(S07E16) "But I don't know anything... Mr. Hodges." - Tony
Nooooo! Jack Bauer cannot die! After last week's shocking conclusion, two questions have been on everyone's mind - just what exactly was Jack exposed to and more importantly, is he actually infected? Now that we have our answer, something tells me 24 might never be the same again.
So Jack did get infected and this toxin isn't some minor thing either - it's a variation of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and instead of killing slowly over a string of many months, this one does its job in two days. Think "mad cow" for humans. Turns your brain to mush. If you want to know more about CJD, I highly suggest reading "Deadly Feasts" by Richard Rhodes. Great book, but it'll scare the sh*t out of you because it's true.
So Jack has this variant of the disease and Sunny is quick to point out that there's no cure but at least Jack isn't contagious. Which is good... Jack Bauer stuck in an isolation tank for the final eight hours of this season wouldn't have been much fun. (Oh and speaking of Sunny, did anyone else find it weird that there wasn't at least one season three reference between her and Jack? Even a brief mention of something along the lines of "this CJD is ten times as worse than what the Salazar brothers were trying to buy" would have been fine. I just don't get the point of bringing back a minor character like that if there's no mention of the past.)
Anyway, there is supposedly no cure and that certainly ratchets up the tension for the remainder of the season. My gut says that there is a cure (I can't see Hodges getting near this stuff if there wasn't) and Jack will certainly get a dose of it at some point, but not before it does a little damage to his brain. We saw him with his shirt off this hour and his chest clearly has no more room for scars, so I guess his brain will have to pick up the slack.
As for the Starkwood mess, at first I thought Greg and Hodges (couldn't they pick names that aren't the same as CSI?) were trying to fool Tony. I thought that maybe they were playing him based on that brief "know your enemy" exchange. But it turns out that Greg was just really trying to save himself, despite the fact that he still had some loyalty to Jonas. So he duped Tony and Larry, got immunity for himself, and managed to lead the strike team to a different building. From his perspective, it's win/win. I'm guessing he gets killed next week - no way Jonas lets this one slide.
A few more thoughts...
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How stupid is the President?!? Does she really not understand that her daughter is quite possibly the worst candidate for chief-of-staff?
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Speaking of Olivia, bringing on Aaron as her personal CIA escort will be her own downfall. He might be trustworthy but he'll defend his country over Olivia in a heartbeat. I can't wait for the moment when he sees her doing something she shouldn't be.
Alright, so I've got to know what everyone else thinks about Jack. He obviously isn't going to die (he's already signed to do Day 8), but will the CJD have any adverse affects on him? Or is this just a gimmick to add tension? Any chance Jack turns into a zombie?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
3-31-2009 @ 10:15AM
Tom said...
Theory of the Minute; Jack suffers some brain damage from the CJD before being cured. Now paranoid and erratic, Jack becomes the big villain for next season. Tony, Chloe and the rest of the Jack Pack need to hunt Bauer down!
Or not...
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3-31-2009 @ 10:15AM
boomer said...
I got a kick out of one of the Chief of Staff candidates being 'Rick Berman' - Manny Coto and Brannon Braga.. you guys are funny.
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3-31-2009 @ 10:15AM
Edward said...
With Rick Berman as CoS, he'll ruin the Taylor administration...like Star Trek.
3-31-2009 @ 10:16AM
StillBash said...
Great. I can't wait for Time Travel as the solution to Global Warming and the conflict in the Middle East...
3-31-2009 @ 10:15AM
Beth said...
I read that 24 was starting series 8 in May so I am sure Jack will survive. As for Olivia I think she is on the other side and will do whatever it takes to destroy her mothers adminstration.
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3-31-2009 @ 10:15AM
Galley said...
My great uncle died from CJD. He got it from eating raw mutton. A truly horrible way to die.
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3-31-2009 @ 10:15AM
JT said...
...or maybe Jack really does only have 2 days left and Day 8 immediately follows Day 7 in real time? or not...
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3-31-2009 @ 10:16AM
StillBash said...
The pathogen being an airborne version of CJD is such a joke. As if Prions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prion
could ever be gotten airborne. But whatever, I had a good laugh and a couple of seconds of extreme eyerolling and I simply ignored it.
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3-31-2009 @ 10:16AM
Joe Brooks said...
I'm still thinking they are setting next season as being the next day.
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3-31-2009 @ 2:16PM
kip said...
The writing is definitely on the wall for that. If that is the case it will have such a back to the future 2 feeling and I think blow up in their faces.
3-31-2009 @ 10:16AM
kip said...
I like 24 but it needs to wind down more effectively. Maybe 16 is a more realistic day because the White House is now all hunky dorey? Bill's remains have yet to be scrubbed out of the carpet. Too many tasks to accomplish in the one season.
Problems with the ep:
+ The compound is in VA. If SEALS are being used then why not call up a battalion or two from Quantico, get a boat load of FBI agents involved and get some escort gunship from one of the numerous locations in the area. Talk about wrong tools for the job. They had all the staff that they needed in the area from the sige and breach of the white house.
+ Larry is Special Agent in charge. Much like star trek away teams he does not go into the field but commands field ops from the confines of the field office.
+Is Larry that inept? Who lands helicopters? Multi pronged attack anyone.
+ No Satellite traffic or eye in the sky? Please. This is frakin 24! Chloe could retask a weather balloon flying over Honduras for this mission.
Ways that I would have like to have seen it get better/edited differently:
1. Jack spends a whole episode on his knees and blurting out some real emotions. Let's give the CDC team a TV fied response time of 1 hour instead of 1 minute across DC. I'd love to have seen him crying and curled up in a ball thinking about the fact that he is out of control on this one and will die.
2. More background on Elizabeth in this episode and her double dealings.
3. The president has launched a campaign in Svengala and yet we have not heard anything about the progress of this. How bout an update form our favorite Embassy worker.
4. The president should have some time with calling the families of the people that died at the White House as well as with the coordination of arrangements for their funerals.
5. Renee is at the command center. Perhaps she can figure something out and we can see some more of her back story.
This episode stinks of Alias like Marshall hacks of the later seasons of that show. I wish some more effort could be made with this to at least stretch the viewer out a bit more. We are all not that ADD.
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3-31-2009 @ 7:12PM
Edward said...
who is Elizabeth?
3-31-2009 @ 11:16AM
Erin said...
I think Jack Bauer dying would be a horrible way to end 24 as a series. Obviously there will be a way out of this virus, but it seems we are intended to see the more human side of Jack. First he risks the mission to save the security guard's life, then he is infected with a disease that he believes will end his life.
Also, was there a stipulation in Greg's immunity deal that said he would only be granted immunity if his information resulted in the agents acquiring the WMDs? I don't see why the President signed the deal unless that stipulation was clear. To me, it seems like Greg didn't have a change of heart, and he wasn't trying to save himself....he was protecting Hodges all along.
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3-31-2009 @ 11:16AM
Bill said...
We all know that Jack will survive since Kiefer has already said he will be back for Day 8. But what solution will the writers come up with to save him and will it be plausible?
http://tvnewsandnotes.blogspot.com/
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3-31-2009 @ 11:16AM
Michael said...
For an episode that only had 2 total gunshots (both blanks, apparently), this one was pretty solid. They definitely ratcheted up the tension when the FBI (ineptly) raided Starkwood. Was the warehouse rigged to explode? Was Larry not going to see the top of the hour? Would there be an all-out firefight with Starkwood?
Meanwhile, what's going to happen to Jack? (Oh, and what the hell happened to his torso?)
I really like the new places they've gone this season, and I'm already disappointed we only have 8 hours to go.
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3-31-2009 @ 11:57AM
Eric said...
"Oh, and what the hell happened to his torso?"
If I remember correctly that's from the time when he was held and tortured by the Chinese.
3-31-2009 @ 2:11PM
MikLamb said...
This episode was pretty good, even though the "storming the wrong building" was pretty cliched (with Jonas reacting to the sound of the helicopters as they approached the other side of the compound) -- I mean, they couldn't have really captured the WMD that easily and quickly from that heavily fortified compound. Besides, Jack wasn't there yet! I figure that Renee will find some way to get Jack out of FBI headquarters and they can go rogue together to save the day.
Jack will not die this season/day, period. I like the idea of the next season/day starting up in real time the day after this one. That means they don't have to use the trite "the bad guys have the antidote and now Jack has to get it before the clock strikes midnight" theme. They will be able to keep everyone guessing if Jack dies at the end of the series.
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3-31-2009 @ 2:11PM
ac said...
Day 8 could possibly be the next day or the day after with Jack on the verge of death looking for a cure. Tony, Chloe, and Kim at his side through the day. Instead of the world or nation that needs saving, its a day about trying to save Jack Bauer. Doesn't sound bad to me.
Speaking of Chloe where is she?
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4-02-2009 @ 10:39AM
Mike said...
My best guess would be that he becomes severely affected by the virus, but not killed, and will require a long rehab time, and day 8 will begin sometime after that
3-31-2009 @ 2:12PM
D said...
I believe ultimately the illness Jack has gotten will play in to the ultimate end game of the series.Either they will think they cured him only to find out they did not or it will cause some other side effect etc.This could play into Jack's last "day" being suicidal even if only he knew he was going to die.Jack Bauer would die like John Wayne's character did in the Shootist.Go down shooting...
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