(11:00 P.M. - 12:00 A.M.)
Review/Commentary
Anyway, enough of my goofing off - let's get on to my goofing off that you're here for! Hour Sixteen of 24. How can I sum up my general feelings for this one? Blah. Unimpressed. In fact, I have to say I think this was far below par as far as 24 goes. Sadly, it looks like season 2 peaked back in the midday hours when Nina was involved and there were two or three fantastic episodes in succession. As for this most recent hour, shall we start with why I didn't especially like it? Okay, let's.
Now, if you read my reviews you know that Tony is one of my favorite characters. However, even if he wasn't, I'd have a problem with how his character was written in this episode. I'm not even sure where to begin, so I'll give separate paragraphs to each issue.
1. Tony's attitude: I know he's had a stressful day, but the attitude he cops with Jack in several instances is ridiculous. Jack is his friend and they've been through a lot together. He's repeatedly bent the rules for Jack, both last season and this one (looking for Kim even when ordered not to, etc.). So why now will he not even listen to Jack regarding the possibility that the Ali tape is a fake? "Go find your daughter…" says Tony. What the hell is that??
2. Jack not giving Tony more of a chance to help: When Tony confronts Jack and Kate, why not simply say "I got a call from a guy who claims the tape was fake…" and explain what you're doing. Aren't they obligated to check out phone calls like that?? Like I said, Tony has helped with out-of-bounds things before; why not try to get him to help now? Having an ally who's now in charge of CTU isn't a bad idea. But no, instead Jack slugs him and refuses to trust him.
3. Tony getting his ass kicked: Okay, speaking of Tony getting slugged, according to his "profile" on Fox's site, he's a certified instructor in hand-to-hand combat, and he was a Marine. He has his gun pulled on someone and they can still knock his ass down? Come on, Tony. I would have thought a match between Jack and Tony would have been much better than that.
Speaking of that, was that Tony's ankle breaking against the wall? There was a distinct snap and they showed his leg buckle for a second and he clearly was in pain and couldn't get back up. If that's what happened, he's really not much of a field agent. Either that, or Jack is just that deadly.
On to other impressions and thoughts about this episode… as usual, I noticed the subtle differences, like Tony finally getting his own freeze-frame intro and his character name in lights at the beginning. He's big-time now. Cool.
Going back to a comment/prediction I made in my previous review, the chopper pilot who picked up Jack told him that "radio and cells are down for miles." I feel so smart. The electromagnetic pulse shockwave brought down the electronics within the blast radius. Cool stuff.
Then we cut to Kim - once again alone in the woods with no cell phone. Good lord, could this girl find any more trouble? I mean, I realize she thinks her father is dead, but come on. Then suddenly, fortuitously, she comes upon a mini-mart that's closed. Well, it's closed, but there's a guy there who is willing to let her use the can. Then the crazed looney guy shows up screaming about his pregnant wife. He, of course, takes the gun away from Kim. I mean, really, did we expect two intelligent hours from Kim in a row? Ugh. And, of course, at the end Kim just stands there and waits for the looney guy to take her as a hostage. Just completely silly and unneeded. This is just filler cause the writers feel they need to keep coming up with stuff for Kim, and it's getting transparent. Lonnie the lunatic recluse in the woods, now this weirdo. Come on. Unnecessary.
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