(6:00 A.M. - 7:00 A.M.)
Review/Commentary
Ah, so Hour 23 was definitely good, there's no question. However, I have my usual array of questions and open queries. Like, for one thing, early on in the hour we see Hewitt burroughing throughout his loft through passageways and holes. What is the deal here? I don't know what the renting laws are like in Los Angeles, but in most cities they aren't too lenient about busting holes in your walls. Of course, I guess the more I think about it, I remember being in a apartment in West Hollywood last summer that the residents had made some, ah, "adjustments" to. Plus they were planning more, potentially removing a wall and some other major cosmetics. So I guess some places in kooky California are more lenient like that.
Random Comment #1 - Another thing I noticed was Jack saying "Goddammit" as he was trying to catch the slithery Hewitt. Of course, 24 has a long way to go to be like The Shield on FX.
Who is this "Max" character on the phone with Peter? He must be an oil magnate partner of Kingsley's, or perhaps he even has been the higher-level backer than Kingsley himself. It sure appeared that Kingsley was explaining himself and the situation to Max as though Max was the boss. (I half-expected Max to look across the bow of his boat and see Nina sunning herself.) Of course, there's certainly no way Jack can get to Max, too, in the last hour. In fact, it doesn't appear anybody even knows about Max besides Kingsley. Is it possibly Sherry "Screwdriver" Palmer knows who he is? Or is it possible that Max being out there is a link to next season? One thing I've noticed about 24 is that they don't bother themselves with tying up all the loose ends that many TV shows or movies do. I like that. The reason I like it is because too often there's a loose end that's resolved with some half-assed answer, like "oh, we caught the other terrorist boosting a car" and he rides by in a police car looking totally defeated. I'm sort of thinking about Hunter as I write this. Those of you a little bit older will remember the wonderful series Hunter on NBC (which was inexplicably brought back this year for a 6-episode run) and how corny and cartoony it was.
Speaking of other TV shows, I'm going to intentionally digress here for a minute. I don't know how many of you watch the West Wing, but apparently creator Aaron Sorkin watches 24. Either that or there was a remarkable coincidence last night. On the West Wing's season finale, the President's daughter has been kidnapped and the Prez decides that he's got to remove himself from the decision-making process until his daughter is found. So he invokes - yes, that's right - the 25th Amendment!! Only he specifically invoked Section 3, which allows the President to remove himself of his own volition. Of course, on the West Wing, the Vice President resigned two weeks ago, so they had to swear the Speaker of the House into the Presidency. Of course, that's a whole different story. Anyway, I just thought it very interesting that the same Constitutional Amendment was utilized on two different TV shows within just a few weeks of one another. Now, back to your review.
Back to Jack and Alex Hewitt - I liked the fact that as Jack was chasing Hewitt he was still feeling the effects of the torture, clutching his chest and whatnot. Of course, then he was able to climb a downspout on the side of the building, which doesn't seem like something someone with a weak heart could do. But hey, I can't ask for perfection.
Have I mentioned how much I don't like Alex Hewitt? Jack is being as straight with him as he can, telling him that he needs Alex to stop this war and yet Alex pulls a gun on him and gets himself shot. Yet Jack still tries to keep him alive. But somehow, the dumbass falls off the roof and his head lands on a pipe/exhaust poking out of the roof. That didn't look like only blood coming out of his head, either… it looked like brain matter. Never a good sign. Even Jack knew he was a goner. And even if he had lived to CTU, how would he have been able to show them anything? The feeling of desperation that Jack has is being very well transmitted to us, the viewers. At least in my opinion.
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