S09.E05: Day 9: 3:00 PM-4:00 PM

[Tara Ariano]

An impending attack brings two unlikely people together to stop it; Margot makes her demands known; and President Heller's order for a military lockdown may be too late.

[maraleia]

I am really liking the 12 episode format this season. We aren't getting extraneous stories and the pacing is much better. Also, people are listening to Jack, Chloe and Kate which is a refreshing change of pace.

Michelle Fairley is knocking it out of the park as Margot Al-Harazi. I was terrified of what she would do next since she already cut off her daughters pinky finger.

The moment between Jack and Audrey was a thing of beauty and she is the only person who matched Jack on a personal and professional level over the course of the show's history with Chloe coming in a close second (sans the personal side).

I wonder how they are going to handle the time jump because so far they've gone to the next hour in the story and haven't jumped ahead.

[Tara Ariano]

Here's Jeff's post on the episode!

[AimingforYoko]

Hey, how about that CoS Boudreau admitting he was wrong. That has to be a first for 24.

[WhoAmIWorkingFor]

Ah, Naveed.  At least you didn't have to swim too many laps in the Death Pool, because unfortunately for you, you did a bunch of things that just cause you to sink faster.  Though the new wrinkle might be whatever clues he left under the floorboards.

 

Jack and Audrey: That had the right mix of two people who haven't seen each other in a long time not knowing what to do when they run into each other again.  Though judging by Audrey's reaction Mark is still going to go bananas later.

 

...assuming he doesn't go bananas sooner.  Mark doesn't seem to be coping very well with rapid changes of circumstance.  (Even if he did apologize.)

 

Driving across London: It's like driving across LA, only faster.  Actually, I think the drive to the fake estate was topped by Kate and Erik's incredibly casual stroll out of the Embassy basement, through the near-riot outside, and to their car, which took about one minute.

 

Drone control nitpick: The drones aren't totally autonomous, and the control signals are typically relayed to them by satellite.  Blocking access to the drones would simply mean turning off the relay system, which should be an entirely different thing that Margot does not have control over.  And yes, I know that I need to suspend disbelief here (as I have on numerous previous occasions) but it still seemed like a worthwhile poke.

 

Having not checked how many episodes certain characters have been contracted for on IMDB, I don't know who is going to make it out of the trap, but this does remove my "Erik/Kate rivalry" speculation about how Erik might end up in the Death Pool.  If he makes it out, he'll probably be totally on her side.  Navarro basically made himself expendable as soon as he insisted on going.

 

Next week's preview: A new entry in Crazy Schemes That You May Have Seen Before On This Show That Usually Go Very Pear-Shaped.

Edited May 27, 2014 by WhoAmIWorkingFor

[Bort]

So Margot went through that whole rigmarole of chopping off Simone's pinky to force Naveed to pilot the drones last episode only to have Ian be able to do it an hour later? That's really thinking ahead, Margot.

Speaking of Ian, I finally recognized the actor after two episodes: Baxter from Strike Back!

I would really love to play poker with Audrey sometime.

"Sir, Jack Bauer is here."

*Audrey's face lights up like a Christmas tree*

Seriously, I think she may have even squirmed with glee.

[Watcher0363]

We finally had some one open up a socket. I love open sockets. So many things happen when sockets are open.

He loves you Chloe. Even when you look like a raccoon. You better hold on to that man. You know what they say about a woman over forty getting married. Seeing how you tend to run a foul of them, alot. I'm just saying Chloe.

[benteen]

Hey, how about that CoS Boudreau admitting he was wrong. That has to be a first for 24.

 

Heheh.  It was a breath of fresh air.

 

But of course, that provided plenty of opportunities for everyone to be wrong.  Navarro takes Kate off the case after another ridiculously fast complaint moves up the chain of command.  Renee tortures some scumbag in Season 7 and the Justice Department instantly sends people to deal with her.  But dealing with terrorist threats, having fast computers, and getting to important missions on time never happens quickly.

 

Heller doesn't listen to Jack once again.  But the chief dumbass goes to Naveed, who manages to screw up at every turn.  The end was pretty good too with Margaret (Michelle Fairley is doing a great job) blowing him away.

 

I noticed they can't keep their internal timeline correct.  It was stated that Heller approved that airstrike three years ago (when he wasn't even president) in episode two or three.  In this episode, the airstrike was two years ago.

[Darkpool]

Really? The CIA runs a tactical operation on British soil, out in the open, without any clearance from the Brits and not a word of complaint from anyone? Nobody worried that British nationals might die under American gunfire?

 

Better approach: send an MI5 team, with Navarro and Ritter and a couple other CIA agents tagging along as advisors or something. Same number of extras, a few minor changes to the costumes, one more actor (heading the MI5 team) to say a few lines and then die in the blast ... it wouldn't have cost much more, and would have made a LOT more sense.

[dr pepper]

They could even use someone from Spooks, the MI5 drama.

 

 

But i'm at a loss now. If Boudreau isn't the hidden conspirator, the next likely candidate is Navarro. Now we're fresh out of candidates.  Unless, you know, Audrey is the manchurian candidate.

[Boundary]

So Division got a name check, the question is: is this CIA Division different from the CTU Division. I like the faster 12 episode pace too because people like Jake and Kate get proven right quicker. Now I'll assume from packing her boxes Kate will now run the station, temporarily of course. Then she'll bring in Jack but the other advantage from this death(s) is that Heller now has no choice, he has to give in to Jack's demands. The Russians will be pissed. It seems Kate has good instincts, instincts to call on Chloe when something technological doesn't feel right.

 

Why is the British PM so meek in his own capital? Why doesn't Heller go to 10 Downing Street when he gets confirmation that London will be under attack? And why doesn't he complain about MI5 not being involved in this plot? It's beginning to bother me.

 

I've been waiting for Jack and Audrey's reunion for a while now. I'm not ashamed to say I'm a shipper for those two but while I was happy with the outcome, I'm now afraid that's all we are going to get. Jack will soon go undercover and track down Margot and Audrey's place is by her father's side. So that's it for the shippers.

[Haleth]

Dammit count this episode:  1 

And it was Pres Heller, not Jack.

 

Adam is name dropped again so I'm thinking he'll make an appearance.  Maybe Chloe will find a way to exonerate him.

 

Yeah, the lack of MI5 investigators is jarring.  It's only been a few hours but if they don't make a presence soon they are more inept than CTU.

Edited May 27, 2014 by Haleth

[geoffawill]

 

I noticed they can't keep their internal timeline correct.  It was stated that Heller approved that airstrike three years ago (when he wasn't even president) in episode two or three.  In this episode, the airstrike was two years ago.

Could Heller have approved it as SEC Def?

[StatMom]

I noticed they can't keep their internal timeline correct.  It was stated that Heller approved that airstrike three years ago (when he wasn't even president) in episode two or three.  In this episode, the airstrike was two years ago.

 

 

Could Heller have approved it as SEC Def?

Or could she have made the video a while back? Just in case something happened to her between then and carrying out the attack.

[WhoAmIWorkingFor]

Between the lack of domestic security (MI5) and the Prime Minister's remarkable level of barely shrugging noncommittaly about events (seriously, the show got Stephen Fry and is hardly making use of him), the UK is not being represented very well here.  Aside from the location shooting, they could have set this season back in Fakeistan for the amount of local relevance that the setting is given.

 

...which is ironic, since this is a season that explicitly name-dropped al-Qaeda, Iraq, and Afghanistan.  (And the lease agreements that anchor the plot include mention of Diego Garcia, which has had a major US presence on it for a very long time in reality, so... maybe they should have stuck to Fakeistan, because mangling reality too much gets annoying after a while.)

[DrLar]

I could believe Heller was president 3 years ago, if it was 9 years ago I'll question it, it seems this is second term.

 

Man I would love to drive thru London in 5 mins tops to any location, they must have a killer transit system, or they could go 2 hours in an hour format to make it a bit more believable.

[snarkylady]

My money is on Jordan for this season's mole and also being the guy who set up Kate's husband. 

[blackwing]

They could even use someone from Spooks, the MI5 drama.

Ironically, I have been noticing Miranda Raison's name in the guest star credits.    She of course is best known as the beautiful agent Jo Portman from the British series Spooks (known as MI-5 in the U.S.).  The past few episodes I tried in vain to identify her, and last episode, I think I finally noticed her.  She seems to be something of an aide to the British Prime Minister, but I don't recall her speaking at all.

 

There is a weird vibe between Kate and Jordan, he seems to be infatuated with her, so I agree it is likely that he could be a mole.

 

I said this over on another board, but I was surprised at the quick and light 10 second patdown of Jack that determined the flight doohickey wasn't on him.  What if it was in his shoe or his underwear?  The bad guy from Season 2 stripped him naked and forced him to eat something that made him vomit up the contents of his stomach, in an effort to find a missing microchip.  And then to not even ask further questions about where the thing was, or to search the room?  Poor.

[leighdear]

Margo: "A mother should never have to see her daughter go through something like that".    Maybe a mother shouldn't be a FREAKIN' terrorist!!  And when she told Naveed she treated him like a son, I really hope her own son took note.  I'll bet that kid is on her short list along with Simone.

 

When Jack says to Audrey "Are you happy? Is he good to you?", I almost lost it.  I'm totally a shipper, and really hope they eventually find their way back to each other. 

[SimoneS]

I still say Tate Donovan's character is no good. He has already committed treason forging Heller's signature. I have not given up on my hypothesis that he has been drugging Heller to cause the memory loss. 

 

I want Jack and Audrey to ride off in the sunset at the end of this series.

[Bort]

I would like the show to buck the trend and have the whole season play out with NO mole.

Ironically, I have been noticing Miranda Raison's name in the guest star credits.    She of course is best known as the beautiful agent Jo Portman from the British series Spooks (known as MI-5 in the U.S.).  The past few episodes I tried in vain to identify her, and last episode, I think I finally noticed her.  She seems to be something of an aide to the British Prime Minister, but I don't recall her speaking at all.

I've noticed that woman riding the Prime Minister's coat tails for the past two episodes. I didn't recognize her from anything but I've been expecting her to become a part of the narrative as she's way too hot to not have a speaking role.

[ToxicUnicorn]

I am really loving Kate Morgan.  It's nice to see a more serious side of the actress.  (I only knew her as Sarah Walker.)  So far, she's held her own as an acting partner for Kiefer, and they have a natural chemistry, which has been a really pleasant surprise.

 

Erik finally didn't seem like a douche.  And why wasn't Navarro wearing a helmet?  Is he too pretty?

 

I really hope Jordan's alleged crush and possible set up of Kate's husband is a red herring.  That would be so unimaginative.  I expect better.

 

I have to say, I don't care for the actress who is playing Margot.  I think the one for Simone is mesmerizing, though.

 

This season has felt like 24 Lite, which I am enjoying.  Not so much brutality, except from Margot, who I don't enjoy anyway.  Jack has evolved, and I like it.  

[jendolly]

I think Mark is too sleazy to even score sympathy votes for the fact that he seems to love Audrey so much and be overly protective of her. But when Audrey told him "My father needs you, now more than ever." NOT continuing with "...and so do I.", I did feel a little glimpse of sympathy. Or sort of was not so annoyed with him.

 

Besides Kiefer, my favourite so far is Kate Morgan. Of course Chloe goes without mentioning. The "old Chloe" kept showing her scoffing, know-it-all potato face last ep and it made me giggle. I wonder what the story is behind her and Adrian?

 

 

 

I would really love to play poker with Audrey sometime.

"Sir, Jack Bauer is here."
*Audrey's face lights up like a Christmas tree*

Seriously, I think she may have even squirmed with glee.

 

I totally understand her. Maybe she was wondering if there was time for a

 

quick and light 10 second patdown of Jack

 

Simone keeps reminding me of someone, however I haven't seen any of her previous work. So far I liked her better as the Russian bimbo, than the weepy, abused child she is now.

 

Altogether I'm enjoying this season very much, the suspense and the characters. I keep thinking 12 episodes is not going to cover it, but I'm waiting for the first time jump to judge if this works or not. So far I like the pace.

[Sake614]

I totally understand her. Maybe she was wondering if there was time for a

 

 

quick and light 10 second patdown of Jack

 

So were 99.99% of the women watching. And probably some of the men too :)

Edited May 28, 2014 by Sake614

[Mrs OldManBalls]

When Jack says to Audrey "Are you happy? Is he good to you?", I almost lost it.

 

My eyes filled up like Spongebob Squarepants do when he cries. Keifer Sutherland nailed that line of dialogue. If I ever meet him, I'm going to ask him to say it to me. 

[sugarbaker design]

There is still way more mileage out of the Spy Husband/Kate Morgan/Jordan Reed story. Would love to see Kate's husband exonerated, only to have Jordan or Kate herself implicated.

[TimWil]

Good catch re: Miranda Raison, blackwing. I think it's looking like she'll be a mole and perhaps somehow linked to Margot.

[John Potts]

Do the US military really keep their drones flying most of the time? I'd've thought they'd only launch them when they need them. Then again, TPTB probably have more contact with the US Military than I do,* so maybe that is how drones are operated. On the other hand, only launching them when needed would mean that if the drones were hacked, they could simply cut their fuel lines or (at worst) shoot them down once they launched.

 

I'm pretty sure the PM would care first about stopping the attacks and then about political cover for them, but we know the attitude of the writers to anyone who questions the Jack Bauer way.

 

Benteen But the chief dumbass goes to Naveed, who manages to screw up at every turn.

 

RIP Naveed. You lasted longer than I expected.

 

Boundary Is this CIA Division different from the CTU Division?

 

I'd forgotten that "Division" wasn't the same obstructive bureaucratic entity that served mostly to stop Jack from saving the day. It's an entirely different bureaucratic entity that serves to prevent Kate from saving the day!

 

Blackwing I was surprised at the quick and light 10 second patdown of Jack that determined the flight doohickey wasn't on him.

 

I was more surprised that Jack wasn't in cuffs to meet with the President. Wrongly accused or not, the guy is a suspected terrorist. I was also slightly surprised that Jack didn't stand when the President entered the room.

 

Snarkylady My money is on Jordan for this season's mole

 

I'm betting on the station chief (Navarro).

 

Watcher0363 We finally had some one open up a socket. I love open sockets. So many things happen when sockets are open.

 

Ah technobabble, how I've missed you!

 

* Since my level of contact is zero, that isn't hard!

Edited May 29, 2014 by John Potts

[WhoAmIWorkingFor]

 

Do the US military really keep their drones flying most of the time? I'd've thought they'd only launch them when they need them.

These drones are being used in a way that resembles what the Strategic Air Command used to do during the very unrelaxed 1960s, constantly having armed aircraft in the air positioned to strike as soon as the orders are sent.  The movie example of how that might go wrong would be Dr. Strangelove.

 

More recently, the Air Force did keep drones and various manned aircraft aloft over Afghanistan to provide prompt support to ground units in case they needed it, so there's precedent in that. The weird part about the situation in 24 is that these armed drones that are carrying really, really powerful conventional weapons are flying around over Europe.  If I recall the map correctly, the drones were operating in a range from Poland to the Balkans, Italy, Germany/France/ the Low Countries, and toward Ireland.

 

Unless things have gotten very Cold War again in Europe and the Russkies might go cruising across the East German border at any moment with 5000 T-72s, I can't imagine too many situations where that much firepower would need to be up in the air, or that if the European powers knew about it they would be very happy.

 

These (so far) fictional drones have enough ordnance on them to obliterate several large buildings at a time (which then happened in the last minute of the episode).  The real-life drone program right now is used to kill people (I could say "eliminate targets," but I don't need to be pretty about talking about it) that we can't easily or quickly reach through conventional means.  That seems much less plausible a use in Europe, where it is at least possible to call up a reasonably-capable local counterterrorist unit (GIGN, GSG-9, GIS, and the as-yet-unseen British CTC or SAS, to name the popular few) and have them go pick the people up within even 24's overly-accelerated time frame, rather than using a stealth bomber to blow up the entire block that they might be in, along with a few hundred other people.

 

Actually, given how bizarre things could have gotten in the 24-verse, maybe they are planning for a giant conventional war in Europe, or they wanted to fly the drones over the Chinese PLAN battlegroup in the Med just to say "Hi," like we would do with the Soviet Navy in the old days.  But shoehorning a current issue into the story needs to be either a bit more plausible to avoid nitpicks like I just went off on (it would still be plausibly politically-crippling if they gave these rogue drones a bombload like a few Hellfires or the SDB FLM instead of going for citybusting levels), or they might as well just skip plausible and give the US something suitably fanciful like a Project Thor analog... because blowing things up from orbit is just that much cooler.

Edited May 29, 2014 by WhoAmIWorkingFor

[jendolly]

My eyes filled up like Spongebob Squarepants do when he cries. Keifer Sutherland nailed that line of dialogue. If I ever meet him, I'm going to ask him to say it to me. 

 

Well put. What got me watching that particular scene, was the fact that it played out so differently than I expected. It was absolutely beautiful acting from both Kiefer and Kim. Dammit, I'm starting to like Audrey!

 

So were 99.99% of the women watching. And probably some of the men too :)

 

Word, Sake614. Biting my tongue (or should I bite my fingers since I'm typing?) to not turn this into a full on Kieferette-rant. ;)

[green]

Do the US military really keep their drones flying most of the time? I'd've thought they'd only launch them when they need them. Then again, TPTB probably have more contact with the US Military than I do,* so maybe that is how drones are operated. On the other hand, only launching them when needed would mean that if the drones were hacked, they could simply cut their fuel lines or (at worst) shoot them down once they launched.

 

 

No they do not keep them flying all the time.  They are only flown with a specific target in mind or when supporting troops on the ground in an active combat zone.  Period.  24 bears as much resemblance to reality as My Mother The Car.  Perhaps less.

[TimWil]

I'm on board the Steve-Navarro-Is-The-Mole bus. I think he also framed Kate Morgan's husband.

Any chance Steve could be related to Tony?

[John Potts]

The main reason (I would assume) they wouldn't keep drones flying all the time is because of a stat I'd heard about planes v helicopters: A plane has to be serviced for one hour for every two hours it flies, a helicopter requires two hours of servicing for every hour it flies. Now a drone doesn't have to worry about keeping its pilot alive, so maybe it's even less than a plane but it will still require some maintainence. They don't seem to require much prepping, so why keep them in the air when you don't need them? Even if the government is convinced there's "No way" they could ever be hacked, they should be aware that things can simply break down or be hit and if that results in them plunging from the sky into a crowded area, and that's a BAD THING. Plus there's the whole "needless waste of fuel", but I'm sure the US military is the government branch that cares least about being green.

 

TimWil I'm on board the Steve-Navarro-Is-The-Mole bus.

 

One of the problems with that is that he didn't need to go on the raid at all, so he was putting himself needlessly at risk. Then again, there were plenty of problems in Season 1 with the "Nina is the mole" theory, even if it turned out to be true.

[blackwing]

I think Jordan is an obvious mole candidate, he's so obvious that it's too obvious.  I'd be surprised if Steve were the mole.  In Season 1, I firmly believe that Nina ended up being the mole because they were making things up on the fly as they went along.  She had been way too helpful in the investigation and actually did things which advanced it towards her reveal, so that made zero sense.  After 8 seasons, and especially since this is a shortened day, I would hope that they would have thought things out more and not make Steve the mole.  I think Steve went on the raid simply because it's Benjamin Bratt, and he's a semi-known "name", and they wanted to give him more to do.

 

I would be happy if there was no mole.  There doesn't always have to be a mole.  Besides, isn't the mole-like figure already indicated as the creepy British guy, Chloe's boyfriend?  He purposely set Jack up to be caught.

[WhoAmIWorkingFor]

Of the things that might not appear because of a shortened season, such as side romantic plots and random terrorist digressions, it would pleasantly surprise me if the mole plot also disappeared this season.  More specifically, having the mole working for the Big Bad, since so far Margot's little organization seems (plausibly?) small and independent.  I'd also be pleased if there was only one Big Bad instead of a revolving door of them.  It might work if the first half of the season is about stopping the drones and the second half is about capturing the al-Harazis after they run, but I don't see the drones being hand-flown around the UK for a split 24 hours.

 

IMO the escalating Big Bad thing was getting tired anyway; having it be personal keeps it focused.

 

Another possibility would just be a straight break and having the second half be about Jack making another escape attempt, but I think Season 8's revenge spree can't really be topped by anything this time around.

[ToxicUnicorn]

it would pleasantly surprise me if the mole plot also disappeared this season.  More specifically, having the mole working for the Big Bad, since so far Margot's little organization seems (plausibly?) small and independent.

This would be excellent, WhoAmIWorkingFor.  I couldn't agree more.

 

IMO the escalating Big Bad thing was getting tired anyway; having it be personal keeps it focused.

I like this thought as well.  While I enjoyed all the absurd twists in previous seasons, tv has changed in the past few years, and I've changed a little as well.  I wouldn't blame 24 if they did their standard successive villains thing, because that's what they have always done, but I also now have a taste for more characterization.  I'd like to watch Simone evolve and take on her mother, and the brother has potential to tip the scales.  It could be interesting enough, with no other big mystery except what Adrian's deal might be.

 

I would really like to see Jack get out from under the Russians in the latter part of the season.  He may not ever get a happily ever after ending, but it would be nice if he could at least be acknowledged by his own government.

[Morrigan2575]

I never liked Audrey or Jack/Audrey so please let the be the end of it.

I really like this shortened format it's much tighter and seems fairly straight forward. Although, I can't help looking for a mole at CTU...I mean CIA.

Got a wee bit nostalgic when Chloe told Kate to open a Socket. ..pretty sure that was part of the old drinking game.

[Namarie]

I was also slightly surprised that Jack didn't stand when the President entered the room.

John Potts

I was, too, but on rewatch I think it makes sense - he looked to me like he wanted to stand, but then he thought that the Secret Service agent that was right behind him might interpret that as an act of aggression so he decided to stay seated. That's what I'm going with, anyway.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Never cared for Audrey or actress Kim Raver. 

 

 

So I'd be fine with a dirtnap and silent clock for the character.

 

Michele Fairley has been slaaaaaaaaaaying this role, think she'll get an Supporting Actress Emmy nom. Which she failed to get, but deserved for her work on GOT last season. 

[kccody]

Watched 2 epis last night- show goes by too fast. Am also liking ths shorter season, things seems to get resolved faster. Loved the Jack/Audrey moment. Hope Simone and Margot get what's coming to them from Jack. President Heller is such a fool- why, after knowing all Jack has done in the past, would anyone doubt him?

[Greta]

What if it's a reverse mole and Creepy British Anarchist Guy is actually a deep, deep cover MI5 agent?

 

I didn't care too much for Audrey in the past (didn't hate her but didn't miss her when she wasn't around), but I'm enjoying her this go-around. I think it's partially because Kim Raver has gained a little weight in her face and looks less alarming. I'm shallow like that. Plus, "Are you happy? Is he good to you?" should not have worked but so, so did.

[jhlipton]

I love how Ian can pick up how to fly six drones, pinpointing and arming one, and executing a surgical strike in a few minutes.  So Tanner wasn't really needed -- anyone can do his job?

 

Yet another plot contrivance so Margot can 86 poor Naveed.

 

I wish Simone had had a little expression in the death scene.  Either a sad "Sorry, hun" or a happy "Pop him, Mommy!"  She just stood there and looked ambivalent when we know good an well that she doesn't think ."it's no small matter to kill a man".