(3:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M.)
Review/Commentary
Reviewer: J
I have to say first off that I just cannot shake this terrible feeling that Tony may not be long for this world. And I have to agree with D – I’ll be pissed. I threatened the writers via my reviews a couple years ago when it looked possible that Tony could be a turncoat agent. Not that I think they’re listening or anything.
On to Hour Nine, which I found just as compelling as the previous hours. I must say that I still feel that we have not had an hour yet that was completely filler and disappointing. In each hour, something is still “happening” and advancing our plot. Sure one lame subplot (Driscoll’s daughter) seems to have been replaced by another (Edgar’s mommy). But the fact is, with a real-time format, there are several things you must deal with, including suspending your disbelief in regards to things like driving across Los Angeles in 6 minutes, Tony being able to save the day in 8 minutes, more happening in one hour at CTU than happens in 48 hours at my job… you know, things like that.
That said, we’re getting some character development along the way here, too and it’s just been downright tasty. We learned of Tony’s mess of a life last hour and in this hour we see a couple of nuggets that could prove to have interesting consequences in the coming hours. For one thing – perhaps the biggest thing – Behrooz’ mommy has agreed to comply with the fuzz if they can save her son. In an interesting twist, she defiantly makes it clear at the end of the hour that if they cannot save him then the deal she agreed to is off. She claims to still believe in their “cause” and does indeed appear firm in this belief; Jack clearly believes her as he looks into her eyes. I must say that was a very cool ending for this hour – Jack simply saying “Did you get that?” into the phone as we tick to 4 PM.
Speaking of which, that was the second time that someone said that in the last 15 minutes. When Dina was talking to Behrooz, Jack gave instructions in the background and Dina, instead of relaying them, simply asked Behrooz if he heard it. Again, a nice touch of realism that proves deeper thought to the details goes into this show’s script than a lot of others.
Since we’re talking about the Araz family, I’ll stay on that thread. I find it entertaining that they’re still referred to as such given the considerable falling out that I’d say they’ve had in the past hour or so. The nutty Mr. Araz is coldly tracking down his family and of course catches a ginormous break when Dina’s brother, who happens to be a doctor, calls him to rat out Behrooz. This guy is one of those poor middle-easterners who in reality probably catches shit just for being middle-eastern. These are the guys I feel bad for in real life – he came here, worked his ass off, became a doctor and is devoting his life to helping others. And yet he’s looked at warily because of a relatively few crazies.
Regardless, I only had about a half-hour to feel sort of bad for Uncle Doc before he was plugged by Papa Araz. I wonder if Uncle Doc got Navi an ugly sweater for Christmas or something. You can just see Navi there thinking, “Well, I could let him walk away… oh, wait, that’s right – this is the jackass who danced like a moron at Dina and my wedding!” Pow! Pow!
Okay, but what the hell? Why shoot the Doc? Won’t this draw a fair amount more of suspicion that simply thanking him for detaining wide-eyed Behrooz and hustling the silent child away? Not only that, but it’s very inconsiderate to the hospital administrators who now have to juggle the schedule for impending meltdown patients while being short a doctor.
Anyway, Navi very clumsily tries to escape in a hospital parking garage that seems to be entirely subterranean. You know, Navi, perhaps you should have parked above ground. Would seem to enhance the likelihood of you having an escape route, wouldn’t you say? It’s much easier to seal off the exits to a parking garage, is all I’m saying.
Going back a little bit in time – because, hey, we’re not tied to a real-time format here – I found the convergence on Dina Araz in the hotel room a little peculiar. For one thing, why is Jack being so understanding with this random agent we’ve never seen before? Why does he have such a problem with Tony? And where did he learn his interrogation skills? They bust in and before the room is even secured he’s pouncing on Dina, grinding his thumb in her wound and demanding information. Whoa, slow down there, boy! That’s Jack’s job! You think she’s going to tell you? You’re not even in the credits, son. What a freakin’ caveman. Then in the hallway we have Jack being all understanding about Agent Castle’s dislike of Tony. He even goes so far as to ask him to behave, “for me.” Aw, how sweet. Are these two dating or something? Regardless, Castle capitulates and is a good boy for the rest of the hour.
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