24 Season 8 Ep 22: 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. WSJ TV Recap

‘24,’ Season 8, Episode 22: ‘Day 8: 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.’: TV Recap

By Chris Simmons MAY 18, 2010, 10:00 AM ET

Kelsey McNeal/FOX

Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) in “24.”

Charles Logan’s actions are unscrupulous, President Taylor’s actions are unconscionable, and Jack Bauer’s actions are totally unhinged on this, the third to last episode of “24.”

On the 22nd hour of Day 8, ex-President Logan is getting ready to meet Russian President Subarov at the airport, part of his “redemptive” regime, when he gets the news from weasel number one Pillar that Jack has killed Pavel and retrieved the evidence. With Jack and the evidence out there, Logan is forced to tell President Taylor. The remaining decency in Taylor elicits disgust that she allowed Logan to talk her into her very questionable actions, but Logan reminds her that no one put a gun to her head. That stings, but Logan is right. President Taylor continues to authorize Jack’s apprehension and suppression of the evidence. Speaking of which…

Jack tells Meredith Reed to give the disk to someone she trusts and quickly, since her life is officially in danger. Once she’s on her way, Jack takes off on his real mission: pure, unadulterated revenge. Jim Ricker, realizing that he’s just helped Jack track down Logan’s car, tells Jack that going after Logan is one slippery slope too many. But Jack doesn’t care…anyone and everyone responsible for Renee’s murder is going down hard.

Sure enough, Jack intercepts Logan’s car and takes out the Secret Service agents and how, brazenly wearing a Jason-styled mask and tear-gassing the car. He grabs Logan and flees on foot. As word reaches CTU that Jack’s kidnapped an ex-President, Chloe is increasingly forced to accept the fact that her longtime friend may be going off the deep end.

Jack roughs Logan up enough to make the quavering, jowly ex-Commander-in-Chief give up Novakovich as the mastermind behind everything that has gone on this day. He lets Logan go before Pillar and crew reach him, not that they would have stopped him anyway. It’s pretty clear that nothing’s gonna stop Jack from reaching Novakovich.

Meanwhile, Meredith has contacted her editor, brings him up to speed on the bombshell of a story. They make plans to meet, but before long, the editor calls her back, saying that the FBI has the place on lockdown. Grimly realizing that Jack is right when he told her that the government intends to bury any evidence by force if necessary, Meredith tries to get to Dalia Hassan, talking to Kayla on the phone. Just when she appears to convince Kayla of the veracity of her call, the FBI tracks Meredith down, confiscate the evidence and take her into custody.

Back at CTU, Chloe and Arlo figure out that Ricker is Jack’s intel contact and weapons supplier. Chloe realizes that the only person she can dispatch to try find the guy is Cole, so she takes advantage of everyone’s lack of focus on him to release him from holding. Cole warns her that, despite her feelings of loyalty to Jack, he is completely out of control, and if necessary, he’s prepared to take Jack out. Cole, I dig your vibe today, but good luck doing that.

Jack is totally in lethal dispatch mode, killing people without bothering to take names as he invades Novakovich’s stronghold. He does get stabbed by one of the guards, but it barely slows him down. And what he does inside the Russian’s office is so savage, we only see its aftermath.

At the same time, a recovering Logan gets on the phone with Subarov, having a conversation that reveals, shockingly, that Subarov is behind the actions on Russia’s part; he even, apparently, ordered the hit on Renee! Logan assures Subarov that there’s no way that Jack Bauer or anyone in the U.S. government can link him to the nefarious deeds. Not so fast, Mr. Ex-President: Jack placed a small transmitter on your person, and has now heard everything you said. Subarov…you’re NEXT.

Next week, we get our last 2 hour blast of Jack Bauer saving the world. And I’ll be here, recapping every bittersweet moment until the end of an era. I know we’ll be here same time next week, won’t we?

Source: WSJ