To torture or not to torture. A question we all face at some point in our lives. Should I ask the man at the gas station for directions … or torture him until he draws the route on a map for me? Yes, this dilemma never fails to hit home.
But enough serious talk. 24 is about wild entertainment, not issues or current events.
President Taylor chose in tonight’s episode to listen to Charles Logan instead of heeding the voice of her conscience, which sounds remarkably like the voice of Ethan Kanin. Now I admit, Logan can be persuasive. He made her scruples about torture seem petty when he decided to get all dramatic with this speech:
“Wielding the kind of power that I once had, and you have now, can change the world — but that often requires making impossible choices that challenge our most sacred ideals. If you’re not willing to do that, you should take Ethan’s advice and pull out now.” (Woah. Chuck is deeper than he looks.)
So Taylor decided to risk her administration — risk impeachment — and compromise her principles in order to get this peace agreement signed. As she admitted to Ethan, she’s willing to do anything to get it done. I love the way Taylor stared up at Ethan during that scene, her face pleading for his approval. But he quits, because he’s so upset that she took Logan’s advice. (His reaction to Logan is ironic because he’s the one who told her to contact Logan in the first place.)
Anyhow, I’m not sure what to make of Logan at this point. I feel like Taylor is in for a major fall, because somehow these cover ups never cover anything up. At the same time, I wonder if Logan might surprise us by actually being helpful to her. Is he going to redeem himself, do you think? I don’t know.
At this point, I don’t even know what to think about Dalia. Yes, Dalia. I’ve become so paranoid that Mrs. Hassan’s almost triumphant look at the end of the episode made me suspect the worst. Could she possibly be in cahoots with Logan? Nahhh. No way. That’s crazy, right? She can’t be evil with all those saintly platitudes she spouts (“Some people are so invested in their fear and hatred that peace is the most threatening thing they can imagine.”). What do you think?
Let’s turn now to the big sting operation. If anyone had a chance in hell of taking down Jack, it would have been Chloe. She knows him better than anyone, and he trusts and depends on her so much that I thought she might have a shot. But no, Jack anticipated her plan and played her instead. Clever one, that Jack Bauer. First escaping in a helicopter — then buying a bundle of phones so that his calls can’t be traced, then finding someone in NYC who could supply him with enough weapons and gear to arm a whole CTU team, and then getting the drop on Cole and recruiting him to help track down and capture Dana!
My question is this: Is Cole really going to help Jack, and how far will he go? Will he let Jack torture Dana (or what’s left of her after Mark Bledsoe’s interrogation)?
Share your thoughts in the comments. Oh, before I wrap up, I have to mention a small side note: Logan’s assistant, Jason Pillar, is played by the very handsome Reed Diamond (Jack Vasser of Journeyman) — yet another sci-fi alum. Seriously, is anyone keeping a list of the sci-fi actors in 24?
Clacked by Ruby T.
on Apr 27, 2010 @ 08:57 EST5EDT
You can be excited about Reed Diamond all you want (and don’t forget his Dollhouse credit), but at least I knew Michael Madsen was coming. The always awesome DB Sweeney was a big surprise. And better, he’s basically (though, obviously not) reprising his role from Jericho, now with New and Improved swarmy mustache!
I think Ethan nailed Taylor’s motivations for vindication quite succinctly. To be fair, he didn’t want her to return Logan’s call, but, as he said, he’d have been remiss in his duties if he didn’t recommend she at least hear what the man could offer her.
I believe Logan’s been aiming for public redemption the entire time, per his conversations with Pillar (and Itzin’s been playing the former President more Nixonesque than ever). If his blackmail ploy had worked, he’d have left it at that, once he received “credit where credit’s due.” But since Jack threw a spanner into the works, things are beginning to spiral out of Logan’s control, and I think he’ll be ordering much nastier stuff before the day is through.
I didn’t see an evil look on Dalia’s face; I think she just always looks fairly stern and cold.
My favorite bit was Jack telling the mobile phone salesman that he didn’t need the chargers.
It was spoiled by the preview, but it looks like Jack, Cole, and Dana will add up to quite a bit of ass-kicking next week. I don’t believe Jack will need to coerce Dana at all, as it should be clear to her that, with the U.S. and Russian governments both wanting her dead and unwilling to cut deals, Jack is her only chance of getting out of this thing alive.
Interesting – I didn’t watch the preview. Bummer, Dana deserves to be tortured a little.
With the timeline, you’re pretty much guaranteed some Dana torture until Jack and Cole can reach the classified location.
That reminds me, Sackhoff shot three 24-themed comedy skits for Attack of the Show. They can be viewed here, here, and here.
Sackhoff and the bucket of water reminds me of Flesh and Bone when Leoben tells her, “Maybe the last time I was the interrogator and you were the prisoner.” It would have been funny if they had kept Rennie alive long to douse Sackhoff.
Even though 24 is moving to the big screen, I’d love to see a spin off series, even if it was produced by a different studio. Maybe a series that deals with lower level threats…maybe cases handled by the FBI, rather than CTU. 24 hours / 24 weeks to catch a serial killer, or a Russian mob boss etc.
That would be interesting. The threats would be on a more intimate level. Like in Season 1, when it was Jack’s family who were kidnapped – but at the same time, there was a larger crisis going on. I would definitely give a show like that a chance.