24: Live Another Day – “3:00PM - 4:00PM” Recap. Told You So.

Episode 5

Air Date: Monday, May 26, 2014, 8:00 PM ET/PT on Fox

Rating: ★★★★★

“Mr. President, Jack Bauer was telling the truth.” – Agent Morgan

Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub)

With Agent Morgan’s (Yvonne Strahovski) assistance, the military is able to take Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) into custody at the U.S Embassy. What the military doesn’t realize is Morgan’s aid in Jack’s arrest is a ruse to help him complete the upload of the drone data key to Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub).

Sometimes, I treat 24 like a mindless action television series without giving enough credit to the acting but in the opening scene, and a few others later in the episode, there are some very good nonverbal moments that really stand out. One example is how Jack suddenly becomes aggressive to ensure Morgan is allowed to get away.

Morgan finishes the upload and, with the help of Cross (Michael Wincott), Chloe determines the military drone was indeed hacked. Armed with this newfound information, Morgan informs Navaro (Benjamin Bratt), who then alerts President Heller (William Devane), who subsequently orders all drones to be grounded.

Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub) and Cross (Michael Wincott)

Back at the London CIA office, Navaro informs Morgan she is off the case due to military complaints regarding her actions during the standoff with Jack. I wonder if there will be any additional repercussions for Morgan working with Chloe, who hours earlier escapes CIA custody.

President Heller’s order forces Margot Al-Harazi (Michelle Fairley) to show her hand, taking control of all six drones. She releases a video ordering the President to turn himself over to her or she will use the drones’ missiles on targets in London.

President Heller asks to talk to Jack face to face, telling him what they know so far, to which Jack replies, “So, I was right.” It wasn’t so much a comment as a statement. As I suspected in my last review, Jack requests to be put back into the field in exchange for finishing what he started. What surprised me is the President’s response, “No.” While I don’t think that will last long, it is interesting to see Jack put in his place, especially after all he has said and done, including his extorting the President.

The last time Jack saw Audrey (Kim Raver), she was catatonic and on life support. So seeing them reunited is nice. While few words are spoken, it is another one of those moments where not a lot is actually spoken, yet so much is said. I was always more of a Renee Walker (Annie Wersching) fan myself but it is a touching moment to see Jack and Audrey together, even if briefly. It will be interesting to see what Chief of Staff Boudreau (Tate Donovan), who is now married to Audrey, thinks about her seeing Jack.

Navaro (Benjamin Bratt) and Kate (Yvonne Strahovski)

For Cross, the idea of working with Jack is bad enough but Chloe helping Agent Morgan makes matters much worse. Fearing their location will be compromised, Cross decides it’s time to pack up and find a new safe house for his crew of hackers to report on the government rather than help them.

The CIA is able to trace the video to where they believe the terrorists are located. With Morgan on the sidelines, Navaro and Ritter (Gbenga Akinnagbe) lead an assault team on the house. Back at CIA headquarters in London, Morgan senses something isn’t right so she contacts Chloe to see what she thinks. Chloe realizes it’s a trap and tells Morgan to have the team fall back. Most of the team is able to get out just as a drone missile strikes the house.

I have enjoyed watching Gbenga Akinnagbe since seeing him on the show Graceland; however, I am disappointed that his character Ritter isn’t being utilized more. Other than a brief fight with Jack, his role seems to be to follow other agents around. I have a feeling Ritter won’t make it through the end of the season.

It’s great Naveed (Sacha Dhawan) tries to save London from a terrorist attack by warning government officials where the terrorist hideout is, but I’m glad he’s dead. The love story between him and Simone (Emily Berrington) did not work at all for me and it slowed down every scene they were in. Not to mention Simone is crazy. Every time I see her eyes, there is something not right. You know if it came down to her choosing between her mother and Naveed, she would always choose her mother. Hopefully, Naveed’s death helps pick up the pace for the terrorists’ scenes, thereby making them more enthralling.

For a while now, I’ve felt something seems different about 24’s return but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Finally, I realized what is is. This season is much shorter so the dozens of subplots needed to fill the entire 24-hour episode are almost entirely gone. This change in format allows the writers to focus more on Jack and the events going on around him. It also makes the season feel more focused and direct.

The more I watch Strahovski as Agent Morgan, the more it seems like the people at Fox are prepping for a possible 24 spinoff with her in the lead. With a strong female character who is analytical and every much an equal to Jack, I’d watch it. “3:00PM – 4:00PM” is the first episode in nine seasons where I felt 24 could survive without Jack Bauer, which leaves me to wonder could Fox be considering killing off Jack entirely? I can easily see a scenario playing out where Jack sacrifices himself, causing Morgan and Chloe to continue working together.

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Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.