24: Live Another Day, "Day 9: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm" OAD 6/2/2014

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This was a really good, action-packed episode that opened some new relevant subplots and revealed a mole!

I've got a fairly detailed episode recap at my blog. These observations are taken from there as well:

* So . . . if Kiefer Sutherland gets tired of "24" but the ratings are good enough for another "special event mini-season" next summer, I'd say that Yvonne Strahovski can take over. Man, the way she got out of the torture position AND killed her torturer was definitely worthy of Jack Bauer!

* Jack Bauer uses a cell phone while driving. And not on speakerphone, either. Hmm, that is against British driving rules. It'd be funny if he got pulled over during a crucial moment. ("Dammit, there's no time for this!")

* The Russians are still pissed at Bauer for his murderous rampage four years ago. Just like the Chinese; at the end of season 5, Bauer was abducted by the Chinese at the end of the season, and the head of security of the Chinese consulate told him that China remembered the outrages he committed on their territory 18 months.

* The British special forces seem about as inept as regular CTU agents. First, they're lined up along a wall, with one or two taking shots at the arms dealer's henchmen (most of whom seemed to have been killed by Bauer), and then Rask starts shooting the Brits one at a time through the walls before Bauer disarms him. Then the British rush in and Bauer surrenders. The British then somehow allow Rask to grab a hand grenade and pull the pin! Result: more dead British soldiers.

* The mole trope lives! Of course, one of the things about "24" is that there aren't always going to be clues about who the mole might be. Sometimes the writers just make it up as they go along (though they tried to explain how Nina Myers was the mole)! Still, Navarro was a popular pick on the TiVo Community Forum.

* But wait, could there be another mole? I'm somewhat suspicious about the British PM's aide, Caroline Fowlds, played by British actress Miranda Raison. Raison previously co-starred for several years on the British counterterrorism thriller "MI-5" (aka "Spooks" in Britain), and I assume she has a reasonably high profile. It'd be odd to waste her in a minor supporting role as a prim and proper aide, and she was subtly pushy about getting the British PM to interfere with Jack Bauer's mission.

* Halfway through the mini-season already! I love how the season is still tight in the plotting; the subplots are all related to the main plot.

 

"24" got a 1.8 rating last night, up from 1.5 the week before. It finished second on the night (to NBC's "American Ninja Warrior"). Hopefully, this level will be enough to bring it back next late spring/early summer.

 

I'm a bit hazy on some of the earlier seasons (well, not season 1) but I meant no mole had emerged yet this season.

 

Yes, I meant, before this episode, we weren't sure that there was a mole even.