24 season 7 episode 16 review

CHEATS! CHEATS!

The final seconds of last weeks show saw Jack sat against the rig he had pinched, awaiting the arrival of a bio-team to check him over. The clock struck 11pm and the show ended. This show does the catch up and then we get the obligatory “The following takes place…” and then: The opening seconds of this show sees Jack surrounded by an ‘already arrived’ and set up team of experts in biohazard gear! Not bad considering he only just ordered for them to come to him like 30 seconds ago! I know the show is sometimes under this type of scrutiny of how people get about so quickly on the show, but this pretty much takes the prize. (Maybe why this is why you don’t really hear the “EVENTS OCCUR IN REAL TIME” voice over at the start of each show anymore.)

I’d rather not report each week that the show makers are just a lazy bunch of fools who have nothing new to offer us, but it is really starting to defy belief this season! You think Heroes Season 2 was a massive let down (which it fucking well was!) this season of 24 is just becoming surreal! And we still have a third to go!

I remember back in season 6 when Jack shot Curtis, thinking that was just a dumb thing for Curtis to do to himself emotionally. To suddenly out of the blue get a grudge that would force Jack to draw on him. It was a complete insult to the audience and the actor who had put in so much hard work into the role of Curtis Manning. But that has nothing on this Season’s sloppiness.

Anyway, rant over for now. Jack gets showered down. He is now officially cleared of all charges but is given the bad news that he has been infected by this exposure to the gas. Jack gets quarantined (surely that isn’t going to last long now is it). Tony gets to meet big bad Jonas Hodges and is beaten and questioned.

Meanwhile back at the ranch… er! I mean the White House, Olivia is working her seedy magic on her mother. This President is going to feel like a fool after it all comes out. I hate to get political. But when she does discover everything that goes on under her nose she should follow Ethan’s lead from last week’s show and quit for the good of the country! A president this shrouded in darkness and ignorance is deserving of the boot!

But yes, Olivia is now the temporary chief of Staff. Yup! A girl who looks about 25! And she is daughter to the President. Who she made up with literally hours ago after a long term fall out, not without its own political complications! And yet there isn’t anyone raising a hand to question it much. In fact there doesn’t seem to be anyone anywhere! Aside from the odd aide knocking on the door to deliver news it pretty much looks like a President who is trapped in the Oval office with nothing but her own company.

So over to the FBI and Renee suddenly seems so smitten with the idea of Jack despite her reluctance to support him in the past. And even though she did side with him, it seems a bit much that she should cry at the thought of Jack being infected. But then Larry the Arse is suddenly oh so apologetic as well, so everyone seems to be on sympathy downtime.

Jonas Hodges scared assistant decides to turn coat and releases Tony. Cuts a quick deal with the President. In go the FBI, but as Jack is sick he can’t join them, which means something will go wrong in his absence. Yup! It’s all a set up. Well a diversion by Mr Deal Cutter! And now Larry, Almeida and FBI grunts are surrounded by Hodges men! Guns are aimed and there is not the prospect of a big fire fight. Quite a riveting setup. (But naturally not many episodes of this show begin with large fire fights, so I’m sure they’ll find a way out of it.)

Check out Stephen’s review of episode 15 here.