"Paul Levinson's It's Real Life is a page-turning exploration into that multiverse known as rock and roll. But it is much more than a marvelous adventure narrated by a master storyteller...it is also an exquisite meditation on the very nature of alternate history." -- Jack Dann, The Fiction Writer's Guide to Alternate History

Monday, March 19, 2007

24 Season 6: Hr 14: Who's the Traitor in CTU?

24 was firing on all cylinders tonight - I thought this was the best show in this season so far, and one which now puts Season 6 within striking distance of Season 5.

Where to begin?

Powers Boothe as VP Daniels was in great, true form. No one is going to push him and what he says is right for the U.S. around. Not Karen Hayes, who's back in the White House, not Tom Lennox, who may or may not suspect what we may or may not know about Daniels (was he involved in the bomb that killed Assad and put Wayne Palmer in a coma?)

Hayes goes to the hospital to see if there is any way that Wayne can be revived in time to stop Daniels from hitting an Arab nation with a nuke. Wayne's sister Sandra is in the hospital - looks as if she's back in the picture now, too.

And things may be even more exciting back in California, if that's possible. Is Nadia really working for the bad guys? I don't believe it - too easy. But if not Nadia, who? Milo? Didn't he take a bullet to save Jack's sister-in-law, Graem's wife? (More about her below.) If so, what is Milo, some kind of suicidal spy? I don't quite believe that, either. Well, then, who? Morris was tortured, for cryin' out loud! Can't be him ... well, then ... we've got a nice, tough mystery on our hands...

Back to Jack ... He almost kisses Marilyn (his sister-in-law) (she wanted to) (I would've kissed her) ... and then she tells him: Audrey's dead!

Now, we've all seen these kinds of set-ups a hundred times. She's not really dead. She's being kept prisoner... I don't know, I'll be disappointed if this is how the Audrey-is-dead situation is resolved. Not that I want her dead, but ... I think Jack would be happier with Marilyn (personally, I've always found Audrey a little whiny.... She may be better suited for The Nine.)

So here's where we stand for next week: San Francisco was almost hit by a nuclear drone. Quick CTU work prevented that, but some nuclear material was still spilled. Not enough to hurt many people, Buchanan tells Daniels, but enough for Daniels to want to proceed with his nuclear retaliation.

So Karen Hayes is in the hospital to somehow get Wayne to intercede ... it may cost him his life - the doc says it's life-threatening to wake him.

And Jack will stop at nothing to find out who killed Audrey in China - presumably, they were Chinese - if she's really dead. And we may yet see William Devane - Audrey's father, and former Sec'y of Defense, back in the action again.

But with all of this exciting stuff, I find myself still most interested in - who is the spy at CTU? If not Nadia or Milo or Morris, then who? Buchanan? Impossible. Curtis - sorry, that was a low blow...

But it shows how desperate I am.

Chloe? No, as impossible as Buchanan.

Then, who?

Your guess is as good as mine.

Useful link: 4-min podcast of this review at Levinson news clips

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, you and I have different opinions on the overall standing of this episode, but in the end I do think it was good. "Firing on all cylinders" is an interesting term, and certainly this episode hit a lot of points, which will (rather, should) make next episode very exciting.

Paul Levinson said...

Yeah, we can both agree on that!

bobomonster said...

It's consistent that Milo was shot and could still be the mole. He's shot by Daddy Bauer's guys who have no love for the Russian/Arab coallition.

Paul Levinson said...

that's an excellent point, bobomonster ... one of the problems this season (and most seasons of 24) is that the relationship between the badguy groups are unclear ...

so, DaddyBauer wanted to kill Jack and Marilyn, and the Russian/Arabs wanted them (or at least, her) to live? possible...

I do agree that there's something suspicious about Milo ...

still, if I had to bet, I'd say it's something/someone else...

Anonymous said...

Going back to last weeks episode with former pres Charles Logan. Is he really dead? The episode ended with him going into defib. I hope we haven't seen the last of him. But if so, at least he redeemed himself before he died.

Anonymous said...

Why isnt Mike Doyle's name showing up on your list of possible moles? He seems like a dark character and could be easily lured into selling secrets, JMHO.

Paul Levinson said...

anon1: Yeah, Logan's definitely not dead (yet). They certainly wouldn't just quietly let him die, off-camera. My guess is he has a least one other crucial scene.

And I actually liked him this year. I wouldn't mind him surviving and doing a lot more.

anon2: Yeah, I thought of Doyle - but has he been in CTU long enough to bug it? Also, how could he have known that he would be moving into CTU? I suppose someone higher up in gov could've put Doyle there, but revealing another bad guy in high power at this point would be pushing it.

Still, you're right - I wouldn't rule Doyle out 100%.

Anonymous said...

Well I've been suspicious of "take-one-for-the-team" Milo since the early hours when he was the one who "got the call" that Morris' brother was inside the N-zone in Valencia and now in critical condition - and that's how the bad guys got Morris out of CTU so that he could be captured and forced to re-program the triggers for the remaining nukes. And Milo setting up Nadia is consistent with that. On the other hand, you'd think he'd keep a lower profile with Ricky. So who knows. Maybe Nina isn't really dead. Or, Kim's still hiding in a closet in CTU plotting world destruction. (And by the way, no way Audrey is dead. She's whining at the Chinese as we speak, and they're hoping Jack comes back... to save them.)

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