Episode 8
Air Date: Monday, June 16, 2014, 8:00 PM ET/PT on Fox
Rating:
“If a murderer like Heller can keep his word, then so can I.” – Margot
It’s a race against time as Margot’s (Michelle Fairley) deadline for President Heller (William Devane) to surrender himself to her winds down. Will Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) and Morgan (Yvonne Strahovski) be able to stop Margot or will Heller be forced to surrender in an effort to stop the attacks?
Given how rocky the relationship between Jack and Heller has been over the past few seasons, I really enjoyed their scenes together in “6:00 PM—7:00 PM.” You get the sense that Heller finally understands Jack and the madness behind his methods, not to mention the price Jack has paid because of it. At times, Heller seems fatherly towards Jack, especially when he explains his Alzheimer’s condition.
Who would have known when “6:00 PM—7:00 PM” was filmed that Jack’s line, “The United States does not negotiate with terrorists,” would be front page news in real life. It’s interesting listening to Jack and Heller debate the merits of dealing with a terrorist, as well as the risk versus reward. Oddly enough, given all the talk about negotiating with terrorists, Jack and Heller’s dispute falls short because it does not match the debates we have seen on the nightly news.
Jack informs Heller that in order to sneak him out unnoticed, he’s going to need help from the inside. Heller reaches out to Boudreau (Tate Donovan) to assist. This sets up some intense scenes given Boudreau’s resentment of Jack for what happened to Audrey (Kim Raver) in China. How will Audrey react when she learns the two men she loves carried out her father’s arrangement to surrender himself?
Jack confides in Morgan about Heller’s plan. As Morgan continues watching over the still unconscious Simone (Emily Berrington) at the London CIA office infirmary, she realizes Simone is the only one who can lead them to Margot before Heller turns himself over. Morgan springs into action and pulls a gun on the doctor ordering him to wake Simone up. It’s a scene we’ve seen play out numerous times with Jack throughout the seasons but it’s captivating to watch Morgan take on more of Jack’s characteristics.
Kind of off topic, and leave a comment if I’m wrong, but Jack uses violence and threats more times than I can count. Yet, when Jack tells Morgan to “wake the bitch up,” I suddenly realized I don’t remember Jack using language like that before. It fits perfectly with the scene, but I was surprised how much the line stands out given the intensity of the show.
Before passing out again, Simone tells Morgan about a device Naveed (Sacha Dhawan) stashed in the floorboards of the house they were staying in. The device might be able to override Margot’s control of the drones. Morgan sends a CIA team to retrieve the device and once that is accomplished, she uploads the data to Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub). Will Chloe gain control of the drone before it’s too late?
Wounded but alive, Reed (Giled Matthey) contacts Navarro (Benjamin Bratt) informing him someone tried to kill him. Navarro asks Reed where he is and sends Agent Ritter (Gbenga Akinnagbe) to go pick him up. Instead of contacting Ritter, Navarro sends the mysterious hit man to Reed’s location to finish the job. Surprisingly, Reed realizes it’s a trap and gets the upper hand on the assassin. While this kind of subplot worked in other seasons, with this season being a limited series consisting of only 12 episodes, the storyline feels rushed.
Speaking of Ritter, where has he been the last few episodes? I’ve been a fan of Akinnagbe’s since he was on the show Graceland and was looking forward to seeing more of him and watching him kick some terrorist ass. With “6:00 PM – 7:00 PM,” it’s been almost a month since we last saw Ritter. I know that it’s only a few hours in 24 time, but it feels like the writers aren’t sure what to do with this character.
Arriving at Wembley Stadium, Heller tells Jack he has pardoned him for his past actions and his involvement leading up to his surrender. I wonder if anyone besides Boudreau knows about the pardon since he is the only other person who is in on Heller’s plan. Boudreau is already in hot water with the Russians for not turning Jack over to them. Will Boudreau follow through with the President’s pardon or will he ignore it and turn Jack over to the Russians?
The image of President Heller standing alone in the middle of the empty, open air stadium is powerful to see as Heller awaits Margot’s next move. Since I knew Chloe would come through, with seconds to spare, I didn’t worry…much. Boy, was I wrong, especially when a deep crater suddenly appears where the President once stood just as the 24 clock hits 7:00.
Tweet me @staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about “6:00 PM—7:00 PM”.
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Greg Staffa
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