It may seem weird to pick a Best Episode Ever for “24.” The show was much more about the cumulative effect of each real time hour than making each single hour unique.
Sure, there would be a memorable event from time to time, like Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) landing a plane on the freeway, a certain assassination at the beginning of season five, or Kim Bauer (Elisha Cuthbert) getting attacked by a mountain lion. But we generally remember “24” by season, not by episode.
It’s appropriate that the single best hour of “24” comes from the fourth season because season four was the first season that “24” really got it. Season five may have been the last that got, but we still loved them for trying and it was fun to see how they would extend a threat over a day, even if they often relied on the same tricks and twists by the last two seasons.
Hour 1:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. of Day 4 is the Best Episode Ever for one reason only. Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub) is sent into the field to investigate the tip of a girlfriend of one of the terrorists. Within 10 minutes (according to the on screen clock) of getting there to analyze the computer files, the terrorists come and assault her team, killing her field agent guards. Her first day in the field and Chloe’s already taking fire.
Sending Chloe into the field is pretty genius. She is the ultimate desk jockey, with her greatest skills being tech and communications. She’s Jack’s most valuable asset, but a total fish out of water on location. This time, it’s Jack in Chloe’s ear advising her how to take out the bad guys. She has to wait for a combination to unlock the weapons cache in the back of the car, while the terrorist is shooting at the bulletproof glass and ramming her car in an effective escalation of violence as the end of the hour approaches.
Now that Chloe is the most memorable supporting character, the magnitude of little Chloe firing a huge machine gun is palpable. It’s a little surprising they took her this far so early. She had just joined the cast in season three, and she wasn’t expected to become such a fan favorite. Already in her second season, the writers had the brilliant thought of giving Chloe a kickass action moment. Just the image of Chloe firing a machine gun right before the 2:00 a.m. counter makes this the Best Episode Ever, but there’s more.
For the rest of the episode, I have to bring you up to speed. Habib Marwan (Arnold Vosloo) has been planning a series of attacks all day. By the midnight hour, he’d shot down Air Force One and stolen the nuclear football from the wreckage. He’s ready to detonate it. The injury of President Keeler (Geoff Pierson) left vice president Logan (Gregory Itzin) in charge. Just before 1 a.m., Jack used enhanced interrogation (before that was even a term) on a suspect against Logan’s orders so he could obtain the location of Marwan.
Right or wrong (and it’s probably wrong), this is the clearest indication of “24’s” politics. Jack has interrogated a prisoner against the President’s orders. Newly sworn in President Logan wants to preserve due process and Bill Buchanan (James Morrison) pretty flagrantly says he’ll worry about that tomorrow, as long as they get Marwan tonight.
Well, this creates a brilliant complication in the action. Logan orders the arrest of Jack Bauer, so this hour is not only the ticking clock of locating Marwan, but Jack has to do it before the secret service arrests him. The show’s point-of-view may be that Logan is a ninny, but it does pay off dramatically. Jack is about to catch Marwan when he’s arrested. This has the practical effect of extending the story to the end of the 24th episode, but it also shows Jack and CTU can’t always get away with their tactics. And the main roadblock may be the good guys!
The show would pay lip service to growing concerns over glorifying torture in later seasons. They always ended up defending their position, showing that torture was the only way for Jack to get vital information that saved the day, so “meh” to all of you naive politicians who don’t want to torture. At least in this hour, “24” admits Jack lives in a world where some powerful people will oppose his methods. Right or wrong (and Logan is wrong because he’s letting a real terrorist go to defend a principle), Logan can stop Jack from torturing, or at least hold him accountable. Of course, this episode wouldn’t have gotten to the potential capture of Marwan without Jack’s torture in the last hour, so it’s a vicious cycle.
Logan, on his first day on the job, continues to show he’s the worst fictional President ever. Logan can’t decide whether to to authorize Jack to interrogate. Logan actually thinks he has time to weigh these options. He’s shocked that arresting Jack actually compromised the mission. Logan was so by the book that he thought he could follow procedure and let the rest of the mission proceed. But the real world doesn’t work like that. Logan won’t be the villain until season five, but his ineffectual leadership here is deadly.
The big surprise of this hour, before Chloe’s Rambo moment, is that Logan calls in David Palmer to advise him. What could be better than everyone’s favorite president coming in to give orders to the idiot who stopped Jack from arresting the terrorist?! I don’t know what sort of “24” plot twist could make me happier. Maybe if the mountain lion actually ate Kim. Otherwise, this is the Best Episode Ever.
