangs up on Mizelli.

As Renee and the other agents go deeper into the building, Jack sees that the agents' transponders are showing that Stoller isn't in the building with the rest of the team. He radios Renee to get out because it's a trap. As the agents begin to retreat, Galvez, hearing this exchange, sets off the detonator. Confused reports come in of agents being down and requests for assistance. Jack takes command and demands that the perimeter teams hold position. This was an attempt to draw them off their line. Any hole in the cordon and they lose the canister. When Renee appears to be missing, Jack rushes over to the site with Tony in tow.

Comment: Of course Jack notices Stoller is not in the building and it's a setup. Even Jack infected with a bioweapon is better than any of those FBI agents in the field! You can see the wheels in Jack's head start to turn.

Hodges is transported to the FBI, and he notices a tattoo on the arm of one of the Marines who have him in custody. It symbolizes that the Marine served in Pakistan, side by side with Starkwood operatives. Hodges asks how he'd rate their professionalism and performance under fire. The Marine tells him they were good men who were well trained. Hodges is moved, and says that he just made his day. Hodges then retrieves the capsule. He regards it for a moment, then swallows it. He goes into cardiac arrest.

Comment: I kind of felt sorry for Hodges here. Even though he's delusional, in his mind, he's a patriot and was proud of the work Starkwood did along side the military. I actually thought he wasn't going to take the pill, but he did. I bet they get him to the hospital before he dies.

Jack and Tony enter the building. Tony meets with Galvez, who is disguised in Stoller's uniform. Galvez confirms that he still has the canister, then dips his hands in the blood of an agent killed in the blast. He smears the blood all over his face.

Jack finds Renee alive and well. Her radio was knocked out and she's been tending to a severely wounded agent. Renee realizes that whoever did this knew their sweep pattern. Jack calls Mizelli back, and Mizelli tells him that Vincent Cardiff didn't expire as a result of the interrogation as Tony had said. Cardiff was arrested by Customs an hour ago while trying to sneak over the Canada border. He shows no signs of any physical abuse whatsoever.

Comment: For those eagle-eyed 24 fans out there, did you notice the picture of "Cardiff" in the file was actually 24 Director Jon Cassar?

Jack confronts Tony, who is just bundling Galvez into an ambulance. As the ambulance drives away, Jack draws a gun on Tony. He threatens that if Tony ever lied to him, Jack will take him down himself. Tony tries to talk his way out of it, but Jack isn't buying his story. Suddenly, Jack begins to spasm again. He drops to his knees, shaking. He tries to find his hypo kit. Yet Tony has stolen it from him. Tony takes away Jack's gun and says he never wanted to hurt him. As Tony is about to shoot Jack, two medical techs run up so Tony hides the gun. He asks them to help Jack and walks away. Jack tries to shout a warning, but he cannot speak.

Comment: Intense Tony/Jack scenes are always a treat and this one doesn't disappoint. I hated how Tony taunted Jack by keeping his shots from him. That was cruel beyond words. I know there are many who hate the turn Tony's character takes here and I will comment about that more in my final comments. However, I have to give kudos to Carlos Bernard for doing such a great job with Tony not only in this scene, but during the whole season. He has certainly kept us guessing... is he bad... is he really good...is he really bad?

I noticed the recap said Tony was about to shoot Jack but in viewing it the 2nd time, Tony kept the gun at his side, I never saw him point it at Jack. I don't know if Tony's intent was to kill Jack, but I think his main motive in this situation was to just get out of there and withholding Jack's pouch of shots while he was incapacitated accomplished that.

What more can you say about Kiefer Sutherland's performance this season? He has made the symptoms of this bioweapon seem SO realistic. A wonderful performance as always.

When the ambulance carrying Galvez is waved through the roadblock, Galvez stabs the med tech tending to him in the throat. Glavez then takes the driver hostage at knife point.

...clock ticks to 3:00 am

Final Comments: There has been a lot of discussion on the message boards among 24 fans about this apparent turn to the dark side by Tony. The reaction has been somewhat mixed, but it seems to be mostly against this turn the character has taken. My initial reaction was negative as well but since I've seen the episode a 2nd time and thought about it awhile, I've come to the conclusion that it's a great idea and even plausible that Tony's gone down this road.

Here's why: Someone on the '24 forum' mentioned that Tony's turn was similar to Stephen Saunders in Season 3. I thought that was a great comparison. Remember, according to Jack in S3, Saunders was a "patriot" at one time and after what happened to him after Operation Nightfall, he believed that he was abandoned by the government, causing him to hate them and that was the reason he did the things he did in S3.

In Tony's mind, the Federal Government took the what was most important to him... Michelle. So for Tony, when Michelle was killed, his life WAS over and now he is consumed with getting back at the government he once worked for but now hates. When I thought about it in this way and compared it to Saunders, it made Tony's character change a bit easier to accept and more believable.

I'm very excited to see where this Jack vs. Tony drama is going with the remaining 5 episodes. I think this has been a great season and I am dreading seeing that clock tick to 8:00 am on May 18th.

Episode Recap From: http://www.fox.com/24

Comments Are Mine: (24FanForever)