[24H] Day 7: 7:00pm-8:00pm

TV Programme: 24
Season: 7
Episode: 12
Date I watched this episode: 05/03/2009
Time since I last watched this programme: 2 days.

Almost every season we have an episode like this one - effectively a long action sequence packaged as one episode. It certainly reminds me of the midpoint in season 1, where Ira Gaines' base was under attack by Jack and the other agents. Usually there has been a big buildup, but here they took a different strategy by making an entire episode of setup (the last one) and then starting off the action in this one.

Juma's strategy was fleshed out in this episode and seemed a bit more believable than it had seemed in episode 11. The presence of inside help was vital to making this attack believable. I think Juma, like Dubaku before him, comes off as a great tactician. He has this day well planned for any eventuality, and can calmly progress through it without incident. In particular, he managed to get the entire opposing force to leave the building so he could take it for himself - this is quite a feat!

The initial start of the gunfight sequence was good - and reminded me of [TWW] "In The Shadow Of Two Gunmen" where the vice president was escorted out of the White House by secret service agents. It was like an explosion where you have an initial seed and then things spiral out of control exponentially. At first the president was sitting in her chair reading some documents, then suddenly running to the lockdown, there was a gun battle, quick decisions...it makes for a very thrilling experience.

Bill's escape with the president's tracker was quite suspenseful. I think Bill's story arc across the entire programme is coming to an end, and there is quite a chance he could die this season. The very quiet music made this seem even more real. However on reflection, I think that Bill's character has more to give yet, as evidenced by the scene where Jack tries to convince Bill to torture Burnett. This may well make for a "rules versus results" storyline between Bill and Jack, two old friends, which could get quite ugly (and has already been hinted at in the scene where Jack tries to convince Bill to give up Burnett's location).

The Vice President doesn't seem as strong a character as some VPs we've had in the past (Logan, Gardner, Daniels). He is clearly politically motivated, but nevertheless seemed to handle himself quite well in the scene this episode. His politics are bound to get in the way of a resolution, as is the case with most seasons.

The president herself was developed to some extent in this episode. She is no longer in the safety of the Oval Office, and shows a more strong and resilient side to her character than ever before. Her working with Jack to turn off the unlocking mechanism, her being slapped by Juma - she is showing a side we don't usually expect to see from a President.

I think Jack's presence was played down somewhat in this episode which is not a bad thing - the surrounding story was focussed on more. However Larry clearly realises that Renee has feelings for Bauer even if Renee doesn't realise it herself - this is why he reiterates that the President is their goal here in this episode.

It's good to see Jonas Hodges back, his first appearance since Redemption. Since he is collecting a shipment which is 2 hours away, I feel it is quite likely that the Juma storyline will be wrapped up by then, and Hodges will become the "third villain" of the season. In the next episode it will be interesting to see what happens - and hopefully Senator Mayer will get his comeuppance; he is completely out of line to blame Jack for what has happened towards the end of this episode.

I think this episode was a satisfying climax to the last one. As I've mentioned before, the White House as a target makes for a very gripping storyline, and this was well dealt with in this action-packed episode. It's all too easy to mess up action-heavy episodes, but 24 showed that it still has what it takes to keep us interested.