24 Live Another Day: Ep 4. – 2pm to 3 pm

Afternoon Tea and Ladyfingers

First of all, did everyone’s TV sound freak out for a few seconds during 24 this week?  That was weird. I suspect it might have been Margot Al-Harazi’s son Ian hacking into the system, trying to hijack control of the show. I bet Chloe saw what he was trying and blocked his attack. Way to go, O’Brian!

So this week on 24 we pick up with Jack’s riot at the embassy, where he has successfully snuck into the building. Hot on his tail are agents Morgan and Ritter. Jack puts the sleeper hold on a guard and dons his jacket and credentials. Then he heads for Tanner’s holding room, with a little help from Chloe, who naturally has hacked into the system and has full schematics and camera control. Anything Jack needs to know, he just pushes a button and asks Chloe. She’s like a goth and socially awkward version of Siri.

Jack Man Fever

Jack makes it to Tanner’s room, tricks and overpowers the guard and gets the flight key. He tells Tanner he believes he didn’t perform the drone strike just before he leaves. Morgan and Ritter arrive right behind Jack and chase him through the building. Chloe guides him through the maze, like an ultra-violent Pac Man, avoiding the Marine ghosts at every turn.

The system is shut down, so Jack’s stolen keycard can’t get him out the basement door, so he heads for the communications room, takes hostages and holes up. But he is very polite to the hostages… in a Jack Bauer, forceful, kind of way. It’s the old, “I don’t want to hurt you, so don’t make me hurt you” routine. He even strategically shoots a couple of Marines in their flack vests, to hold them off, send a message, but still not really hurt anyone. Kinda like The A-Team used to do. Blow up a few cars and a building, but no one ever gets killed.

While the Marines gather outside the door, Jack and Chloe go to plan B, which is to upload the data from the flight key, but the file is encrypted, so the download will take a while. I guess they have to download the encryption code from one of those free AOL discs from 1997, on a dial-up connection. You know it’s done when it says “You’ve Got Mail.”

Meanwhile, Heller actually nails his speech in front of Parliament, while Boudreau gets the call that Bauer is holding hostages in the embassy. So the secret is out and he comes clean to Heller and Audrey about Jack. Audrey is pissed at him, and Heller wants to talk to Jack before anyone does anything else.

Jack gets a call from Heller and tells him about Yates device and Margot Al-Harazi’s plan of attack. Unfortunately, Heller ain’t buying it and authorizes the Marines to storm Jack’s room. But sexy Agent Morgan, who was denied access to Jack’s room earlier, climbs through the air ducts in an attempt to get to Jack before the Marines do. She’s taking a page out of Winston’s book, from New Girl, but Jack Bauer may be more dangerous than a badger loose in the air vents. (See below.)

Game over, man!

As she approaches the room, Jack shoots a warning shot and tells her to beat it, but she explains that she believes his story about Tanner, so he lets her in. The Marines also pick up her signal in the air ducts on their sensors. They must be using the same sensors the Space Marines used in Aliens. 

Meanwhile, over at Casa de Al-Harazi, Simone and Navid have a post-coitus conversation about abandoning the mission and running away together. However, Margot overhears their pillow talk and over a cup of tea with her daughter, gets Simone to tell her of Navid’s plan. Then she confronts Navid and says she will do whatever it takes to get him to pilot the drones. He refuses and says he does not care what she does to him. No problem. Margot has her henchmen grab Simone and they chop off her freaking pinky, like a Ginsu knife through a tomato.

Navid immediately knows what this means. First, Margot means business and will even harm her own family for the sake of the mission. Second, it means no more high fives for Simone… only high fours from now on.

What makes Margot such a great mother? I can’t quite put my finger on it. And now, neither can Simone.

Meanwhile, back at the Geek Cave, Chloe is at odds with Adrian Cross, who is reluctantly helping Jack for Chloe. She does not realize that he tried to get Jack busted, but eventually he makes her choose between him and Jack and so she leaves, because as I have said many times before; Once you go Jack, you never go back!

Don't shoot. I'm sexy.

Back at the embassy, the Marines prepare to move on Jack while Jack prepares to hold them off while the file finishes downloading, and also for his trial membership to AOL to start. Sexy Agent Morgan convinces Jack to let her have the key and she’ll finish the encryption. Then when the Marines burst in, Morgan already has Jack subdued and invokes the “Finders Keepers, Loser Weepers” clause and takes Jack into her custody. This is also known and the “You snooze, you lose” maneuver in England. 

So by the end of the show, Jack is in custody, but he’s also got a hot new ally. Also, Ian Al-Harazi has control of ten drones and Margot is ready to strike. So that kinda sucks.

Next week: Margot starts to play hardball with the drones, while Jack asks Heller to get him back in the game.

What did you think? Leave a comment below. 

See you next week for another 24 recap. 
You can follow me on Twitter at @BackinJack