TVSquad

(S07E03) "Every second you help the government, you're spitting on Teri's grave!" - Tony

The rantings of a brainwashed anarchist or the clever rhetoric of a man with a plan? I've been teasing "a humongous twist" for about a week now and the truth (well... most of it) is finally out. Just when you thought Jack's day couldn't get any worse... it did. Well, actually it got better and worse all at the same time.

To complicate matters further (and to the delight of myself and every other 24 fan), a few familiar faces returned (Bill and Chloe!) in what can only be described as the best A-Team rip-off ever.

Tonight was probably the third or fourth time I watched this episode and I can't think of another string of events in 24 history (save for maybe the first minutes of season five when Palmer and Dessler got killed) that has me as excited as what got set up in tonight's first hour.

OK... so Tony isn't completely bad. It's not that much of a surprise is it? While it honestly never crossed my mind, I will admit that it certainly seemed odd the way Tony verbally berated Jack - bringing up things like Teri's death, Milo's death, and his estranged relationship with Kim. Once you realized he was just trying to get Jack to come at him, it all made sense.

There are obviously some huge questions here though. Even though Bill, Chloe, and Tony are really doing a good thing by infiltrating and trying to stop Emerson and Dubaku's group, they're still off the grid with no government affiliation. Even if they succeed, what if they get caught?

The government is ready to string Jack up for "doing whatever has to be done." So where's the safety net? Just look at where they are now - Jack and Tony assaulted two FBI agents and broke out. How could they possibly get off for that? The reasoning behind their actions is sound (with the government being corrupted on numerous levels and all), but this still seems awfully risky. Classic 24.

Elsewhere, we finally got confirmation that Ethan Kanin (Taylor's Chief of Staff) is up to something. He lied to Henry about Roger's alleged insider trading accusations and then made it clear that Henry shouldn't discuss it with the President. Add in Bill's belief that Taylor's inner council may be infiltrated and Samantha confirming that Roger didn't commit suicide, and Kanin isn't looking too good. So what's his stake in all of this?

More thoughts on hour three --

• 24 always does this and I hate it: faking the mole. That whole mess with Janis thinking Sean was the mole is so annoying to me and it always happens. I'll be even more annoyed if he does indeed end up being the man on the inside.
• "Deep Sky" translates to 333-7759. I tried calling it with a DC area code. 24's writers/producers have a history of making numbers and websites mentioned on the show into something for fans to dig up - no dice here.
• I loved the nerd vs. nerd action when Janis and Chloe were duking it out hacker style.
• How much do you want to bet that Renee figures out what's going on before Moss or anyone else?
• And speaking of Renee, it sure didn't take her long to start thinking like Jack - pharmaceuticals, torture. I like it.

As you'd expect, the seconds ticked by at the end of the hour and Jack and Tony got away with Bill. While I'm laughing about Jack driving that car out of the parking garage ("This is gonna hurt"), I'm actually laughing more about what that Senate sub-committee must be saying: "Wait... so you subpoenaed him, gave him a gun, and he helped break out a fugitive? Super." Buckle up though because we've got one more hour of 24 tonight. See you back here later on for my review!