(2:00 A.M. - 3:00 A.M.)
Review/Commentary
Reviewer: D
"Ding dong, the witch is dead, the wicked witch is dead." Yes, it seems that Nina may have really and truly and finally bought the farm. And like so many things on 24 this season, this turn of events raises serious questions about the competency of this season's writers. To whit:
In the "Wizard of Oz," they don't get rid of the wicked witch until well into the third act. Why off Nina now? There's still 10 hours of the show to go. Wouldn't it have been more fun to have her haunting the streets of L.A. as dawn arrives, a wild card that could have sustained the show's suspense well into the spring? Apparently, suspense is not a priority this season.
Why not let Kim take Nina out? She would have been justified - Nina was obviously drawing on her. Instead of daddy sheltering her one more time (and where the hell did Jack come from anyway?), this would have finally allowed Kim to step out from her dad's shadow and grow up, for god's sake. Apparently, neither poetic justice nor character development are a priority this season.
In recent episodes, Kim has been relegated to the role of CTU's little red hen, worrying about Tony's competence, then Chloe's mental health, then her dad's addiction, and finally about Chase and his baby cover-up. [I have to say, I think I might just walk away from the brat, especially if my night had involved electric shock torture and a bullet through the freakin' hand. - Ed.] Can't they see that Kim is too young to have those dramatic worry lines that Anne Packard had? So Kim standing around worrying while that whitewashed blank face of hers just exposes how boring it all is. Kim was pretty interesting when she was out running away from murderous boyfriends in season 1 and even moderately interesting when she was running away from cougars in season 2. Her spending half the show at the doorway of CTU just shows how stagnant her role has become.
And what's with establishing the possibility of Nina having a relationship with this Alvers guy when all they were going to do was knock her off anyway? Apparently, wasting time on dead-end sidetracks IS the priority this season.
I know, I know - I haven't written any Golden Globe Award winning dramas lately. But still, almost every scenario for getting rid of Nina except the one chosen in this episode seems to lead to better dramatic possibilities:
Kim kills Nina! Poetic justice, Kim finally understands that visceral thrill that drives Jack, becomes a field agent and joins the cast of "Line of Fire."
Nina kills Kim! Jack loses his second greatest love to Nina and is driven over the edge (okay, further over the edge) with grief and goes on a murderous rampage. He eventually kills all the remaining cast members, clearing the way for a fresh start in season 4.
Nina wounds Kim! Jack finds the bleeding Kim, rushes her to the CTU emergency room but is stymied because Nina has already killed all of the medical personnel. So Jack must perform the surgery himself, prepping Kim by ripping her clothes off. He is ultimately able to save her life, which heals that psychic wound that he's been nursing since Terri was killed (and provides a little gratuitous T&A for us at home, too!).
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